Chapter 24 Encountered a Cat Demon "Second brother, why did you steal someone's bamboo basket?" ...
Lu Lan originally came to look for the boy following behind her younger sister, whose name was Li...Li something.
The person's name is not important.
He arrived early and sat at Lu's house for a while. He didn't see anyone else following his younger sister. He never much cared about crowds, so he went out to patrol the streets.
Even though it was a day off, Lu Lan immediately felt a sense of duty as soon as he got on the horse.
After he patrolled around Pingjiang Prefecture for half a day, it was already dusk.
Fortunately, despite nagging about him every day, my younger sister still has some conscience and saved some snacks for him today.
While he was eating snacks, he still wanted to find out whether the man called Li was at Lu's house.
The camphor trees grow tall, providing a good place for rest and to meet people.
He had only leaned against the tree for a moment when he heard the branches rustling beside him. He leaned over to look and saw a head peeking out from among the dense green camphor trees.
She wore only two lotus flowers in her hair, and a few strands of hair were tucked into her ears. When she raised her eyes, her eyebrows moved first, and her eyes, reflecting the sunset glow, were very bright.
It's her.
What a coincidence.
Lu Lan usually could get some information out of prisoners when he was interrogating them, but at this moment, he suddenly didn't know what to say.
She stared at his face for a moment, then seemed to come to her senses. She quickly grabbed the branch beside her, and her voice was as loud as when she grabbed the fake lawyer's stick that day.
Lu Lan's eyebrows moved slightly.
Is he the same as that fake lawyer?
Or maybe he was just a little scary.
He retracted the sharpness in his eyes and said softly, "Don't be afraid."
After hearing this, Wei Jinyun turned his head back again.
"You're looking for this?"
Lu Lan stretched out her hand and reached for the brightly dyed chicken feather shuttlecock not far away, held it in her hand and brought it to her.
Wei Jinyun said "hmm" and nodded.
"for you."
Seeing that she was clinging to the branches on both sides, with no other hands free to catch it, Lu Lan didn't think much about it and gently let go...
Put it on her head.
The sunset made the colorful chicken feathers shine.
The corners of Lu Lan's lips curled up slightly. She picked up the bamboo basket of snacks beside her and jumped onto the corner of the wall, then turned over and walked away.
Wei Jinyun naturally didn't come down from the tree with a shuttlecock on his head.
The several pomegranate trees next to the camphor tree were in full bloom, blocking Lu Lan's figure, with only a few rustling sounds of branches.
Wei Jinyun returned the shuttlecock to Zhou Zheyue. Zhou Zhuqing quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat. "Look how tired our young lady Wei is. Her face is so red."
"It's hot, I suppose."
Zhou Zhaiyue said "thank you" and ran to the stone table not far away and made a bowl of tea for Wei Jinyun.
Are you tired? Are you hot?
Wei Fuqiu thought about it and wondered why the big locust tree at home was so different from this camphor tree. Her sister was very agile.
Wei Jinyun took Zhou Zhuqing's round fan and fanned his face for a long time before saying goodbye to everyone and returning home with his two sisters.
"Sister, is there really someone up there?"
Several servants had climbed up the tree earlier, but couldn't find anyone there. Wei Fuling walked beside Wei Jinyun and asked.
"Sister Ling, why don't we go to Hanshan Temple to worship some other day?"
"What's wrong?"
Wei Jinyun looked like he was in pain. He sighed and then spoke slowly, "I'm afraid I've been possessed by a cat demon."
Still with green eyes.
"Climbing a tree is indeed as dangerous as going down to the river." Wei Fuqiu sighed.
"...Wait a minute, why are we taking Shantang Street?"
Wei Jinyun shook the red and black figure in his head, but when he reacted, it was too late.
The two of them answered in unison, "Buy gentian porridge."
This face is even more bitter.
The sunset glow completely disappeared, and the lanterns on Shantang Street began to light up one by one. Although Wei Jinyun had been in Pingjiang Prefecture for some time, he had never been to the Shantang Night Market.
The three sisters had just avoided the flower seller carrying his load when they were caught by the firefly lights of the paper-making stall on the corner of the street.
Firefly lamps are made of thin bamboo strips, covered with translucent paper, and lit with a few special wicks inside. When they are shaken, they look like countless fireflies gathered together, flickering in the night wind.
"I want three."
Wei Jinyun took out some silver and asked her two sisters to pick a lantern each. They led the way ahead of her, holding the lanterns in their hands, jumping and dancing with joy.
After a few steps, the fragrance of peaches mixed with the sweet aroma of honey filled the air. A vendor in brown shorts was weighing peaches on a beam scale. The peaches in the bamboo basket were plump and extremely tempting.
