Chapter 85
After Gu Ran knew the reason why Mai Xiang ran away from home, he started to think about it.
Originally, this matter had nothing to do with me, so I could have stayed out of it.
Mai Xiang was the first person she met after coming to this Great Sheng Dynasty. The two of them were destined to be together. Now, because she trusted her, she even disobeyed her own mother and came to her alone without fear of the dangers of the journey, which inevitably touched her heart.
If she had just arrived in Xiaxi Village and had no ability, it would have been fine, but now that she is a little well-off, she can't help but feel sympathy.
Aunt Mai wanted to give the betrothal silver to the husband's family that Mai Xiang had chosen, simply because she was short of money. It happened that she had just earned some extra money from Xu San, so she could afford to give the ten taels of betrothal silver according to her means.
If she was willing to lend ten taels to the Mai family, Aunt Mai probably wouldn't have to be so anxious to find a husband for Mai Xiang.
The trouble comes afterward.
She is not a relative of Mai Xiang. If the ten taels of silver are used up, who can predict what Aunt Mai will come up with?
Although, she felt that Aunt Mai was not bad to her own daughter. Mai Xiang was old, so it was understandable to choose a reliable husband's family for her. At the same time, she could get a generous betrothal gift, which was the best of both worlds.
As for the Yang family, although she didn't have much contact with them, the Aunt He she knew was a daughter raised by the Yang family.
Judging from Aunt He's character and deeds, the Yang family is also a good family.
According to Mai Xiang's original personality, she might have given in. The difficulty was that Mai Xiang was unwilling. No matter how good her husband's family was, Aunt Mai meant well but ended up with malformed intentions. It seemed that she wanted to force her to do so, which caused the irreconcilable conflict between mother and daughter.
This solved Aunt Mai's urgent problem, as she no longer needed money. However, Aunt Mai was not Aunt He. She had seen that on the road of exile. Aunt Mai was a strong-willed person, and would inevitably put her husband first. She might even arrange a marriage for her regardless of her daughter's wishes one day.
So to solve this problem, we have to look for a solution from Maixiang.
She could take Mai Xiang in for a while, but she couldn't take Mai Xiang in for a lifetime. If she didn't want her mother to control her at will, she could only let Mai Xiang stand up for herself.
"Then, I'll learn some skills from you, Sister Gu!" Mai Xiang was a sensible person. "Sister Gu, if you teach me to be as capable as you, my mother won't choose a husband for me regardless of my wishes. If she still insists on forcing me, I'll learn from you and start my own family."
Gu Ran couldn't help but laugh, "My skill is a little hard to learn." And it has to be used in conjunction with the workshop, how can I learn it?
"Sister Gu, if you teach me, I will definitely study hard. I will study hard, so how can I not learn it?"
"Well, how about this, tell me about yourself, what can you do?"
"I can do everything a normal woman can do, such as cooking, washing, sweeping, and I can also make clothes and farm."
"You can farm too?"
"I've been farming with my parents since I was little. I've been growing wheat and corn for several years, and I can also grow vegetables!" Mai Xiang said, "Sister Gu, I can help you farm. Hire me!"
Gu Ran thought that being able to farm and grow vegetables was really a job that required some skills. She remembered that when the exiles arrived at their place of settlement, in addition to the ten mu of land they were initially allocated, each person had to reclaim another ten mu of land.
The average per capita quota in Fujian is 20 mu of farmland. If you want more land, you can open it yourself.
Maixiang should also reclaim ten acres of wasteland, but I don’t know if he has succeeded.
When Gu Ran asked about her ten acres of land, Mai Xiang nodded and said, "Yes, my father and brother are now developing the wasteland under my name. Five acres of land have been cultivated. I plan to plant something after the autumn harvest!"
"That's easy then."
Gu Ran had an idea in his mind and led Mai Xiang to the front of the windmill, to the acre of land where konjac was newly planted.
Mai Xiang watched Gu Ran carefully turn over the mud in the field with a hoe, revealing tiny tubers.
"Sister Gu, what is this?"
"Konjac, come and take a look."
Gu Ran introduced this hairy konjac to Mai Xiang.
"You know, I'm working with the He family, the Yang family's son-in-law's family in your village, to make a living, right?"
Mai Xiang nodded.
"This is a kind of snack ingredient in their store. Although the supply is not large now, I am optimistic about the prospects of this snack. However, I am the only one who grows konjac and supplies it to them." Gu Ran explained.
