Jiangling County is the capital of Jingzhou Prefecture and also the seat of the prefectural government. It is close to the river, crowded with people, lined with shops, and extremely bustling.
Mi Niang didn't want to make Second Madam Ding tired, so she struggled to get down and walk by herself. Second Madam Ding was very pleased, thinking that her daughter had grown up and would care for others. Little did she know that Mi Niang was also feeling emotional in her heart. She stepped firmly on the ground, and her natural feet felt comfortable, unlike before when her feet were bound, and her whole feet felt like they were walking on the tip of a knife.
The mother and daughter walked to a steamed bun shop. Grandma Ding took out a few copper coins and bought two big meat buns, which were still steaming hot.
Mrs. Ding handed the buns in her hand to her daughter with a smile: "Mi Niang, you love buns, eat them quickly. They are just a little hot, so you have to be careful and don't eat them too quickly, okay?"
"Mom, let's have one each." She was only willing to take one bun.
But then Mrs. Ding Er said, "Mother has never liked eating steamed buns. Besides, you usually only eat two meat buns. In the past, mother would take some back for you to eat, but you still said it was not enough after you finished eating! Eat quickly, my dear sister Mi."
There is no one who is born not to like eating meat. Mi Niang looked at her mother's thin body and felt sad.
Mi Niang insisted: "One for Mom and one for me, otherwise Mi Niang won't eat it."
She held the bun in her little hand and tried to stand on tiptoe to pass it to Second Grandma, "Mom, eat quickly. After we finish eating here, we will go to the ferry to take the boat. Don't let Grandpa and Grandma know."
She once remembered that her mother was pregnant with a child, but then she died. She had the impression that the ground was covered with blood. After that, she was always sick and had no energy to carry a child. Although she could not remember the exact day when her mother became pregnant, she herself had thought eagerly about pregnancy, so she naturally knew that she had to take good care of her body if she wanted to prepare for pregnancy. Her mother could not even eat enough and would save the delicious food for herself. Even if she was pregnant, it would probably be difficult for her to give birth smoothly.
Therefore, now, putting all the hatred aside, the most urgent thing is to take good care of my mother's health.
So, Mi Niang raised the bun in her hand high again, as if she would not put it down until her mother ate it. Ding Er Niang could not help shedding tears, and gently took it from her daughter's chubby hand, took a bite of the hot white dough, and the fresh meat juice inside came out. Ding Er Niang could not help but take another bite, and the juice burst out in her mouth. She already thought it was the most delicious food in the world.
In fact, her husband treated her very well. When he first went to the academy, he was an outer student. In his spare time, he would copy books to earn money. He would buy frosting and hair flowers for her with the money he earned. Thinking of this, Mrs. Ding missed her husband a little.
However, her husband was studying in the provincial capital, and fearing the high cost of travel, he also copied books to earn money, so the couple had not seen each other for a year.
When Mi Niang saw her mother eating, she also started to eat the big meat buns. Since entering the palace, she rarely ate meat buns or rice. The reason was that the emperor liked a thin waist, and in order to gain his favor, she had to eat only vegetarian food. Even because she was pregnant with the prince, she only dared to take tonics, but did not dare to get fat.
But now, she has no taboos. The meat buns are very filling, with thin skin and big fillings.
What is a fairy-like life? It is not the emperor's favor and noble status, but being able to eat whatever you want and do whatever you want. This is a fairy-like life.
After the mother and daughter finished eating the buns, Aunt Ding bought a string of candied haws for her daughter, then went to a hawker shop to buy a bottle of clam oil that looked like a shell, and then hurriedly boarded the ferry with Mi Niang.
When they returned, the sun was shining brightly. Second Aunt Ding was in a hurry and told her daughter: "If you are found by your family, you can say that your mother took you out to play."
"Okay, I'll save it." After saying that, Mi Niang stuffed the last candied haws into Ding Er Niang's mouth.
"This child..." Mrs. Ding was still reluctant to blame her beloved daughter.
But my heart feels warm.
Mi Niang and her friends hurried back home, but found the house quiet. Hao Po just came out of the kitchen and saw that it was her and her daughter. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, Second Madam. The old man and the old lady were called over by Yu's aunt's family this morning. I heard that the wife of the eldest son of the Yu family gave birth to a baby boy."
"This is a good thing!" A trace of sadness flashed in the eyes of Mrs. Ding. Her eldest daughter, Mi Niang, was already six years old, but she was still pregnant. Aunt Yu, the daughter-in-law, got married at the age of twenty-two. Not only was she happy as soon as she entered the house, but she also gave birth to a son.
It should be noted that in addition to the criticism of Ding Ernai's family background, many people in the clan looked down on her because she had no children. The old lady even ridiculed her in person and said behind her back that she was a chicken that couldn't lay eggs.
The good mother-in-law also knew what Second Mistress Ding was worried about, so she didn't dare to say anything more.
Mrs. Ding Er quickly came to her senses and took out the clam oil she had bought from her sleeve and put it in the hands of the good mother-in-law. "You still have to wash dishes in winter. I heard that clam oil is the best for frostbite and lacerations. But I don't have much money. If I had, I would definitely make you a cotton coat this year."
The good mother-in-law was extremely grateful: "Second grandmother is the only one in this family who always remembers me."
As soon as she finished speaking, a woman with disheveled hair walked in on her heels. She looked at Ding Ernainai and her daughter with unfriendly eyes. Mi Niang quickly recognized her. Who else could it be but Ruan Ping'er?
"Hmph, dear mother-in-law, what are you having for breakfast? I'm hungry." She was used to being stern and cold at home, and ignored her sister-in-law and servants.
