Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Big List.
When Ji Xu got home, he first went to the back of the house to look at the vegetable garden. The rapeseed, garlic and ginger that he had planted yesterday had already sprouted some tender green seedlings that had broken through the soil.
"Sister, it's grown out!" Ji Zhu pointed and said with great joy.
"In the future, we can eat vegetables grown by ourselves." Ji Xu was also happy.
As he spoke, he watered the plants a little.
Ji Zhuyang said she would water it, and she looked very happy, wanting to get her hands on everything. Ji Xu then taught her in detail. Seeing that she was doing it well, he gave the remaining parts to her and went to light a fire to cook. For dinner, he was going to fry the big potato that Ji Feng brought back yesterday.
While I was squatting under the eaves peeling the bark with my hatchet, Ji Feng came back with a bundle of firewood on his back and asked impatiently:
"Sister, are all the hundred or so steamed buns sold out today?"
This is related to whether they can afford to pay the tax. If they fail to pay on time, the head of the household may be sent to jail.
Thinking of this, Ji Xu smiled slightly. Before she could speak, Ji Zhu, who had just put down the water scoop, danced with joy and shared with her, "They are all sold out, and a farmer has even ordered 200 steamed buns!"
"Two hundred?" Ji Feng was surprised and happy.
"But that farmer Tian was very scary. When he chased people away, his voice was like thunder, and he had a whip on his waist..." While talking about what happened during the day, he pulled Ji Feng to the kitchen to see the new belongings.
"Look, my sister also bought a cauldron and a steamer!" When she talked about this, she became happy.
On the bow stove, the previously empty, dark stove eye was now covered with a pottery cauldron and a steamer. On the stove, next to the wall where salt, sauce, and other condiments were placed, there was also a striking pottery bowl. Ji Feng lifted the lid and saw white lard inside. Feeling these brand new objects, he felt a sense of satisfaction and muttered to himself:
"That's great! I have a stable income now, and I've added some more things to my family. We don't need much anymore like before."
It was said that in the past, if we count carefully, it was only five or six days ago. At that time, salt was still contained in broken tiles, and lard was not affordable, so it was stored in a decent pottery pot. Now, all kinds of salt and sauce are available. Salt is contained in bamboo tubes, and sauce is in small sauce pots. They are neatly organized. The days are getting more and more hopeful.
The next day, at cockcrow, Ji Xu got up to make steamed cakes.
Later, Ji Feng heard the rooster crowing and felt an empty seat nearby. He woke up, rubbing his eyes, slipped on his shoes, and tiptoed out of the house without waking up Ji Zhu who was still sleeping soundly in the innermost room.
With a pottery tripod and a pottery steamer, two stoves can be used to light fires for steaming at the same time, which is more efficient.
"Fortunately, my sister bought a clay steamer yesterday, so it's much faster to cook." Ji Feng said as he added firewood.
I saw white mist coming out of the tall steamer and the whole house was filled with the fragrance of wheat.
After more than 200 steamed buns were made, Ji Xu took out the new basket he had woven earlier to put them in, which was convenient to carry, and he also added two willow baskets.
It was still early, and Ji Feng was not in a hurry to go to Feng's house to herd pigs. He helped carry a willow basket and sent Ji Xu to the public land that Zhuang Gaiyi was guarding.
Before leaving, Ji Feng thought about it and decided to go back, lock the house and hang the key around his neck.
Ji Zhu was still asleep in the room. A bag of freshly fermented yeast was hanging on the east wall. This yeast was the key to the room, so it had to be locked up.
"Don't worry, sister. If Xiaozhu wakes up and sees the house is locked from the outside, she'll know we went out early to sell steamed buns, and she'll be waiting for us to come back."
Ji Xu remembered that when Feng and Zhu were young, they would take a nap at noon. Tian would take advantage of this time to take her older daughter to collect firewood or water the vegetables. When they left, they would naturally lock the house to prevent thieves from stealing things. Sometimes when they woke up, they would play on the bed by themselves without crying or making a fuss. They were very well-behaved.
