Chapter 150 Chapter 150 Update.
After Tian's mother and daughter had their New Year's Eve dinner and burned bamboo and grass, it was already late. They put some leftover pickled goose and steamed fish in the kitchen cabinet and moved them to the east and west wing rooms.
Jindou was placed in the separate west room. The bedding was found for her by Tian, who had used it in her family before. Although it was not brand new, it was made of cotton and was warm at least.
She was from Lingnan, and Ji Xu taught her how to heat the kang. "Before going to bed, heat the kang yourself with firewood. Don't be frugal."
Seeing her hands were red and swollen like radishes, I found a small box of frostbite cream and gave it to her.
Last year, my sisters were doing odd jobs in the small kitchen of the county magistrate's mansion, and they also got sores on their hands. She got them in the second master's courtyard at that time, and it was useless to give them to her sisters.
This year, life was better. Tian made hand clothes for them again and kept their children away from cold water, so the disease did not relapse. There was half a box of ointment left, which she gave to Jindou.
"This is for frostbite. It's very effective when applied at night. Stay away from cold water lately. If you need to wash something, just pour hot water from the stove."
Jindou thanked him profusely, packed up the dishes, and examined the sparks everywhere. He took them out of his arms when he got to the room, sniffed them, and found them fragrant. He only picked out a soybean-sized piece to apply on his face.
The next morning, Tian went outside to comb the snow. Jindou had already gotten up and was sweeping the snow in the yard with a tall broom.
What a hardworking girl! Tian was happy to see her and felt that she had made the right purchase.
Jindou was wearing an old cotton-padded jacket that belonged to Jifeng, which was also given to her by Tian last night. Now she looked at it and said:
"It's a little big. I'll alter it for you after dinner so it fits."
After buying Jindou at home, our work has indeed become much easier. She can do many trivial tasks now, and even if she has never done them before, she will understand once I teach her.
On this day, Ji Xu was adding ingredients to the stew. Jin Dou was stoking the fire under the stove when Tian Shi sent him to buy silk thread. The shrewd Jin Dou said to his daughter:
"She looks like a diligent girl, but I don't know her character yet. Let's be careful and don't let her know."
Afterwards, he put on a stern face again and said to Jindou:
"Our family's braised food business has a unique braising method that no one else has. You must remember to keep an eye on the old braising sauce and don't let others sneak a peek."
He threatened her again, "If you don't take good care of yourself, my family won't want you anymore. We'll have no choice but to sell you back to the traffickers."
During the first month of the lunar year, the nuns from the alley came to visit our house, while children like Da Ya and Wang'er played around the yard, swinging on the swings and burning bamboo sticks. When they smelled the aroma of steamed meat coming from the kitchen, they wanted to go in and take a look.
Jindou stopped him from entering and said:
"Go, play somewhere else."
If he wanted to go out to buy some oil and salt, he would lock the kitchen. After a while, he still did not slack off.
Seeing that she was keeping a close eye on the kitchen and needed to add more spices, Tian decided not to send her to buy silk thread.
Ji Xu had recently been teaching Jin Dou how to sell braised food, and when he came back, his clothes were gone. During the first month of the year, Tian Shi was sewing in the east wing. Seeing that her things were missing, she asked:
"Why did you only bring in a warming stove? Where are your gloves? It's so cold outside, why don't you put them on properly?"
"I gave it to Jindou. The chilblains on her hands haven't healed yet. Mother, please make me a new pair."
"You, you only know how to feel sorry for her. This girl is better off than Tiandou next door."
After Ji Xu taught Jin Dou for two days, she was able to sell it. Ji Xu said to her:
"If you are hungry, take some and eat. It's nothing, just a little. After eating, wash your hands thoroughly before doing business."
Even if it was a family member who came to sell it, they would just take some to eat when they were hungry. One person could not eat much. Ji Xu did not care too much. Jindou listened to her and nodded in agreement.
She handed the stall over to her and went to Maoling Town to cook for others.
One night, Tian murmured to her, "I've noticed recently that Jindou has been taking good care of the braised food stall. I've also been secretly keeping track of how much she's braised these days. The money she earns every day matches what she sells.
Aunt Meng, who was selling vegetables nearby, whispered to me that this girl only eats broken things, the ones that are not good quality, and the expensive ones like pig's trotters. She is a reliable and honest girl, and I feel relieved in the future.
"Tiandou! Tiandou! You lazy bone! You didn't move even after I called you several times. Are you deaf?"
Jin, the girl next door, came back from business and called her maid in the yard. Tian Dou, still wearing the quilted clothes she wore when she got home, came out from under the warm stove to unload the cart.
Jin bought a pickled goose, but was afraid that Tiandou would eat it, so she cut it herself.
The name of this field bean was originally called Doujin, which was given by Jin, who thought that it would make a fortune and be better than the Jindou next door.
Ji Yuan said: "No, my mother's surname is Jin, so fighting for gold and fighting for gold means fighting for mother."
So it was changed to Tiandou, which is pronounced as Doutian in reverse, and was also chosen by Jin.
He then cut up the pickled goose, took it away, and asked Tian Dou to stew some radish.
Tian Dou stared at the pickled goose with shining eyes. Upon hearing what he said, he ordered some stewed radishes and picked some to eat first.
He vaguely heard Jin and Ji Yuan talking next door, so he slipped into the house, stole two pieces of pickled goose on the table, rearranged the food, wiped his mouth, and went back to light the fire.
When Du Xian came back from his shift, the family of four had dinner with two dishes. When there was nothing left, they asked Tian Dou to eat.
Jin and Ji Yuan said, "That girl is dishonest. Our eggs are running low, so she must have stolen them."