Mai Xiang was not stupid and immediately understood what Gu Ran meant: "Sister Gu, do you want to teach me how to eat konjac?"
“That’s right!”
Doesn’t Maixiang have five acres of land of his own?
You can use it to grow konjac, and then Maixiang will supply the konjac ingredients to the shops in the city.
Judging from the current booming business of the store, I'm afraid this business can continue for a long time, and the demand for konjac will definitely continue to increase. Teaching Maixiang how to grow konjac will be a skill she can rely on.
At least now in the Dasheng Dynasty, many people think that konjac is poisonous and cannot be touched, so no one grows it. It is considered a unique business.
By then, she will be able to generate income for the Mai family, and the Mai family will also look up to Mai Xiang, right?
At least Aunt Mai would not rush to marry off her daughter who grows konjac and sells it just because she is short of money. If Aunt Mai is really so unreasonable and insists on going against her daughter, then Mai Xiang will really establish herself as a daughter-in-law and have the ability to make a living.
"Once your mother agrees, I'll talk to Aunt He and Uncle Yang who are doing business in the city. When I come to the village to collect fairy grass in the future, I'll also buy the konjac you grow and sign a contract with you."
When Gu Ran explained the importance of this matter, Mai Xiang's face flushed with excitement and she nodded vigorously: "Sister Gu, this is a good idea. If you teach me, I will definitely learn it well."
"But be careful when planting it, this konjac is poisonous..."
So during the few days in the cottage, Gu Ran told Mai Xiang in detail about the planting and precautions of Konjac, and even went to Dayu Forest specifically to dig up some Konjac that was not yet in harvest season so that Mai Xiang could see it clearly.
Mai Xiang absorbed every detail of Gu Ran's story, like cotton soaking up water, and finally asked, "So, how do you eat konjac?"
"How do you eat it? I can't tell you about this." Gu Ran said with a smile, "I signed a contract with the He family, so it has to be kept secret. Just go ahead and plant it."
Just like how to make immortal grass into roasted immortal grass, when the secret method of preparing konjac was taught to the He family, it was sold for ten taels of silver. The fact that the recipe could not be passed on to others was also one of the conditions for getting an additional share of the He family's business.
Mai Xiang suddenly realized and nodded.
So at this time, seeing that Aunt Mai finally came to the door, Gu Ran told Aunt Mai directly about her and Mai Xiang's plan.
"Ten taels? Are you willing to lend me ten taels?"
"I will lend it to you, but the debt agreement was signed by Xiangxiang and me." Gu Ran said as he handed two ingots of five taels of silver to Aunt Mai and showed her the IOU signed by Mai Xiang.
Aunt Mai was illiterate. Her eyelids twitched when she saw the red handprint on the IOU. Then she looked at the silver beside her, feeling both happy and confused.
"Do you think Xiangxiang can repay the ten taels you borrowed from my family?"
"able."
Gu Ran nodded, and then told Aunt Mai that Xiangxiang would go back to the village and grow konjac for him and the He family shop. Aunt Mai opened her eyes wide in disbelief.
"Is she, Xiangxiang okay?"
"Of course." Gu Ran looked at Mai Xiang, "Xiang Xiang, what do you think?"
"I can do it. I can grow konjac well, Sister Gu, you can rest assured." After Mai Xiang finished speaking to Gu Ran, she looked at Aunt Mai and said with all her heart, "Mother, please don't promise me to someone else. I can make money, and I can make more money than anyone else in our family."
Aunt Mai's eyes suddenly turned red: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I've already borrowed the money you requested. Could you please not agree to let Second Aunt Yang marry me?" Mai Xiang asked. "If you don't agree, I won't go back. I'll stay at Sister Gu's place and help her with work to pay her back."
Aunt Mai wiped her eyes vigorously. "This isn't your home, how can you be so shameless?" She reached out and swept the ten taels of silver and put it away. "Okay, if you say you don't want to get married, then don't get married. You're still young anyway. I'll arrange something for you in two years."
Mai Xiang curled her lips and wanted to say something, but she glanced at Gu Ran and saw him shaking his head slightly at her. In the end, she bit her lip and said nothing.
Aunt Mai and Mai Dong wanted to take Mai Xiang back with them, so they naturally couldn't leave empty-handed. Gu Ran filled two bamboo baskets with the small konjac with mud that she and Mai Xiang had dug from their own fields, and asked them to take it back.
