"There's a post station ahead. Let's have some food and tea, rest for a while, and then continue our journey," the head of the temple said.
We passed by this post station on our way here. It was a popular stop for travelers, and therefore quite profitable.
Meng Chijian put down his carrying pole, glanced at the menu without looking to the side, and ordered a bowl of shredded pork noodles, a plate of Mapo tofu, and a small dish of pickled radish from the wooden table.
Anyway, Lu Amian has money on her now, unlike before, she doesn't buy food for herself anymore.
Lu Amian and Wangwang were also sitting at a small table. Wangwang ate the dry food he had brought from home and asked the courier to pour him a bowl of free tea (after leaving Zhoucheng, drinking water was free).
"I'd like a bowl of vegetable porridge and a steamed bun." A-Mian took out three coins.
She was very shrewd; she would add the shop's pickled radish to her cornbread, which was salty, and the vegetable porridge would fill her up. Most people ate like this, except that poor scholars would order two more cornbreads, while wealthier scholars would order one or two more dishes.
"Waiter, you've brought the wrong thing. This isn't the braised chicken leg we ordered," A-Mian hurriedly said.
The courier chuckled, "Young lady, you didn't bring the wrong thing. It was ordered for you by the people at that table."
A-Mian turned her head and saw Meng Chijian, who was engrossed in eating noodles and completely ignoring everyone.
"oh."
She thought for a moment and said, "Then you can put another stir-fried cabbage on his table."
"Alright—" the courier thought to himself, "You two are having a tiff, can you stop taking up two tables? Let's eat together!"
Ah Mian took out two coins to pay the bill. She wanted to be generous, but a braised chicken leg cost fifteen coins.
Would she really be bought off with fifteen coins?
He said such hurtful things last night, even saying she wasn't even as good as a steamed bun!
But the chicken leg was really delicious.
Seeing the unpredictable changes in her little face, Wangwang couldn't help but chuckle. "He offered you chicken legs, so you offered him cabbage?"
A-Mian felt that he was spending money recklessly again.
However, since she said last night that the two of them were unrelated, she couldn't care less about him anymore.
After finishing the chicken legs, everyone continued on their way. They were all eager to get back, and the journey felt much faster than the way there.
Two days later, they finally arrived in their county town. Meng Chijian rushed to open the shop, while A Mian said goodbye to Wangwang and returned to Qingshan Village first.
Amian pushed open the door to her house, and there was only her second sister-in-law sunbathing in the yard.
I didn't really feel it after being away for many days, but I really felt the fatigue of the journey when I got back.
"Second Sister-in-law, we're back. Where's the others?"
Second Sister-in-law lazily cracked sunflower seeds. "My husband took Tiger to the fields, Xiao Jing and her mother rode the donkey to the next village to watch a play, and Tang Gao is sleeping at home. So, how's Zhoucheng? Is it fun?"
Amian replied dryly, "It's fun."
Seeing that she couldn't get along with this person, the second sister-in-law simply continued to leisurely eat sunflower seeds.
Ah Mian put down her bundle and took out a large conch shell to give to her second sister-in-law.
"I picked these up on the beach, and these seashells are for Tiger and the others to play with."
"Then I thank you on behalf of the little ones. Come on, don't rush, take a break. We'll make it when your Meng San comes back, it's the same thing."
Ah Mian wasn't that kind of person, and besides, she could do things without thinking about anything else, so she still put things away, cleaned the chicken coop, swept the yard, and started cooking.
After all that fuss, she went to the yard and gulped down some water. Seeing her second sister-in-law so relaxed, she felt a strange sense of admiration for her.
That's really something, being able to lie down comfortably.
"You two...have never argued?" A-Mian asked curiously.
"How could that be? Even when you're eating, you might bite your tongue," her second sister-in-law glanced at her. "What's wrong? Did you two have a fight?"
"..."
Second Sister-in-law withdrew her gossipy gaze. "That's true. Your family is headed by Meng San. He's a quiet person, so it's hard for him to argue. But that's the kind of thing that's most taboo between husband and wife."
"Why?"
“There shouldn’t be any grudges between husband and wife. Like Meng Er and me, we sometimes argue, but we just let it go afterward. And men, you can just say a few nice words and it’ll be fine. You can’t let things cool off. If you keep ignoring each other, the relationship will really fade. You’ll be living in the same house, seeing each other all the time, but you’ll be like strangers. How can that be good?”
Second Sister-in-law slapped her forehead, as if remembering something, "Oh right, wasn't it you who sold my Meng Er the nourishing soup last time?"
Ah Mian was confused. "Yeah, Second Brother is patronizing my business."
"Alright, alright, come here, stick your ear out, I'll tell you a way for couples to make up after a fight."
Amian looked at her with a puzzled expression, and for some reason felt that her second sister-in-law's smile had a hint of gritted teeth.
"Just do as I say, don't make a single mistake..."
As A-Mian listened, she carefully memorized the information.
After finishing her sentence, Second Sister-in-law patted A-Mian's shoulder with satisfaction and took Little Sugar Cake home.
On a dark and windy night, Meng Chijian rushed to finish a batch of stockpiled goods at the blacksmith's shop and didn't return until very late.
He ate some of the food left for him in the dark, washed up, and then lay down to sleep.
This sleep was so deep and dark—
However, before dawn, Meng Chijian blinked, about to move, when he discovered that his hands were tied up with hemp rope.
As soon as A-Mian tied his hands, she peeked at him and saw that Meng Chijian was still fast asleep, so she breathed a sigh of relief.
So she picked up another rope that she had prepared beforehand and continued to tie the man's feet as well.
After making sure everything was tied tightly, she moved on to the next step. "Hmm... I don't have any gauze, but regular cloth should work, right?"
She found a piece of cloth and began to painstakingly try to cover Meng Chijian's eyes.
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