Chapter 100 Brother, are you afraid of sister-in-law?
After returning home, Chen Lie went down the mountain to deliver the registration documents. The five cents for handling the matter was given by Sang Luo.
The first day after he came back, he experienced what it felt like to spend his 'wife's' money. It was a complicated feeling. Fortunately, when Sang Luo gave Ji the book, she also prepared the money and handed it to him, so he didn't have to try asking his 'wife' for money again.
His face flushed as he took the money and the book, said thank you hastily, turned around and walked away very quickly.
Make money, make money quickly!
…
With Chen Lie as her laborer, Sang Luo found that she was completely liberated. Really, the most tiring work of making tofu and dried bean curd was all done by Chen Lie, and he didn't need anyone to replace him during the whole process of grinding the beans.
Sang Luo was in the kitchen making the konjac tofu and waiting for it to solidify. He didn't slow down the grinding of the beans even a little bit. After the konjac tofu was ready, she asked him several times to exchange it with her, but he refused every time, saying that he was not tired.
She looked at his arm several times, then at his expression, trying to judge whether he was really not tired or was just too embarrassed to say he was tired to save face.
Chen Lie's face gradually became hotter as she stared at him. If he continued to stare, it would definitely turn red. He was also anxious: "It's really not tiring. I have carried wild boars out of the mountains before."
Chen An nodded vigorously: "Brother used to hunt wild boars. Aning and I got our cotton-padded jackets and quilts by selling wild boars."
Sang Luo was shocked. How old was he when he bought the cotton-padded jacket and quilt? Before he went to serve in the army, sixteen?
A sixteen-year-old could hunt wild boars and carry wild boars? She thought it might be a small wild boar?
But since the two brothers said so, Sang Luo finally stopped staring: "Okay, then I'll go and weave the reed curtains. If you get tired, let Xiao An call me."
There is a skill to scooping the soaked beans and water into the holes of the stone mill. The ratio of soybeans to water is very important. It is the first time for Shen Lie to grind beans, so he obviously cannot be expected to master the skills, so Shen An is left to be his assistant.
Chen Lie nodded quickly, and only let out a sigh of relief after the others had left the kitchen for a while.
He looked up and saw Shen An staring at him curiously.
"What are you looking at me for? Putting beans in."
Shen An didn’t put down the beans, but got a little closer and whispered: “Brother, are you afraid of sister-in-law?”
Shen Lie: ...
He knocked Shen An on the forehead directly: “What nonsense are you talking about, get to work.”
Shen An chuckled, added more beans to the millstone, and whispered, "My sister-in-law is so nice, especially so nice."
Chen Lie glanced at him and thought, "Why don't you explain it in more detail?" But then he thought that he could hear the noise from the main house, so he rubbed his brother's head and shut up and got back to work.
Sang Luo returned to the house and saw Chen Ning selecting reed stalks as Sang Luo had taught her, picking out straight ones of uniform thickness for use. When Sang Luo arrived, there were already quite a few reed stalks on the table that had been selected and could be used directly. She took a look and thought that they should be enough to make two curtains, so she found the finished hemp rope and took Chen Ning to start work.
Sang Luo had never woven a reed curtain before, but she had seen it before. She didn't understand the specific processing technology, but she thought she could probably make it herself.
Sang Luo thought it was not that difficult to make this thing for home use. All she had to do was tie the carefully selected reed stems one by one with three or four ropes to form a rollable curtain. There was no need to bend the reed stems, just arrange them tightly and make them more delicately.
After trying it, he found it was not difficult. Shen Ning watched Sang Luo fix two or three reed poles and then he learned how to do it himself. After asking if they wanted to make two curtains, he went to the other side of the square table and made one.
While doing it, he was curious and asked Sang Luo: "Sister-in-law, what is the purpose of weaving this?"
Sang Luo nodded her chin towards the bed and said, "Hang it between the two beds."
Shen Ning was puzzled: "Why is there a curtain in the middle of the bed? Wouldn't it be inconvenient to talk like this?"
Usually, the two children sleep in the new bed, while Sang Luo sleeps in the old bed. Before going to bed, they are used to sitting cross-legged on their own beds, and either chatting, or Sang Luo teaching them to read the Thousand Character Classic, or giving them some math problems to solve.