"Weigh five pounds."
Wei Jinyun had just finished speaking when the vendor had already picked up a dozen or so swiftly, fearing that she would change her mind.
He tilted the scale bar, and the copper weight hanging on it swayed. "Look, my lady, it's exactly the right weight!"
After we got off the arch bridge, we came to the famous Xuji Dim Sum Shop. The line outside the shop seemed endless and was packed with people.
Behind the wooden counter, white steam was coming out of the steamer and clay stove, and sesame cakes, pine nut cakes, and jujube paste sesame cakes were neatly arranged.
Whenever Wei Jinyun made money, he wanted to reward himself and buy something for his family, especially since his grandmother loved the snacks from his family.
As for this jujube paste sesame cake, of course I have to order a pack.
Money is earned to be spent.
After walking down a street, the three sisters had in their hands, in addition to what they had just bought, a can of mugwort and mint mosquito repellent, a can of plum and ginger, two pounds of stir-fried watermelon seeds, two taels of Sichuan Fritillaria... Of course, they also couldn't escape a bowl of gentian porridge that they bought and drank immediately.
How much pocket money do the sisters have in private?
When I returned to Tianqing Temple, Wang Qiulan was already sitting in front of the shop, fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan. I don't know how many times she had looked out at the street.
The granddaughters walked into the shop, called out a few times, "Grandma, do you miss us?", and then took out the chopped lamb sausages they bought at the night market and had them for dinner.
But after eating only a few bites, they put down their chopsticks and kept pushing each other, saying "You eat, you eat". The three of them had big eyes and small stomachs.
Wang Qiulan stared at the food piled up in her bowl by her three sisters, and felt that life in Pingjiang Prefecture was much happier than in Gaochun Town.
"Grandma cried again because the jujube paste sesame cakes were so delicious."
"My sister and I will return it to grandma tomorrow when we get back from the stall."
The young man from Wangji Carpentry Shop had delivered two custom-made carved windows during the day, and they were nailed and filled with mud.
He installed a wooden groove around the inside of the window frame, much like today's screen tracks. The groove was just wide enough to hold the edge of the roving, and it also had a small hole for a rope.
Wang Qiulan cut the coarse yarn that Wei Jinyun brought back today, rolled the edges into thin bamboo strips, embedded the yarn frame into the wooden groove of the window frame, and tied the four corners of the coarse yarn to the hooks of the window frame with thin hemp ropes and pulled them tight.
She was in charge of the inlay, and her two granddaughters also helped by pulling the coarse yarn flat.
As a result, apart from the rough renovations a few days ago, the most exquisite and beautiful things in the shop are the two carved wooden windows on the second floor.
Wei Jinyun stood outside the shop and sighed repeatedly. On the left, there was the scent of ink and elegant decoration. On the right, there were fluttering flags and a fragrant smell.
Hers.
Two good windows.
The succulent plant above the door lintel, which was constantly moistened by the rain, looked like the sign of her shop and was growing well.
"Miss Wei, what are you sighing about?"
Ever since seeing Wei Jinyun go down to the river to catch people, Zhang Renbai applauded in admiration and also talked more with Wei Jinyun.
After all, their friendship is as close as a wall, and they see each other every day. Now when he takes the initiative to speak, his face does not blush and his voice does not tremble.
"I'm thinking about renovating the shop."
Wei Jinyun glanced at his stationery shop again and said, "I wonder which craftsman designed Mr. Zhang's shop. It looks so simple, elegant and peaceful."
"Ask about that."
Zhang Renbai thought for a moment, "This is the master my parents hired. I think he's Master Zhou from Zicheng Street in the northwest."
Wei Jinyun became interested and asked, "I wonder what this craftsman's wages are?"
"Not counting the material, it probably cost fifty taels."
Miss Wei took the initiative to ask, and Zhang Renbai became enthusiastic, "I'll introduce you, I know someone..."
"not see!"
Wei Jinyun said firmly.
Fifty taels, that means she will set up the stall for a year regardless of weather conditions and work tirelessly.
Still no ingredients!
Is it so expensive to hire a designer these days?
Seeing Wei Jinyun's smile suddenly stop, Zhang Renbai's words also stopped abruptly at his lips.
He wanted to talk to her a little more, so he changed the subject, "Today's shrimp chips are delicious."
It seemed impossible to stop chewing this snack, and once it went into my stomach, it was like swallowing air, not only did I feel full, but before any customers came to the shop, Zhang Renbai was still reading while chewing, not leaving a single piece for the customers.
