"Third brother's wife, our third brother is coming back today. Do you think we should go and buy some tofu?"
"Your dad said he's going to catch a fish in the East River ditch today. We'll cook the fish with tofu then, okay?"
Grandma Huang is becoming increasingly clingy, wanting Lin Xue's opinion on everything.
Lin Xue realized that this family didn't have much of their own opinions.
In other words, Huang Laoda (eldest son) has a bit of a business mind, Huang Dehai (son) only knows how to study, and the Huang family elders, Huang Degui and Huang Laoda (eldest son) have absolutely no opinions of their own.
No wonder the original owner was so bossy towards them. Apart from the work in the fields, this family really couldn't make any decisions about anything else.
"Mom, why don't you go and buy two pounds of tofu? Do you have enough money?"
Lin Xue put down her needle and thread; she had already embroidered a little over half of the screen.
Don't be fooled by her embroidery of a screen; she doesn't need to do any work all day long. She just stays in the house, sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Actually, this is more tiring than hunting in the mountains.
If you sit in one position for too long, your arms and legs will easily become stiff.
If it weren't for the spiritual energy supporting her, I don't know how those embroiderers managed to persevere!
Lin Xue planned to finish embroidering this piece and then take it out to see the market price. If the money offered wasn't much, she would just go back to hunting in the mountains.
If it weren't for the fear of attracting envy, Lin Xue could hunt as many prey as she wanted on the mountain!
Running freely in the mountains versus sitting stiffly at home, Lin Xue felt the former was more relaxing.
"I have money, I just came to ask your opinion!"
"Third brother's wife, I'm on my way! Five more eggs were laid in the chicken coop this morning. I don't know what's going on, but these old hens have been really productive lately, laying five eggs every single day without fail!"
"Let's just find a small squash and stir-fry it with eggs for lunch!"
"The third brother hasn't tried my stir-fried pumpkin and eggs yet!"
Lin Xue's hearing was incredibly sharp; even as Old Mrs. Huang muttered to herself all the way out of the courtyard, the sound continued to drift over.
Seeing that no one was disturbing her, Lin Xue went downstairs to close the door, and then used her spiritual power to quickly begin embroidery!
Watching the embroidery thread being used up one by one, Lin Xue still felt it was more satisfying this way.
Feiteng Academy, Huangjia Town
"I'll leave this matter to Brother Wende. Here's the deposit. See you in two days!"
Feiteng Academy gives students two days off every two weeks to accommodate students who live far away.
For people like Huang Dehai who live nearby, it only takes half an hour to walk home.
For students from some remote areas, it's common for them to travel for one or two days to get here.
Because in some places there isn't even a proper road, and you have to walk along mountain trails. Not only are the roads difficult to travel, but you might also encounter wild animals.
Therefore, these students will not easily go back; even during holidays, they will still choose to live in the college.
They only go home together during the long agricultural holiday.
Now, the person speaking to Huang Dehai is the son of a butcher in Huangjia Town.
I don't know how this kid passed the imperial examination; he didn't put any effort into his studies and only thought about eating, drinking, and having fun all day long.
So, this time during the holiday, the teacher assigned a lot of homework, and this person found Huang Dehai and spent one or two taels of silver to ask him to help with the homework.
Huang Dehai was initially unwilling, but the other party threatened him that if he didn't help, they would send people to harass his family.
Thinking about how the family is usually full of both the elderly and the young, my second brother and sister-in-law are almost always busy in the fields and rarely idle at home.
Huang Dehai was worried that this person would actually hire someone to harm his family, so he had no choice but to accept it reluctantly.
He thought to himself that at worst, he could just write the homework he copied for the other person in a messy handwriting. As long as the teacher didn't recognize it, it should be fine.
Besides, our family has been struggling financially for years, and this one or two taels of silver will last them a long time.
Thinking of his beloved wife and young children at home, Huang Dehai hardened his heart and stuffed the silver into his pocket.
On the way back, they passed a stall selling hair accessories, and Huang Dehai spent 200 coins to buy his wife a silver-inlaid hairpin.
This hairpin is made entirely of rosewood, with only the end wrapped with fine silver wire. Although the design is simple, it is still elegant.
Huangjia Village.
"Mom, Mom, come quick! Grandpa caught a really big fish!"
Lin Xue was embroidering inside when she heard two children shouting excitedly outside.
She looked at the artwork in front of her; it was now mostly finished.
Lin Xue also wanted to go out and move around, so she put down her needlework and opened her door.
"Wow, this fish must weigh seven or eight pounds, right?"
"Dad, was this really caught in Donghegou?"
Lin Xue was somewhat surprised to see the bighead carp with most of its body sticking out of the bucket.
Are there really fish that big in Donghegou?
If she had known the fish there were so plump, she would have gone and caught them long ago!
"I was just lucky today. I had just set up the net when a big fish rammed into it!"
Old Huang was carrying the bucket, and although he was a little out of breath, his face was still beaming with joy.
It's been years since anyone has caught a big fish, so how could he not be happy?
"Alright, I'll cook a whole fish feast for everyone this noon!"
Lin Xue looked at the big fish. The head could be used to make soup, half of the body could be braised, and the other half could be made into sauerkraut fish!
"Zhixin, go to the kitchen, scoop out a bowl of soybeans, and go to Aunt Wang's house next door to exchange them for a bowl of pickled cabbage!"
In Huangjia Village, Aunt Wang's skill in pickling sauerkraut is unparalleled.
Lin Xue was fortunate enough to have eaten it once, but it was because Grandma Huang had helped the other party that they gave it to her.
"Yes, Mother, I'll go right away!"
Upon hearing Lin Xue's instructions, Huang Zhixin immediately went to the kitchen to dig up soybeans.
"Mother, I'm going with my brother!"
Seeing her brother's energetic demeanor, Huang Cuijuan followed him, running towards Old Wang's house next door.
"Dad, first, kill this fish for me and remove all the scales!"
Lin Xue rolled up her sleeves and asked Old Huang to kill the fish for her while she went to prepare some ingredients.
When making braised fish, add some soybeans and stew it together. If you stew it for a longer time on a wood-fired stove, the taste will be absolutely delicious!
When Grandma Huang returned with the tofu, she could make a fish head and tofu soup.
The other half is cooked into a sauerkraut fish dish, extra spicy and with lots of sauerkraut, and topped with scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, and spices!
Lin Xue was already swallowing her saliva while cooking. As a seasoned foodie, she was willing to go into the kitchen as long as the ingredients were good.
She shamelessly made up an excuse for her previous laziness, glanced at the sky outside, and wondered why Huang Dehai hadn't returned yet.
Just as I was thinking of Huang Dehai, I heard the two children in the yard start shouting again.
"Father, Father, you're back!"
"Dad, where's the candy you promised to buy me?"
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