If there's a curtain hanging in the middle, won't it be possible to not see anyone?
Sang Luo couldn't say that there was a difference between men and women. It would be very awkward if your brother looked at me. We need to create some space. She smiled and said, "It won't be inconvenient. The sound can't be blocked. It will look good if I hang the curtain. You can come and see it after I finish weaving and hanging it."
Shen Ning looked at the unfinished product in her hand, then imagined how it would look when hung up, and then looked at the two beds. No matter how she thought about it, she felt that it would look better if it was hung against the wall than in the middle, right?
But the girl was only confused for a moment. If her sister-in-law liked to hang it in the middle, then she should hang it in the middle. She should just follow her sister-in-law's instructions.
…
Chen Lie's efficiency in grinding beans was much higher than that of Sang Luo, who had to stop from time to time to rub her arms or change people from time to time while taking care of the two children.
Sang Luo had only woven half of the reed curtain when Chen An came over and said the soy milk was ready.
Sang Luo had to do the rest of the work. She asked Chen Ning to continue weaving the curtains. Chen An saw that he was no longer needed in the kitchen, so he stayed in the main room and learned from his sister, then continued weaving the half that Sang Luo had weaved.
Chen Lie was waiting in the kitchen until Sang Luo came over alone.
He was actually very curious. It was the first time he knew soybeans could be ground into this shape. After hearing Chen An say that Sang Luo had taught him and Aning all these skills, he did not shy away and watched Sang Luo make the so-called dried bean curd.
Sang Luo watched him standing aside and didn't care. She gave the necessary instructions and also taught Chen Lie some precautions and techniques when making tofu.
When the soy milk was out of the pot, before adding the sauce, Sang Luo scooped out a shallow bowl of soy milk for Shen Lie and the two children, and said to Shen Lie: "There is a small jar on the shelf where the jars are placed. There is maltose in it. You can put some in it. It will taste better. Three bowls, one for you, Xiao An, and An Ning."
Shen Lie didn't expect that he would be treated like this, and was a little confused.
"I don't need to drink this, you guys drink it."
Although I don't know what this soy milk tastes like, it can be sold for money. And it's something with sugar, so you can tell that it's something only children would like to drink. What's wrong with him drinking it?
Sang Luo smiled and said, "Drink it. Try the homemade food. I don't eat much if it's too late at night. I usually save a bowl for myself when I make soft tofu in the morning. It's good for the body, but you can't drink too much every day."
This is how she and her two little ones gradually recovered their health. Although soy milk is good and can be drunk every day, it should not be consumed in excess.
Shen Lie's focus was on making tofu in the morning.
"You guys gonna do this again in the morning?"
Sang Luo nodded: "The tofu we made in the morning is soft and tender. It has more water in it, so it will be fresher if we make it later."
Only then did Shen Lie realize how tired she was to help Shen An and Shen Ning save up this fortune, and a look of guilt appeared on her face again.
Sang Luo smiled when she saw it: "You're the one who's going to get up and grind the beans tomorrow morning?"
Shen Lie nodded without hesitation: "Okay, from now on, as long as I'm at home, let me do this job."
Sang Luo couldn't help but raise the corners of her lips. Well, although living together may not be very convenient in life, it seems to have more advantages.
She nodded: "Okay."
…
Shen Lie found the sugar and prepared the soy milk and sent it to Shen An and Shen Ning. He also brought his own portion into the house. He didn't dare to admit that he was actually embarrassed to eat sweets in front of Sang Luo.
Sang Luo was busy in the kitchen, while the three siblings were in the main room, each with a bowl of soy milk. Chen Lie's eyes lit up after taking the first sip.
This stuff is so delicious!
Chen An and Shen Ning held the bowls and blew soy milk while smiling: "Brother, next time you can try tofu pudding, sweet and salty are both delicious."
"What is tofu pudding?"
Shen Ning said: "It's the tofu that has just solidified after being made and the water hasn't been pressed out yet. It's especially delicious."
Chen Lie was really enlightened. It seemed that Sang Luo knew a lot of things.
Just as I was thinking this, Chen Ning was already praising her in a low voice: "Sister-in-law is really amazing. She knows so many things. She can take my second brother and me fishing and shrimping, build a chicken coop, make fairy tofu, crystal preserved meat, sugar, vegetarian tripe, and so many other things."
