Chapter 222 Congratulations
Apart from Chen Lie and others who had come here to register their household registration, or the Xu family who had friends and relatives in the city, people like Sang Luo, Zhou Ge, Gan, and Chen Po have lived outside the city for nearly two months. Because of the farming season, they are very busy in the fields, and this is their first time in the city.
I came in very early and was in a hurry to go to the provincial school. I didn't see anything. Now I have to go for a walk, right?
But after taking a walk around the streets of Shezhou, they realized that the street was deserted not because they went in too early in the morning, but because most of the shops were closed and it was unknown whether the shop owners were still alive.
There were only a limited number of places to visit, but fortunately, the medicine shop was still in business, just like the grain and salt shops, with the government taking care of it. Sang Luo went in and bought some herbs that could be used as seasonings, but not everything was available, so she bought some star anise and cinnamon, which was a good thing.
The group took another walk to the East Market, which was even more deserted than the main street. There were people setting up stalls, but not many, and they did not trade with money, but barter. Someone brought out pheasant eggs from his home and asked the price. The group did not accept money, but only exchanged for food. It did not matter what kind of food it was, as long as it was edible.
After all, who doesn't have food to eat these days? What's the point of having money?
Well, there’s no more room for sightseeing, so I can only leave the city and return to the village.
After leaving the city gate, Mrs. Chen whispered, "In this city right now, when I looked at the list just now, the wealthy families with servants are living a comfortable life, but the ordinary rich and small families are not as well off as us. It's better if they don't have food or drink. If they have money, they can't buy food and drink. We are not like that. We can raise and grow crops by ourselves."
Although this group of people had just settled outside the city, they had no problem being self-sufficient in the mountains in the past few years. They grew crops, raised chickens and sheep, and bought a lot of mountain products. Their lives were much better than those of the city dwellers in Shezhou County, who could only rely on buying old rice, worms and beans at high prices from grain shops for food.
The reason they said stale rice and beans with bugs was because they went around the grain shop and found that there were really only stale rice and beans with bugs on sale. Even so, the price was high and the quantity was limited every month. One had to register with a registration book before being able to buy them.
…
As they were talking, they returned to Daxingzhuang. Getting admitted to the provincial school was not a big deal, but celebrating at home was essential. Sang Luo called the three brothers Xiao Jin to come home for dinner in the evening as a small celebration.
How could Xiao Jin not agree? The three brothers were so envious of their eldest sister-in-law's cooking skills that they happily agreed.
There were two other guests in the evening, Chen Dashan and Zhou Ge, whom Chen Lie invited personally to Chen's mountain. The friendship between young people and the friendship between them was different from others, so such moments were inevitable.
Chen Dashan knew that his family had gone to the city to see the results early in the morning. Before his wife came to deliver the letter, Chen Lie arrived first. When he heard that Chen Lie had really been admitted to the provincial school, he was so happy that he patted his arm and said, "You are amazing!"
Hearing Chen Lie inviting him to dinner, and there were only his father and grandfather around, Chen Dashan did not shy away and said with a smile: "Of course we have to go to dinner. Do you still have that wine at home? Such a good thing must be celebrated. Allow me to drink half a bowl tonight, so that I can enjoy it to my heart's content."
Chen Lie laughed. In the past few years in the mountains, Sang Luo secretly brewed a few jars every year. Especially when the salt and medicine were almost used up, there were many empty jars left, which made it more convenient. However, only Chen Dashan and his wife knew that they had wine.
"Yes, not to mention half a bowl, even a full bowl is fine."
They invited Old Man Chen and Chen Youtian to join them, but the father and son waved their hands and said, "Just go to Dashan. We won't join in the fun."
If they all go, will Chen Lie and his wife invite other family members? The little grain and beans grown in the mountains will last until the autumn harvest this year, so it's embarrassing to go.
Chen Lie smiled and said to Chen Dashan: "Then you can come with your sister-in-law in the evening."
Zhou Ge and Sang Luo were of the same age and had always been close in the mountains, so they invited the couple together. Chen Dashan was never polite to Chen Lie, so he agreed with a smile.
