After playing with the brick for a while, A-Mian put it in her pocket, intending to return it to Wang Zixuan when she went to the academy the next day.
However, this person did not appear at the academy for several days in a row.
And so the weather gradually turned cold.
The study room was drafty on all sides. When it got so cold that everyone's fingers were stiff and they couldn't even hold a brush, the academy would close for the New Year. This time, everyone could go home to rest and celebrate the New Year, and classes would resume in the spring.
The cold wind was howling, and Ah Mian had already taken out the old hot water bottle. Now she could recognize it; the lid was engraved with the small character "Mian," and the soup bowl was engraved with the character "囍."
Strangely enough, even on the coldest days in the past, A-Mian never felt cold in just a few layers of clothing. This year, as soon as the leaves fell, the wind was biting. She and Meng Jing went to the market and bought a thick cotton coat (120 coins) and cotton shoes (30 coins). Meng Jing was now a young lady with her own savings, but while her old cotton coat was still wearable, her shoes were too small, so she also spent money to buy a new pair.
However, the old cotton shoes couldn't be thrown away. After washing and drying them, they now belong to Tiger, the second sister-in-law's son.
After buying the clothes, A-Mian treated Xiao-Jing to a two-cent stick of malt candy. It was so cold that even the candy was still cool in her stomach.
So they went to eat noodles again.
"We're so lucky! They even have mutton noodles today!" Ah Mian now knows quite a bit about the food stalls in the city. This shop in front of us was the same ice cream shop that was very popular in the summer. In the winter, it has transformed into a place that sells hot soup noodles, roasted sweet potatoes, longan tea, and ginger tea. Customers can also get free hot water if they eat in the shop.
Yellow sheep noodles are beef noodles, which are very rare to find. After all, cattle are an important source of labor for farmers. However, occasionally, cattle that die of old age or fall and sprain their legs will be secretly sold by some farmers to restaurants in the city.
Restaurants also know the rules; they put up signs so that discerning gourmets will naturally know what they're serving.
This bowl of noodles costs twenty-five coins! (Actually, a bowl of ice cream costs the same, but Ah Mian didn't know that.)
But seeing the steaming pot of soup in front of me, my feet still feeling like two ice cubes inside my cotton shoes, and my stomach growling...
"Two bowls of yellow sheep noodles, one with chili, one without."
Ah Mian never dreamed that she would end up living such a life.
Two women sat on either side of a clean wooden table. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the waiter brought a tray and placed noodles in front of them. A-Mian wanted the bowl with chili. Upon closer inspection, she noticed the bowl had a wide rim but a shallow depth. Although the portion size was similar, the customer felt she was getting a good deal.
This was different from the small noodle stall next to the blacksmith's shop. Ah Mian secretly copied it; the beef on the soup was piled high, even making a stingy person like her nod in approval. Only then did she pick up her chopsticks and take a slice of beef with the noodles—
So happy. So happy.
The butter imparts a rich flavor, the noodles are springy and chewy, and the chili peppers tantalize the tongue, bringing a warmth to a hungry stomach like cotton that has been sun-dried in winter...
Ah Mian declared, "This is the best thing I've ever eaten."
After saying that, she kept eating, and finally drank all the soup.
After they finished eating, they each filled their water pouches with hot water, put them in their sleeves, and went home feeling warm.
Not long after leaving the city, the sound of shouts came from afar: "Hey, hey, everyone, let's all work together!"
"What are they doing? Let's go take a look." Ah Mian strolled around to digest her food.
Upon closer inspection, they were men performing corvée labor. At this time of year, many were still wearing only a thin shirt, their calves submerged in the icy river water. Their faces were full of sorrow, their noses red from the cold, while two minor officials with whips stood by, constantly watching to see who was slacking off.
"Second brother is here too..."
Meng Er was a strong, middle-aged man who was assigned to a group to do the work of pounding earth, a job that required a lot of physical exertion to break up solid foundations, but the advantage was that he didn't have to stand in icy water. Not only that, he was also one of the few people who had cotton-padded clothes and a cotton-padded hat.
Meng Jing said, "This must have been prepared by my second sister-in-law."
Why?
"In my second brother's family, my second sister-in-law manages the money."
“Alright.” A-Mian watched for a while, and the two of them were a little down on their way home. The labor of those farmers who were forced to do corvée labor was really too hard, which made the two young women who had just eaten beef noodles feel a little heavy-hearted.
The next day, after waking up, Ah Mian taught the little ones their lessons in the morning, and in the afternoon, an idea suddenly popped into her head.
Previously, when she had her period, she ate soups that were beneficial to a woman's health. What about men? Do they also have these benefits?
She was the type to act on her thoughts immediately, so she ran to the city's pharmacy to ask Doctor Wen for advice.
Wen Qiao was even lazier than usual in the winter, and she was somewhat shocked as she listened: "You... you want to find a recipe to help men nourish their bodies?"
Meng Chijian is only twenty-five years old—this...this is not enough?
There's a saying that a man's fortunes decline day by day after the age of twenty-five. Is that true?
Wen Qiao wiped non-existent cold sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, and slowly and hesitantly confirmed: "It's that kind of stuff that makes men more energetic, strong, and vigorous, cough...?"
"Yes! The more fiery the better!"
Only in this way can the bitterness brought by the biting cold wind and icy river water be dispelled.
Wen Qiao coughed a few times, trying to comfort her younger siblings: "It's not entirely hopeless. Just remember these dishes I told you about: oysters, chicken kidneys, pork kidneys, lamb testicles, and chives..."
Ah Mian nodded repeatedly, mentally devising the menu she would sell at her stall.
Next, I went to the market to ask about prices. Oysters were quite expensive, but the quality was very good in winter. They were large and plump, and cost 200 yuan per pound.
Chicken kidneys are also scarce and troublesome to prepare, yet they are more expensive than chicken meat, costing eighty or ninety coins per pound!
She asked about two ingredients and felt that the cost was too high; she feared the men doing corvée labor wouldn't be able to afford them.
Although she now has a relatively large amount of capital (four taels of silver and two hundred and thirty-one copper coins, and she usually only carries copper coins when she goes out), but...
Should we invest a large sum of money to make this deal this winter?
But there are advantages too. No one else in the city makes this kind of food now, and if the cost increases, fewer people will be able to learn from her.
Ah Mian pondered for a moment, then went to ask about the price of pork kidneys. They were only fifty coins per pound!
The price of sheep penis is even more outrageous, because it is considered to have medicinal value by people at the time, and it costs one tael of silver per pound.
Ah Mian's eyes darted around. She first bought a pound of pork bones (ten coins), twenty coins of pork kidneys, two oysters (one hundred coins), and thirty coins of chicken kidneys. In the end, she tried to bite down but couldn't, and didn't even buy a sheep penis (about three hundred coins).
Full of energy, she excitedly carried her vegetable basket home to cut chives.
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