Chapter 127: Homecoming Banquet and Everyone...
After chatting with everyone for a while, Zhao Mingsheng said goodbye to Liu Yingying and Zhong Yuan. She had planned to take Zhong Yuan home with her, but she said she couldn't miss work tomorrow.
She wasn't afraid of being accused of being money-conscious, so she said bluntly, "My current daily wages are equivalent to half a month's wages as a maid. I must cherish them!"
Everyone laughed.
Zhao Mingsheng didn't force it and got up to go home.
Seeing that it was getting late, Yan Zhuo did not go with her. He only asked Jing Liu to drive her back to Zhao's house safely and agreed to visit the fields again early the next morning.
Zhao Mingsheng stepped off the carriage on a horse stool and ran into Aunt Zou, who was holding a handful of fresh hyssop. She greeted him warmly.
"Oh, it's Sheng." Aunt Zou stood up and waved her hand.
Zhao Mingsheng noticed she looked healthy and cheerful, her face filled with unconcealed joy. She looked a lot younger. Upon inquiring, he learned that her eldest son had recently secured a marriage with a family from the next village, and the wedding was imminent.
Zhao Mingsheng quickly congratulated him.
Aunt Zou happily agreed, then suddenly slapped her head and said, "Girl, don't go in yet. Wait here for me."
Zhao Mingsheng didn't understand what was going on. When he turned around, he saw the old lady rushing out with a basket of eggs.
Aunt Zou said, "Thanks to your advice, little girl Sheng, I've used the money from selling fermented bean curd to pay off my previous foreign debts and save fifty taels of silver. Now my son can finally find a wife. Take this basket of eggs and eat them."
Zhao Mingsheng looked at the egg in front of him and was stunned for a moment.
"Those chicks, are they able to lay eggs now?"
She raised the chicks the Shi family had given her for a while, even building a special chicken coop. But chickens on farms still had to be free-range. It was fine when they were small, but as they grew and grew wings, they began to eagerly take flight. After the chicks knocked over the herbs Zhao's father had been drying for the second time, Zhao Mingsheng had no choice but to send them to Aunt Zou's house next door to be raised.
If she guessed correctly, these eggs should have been laid by the chicks.
Upon asking, it turned out to be true.
Zhao Mingsheng declined, "Auntie Zou, it's not easy for you to feed these chickens every day. You can keep these eggs for yourself."
When talking about raising chickens, Aunt Zou talks endlessly: "The eggs laid by my chickens are extremely nutritious. The day before yesterday, my child's father got typhoid fever. He drank a bowl of egg water, and guess what, he was well the next day! It's more effective than that bowl of bitter medicine."
Zhao Mingsheng pretended to be surprised, but was thinking in his heart.
Of course, those are chicks that are fed with spiritual spring water every day. Although the eggs they lay cannot cure all diseases, they can only treat minor problems like typhoid fever. Eating them every day can also strengthen the body.
"You girls, eat more. It's good for your health." Aunt Zou was about to say something else when a man's voice came from the next yard. "Mom, it's time for dinner. If you don't come back soon, the food will get cold."
He sounds very young, and should be the son of Aunt Zou who works in the town.
"Hey, coming right up, coming right up," Aunt Zou said, stuffing a basket of eggs into Zhao Mingsheng's arms. "Those chickens are very sensible. They can save seven or eight fresh eggs every day. We can't finish all of them, so don't be polite to me!"
Zhao Mingsheng didn't even have time to refuse before the food was stuffed into his arms, and he once again felt Aunt Zou's enthusiasm.
Zhao Mingsheng had no choice but to carry a basket of eggs and walk into his yard. What came into his sight was still the familiar scene. In the southeast corner were drying medicinal herbs that Zhao's father had painstakingly prepared. The faint fragrance of the medicine mixed with the fragrance of the flowers in the southwest corner, which complemented each other.
Chrysanthemums bloomed extravagantly in the golden autumn. Zhao Mingsheng casually glanced at them and, as expected, spotted highly prized varieties like Green Cloud and Shuai Qi. Even a single pot of these would likely draw a scramble among the nobles of the capital. There were also some beautiful varieties she couldn't even name. Some flowers were as delicate as stamens, dangling from countless silk threads, while others, blazing with fiery color, resembled phoenixes spreading their wings, ready to take flight, swaying in the autumn breeze.
She was truly envious of Meng's skill in growing flowers.
