Chapter 137 Donation
Orange came and brought back fried rice cakes, which are actually the fried noodles that modern people often eat. Mei Niang asked Mother Cai to spread the rice paste thicker when steaming the rice noodles. After steaming and cooling, cut into rectangles two fingers wide. They can be put into hot pot or fried. If you change to rice cakes steamed with glutinous rice, it becomes fried rice cakes.
The snow-white rice noodles were stir-fried with tomato sauce, lean pork, carrots, coriander, green onion and garlic, and served with a few leaves of green lettuce. It was simple and delicious. When Mei Niang saw Cheng Er bring out a few side dishes, she smiled and said that there was no need for side dishes for this because it had chili in it.
Cheng Er smiled and replied to her grandmother, “There is no chili in this fried rice cake, so Madam Cai specially cut some spicy side dishes.”
“Why not just put the chili in?”
"Mr. Hou doesn't eat chili peppers!"
“…”
Mei Niang had nothing to say. Since Xu Junying lived here, he would have a share of the meals from now on.
Ask Cheng'er, "What about you guys? Cuixi and Cuisi must be hungry too."
Cheng'er said that Madam Cai had someone else make it, Ping'er and Granny Yan were waiting in the back, I took the fried rice cakes for Lord Hou and Grandma first!"
Xu Junying came out of the inner room, heard Cheng'er's words, and saw a bowl of fresh and bright food on the table. He couldn't help but relax his brows and said with a smile, "I'm really hungry now. This is fried rice cake? I've heard of fried rice popcorn and fried rice candy, but I've never heard of fried rice cake!"
Cui Xi has already arranged the dishes and chopsticks. Mei Niang said it is still hot. Lord Hou, please have a try!"
Then he said to Cui Xi, "You guys go down first, we'll come back later."
Ping'er will probably be back soon. The fried rice cake won't taste good if it's cold.
Cui Xi took Cui Lian, Cui Si and Cheng'er away. Xu Junying and Mei Niang sat opposite each other at the round table. Xu Junying imitated Mei Niang, taking chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other, and put two pieces of fried rice cakes into the bowl. After taking a bite, Xu Junying found that the food was fresh, sweet, soft and chewy, with a unique flavor. Xu Junying looked up at Mei Niang and thought that she was a good eater. She was the first to try the new and delicious food. If other courtyards were smart, they would just follow the Qinghua Courtyard's style when they went to the kitchen to order food and they would be able to eat a lot.
Mei Niang saw Xu Junying staring at her, so she asked, "Does Master Hou want to tell me something?"
Xu Junying smiled... You eat very slowly."
"Eat slowly, you're not going anywhere."
Mei Niang used a spoon to scoop rice cakes into the bowl, thought for a moment, and asked Xu Junying, "Do you want more? I'll serve you some?"
Xu Junying said I only took two bites and you don’t want it anymore? "
Mei Niang smiled, scooped a spoonful of rice cake, a spoonful of shredded pork, and filled his bowl. In fact, it is best to eat with your hands, so you can eat whenever you want. Lord Hou’s taste is very different from mine, and I thought you might not like this! "
"I told you, I'm not picky about food!"
Mei Niang put down the spoon and asked, "How long will you stay here?"
Xu Junying saw that her east courtyard needed to be renovated. It was the rainiest time of spring, so she couldn't move. She had to stay in the upper room for a while. "I usually go out early and come back late, so I'm not often at home. It doesn't bother you. You can live as usual. But you and the maidservant can go into the study room over there, but no one else can go in!"
"No, we won't go in if nothing happens."
Mei Niang smiled and said that this was also a blessing from heaven. Lord Hou should still use this place as his new home. The old lady said it was a good idea. There is a garden on the right side of Tsinghua Courtyard. There is a Shiqu Pavilion in the garden. I can live there. I like the strange-shaped stones there. They are piled together to form a small hill. "
“There is a cave in the mountain. Have you gone in? No jumping.
"No, it's called a small hill, but it's actually quite big. Although those caves are wonderful and interesting, I didn't dare to go deep into them for fear that I couldn't get out."
