Chapter 20 Chapter 20 The hearts of each family.
"Mrs. Bao, the pig intestines you cook in Chinese food? That's such a filthy and cheap thing, don't you feel disgusted after eating it?"
After taking a break, the Feng family returned to the fields to work, and the woman teased Bao.
Benguli was far less prosperous than Shengchangli. Over the years, they could not help but envy the common people in Shengchangli.
Bao was a girl from Shengchangli who married into Binguli. She wore fine cloth, wore gold and silver, traveled in an oxcart, and liked to look down on people.
Now that the Feng family's eating of pig intestines has spread, those who want to compete with them will use this to embarrass the Bao family.
Mrs. Bao came to the fields picking her teeth and said with a smile:
"Of course I've eaten quite a bit, and I'm still craving that delicious taste. Even if you want to eat it, you have to be able to afford twenty dollars."
"Twenty cents? Pig intestines are so cheap, how can I ask for twenty cents?"
"I'd like to ask the cook to make a meal for twenty coins. Can you afford it?"
Not to mention, the Feng family lacks a mouth like Mrs. Bao. Although they are a wealthy family, their status in the village is not high because their ancestors were slaves. Many people dare to steal the fruits from the hill behind the Feng family.
Bao was from Shengchangli, so people didn't dare to look down on her, especially when she spoke in a subtle way, which made those people in the fields who wanted to embarrass her feel jealous.
Twenty coins could buy more than a pound of fat. Apart from the Feng family, no one in Bengu would spend so much money. They kept silent for a while and focused on harvesting rice.
This day,
Wang Mazi's family had harvested all the rice, and at sunrise, the rice was spread out in the yard to dry.
His family's rice harvest is small, so they don't need to go to the threshing ground to dry the rice; they can dry it in their own yard.
Wang Mazi was seen pushing the rice grains that had sprouted out of the sack with a wooden rake. Ji Xu was seen passing by the house with two baskets of steamed buns.
Now that the busy farming season is over, more and more people are coming to the market. The brown sugar at home has been used up, but Ji Xu has been making sixty white jade steamed cakes to sell every day for the past two days.
"She's a cook and she sells steamed buns. She's really lucky to have picked up such a skill."
Wang Mazi, who was sitting by the window, tilted his head and muttered to his wife Cao.
Cao was weaving in the west room. The sound of the loom and her gentle voice could be heard.
"What great fortune? They are all children who have suffered, and have been slaves for three years before returning home.
Tian Shi even had her boat capsized in the Mian River while searching for her, and was buried with only one set of clothes. Do you want such a fate?"
What if his three-year-old daughter Mianmian was kidnapped and sold into slavery? Wang Mazi didn't dare to think about it. He continued to flatten the rice fields.
"It's better for the whole family to be safe."
The Wang family built two thatched houses surrounded by a fenced yard. Their land was small and not as fertile as that of other families, so the rice harvest was not good. After deducting the land tax, there were only about 20 hu left.
That's all. Not only do we have to prepare it for consumption until winter and next year, but we also have to set aside ten hu to sell, and use the money from the sales to fill the hole in our mental budget.
Tomorrow is September 20th, the day for paying taxes in the village. The money to be paid is calculated orally and borrowed from Feng Da.
Not only his family, but there are more than ten families in Benguli who are struggling to make ends meet and they all borrow money from the Feng family. The Feng family will charge interest, but it is lower than the interest of the Ziqian family in Shengchangli who specialize in lending money. It is said that it was Aunt Xu who made the decision.
"I wonder what the price of grain will be this year..."
After the busy farming season, the major grain stores would send their managers to various places to collect grain. After a few days, when the grain was dried, you should be able to see them.
Wang Mian woke up in the room and started crying.
"This Ali is always out and about, not even taking care of his sister." Wang Mazi heard the crying and leaned against the wall with his rake. Wang Li, sweating profusely, ran back, entered the house, picked up Wang Mian, and tried to comfort her, even stuffing a piece of food into her mouth.
Wang Mian had something sweet and soft in his mouth, so he didn't care about crying and just took the food in his hand and started eating.
"Is it delicious?" Wang Li asked her.
Wang Mian hummed twice, and Wang Mazi, who followed in, continued to ask,
"You go to Niupi Mountain every day. Where's the firewood? You don't even bring any home."
At a glance, the little girl held a small piece of white and delicate noodles in her hand, "Is this a white jade steamed cake?"
"Xiaozhu gave it to me. Look, Mianmian likes it too."
In the past two days, Xiaozhu's family has left a lot of steamed buns. It seems that her elder sister knew that Xiaozhu wanted to share them with other children, so she specially left some extra.
After collecting firewood, everyone got half a piece of firewood, which was soft and fluffy. Wang Li tore it open and ate some, and brought the rest back to Wang Mian.
The little sister is small, so it is just right for her to eat this soft food. Wang Li picked up the towel hanging around her neck and wiped her saliva.
When Wang Mazi heard this, he closed the door cunningly and asked:
"Have you seen how her steamed buns are made?"
Wang Li said no.
Wang Mazi thought so too. How could he make steamed buns in front of outsiders? Xu Nu would definitely keep the recipe secret.
"Have you ever been into her kitchen? Did you see anything that wasn't in her house?"
Wang Li thought for a moment and said, "Her family has a bamboo steamer, but we don't."
Wang Li put his sister on the ground, held her hand and played with her, shaking her hands one after the other.
"Holding my husband, pulling my sister, stepping on the tiles without touching the ground..."
Wang Mazi raised his voice, "Grandfather is asking you a question, nothing else?"