Bang.
The sound of something heavy falling to the ground startled Zhao Mingsheng out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Meng, who had just stepped out of the house, staring blankly at her. The wooden pot she was using to water the flowers had rolled down to the side of her shoe.
"What fell?"
The sound of something heavy falling was also heard in the study. Zhao's father, who was worried about his wife, hurried out to check. As soon as he rushed to the door, he saw his daughter, who had not returned home for a long time, standing at the door with a smile on her face.
"Mom and Dad, I'm back."
Due to Zhong Yuan's deliberate concealment, they did not know that Zhao Mingsheng had gone to Yanzhou. They just thought that she was taking care of the old lady in the Marquis' Mansion, but the time she took to take care of her was indeed a bit too long.
Zhao's father was a careless man, concerned only with his daughter's filial piety. He didn't care how long she stayed in the mansion. Meng, by comparison, was more thoughtful and thoughtful. She worried that her daughter might find the countryside poor and stay in the mansion forever. But she also felt that staying in the mansion would save her from suffering in the countryside. She was torn between feelings.
"Mom, are you okay? Did you hit your foot?"
Zhao Mingsheng walked forward and picked up the wooden pot, looking around carefully. Fortunately, the pot was not full of water and there were no cracks from falling, so it was still usable.
Mrs. Meng shook her head. "I'm fine. But you, how come you seem to have lost a lot of weight this time? Have you been living well and eating well in the Marquis' Mansion recently? Are you sick?"
In fact, Zhao Mingsheng was not really thin, but the baby fat on both sides of his cheeks faded away, and his appearance became more delicate, which made him look thinner in Meng's eyes.
If she continued asking like this, it would seem like she was blaming the Marquisate for not taking good care of her daughter. Father Zhao cleared his throat, interrupted his wife, and said, "It's good that my daughter is back."
Meng came to her senses and was confused by her concern. She knew that she had said something wrong.
Zhao Mingsheng didn't care about these things. She lifted the hem of her skirt and turned around in front of Meng, smiling brightly: "Look, my daughter is in good health. Mother, don't worry too much. I hope you have taken your medicine well during the time I was away."
Considering Meng's weak health, Zhao Mingsheng specially prepared a bottle of nourishing pills with spiritual spring water before leaving.
Meng smiled and nodded. Her health had improved a lot now. When she had nothing to do, she would embroider handkerchiefs and grow flowers.
Zhao Qingyue comes home late from the county school every day, so the Zhao family has been more accommodating with the dinner time and is now preparing to start cooking.
"Just take a rest. I'll show you my skills tonight."
Zhao Mingsheng smiled and pushed Meng, who was about to cook dinner, back into the chair, then carried the basket of eggs into the kitchen.
Zhao Mingsheng set aside half of the eggs, cleaned the shells with clean water, and put them into the pot to cook after the water boiled, preparing to use them to make tea eggs. He beat the remaining half of the eggs into egg liquid.
"How can we finish all this? Are they all fried?"
Zhao's father, who insisted on helping Zhao Mingsheng, was troubled by the full bowl of egg liquid. Although he loved scrambled eggs, he couldn't stand so much. He would get tired of eating only scrambled eggs.
Zhao Mingsheng couldn't help but laugh. "You don't have to fry them all. There are so many ways to cook eggs. You can use the egg liquid to make tomato scrambled eggs, minced meat and egg custard, or scrambled eggs with black fungus. You can also make egg pancakes as a staple food, or egg drop soup."
"Okay, okay, let's do it this way!" Father Zhao held back his saliva and was convinced in a second.
Zhao Mingsheng calculated the time and planned to make scrambled eggs with tomatoes while the eggs were boiling.
During the time she was away, Aunt Wang took care of the medicinal herbs and vegetables grown in the fields, and picked the ripe vegetables and sent them to the Zhao family.
These tomatoes were picked from his own fields. They were big and plump. The moment they were cut, clear juice rushed out through the gaps. Zhao Mingsheng was quick-eyed and quick-handed. Before the juice dripped onto the chopping board, he cut the tomatoes into even small pieces with a few cuts and put them in a bowl for later use.
Peel the eggs and beat them in a bowl until golden. Add a little water for a smoother, more tender scrambled egg. Finely chopped scallions and a pinch of salt are added for seasoning. Heat oil in a wok until it's 70% hot. Then, with deft movements, Zhao Mingsheng adds the scallions and egg mixture. The instant the egg meets the hot oil, the intense aroma of egg bursts forth, expanding into a beautiful golden cloud, its softness inviting a bite.
