Chapter 114: Apologize, Master Ji treats you differently after all. ...
Song Jin bullied Lu Junnian and ran away under the protection of Ji Shubai. This made Lu Junnian very angry, but Song Jin was very happy.
Ji Shubai protected her solidly, which made Song Jin feel that he seemed to be more reliable. She thought that she should do something for him in return, so she really started making peanut butter.
Peanut butter is not difficult to make. In modern times, you can use an oven and a blender to make very fine peanut butter, but they are not available now. Song Jin had to fry the peeled peanuts in a pan over low heat to prevent them from turning black and burnt.
The fried peanuts need to be peeled, spread on a bamboo stick while still hot, and rubbed back and forth with a wooden board. The skin will soon fall off.
Finally, Song Jin held the bamboo castanea in his arms and threw the peanuts inside up with force. The peanuts and the red skins were thrown into the air. Chunyun stood aside, holding a large cattail leaf fan and fanning it hard. The red skins were blown all over the ground by the wind, making the two of them giggle.
Song Jin has a small stone mill, which he bought when he was grinding carbon powder and moxa. He has already cleaned it and now uses it to grind peanut powder.
One spoonful of salt and three spoonfuls of sugar were added in and ground together. It took two passes until it was fine enough without any granular feeling when pinched with fingers. Song Jin worried for a while about what kind of oil to use to blend it at the end.
She could have used corn oil, which has a lighter taste, but she didn't have any. Sesame oil was too strong and she felt it overpowered the flavor, so she chose melted lard to mix it, which solidified when it cooled.
Anyway, they won’t eat peanut butter dry nowadays, so they just put it in porridge.
The next day, Song Jin made peanut butter, brought a large bowl of chestnuts and other things, and went to Ji's house excitedly.
When she arrived, Ji Shubai was already waiting for her in the hall, as if he knew she would come.
"Master Ji, why don't you stay in the house? There's ventilation here, so you won't be afraid of getting cold."
Ji Shubai was holding a heater in his hand, and wanted to laugh when he saw Song Jin coming in and chattering.
"What's delicious today?"
"Chaoshan iron pot porridge, chestnut stewed chicken soup."
"Chestnuts? Aren't they something we eat in autumn?"
Song Jin smiled and said, "The hermit has his own clever plan."
After saying that, he went into the kitchen.
Mother Chen helped kill the chicken and cut it into pieces. Song Jin peeled the chestnuts and they stewed them together over low heat. Mother Chen was also curious when she saw it.
"How come there are still chestnuts in this winter? I hope they don't go bad."
"It won't go bad. I'm watching it." Song Jin said as he stuffed a peeled chestnut into Mother Chen's mouth: "Try it, it's sweet."
Mother Chen took a bite and there was a crisp sound.
"Yeah, it's delicious and sweet. Where did you get it from?"
"I saved it for myself and planned to sell it in the twelfth lunar month."
"Oh, it's going to be more expensive in winter, right?"
Song Jin thought for a moment and said, "Ten coins per pound, what do you think?"
Mother Chen laughed: "Girl, you are going to sell chestnuts as salt."
Song Jin chuckled. She thought that she would at least earn back the labor costs and the money for the jar. Tomorrow she would ask her shop assistant to carry the fruits to the street to sell. If they sold well, she would store more next year.
They came early today and there was still some time before lunch, so Song Jin soaked the rice in hot water, stewed the chicken on the stove, and then went to find Ji Shubai.
The man was waiting for her in the corridor, and when he saw her running towards him, he asked with a smile, "There won't be any chili peppers today, will there?"
"I didn't save any this year, but I'm not sure about next year. Oh, now I remember, you said you would help me discuss with the Chai family about planting mugwort on the ridges. Is that settled?"
Ji Shubai frowned and pretended to be embarrassed: "This is a bit difficult to handle."
"It's not that difficult. I can pay him."
"The main reason is that no one has ever offered me a bribe, and you ignored me earlier, so I thought you didn't want it anymore."
"Who said I don't want it? Just because I'm fighting with you doesn't mean I don't want to make money. Besides, didn't I cook chicken soup for you?"
Ji Shubai sighed: "This is the first time I've seen someone bribe with chicken soup."
"Just tell me whether it works or not."
