Chapter 59 Qianjia Village
The sun sets.
In the evening.
Every member of the Jiang family held a bowl of bone noodle soup and sat in the yard, eating heartily.
There is little meat on the bones.
It was cleaned by the butcher.
Zhang Jinlan asked her eldest son to chop the bones into several pieces.
The bone marrow oil inside is boiled together with the bones into soup.
It smells so good.
Bone oil floats on the soup, picking up a chopstick of noodles made of fine flour.
Blow it and then swallow it in one gulp.
The fragrance goes straight to the depths of the soul.
Just like noon.
Everyone ate noodles without saying a word.
Jiang Fubao ate too much at noon, and the child had trouble digesting it, so she only ate half a bowl of noodles at night.
After finishing her meal and taking a short rest, she took the chicken feather shuttlecock that her grandmother made for her.
Playing in the yard.
Wild pheasant feathers are very beautiful.
It is colorful under the reflection of the sunset.
She played until dark and then went back to the house to lie down.
After her brothers fell asleep, she put the 120 eggs in the space into the chicken nest.
He added some more rice into the rice jar.
After finishing everything, she went back to her room to sleep.
When I woke up, it was bright daylight.
The aroma of waffles wafted out of the kitchen and seeped in through the gap in the door.
Jiang Fubao's stomach immediately started to rumble.
I consumed too much energy playing shuttlecock last night.
In fact, she felt hungry in the second half of the night.
"Grandma, I'm awake--" Jiang Fubao shouted loudly when he came to the yard.
"Okay, grandma will pour you some hot water."
Zhang Jinlan responded quickly.
She came out with hot water and waited for her granddaughter to brush her teeth before she picked up the linen cloth and washed her face.
"hiss--"
"Grandma, this cloth hurts my face so much when I wash it. I want to use a softer cloth to wash my face tomorrow."
Now that the road is clear, she plans to take out the things in the space step by step.
Her face was so painful from washing with the torn sackcloth that she couldn't bear it any longer.
"Okay, grandma, cut a piece of coarse cloth and use it to wash your face tomorrow." Zhang Jinlan didn't react at first.
"No rough cloth, but soft cloth! There will be some tomorrow."
Jiang Fubao smiled mysteriously.
"Okay, let's use Fubao's cloth to wash our faces tomorrow."
Zhang Jinlan was stunned at first, then she reacted.
I'm afraid the immortals are going to send cloth.
I don't know what kind of fabric it is, silk or satin?
"Oh, and there's also a toothbrush. This willow branch brush makes my mouth uncomfortable. I need a toothbrush tomorrow, too."
Looking at the willow branches on the ground, Jiang Fubao added another sentence.
"Okay~" Zhang Jinlan smiled indulgently.
She wrung out the sackcloth and hung it back on the rope.
I went to get breakfast for my granddaughter.
This morning I had shepherd's purse and egg pancakes. The shepherd's purse was left over from yesterday. It was a little wilted after being left overnight, but it was still edible. The eggs were sent by the immortals today, about a hundred of them.
It just so happened that the eldest son was going to town, so he was asked to take a hundred eggs to sell.
"Grandma, when are we going to the mountains to pick wild vegetables?"
After breakfast, I sat for a long time but grandma didn’t come out.
Jiang Fubao urged.
"Grandma is not going to the mountain today. She is going to Qianjia Village to find a matchmaker to find a wife for your eldest brother. Your eldest aunt is coming with her. Fubao, do you want to go to the mountain with your mother and second aunt to pick wild vegetables, or go to Qianjia Village with Grandma?"
Zhang Jinlan found a small basket and put five eggs in it.
It looks like he wants to take it to the matchmaker.
"Fubao wants to be with grandma."
What’s so fun about digging wild vegetables? It’s more fun to explore new places.
"Okay, let's go, Lao Er's family, be careful with Yan Zi, and just go to the place where we went yesterday. Don't go too deep."
Zhang Jinlan holds her granddaughter's hand.
He didn't forget to turn around and give another instruction.
"Got it, mom. We'll get down the mountain right away after we finish digging. Don't worry."
Sun Pingmei and Zhang Yanzi each carried a bamboo basket.
The five people left in different directions.
Qianjia Village is a little farther than Sunjia Village.
Jiang Fubao walked away for a while, and then was held by his aunt and grandmother in turn.
It took more than half an hour to reach the entrance of Qianjia Village.
According to the rich-poor ranking, Qianjia Village is richer than Sunjia Village and Zhoujia Village.
Walk in from the village entrance.
As expected, each family’s house is different from those in Jiangjia Village.
Occasionally you can see a few bluestone houses.
The villagers passing by in the village had fewer patches on their clothes than grandma and mother.
There were even a few who wore coarse cloth as outer garments.
Jiang Fubao followed his grandmother and aunt's footsteps and walked to the end of the village.
The three of them stopped outside a house.
The outer walls of this house are all made of bluestone bricks.
You can tell at first glance that it’s a wealthy family.
"Knock knock knock--" Zhang Jinlan knocked on the door with the iron ring on the door.
"Coming——" After a while, the door opened from the inside.
A younger woman asked, "Who are you?"
"I'll find a matchmaker and ask my eldest grandson to meet someone when he's old enough."
Zhang Jinlan answered truthfully.
"Okay, come in, Mom~ Someone is here to matchmake with you——"
The woman moved aside to let the three men in, then turned around and shouted towards the main room.
The threshold of the house was more than twice as high as that of the Jiang family's. Jiang Fubao was too short, so she was carried in by her aunt.
Then, I saw the house inside.
Jiang Fubao was dumbfounded.
The bluestone brick wall outside looks grand.
The house inside was actually a mud house!
So it's just the bright appearance?
What is the difference between this and building five or six-story villas in modern rural areas, with the exterior covered with expensive tiles but the interior still unfinished?
It turns out that there were also face-saving projects in ancient times.
"Isn't this Zhang's daughter? Why are you here?"
Just as Jiang Fubao was exclaiming.
An old woman who was a few years older than Grandma came out briskly.
"Matchmaker Qian, it's been a long time since we last met. My eldest grandson is already fifteen years old, so I need your help to find him a good girl. The hen at home just laid eggs, so I'll bring you a few to try."
When she entered the house, Zhang Jinlan did not hand the eggs to the young woman. Instead, she took them to the yard and handed them to the matchmaker personally.
Just so she can see it.
Look, Zhang Jinlan brought a gift.
Matchmaker Qian's mouth suddenly widened.
"You are so polite. Just come. What gift do you want? We are old acquaintances, so I will naturally choose a good one for you. Come in and sit down. Bai, go to the kitchen and get two glasses of water. Oh, there is also a baby, so get three glasses."
"Yes, mother."
Bai lowered her head and responded submissively.
After entering the main room.
Everyone sat down.
Jiang Fubao twisted his head and looked around.
The house is similar to the Jiang family's.
The floor was muddy, there was an old round wooden table, and the chair legs were of different lengths.
It seems that all the money from the matchmaker's family was used to build the wall.
"Your grandson is fifteen? He is old enough. What kind of man do you want to find? But let me tell you in advance, Zhang Village is different from Jiang Village. Not many families are willing to marry their daughters to Jiang Village. You know the situation well. Either be generous and give more gifts, or look for a family with a different background. Don't blame me for being too clear."
Matchmaker Qian is a cheerful person.