Mr. Zhao, who was standing by, stared with his eyes wide open.
Zhao Mingsheng chuckled and when the scrambled eggs came out of the pan, he specially served him a piece to satisfy his craving.
Zhao Mingsheng: "Daddy, how about you help me taste the saltiness?"
Father Zhao wasn't afraid of the burn and swallowed it in one gulp, giving a thumbs-up: "Just the right saltiness!"
After the eggs are fried, add the chopped tomatoes and stir-fry. The red soup quickly mixes with the golden scrambled eggs, and the aroma is mixed with a hint of sweet and sour.
Use part of the remaining egg liquid to make scrambled eggs with wood ear mushrooms, and add a little salt to the other part, stir it into a thick batter, pour it on the heated pan, and in a moment you will have a fragrant omelet.
After baking the last pancake, Zhao Mingsheng listened to the noise in the yard. It should be Zhao Qingyue who came back.
Zhao Qingyue could smell the fragrant aroma from a long distance away. At first, he was wondering whose house the aroma came from, but in the end he found that it was coming from his own yard.
Zhao Qingyue hesitated at the door for a moment, then pushed it open and walked in, just in time to see Zhao's father coming out of the kitchen carrying a plate.
Seeing him come back, he casually greeted him: "You're back. You're in for a treat today. Go wash your hands and have dinner."
It was dinner made by his father. Smelling the aroma of rice in the air, Zhao Qingyue couldn't believe it. When did his father become such a good cook?
Just thinking about it.
He caught a glimpse of a girl wearing a pomegranate skirt and an apron tied around her waist following behind Zhao's father, carrying a plate of baked egg pancakes out of the kitchen.
"Brother, what are you still standing there for? The pancake will get cold soon."
The girl's clear and pleasant voice rang in his ears. Zhao Qingyue came back to his senses and responded subconsciously.
"Hey, I'm coming."
Zhao Mingsheng put down the egg pancake in his hand, and the table was ready. The egg custard was still steaming from the pan, topped with a layer of fried minced meat and embellished with green chopped green onions. The golden scrambled eggs paired with the tomato-red broth looked very tempting.
After Zhao Qingyue washed his hands and came to the table, the family could not wait to start eating. Although the Zhao family did not have a rule of not talking while eating, no one spoke at the table, simply because the food was so delicious that they were speechless.
The fragrant egg pancakes, whether rolled with scrambled eggs with wood ear mushrooms or dipped in the soup of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, were delicious, and Zhao Qingyue enjoyed the delicious taste.
After swallowing the last bite of pancake, he breathed a sigh of relief and patted his bulging belly. He felt that he hadn't eaten so much in a long time. Zhao Qingyue didn't think he had a big appetite, but today he easily ate three large pancakes.
Just when he was feeling guilty for disappointing the scholar's appetite, he happened to see his little sister walking towards him with a bowl of boiled eggs, and he immediately sat up straight.
It seems like it’s not impossible to eat a boiled egg?
"These are for pickling tea eggs. They can only be eaten tomorrow morning."
This one sentence dispelled Zhao Qingyue's idea, and he sat back in disappointment.
Zhao Mingsheng handed the basin to his brother and said with a smile, "But I still need a favor, brother. Just crack these eggs. I'll go make the soup base so that it can be marinated and flavored."
Zhao Qingyue agreed.
The soup base is made with tea leaves that Zhao Mingsheng brought back from Yanzhou, and star anise, bay leaves and other marinade ingredients are added. After boiling over high heat, a faint tea fragrance wafts through the mellow soup base.
The temperature in the courtyard is slightly lower than that in the kitchen, so the cracked boiled eggs are just right to be soaked in the soup base overnight.
After finishing all this, the family sat in the courtyard and drank the digestive tea specially made by Zhao's father.
An autumn breeze blew, blowing the fallen leaves of the sycamore tree outside the yard into the yard. Zhao Mingsheng looked at the fallen leaves in the yard and calculated that it would be frost in another month.
Just as he was lost in thought, Zhao's father suddenly stood up and took out two cloaks from the room. He handed one to Zhao Mingsheng and the other to Meng.
"I'm afraid the temperature will drop in a few days. I'll go to town tomorrow to buy some good charcoal."