…
Since they were going to entertain guests at home, they had to prepare some good food. Sang Luo took Chen Ning to soak soybeans at home, grind the soybean milk, make tofu and dried bean curd for use in the evening. After everything was done, she took out the konjac powder and asked Chen Ning to make some vegetarian tripe.
Chen Lie was not idle either. He picked up a wooden bucket and a long stick and went out for more than an hour. He didn't know where he was looking. It was difficult for others to find pheasants and rabbits outside, so he thought he walked too far. He brought back two fish and three rabbits.
When passing by Chen's house, he gave Chen Xiaoya, who was staying at home, a wild rabbit and a fish, saying that they were just extra dishes for their family. Chen Xiaoya was so happy that she thanked him and ran back to her own mountain to tell her grandparents.
Chen Lie took the other fish and two rabbits home. Sang Luo weighed the rabbit and said, "We are in for a treat today. How would you like to eat it? Fresh rabbit, red oil rabbit, fragrant rabbit, or cold rabbit?"
Before Shen Lie could answer, Shen Ning, who had heard the noise, left the half-cooked vegetarian tripe and poked her head out of the kitchen window. When she saw the two big fat rabbits in her sister-in-law's hand, they must have weighed more than ten pounds. Shen Ning's eyes lit up: "Sister-in-law, cold rabbit! Cold rabbit! Big brother also likes to eat this the most!"
In the past few years in the mountains, her family could not have enough rice, especially in the last year, they could only eat a little occasionally, and they had to eat bean rice like other families, but they really had enough meat, and at the peak of their family’s rabbit breeding, they had over 60 rabbits, so they never had a shortage of food. Her eldest sister-in-law’s cooking skills were pretty good, and she cooked them in different ways, but the most delicious one was still the cold-eaten rabbit!!!
Chen Lie has been too busy these past two months and has not been able to take care of the family. Chen Ning has not eaten this dish for more than two months. Moreover, she saw her sister-in-law go to the pharmacy to buy seasonings today. The seasonings that her family brought into the mountains were used up the next year. Some of them can be found in the mountains, but some are not available in the mountains in their area. The cold rabbit without a few seasonings is also delicious when cooked by her sister-in-law, but it is still not as good as expected.
Now there is seasoning!!! Shen Ning's eyes are about to light up.
"Okay." Sang Luo agreed as soon as she saw her shining eyes.
The charm of cold rabbit is so great that no one in the family can escape it, even Chen Tie, who doesn't like spicy food, always eats it with a sizzling taste.
Sure enough, just when I thought of this, I heard Chen Lie add a sentence beside me: "Put more dogwood, make both, and then build a rabbit house on the mountain, and raise rabbits there too?"
How greedy you must be.
Sang Luo's eyes were already curved with a smile: "Okay, Xiao An and Xiao Jin are already busy on the mountain, you can go too, and open up the mountain where we plant yam as soon as possible. I'll have some free time in the next two days to plan the other mountain and see how to arrange it. Don't worry about the other things for now, just build the chicken coop, rabbit house, and sheep pen before the New Year, just in time for the beginning of spring."
Chen Lie and Shen An will have to go to school on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month next year, and Sang Luo will not show any mercy when she orders them around.
Spring is the time when rabbits reproduce the fastest. If we let Chen Lie, Shen An, Shen Jin and others go deeper into the mountains for a few days, they can bring back seven or eight litters a day. Not to mention eating them, they can even raise them and sell them in the city. As for the sheepfold, the one at the foot of the mountain can only be used temporarily. There is also a group of sheep grazing in the valley in the inner mountains. The big ones will reproduce in the valley, but the small ones will have to be brought back, as there will be no room for them by then.
…
Eat rabbit cold, eat rabbit cold, it’s the best to let it sit and eat it cold.
Sang Luo did not wait until the afternoon and started to clean up right there. Chen Ning hurriedly finished her work and came out to help her sister-in-law. No matter what Sang Luo did, she never avoided Chen Ning and always explained the techniques to her in detail, so Chen Ning's skills in making cold rabbit were really good.
It was only the middle of the morning when waves of extremely tempting meaty aroma began to waft from the Shen family's home.
