Chapter 228 Return of Gift
In the four years since Sang Luo came here, there was always a snow in the early December of each year. However, the snow in the winter of the third year of Wuding fell very late. It was not until the night of the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month that the snowflakes began to fall.
Chen Lie and his group rushed back to Daxingzhuang in the first snowstorm.
When a thin layer of white fluff appeared on the ground, the sky seemed brighter. Although I got home late, I didn't even have time to light a torch.
More than a dozen people came back at once, leading more than 20 sheep, and returned to their own farm. It was conceivable that it would not be quiet.
Sang Luo had been thinking about Chen Lie and his group for several days, and she always waited until very late every day. Today was no exception. She and Shen Ning copied books together until the end of the evening, but they still hadn't come back. Because it was too cold, she had just warmed her feet with hot water and was about to lie down in bed, but she heard some noise outside, especially the faint cries of a flock of sheep. She didn't want to sleep anymore, so she put on her shoes and socks again and ran out.
Carrying things and driving six sheep from afar, who else could it be but Shen Lie, Shen An and Shen Jin? In the distance, Old Man Chen, Chen Youtian and Chen Ershan could be seen.
The village was bustling with noise and festive atmosphere, and every family was busy herding sheep and carrying grain.
At the Shen family's side, the trees that needed to be transplanted in the sheep farm in the mountains had been transplanted long ago, but only two sheep sheds had been built, and there were still two to go. It was estimated that it would take more than ten days of work. The family's original five sheep had not been moved in yet, but the six that had just returned home had caught up.
Chen Lie was carrying a lot of yams, and for fear of snow, he had to pile them in the woodshed as soon as possible. He only had time to say hello to Sang Luo. Chen An and Shen Jin also unloaded the food they were carrying, and did not dare to rest. They first had to send the six sheep that had been on the road for several days back to the sheep shed.
Seeing the two brothers heading straight for the old sheep shed, Sang Luo hurriedly stopped them and asked Shen Ning to boil water and prepare some food. She lit a torch and then led Shen An and Shen Jin, who were herding the sheep, up the mountain.
The path on the top of the mountain had been worn out by daily walking and the road was familiar to them. Chen An and Shen Jin heard that a new sheep shed had been built at home and were very curious. The six sheep were bleating, and it was not known whether they were cold or felt a little uneasy in the new place.
Shen Jin saw two sheep sheds illuminated by the snow, brand new wooden houses covered with thick straw curtains. He asked stupidly, "Sister-in-law, are these for the sheep to live in?"
The reaction was exactly the same as Shen Yin and Shen Tie's. Thinking of Shen Tie running into the sheep shed and turning around several times, almost looking for a suitable place to put a bed, and his envious expression, Sang Luo smiled: "You are not envious too, are you?"
Shen Jin admitted: "It's newer than the house we live in now."
They are now living in an old rammed earth house that has been occupied by the Wang family's tenants for who knows how many years. In terms of cleanliness and appearance, it is not as good as this new wooden sheep shed.
Chen An was also quite curious. He had also raised sheep in the mountains for several years. Sang Luo walked in front with a torch and asked people to lead the ewes in. He had three sheep in his hands, so he led the sheep in. He saw the idea at a glance: "If we build it like this, it won't be cold in winter, it won't be damp in rainy days, and the sheep manure will be easy to sweep away. It will be much cleaner."
"But these two sheep sheds can hold more than 20 sheep, right?"
This is the work of my sister-in-law. No wonder mountains are treasures.
Sang Luo said, "There are four rooms. There are still two rooms that have not been built. However, they are the lamb room and the sick sheep isolation room. We have a lot of ewes and they can be raised quickly. By next year, they will not be empty anymore."
Hearing that there were so many tricks, Shen Jin's eyes were full of curiosity. He only had two sheep at home and he couldn't understand why it had to be divided so finely. He asked a lot of questions and Sang Luo didn't hide anything. Shen Jin was interested, so she shared her understanding with him.
