Chapter 3 Dinner
The rice soup and sugar water were served. Su Ruojin was too small to support her mother, so she called for her uncle Shutong to help her. Her mother refused and said it was okay: "Wait until your father comes back before eating."
"But if you don't eat, how can you feed your brother without water?"
Cheng Yingzhen still disagreed and asked her daughter to put the little son into her arms, "Let him eat first."
Not knowing whether there was any water, Su Ruojin had no choice but to put her little brother into her mother's arms and let him drink first.
Shu Tong was standing outside anxiously, looking at the courtyard gate and the shabby house. The north wind was howling, and the sky was getting darker and darker, as if it was going to snow. He couldn't help but shout, "Second Madam, I'll go pick up the master."
Su Ruojin quickly opened the heavy curtain and stepped out sideways. She looked up at the sky. It was so cold and gloomy that it could freeze a person to death. "Okay, Uncle Shutong, you should be careful too."
Shu Tong took the felt hat, went to the shed to get the mule and went out to pick up Su Yanli. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared from the sight of Su Ruojin and his sister.
If he had known that stone paintings could be sold for money, he would not have let his father go out.
Money can’t buy foresight. Su Ruojin could only sigh and turned back into the bridal chamber. Her younger brother was eating with a grunt, probably because he had eaten enough. She looked up at her mother. She had given birth to four children in eight years. She looked tired and pale, and seemed to have aged a few years in just one day.
Su Ruojin felt distressed when she saw this, "Mom, wait a minute."
As if she thought of something, she turned around and left the brothel again, went to the vase on the dressing table in the bedroom and took out a wheat ear. This was a handful of dry wheat ears she picked up when she went to the countryside in midsummer. She brought it back and put it in the vase to decorate the room. She found a pair of small scissors and cut it twice, and it became an environmentally friendly straw. She quickly took it to the kitchen to rinse it, and ran straight back into the brothel.
"Mom, when I'm done eating, you can use this to absorb the rice soup and sugar water."
Cheng Yingzhen was not surprised by her daughter's quirky ways. She was just too weak and out of energy after giving birth. The corners of her mouth curved up and a smile of approval filled her eyes.
She didn't even have the energy to laugh. This pregnancy had really taken a toll on her health. Su Ruojin was heartbroken. While waiting for her little brother to eat, she thought of countless delicacies that could nourish her body. Half an hour ago, she was still worried that the family only had two days' worth of rice. Now... with seven taels of silver①, she could definitely let her mother have a good confinement period and make sure she was plump and white.
The cold wind was howling outside and there was a firebox in the shed. I finally finished my meal and fell into a deep sleep in my mother's arms.
Su Ruojin asked her mother to turn her head, put the corn tube to her mouth, and let her drink the rice soup and sugar water.
Half a minute later, Cheng Yingzhen fell asleep tiredly after drinking her fill.
Su Ruojin tucked in the corners of the quilt for the mother and daughter, tidied up, took out the empty bowl, left the sleigh, and went to the kitchen.
With the delivery settled and money in hand, Su Ruojin was finally in the mood to prepare dinner. She prepared the vegetables and meat that were reserved for tomorrow and used them tonight. Everyone was tired after a day's work, and in the winter they had to eat something substantial to keep warm.
Su Dalang and Su Anzhi saw their sister move a small stool to stand in front of the cupboard, open the cupboard door and take out the stored meat and vegetables. Their eyes lit up, "Ajin, are we having meat tonight?"
Su Ruojin took out a small piece of pork belly and a large bone, "We'll eat the stir-fried pork belly, and make soup with the large bone for mom to nourish her body."
When three-year-old Su Sanlang Su Ganzhi heard that there was meat to eat, he jumped for joy, "Eat meat... Eat big meat..." If the kitchen wasn't so small, he would have jumped up and down.
Su Dalang was older after all, and he was the eldest son, so he was happy but also worried, "What are we going to eat tomorrow?"
Su Ruojin took out the ingredients from the cupboard in three trips. Seeing her elder brother with a frown on his face, she smiled and said, "The stone I asked Dad to paint a few days ago was sold. I got more than seven taels of silver!"
