Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Update.
The armored soldiers of the county magistrate's office did not stop him. Because he had made great contributions in arresting the criminal sons of the royal family and was promoted to the rank of Cavalry General, the armored soldiers were mostly respectful, so Ji Xu followed him in.
The house was in a state of disrepair. The lacquerware and pottery that were difficult to move were smashed and scattered all over the floor. The flowers and plants were no longer as lush as before.
The servants' quarters were also in a mess, but the lock of Hu Chu's room was still there, having been pried open by Marquis Mu Ping with the tip of his sword.
Ji Xu stepped on the spot next to the doorpost and said, "It's buried here."
He used the tip of his sword to scrape away the mud in two strokes, and the silver cakes wrapped in cloth were not missing at all. She counted them happily and said:
"I heard that when they search a house, they have to dig deep underground. My sister is worried that she will be dug up."
Marquis Mu Ping said, "No one has come to the lower courtyard to dig the ground."
Those courtyards with abundant resources and where money could be embezzled would naturally attract many soldiers to raid them.
Ji Xu laughed when he heard this. "That's true. Even if the lower house digs five or ten feet deep, what kind of treasure can it find?"
As the sky gradually darkened, Tian's mother and daughter had not yet gone to sleep in the post station. They lit the copper lamp of the post station and were waiting for their eldest daughter to come back.
Ji Feng snuggled up to Tian and told her every detail of how they had been living in the past two years.
Tian was both distressed and comforted when she heard this. Ji Feng said:
"Sister sent us to elementary school, and Xiaozhu can even recite."
When she spoke, she asked Ji Zhu to recite a passage for her mother.
Jizhu, who had been lying on the kang chasing and playing with Xiaoyao like puppies, sat up obediently on her knees, shaking her head, and reciting the "Jijiupian" like an old scholar:
"I have hurriedly prepared a unique and distinctive gu, listing the names and surnames of various objects. I have separated them into their respective departments and residences, without mixing them up. I have kept my daily schedule short and sincere, and I am pleased. I will strive to achieve this, and I am sure you will be happy. Please describe the chapter. Song Yannian, Zheng Zifang, Wei Yishou, Shi Buchang, Zhou Qianqiu, Zhao Ruqing, Yuan Zhanshi, Gao Pibing, Deng Wansui, Qin Miaofang..."
Tian couldn't stop smiling when she heard this, and she clapped her hands and called him "good boy".
"I was wondering if there was a long, round bamboo scroll in your bundle, with words written on it, that must be the book the Confucian scholars were talking about?"
"Yes, it's the Jijiupian that my sister bought for us. We've always had it with us. Manager Zou can't read, so he didn't steal it."
Ji Fengdao said, "However, she is not good at studying. Since she left her hometown, she has rarely reviewed her lessons. Her books are still as good as new, but Ji Zhu's are old."
While they were talking here, they heard the sound of wheels outside and came out in their clothes and slippers.
It was Ji Xu who came back with a small cloth bag in his hand, and he also brought in an ox cart.
"It's the big yellow ox! Our big yellow ox!"
The ox carried them for more than 3,000 miles to Youzhou and was tied up in the cowshed of the county magistrate's office. Ji Zhu often took her to feed her grass and give her water, just like a family member.
Later, their elder sister was not at home, so the manager Zou took possession of the cow. When the house was searched, all the horses, cows, and sheep in the house were driven out and confiscated. They were guarding the roadside that day and saw their own big yellow cow in the street, but they could not get it back.
When Ji Zhu saw this, he said happily.
"All the other cattle, sheep, and horses were sold, leaving only this one. It wasn't registered with the county magistrate's office, so it hadn't been sold yet. I showed the county magistrate the list of oxen and carts, and they took both the ox and the cart back.
"It's been locked up there and has lost a lot of weight. I got the money back and bought some fodder. I'll feed it well over the next two days," said Ji Xu.
"This ox is good, it looks very obedient. The eldest son, Ji Fu, drives a cart for the Qiao family in the county. He shows off like that all the time. He hasn't had his own cart in years."
When Tian touched the yellow ox, she couldn't help but compete with the eldest wife. Then she remembered what her second daughter said, that her daughter Ji Huhai was kidnapped by thieves, and she couldn't bring herself to curse for a while.
After examining the yellow ox, Ji Xu led it to the stable and tied it up. He stuffed the silver cake into his bag, wiped its body with hot water from the stove, and then the whole family went to sleep on the kang.
The next day, Ji Xu really cooked for the chef of the post station himself, and the food was a little different from yesterday.
Since she had bought the dishes yesterday with the sixty yuan that Ji Feng had, today she would cook them in different ways depending on what vegetables and meat were available in the kitchen.
One dish was red meat stewed with quail eggs, in a rich red sauce that looked shaky, but when the chopsticks were poked in, it was so soft that the officials pressed it into the rice and ate it, even swallowing their tongues.
The dish of chestnut fried chicken is available. The chicken is tender and the chestnuts are sweet and delicious.
There was also a dish of steamed rice with philadelphus grass, which was made by the chef. It was a local specialty of Youzhou. Officials from all over the country shared the dish and praised it highly:
"I used to get tired of eating this steamed rice with philadelphus grass, but today it tastes incredibly delicious with this dish!"
"I heard you used to cook mutton in the county governor's mansion. His family has now broken up. Have you decided where to go? Why not come with us and work as a cook in the government office in Hanoi?"
"Let's go to Hedong. Hedong is the best."
"This kind of craftsmanship is not inferior even in the Sanfu area."