"Well, let her sleep a little longer."
These past two days, Ji Zhu had gotten up early to go to the market with her, and sometimes she would doze off while leaning on her. Ji Xu thought that selling steamed cakes required a lot of walking, and it would be too tiring for a five-year-old child like her to follow. It would be better to let her stay at home and play. Besides, when they were going to the public farm today, she didn't want the farmer to scare her.
"She should be awake by the time you get back. Give the key to Xiaozhu then. She might be home, or she might lock up the house and come to the Feng family's hilltop to keep you company."
"Okay." Ji Feng responded, thinking that he would have to give Xiaozhu some instructions when the time comes.
The fields were covered in a gray haze, and some figures had already gone to the fields to work. Seeing the two sisters walking out on the dirt road, they couldn't help but chat.
"Yesterday I had three baskets, today I even have a basket on my back.
What kind of steamed buns are so popular? Tomorrow, after we finish harvesting the rice, I'll make some and sell them in the market."
"Aunt Lai, you can't make the steamed buns she makes. My husband went to the market yesterday to sell eggs and saw the buns she sells. They're smooth and soft, not like the ones we make which are hard and cracked."
Liao said that she was the Liao who had been teased by Wang Mazi a few days ago and asked to use three hu of rice to marry Ji Xu to be the bride of his family Cui Guangzong.
At that time, she felt that Ji Xu was taking care of two children and would bring her family into poverty. Now, she began to think seriously about those words.
Ji Xu has the skill to make steamed cakes. If I marry him, the money he earns will be my own, right?
As for the two little ones, just give them some food and keep them fed.
However, I still have to pay them money every year, which is a big expense. I have to think about it carefully and discuss it with her husband later.
"Who has time to go to the market to buy her steamed buns during the busy farming season? Why does she make more and more every day?" Wang Mazi asked.
"I know the whole story. It's Mr. Tian who ordered several hundred steamed buns from her to give to the menial servants."
The one who answered was Liao's brother-in-law, whose surname was Jin. His family was from the Jin clan in the same village. This morning, the couple came to help the Liao family harvest rice, fulfilling their duty as relatives.
"My two mu of land is next to the public farm. Yesterday, we were harvesting rice. That girl was selling steamed cakes near us. I heard with my own ears that the farmer ordered 200 of them."
Liao glared at her sister, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Xiao Liao: "I didn't know this girl was from Benguli. Seeing her skills, I thought she was a rich girl from Shengchangli."
Two hundred of them. I heard they are one penny each, so that would be two hundred pennies.
In a good year, an acre of land can only produce four hu of rice. When the market is good, a hu of rice can be sold for forty coins at most, and this requires careful care from summer to autumn.
But this daughter of the Ji family can earn hundreds of dollars in just one day?
That month? A year? As they calculated the bill, many in the field were furious. Even Jin was feeling anxious. No wonder she could still spend money to add to her family fortune. It turned out she had a huge budget. At this rate, wouldn't the second wife soon surpass the first wife, let alone the money she could save?
"I wonder who taught this girl the craft..." Jin kept muttering.
Wang Mazi said sourly, "She must have been in the Chang'an Palace for three years when she met a noble man. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise for her."
At first, he thought that Ji Feng was using the excuse of herding pigs to steal the Feng family's fruits and sell them so that her family could afford to eat meat. Only today did he know that Ji Xu had such a skill to make money.
But he added something sarcastic: "She's just lucky. Mr. Tian bought hundreds of her steamed buns. They're not usually so popular. Who can eat steamed buns every day?"
"I think so too..." Jin also agreed, but only she knew the sour taste in it.
Everyone felt a little more at ease, but they all wanted to get a glimpse of the craftsmanship.
**
Public land department,
Ji Xu unloaded the baskets and willow baskets on the ridge of the field.
