It is very cold in the north in winter. No one goes out in such a cold weather, and people stay at home to spend the winter.
Jiang Yuzhu's business in the north is all managed by Chongyang, and she only needs to take a look at the account books and reconcile the accounts.
Now that the family has hired a new servant, the trivial chores have been handed over to Manager Gong, and Jiang Yuzhu is happy to have some free time.
Inside the room, a charcoal fire had been lit and a grill had been set up, with a large table filled with various meat skewers.
Yan Lin followed them around to eat and drink for free, and took the initiative to help more than once.
After about half a minute, the mutton, which was three lean and one fat, began to sizzle with oil, and the meat gradually turned into a light golden color.
Everyone gathered around the fire, talking and laughing.
Gong Huai really didn't expect that he could find such a good master even though he was exiled to the north as a criminal slave.
"Then I will come to entertain Madam and sing a little southern tune."
After Gong Huai started singing, the room fell into silence.
Hongli didn't understand the southern dialect, but that didn't stop her from appreciating it. She said affirmatively, "I didn't realize that Manager Gong's ditty was so beautiful."
One of the maids, who was renamed Hongying, said, "That's right, Manager Gong once learned this in a theatre troupe."
Gong Huai's family was poor, so his parents sent him to a drama troupe to learn the art when he was a few years old. Unfortunately, the troupe's owner died and the troupe disbanded.
After many twists and turns, Gong Huai finally sold himself into the palace and worked his way up from a servant to a manager.
After the song was over, everyone was talking and laughing, and the atmosphere was lively.
Jiang Huaiqing ate the mutton skewers and drank a few sips of wine, and felt dizzy.
"Second brother, what are your plans for marriage with the princess?"
Jiang Yuzhu had inquired and found out that the marriage customs in the north were different from those in the capital and there were not too many red tape.
Especially in the camp north of the city, everything is kept simple.
Despite this, the necessary pomp and circumstance must be maintained.
Holding the 200,000 taels of silver given by her father Jiang Fulu, Jiang Yuzhu suggested, "How about we schedule it for New Year's Eve and contract to provide the New Year's Eve dinner for all the soldiers?"
"Then I'm afraid it's too late to write a letter to my parents now."
Jiang Huaiqing thought the proposal was good, but the problem was that he didn't have that much spare money.
There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the camp north of the city. The New Year's Eve dinner includes fish and meat, fine flour buns to fill your stomach, plus wine, cakes and fruits. A rough estimate shows that it will cost at least tens of thousands of taels.
The Jiang family did not split up, so Jiang Huaiqing spent a large sum of money to at least let his parents know.
Jiang Yuzhu understood her second brother's concerns and winked mysteriously, "Don't worry about the money."
The soldiers are all under the princess's command, so it is not an exaggeration to say that they are her family.
The money that my father Jiang Fulu prepared was originally for military supplies for the soldiers. By spending the money on the right things under the pretext of a wedding banquet, the soldiers will also remember the Jiang family's kindness.
"The princess is injured. Second brother, please take good care of her. Leave the shopping to me."
Jiang Yuzhu took on a lot of responsibilities. There was still more than a month left, and many things were not in short supply in the border town, so they had to be allocated from surrounding cities.
In a blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month and the water in the border town turned into ice.
After just a few days of changing masters, the servants ate and drank every day, and their originally dry and yellow cheeks became plump.
It happened to be the border town fair, and it was already crowded at dawn.
Jiang Yuzhu walked in the middle, with Huang Dali and Huang Xiaomei as her right-hand men, helping her to block the flow of people, and the rest of the servants followed closely behind.
"I have never seen so many people in the border town!"
As soon as Hongli entered the crowd, she was bumped by a sturdy woman and staggered. She tilted her body and was straightened by an aunt next to her.
My aunt said, "There are so many people that there is no place to stand. I am not afraid of falling."
There were officials maintaining order and the team moved slowly.
The market is located on a street that is narrow at both ends and wide in the middle. When a large number of people enter the shops on both sides, the stalls will not be so crowded.
"Freshly baked sesame cakes, scallion pancakes, and salt and pepper pancakes, one penny each!"
"Big steamed buns made of fine white flour, three for two cents!"
"Big meat buns, filled with meat filling, two cents each!"
The group passed by a stall selling staple food. The stall owner opened the big steamer, and immediately hot steam mixed with the aroma of meat wafted out, causing many people to sniff at the same time.
In the north, the New Year begins in the twelfth lunar month.
Peddlers carrying loads on their shoulders were walking around in the market, most of them selling popular goods from the south.
There were bath beans for washing face and mouth, ointment for women to apply to prevent frostbite, red hairbands, silk flowers, scented powder, purses, sachets and handkerchiefs, and dozens of other items.
The little kid rode on his parents' necks, looking around with curiosity.
When I saw the man selling candied haws, I immediately swallowed my saliva excitedly.
Throughout the year, ordinary people tighten their belts to make ends meet. Even the poorest families will spend some meat to make dumplings during the New Year.
There are some foods that we are reluctant to buy on ordinary days. Even the most stingy people will become generous at the end of the year just to have a prosperous year.
"Ma'am, do you like candied haws?"
Huang Xiaomei touched the copper coins given by the lady and always wanted to give something back.
Under the sun, the red hawthorns are wrapped in icing sugar, crystal clear and sprinkled with sesame seeds, which is appetizing.
The vendor made several styles, including candied haws with red bean paste in the middle, which was sweet and sour and delicious.
"My candied haws are the most expensive, three cents a string!"
A snotty kid riding on a man's shoulders showed off a candied haws to Jiang Yuzhu. He took a bite, squinted his eyes, and said with satisfaction, "It's so delicious and sweet!"
Jiang Yuzhu was embarrassed and wanted to refuse Huang Xiaomei, but she immediately changed her tone and said, "Eat, let's all eat! I'll have two skewers, you guys can help yourself, all you can eat!"
Hongli handed the purse to Huang Xiaomei, and Huang Xiaomei bought more than twenty skewers at once.
The peddler smiled when he saw it was a big deal.
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