Zhao Mingsheng nodded in agreement. Although Meng's health had improved a lot, she was still a little afraid of the cold, so it would be better to light the charcoal in the house early.
"Is there any red snail charcoal in town? If not, silver frost charcoal will do." Zhao Mingsheng asked.
Red snail charcoal is produced in Tongzhou. It is smokeless and odorless. After burning, only a small section of reddish-brown solid will remain, so it is called red snail charcoal. In comparison, silver frost charcoal will produce a little smoke, but it is acceptable.
As soon as Zhao Mingsheng asked, she regretted it. The annual production of red snail charcoal was scarce, and the meager yield was all offered as tribute. Ordinary people had never seen it. When she was in the Marquis's mansion, only the old lady's room used the imperially granted red snail charcoal every winter.
As expected, Zhao's father looked confused. "Girl, what is this red snail charcoal? I do know a little about silver frost charcoal. I heard it burns warm and doesn't produce smoke. But I'm afraid it's not easy to buy in our small town. I'll ask someone to inquire about it tomorrow."
In previous winters, the Zhao family used gray charcoal. This kind of charcoal is cheap and durable, and has no problems except that it smells a bit smoky.
Father Zhao rubbed his hands and found it difficult to speak: "If I can't buy it..."
Zhao Mingsheng quickly said, "It doesn't matter if you can't buy it. Let's use the charcoal in my mother's room for the next two days. I won't use it in my room for the time being."
In the past, the palace allocated a generous amount of red snail charcoal each year. Grandmother's courtyard couldn't burn all the charcoal, so her own courtyard also benefited from it. She'd gotten used to using red snail charcoal, and in recent years, she'd become so used to it that she couldn't stand the smell of other smoke. Rather than falling asleep to the smell of smoke, she'd rather stay cool, or at most, cover herself with a few more quilts.
Seeing her daughter's well-behaved and sensible appearance, Meng's eyes were red as she took her daughter's hand. After thinking about it again and again, she couldn't help but said with tears in her eyes: "Our family doesn't have anything good. We can't compare with the Marquis' Mansion. If you feel wronged..."
Zhao Mingsheng:?
She glanced at the precious flowers and plants in the capital that were so popular that the nobles were fighting for them. If these were not good things, then what were they?
"No, I don't feel wronged." The girl smiled and said, "With a mother and father who love me so much, I don't feel wronged at all. I'm very happy."
Although the Marquis's Mansion was wealthy and powerful, Zhao Mingsheng had lived there for more than ten years. Except for feeling the warmth of family with his grandmother, he was not loved by his father and mother at other times. Although the Zhao family did not have a large mansion, the only three or four tiled houses allowed Zhao Mingsheng to truly feel the warmth of home for the first time.
Here she has a father and mother who love her, and a brother who cares about her.
She really, really likes this family.
"However, I do plan to live in the capital permanently." Zhao Mingsheng changed the subject and took Meng's arm, saying, "You can use underground heating in the house in the capital, which is warm and smokeless."
Meng was stunned for a moment, thinking she still wanted to return to the Marquis' Mansion. She felt sad for a moment, but soon forced a smile. "Okay, whatever you want to do, I support you. Winter will be here soon, and I've made you two more sets of winter clothes. Remember to take them with you when you pack. If you have time, come back to see me more often. I'll be very happy..."
Afraid that her daughter would see the reluctance in her eyes, Mrs. Meng lowered her head lower and lower.
There was no happiness in her tone at all. Father Zhao looked at his wife worriedly, seeming to be hesitant to speak.
Zhao Mingsheng blinked. "What do you mean by coming back to see mother? Mother, won't you come to the capital with me?"
Meng, who was still feeling slightly uncomfortable, suddenly looked up in disbelief.
"You mean..."
The girl held her mother affectionately and rubbed against her like a kitten. "Of course the family must be together. Don't you want to go to the capital with me, Dad and Mom?"
During the days he spent back home, Zhao Mingsheng gradually realized that the Zhao family was not native to Qingshan Village, but were outsiders who moved in more than ten years ago.
When Zhao's father was young, he liked to study medicine. In addition to traveling around to study medicine, consult and treat patients, he also liked to collect some precious medicinal materials from all over the world.
One autumn, the Yellow River burst its banks, flooding three provinces. As a doctor, he volunteered to provide relief. There, he met Meng, the only survivor of a family wiped out. Through a series of fateful encounters, the two fell in love and soon had a son.
