Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Quarrel
This time, Fan Jing hunted more animals from the mountains than last time.
Kang He followed Fan Jing out of the house, holding a bow that a child used to play with in his hand.
Just now he wanted to try the longbow and almost hit his forehead with it, so Fan Jing threw a small one to him.
Fan Jing peeled off the torn linen and took out the mountain products from the backpack one by one.
There is a peacock pheasant, two gray-backed pheasants, and the most pleasing thing is a suckling pig.
The pheasant's two long legs were tied tightly, so it could only flap its wings.
Fan Jing untied the hemp rope and asked Zhen'er to take it and tie it under the pepper tree in the yard, and sprinkle some chaff on it.
The stupid bird was shot with a slingshot. One of them injured its foot and the other was hit on the head. It is no longer in good spirits.
The two birds together may only weigh about one pound, with pointed beaks and big eyes. They don't look very smart and I don't know what species they are. People in the village call them stupid birds.
The stewed soup tastes very good, as tender as pigeon meat, and is also nutritious. It is loved by the wealthy people in the city, but it is hard to get.
The familiar customer had long ago told him that if he had this stuff, he must send it to him, and also gave Fan Jing a benefit of two copper coins.
After dinner, Fan Jing had to rush to the city, hoping to bargain for a good price before the stupid bird died.
There was some blood on the suckling pig's body, and it had already died. Its eyes were still open when it came down the mountain this morning. I'm afraid it died from the bumpy ride.
The whole family came to see the things this time.
The pheasant was alive, and it was rare to find a stupid bird. Everyone in the house knew that this one would definitely be taken to the city to exchange for money, so they just stared at the suckling pig.
But how big can a suckling pig be? This one is only about twenty pounds.
After removing the hair and internal organs, it weighs only about ten pounds.
Besides, if you sell this small one, people with missing limbs won’t want it, and it will be wasted to make roast suckling pig.
In this way, all that can be kept are the internal organs and offal.
Sure enough, Fan Jing brought some hot water, removed the pig's hair, cut open the pig's belly and took out the offal.
He took the suckling pig away and left only the offal.
Because of the war a few years ago, life became difficult for people all over the world. Even the wealthy families who used to eat mostly mutton and rarely pork started to eat pork.
The price of cheap pork began to rise, and more households in the village started raising pigs.
Chen smacked her lips and said in confusion, "Wild boar smells really bad, especially the offal. How can I cook it?"
It's not that she thinks these offal are bad. Farmers don't have the heart to be particular about them. Besides, the pig offal sold at small stalls in the city is very delicious.
Father Fan loves wine. Sometimes when he wants to drink, he is willing to spend a few copper coins to buy some cheap offal from the prepared food stall and drink it with the wine.
Chen took a little to taste and found it not fishy at all. Qiao'er also liked it.
It's a pity that she doesn't have the skills to cook the food at the stall.
Chen hesitated for a while, then opened the jar in the shade in the corner of the room.
Pointing to the jar of beans and greens pickled last year, ready to be used to stew offal, he imagined the strong sour taste would overpower the stench.
While Chen was stewing in the house, Father Fan came into the kitchen with wet feet and straw sandals.
"Clean up the west utility room this afternoon."
Chen frowned and said, "Why clean it up? There's all this mess in the house."
"Where will Kang Sanlang sleep if he doesn't clean up? The first day he came over, he was asked to sleep in the same room with my eldest brother?"
"We'll need a whole house sooner or later. There's no point in being so particular when you first arrive."
Father Fan, however, felt bad: "It's a formal wedding, and we'll have to have a feast and invite the neighbors to have a lively celebration."
When Chen heard that Father Fan was still going to hold a big ceremony, she threw away the sackcloth in her hand and started arguing with Father Fan.
"The harvest was poor this year, so the grain is barely enough for our family. I had been planning to save a dan of grain to exchange for money for daily expenses, but now that we have a baby, how can I dare to sell the grain? The village head keeps asking us to pay our taxes, but we haven't paid yet!"
Father Fan asked, "Didn't Dajing subsidize your tax this year?"
Chen did not hide it: "I took five hundred copper coins."
"Is one or two taels of silver in rent and taxes enough?"
Father Fan was silent for a moment and said, "If he's willing to give us some subsidy, then that's fine. Five hundred yuan is not a small amount."
Chen's eyes widened. "You're talking without any worries about money. You've already spent five strings of cash with the Kang family, and the little money we have at home has been wiped out. Just to save face and hold a banquet, even if we only invite our relatives and frequent visitors, we'll have to prepare ten tables of food and wine."
"Even if we add a little water to the meal, a table of food and wine will cost seventy or eighty copper coins, and ten tables will cost a string of coins. Are you, Fan Shoulin, rich enough to spend that much on a banquet, or are you so polite as to buy the food and meat on credit?"
Father Fan said weakly, "It costs money to host a banquet, but don't those who come to drink and drink also bring gifts? When you add it up, it doesn't cost that much."
"Those who are polite will pay thirty-five copper coins for the feast, but there are also those who are shameless enough to hang a basket of eggs, and the whole family will come and sit at most of the table."
How much are eggs worth? One copper coin can buy two. Some people in the village just go there to eat for free.
"Let's not talk about that. We also need to clean up the new house. Dajing's bed can't accommodate the two of them. What about the household items? No wardrobe or dressing table? Two newlyweds getting married without even two pieces of cloth?"
Some people even say that if we don't prepare the banquet, we won't have any daily necessities, so it doesn't feel like we are living.