After settling the six sheep, male and female, they took some hay from the hay house in the sheep shed and put it on the sheep beds to keep them warm. They also added some hay to the trough. Seeing that the sheep were eating well, they closed the door of the sheep shed as it was cold in winter, and then the three of them left the mountain.
Of course they couldn't sit idle after returning. Chen Ning cooked in the kitchen, while Sang Luo cooked some fine feed for a few sheep on another stove.
The so-called refined feed is actually the bean dregs left over from grinding soy milk and making tofu at home. Add some bran and cook it into a paste. When it is no longer hot, it is served to the sheep. It is a warm meal and is their favorite.
Compared to eating only grass, it also improves immunity. On weekdays, other sheep only eat it occasionally, and most of them are fed to ewes and lambs with babies. These six sheep have been walking in the mountains for several days in very cold weather, so they have an extra good meal tonight, which is more nutritious than simply drinking warm water.
Shen Yin and Shen Tie also heard the noise, put on their clothes and came over. The kids were still excited about the sheep house, especially since they had moved into the sheep house. So when the concentrate was cooked and cooled down so that it was not so hot, the four brothers carried the barrels of concentrate and went up the mountain together.
The Shen family had a lot of yams, about 700 to 800 kilograms. Chen Lie was strong, so he carried a lot of yams by himself. Each family also helped to carry some, so that they could be considered to have brought all the yams back in one trip. The yams carried by other families were piled under the eaves outside the Xu family's house. It took Chen Lie three trips to move them all back, and on the last trip he brought back half a wild boar meat.
Seeing the four little ones happily running up the mountain carrying half a bucket of concentrated feed, he asked Sang Luo: "Is the sheep shed in the mountain ready?"
"We've built two rooms. Xiao Jin and the others are just getting some fresh food." Sang Luo responded, but her eyes were on the meat Shen Lie brought back. She walked over to take a look and asked, "Did you encounter a wild boar on the way?"
Chen Lie nodded, "A herd of wild boars and more than 20 sheep made too much noise. Fortunately, there were many people on this trip, otherwise it is hard to say whether these sheep could be protected intact. However, there were too many things, and we couldn't bring back all the wild boars, so we only hunted two of the most aggressive ones, and let the rest escape. We got half of them."
Half a fan is a lot, and Sang Luo thinks it weighs at least 70 or 80 kilograms.
"It's just right that I have to pay Uncle Zhao and Uncle Zhao Si's wages tomorrow. This fresh wild boar meat can be sent to the city to exchange for grain and it will be worth a lot. It's snowing, so it's hard to work these days. I'll just give them seven days off and come back after the third day of the first lunar month."
I started working on the third day of the twelfth lunar month. Although it is not yet the full month, the Chinese New Year is only a few days away. There is fresh meat, so I give it to the Zhao family now so that they can have a good year.
…
After piling up the yams they brought back and covering them with straw mats, Chen Ning cooked a few bowls of rice porridge with vegetables and boiled two large pots of water. He also asked Shen Yin, who had just returned from feeding the sheep, to go home and boil some water as well. The three of them ate the hot food and washed off their dust. It was already midnight, so they went back to their rooms to rest.
Chen Lie also brought back the padlocks he had left outside the village and at the bottom of the valley, and took them into the room, preparing to put them in the cabinet. However, when he returned to his room and before he put the padlocks away, he found a lot of bamboo slips in the room.
He could identify the bamboo slips that he often read without looking through them. He picked up a new one and looked at it under the oil lamp. He was stunned by what he saw.
"Where did it come from?"
Sang Luo took out the wooden box that she had carefully stored and said, "A few days after you left, the governor's mansion sent this box of silk books. I was worried that the silk books would be damaged, so I took An Ning and copied a copy each these days."
I told Shen Lie about the Zeng family in Taiyuan in general.
Chen Lie was stunned, and for a moment he remembered the day when the governor came to Daxing Manor. He shook Sang Luo's hand and said, "I also benefited from you."
Dioscorea can be cultivated artificially and has a high yield, which attracted the attention of the governor. It is more likely because the method of growing Dioscorea that A Luo mentioned was not kept to herself and was taught to others several years ago.
