Li Mai smiled and said, "Because I've eaten this before, and it's really delicious, but they waste it so much, so I wanted to try it. Whether it works or not, we'll only know after trying."
Li Mai knew that people in ancient times did not eat ribs or animal offal, but that was only true for families who had no shortage of food and clothing, and for the powerful and wealthy.
In some impoverished households, bones are also eaten, especially in butcher shops where ribs are the cheapest. Some people will buy them so that their meals can have a bit of meat on them.
In particular, villagers who raise their own pigs look forward to slaughtering them at the end of the year, selling the meat to exchange for more grain and cloth, so that the family can have a good year with enough to eat and wear.
Sometimes when all the meat is sold out, the family will use the remaining bones to make soup and eat rice. Some families also use bones to make soup and cook noodles.
This is also why bone broth noodles became popular later on, because they are indeed very delicious.
This time, the group returned home with a full load.
Li Mai was exhausted from the journey, so she leaned on Zhou Quan and took a nap. When she woke up, they were almost home.
Zhou Quan sat beside her, quietly watching her.
When he saw that she was awake, Zhou Quan smiled and reached out to wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth.
Li Mai blushed and wiped herself again before she felt less embarrassed.
"We're almost home," Zhou Quan said softly.
Li Mai sat up and looked outside. Indeed, they had entered the village, and the sky was about to set.
When Zhao and Zhou Tao saw how many clothes Li Mai had bought, they were both stunned.
“Mother, we’re going to be busy with the autumn harvest soon, so we won’t have time to prepare these things for now. That’s why I’ve prepared two sets of clothes for everyone.” Li Mai placed each person’s clothes in front of Zhao Shi.
“Okay, thank you for your hard work, Xiaomai. You used the money your mother gave you, right? Don’t use your little bit of money, keep yours.” Zhao asked again.
Li Mai nodded with a smile, "Yes, Mother, it's the money from the big box."
Zhao was relieved.
"Mommy, is this for Zhuzhu?" Zhuzhu asked happily when she saw a little red dress.
“Yes, this little red dress is for Zhuzhu to wear when she goes out with her mother and during the New Year. The other little pink dress can be worn at home in rotation with the dresses that your grandma and aunt made for you,” Li Mai said to Zhuzhu with a smile.
"Okay, thank you, Mom!" Zhuzhu said happily.
Zhou Tao looked happily at the two sets of clothes beside her. One set was moon blue and made of fine cotton, and the other set was light yellow and made of cotton and light yellow gauze. Zhou Tao gently touched them with her hand.
Li Mai said with a smile, "Xiao Tao and Zhu Zhu can try it out. If it doesn't suit them, we can take it over in advance and have them help us modify it."
"Thank you, sister-in-law. I can alter it myself if it doesn't fit, hehe. But this fabric will definitely look great on you." She had seen wealthy young ladies on the street wearing this kind of gauze dress, and it looked very beautiful and elegant.
"Mother, I'll go back to my room first. You and Father can soak the meat and bones in water for a while, and I'll cook them tomorrow morning," Li Mai instructed Zhao Shi.
“Alright!” Zhao agreed.
We had already made plans to go corn picking tomorrow, and the weather had been overcast for half a day on and off these past few days. Old Man Zhou said that with this kind of weather, it was very likely that it would rain in a few days.
Every year in July and August, there is more rain in their area, so they try to harvest the corn around the fifteenth of July.
In the second half of the month, we will harvest millet. After removing the husks, the millet becomes millet rice, which is what the farmers call it. The government calls it millet rice.
This type of rice was the staple food of people in that era. Rice was generally only affordable for the wealthy, costing several times more than millet.
In August, we harvest crops such as radishes, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and beans.
In September, after the sorghum and sesame fields are finally cleared, the autumn harvest is basically over by the end of September. In October, it starts to get cold in the north, and the nights begin to freeze.
The Zhou family has a total of more than six acres of land. Among these crops, each type is not the most abundant. The most abundant are millet and corn, which are the main crops. These are the two crops that are used to pay the grain tax. After paying the tax, the rest is for their own consumption.
Li Mai has the original owner's memories and knows that at this time, the grain tax for farmers was not very heavy. The heaviest tax in this era was the commercial tax.
Those who run businesses and own shops pay the heaviest taxes, precisely because they earn more money and make larger profits.
The harvest time for the family's crops is determined according to the planting time. This is something that Old Man Zhou and Mrs. Zhao discuss during family meals, and Li Mai remembers it all.
Li Mai carried her and Zhou Quan's clothes back to her room.
By this time, Zhou Quan had been carried to the outhouse and returned to the house. He was changing clothes on the kang (a heated brick bed). He took off the clothes he had worn outside and put on the shirt and pants he wore at home, which was more comfortable.
Li Mai put the clothes on the kang (a heated brick bed) and asked him, "Want to try them on?"
Zhou Quan shook his head. "I'm not going to try it. The one you picked is definitely suitable. I'll try it when I stand up. Why don't you give it a try?"
Li Mai chuckled, "I won't try it on. I'll try it on when I wear it. It should be fine."
"Okay!" The two smiled at each other, and Li Mai put the clothes into the closet.
"By the way, Xiaomai, I think I can feel a little pain in my legs now!" Zhou Quan said softly when he saw her finally sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed).
Li Mai asked in surprise, "When did you sense it?"
"It was when you were measuring the length of my robe," Zhou Quan said with a light cough.
Li Mai walked to his side, looked down at his legs, and suddenly flicked his knee with her finger, asking, "How does it feel?"
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