"Well, I'll return it to Master Zhang tomorrow."
"good!"
Zhang Renbai was overjoyed. Every time he chatted with Miss Wei, he could feel his heart beating like a drum. He thought for a moment and then spoke slowly, "In half a month, my parents will be back from their hometown. Then, then..."
"Are you back?"
Wei Jinyun paused for a moment and said, "Very good."
The wall around the house is also very nice.
The two chatted for a while, and then Wei Jinyun went back to the shop to pack up his things.
"Why are you smiling so happily, Brother Renbai?"
Meng Ge'er, holding the firefly lantern bought for him by Wei Jinyun, and Wei Fuqiu and Wei Fuling, wandered around in front of the three shops.
"You firefly..."
Zhang Renbai picked up the firefly lamp in Meng Ge'er's hand and said, "Very good."
The betrothal fee for the Lu family's tea party was six strings of cash, and after deducting nearly two strings of cash for expenses, Wei Jinyun took home four strings. The daily profit from the stall was over three hundred coins, after deducting living expenses, the final payment for the lumber, and the month-end payment from Zhang Renbai.
Wei Jinyun could save about 15 strings of cash a month.
She would consider renovating the shop only when she had more spare money. Wei Jinyun divided the money she earned these days into several parts and placed them in different places in the shop.
There are still some loquats and bayberries left from the ones I bought today. These freshly picked goodies lose their flavor once left overnight.
The bayberries in the bamboo basket were plump and purple-black. She took a bowl of water, sprinkled salt on them, soaked them for a while, then washed them clean, spread them flat on a bamboo plate, and dried them under the eaves.
Loquats are naturally washed in the same way.
Wei Jinyun sat on a stool, took a knife, and peeled the stems of each loquat, splitting them in half and removing the core. The golden balls of loquat flesh fell into the bowl, gradually piling up.
She placed the casserole on the clay stove, poured the loquat meat into it, and slowly stirred it with a spoon while cooking.
To make the loquats appear fresher, vendors keep a lot of loquat leaves. Fresh loquat leaves are washed and boiled, and the clear purple liquid is naturally mixed with brown sugar and cooked with the fruit pulp.
The loquat pulp was bubbling in the pot, and the fruity aroma was spreading.
Wei Jinyun stayed by the clay pot, occasionally crushing the softened fruit pulp with the back of a spoon. When the thick juice could be pulled into thin threads when the spoon was lifted, she extinguished the charcoal fire and added the Sichuan Fritillaria cirrhosa that had been pounded in a stone mortar.
This is how my grandfather used to make Sichuan loquat paste. Even if it wasn’t autumn or winter, he would occasionally brew a bowl of it. It was sweet, refreshing and good for moistening the lungs.
After all, her shop was a renovation of an old one, so no matter how clean it was, it had been there for years. The shop needed more ventilation, and her health naturally needed to keep up.
Before letting it cool, she scooped four spoonfuls of it from each family and added warm water. Each of the four grandparents and grandchildren had a bowl and returned to bed, enjoying the sweet aroma.
Wei Jinyun has a light sleep. Before going to bed, he always thinks about how to make new pastries famous and attract interest. He can only fall asleep after repeating this every day.
At about midnight, the bamboo clappers sounded for a while, and suddenly a "thump" sound was heard in the yard of the house. Wei Jinyun hurried downstairs to check.
The courtyard was quiet, seemingly normal. She walked to the base of the wall and saw that several pieces of broken porcelain she had asked the masons to lay on the wall had fallen off.
She picked up the broken pieces of porcelain to prevent her sister and grandmother from stepping on them, and then went back upstairs to sleep.
There was still some jasmine left from the Changmen market, so Wei Jinyun took a day off and didn't go to the Changmen market, so she got up a little late.
When she went downstairs, it was already two quarters past nine. Her two younger sisters were huddled beside Wang Qiulan, making wontons with their heads bent.
"It's only been a short while since the summer solstice, it's too late to eat wontons now."
Wei Jinyun walked over to the three of them to wash their faces, and at the same time checked the broken porcelain pieces that had fallen yesterday.
The wall with broken porcelain pieces on it was the one shared with Li Ji Delicatessen. Wei Jinyun picked up a piece and looked at it carefully.
"We spent the summer solstice on a boat, so let's make up for it."
Wang Qiulan lowered her head and carefully wrapped the food. "It's been hot these past two days, and I saw you guys didn't have much of an appetite, so I thought I'd try something different."
"Grandma is the best." The three answered in unison.
Wang Qiulan often makes wontons, and the two sisters have already mastered the art of making wontons.