"Have you learned everything I taught you these days?"
Mai Xiang nodded.
While watching Aunt Mai and Mai Dong moving the bamboo baskets onto the donkey cart, Gu Ran picked out some dried goods and meat from the small warehouse for Mai Xiang to take home, and also gave Mai Xiang two taels of rice as well.
Mai Xiang touched the silver, hid it secretly without saying a word, and looked at Gu Ran with red eyes.
"Go home and grow konjac well. If you encounter anything you don't understand, send me a letter or have someone pass it on, and I'll go to your village to help you!"
Gu Ran hugged Mai Xiang's shoulders tightly.
Mai Xiang nodded.
Gu Ran drove a donkey cart and took the Mai family and their group to the ferry crossing in Donglin Township.
"Take a boat from here to the county dock, where there are boats that go directly to the provincial capital."
"I know, Sister Gu, I came here by boat this way." Mai Xiang felt much better. Although she was reluctant, she still smiled.
"Don't worry, we are here, we won't get lost."
Aunt Mai, who had received the silver, stood on the boat, with Mai Dong squatting at her feet, but her hand was on Mai Xiang's shoulder. Her face was bright and she smiled at Gu Ran, "Second Aunt Gu, when you have time in the future, remember to come to Nanyu Village to see our Xiang Xiang!"
"Okay!"
Gu Ran stood at the ferry, watching the small boat carrying the Mai family. It swayed a few times in the Wujiang River, then rowed forward steadily. Seeing the small boat become a black dot on the river and go away, he breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little melancholy.
It was the first time since she came to Dasheng Dynasty that people thought she was reliable. She was afraid that if she did not do well, she would disappoint Mai Xiang, and she was also afraid that if she did well, she would mislead Mai Xiang.
After all, it's not like me. I'm alone in this Great Sheng Dynasty, without any ties. Naturally, I can live my life however I want.
But Maixiang is different, she has a home.
There is a father, a mother, and even a brother.
No matter how open-minded the customs of the Great Sheng Dynasty were towards women, there were elders above them, and women could not do as they pleased in many matters. She could not imagine the consequences if Mai Xiang really broke with her family and established a daughter-in-law household.
Gu Ran calmed himself down and sighed deeply.
That's good. At least the problem of planting konjac has been solved for now, and she doesn't have to rush to open up wasteland and grow it.
Coming back to his senses, Gu Ran drove his donkey cart around the market, intending to stock up on some goods.
Seeing that Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, she had to prepare food and lanterns for the festival.
There are a few more grandchildren this year, so grandma has to prepare more food!
When replenishing my food rations, I happened to see a farmer selling water chestnuts. The layer of soil covering them was still moist, which showed that they had just been dug out. So I bought a whole bag of them, planning to take them home and make lychee meat.
Lychee meat is also one of the specialty dishes of Fujian.
There is no lychee in lychee meat, just like there is no fish in fish-flavored eggplant.
The reason why lychee meat got its name is simply because the meat used in the dish is round like bright red lychees.
When the ingredients are hard to find or it is not the right season, potatoes or taro are often used to make it, but in fact, authentic lychee meat is made with water chestnuts.
Water chestnut, also known as water caltrop, is an aquatic plant that eats tubers in the ground, just like taro and water chestnut. It usually matures and is available on the market in late autumn.
But the weather in Fujian is hot, just like early-ripening oranges appear in September and October, there are fewer early-ripening water chestnuts, but they are also sold in August and September. In the first life, water chestnuts were basically sold in all seasons, but they were still rare in the Great Sheng Dynasty. After asking the farmers, they were all wild and not cultivated on a large scale. It was rare to see them, so Gu Ran bought them all at once.
Water chestnuts can be eaten raw as fruit. After washing and peeling, they can be eaten directly. Good water chestnuts have white meat, are juicy and refreshing. They have been known as underground sherry since ancient times, so there is also water chestnut jelly to eat.
If you cook it, there are many ways to eat it: make soup, cook dishes, or boil sweet soup.
But today, let’s make an authentic lychee meat dish.
Wash the water chestnuts, peel them, and make them into small white balls. Then take a few and cut them into small pieces as fillings.
Then chop the garlic, onion, ginger and other condiments and set aside.
