Old lady Zheng was illiterate and had some complaints about girls reading books. She said to Zheng Xiu, "Girl, your marriage has been arranged, you should do some needlework and embroidery to make your dowry more decent. What's the point of studying? Can you pass the imperial examination?" But after all,
she still agreed. Zheng Xiu admired Zheng Xian's love of reading. For example, she didn't read the literary style of this era. When she first traveled through time, she learned to read and write for two years, but then she gave it up. Zheng Xian could be considered to be able to read and write, and was gentle and polite. But for some reason, Zheng Xian became more melancholy after reading too many books.
In her spare time in the afternoon, Zheng Xiu went to Zheng Xian's room.
Zheng Xian was writing big characters at the desk.
After Zheng Xiu entered the room, she was about to put down her pen, but Zheng Xiu waved her hand and said, "Sister Xian, keep writing. I just came to see you."
Zheng Xian nodded to her and continued to practice calligraphy with concentration.
Zheng Xiu pretended to watch her writing, walked to the desk and looked at the books scattered on the desk.
There was a collection of poems on the table, and two other closed books, which were also poems and the like.
Zheng Xiu took a look at the open collection of poems, which was a poem about the grievances of a woman with a boyfriend. The words were beautiful and the rhyme was unique. The first two sentences describe the beauty of spring, while the last two sentences suddenly change the subject, expressing the sadness of the passing of spring, which is full of a feeling of forced sorrow for the sake of composing new words.
"Sister, are you also interested in poetry?" Zheng Xian felt that her eyes lingered on it for a long time, so she turned around and asked.
Zheng Xiu smiled and shook her head, "I don't understand these, but I think this little poem is quite elegant, so I couldn't help but take a few more glances."
"This is the new work of Xie Yi, a talented woman in this dynasty. I love her poems the most, and I have collected all the poetry collections she published in recent years." As she spoke, she recited a few famous works of Xie Yi, and said, "If you like it, I can lend you two copies."
Zheng Xiu hurriedly said, "No, no, I don't understand these either. Lending them to me is just like a cow chewing a peony."
She didn't like to make such things full of melancholy. Reading too much makes people feel upset for no reason.
Zheng Xiu said "Oh" in disappointment. I thought I had found a kindred spirit.
Zheng Xiu stayed in Zheng Xian's room for a while, and they chatted for a few words, then she went back to her room.
Xue Zhi was wiping his bow and arrow in the room, and Zheng Xiu came in to see him. Thinking that his family was originally from the capital, she asked, "Have you heard of Xie Yi?"
Xue Zhi's eyebrows jumped, and he put down his bow and arrow, and asked with a somewhat unnatural expression, "Why, why are you asking about Xie Yi?"
Zheng Xiu was only thinking about Zheng Xian, and didn't notice his abnormality. She just shook her head and said, "I see that sister Xian reads such sad poems all day long, no wonder she always seems unhappy, and even her temper has changed..." Mingming was still a timid and very cute little girl a few years ago.
Xue Zhi finally let out a sigh of relief and said, "Xie Yi is Xie Yi's youngest daughter when he was in college. She is also a talented woman who is famous in Beijing. It seems that she started to publish a collection of poems before I left home."
How could such a noble lady write so many sad things? Zheng Xiu thought it was strange, but she just thought about it and didn't explore it further. She just said, "I have to talk to Dad tomorrow to buy some positive books for my thin sister to read." Xue Zhi
couldn't help laughing and said, "I saw that you are very impatient with the second aunt, but I didn't expect that you are very sad for her."
Zheng Xiu didn't take it seriously, "The second aunt is the second aunt, and the thin sister is the thin sister. The second aunt is the second aunt, and the thin sister is the thin sister. 's things make people hate her. Sister Xian has never done anything out of line except saying a few harsh words. Besides, Sister Xian is my cousin after all, blood is thicker than water, I always hope she is well. "As for Zhu, she has lived to that age, no one can change her. But Zheng Xian has changed in the past few years, and she is not too old, so it is still possible for her to learn well.
Having said that, Zheng Xiu felt that she could add a course for Zheng Xian - learn cooking!
Although she is not good at other things, she is still good at cooking for the family. Mr. Zhang is just a scholar now, and it is unknown when he can make further progress in his official career. The Zhang family is penniless, and Zheng Xian will have to help with laundry and cooking after marrying into the family. Moreover, she felt that Zheng Xian had read too many poems and songs, and she had lost her worldly spirit. If she was born in a family like Xie Yi's, this would not be a problem, but it would be unrealistic if she was born in an ordinary family.
The next day, Zheng Xiu told this plan to Old Lady Zheng and Zheng Xian.
Old Lady Zheng naturally agreed, but asked: "Xian will do needlework at my place in the morning, and she will read books and practice calligraphy in the afternoon. When will she learn cooking?"
Zheng Xiu said: "There is no need to set aside time. When I cook every day, Xiaojie Xian can help me."
Old Lady Zheng nodded.
Zheng Xian was twisting her handkerchief beside her without saying anything.