Ji Shubai pursed his lips and smiled: "It works. It works especially well."
At noon that day, Song Jin made Chaoshan-style porridge, a can of chicken soup, and preserved egg and tofu soup cooked with young cabbage leaves. Salted duck eggs were also added to the soup, making it look a tender yellow. A few slices of salted lean meat were then cut into the soup. Although the taste was not as good as that of spring bamboo shoots, it also had its own unique flavor.
However, Ji Shubai was dissatisfied: "Why is it all soupy?"
"You are a patient, you should not eat too much."
"I am well again."
"Then why don't you report to the government office?"
"You always make me go."
Song Jin smiled and said, "Wait a minute, I'll give you something you've never eaten before."
When Song Jin stopped the fire in the pot, he buried a few sweet potato lumps in the fire in the stove. After they were cooked, he could break them apart and eat them directly, or scoop them out and mix them with sugar.
Since Ji Shubai loves mashed potatoes, there is no reason for him not to like this and have it as a dessert after dinner.
At the dinner table, Ji Shubai told Song Jin the Chai family's intention. They agreed to provide a place for growing mugwort, but it must not affect the picking of mulberry leaves. As for the return, they only needed to send 50 kilograms of ordinary mosquito coils to her home every year.
When Song Jin heard this, he thought it was a good deal. Fifty kilograms of mosquito coils contain at least thirty kilograms of charcoal. How much is that? He knew at a glance that the Chai family didn't intend to collect rent for the sake of Ji Shubai's face, but it was inconvenient to say it directly, so they found such a compromise to make it look like the money was paid and look better.
The main thing is that Song Jin looks better.
Song Jin understood what was going on and actively scooped a bowl of chicken soup for Ji Shubai.
"Try this chestnut. I saved it this fall. If you like it, I'll give you a few pounds."
Ji Shubai took it with a smile: "You might as well send it to the Chai family. They want to try all the new things anyway."
"I'll deliver it tomorrow."
"Then where is Lord Lu?"
"ah?"
Ji Shubai suddenly mentioned Lu Junnian, which confused Song Jin. It wasn't that he couldn't bear to let him go, but they had just had a fight yesterday.
"Yesterday you had an argument with Lord Lu. Although it was just a small quarrel, he is an official after all. You should listen to me and apologize to him, okay?"
Song Jin grumbled in dissatisfaction: "It was clearly him who targeted me first, saying that there was something unclear between us, and even asked me which of poetry, fu, chess, calligraphy and painting I was good at. He clearly knew that I was just a servant who did rough work, how could it be possible? It was clearly him who made things difficult for me first."
"I know," Ji Shubai said gently, "I didn't explain myself clearly, and you were wronged. But in this situation, it's not good for you to remain in a stalemate. He is the judge, and he has power. Even if I always protect you, it's not good for him to have a grudge against you."
"Just think of it as being for me, and bear with it for a little while, okay?"
Seeing that he spoke so gently and was doing it for his own good, Song Jin felt it difficult to refuse and agreed immediately.
"When the time comes, you should wear women's clothes. He will be more gentle when he sees you as a woman. How about I send a sedan chair to pick you up?"
Song Jin turned the chopsticks in his hand: "Women's clothes..."
She always wore men's clothes, blue cloth robes in summer and autumn, and green cloth jackets in winter. Only when she was a servant in the Bai family did she wear women's clothes, which were already very old.
"What's wrong?"
"Then I have to make a skirt."
Ji Shubai smiled and said, "Let me help you do it."
Song Jin bit his chopsticks and nodded, his face showing unconcealable joy.
The clothes that Ji Shubai made for Song Jin were delivered to Lu's restaurant half a month later, causing a sensation.
On top of her head was a white silk jacket, which was not unusual, but ordinary people would never consider this color.
Below it was a pleated skirt with a dark jade purple satin and brocade floral pattern, and the hem of the skirt was embroidered with a lotus pattern with silk thread.
At the bottom was a short jacket with a dark jade purple satin surface. It was made of lambskin with rose purple lambskin trimmings, and short fur was visible at the cuffs and collar. When it was turned over, a whole piece of fine and dense lambskin fur could be seen. It felt furry and warm when one touched it.
Several women surrounded him and touched him, unable to let go.