Wei Fuqiu picked up some stuffing with chopsticks and placed it in the center of the skin. She dipped her fingertips in water and smeared it on the edge of the skin. Then she pinched it with both hands and it became a neat silver ingot.
Wei Fuling was a bit greedy and put a lot of stuffing into each wonton, making it round and plump, like a fat dime. She placed it on the bamboo plate, where it stood out among the neatly packed wontons made by Wang Qiulan.
"Sister, wake up. Grandma will cook wontons for us later."
Wei Fuling pointed at the erect, plump horns and said, "Give these big ones to Sister later. Eat more, Sister. Granny Jin said that what you eat replenishes what you gain... Sister, if you have more meat, your body will be better."
"If you put it in there, it will become noodle soup in no time."
Wei Fuqiu pointed to the one in front of her and said, "Sister, eat the one I made, not the noodle soup."
"Sister Qi is bad."
While Wei Jinyun was taking the flat basket of bayberries, the little sparrows and butterflies started chirping again.
The surface of the bayberries in the flat basket has been completely dried. Apart from the juice that seeps out when pressed, there are no other water marks.
Wei Jinyun took a jar and slowly poured the bayberries into it, a layer of bayberries, a layer of brown sugar, stacking them up until the jar was full, and finally poured in the slightly stronger Qiulu liquor.
Finally, she took a few sheets of mulberry paper, folded them into three layers at the mouth of the jar, and wrapped a thin hemp rope around the neck of the jar several times to tighten it.
Bayberry wine has a rich, fruity aroma, and eating the bayberries alone can also help with diarrhea. When she was a child, whenever she had a stomachache, her grandfather would scoop a bayberry from the wine jar for her to eat.
It’s spicy and sweet, and the pain goes away after eating it.
She finally consumed all the piled up loquats and bayberries with her hard work.
By the time Wei Jinyun finished making the bayberry wine, the wontons were ready.
The wontons just out of the pot float in the bowl, with thin skin wrapped with meat filling, each one is plump.
Blowing away the steam and taking a bite, the wonton skin is smooth and tender, and the fresh juice from the filling slowly spreads out. The wonton soup base contains dried white shrimp and lithospermum officinale that Wang Qiulan calls, which is fresh, fragrant and mellow.
Of course, Wei Jinyun ate the noodle soup and the carefully wrapped noodles, and maintained her balance between her two sisters, until she was so full that she could hardly walk.
After her cakes were steamed, she would rock in the rattan chair to help digest the food, and drink a bowl of lily and longan soup bought by her sister.
After eating the wontons they made, she could finally enjoy the sweet soup.
Wei Jinyun had originally thought that after arriving in Pingjiang Prefecture, she would go to the clinic to get some tonics or cook some medicinal food to nourish her body. But now, she didn't have to worry about anything.
People often say that she is a leech for her parents, but she is happy to be a leech for her children. She relies on herself when she goes out and relies on her younger sister at home.
Half asleep and half awake, a noisy noise came from next door. Wei Jinyun left the shop and also brought some snacks to Zhang Renbai.
Several men who had been to Li Ji Delicatessen were blocking the door. "Zhao Xiangping, today is your 30th day. It's time to pay your debts!"
Zhao Xiangping stood at the door, protecting Meng Ge'er. Although her face was still a little pale, her eyes were more determined. She took a deep breath and was about to speak when a man walked out of the shop.
He was wearing a clean and neat blue cloth gown, with a handsome face and an upright figure. He walked slowly in front of the crowd.
The leading man saw this and said with a grin, "Zhao Xiangping, is this your new thief? How come you can't stand it after only half a year? Don't want that Li Dadan anymore?"
Zhan Ziming spoke calmly, not paying any attention to the man's words. "I hired a lawyer for Zhao Xiangping. She and her husband, Li Dadan, have submitted their divorce documents to the government office and will have a decision soon. According to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, after a divorce, the debts of the husband and wife are clearly divided. Her husband's debts outside the family are no longer hers."
The man snorted coldly. Seeing that he was just a pale-faced scholar, he retorted with disdain, "Divorce documents? You say you have them? Show them to us!"
Zhan Ziming continued, "The documents were only submitted the day before yesterday, and they're still going through the process at the government office. But if you don't believe me, you can come with me to the government office to confront me face to face and ask me how this debt should be handled. If you delay the government office's investigation, you won't be able to bear the consequences."
As soon as these words were spoken, the men's faces instantly turned grim, and they looked at each other. They were merely hired debt collectors, and they were terrified if they had to go to the government office.
The leading man gritted his teeth and tried to show off his strength. "Let's go, who's afraid of who? Don't think you can fool us with just a few words!"
