The days passed slowly, until the winter solstice. Xu Zhi made dumplings with cabbage, pork, and scallion filling. After eating dumplings during the day, it snowed heavily that night. The snowflakes fluttered and swayed, truly like goose feather snow.
The snow falls silently; only the crisp sound of the snow breaking bare branches reminds one that it is still snowing heavily outside.
The house in the northwest was very warm. The colder it got, the more the kang (heated brick bed) in the house burned brightly. Xu Zhi lay on the warm kang and slept soundly until early morning.
The sun after the snow looked red, like a freshly cracked egg yolk, hanging far in the eastern sky. People had already started lightly sweeping the snow in the yard. The snow was too thick, so they used a wooden snowplow to push the snow on the ground together, and then used a broom to lightly sweep the yard again.
Xu Zhi was wearing a thick cotton-padded coat, but when she lifted the cotton curtain hanging at the door, she still shivered from the cold. It was really too cold.
Qingmiao and Qingsui were also helping to shovel snow in the yard. When they saw Xu Zhi standing at the door, they quickly said, "Ninth Miss, it's cold outside. You should go inside quickly."
Xu Zhi asked, "Do my parents and my brother still exist?"
Qingmiao said, "Third Master went to the county government office, and Third Madam and the eldest young master went to the backyard to clear the snow from the greenhouse."
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhi didn't even bother to put on a thick cloak anymore. She put her hands in her sleeves and ran to the backyard.
In the backyard, there were not only her mother and brother, but also several guards. These guards were from the Yongning Marquis's mansion. They were sent by the Yongning Marquis before they came. There were four of them in total, and they were all guards who had been trained in the mansion since childhood.
Actually, the four guards were initially somewhat disappointed to be sent to this remote border town with the Third Master, who was not particularly favored in the mansion. Everyone wanted to follow a powerful and capable master, but since the Marquis of Yongning had given the order, the four of them had no choice but to come along.
I thought things wouldn't be very good here, at least the conditions here aren't as good as in the capital. Before I left, I heard that the main food here is noodles, and they're dry and hard noodles at that. Who knew that Third Master and his family would build greenhouses to grow vegetables and buy farmland in this desolate place? Not only do they have fresh vegetables to eat, but they also have fresh rice that is only available in the south.
The four men had witnessed what the Third Master's family had done over the past few years. After they came to live with them, Zhang Zhaoci gave them an extra salary. Now, these four men not only received salaries from the Marquis's mansion, but also received an additional salary from Zhang Zhaoci, which was even more generous than the Marquis's mansion's. Therefore, whenever the Xu family had any problems, these four men would be very proactive in protecting them. Whenever Xu Rao went to inspect the area, Zhang Zhaoci went to the General's mansion, or Xu Di went to the estate, someone had to accompany and protect them.
When Xu Zhi arrived, she saw two guards standing on the roof. When Xu Di built the greenhouse, he had torn down the roof and thickened and raised the north wall. He then fixed the thin sheepskin along the north wall, so the north side was higher than the south side. This was to make it easier to clear the snow and to allow rainwater to flow down when it rained.
Xu Di stood below, calling out, "Brother Zhang, Brother Zhang, please be gentle, please be gentle."
The two guards standing above each held a long-handled wooden rake, which was very convenient for pushing snow.
The guard, Brother Zhang, gently pushed with this thing, and the snow fell to the ground with a clatter.
After a while, the two guards finally cleared the snow off the greenhouse. Xu Di kept thanking them and then cleaned the snow off the ground.
She was busy until noon. At noon, Sister He rolled out noodles, made shredded chicken noodles, and added some chili sauce made by Xu Di. The chili sauce contained large chunks of beef, which were soaked in chili oil and had a spicy flavor. Eating a big bowl of noodles with chili sauce in such cold weather was really satisfying.
Xu Rao didn't go home for lunch again. It was snowing heavily, and some houses in the city had collapsed under the weight of the snow. Xu Rao needed to arrange temporary accommodations for them, organize people to help the city residents clear the snow off their roofs, and also clean up the acupoints on the city streets. All the people in the county government office had been sent out. Xu Rao not only had to direct the people, but also had to go around to check on the actual situation. All this work kept her past lunchtime. Zhao Pozi's husband had prepared lunch at the county government office, and anyone who had time could come back to eat and then continue working.
Xu Rao was busy until evening. She asked Zhao Pozi's husband to stew a big pot of mutton and bought a lot of sesame cakes from the sesame cake shop on the street so that everyone could come back and have a hot meal before going home.
After a long day of work, Clerk Li was so tired that he could barely straighten his back. Sitting in a chair, he rubbed his back and said, "My back is like this now that it's getting cold."
Xu Rao said, "My wife knows how to make plasters. I'll go back and have her make you a few plasters. You can wear them and they'll help relieve the pain."
Upon hearing this, Clerk Li said happily, "That's wonderful! I know that Madam Xu's medical skills are very impressive. If I can get Madam Xu's ointment, my back will definitely get much better."
Xu Rao went outside, leaving only County Magistrate Qian and Registrar Li in the room.
The county magistrate, Qian, said sarcastically from the side, "A woman like her shouldn't be staying at home taking care of her husband and children. She's always showing her face in public. And she's supposed to be the wife of a noble family."
Li, the registrar, said, “Lord Qian, you’re wrong to say that. When has Hexi ever only needed women to stay at home and take care of their husbands and children? You’ve seen those women on the city walls before. I think Madam Xu did a great job and set a good example for the women of Hexi.”
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