Aunt Liu secretly surveyed the house.
It is obvious that the head of this household is Meng Chijian, who is carrying a bamboo basket.
This bamboo basket used to be carried by A-Mian. Now, a circle of inward-sloping bamboo strips called "inverted whiskers" has been woven inside, so that fish can swim in but cannot get out.
During the day, they would be placed between the stones in the stream, and retrieved in a couple of days. This way, Ah Mian wouldn't have to spend a single penny to get her favorite fish.
Amian thought that Meng Chijian, who came up with such an idea, was similar to her; both were among the smartest people in the village.
Sure enough, this time he took out a crucian carp about the size of his palm, four or five small fish that he couldn't recognize, a few disoriented shrimp, and about a dozen snails that had been washed down from upstream.
These are all the ingredients used for the food tasting.
Meng Chijian said casually, "These weren't fished out of the river; we bought them in the city."
The matchmaker reacted the fastest, immediately picking out the crucian carp. Aunt Wang wanted to choose the smaller fish and shrimp, but Aunt Liu pushed her aside and snatched the others first.
When it was Aunt Wang's turn, there were only a few snails left, not enough to cook anything.
Ah Mian's job pays 600 coins a month, and once you sign up, you can work for about half a year. If you do well, they say you can work until your baby is one year old.
This price is very appealing to women.
Aunt Wang lived next door. After thinking for a moment, she took the snails to her own house to cook. The other two used A-Mian's stove.
While they were cooking, A-Mian wasn't idle either; she took a brush and helped A-Dou wash up.
Ah Dou is a quiet but indispensable contributor to the family. During the day, he grinds tofu and takes Ah Mian's stall to the city. At night, he also carries the water buckets from the bathroom.
I don't know how long it's been since I leisurely ate grass in the back mountain.
"You don't need to set up a stall for the next few months, so I'll take you out to play a lot." A-Mian patted the donkey's head, feeling inexplicably sad. They had clearly agreed that the donkey wouldn't have to work every day, otherwise it would get sick from exhaustion like its mother.
As a result, he was very busy every day after leaving the academy. He always felt that he would lose a lot of copper coins if he missed setting up his stall for a day. Even when he had a rare day off, he would always wander around the city with Meng Chijian and never took Adou to the foot of the mountain.
Will you blame me?
Adou gently rubbed its big head against Amian's palm, not understanding what Amian was saying.
But with some kind of intuition, it had already sensed that the person in front of it seemed to be pregnant with new cubs. So it didn't shake its head around as much as it used to when it played around with A-Mian.
"Ah Dou, you're so smart, you know everything. After dinner, I'll take you to eat some delicious grass..."
Meanwhile, Aunt Liu, who was in the kitchen, wiped the sweat from her brow and sneaked into the front yard.
"Oh, you're here! I was just about to ask you that. I wonder what kind of food A-Mian likes." After a few pleasantries, Aunt Liu got down to business. "Brother Meng, I've been through this before, so I'll be frank with you!"
Meng Chijian's expression remained indifferent.
“She’s always ordering you around and doesn’t care about you at all. It’s not easy for you to earn money outside, and she always asks for 600 coins a month. How can you know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt if you’re not in charge of the household? I only need 400 coins a month.”
"The pancake stall on that food street is run by a husband and wife. The young woman is about to give birth and she is still working at the stall."
Aunt Liu's words came from the bottom of her heart; what man's family wouldn't appreciate such words?
"I haven't even said these words yet, what kind of airs are you putting on?" Before Meng Chijian could speak, Meng's mother stormed out from the inner room. "Meng San, we don't need a troublemaker like you in our family. You can ruin even the best family!"
Aunt Liu had always assumed that Ah Mian's mother-in-law was bedridden, which was why Ah Mian was so arrogant. Now, her tone softened, and she stammered, "Auntie, I was just saying what was fair, I felt sorry for your son..."
"I don't want you to feel sorry for me! Stop acting crazy here. My son and daughter-in-law have always had a good relationship. Do you need to nag me?" At the village entrance, Meng's mother hated women who tried to sow discord in her family. Besides, even if these words were to be spoken, it was not up to an outsider to say them.
Aunt Liu slapped her thigh in exasperation, "Oh dear, oh dear, Auntie, how can you not understand my heart?"
She thought it was really strange; Mencius' mother was also a mother of a son, so why did she behave so strangely?
Meng Chijian said, "You were originally Ah Mian's helper at her stall. Why can't you see how hard Ah Mian works? She has to get up at the crack of dawn to grind tofu and then take it to the city to sell. She's exposed to the wind and sun. Is that an easy thing? If Ah Mian were a man and I were a woman, you would probably find it jarring to see me in the shop, even though I often have some free time. It would be inconsiderate of Ah Mian."
An anger flared up in Aunt Liu's chest again: "I spoke up for you, and you call me a vengeful person?!"
Mencius' mother slammed her cane down, trembling with anger. "What 'you'? A-Mian and we have been family for a long time! Even now, you still say such things? Do you really think everyone else is a fool?"
"I misspoke, please just pretend I didn't! I'm a straightforward person, I say what I think—"
Meng Chijian pointed to the door, "Alright, you don't need to try anymore. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have let you come in the first place."
Aunt Liu's legs went weak, and she felt utterly helpless. "How could this happen... I... I have to finish cooking..."
"What are you still doing, saying all this unpleasant stuff?" The matchmaker in the kitchen had already noticed the commotion. "Besides, your fish is already burnt!"
"You! I was only gone for a short while, and you secretly started the fire so big, were you trying to make a fool of me?"
Aunt Liu hunched over, her eyes sweeping over everyone. Being criticized by everyone and with no one speaking up for her made her words even more vicious. "Fine, you don't want me to be chosen, I won't let you have your way!" With that, she grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it into the matchmaker's crucian carp soup.
"You're a crazy woman!" The matchmaker grabbed her hair, and Liu Da Niang, not to be outdone, grabbed the matchmaker's face, and the two of them started fighting on the spot!
When A-Mian heard the commotion, she went to the front yard and was stunned to see two old women fighting.
"...I meant comparing cooking skills, not martial arts skills..."
However, once the two started fighting, they became extremely fierce, and neither was willing to stop first.
Fearing that he might accidentally hurt A-Mian, Meng Chijian quickly stepped in front of her, saying, "Be careful."
As Liu Da Niang fought, she grew exhausted and disheveled, then turned and ran. However, the matchmaker grabbed her hair tightly and kicked her without hesitation.
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