Chapter 508 Life in Taohua Village
The next day, Gu Yuchuan did not wait for Song Qiquan.
He went to the Song Mansion and was told that his son had an accident and needed to recuperate for a while.
Gu Yuchuan had no choice but to return to the inn.
The day of the Spring Examination came in a blink of an eye. Gu Yuchuan stood outside the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall for a long time, but Song Qiquan didn't show up. It seemed that he had given up on this Spring Examination.
Meanwhile, Taohua Village was becoming increasingly bustling, with three rows of stalls already forming in front of the school. The children, who initially looked forward to going to school, now looked forward to being home from school, even refusing to eat their school meals, waiting only for the day after to buy snacks at the school gate.
A cup of melon seeds and peanuts for one penny, a golden roasted potato cut in half and sprinkled with special five-spice chili powder, one bite of it can make children's souls leave their bodies.
There are also baked eggs, baked tofu, and tofu pudding.
As for tofu pudding, Annan offers both sweet and salty varieties, but their favorite is the spicy version. After adding the seasonings of pickled radish, mung bean sprouts, stir-fried beans, and chopped green onions, topped with a ladle of chili oil, it's a truly delicious dish.
"Miss, will this be bad for the children's health?" Aunt Cai was a little anxious as she saw that fewer and fewer children were eating in school recently, while more and more were eating outside.
Of course, we are not worried about the school cafeteria not making money because no one eats. The cafeteria is already making losses.
He just felt that the food sold by the vendors outside was not clean and was worried that the children would get diarrhea if they ate it.
"It's okay. I've told the parents that they can only be given a penny of pocket money a day. They can't eat much anyway." Besides, there are no strange additives nowadays. It should be okay if it's just a little dirty.
Today's children are very strong and not as fragile as modern children.
"Aunt Cai, this is the grilled gluten I just bought. It's delicious. Try it."
Aunt Cai looked at her young lady with some helplessness. Sometimes she was steady and mature, and sometimes she acted like a child.
How old are you? You like eating these little things just like a child.
"Eat it, it's delicious."
Aunt Cai had no choice but to take it and take a bite.
It tastes really good.
"Aunt Cai, take your time. I'm going back to grade homework."
Aunt Cai watched Gu Jiayue disappear around the corner and then went to the stall selling grilled gluten. "Give me twenty skewers!"
Carrying twenty skewers of grilled gluten, Madam Cai walked towards the Gu family.
It has been a long time since she visited her good sisters to chat and sing folk songs.
Thinking back to when she first came to Taohua Village, she spent every day with Grandma Gu. She told Grandma Gu interesting stories about Kyoto, and Grandma Gu taught her to sing southwestern folk songs, which was relaxing and pleasant.
When I arrived at the Gu family, I saw the women of the Gu family sitting in the yard sewing quilts.
Gu Xique was engaged to someone at the beginning of the year. He was a scholar and had previously studied at Qiushi Academy.
No one knew how the two of them fell in love with each other. The scholar was also very honest. The first time he came to the house, he brought his parents and all his wealth with him. He promised that as long as Xi Que was willing to marry him, he would immediately give her the management of the house. Everyone in the family listened to her.
Grandma Gu did not agree immediately, but asked around.
That family is a good one, without any ulterior motives, and they are just ordinary, honest and decent people.
And some of them are too honest and are often bullied.
Such a man needs a strong wife who can take charge of the household. And Xi Que has a character that has never suffered any loss since childhood, so marrying her is the best choice.
Grandma and my second aunt hit it off and agreed to this marriage!
Both families are easy to talk to, so the procedures went very quickly. Look, the date has already been set. It will be during this year's Mid-Autumn Festival.
So now, whenever they have time, the women of the Gu family sew quilts at home. This is one of the dowries they prepared for Gu Xique. As for the other things, they are also slowly preparing them.
When Aunt Cai came in, she didn't hesitate to find a seat and sat down. She handed the things in her hand to Gu Xique and asked her to get a plate to serve them out.
She picked up a needle and helped sew.
Grandma smiled and asked, "Why are you free to come here today?"
"Hey, the kids don't eat in school, so I don't have to worry about it."
"Hey, have you heard? It seems that Zhang's wife is pregnant again, and she's having twins."