You should know that the Sanfu area was the core area of the capital of the Han Dynasty, consisting of the areas under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Yin, Zuo Fengyi, and You Fufeng. Xijing Chang'an was the seat of the Sanfu area. As the capital, the center of the center, its prosperity is needless to say. Just look at the Five Tombs nearby, they are also very wealthy, with a bustling market. Such praise is a very high evaluation.
They argued about where Ji Xu should go. Some said that Ji Xu should be a kitchen steward, while others said that no woman should be a kitchen steward.
Ji Xu himself also began to think about where to go. Now that mother and daughter were reunited, should he return to his hometown or find another place to go?
"As long as we are together, mother and daughter, it doesn't matter where we settle down."
Ji Xu and Tian discussed it. Although Tian had been away from home for many years, her mother's family treated her badly. Since she married into the Ji family and her mother-in-law passed away, she had no contact with her brother's family for a long time.
Now I specifically asked, and it turned out that the children's uncle had never visited them once when I was away. I became even less reluctant to leave. As long as I could be with the children, I was satisfied. Whether I returned to Wu or not was secondary.
Ji Xu thought that Tian had been away from home for a long time and wanted to go back to visit.
"What are you looking at? You three sisters are all here in front of me. Should I go back to see your heartless uncle and his family? Or should I go back to see Jin Cuiru? Speaking of which, Jin Cuiru is not at home anymore. I don't know where she went."
Tian said, turned her over to sit beside him and started talking to her privately.
"Mother heard all those officials praising you. My Ah Jiao is really capable now. She cooks well and can even ride a horse to such a faraway place. Where do you want to go? When you were little, I heard you say that you wanted to open a restaurant when you grew up."
"When you were a child? How young?"
Ji Xu felt strange. This was indeed her dream in her previous life. How come Ji Xu knew it when she was a child?
"About this age, around four or five years old."
The height that Tian pointed at was only up to his legs.
"The uncles and aunts in the village asked, 'Where are you going? The town or the county?' But you shook your head, pointed west, and said, 'I'm going to Chang'an!' They laughed and told everyone they were joking, saying, 'Everyone says that the Zhuo family sells mutton stomach jerky, and the Zhang family sells fruit juice drinks, but in the future, our village will have a Ji family who becomes wealthy by selling soups!'"
"Why haven't I heard of it?"
Ji Xu found it interesting.
"It's been so many years, and besides, you fell into a well when you were five and you don't remember anything, so I haven't said these words to you. But mother really thinks you had a talent for this when you were young. You would have been able to make a fire as soon as you grew up, and every time you made a fire, it would be just the right size, not too big or too small.
After watching me cook, I'll come up with my own ideas. One time, I turned around and saw you pouring lard into the pot, then adding bracken and frying it. You didn't even call it frying, you just called it stir-frying! It was delicious, but I was so sad to see that the lard was ruined that I won't let you touch it anymore."
When he heard the word "炒", the scene in Ji Xu's mind became clearer and clearer, as if these things were experienced by himself.
The sound of oil sizzling in the pot and Tian's surprised look back are all vividly remembered.
The quarrels over the separation of the family, the thatched cottage with jar windows, the weeds in the field in front of the house, the vegetable patch that was gradually cleared behind the house, and fragments of childhood flashed before my eyes like a kaleidoscope. Even the excruciating pain of stepping on air and falling into the well seemed to be relived.
"Mother?"
Ji Xu's nose suddenly felt sore.
"Why are you calling me for no reason?"
"I'm your daughter, right?"
Before she found herself getting closer to Tian, Ji Xu had never dared to face her. She had been looking for her daughter for many years, but she had replaced her heart with hers. This had always been a source of worry for her.
When I was in Erye's courtyard, I sometimes had the urge to go back to my previous life and leave this place, and even embroidered a nonsensical sentence on my handkerchief.
Now she vaguely recalled things before she was five years old, even memories of her infancy. Her originally uneasy heart seemed to have found a place to rest.
"What are you talking about? Of course you are my mother's daughter. I gave birth to you. Even if you turned into ashes, I would not be able to mistake you."
Tian turned her over and held her in her arms.
Yes, she might have come to this world a long time ago, much earlier than she originally thought. Ji Xu could finally accept Tian's affection with peace of mind, and wiped his tears with the towel in Tian's hand.
"You're crying like this? You're crying even more than when you were a kid."
Hearing that Tian was insulting her, Ji Xu laughed and said:
"After I finish crying, I can tell my mother what's really in my heart. Mother, shall we go to Chang'an?
Fengmei should have told her mother about opening a tofu shop at home, but I see that tofu is sold in Hefei and Shouchun, so I don't think this business will last long. I want to go to a prosperous place and open a restaurant business, which is more profitable. This is the livelihood of our family.
Secondly, my sisters' first teacher, Yang Shushi, had long since returned to his hometown in Qilu, where he was paying his respects. I had previously inquired in Qingzhou and Qi County, and he knew his mother had already passed away, so he had to observe three years of mourning in his hometown. If he waited another three years, my sisters would be too old to start elementary school. I thought I should go to the big cities and find another teacher for them. I couldn't let them neglect their studies. Besides, at home, the little girls would only be able to start elementary school. Xiaozhu loves reading so much, so if she were to stay outside, she might have a chance to study classics.
Third, Xiaoyao was kidnapped from Chang'an. We can help her find her relatives there. Mother, do you think what I said is a good idea?"
Tian smiled and said, "Good, great!"
"My sister thinks it's good too!"
Feng and Zhu had been eavesdropping at the door for some time, and they opened the door and jumped in.
"What do you think, Xiaoyao?" Ji Xu teased her.
Xiaoyao didn't understand anything and just jumped and nodded.
"Let's go to Chang'an!"
Ji Feng said with great anticipation.
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