"I've seen this, I've seen it. Bao Bao has worn a coat like this. It has fur too, and it's very warm."
Chunyun called out, and Dujuan smiled and said, "Okay, okay, everyone knows you've seen it, and our Mancao has put it on now, too. It's really different now than it was before."
Mrs. Chen was also happy for a rare moment: "Master Ji treats you differently after all."
Happy on one hand, worried on the other hand, it is different, but in the end, I have no name and no status.
Song Jin didn't think too much about it. When Ji Shubai wanted to make clothes for her, she guessed it would be satin, but she didn't expect it would be a lambskin short jacket.
"We still have to buy a pair of shoes. It's not good for a man to give a woman shoes. It makes people walk away. Fortunately, Master Ji didn't send them this time, otherwise it would be a joke."
"And the hair, let's do a nice bun."
"Add some more jewelry, earrings and silver hairpins are indispensable."
......
When the women saw the beautiful clothes, they were so excited that they couldn't sleep, so they asked Song Jin to try them on.
It is said that clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. After Song Jin put on this expensive dress, even her steps became smaller and she looked much gentler, not as careless as when she wore men's clothes.
Seeing this, several people made fun of her. She turned from a bad boy into a lady overnight.
Song Jin smiled shyly.
A group of people gave her advice, telling her what to buy on the street tomorrow, and not to miss a single detail, from her head to her feet, and to dress up nicely to match the dress.
A lively evening.
That night, Dujuan sat in her room for a long time.
"What happened between you and Lord Ji?"
Song Jin said honestly: "Actually, there is nothing, it's just..."
More than friends, but less than lovers?
But Song Jin knew that he liked Ji Shubai, and Ji Shubai didn't seem to be disgusted with him, and was even somewhat proactive. Except for the fact that they hadn't broken the window paper, the two of them were almost a couple.
Almost, but not quite.
"What is it?"
Song Jin couldn't answer.
"Let me tell you, he is a man and you are a woman, he is an official and you are a civilian. If this matter were to be exposed, it would probably not have much impact on him, it would just be a romantic affair. But it is different for you."
Song Jin thought, it's not just the Ming Dynasty that is different. In the 21st century, the situation is not much better. Men and women break up, get married or divorced, or even have sex once and then go their separate ways the next day. People always talk about women being at a disadvantage and men taking advantage.
Even that layer of membrane only grows on women, and the uterus also only grows on women. I don’t know which dog invented the virgin gaze, but the crisis of pregnancy cannot be avoided in this Ming Dynasty.
But Song Jin was very conflicted. On the one hand, she didn't want to get married and become a backyard decoration. On the other hand, she felt that if people really started talking about it, she would be in trouble. After all, in the 21st century, there were still female celebrities who became hot searches for wearing suspenders when they walked into the venue.
A drop of spit can drown a person, especially in the Ming Dynasty where you can't just leave whenever you want.
She is doing business here disguised as a man. If people knew about this, who knows what kind of gossip would arise.
"In fact, it would be nice if I could marry Lord Ji. He is an honest official, well-educated, and has excellent character. He will never let you down. But it's a pity that Lord Ji doesn't say anything."
Song Jin sighed, "Being an honest official means being poor. What does being well-educated have to do with me? I am not bad either. I have good character and I am not short of money. If I were short of money, I would starve to death and have to rely on me for support. None of these benefits are good for me, but I have been an official for so long, I should have good connections, I can use them."
Du Juan said to her, "You can't think like that. If Lord Ji wants to make money, he has many more ways than us. Don't you know that the Chai family bought most of the chestnuts? Even so, they still think it's not enough. They will need more next year. And the preserved eggs, I made a dish and sent it to the steward the other day. If he wants to buy it, it's just a matter of words. Although these ways are opened by our abilities, Lord Ji can do it with just a word. How easy it is. As for the mosquito coils, we have the Chai family's fields to plant mugwort. If we start early next year, we will definitely make a lot of money. And your father, if there are more people in the future, maybe he can take over the business in the government office. It's hard for us to do it ourselves, but for Lord Ji, isn't it just a matter of words?"
Song Jin thought about it and it seemed to make sense.
"I'm telling you, even if Master Ji doesn't think highly of you, if he does, you must not let go of this opportunity."
Song Jin chuckled: "I know, I'll try my best."
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