Chapter 121 Chapter 121 Update.
Because the shops available for rent in the jiaomen market were relatively small and there was no storefront for customers to sit, Ji Xu thought of starting with snacks that could be eaten in the hand and that were not available on the market.
"Sister, what did you bring back?"
Ji Feng grabbed a bunch of branches to pick mulberries. Zhu and Xiaoyao grabbed the corners of her clothes and scooped up a bunch of plump, deep red mulberries, then stuffed a big, fresh one into Ji Xu's mouth.
She took two objects, one made of copper and one made of iron, from the ox cart.
Ji Fenglai took over. This copper thing weighed at least thirty kilograms. She held her breath before carrying it into the house.
A closer look revealed that it was a round thing with a lid. When the lid was opened, there were nineteen plum blossom holes inside, which were cone-shaped holes that were round on top and pointed at the bottom, about the depth of a finger.
"This is for making plum blossom cakes. The pattern was decided a few days ago at the copperware workshop in the East Market, and I just went to get it back."
Ji Xu said, this plum blossom bell must be made of purple copper. The pattern was drawn by Ji Xu for the old craftsman to see. The weight is there, plus the craftsman's fee, it cost three taels of silver.
“This one is for frying.”
This flat pan is two feet wide and three feet long, with a square ceramic stove underneath. Charcoal burning underneath can be used for frying.
This set is much lighter and is made of iron, costing two taels.
"Where's Mom? Did she go to the dock again?"
There was no sign of Tian inside or outside, so Ji Xu asked.
Tian was a person who could not sit still. Every day, there were grain ships docking at the Weiqiao Wharf to unload and load cargo. She worked there as a mover and could earn 10 to 20 coins a day.
In her words, a day at home is just a day to live, so it’s better to go out and earn some money to save up more dowry for my Gillian!
Ji Xu just told her not to be so busy, saying that she had just gotten out of the tiring private mine and should take care of herself. Tian Shi didn't listen to him and agreed with him, but as soon as Ji Xu left, she slipped away to the dock to make money.
Seeing Ji Feng hesitating, I guessed that he really went to Weiqiao Wharf.
Today is the summer solstice. The sun is shining brightly in the sky and the heat is oppressive. Clothes will get soaked if you work hard outside to move things. Ji Xu thought that he should make some food to relieve the heat so that Tian can eat it when she comes back and feel more comfortable.
She had just bought two hu of lotus root starch, took out two liters, and sifted it finely with a bamboo sieve.
Then chop the preserved dates, almonds, and walnuts into small pieces, add sesame, oil, and malt sugar, mix well, and roll into apricot-sized dumplings.
In fact, the best filling for the dumplings would be to add some chopped kumquat cakes, but the soil and climate in Guanzhong are not suitable for growing kumquats.
Bashu is a good place to grow kumquats, and they can be seen in the Chang'an market, but it is not yet the ripe season. I heard that the royal family's Shanglin Garden has a charcoal-burning greenhouse where fruit trees from all over the country and even the Western Regions are cultivated.
There are even kumquats that look like golden clothes and are as small as dragon eyes, but they are only circulated among royal relatives and nobles, and do not flow into the tables of ordinary people. Even if she wants to buy them, she can't.
In order to avoid the lack of kumquat cake, she used some red and green silk instead.
The red and green shreds were made from a big winter melon she bought a few days ago. Since she hadn't eaten it for a while, she used some mulberry juice and cabbage juice to make the red and green shreds.
Add a handful of mung beans and a few mint leaves to make mung bean soup, which is both cheap and refreshing.
Feng, Zhu and Xiaoyao also washed their hands and came to help. They rolled the fillings for about thirty dumplings in total. The fillings were rolled in lotus root powder, and the surface became snow-white.
She dipped the dumplings in boiling water and then in lotus root powder. Her hands were very light and she repeated this five times. The dumplings did not deform and remained round and beautiful.
After cooking it for the last time, rinse it in cold water and scoop it into a bowl when eating. The crystal tea color is very tempting. Add a spoonful of honey and sprinkle some dried osmanthus flowers to enhance the fragrance.
When Tian came back, her face was sunburned and red, so Ji Xu scooped a bowl for her.
"These lotus root starch dumplings are delicious, smooth and sweet, they're so popular they're sold out!"
The summer heat is very severe now, and Ji Xu also plans to make some food that can relieve heat and quench thirst and sell it in Jiaomen. The lotus root powder and osmanthus dumplings are just right for this season.
In such hot weather, a bowl of these dumplings will give you an appetite.
While Ji Xu was taking a bath and the children were playing in the yard, Tian closed the door and took out a pair of wooden chopsticks from her bosom.
It happened that Ji Xu came back to change clothes and saw Tian Shi. She had no time to hide and said:
"I found it outside."
"Where can I find such good stuff?"
These red wood lacquer chopsticks were brand new, but Ji Xu didn't believe it at all.
"Mother, why don't you listen to me even after I've told you so many times?"
Ji Xu did not allow Tian to work at the docks, firstly because the weather was hot; secondly, whatever goods she carried would appear at home, even the millet and wheat shipped out of Guanzhong.
Sometimes when Ji Xu saw her coming back, he felt that her waist had become thicker and could hold four or five liters of corn. He didn't know how she avoided those people at the dock.
In her words, there was a huge ship full of stuff, piled up like mountains and seas. Anyone who just worked honestly and didn't steal things from the ship to take home was a fool. From what she said, she was not the only one who stole things.