Zhan Ziming took a step forward, his eyes piercing as he stared at the leading man. He said coldly, "I've inquired and know that you've been causing trouble multiple times. This is a violation of the Great Song Dynasty's public security regulations. If you really go to the government office, I'll first question you about your crimes and put you in jail. Then, you can forget about your job as debt collectors."
Wei Jinyun leaned against the door and listened carefully. This was what a good lawyer should be like. However, it was hard to find one lawyer like this among a hundred, and it was unclear where Aunt Zhao had hired her.
After a moment of stalemate, the leading man glared at Zhan Ziming fiercely, spat, and cursed, "You're so cruel! Let's go!"
After saying that, he left in disgrace with a few of his men.
When Zhao Xiangping saw Wei Jinyun, her worried expression vanished. She immediately smiled and waved at her, "Miss Wei, come to Aunt Zhao's place and enjoy the braised duck legs. They're just out of the oven."
Wei Jinyun's stomach was so full of wontons that she couldn't walk. She was about to wave her hand to refuse, but when she raised her hand, the braised duck leg was already stuffed into her hand.
Under the expectant eyes of Zhao Xiangping and Meng Ge'er, Wei Jinyun opened his mouth and took a bite, eating with relish.
I think after setting up the stall today, she will ask her sister for a bowl of hawthorn and tangerine peel drink to help digestion.
"This is Miss Wei, the one I introduced to you earlier, who caught the fake lawyer."
Zhao Xiangping patted Wei Jinyun on the shoulder and introduced him to the man in front of her.
"Are you the Sassy lady who went into the river and drowned people?"
Zhan Ziming was stunned for a moment, then blurted out.
Are you so young?
"Yes, she is the lady who drowned people in the river."
Wei Fuqiu and Wei Fuling repeated in unison beside Wei Jinyun, staring at her with their heads tilted.
Wei Jinyun almost choked to death on the braised duck leg when she heard the tone.
"This lawyer, Zhan, was introduced to me by an aide-de-camp who came to question Lord Lu when we were investigating the case of the lawyer."
"My name is Zhan Ziming."
Zhan Ziming knew that he had been a little rude just now, so he bowed to Wei Jinyun.
"Well, he's a good lawyer."
Wei Jinyun chatted with Zhan Ziming for a few words and then returned to the shop.
This good lawyer's elegant speech, unlike her clients, was so drowsy that it made one sleepy. She had important things to do and couldn't be careless.
In addition to setting up a stall at the entrance of the prefectural school today, Wei Jinyun also had to send his two sisters to the Zhou family for interviews. If they were admitted, the two salaries would cost a considerable amount of money.
She combed her sisters' hair again, loaded the cakes into her cart, and set off with a gleam in her eyes.
*
"Second brother, why did you steal someone's bamboo basket?"
Lu Lingxiang got up early in the morning and when she walked to the front hall, she saw a bamboo basket on the table that looked very familiar.
She leaned over to take a look and saw the word "cloud" engraved on the bottom of the bamboo basket.
Isn’t this the bamboo basket that Miss Wei used at the tea party yesterday?
She asked her second brother to be more careful, but she didn't ask him to bring back other people's bamboo baskets.
"Then I'll go and pay it back."
Lu Lan sat on the armchair, holding his chin with his hand. "In front of Tianqing Temple, right?"
"I've noticed that you seem to be getting more and more bored lately, second brother."
Lu Lingxiang was puzzled. "We also prepared oil paper for the tea party yesterday, and there were so-called souvenirs for snacks. Don't tell me you brought this back by accident."
"Yeah, accidentally."
Lu Lan nodded and stood up.
"You're going out so early again. Aren't you going to have the breakfast mother made?"
"We've just recruited a new batch of archers and they need to be trained early this morning."
Lu Lan picked up the bamboo basket and said, "I'll give it to her later at 3 p.m. when I pass by there."
"She is not in front of Tianqing Temple."
Lu Lingxiang took a sip of tea and said, "At that time, she was at the gate of the prefectural school. Since you're gone today, I don't have to go out and buy snacks for you."
Lu Lan suddenly turned around and asked, "Did she make those snacks too?"
He said it tasted exactly the same.
"yes."
"You are really my good sister."
"Okay, good second brother. Do you want to change the water for the lotus you're growing today?"
"Change."
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Author's words: Jinyun: I have to go to the temple to pray. [Breaking down crying]
Lord Lu: What a coincidence, I met her again. [Poor]
It is true that there are mixed-race ancestors, and the eyes are green, which will be mentioned. [Cat head]
In the Song Dynasty, dumplings were called "jiaozi".
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