Then take a piece of tenderloin, slice it, and cut diagonal cross cuts on both sides of each piece of meat. The gaps should not be too large. Smaller gaps will make it easier for the flavor to absorb, and it will also be easier to create cracks similar to the lychee skin when frying. After the whole piece of tenderloin is scored, cut it into small pieces.
In addition, mix the meat slices with salt, pesto sauce, a little rice wine and egg white, and marinate them slightly.
Heat oil in a pan, and when the oil is boiling, wrap the marinated meat slices with the water chestnut pieces and roll them into balls, which will make them look more like lychees.
Dip the meat balls in dry starch and fry them in hot oil. When they turn golden brown, you can pick them up.
In addition, use red fermented rice, sour vinegar, salt and cornstarch to make the sauce. Heat oil in a new wok, stir-fry the sauce and seasonings, add the fried meat balls and water chestnuts and stir-fry them together, allowing the meat balls and water chestnuts to be fully coated with the red sauce. Soon, a portion of brightly colored lychee meat will be ready.
Because of the addition of red fermented rice, the meat ball is burnt yellow with a red tint, and because it is round, it looks like a lychee. When you pick up a lychee to eat, you have to open the sour and sweet meat skin to reveal the white and tender water chestnut inside. It is exactly like eating a lychee, peeling off the shell to see the snow-white lychee meat inside. It is quite similar.
As for the round ripe water chestnuts that come with the red lychee flesh, they are naturally the peeled lychees.
Therefore, water chestnuts are needed to achieve this pleasing effect.
Take a bite, it tastes sour and sweet, crispy and tender, very appetizing.
After having a satisfying meal, Gu Ran was digesting his food in the courtyard while having a race with the three little ones he had released. The Daju family was so happy to see the rare two-legged beasts having fun with him that they were flying with joy.
Maybe it’s because she became a mother, or maybe it’s because she found a warm and reliable nest. In other words, she found a servant who can serve her comfortably, so Daju rarely goes out this year.
Even now, the three little ones have grown plump and smooth, and can already be independent, but Big Orange has not left.
I just go out for a walk occasionally and then come back to my son and daughter.
With the big orange dog taking care of the three little ones, Gu Ran naturally felt more at ease.
At this time, Daju was also chasing Gu Ran, and the three little ones were jumping and skipping behind her.
They were very curious about the outside world, but Gu Ran usually didn't open the door to let them out. They had to try to climb out from the patio with the help of external objects like their mother. Their jumping ability was not good enough, so they had to practice more.
Gu Ran had no intention of restraining them originally, she just thought that she could afford to raise them. If they were raised freely, even a strong animal like Daju would get injured outside. So she hoped to at least let them go and raise them freely, and wait until they grew as strong as Daju.
The standard is that he must be the same size as Daju and be able to escape from the small house through the courtyard like Daju, then she will accept it.
Now they are still her good grandchildren!
Grandma, who has a daughter and three grandchildren, started cleaning the yard today, preparing to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with them!
Last year she and Daju celebrated the occasion together, and this year with three more grandchildren, it’s even more lively.
Sure enough, when Gu Ran was decorating the cottage and hanging lanterns, her three grandchildren followed her wherever she went, and they even scrambled to climb up as if she were a tree, grabbing her legs and grabbing onto them.
"Be good, Xiaoju, Xiaohei, don't climb on grandma's legs, get off!"
"Daju, Daju, come and take care of your son and daughter!"
Every time Gu Ran hung a lantern, he would pick cat mushrooms. No matter how he called Daju, the mother would not respond. The mother had already jumped into the food basket on the table, grabbed her favorite cake and started eating.
The little flower followed behind A Niang, unable to jump onto the table, and could only circle around under the table with its eyes wide open, meowing.
Gu Ran had no choice but to hang up the lantern in his hand, then picked up Xiaoju and Xiaohei, one in each hand, and went into the house.
Seeing Daju stealing food on the table, and then looking at Xiaohua spinning around on the ground, she was angry and amused: "Daju, how can you be a mother? You actually steal food? Do you have any shame in front of the kids?"
The big orange cat meowed at her, but still licked the remaining biscuit crumbs clean.
When she was still trying to choose what to eat, Gu Ran, who had put Xiaoju and Xiaohei on the ground, suddenly picked her up by the scruff of the neck and said, "Okay, okay, don't eat too much, otherwise you won't be able to finish the main meal later."