"Mother knows. These are good products from the government-run workshop. I heard they were going to be taken to Guandong to be sold. I took them when no one was paying attention. These chopsticks are great for our family. Even if we sell them, they're worth some money. Even in the hottest weather, the wages are still the same. After all, he deserves a pair of lacquer chopsticks."
Tian had her own reasons. In the past, when she was in the village, whenever she picked water chestnuts from the rich families outside, she would always take some home to cook and eat. She also taught Ji Xu, who was still young at that time:
You need to have sharp eyes and quick hands. You should learn to be lazy when the person in charge is not around, and do the work only when the person in charge comes. If you work hard and honestly, you will end up exhausted in vain.
Ji Xu turned around and said to her, "I did these things behind her back and never changed."
Fortunately, Feng and Zhu were not led astray. Every time Tian instructed them to steal fruits from Feng's house, they would feel awkward and blush and refuse to go. Instead, they would go to Ji Xu to complain about her. Tian would listen to her nagging and stop letting them steal.
This time Ji Xu persuaded her again, and Tian finally agreed.
The next day, Ji Xu went to the store to rent a shop, and filled a basin of lotus root starch balls in the kitchen water jar for them to eat to cool off during the day.
Tian put five or six of them in a bamboo tube, brought them to the dock, and presented them to the supervisor secretly.
The supervisor took a bite and nodded in approval. "Did you buy it from the store? I've never seen such prepared food before."
Tian said, "My daughter makes lotus root starch dumplings. She will sell them in the store in the future. She is the only one in the city who has such a skill."
The supervisor was very satisfied with the meal and turned a blind eye to it. He did not search Tian's body after work.
This time, Tian learned her lesson. She went out to sell the lacquerware she had picked up for money and then brought it home. However, since the source of the lacquerware was not legitimate, she could not sell it at the market price, so she had to give it a 50% discount.
However, if she was lucky and came across good goods, she could earn an extra fifty or sixty coins, which was three or four times her wages. If she came across food, she would take it home and secretly mix it into her own grain bag without telling Ji Xu.
"What? You won't rent it to us?"
Tian happily returned home with the money, only to find out that the snack stand at the store was no longer viable.
"Hasn't he already paid the rent and also given an extra two taels as a bonus?"
This is the only vacant seat in the Jiaomen City. I had originally planned to register with the government today. Ji Xu said:
"The city official then changed his story and said someone had already made the reservation and even returned the money to me. I guess that person must have connections in the city."
As we were talking here, we heard the sound of a car outside. The people living in the two empty houses next door had returned.
The little one's cries of "ah ah wu wu" came in.
"What are you doing! Let her go!" Ji Feng also shouted.
When Tian heard this, she grabbed a big stick and rushed out, only to see that the ox cart belonged to the Jin family.
Jin grabbed the little girl who was playing at the door with both hands, shook her and asked:
"Where's that thief Xiao? Where is she? Where did she take my tiger boy?"
The little boy, who was about to fall apart after his legs and feet were hit by Tian's big stick, looked up and saw that it was Tian. He looked as if he had seen a ghost and retreated to the back.
Ji Yuan and Ji Zhi were holding her up. There was also a young man standing there with a handsome appearance. The dark brown official uniform he wore was very similar to the ones worn by the clerks in Jiaomen Market.
"Why are you here with this mute?"
Ji Yuan raised his head and asked. After not seeing her for many days, her cheeks were rosy and she looked much better now than when they met in Pengcheng.
"Where's my brother?"
Ji Xu said, "Her name is Xiaoyao. We met Xiaoyao in Zhuo County, Youzhou. She didn't see your brother. On the way, the thief Xiao was questioned by the soldiers and sold Xiaoyao in a hurry. When she was sold, Huhai was still with her. I don't know what happened to Xiaoyao anymore."
These were the questions they asked after they became familiar with Xiaoyao and could understand her gestures.
"Where did you separate from my brother?" Ji Yuan asked.
Xiaoyaodu made a flowing water gesture.
Ji Xu said, "By the waterside, perhaps it's some kind of ferry crossing."
As for the specific place name, Xiaoyao didn't know. The Jin family asked him at the door, but there was no result. The two families went in separately.
Before leaving, Jin glanced at the room they lived in, while Tian took a look at their clothes, which were much more elegant than when they were in the village before.
At night, he and Ji Xu murmured, "I saw their ox cart was actually brought to their yard to be unloaded. It's not a hired cart, but one of their own?
And that man, he behaves very intimately with Ji Yuan, that girl. They have an unusual relationship."
After living there for a few days, Tian found out from her neighbors during her free time that the man's surname was Du and his hometown was Handan. He was the mayor of Jiaomen City and he and Ji Yuan were cousins from their aunt's family. The two houses were his property and he had been away recently because he had returned to his hometown in Handan to marry his cousin at the behest of his parents.
"This cousin is naturally Ji Yuan."
Jin's family fled Wu and went all the way to Handan to seek refuge with her aunt Ji Yuan and her sisters. After not seeing each other for decades, Jin and Da Jin recognized each other with tears. Da Jin loved Ji Yuan and arranged a marriage for their two children.
Tian said, muttering to herself that Jin's marriage was a good one. This Chang'an Jiaomen Market's Market Steward had a monthly salary of 300 dan, and there was still extra money to be made. "No wonder Jin Cuiru always talks about her son-in-law all the time."
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