Wangwang was the first of A-Mian's friends to come to visit.
They agreed to go on the afternoon of their monthly day off, which was considered polite by the villagers, as they didn't pick and choose their mealtimes when visiting.
However, Ah Mian still made some careful preparations:
Early in the morning, she took Adou down the hillside and picked rose hips while herding the donkey. These are small, reddish-brown fruits that are slightly prickly when picked, but they won't pierce the skin.
After picking about twenty fruits, Ah Mian washed them in a basin with warm water, peeled off the hard outer skin, and crushed them with a mortar and pestle. She then put a little in a cup and brewed it with boiling water. After about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the tea turned a light brown color. Ah Mian tasted it; it was somewhat sour and astringent.
She had a sudden inspiration and secretly added a drop of honey, making the rosehip drink sweet and sour, and very palatable.
Meanwhile, Wangwang, accompanied by his younger sister and two younger brothers, discussed various countermeasures along the way.
Logically speaking, even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes, and besides, Wangwang and Amian are not related, so he has no right to interfere in her family affairs.
But they had worked in the same shop and were now classmates.
Wangwang has been through a life-or-death experience, and she believes that she is able to survive now thanks to the kindness of others. Therefore, she feels very sorry for A-Mian when she sees her in such a pitiful state.
If you can help, then you should.
"This time, you have to listen to me in everything. Ah Mian is my friend, the most hardworking and capable young lady I know. We're going to her house to see what kind of person her husband really is. If he's a lazy, good-for-nothing drunkard who beats his wife all the time..."
Wang Erdi spat, "Can someone like that even be considered a man?! I'll teach him a lesson!"
“That’s it.” Wang San nodded. Actually, they didn’t care about anything else; it was “being lazy and gluttonous” that angered them the most. How could he be so ignorant? It was a man’s natural duty to work for the family, otherwise the family would end up bankrupt and forced to sell their children, which would be utterly tragic!
Wang Xiaomei, who was quick-witted, also came along. "Don't be angry yet. If you beat him up, he'll probably punish A-Mian after we leave. Let's talk to him first and see if we can change his mind."
Wangwang is of marriageable age, so he is most concerned about the latter part of the sentence, "the drunkard who beats his wife." "We can't let him bully Amian every few days. If he's not that bad yet, we should all have a good talk with him and make sure he never lays a hand on her again."
“If he still doesn’t change, then we… in a few days we’ll put a sack over his head and beat him up a few more times!” Wang Erdi grumbled.
After discussing their explanations in detail, they finally arrived at Qingshan Village.
Meng Jing, who was waiting at the village entrance to greet people, quickly waved to Wangwang's family.
“Perfect timing! My brother just bought some snacks. Wangwang, you are a rare friend of A-Mian's at the academy. Our whole family often hears her mention you.”
The Wang family exchanged suspicious glances. After being inside the Meng family's house for a while, while A-Mian was refilling water, they quickly began to whisper among themselves:
"Sis, something doesn't seem right."
As soon as they entered, Ah Mian's husband greeted them. Ah Mian had only offered rosehip drink to her guests, which looked rather meager and awkward on the table. However, her husband added a plate of fried dough twists and a plate of jujube cakes to the wooden table (although these were very cheap snacks in the countryside, costing no more than ten coins), which obviously made the scene "look more presentable".
Afterwards, A-Mian chatted with them enthusiastically, while her husband went off to do his work.
Wang San Di and A Mian didn't have much to talk about, so he spent most of his energy observing the lazy man.
The lazy man first tidied up the pile of firewood—it was the neatest and most orderly firewood pile Wang Sandi had ever seen; it could be described in one word: perfectly tidy.
With just one glance, Wang Sandi felt that things were not as his sister described. A lazy person could not have dressed up like this, and it was obviously not something that had been done just in time for their visit.
The "lazy man" looked through the firewood at the bottom and saw that some of it was damp, so he picked it out and put it in the yard to dry. Then he took a broom to the backyard, which was obviously to sweep the floor (although Wang Erdi felt that their house was already very clean and there was no need to sweep at all!).
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that not only were there no fallen leaves, weeds, or garbage on the ground in A-Mian's house, but even the farm tools, baskets, and other items in the yard were arranged in an orderly manner.
The only thing on that small wooden table was rather messy, with an inkstone, a calligraphy brush in a bamboo tube, an open book, and a porcelain bowl half-filled with water.
The young women around him chatted more and more enthusiastically, but Wang Sandi paid no attention and concentrated on his conversation. He noticed that the lazybones had reappeared and this time went into the kitchen.
"Um, Lu Amian, who usually cooks at your house?"
Amian said, "Oh? Usually, Xiaojing and I take turns cooking in the morning, and whoever gets home first in the evening should start cooking."
As for lunch, A-Mian now eats at the academy, sometimes Xiao-Jing will cook lunch and send it to the blacksmith shop, and sometimes Meng-Chi-Jian will buy lunch outside.
"So...he went to the kitchen now...?"
These were strange questions, but A-Mian still answered, "I don't know."
Xiao Jing chuckled softly, "Never mind him, that's just how my brother is. He pickles meat, salted duck eggs, pickled radishes, and other things all the time. They're really delicious, and our whole family loves them."
This further demonstrates that A-Mian's family is certainly doing well; salt is a good thing that gives you strength and energy.
At this moment, Wang Erdi actually said, "Then I'll go and learn too. I don't know why, but the pickled vegetables at my house always taste bitter!"
Wang Xiaomei nodded sadly: "That's true. I thought the pottery jar was moldy, but it's still like this after washing it..."
The two had completely forgotten the purpose of their trip and went to the kitchen to help out!
Wang Sandi had given up hope on the two men and could only fight alone, still searching for any clues.
Finally, he arrived at the chicken coop.
Ah Mian had just swept the chicken coop that morning, and it was still dry and tidy. However, he still noticed with his sharp eyes that a few eggs hadn't been picked up.
"The weather is getting warmer, and we're planning to let the hen hatch the chicks."
Amian and Xiaojing were very proud when they talked about this, as it was the foundation and starting point of their "career". Now, they hand over more than the ten eggs they had initially agreed to to their family each month, but twenty eggs (in addition to the one or two hard-boiled eggs that Amian brings back from the academy every day). Their family has not needed to buy eggs for a long time.
Xiao Jing would take the rest to the city to sell, and the copper coins she earned would be split equally between her and Amian (usually around thirty coins, with each person receiving fifteen coins).
Although the money is small, it's a steady, continuous flow.
The snacks, hair ties, or one or two pretty little flowers worn in the hair all come from here.
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