The jailer who came forward first yesterday saw that the steamed buns were all solid in size, the same as yesterday's, and said:
"You are an honest man, unlike that stingy cook who cheated on his work just because he was cooking for a night watchman or a convict."
"How can we do something against our conscience? This is our family's livelihood, and it will ruin our reputation. Besides, the officials are guarding here, who would dare to do such a black-hearted thing?" Ji Xu said.
The jailer smiled at what he said. At this moment, Zhuang Gaiyi also came. He still looked as neat as yesterday, but he had replaced the hat he used to wrap his forehead with a red cap.
He handed a string of money tied with a red rope to Ji Xu, and then went to distribute steamed cakes himself, giving each person two for breakfast. Naturally, after distributing them, he would urge everyone to speed up the harvest.
Here, Ji Xu counted some money, two hundred and twenty pieces, exactly this number.
When Ji Feng saw the money, she smiled like a flower. When she saw the string that tied the money, she begged:
"Sister, this red string is beautifully braided and brightly colored. Use a small stick with sparks on it to light two strands and give one each to Xiaozhu and me. How about using them as hair ties?"
The two younger sisters have not yet reached the age of marriage, and unlike Ji Xu, they do not use hairpins to tie their hair. Instead, they still use hairbands to tie their hair into buns or small pigtails. How can they not love this red rope? It is a rare thing. They are still using gray straw ropes to tie their hair, which is not as beautiful as this.
When Ji Xu heard this, he untied the red string and gave it to her, put the money in the bamboo tube, and said with a smile, "It's up to you."
The steamed buns were still being distributed, and she was still waiting for her own basket to be empty. Ji Fengxi kept calling her "good sister", stuffed the red rope into her arms, thought about her pig herding work, and ran away happily on tiptoe.
"Officials from the Bureau of Price Stabilization will be transporting this batch of rice this evening. Everyone, please work hard. In addition to the bean porridge delivered at each meal, you can also get two extra steamed buns!"
Some men came from poor families and came to work as substitutes to earn money. They were reluctant to eat the steamed buns they received.
I held it in my arms, thinking that when my service ended today, I would take it back home to share with my family. This was fine food.
Ji Xu was standing aside and heard the three words "Pingzheng Office".
She took a brown sugar steamed bun from the basket she was carrying and handed it to the jailer with whom she had done business yesterday.
Excluding the 200 given to Mr. Tian, there were about 30 left in the basket. Ji Xu planned to sell them along the fields later.
The jailer had just finished eating a piece of brown sugar distributed by Zhuang Gaiyi and was savoring it when Ji Xu handed her one.
He took it and chewed it, his mouth full of sweetness, and heard Ji Xu ask him:
"Sir, the Bureau of Price Stabilization has sent someone here, but where are the grain prices fluctuating?"
He wondered why the girl asked him about this, but since he had eaten her food, he would tell her everything.
"There's a drought in the Guandong area, and the harvest has been completely wiped out. Not only in Lingshui County, but also in many counties in Yangzhou, the grain has been confiscated and shipped to Guandong to stabilize the grain price."
So that’s how it is, Ji Xu thought thoughtfully.
The jailer glanced at her and realized that she was unusually courageous. Ordinary people would not dare to approach a jailer like her who was carrying a sword, but she actually dared to take the initiative to talk to him.
"Why are you asking this?"
Ji Xu acted worried.
"I'm worried that the price of grain in Lingshui County will also rise, and then there will be no rice to cook at home."
The jailer laughed heartily, "Your family is short-sighted. Yangzhou is known for its rice and fish soup, and this year is a bumper year. How can the price of grain be rising?"
Besides, there is a price stabilization agency to keep grain prices down, so you are just worrying too much."
Ji Xu said nothing. As the empty willow baskets were returned to her, she nodded and said goodbye to the jailer, and continued to sell the remaining ones along the fields.
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