The good mother-in-law said with a bitter face: "My eldest lady, when the old lady left, she locked the cabinet door. We, the second grandmother, and Sister Mi haven't had our meals yet."
Servants naturally have their own wisdom. The good mother-in-law would secretly hide a few potatoes or sweet potatoes in the stove, but that was for her own consumption. The old lady kept a close eye on the kitchen and held the keys herself, so if she didn't hide them, she would go hungry.
Ruan Ping'er snorted coldly, stomped her feet, and went to the old lady's room.
The good mother-in-law looked at her from behind, and then said to Mrs. Ding, "There are snacks in the old lady's room. I'm sure she went to the old lady's room to get some snacks."
"Let's go back to our room first. I have to weave cloth before dawn." Mrs. Ding didn't like to talk nonsense.
The good mother-in-law nodded. She still had to feed the chickens and pigs, and had endless housework to do, so she had no time to chat. Anyway, Miss Ping'er didn't dare to make trouble at home since she was discovered by the matchmaker for scolding her sister-in-law last time.
When Mrs. Ding came in, she let her daughter play in front of her while she was spinning cloth in front of the window.
While her mother was spinning cloth, she put her on the bed to rest. At noon, Aunt Ding called her daughter to get up, and she took out a jar from a small box in the room. Inside the jar were fried rice, ginkgo nuts, fried dumplings, fried magnolia slices, etc. The mother and daughter ate the fried rice with hot water.
Fried rice is made by frying rice and sand in a pot until it puffs. The fried rice is then sieved out and stored. Whenever you want to eat it, you can take out some and soak it in water. It is simply a delicacy.
This is the daily life of the mother and daughter. The old man and the old lady eat salted vegetables and porridge at home, and there are very few eggs. The glutinous rice cake yesterday was sent by Aunt Yu. Aunt Yu's husband is a minor official in Jiangling County Government. Her son passed the imperial examination and later worked as a bookkeeper in a restaurant. Her family lives a well-off life, so they often ask Jiminian's grandmother, Old Lady Yu, for help.
Of course, they were not very good things. Most of them were old clothes from my great aunt’s family, or snacks that she didn’t like to eat on weekdays, and things like glutinous rice cakes that she had too many of at home.
But just this alone, the Ruan family was very grateful.
Mi Niang looked into the distance, realizing that the reason her father got into trouble was because of the Yu family.
After dinner, Mi Niang wanted to go out for a walk. This area was inhabited by people from the Ruan family, and everyone knew each other well. Second Madam Ding was relieved, but she just warned her: "Don't run too far."
"I understand, mother."
But Grandma Ding was still worried, "How about I go play with you?" Her little girl was so cute. No other child was as pretty as her, with milky white skin, big grape-like eyes, and thick eyelashes. If she was kidnapped by a kidnapper, she would be helpless.
"Mom, I remember the way. Yesterday I went to Fourth Aunt's place to look for you. I went there alone." Mi Niang said, patting her chest.
Seeing her daughter eager to try, Second Mistress Ding finally agreed.
Mi Niang unlocked the bolt of the back door and walked forward, meeting many people along the way and greeting them.
"Hey, this is Uncle Ding's Mi Niang, right?"
Mi Niang looked up and saw a young boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a square scarf and a blue shirt, who looked like a scholar. She called out softly, "Brother Eleven."
"Hey, do you still remember me?" Ruan Shiyi was very happy.
"I remember, I heard from my good mother-in-law that Brother Eleven is going to be the groom's official. But my mother has to spin cloth, and my grandparents want to take my aunt there, so I can't go to Brother Eleven's house for the wedding banquet." In fact, whenever there is At the banquet, the sons gave them gifts and money, and eating and drinking was the business of Mr. Ruan and the old lady.
These two old men are very bad people in the tribe. They don't have many friends and are disliked by everyone.
If it weren't for the old lady's favor and the good reputation of the brothers Nguyen Gia Kang and Nguyen Gia Dinh in the clan, this perfect couple would be so famous that everyone in the clan would turn away and turn away when they saw them from a distance.
Ruan Shiyi was still a young man and had heard a lot of the bad things about the old couple. Everyone said that if it weren't for Old Man Ruan's gambling habit, which made Uncle Ding so poor and destitute, based on Uncle Ding's talent at that time, he would have become a scholar long ago.
He looked at Mi Niang with pity, "Eleventh Brother invites you to come, okay? It was your father who taught me when I was young."
Honey's goal is certainly not to eat at the wedding banquet, but to be a bed-rolling boy. There is a custom in Jiangling that after the bed-rolling boy has rolled on the bed, the groom's family will give a red envelope of twenty to fifty cents, and will also bring red dates and brown sugar to the bridal chamber. There is no limit to the number of snacks.
She pretended to be surprised and said, "Brother Eleven, are you asking Mi Niang to be a bed boy? Mi Niang is very good at it."
Ruan Shiyi had just returned from academy to get married. His bride was his cousin, and they had been childhood sweethearts. He took one look at Mi Niang and thought she was extremely cute. He thought it would be great if his cousin could also give birth to such a beautiful girl, so he readily agreed.
"Thank you, Brother Shiyi." Mi Niang looked at Ruan Shiyi with twinkling eyes.
"You're welcome. I'll send someone to pick you up in a few days." Ruan Shiyi said with a smile.
Mi Niang showed a cute smile, and Ruan Shiyi was so cute that he rubbed her bun.
Seeing Ruan Shiyi walking away, Mi Niang felt ashamed. As a royal concubine, she actually acted cute for twenty cents. But then she remembered that Ruan Shiyi's family was well-off, and she could bring back brown sugar for her mother to drink to nourish her mother's body. She felt that it was all worth it.
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