Wang Mian chuckled, and Wang Li also laughed, saying, "How would I know? Xiaozhu gave me steamed buns and I ran back."
"You and Xiaozhu are so good friends?" Wang Mazi smiled. "Then why don't you ask her quietly tomorrow how she makes her steamed buns?"
He was also taught, "When asking this question, avoid Erfeng especially."
Wang Li finally understood that he was being asked to do something sneaky again, and he suddenly felt unwilling to do it.
"I don't ask. That's her family's craft. I help Xiaozhu collect firewood, and she's happy to share her steamed buns with me."
No wonder, it turns out that the firewood was collected for someone else. Wang Mazi cursed,
"You idiot, if you had this skill at home, wouldn't you worry about not having steamed buns to eat?
Why didn’t you follow me and just picked up the heart of your mother, that woman…”
After Chen Sui'er and her siblings got the steamed buns, they stopped playing outside and ran back home happily.
The Chen family's conditions were slightly better than those of the Ji Xu and Wang families, but not much better. A family of seven lived in two thatched houses and had seven and a half acres of ancestral farmland.
Ever since Chen Da contracted typhoid this spring and became lame in his right foot, the family has been short of a laborer and life has become increasingly difficult.
When the two children came back, the white-haired Aunt Lu was scraping hemp under the eaves. Tomorrow they would have to pay the tax. There were many adults in their family, and this tax would cost six hundred coins, which would empty their family's savings.
So whenever Lu Ai saw scattered wild ramie on the roadside or in the mountains, she would cut it and bring it home, scrape it, wash it, and dry it in the sun, so that she could spin more linen to supplement the family income. Otherwise, how would she survive the winter?
"Big Mother, open your mouth."
She only heard the sound of her granddaughter running back, and before she could react, a soft steamed bun was stuffed into her mouth.
The light sweet taste melted in her mouth, which was undoubtedly a pleasure for her tongue that was used to eating rough food. However, Lady Lu frowned.
"Why are you stuffing it into my hand again?"
"My brother and I just ate. Mom, please have some more. It's delicious."
In fact, the two little guys were reluctant to eat half of their own steamed bun today, and wanted to leave it for their grandmother and the others. In order to save money, the family has been eating bean rice recently.
How could Lu Ai bear to eat without a meal or a full meal? "Save it for dinner. By then, your eldest brother will be back."
After hearing what he was told, Chen Gou'er carefully placed the steamed buns in a bowl in the kitchen, and placed a plate upside down to protect them from mice.
Their eldest brother Chen Che'er, who did hard labor in the kiln in Shengchangli, must have loved eating something so soft and sweet.
This work was originally done by their grandfather, Chen Da. Ever since he contracted leprosy and became lame, he has been unable to work. However, he could not rest at home, so he went to the fields to weed with the children's grandfather, Old Man Chen.
"Have you thanked Xiaozhu?"
Lu Ai asked while scraping the hemp.
This pasta tastes so good. It is made from white flour, which I heard sells for sixty coins per dou.
The steamed buns could be sold for one penny each by the prostitute in the country market. When she shared them with them, Aunt Lu was filled with gratitude.
At this time, the Cui family next to the catalpa tree was also muttering about Ji Xu.
The Cui family had thirty acres of land. The abundant rice harvest could not be dried at home, so half of it was taken to the threshing ground to dry. Because the daughter Cui Si and the younger son Cui Guangyao, as the adults instructed, each took a bamboo stick and went to the threshing ground to drive away the chickens, ducks and birds, the house was quiet at this time.
Liao then took her husband Cui Da to the east room to talk about the marriage of the eldest son Cui Guangzong.
"I think this marriage is a good one. Xunu is a skilled cook. If I marry her, I won't be afraid of her bringing poverty to our family. She can even earn money for us."
Her family lived in a three-room house covered with tiles and surrounded by a mud wall in front. Their conditions were considered above average in Benguli. At first, she really looked down on Ji Xu, who lived in a thatched hut with a potted window.
However, I have heard in the past two days that Xu Nu not only sells steamed cakes, but also helps Feng's kitchen.
Thinking back to that time when Wang Mazi joked and asked her to give three hu of rice to Ji Xu as his bride, she now thought about it carefully.
Cui Da: "You may have asked Guangzong about this matter. I wonder if he likes that girl."
"What's the difficulty? The girl has grown up, she's fair and pretty, but she's a little thinner and not strong enough. I see she has to rest repeatedly while holding a pair of steamers and cauldrons. I'm afraid she can't work hard in the fields.
But it doesn't matter. He can cook and make money. When he comes back in a while, I'll talk to him about it. I'm sure he'll agree."
His family member Cui Guangzong is an apprentice in the county iron shop. He was only allowed to go home for two days during the busy farming season. Now he has returned to the iron shop to work as an ironworker. He has not been at home for a long time. He will become a blacksmith after learning how to become one. He will be very popular.
Cui Da thought for a moment and said, "Do you think that Xu girl is so good now? Don't forget that she has two younger sisters. They have a good relationship. Is it possible that she would leave her younger sisters and marry him?
"I must take care of them. Xiaozhu should have paid a head tax when she was seven, and the two of them should pay a tax when they are fifteen. Which of food, clothing, and daily necessities is not an expense? Have you carefully calculated this?"
Liao was silent for a long time.
Cui Dadao said: "She just happened to get a big order from Mr. Tian. How can the steamed buns be sold well every day? It's just a novelty for a while.
Tomorrow she has to pay taxes. First, let's see if she can pay the tax. Then, what will happen next? If she can afford a house with her craftsmanship, and if she can even marry me, I'll be impressed by her!"
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