It was okay for those who were farther away, as they could vaguely smell it, but the five Shen brothers who were working on the top of Shen's hill, and the two brothers Zhao Da and Zhao Si, were drooling so hard that they could hardly hold back.
The Chen family's mountain is not very far from the Shen family. Chen Dashan, who was working hard on his own mountain, wandered off and came to the Shen family's mountain. He hooked the shoulder of Shen Lie who was working and said, "Are you talking about a lunch treat?"
Such a nice smell! Such a nice smell!!
It must be noon!!!
"In the evening." Chen Lie suppressed his laughter: "A Luo made cold rabbit for dinner, making it now is just right for dinner."
"Ah!" Chen Dashan collapsed, looking at Chen Lie, "Can't you change it? We can celebrate at noon."
I'm embarrassed to say it, and the cold rabbit made by Sang Luo seems to be more delicious when eaten cold than when eaten hot.
Seeing the eager look, Chen Lie smiled and said, "Okay, I'll send you a bowl at noon."
Chen Dashan suddenly came to life, "Good brother! I won't eat your food for free. I will help your family cut down trees all day."
Shen Jin, Shen Yin and Shen Tie all laughed. There was one more person working for a living.
The cold rabbit made by my sister-in-law!
The three Shen Jin brothers also swallowed their saliva in unison.
The same rabbit, the one they made themselves and the one made by my sister-in-law and elder sister are completely different.
Eat the rabbit cold, eat the rabbit cold, thinking about the delicious rabbit meat they had eaten before, Shen Yin and Shen Tie were digging the rabbit with their small hoes very hard and happily.
…
At the Chen family's side, Zhou Ge saw that Chen Dashan had been gone for about two quarters of an hour and had not returned, so he glanced towards the top of the Shen family's hill.
Mrs. Chen saw it and laughed: "A Luo must have prepared something delicious. No need to look, she can't be pulled back. She will definitely ask for a bite of delicious food from A Lie before she leaves. Let him work hard."
The old lady has become accustomed to seeing how shameless her eldest grandson is in the face of stuttering.
Zhou Ge couldn't help laughing. Indeed, her man was really capable of doing such a thing. She didn't even look over there anymore.
At noon, Sang Luo prepared lunch and asked Chen Ning to go up the mountain to call Chen Lie and others to come down the mountain to eat, and told her: "Call Uncle Zhao and Fourth Uncle Zhao as well."
The Zhao family had two meals a day. Zhao Da and Zhao Si had two and a half meals a day because they were paid well by Sang Luo. They had breakfast at home and half a fist-sized dry food dumpling for lunch. The afternoon meal was brought to them by the boy in the family.
It was fine if they were not together at other times, because most people only had two meals at this time. It was unusual for people like Daxingzhuang to have three meals during busy farming season or when they were doing heavy work. But today, Shen Lie and Shen An were also working in the mountains, and it was a happy occasion. In addition, they had prepared good food, so Sang Luo brought out the portion for the Zhao brothers as well.
Chen Ning went up the mountain to call for help, and found that Chen Dashan was there too. The little girl had been raised by Sang Luo since she was nine years old, so she was able to adapt to the situation, and she was also very generous. Without any hesitation, she called Chen Dashan along.
Chen Dashan grinned, showing off his big white teeth: "I won't eat the meal. I have prepared some at home, but your elder brother promised to make me a small bowl of cold rabbit to take back, and Aning will help me get another bowl later."
Chen Ning laughed when he heard this, knowing that Chen Dashan also liked this cold rabbit the most. No, he liked many things made by his sister-in-law, and there was nothing he didn't crave, so he smiled and responded: "Okay, then I'll serve you more, and let Grandpa, Grandma, and Xiaoya have a taste."
Chen Dashan was happy as he should be. Zhao Da and Zhao Si knew that the Shen family had cooked meat, so they would never go to eat it. No matter what Shen Ning said, or how Shen Lie and Shen An persuaded them, they just said that they had brought dry food with them and continued to work without moving a step.
Chen Lie had no choice but to say nothing. When Chen Ning served rabbit meat to Chen Dashan after work, he told Sang Luo about it. Sang Luo simply took a plate, put half a plate of rabbit meat on it, and added some vegetables to make a bowl. She handed it to Chen Lie and said, "Just tell Uncle Zhao and Uncle Zhao that there is a happy event at home. Tell them not to refuse and just share in the good fortune."