Xu Junying smiled and said, "Fortunately you are smart. If you go in, it will be difficult to find the way out. Several men in our family have lost their way there. Shiquxuan was named by my grandfather. The strange stones in the yard were left by an ancestor. The ancestor liked strange stones and moved and piled up all the stones he could find. Over time, a mountain of strange stones was formed. You can read and play in that yard, but you are not allowed to live there!"
"for?"
"What the alchemist has seen is not suitable for human habitation!"
Tsk! Superstition!
Mei Niang also said that we can’t just live here like this…”
"We are just living together?" Xu Junying was not satisfied with this statement. We are husband and wife, living in the same room, it is reasonable!"
"That's not true!" Mei Niang didn't refute him, but agreed with him. I'm just worried that one day, if we have to move in a hurry, it will be a mess. So let's talk about it first, reserve one or two places, and no matter who moves out, it's better than having no preparation at all!"
Xu Junying raised his eyes and found that Mei Niang was smiling particularly seductively. The East Courtyard was leaking, so it didn't matter if she didn't need it. There would be no concubine this year. I had someone tidy up the Jingyuan a long time ago. It was brand new inside, with all the furniture, curtains and hangings. The old lady said that I could move in anytime. As for this upper room, the Queen Mother would order it, and we could put on red and colorful decorations and welcome the new couple that day!"
Xu Junying paused, put down his chopsticks, and said calmly, "I am a family man, and the backyard cannot be without a housewife for a day. Before the newcomer comes in, you have to preside over Qinghua Courtyard and cannot go anywhere. Besides, Heng'er is not wanted yet. If you leave Qinghua Courtyard too early, Heng'er will be even less wanted! Don't you want Heng'er?"
"Heng'er! Don't want Heng'er..."
Mei Niang sighed, her eyes darkened, her smile faded, and she stood up and walked towards the inner room. Xu Junying stared at her graceful back in a daze, walked to the partition and turned back, her pair of starry eyes as bright as before, flashing with brilliance:
"It's impossible not to have Heng'er! He is mine, I must raise him myself!"
The beaded curtain swayed slightly, and the person had disappeared into the gauze curtain. Xu Junying withdrew his gaze, let out a long breath, smiled and shook his head, picked up the chopsticks, and concentrated on the rice cake. After a while, a large bowl of rice cake was eaten up.
Cuisi and Cheng'er came in to clean up the dishes, Cuilian brought wet tea for Hou Ye to rinse his mouth, Cuixi went in to make the bed, Mei Niang said a few words to her, Cuixi came out and took a lamp in, Xu Junying asked, "Is grandma going to sleep? She just had her meal."
Cui Xi smiled and said that grandma said she was sleepy, but she didn’t go to sleep right away and just lay down to read a book.
Xu Junying didn't say anything and went into the inner room, then went back to the next room to read. Cui Lian brought in a pot of tea, and as Wang Mama had instructed, she warmed another pot on the stove. Lord Hou lived in the upper room, so it was not convenient to keep anyone to accompany him overnight, so several maids tidied the room, turned off the lights, closed the door, and left.
Mei Niang couldn't keep her eyes open after reading for a while. She didn't sleep well last night and didn't take a nap at noon. She would be lying if she didn't feel sleepy. She got up, turned off the lights, crawled into the quilt, and fell asleep soon.
Still thinking the same thing, she was not on guard against Xu Junying. If he treated her as Qin Mei Niang, then she was Lao Qi's person, a shared wife? Men in ancient times should have this knot in their hearts; if he treated her as Cen Mei Mei, then he would not be afraid, he might dare to pretend to hold her hands and hug her shoulders in front of others, but he would not do such things as forcing her to have sex.
Go to bed early and sleep well, so you won't feel so painful when you wake up in the morning. Mei Niang was awakened by Cui Xi, and she quickly got up to wash, dress and change her clothes. When she came out, she saw breakfast on the table, so she sat down to eat. Cui Xi said that Hou Ye got up early and went out, so she brought him breakfast, and she also brought grandma's breakfast and put it in the hot pot to warm it up. "
Mei Niang nodded and said, "That's fine. I'll have breakfast at home before going to Qiuhua Courtyard. I won't bother them anymore!"