Just now Su Dalang was making fire in the kitchen when he heard Shu Tong come back, but he didn't see the silver in his bag, so he still didn't know that his little sister had sold the stone painting that she asked her father to draw some time ago for silver.
When he heard that stone paintings could be sold for money, he was surprised and happy, "Really..." Su Dalang couldn't believe it.
"Of course it's true." Su Ruojin happily ordered: "Brother, scoop some hot water from the stove into the wooden basin. I want to wash the vegetables and meat and prepare a big meal."
Su Dalang's mind was half stone painting and half delicious greasy pork belly. His hands were faster than his brain, and while he was half asleep, he had already diluted the water in the basin.
The brother and sister, one washed while the other helped change the water. After a few rounds, all the vegetables and meat were washed.
Su Ruojin stood on a small stool in front of the stove and fried the fat until the oil came out, then scooped up the excess oil and put it aside. Su Dalang's stove was burning red, the hot oil was sizzling, and the aroma of lard residue was tangy, making Su Sanlang drool.
Su Ruojin picked up a piece of oil residue with chopsticks and gave it to him. "Hey, be careful, beware of the heat." As she spoke, she blew on the oil residue several times before putting it into Su Sanlang's mouth.
The little guy's chewing made a crunching sound, which made Su Ruojin, an old man, almost unable to hold back. She quickly poured the shredded pork into the pan and stir-fried it until the pork belly changed color. She then poured in the garlic sprouts and radish slices and stir-fried them together.
The red meat, the green garlic leaves and the white radish, the three colors are rolling, the aroma of the meat is rising in the small kitchen, making people salivate and feel extremely hungry.
"Sister...sister..." Su Sanlang stuck to Su Ruojin, pulled her sleeve, and asked for food eagerly.
Su Ruojin felt helpless when the little brat looked at her. She quickly scooped up the fried pork belly, picked up the chopsticks and blew three times with the meat and vegetables, and put it into Su Sanlang's mouth, "Is my sister's cooking delicious?"
Su Sanlang was busy eating meat, so he had no time to answer the questions of the six-year-old girl.
Su Ruojin wasn't really six years old, so she wouldn't really care. She picked up another large chopstick and gave it to Su Dalang who was lighting the fire in the stove. She said, "Brother..." and motioned for him to stand up and lean his head over. She stood on the small stool and didn't dare to move, for fear of falling.
Su Dalang stood up but did not lean over. He said embarrassedly, "I'm a grown-up boy now. How about waiting for Dad and the others to come back before eating?" The eight-year-old boy wanted to eat, but he felt that his father had not come back and the food had not been served yet, which was not a good idea. He was very conflicted.
Year after year, Su Yanli and his wife had more and more children, but the amount of money they earned did not change. Eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, socializing, and everything else cost money. The Su family's life was very difficult, and it was rare for them to have a meal of meat.
If the meat dishes tonight had not been bought in preparation for their mother's delivery, it would have been really hard for these two growing little boys.
Su Ruojin had no choice but to half-lay on the stove, stretched out her hand and stuffed a large piece of meat and vegetables into Su Dalang's mouth, "Eat it, I'll make some braised tofu, some Chinese cabbage, and stew some pork bone and tofu soup for mother, and dinner will be ready, we can eat it when father comes back."
The pork belly with alternating fat and lean parts was so tender and delicious that Su Dalang didn't realize that at this moment he was as satisfied as a little civet cat.
Just a mouthful of meat was enough to satisfy the two little boys. Su Ruojin was both happy and sad. She deftly put the cut tofu into the hot oil. With a sizzling sound, hot steam rose and spread over the three children in the kitchen, making them feel warm.
It would be great if there were chili peppers, so I could have mapo tofu, which would taste so wonderful. It’s a pity that there were no chili peppers in the Dayin Dynasty, so we missed out on so much delicious food!
During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, it was worth 2,000-4,000 yuan; in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, it was worth 600-1,300 yuan (or 1,000-1,800 yuan); in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it was worth 600-800 yuan; in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, one tael of silver was worth about 150-220 yuan.
This article takes the Song Dynasty as its background.
(End of this chapter)
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