…
A big meal was prepared at noon. Even the Zhao brothers tasted the rabbit meat. After eating three pieces each, they couldn't bear to eat the rest. They wrapped the rest with the vegetable leaves they used to make bean rice balls and planned to take it back home in the evening for their parents, wives and children to taste.
Of course, these Sangluo don’t know about this.
After lunch, Shen Lie and Shen An read while the three Shen Jin brothers went back to take a nap, a habit they developed during those years in the mountains following their eldest brother and sister-in-law.
Sang Luo and Shen Ning also slept for half an hour. It was cold in winter, and Sang Luo did not sleep well last night, so she closed her eyes and took a nap for a quarter of an hour or two before waking up. When she woke up, Chen Lie and Shen An had already gone to work in the mountains.
I ground some fine rice paste in the afternoon, and at 3 p.m., I was ready to kill chickens, fish, and peel chestnuts. Zhou Ge came to help, but he only helped with killing chickens, fish, and washing vegetables. After he finished all these, he went back, saying that he was going home to make dinner.
The truth is, my grandmother had told me before that Sang Luo could make a lot of things, but many of them could be used as a legitimate business, so I avoided her on purpose.
Sang Luo was already used to her being like this, so she just smiled and asked her to come over for dinner with Chen Dashan at 5 p.m.
Sang Luo and Shen Ning both love cooking, and the dishes were ready. They were quick and efficient, and they started two stoves at the same time, and served the dishes one after another on the eight-immortal table in the kitchen.
Cold rabbit, cold vegetarian tripe, roast chicken with chestnuts, fried bacon and garlic sprouts with dried sauce, stir-fried chicken offal with sauerkraut, stir-fried yam slices, and raisin rice cake.
When the last dish of stewed fish with tofu was still bubbling in the pot, Shen Lie and his friends came back after checking the time. Needless to say, Chen Dashan had been working on Shenjiashan Mountain all afternoon, and now, looking at the table full of dishes, he could hardly move his feet.
"Chen Lie, you better do better in the exam next time, so that your sister-in-law can open another seat for you!"
Chen Tie, who was also unable to move his feet, nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes, big brother and second brother, do well in the exam."
Not only was there cold-cooked rabbit, but my sister-in-law also made his favorite raisin rice cake.
Seeing that he couldn't take his eyes off him, and he could still nod and say yes, ...
Chen Tie then turned his eyes away from the delicious food on the table and ran to wash his hands. Shen Jin and Shen Yin hurriedly followed him.
When Chen Ning called Zhou Ge over, Chen Lie had already prepared the wine, a jar that could hold about two kilograms of wine. This time, he also prepared some for Sang Luo and Zhou Ge.
Nine people sat at the table. People in the countryside were not so particular and a child could sit down by squeezing together at the corner of the table.
The wine was poured here, and the children were served with the jujube syrup that Sang Luo had specially made. They clinked glasses with each other in a lively manner, and just as the meal was about to begin, Xu Wenqing hurried over with a group of people.
"Master!" The voice came before the person arrived.
When Shen Lie heard that it was Xu Wenqing, he stood up and was about to call him in to eat together. Xu Wenqing stood at the door of the Shen family kitchen, took a look at the scene inside, winked at Shen Lie, made way for him slightly, and said, "Master, Master Chu is here."
As he stepped aside, Chu Qichang's smiling face appeared behind him: "Brother Shen, I'm here to congratulate you!"
Shen Lie and Chen Dashan were both stunned.
Shen Lie was puzzled. He took the provincial exam and ranked last. Why would Chu Qichang, a court official, come to congratulate him?
Moreover, Brother Shen???
Sang Luo subconsciously looked at the wine that had already been poured into Chen Lie and the others' bowls and felt a headache. Would it be too late to hide it now?
I sniffed the aroma of wine in the air, and of course, it was too late...
As expected, Chu Qichang's nose twitched, and he leaned forward slightly to look at the table that was blocked by Chen Lie, Chen Dashan and others.
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