Shen An: "I can recognize many, many words and have read many, many books!"
Shen Lie: ???
I'm already confused.
"Can your sister-in-law read?"
"Yes!" Shen An and Shen Ning nodded in unison.
Chen An put the bowl on the table, turned around and took out his precious bamboo slips to show his eldest brother: "Brother, look, this is made for me by my eldest sister-in-law. Uncle Tian helped make the bamboo slips, and the words on it were all written by my eldest sister-in-law."
Chen Lie looked at the beautiful handwriting. A roll of bamboo slips was unfolded, and dozens of them were filled with different characters, and the writing was very beautiful.
How many words are there?
He looked carefully, but could only recognize a few of them, including his own name and some very simple common characters that he had asked Zhoucun Zhengjiao for.
"Were they all written by your sister-in-law?"
Chen An nodded heavily, his eyes shining and his tone of admiration: "This is called Thousand Character Classic. There are a thousand characters in it, and only one character is repeated. My sister-in-law said that if you can recognize these 999 characters, you will know most of the commonly used characters. I can now recognize and write 42 characters."
Shen Lie was envious.
He was particularly curious: "How does your sister-in-law know so many characters?"
At that time, there were very few people who could read. In the nearby villages, there were only Zhoulizheng and Zhoucunzheng, and the children of the Zhou family who could read a little. Many village chiefs in small villages could not even read, so clerical matters basically had to be addressed to the lizheng.
Shen An turned his head to look at him: "Didn't my sister-in-law tell you? My sister-in-law's family was originally a wealthy family, well, maybe even bigger than the Wang family."
"Commoner?"
Shen An and Shen Ning nodded in unison.
Chen An was quite emotional and whispered, "When my sister-in-law first came, she didn't know how to do many things, including growing vegetables. Grandma Chen gave us some vegetable seedlings, and the three of us planted them together, but all of them died or didn't grow."
"My sister-in-law seldom went out. She only walked around the house for a few months after she moved to the mountains. She was almost dying of hunger that time, but was saved by the sugar water and food sent by Grandma Chen. After that, my sister-in-law changed. She would walk farther away, take off her shoes, roll up her trouser legs, and take me and Aning to the river to catch small fish in a basket and bring them back to make fish soup. She also started to take out the family recipes and set up a stall at the market to cook food. Gradually, the family had food and rice to eat."
Chen Lie lowered his eyes after hearing this. Young ladies from wealthy families do receive a lot of education and rules to abide by since childhood. As for the recipes, they are from their mother's family and cannot be brought to other families unless their parents give them to them as a dowry.
Their family actually benefited a lot from Sang Luo.
The food recipe was one of them. He touched the words on the bamboo slips with his fingertips. She was willing to teach Xiao An and Aning to read. This was an opportunity that many people would wish for.
Chen Lie had been out before and knew more about the importance of literacy than before. Among military generals, those who could read could obviously climb higher and faster than those who could not read if they had the same abilities. Moreover, those who could read were mostly from aristocratic families, while ordinary people had no chance to learn to read.
He rolled up the bamboo slips again and handed them back to Shen An.
Chen An carefully put it away in a cloth bag, which was specially made by Sang Luo for storing bamboo slips.
Chen Lie had a face full of envy, thinking to himself, once all the urgent things on hand were done and life became more stable, should he shamelessly ask Sang Luo to teach him the Thousand Character Classic?
Thinking of this, he quickly rejected it and looked at Chen An.
That’s right, it’s better to let Xiao An teach me, so that I won’t be embarrassed if I learn slowly or make a mistake.
However, is it better to get her consent before learning secretly?
Privately, I deeply feel that I should learn better quietly.
But this thing belongs to Sang Luo. Even if she taught Xiao An and Aning, it is still hers. She still has to ask.
Chen An actually said one thing correctly tonight: he was actually a little afraid of Sang Luo.
Well, maybe not afraid?
A kind of... very different kind of fear? An inexplicable nervousness that he himself did not quite understand.
Fortunately, this is not an urgent matter. He probably has no time to learn to read for a long time recently. When Shen Lie thought of this, the inexplicable tension disappeared immediately.
He drank the soy milk in a few gulps: "Drink slowly, I'll go help your sister-in-law."
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