In order to have a good holiday for himself, his daughter and grandson, Gu Ran prepared cat food early, so that he could eat it directly after taking it out from the space grid.
As a snack, each person got a small yellow croaker and some shelled shrimp.
As for Gu Ran himself, a smoked duck, a dish of steamed fish fillet with lotus root sauce, a stir-fried eggplant, and a pork rib and beef ball soup would be enough for him.
After-meal snacks include moon balls and carp cakes, as well as grapefruit as a fruit after the meal. Of course, you have to leave some room in your stomach and don’t eat too much during the main meal.
After Gu Ran fed Daju's family, he filled a bowl of beef ball soup for himself when he heard someone knocking on the gate.
Is it Liu Niang?
Gu Ran thought subconsciously.
However, the previous two times he thought it was Liu Niang who came back, but it turned out not to be the case, so as soon as this thought came up, Gu Ran suppressed it.
"Who is it?" Gu Ran stood up and walked towards the gate of the courtyard.
I’m afraid that Mrs. Lin is celebrating the festival and is asking Xiaolan to send something over!
When the door was opened, Gu Ran's eyes were filled with emotion and suddenly brightened up.
"Sixth Lady?"
Outside the door, Pei Liuniang was dressed in dust, but she was holding a glittering octagonal glazed palace lantern in her hand. It was the light of the palace lantern that illuminated Gu Ran's eyes.
"You're back?"
Pei Liu looked at Gu Ran who was looking at him in surprise, suppressed his smile, and pursed his lips, "I'm back!"
Gu Ran was in a daze as she watched Pei Liuniang shove the glass lantern into her hands and walk in. She followed in, holding the palace lantern. When she saw Pei Liuniang entering the yard, she saw a row of kittens lining up to eat. She saw her grandchild among them and squatted down, "Xiaohua!"
Xiaohua, who hadn't seen her grandma for a long time, couldn't recognize this beautiful two-legged creature. She raised her head to glance at her and then buried her head in her meal. It was not until Pei Liuniang took out the fragrant fried fish and shook it in front of her that Xiaohua smelled the scent and looked up and meowed.
While feeding Xiaohua, she took out a whole bag of fried fish and put a handful on each cat's plate, which attracted the other three cats to meow one after another.
Pei Liu watched Xiaohua return to her cat tray, burying her head in her snores. He reached out and touched her head, then smiled at Gu Ran, who was still standing blankly at the gate. "Second Mother Gu?"
"Hey!" Gu Ran finally came back to his senses after being called by her.
"Is there any food for me?"
"Yes, of course!" Gu Ran looked at Pei Liuniang, then at the beautiful palace lantern in his hand. His resentment towards Pei Liuniang for not returning home dissipated a little. When he walked to the kitchen to get more food, he hung the palace lantern on the red tangerine tree next to him.
After entering the kitchen, he took out a few big buns and steamed buns from the space grid, put them on a plate and took them out.
Another grandma has returned, and this Mid-Autumn, they can be considered a family reunion.
Gu Ran thought.
After finishing the reunion dinner in a warm atmosphere, when Pei Liu was responsible for clearing away the dishes and washing them, Gu Ran asked, "Didn't you say you'd only be gone for half a month? Why did it take so long?"
"Something happened." Pei Liu responded as he put the bowl away.
"What's the matter?" Gu Ran asked, "Yes, you didn't find the person you were looking for?"
Pei Liu nodded.
Gu Ran expressed regret, which meant that Pei Liuniang would have to find time to look for her in the future!
"Can I ask who you're looking for?"
Pei Liu hesitated for a moment before softly saying, "My elder sister."
Gu Ran was stunned. It seemed that she had never heard of Pei Liuniang having an older sister. Was it just hearsay? Was she wrong?
"Are you sure she's in Minzhou?"
"Sure."
"Minzhou is so big, how can you find it by yourself? Otherwise, why don't you ask a few local people who are familiar with Minzhou to help you look for it?" Gu Ran gave her advice.
"I thought so too. From now on, I'll ask a few more locals to help me keep an eye out for clues about her."
Gu Ran nodded: "Then next time, if you go out to look for someone and can't come back on time, you should also think of finding someone to pass a message back to me in Xiaxi Village, otherwise I will be very worried."
Pei Liu raised the corner of his mouth slightly and nodded: "Okay, next time for sure."
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