"You are so good, you only care about appearance and not substance."
Father Fan remained silent. In the past, people in the village always said that their family had no sons and would be extinct.
Nowadays, marrying off a large sum of money is in vogue, and I’m afraid that my son and two daughters will have to stay at home for old age.
Now that Dajing said he was getting married, he wanted to let everyone in the village see it.
I never calculated carefully that there would be so much expenses.
He pressed his solar plexus, feeling only a nagging headache: "My head hurts a bit. It's cold and windy today. I'll go first..."
Chen grabbed Father Fan and pulled him back: "You old bastard, you always pretend to be sick when you encounter problems. Do you think I can turn copper coins into something to get things done just by pretending to be sick?"
Father Fan coughed in embarrassment when he was exposed.
"How much money do we have on hand?"
Chen snorted coldly, "A few coins. Don't worry about it. The taxes haven't been paid yet."
"That's all?"
Seeing that Father Fan didn't believe her, Chen's voice, which had been low to begin with, immediately rose to a high pitch. She was so angry that she wanted to settle every account with him:
"All year round, we have to look after those few acres of thin land. You talk as if I'm cheating on you. Ever since I got married, we've been living in poverty. Don't you know whether there's any surplus every year? If you had some ability, I wouldn't have to split every penny!"
The two maids in the kitchen were so frightened when they saw their parents quarreling that they dared not breathe.
Qiao'er put down the basket and sneaked out.
"How come you have such a sharp tongue? No wonder your parents say you're a bitch."
Father Fan was embarrassed and brought up what Father Fan and Mother Fan had said.
Chen was not afraid that he would bring up his parents-in-law, so she said, "You were the one who was clamoring for a wedding! So tell me where all the money came from."
"If we spend all the money we've saved today, we'll all be left with nothing after this feast. You insist on going out and borrowing money, and there are so many people you usually drink and chat with!"
Father Fan's chest heaved, and he stared at Chen.
He was unhappy and wanted to argue, but when he looked up, he saw Fan Jing walked in at some point with a cold face.
He shut his mouth again, put his hands behind his back and walked to the other end of the main room in dejection.
Seeing this, Chen fell silent and picked up the spatula to stir the pot for no reason.
Fan Jing's expression looked better.
Kang He noticed that there was something fishy going on in the kitchen. Seeing Fan Jing coming out, he went over and asked, "...what's the quarrel?"
Fan Jing shook his head, indicating that he didn't need to worry about it.
Kang He didn't ask any more questions. Even if Fan Jingken said it, he might not understand it.
In fact, he knew without asking that the quarrels among poor families over meals every three days were all about money.
He had seen this kind of scene many times when he was a child.
Before he came to Fan's house, he saw the matchmaker gave Kang's mother five strings of money, and he guessed that it was given by the Fan family.
Kang's father seemed to want to give him the money, but Kang's mother refused, and the two of them had a quarrel behind closed doors.
Before leaving, Kang's father secretly stuffed two hundred yuan into his bag and asked him to keep it safe.
When he came by ox cart, he had nothing to do, so he reached into his bag and counted, and there were two hundred and twenty copper coins.
This amount of money is neither too little nor too much.
If it is used as private money in a village household, it is already considerable, but if you are alone and living outside, it is very tight.
Kang He looked at the thatched huts and cottages in the surrounding countryside along the way. Tiled houses were a minority, and decent houses were even rarer.
It can be seen that the people nowadays do not live a rich life, and the majority are poor.
The common people are suffering, the world is not peaceful, and the ways to make a living are limited.
Kang He made a new plan in his mind.
Right now he has to learn the local dialect first, otherwise he won’t be able to speak clearly and everything will be in vain.
Then I have to earn and save some money.
If you leave the Fan family in the future, you must at least return the five strings of cash as a gift.
Lunch was a little late, and Chen prepared five dishes.
A pot of pork offal stewed with sauerkraut, a bowl of fried bacon with wild gourd and cabbage in broth, a basket of steamed buns stuffed with leeks, and a plate of mixed cucumber and lettuce.
There was a four-legged bench with a square table. There were five people in the Fan family. Usually, the two maids sat on the side near the gate. Father Fan had his back to the north, Chen sat on his left, and Fan Jing sat on his right.
Zhen'er and Qiao'er were setting the table. Since there was one more person present, they placed the bowls and chopsticks according to the usual seating arrangements, leaving one set left over.
Zhen'er hesitated, not knowing where to put the extra pair.
Seeing this, Qiao'er took the chopsticks from her hand and placed them together with the bowl next to her older brother.
The two little girls looked at each other and smiled.
We didn’t eat so well at home during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The whole family sat down at the table. The gluttony in their stomachs made them forget their previous unhappiness, and Chen invited Kanghe to eat.
Wild boar offal has a strong fishy smell, and even the sour pickles from previous years can’t cover it up.
No one put their chopsticks into the bowl, but Fan Shoulin ate it with relish, after all, it was meat.
After dinner, Fan Jing went to the county to sell mountain products.
Chen asked Fan Jing to take Kang He with him.
She was right in her calling. In the afternoon, when she and two maids were cleaning up the western utility room, many women and husbands came. They were all there to listen to her and look for a son-in-law.
Seeing the hustle and bustle in the courtyard, Fan Shoushan was inevitably pulled over to ask when the wedding banquet would be held.
Chen refused to put it away, and he was bored with being questioned, so he didn't want to sleep anymore, so he ran out through the back door to get some peace and quiet.
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