Ji Yuan said, "We have to be careful. We can't let her do business. She's cheating now, so she'll steal money later."
Jin was also planning this, muttering, "How can they be like the neighbor next door, who has no plans at all? They even let a maid handle their business, and they're not afraid of being robbed like a sieve!"
The next day after she said this, she counted five coins missing from the money box, pulled Tiandou's ears, and hit her twice.
"I told you not to steal money, I told you not to steal money, bring a knife and chop off this claw!"
"Who stole your money? There are four people in your family, and you insist that I stole it?"
Seeing that Tian Dou refused to acknowledge him and refused to give her the leftovers, Ji Yuan also said:
"Starve her for two days and see if she responds!"
This Tiandou was not from Lingnan. According to the human trafficker, she came from the border of Youzhou, which was invaded by the Huns. The Han army was still fighting there. There were many people in the family and they could not afford to eat, so they sold her in exchange for two bags of grain.
When they got here, they were only allowed to wash clothes, light fires, feed horses and water cows. They were not allowed to eat. Tian Dou took advantage of Jin's inattention and spat viciously into the pot.
Jin was completely unaware of this and took the pottery plate to scoop up the meat soup, leaving nothing for Tiandou who was lighting the fire.
The eggs were also placed in the room where they slept. Tiandou rummaged under the stove and found only two radish leaves from a few days ago. He kicked over the basket in anger and ran outside.
Jindou from next door and the ones she sold in one day, now had clean cotton clothes and even a shirt on, and was pushing a wheelbarrow to go to the store to sell braised food.
Tian Dou stopped and spoke to her: "Does her family treat you well?"
He wanted to lift the lid of the pottery basin to take a look, but was stopped by Jindou.
"You can't touch it without washing your hands."
Tian Dou asked, "Why are you so honest? Why don't you eat as much as you can when no one is around?"
"My young lady is very kind. She asked me to eat. I don't have to avoid them."
Jindou saw that Tiandou had no money and wanted to eat, but she couldn't take the things the owner wanted to sell and give them away for free. So she didn't waste any more time chatting with her and pushed the cart away.
Tian Dou snorted, "Miss, you were born to be a slave."
At night, Tian Dou was so hungry that he couldn't sleep.
"Hey."
It's no surprise that someone might step on your feet. The family is poor and has only two rooms, one for the eldest daughter and her husband, and one for Jin and the second daughter.
Tian Dou slept on the floor in Jin's room. Her mattress was thin, and she felt a little warm only when she slept right next to the kang. But whoever got up at night would always step on her, which hurt her legs and she couldn't help crying out.
It was Ji Zhi's shadow. He asked her to speak more quietly and then waved to her.
Tian Dou followed her to the kitchen, where Ji Zhi took out a fragrant Hu pancake from his arms and gave it to her.
Tian Dou couldn't believe it. The mutton inside was so oily that she almost swallowed her tongue. After eating, she licked her fingers and thought:
"Where did you get the money?"
He rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, you stole your mother's money!"
Ji Zhi quickly made a gesture to keep quiet. She was indeed the one who stole the five coins because the money box was open there. She was tempted to steal some, but she didn't expect that Jin had already counted the money inside.
Later, when he saw Jin beating Tiandou, he became even more afraid to confess, for fear that it would reveal that he had been stealing money.
"Buy me a cake like this every day, otherwise I will tell." Tian Dou said.
"This Hu pancake is quite expensive. I can't bear to eat it every day..."
The money she saved from selling wool before the New Year is now less than three hundred yuan. A mutton bun costs eight cents, and she only eats it occasionally.
Tian Dou was about to shout when she spoke, so Ji Zhi had no choice but to respond to her.
"Okay, okay, I'll buy it for you."
She was afraid that Jin would find out that she had been stealing the cash box used for business, and she would peel off a layer of skin from her.
Seeing that Tian Dou had been well behaved for two days, Jin left some food for her. However, she didn't expect that the thief was right next to her. Ji Zhi took advantage of her chatting with a nearby vendor and stole some money and left.
After the first month of the lunar year, the weather was clearing up, and Mr. Fan, the teacher at the elementary school, asked the children to run around Wuling County to announce that classes would start on the third day of the new year.
It was Wang'er who came to tell Ji Xu's family. Because he had to study, Wang'er looked listless and left after saying something dejectedly.
Ji Feng also looked frightened, but Ji Zhu was looking forward to this day. She had already finished writing the words that the teacher asked her to write and packed up her bookcase.
Ji Feng was miserable. She had been busy having fun in the twelfth and first months of the year, playing Cuju, strolling in the streets, and hoeing the fields. She only started writing now and asked Ji Zhu to help her imitate her handwriting and write some. She collected all the information and handed it to the child who taught Master Fan at the beginning of the class for inspection. Only then did she avoid being beaten with a stick.
Xiaoyao also came and met Feng and Zhu. They exchanged many words and gestures, looking particularly happy.
The young men from Wuling still called them "people from outside the Great Wall". Among them, Li Fuye, who was frightened by the earthworm once, ignored them even more and even wrote a doggerel poem and circulated it for fun.
"A golden girl is raised in the kitchen, a dumb girl is a butcher, scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans are the lowest of the low."
Although the young men of Wuling heard that Xiaoyao was found and brought back to the Yan family, the Yan family was not very prominent in Maoling County, and the fact that their ancestors were butchers was even more talked about.
Recently, the story of Ji Xu working as a cook in their place and being called a golden girl was also written into a poem.
"Hey, people from outside the pass, the girl with the golden hair must be your sister, right?"
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