The couple had been apart for more than ten days, and had not been able to show affection to each other. The snowy night was especially cold, but after Chen Lie came back, Sang Luo slept warmly.
I had a good night's sleep. Because it was snowing heavily outside, the children were very excited. There were children's laughter and noise in the early morning. It sounded like they were playing snowballs. The sound was so joyful that Sang Luo didn't stay in bed and got up.
The first thing he did was to ask Shen Lie to weigh ten pounds of fresh meat, borrow a scale from Zhou's house to weigh it, and found half a pound extra. He then weighed ten pounds of smoked meat, measured the soybeans, and counted the silver. The soybeans were put in bags, and the money was just strung together with a rope. While waiting for Zhao Da and Zhao Si to come to work, Sang Luo asked Shen Lie to deliver the money, food, and twenty pounds of meat to the Zhao brothers.
Zhao Da and Zhao Si had their hands full of things, and they were still a little confused: "Give me seven days off?"
After I realized what was going on, I didn't dare to ask for it. I had only worked for 25 days and was only getting one month's salary.
"That's impossible. It's hard to work when it snows. When the snow stops, we can just calculate the wages according to the number of days worked."
Chen Lie smiled and said, "No, we will continue to ask you to help us later. It's not just for this month. It's also A-Luo's idea. This only happens once a year. We are busy from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. This year we can settle down properly. Just rest at home for a few days."
When the Zhao brothers heard that they were going to be hired permanently, they were happy and grateful. It was the end of the year, and the Shen couple were very nice, so the two brothers did not hesitate to say a few auspicious words to each other. They then went to the Shen family to thank Sang Luo, and then carried their things back home in the wind and snow, which was considered a wrap-up for the year.
Sang Luo looked at the half pig's flesh. It must have weighed at least sixty or seventy kilograms. How could the family eat all that?
It's cold in winter, but this is not the north after all, and fresh meat can only be preserved during the few days of snow. As for making bacon or smoked meat, her family has no shortage of these things.
Sang Luo looked at Chen Lie and said, "How about keeping 20 kilograms at home and sending the rest to the governor's mansion?"
Originally, it would have been best to send it to the East Market to exchange for some money. But now the price of meat is high. If I want to open a shop next year, it’s always a good idea to save more money.
However, she had just received a book from Mr. Zeng, and Chen Lie was not at home. She didn't know if there were any female relatives in the governor's mansion. If there were, she didn't know them, so it was inconvenient for her to move around. Apart from saying thank you, she hadn't expressed anything at all.
A few dozen kilograms of wild boar meat is not worth much, but it is a token of appreciation. Otherwise, it would be very rude to accept such a valuable gift and then just leave it alone without any follow-up.
“Wild boar meat, isn’t it a bit bad?” After hearing Sang Luo talk about the governor’s background and knowing that people of high status at that time did not like to eat pork, Chen Lie hesitated.
Sang Luo actually didn't dare to think of this yesterday, but now that she said it out loud, she felt relieved. She said, "No matter how good your family background is, where can you buy meat in Shezhou City? Lord Chu looks skinny. It's up to him whether to eat it or not, or give it to someone else as a reward. At least our intention is shown."
In fact, there are things in the house that are more respectable, such as sheep.
But what is the situation now? In the first few years, people were in danger, let alone poultry and livestock? Look around Shezhou City, except for a few big families, who can protect chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep? Even the provincial government gave grain seeds and farm tools, but never mentioned cattle.
A live sheep, at this time, has a different meaning. It is different from trapping rabbits. It is much more difficult and you have to go deep into the mountains to find them. It takes half a month to go in and out and search with a target. How can Chen Lie have time to do this?
So Sang Luo was really reluctant to give the sheep away to be eaten as food. In order to repay the favor, she was reluctant to kill the sheep herself.
After hearing what Sang Luo said, Chen Lie suddenly understood: "That's right, if we really compare it to the value of that book, our family can't come up with an equivalent thank-you gift."
What matters is the thought.
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