Chapter 270: Reminiscing with Ex-husband
After the Lantern Festival, the streets became lively.
Lu Qiniang went to the pork stall first.
The butcher was familiar with her. When they met, he asked her about Xiao Yan and advised her to relax, saying that the person would be released eventually.
"Yeah, it must be fine." Lu Qiniang also said, "Give me three taels of pork belly."
"Three taels?" The butcher thought he had misheard.
Seeing Lu Qiniang nod, he asked worriedly, "Did all the family money go to rescue people? Qi Niang, although you are anxious, don't spend money recklessly. There are many people who are scammers. Two years ago, my brother-in-law was arrested. My family spent dozens of taels of silver to rescue him, but in the end he was released on his own."
If you don't experience this kind of thing, you won't know how anxious it is.
When one is desperate, he will try any possible means and give money to others without any hesitation.
"Yes, I know. I didn't spend any money, so I just waited. It's just three taels, enough to feed the dog." Lu Qinniang said, "Dogs have a picky palate and need to eat fresh food. I still have a lot of frozen meat I bought before the New Year, and I haven't finished it yet."
"Your life has improved now. Even dogs can eat meat."
The butcher cut her a small piece of pork belly and weighed it on the scale for her to see. "It's 323, tall."
"Okay."
Lu Qiniang gave the money, put the meat in the basket, and continued walking forward.
The butcher's wife said to the butcher, "You still praise Qi Niang every day. Look, her husband is locked up, and she doesn't care about anything else. She is still thinking about buying meat to feed the dog. If you go to jail, I-"
The butcher was so angry that he wanted to hit her, "You unlucky woman, you are expecting me to be good in the first month of the year."
Then Lu Qiniang went to the dock again with her basket.
There weren't many people on the pier, only a few scattered around, with three or five small stalls selling fish.
Most of these fish are caught by breaking the ice.
Lu Qiniang looked over and chose a stall of two siblings who were about eleven or twelve years old.
There was a small pile of crucian carps on the stall, which were no bigger than a palm and weighed only two or three pounds in total.
"How much is the crucian carp?" Lu Qiniang asked as she squatted down and picked up some.
"If you want all of these, ten cents?" the boy said with a red face.
"Okay, I'll take it then." Lu Qiniang said. "Where are the adults in your family? Why are you two selling fish here in the cold weather?"
These fish are normally more expensive.
Just as the boy was about to speak, he was pulled by the girl next to him.
The girl's voice was crisp, "My parents went to work, and we were bored at home. We had nothing to do during the first month of the lunar year, so we went out fishing."
"Be careful not to fall into the ice hole. Here—" Lu Qiniang counted out fifteen coins, "I'll give you five more coins to buy some buns. Remember, next time you can sell them for twelve coins."
"Thank you, auntie." The girl said happily.
Lu Qiniang picked up the fish and went on to buy other things.
After buying everything, Lu Qiniang went straight to the Chaoguan Yamen.
When she saw Sun Shun, she said, "Zhang Heyao said that when I want to see him, I will come to you."
She didn't come in, but just sat at the door.
Sun Shun said with some embarrassment: "Abandoned Mother, I'm afraid it won't be very good these days."
"Why not? He said, 'If I have any problems, I can come to you anytime.' Why is it that if there is something, it's not possible? I won't come if there is nothing, but I can't come if there is something. Is he talking nonsense?"
"Abandoned Mother, don't be angry." Sun Shun said, "Come in and talk, come in and talk."
"I bought fish and meat. Don't make your house dirty. How about this? Send someone to take it to the kitchen for me."
Sun Shun didn't understand what she was going to do, but he still did what she said.
Lu Qinniang cleaned the soles of her shoes outside before entering the house.
"You don't know, but Master Zhang has been reconciling the accounts these past few days. The Ministry of Revenue, after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, has to calculate all the income and expenditure for the previous year. They have to calculate how much money each province spent in a year, how much the six ministries spent, how much the imperial harem spent—all of this has to be done accurately, without a single mistake."
"Okay, let him be busy. He's busy and I'm free, so I'll wait for him here. No matter how late he's busy today, I'll wait for him." Lu Qiniang said.
Sun Shun: "Abandoned Mother, please don't be like this. You can ask Master Zhang to do anything, but how will he feel if you ask him to save your current husband? Go back quickly."
He didn't need to think about it to understand that Lu Qinniang's reason for coming today was for Xiao Yan.
"Also, the Ministry of Revenue can't control the affairs of the Imperial Guard. Even if Lord Zhang is willing to help, I'm afraid he's powerless."
"I'm not here to ask for his help, I'm just here to see him." Lu Qiniang said, "You don't have to say so much, just help me convey my message, and I'll thank you."
Sun Shun sighed, "Why are you so stubborn!"
Having said that, he still went there in person to help Lu Qiniang deliver the message.
After Sun Shun came back, he said that Zhang Heyao agreed to come over in the evening.
"Abandoned Mother, how about you go back first? When Master Zhang comes, I'll send someone to call you."
"No, I'm fine. I'll wait here. Shunzi, go ahead and do your thing. Just pretend I'm not here. If you feel uncomfortable, just find me a room to stay in."
"No, no, no, just stay here with me. It's warm here."
There isn't much going on at the Chaoguan Pass right now, after all, the canal isn't busy yet.
Lu Qiniang sat in front of the brazier, staring at the silver frost charcoal in the brazier in a daze, without saying a word.
In the afternoon, she borrowed the kitchen from Sun Shun.
"I'll go cook."
Sun Shun naturally agreed.
In the evening, Sun Shun asked everyone else to go back. He was on duty today and accompanied Lu Qiniang to wait for Zhang Heyao.
Hearing the sound of a carriage outside, Sun Shun said, "It should be here. I'll go out and take a look."
"Okay, I'll go to the kitchen and serve the food." Lu Qiniang said.
Sun Shun never dared to ask what she was busy with in the kitchen, but he had a vague guess.
This moment has confirmed what I thought.
Lu Qiniang really came to cook for Zhang Heyao.
I have to say that Lu Qiniang has learned her lesson - when asking for help, she first reminisces about the past.
When Zhang Heyao came in, Lu Qiniang just came out of the kitchen carrying a casserole and a clay pot.
Milky white crucian carp soup was boiling in the casserole.
Lu Qiniang put the tray on the table and then served a bowl of fish soup.
Seeing Zhang Heyao standing at the door without moving, she said, "Aren't you hungry? Haven't you been busy all day?"
"I'm afraid you'll poison me." Zhang Heyao took off his crane cloak and casually put it on the back of the chair, then walked over.
Behind him, Sun Shun had already closed the door wisely.
Lu Qiniang took a piece of boiled fish bone from the casserole and put it into her mouth. It was so hot that she gasped.
"Hopelessly stupid." Zhang Heyao cursed, rolled up his sleeves and walked to the basin to wash his hands. After drying them, he came over and stirred the milky white crucian carp soup with a spoon.
Lu Qiniang snorted, opened the mouth of the earthenware jar, and mist mixed with the aroma of caramel came out.
Five pieces of glossy braised pork trembled in the pot, two peeled eggs were wrapped in the amber soup, and there were a few shriveled fruits beside them - exactly the same as it was many years ago.
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