"Oh, this is the fourth baby, right? I think the second one was also twins. The Zhang family is so blessed!"
...A group of people were working, chatting about gossip, and eating delicious gluten, and before they knew it, it was already night.
The nightlife in Taohua Village is even more abundant at night.
The site of the big banyan tree in the village has been leveled and paved with bluestone slabs, and many fitness facilities have been built around it.
At night, the young and old men in the village would go there to enjoy the cool air and chat, some would play chess, and some would exercise. It was very lively.
Grandma and Aunt Cai also like to go there because people sing folk songs there.
"Wait a minute, after dinner let's go to the big banyan tree. I learned a new song the other day, I'll teach you then."
"Okay, okay, then I'll go cook. You haven't tasted my cooking in a long time."
"How can I let you cook? There are so many people at home. Go cook and eat. My sisters and I are going out to play!"
The tea trees planted last year are growing particularly well, and I think they can be picked next year.
Last year, the silkworms raised by my aunt and second aunt grew very well, so we expanded the breeding this year.
To facilitate management, Gu Jiayue set up another workshop. But the difference in this workshop was that the women in the village could take the silkworms home to raise them, and after they grew up, they could sell the cocoons to the workshop or sell the silk.
After discovering silk, the girls in the school developed many new techniques.
In particular, the silk-wrapped and velvet flower jewelry were sold out as soon as they appeared in the shops in the city, and the orders were placed until October.
Zheng Qinghe's animal husbandry is also doing well.
The wasteland that had been cleared during the drought was too barren and would take several years to grow food, so he planted all of it with grass that cattle and sheep loved to eat. This way, the villagers didn't have to go around cutting grass to feed the cattle.
Seeing that the biggest problem had been solved, several surrounding villages basically went to the county government to adopt cattle and sheep.
At the beginning, people were afraid to raise them, but after seeing that others raised them and could exchange them for money at the county government office, more and more people started raising them.
The wool and goat milk were continuously delivered to the county town. Zheng Qinghe worked tirelessly to open several workshops.
Wool yarn spun into various colors had emerged, ushering in a new trend. Forget Juzhou City; even the wealthy in the surrounding prefectures would be considered out of touch if they didn't own a wool sweater. They wouldn't fit in the conversation.
Besides reading and painting, the girls around me have a new hobby: knitting!
You only need to buy one or two taels of wool in the wool shop and you can get a booklet.
There are many styles of sweaters vividly depicted above, all you have to do is learn by following.
If you really can't learn it, you can spend a penny to ask the embroiderer in the shop to teach you.
As long as you become a member, the embroiderers will inform you as soon as they develop new patterns and needlework.
The most obvious beneficiaries of the expansion of cattle farming are the girls in the city.
Because Mingrenju and the hot pot restaurant next door have lowered their prices!
You have to know that many things in Mingrenju used to require milk. And before, this milk could only be shipped from the neighboring Yunzhou at a high price.
Now they have fish raised in their own state capital, in large quantities and at a low price. With the cost down, the price will naturally go down.
The pocket money of the young ladies from wealthy families is not unlimited. Their pocket money is fixed every month. In the past, they could only get together with their girlfriends once or twice a month, but now they can get together three or four times.
The hot pot restaurant next door is also like this, because the cattle are considered as production tools in the big farm and are restricted and cannot be slaughtered at will. Therefore, the beef in the hot pot restaurant can only be eaten at special times.
Things are different now. With more people raising sheep, the restrictions are less severe. Hot pot restaurants even buy hundreds of cattle and sheep and raise them themselves. This reduces costs and stabilizes the supply.
Although the price has dropped, business has actually improved. Who can blame the hotpot restaurant chef for introducing a hundred ways to eat beef? Which rich person wouldn't want to try it?
There's even a beauty salon in town, where they say everything is made with fresh milk and flowers, supposedly to beautify and nourish your skin.
There's also a mask made of silk, which lasts for three days after one use.
As soon as it opened, it attracted many noble ladies in the city.
Juzhou Prefecture, originally the poorest city in Dagan, is quietly changing.
Those officials tacitly agreed not to tell anyone.
Maybe he is waiting for the right opportunity to surprise everyone.
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