After breakfast, I went to Qiuhua Courtyard. I hadn't seen Heng'er for a day, so the little guy would pretend to be angry. I just heard him screaming loudly in the corridor. When he saw Mei Niang coming, he shrank into the arms of his nanny, lowered his eyes and ignored her. Mei Niang found him very interesting, so she wanted to tease him even more. She touched his little nose with her finger. He dodged left and right, and finally couldn't avoid it anymore. He finally jumped with a giggle. The mother and son played in the corridor for a long time and were very happy. When Zheng woke up, Mei Niang took Heng'er in to pay her respects. Zheng's habit was to sit on the head of the bed for half an hour before getting out of bed after waking up, so Mei Niang thought it was much easier to pay her respects. She didn't need to help her wash her face and comb her hair. She could just say a few nice words and come out. Old Mrs. Xu was different. She wanted many granddaughters-in-law to surround her, wipe her face, wash her hands and comb her hair, and it took her a long time to choose a dress. She knew how to enjoy it. It must be very good to be surrounded by stars and grandchildren.
Heng'er no longer cried about separation. He kissed Mei Niang on the cheek obediently and waved his hand, allowing Mei Niang to leave with peace of mind.
Went to Ziyun Hall and sat down. The maids waited for Cuixi to serve tea. They watched the eldest lady drink a few sips before they came forward. They asked and answered questions again, handed over the cards, re-dealt the cards, and asked for permission to exchange the slips. Mei Niang was busy but not chaotic in doing these daily "work". She was discussing with Chen Mama, who was in charge of grain management, about donating spring grain in response to the government's request. Suddenly, she saw Bai Jingyu and her maid Xiangyu walking in. She was stunned for a moment and was about to stand up to greet them. Bai Jingyu hurriedly walked a few steps and came to the front to bow and greet her. "Sister-in-law, you are busy, please sit down. I am just passing by and came to see you!"
Mei Niang smiled and said, "It's good to be here! Sit down first. I'll be free after talking to Mother Chen about this matter. Cui Xi, watch the tea!"
Bai Jingyu sat aside, took the fragrant tea handed to him by Cui Xi with a smile, took a sip and put it on the table.
Mother Chen said that the official document only said that families with farms should donate some, and in previous years our mansion also donated this much, no matter what kind of rice or grain, it was all acceptable. In places affected by disasters and no harvest, the victims should chant the Buddha's name as long as they have a bite to eat, especially at this time of year, and they can't be picky! "
Mei Niang said that we can't give people the moldy grain from the previous year! In fact, our mansion has a document to exempt various taxes. Since we want to donate and have a good reputation, we must do it well and live up to our conscience. Our mansion has many farms, and the surplus grain every year is stored in the warehouse. It is moldy and is not released. Now no one can eat it, so we give it to the victims. Who taught you to do this immoral thing?"
Mother Chen glanced at Bai Jingyu unconsciously, lowered her head and said nothing. Bai Jingyu couldn't sit still anymore, and hurriedly smiled and said that this matter had always been based on the method of the previous generation, saying that there must be no shortage of grain in the warehouse, and the surplus grain every year was only moved to another warehouse for storage, in case there was a natural disaster that year, so that the family could use it. The matter of donating grain was decided by the second master, and he was even rewarded at the time... It was said that only the grain older than the year before last should be donated! "
Mei Niang lowered her eyes and thought for a moment. The wealthy families had a very strong sense of self-preservation. Even if they were extremely wealthy, they were unwilling to share some of their wealth. Perhaps this was a common practice in this dynasty, and it would be difficult to change them.
Then he said to Bai Jingyu that maybe the elders had their considerations, or maybe they used a very good way to preserve grains in the past, so that they wouldn't get moldy or worms. Just now, Mother Chen took some grains from the year before last, and the corns got worms and moldy. How could she eat them? Mother Chen, it must be because you didn't manage them well, and the grains went bad!"
Mother Chen's face was wrinkled like a **. Damn the servants! These grains were fine two years ago, but they started to grow worms last year."
Mei Niang said to put this matter aside for the time being, and I will go back to the first wife and see what to do, and then we will talk about it!"
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