When Zhao Qingyue was one year old, in pursuit of higher medical skills, Zhao's father came to Qingshan Village to learn from a retired medical saint. Meng also supported his ideal very much, and the whole family moved to Qingshan Village temporarily.
Later, the Medical Saint passed away. Zhao's father, who inherited his mantle, originally planned to leave Qingshan Village after three years of mourning, but he did not expect to encounter the incident of taking the wrong child.
The Zhao couple had been hoping that the family who had taken the wrong child would find out and return the child as soon as possible. But a year passed, then three years, then five years...
Even though she knew it was impossible to wait for her child, Meng still insisted on living in this small courtyard. Even if the possibility was almost zero, she did not want to give up. If one day the other party found out that the child was not hers, she could still find him through this place.
Fifteen years have passed in a flash.
But God helps those who work hard, and she finally waited for her biological daughter.
Mrs. Meng patted the back of her daughter's hand and said with great satisfaction: "I am very satisfied that you have this heart. I also want to go with you, but..."
Mrs. Meng hesitated halfway through her words and looked up at her husband.
Father Zhao understood what his wife was hesitating about. His daughter could still live in the Marquis' Mansion alone, so what would it mean if their whole family went there? If they wanted to buy a house separately, they could not afford it with the family's current savings in the capital where land is so expensive.
Zhao Qingyue was not a nerd who only knew how to read and was ignorant of the ways of the world. He took out all the money he earned from writing storybooks, but compared with the money to buy a house, it was still a drop in the bucket.
Just when the family was at a loss, Zhao Mingsheng cleared his throat and said, "Well... Actually, I've already bought a yard in Beijing. It's a two-in, two-out house, big enough for our family to live in."
When these words were spoken, the whole family was stunned. They stared at the innocent-looking girl in front of them with wide eyes.
Although Zhao's father always knew that his daughter was very capable and the pills she made sold very well in the town, he did not expect that she was so capable as to be able to buy a courtyard house with two entrances and two exits in Beijing.
Zhao Mingsheng continued, "Brother will also be taking the imperial examination in the capital next spring, so why not go there early and prepare?"
Zhao Qingyue was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that his sister was still thinking about his exam.
"The house is very close to Chongshan Academy, the most famous academy in Beijing. However, it is not easy to enter Chongshan Academy. If my brother wants to study in Chongshan Academy, he will probably need to take the academy's examination." The girl's delicate brows frowned slightly, and she looked a little worried.
The number of students that Chongshan Academy can admit each year is limited. Even the children of nobles in the capital city have to pass the entrance exam based on their real talents and knowledge if they want to study in the academy.
Zhao Qingyue pondered for a moment, then stood up and took out a letter from his room. "This is the letter of recommendation from Master Yan to Chongshan Academy."
When the recommendation letter came out, even Zhao Mingsheng was stunned.
"Mr. Yan also taught at Chongshan Academy before. He said that if I have the opportunity to go to the capital, I can use this letter of recommendation to enroll in Chongshan Academy." Zhao Qingyue explained.
"Mr. Yan?"
She thought of the somewhat adorable old man.
I never thought that a teacher from Chongshan Academy would come to Qingshan Village to teach at a small primary school. Zhao Mingsheng took the letter of recommendation and read it carefully before he was sure that it was really a letter of recommendation from Chongshan Academy.
Zhao Qingyue just casually gave out the recommendation that was worth a fortune to the students in the capital.
Her brother is really amazing.
Zhao Mingsheng was deeply moved. There was no ordinary person in this family.
Meng looked around the yard, still feeling a little reluctant to leave, after all, she had lived here for so many years. Especially those flowers, they were all grown up under her careful cultivation.
“What a pity for these flowers…”
Zhao Mingsheng took Meng's arm and said, "Move the flowers with us. When the time comes, we can clean up the side room and make a greenhouse so we can grow flowers in the winter."
Now even Meng couldn't help but be moved.
Finally, Zhao's father slammed the table and made the final decision, one word: move!
"Then we should hurry up and pack up in the next few days. Our family will move in before winter comes. Mom is afraid of the cold, so once the floor heating is turned on, the room will be warm all winter long."
Mrs. Meng felt warm in her heart because her daughter was so considerate of her, and she agreed with a smile.
The next morning, Yan Zhuo came to Zhao's house and heard this news.
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