When she was at home, she hadn't even washed a bowl in recent years, let alone cooking in the kitchen. In her mother's words, a girl's hands can't stand hard work. If she does too much of this kind of work, her hands will become rough. When she becomes an official's wife in the future, people will laugh at her for having a pair of rough hands.
"Sister Xian, you don't have any objections, do you?" Zheng Xiu asked her with a smile.
Zheng Xian bit her lip, and finally said, "I listen to my elder sister."
Zheng Xiu nodded with satisfaction. She had guessed that Zheng Xian would definitely agree based on her personality. She felt that she was now living under someone else's roof, and even if she was unwilling, she would not say it clearly. Otherwise, when her grandmother asked her to practice needlework for a day, she would not have to read only at night before going to bed. Although it was a bit dishonorable to use her mind in this way to make her agree to learn cooking, it was for her own good. If
Zheng Xian was considered to have some experience in needlework, then in cooking, she was definitely a novice who had not yet left the novice village. Zheng
Xiu was almost always the first one to get up in the family. After she got up, she would go and call Zheng Xian to get up.
While Zheng Xian was washing up, she had already boiled hot water on the stove.
Zheng Xiu thought that since making breakfast was so simple, making noodles should not be a problem for her, so she let her do it without worry and watched from the side.
Zheng Xian stood in front of the stove holding a handkerchief, at a loss.
Zheng Xiu said, "Put down your handkerchief first. How can you work if you keep it in your hand?"
Zheng Xian put her handkerchief in her arms.
Zheng Xiu helped her roll up her sleeves to her wrists and encouraged her, "Okay, put the noodles in when the water boils. You can put the seasonings in before taking them out of the pot, or you can put them in a bowl and rinse them with noodle soup. It's up to you."
Zheng Xian opened the pot lid tremblingly and poured all the noodles in.
Zheng Xiu instructed from the side, "You can't put the noodles in so quickly, it's easy to stick to the pot. Now stir them with chopsticks..."
Zheng Xian did as she was told.
"Sister, where is my new summer shirt?" Zheng Yu, wearing only his shirt, ran to the yard and shouted while kicking his shoes.
Zheng Xiu said quickly, "It's in your cupboard!"
Zheng Yu yelled in the yard, "I've looked everywhere, but it's not there! Sister, come and help me find it, I'm going to be late for school!" Zheng Xiu
said to Zheng Xian, "Wait for the water to boil again and then take out the noodles. Grandpa and grandma can simmer the noodles for a while longer, as they like to eat them soft. You can add any seasoning you like." Then she walked out of the kitchen quickly and went to Zheng Yu's room to find clothes for him.
Zheng Yu and Xue Shao lived in the same room. They were at the age when cats and dogs were disgusted. No matter how well Zheng Xiu cleaned up the room the day before, it would be a mess again the next day.
Zheng Xiu turned the closet upside down and searched their messy beds, but still couldn't find the aqua-green summer shirt that Zheng Yu wanted to wear.
"Can't you just wear the lake blue one? I'll find it for you later."
Zheng Yu refused and said, "I just want to wear the same thing as Shao!"
When Zheng Xiu was cutting clothes for them, she made clothes for the two children and Xue Zhi with the same material. One of the three was aqua-green and the other was lake blue. Although the styles were slightly different, you could tell at a glance that they were clothes from the same family.
After he said that, Zheng Xiu also remembered that she had collected clothes and stacked them in her room yesterday, and then asked Xue Zhi to help her divide them into several piles and send them back to her room. So she went back to her room to look for it, and sure enough, she found Zheng Yu's summer shirt in Xue Zhi's pile of clothes. After
changing clothes as she wished, Zheng Yu hurried out of the room and shouted into the hall: "Sister, hurry up and serve me breakfast, I'm really going to be late for school!"
Zheng Xiu tapped his forehead and said, "Are you anxious now? You insisted on wearing this just now." Then she went to the stove to check.
In order to exercise Zheng Xian that day, she deliberately did not let Aunt Qian go to the stove, but Zheng Xian was too slow in making breakfast. Zheng Ren and the two children were waiting to eat before going out.
Just as she reached the door of the kitchen, Zheng Xian came out with two bowls of noodles.
"Hurry up and bring them to A-Yu and A-Shao, they're going to be late." The two passed each other, and Zheng Xiu went in again to bring a bowl to her father, and also brought a plate of pickled vegetables.
Usually, this amount of time is enough for Zheng Xiu to cook the noodles and fry a few poached eggs.
But today, she was interrupted by her younger brother, and Zheng Xian was a novice, so breakfast was a little simple.
The noodles were not cooked well, and a lot of them were mixed together, like a lump of noodles. But as soon as they were on the table, the two children couldn't wait to start eating. Zheng Ren saw that it was getting late, and Zheng Xiu brought it to him, and he started eating without saying a word.
The three of them had just taken two bites when they suddenly spat out the noodles.
"It's so salty!" Zheng Yu and Xue Shao shouted in unison.
Zheng Xiu took a bite from Zheng Yu's bowl and chopsticks, and then spat it out as well.
The seasoning below had not dissolved, and the salt lumps were stuck to the noodles, and every bite was a mouthful of salt.
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