Song Liyun was washing the pot with hot water when she nodded: "Brother, the vegetables are so tender, they must taste delicious."
"Hey! Of course it's too tender. It's not fully grown yet. It'll be at least another half month before you can eat it. Why did you pull it out now?"
Song Zhenping said anxiously, thinking that Xiaoyun did not understand, and explained, "If there are too many seedlings, they will grow poorly if you pull them out. Only by keeping the good seedlings can they grow up."
Song Liyun smiled and asked, "What will we use the seedlings for once they grow up?"
"Eat them!" Song Zhenping was a little confused. Why ask such a question? Of course, the vegetables are for eating.
"Yes! I'm eating right now!"
"That's not right, we have to wait until they grow up to eat them!"
"Start eating now, and you can thin out the seedlings every day, have tender vegetables every day, and eat the biggest plants every day."
"No, farming shouldn't be like this..."
Song Zhenping was sweating profusely, still trying to explain that vegetables need to grow bigger before eating.
This is similar to a thought-provoking ethical dilemma: if you have a basket of apples in front of you, do you eat the best ones first, or pick the worst ones?
It is said that one can distinguish between pessimists and optimists by their choice of approach.
Song Liyun came from the end times, so of course she would eat her fill first and then take everything, regardless of whether it was good or bad.
She didn't say anything more, but simply placed the bowl of noodles in Song Zhenping's hands: "Tell me if you're hungry. If you are, eat. We'll talk after you eat."
With such delicious-looking noodles in front of him, Song Zhenping's stomach immediately rumbled. He muttered, "What a waste of the vegetable seedlings!"
The aroma was so enticing that his mouth opened, and his saliva nearly made him choke.
The body is the most honest.
Xiao An had already washed his hands and came over. His eyes lit up when he saw his noodles. For him, as long as there was food, that was all that mattered.
The days that followed were a mix of joy and sorrow for Song Zhenping.
Vegetables can indeed be grown in the greenhouse, and they grow very well. Seeing the greenery in winter makes him want to stay in the greenhouse all the time, except when he's making acorn tofu.
But Xiaoyun has a big appetite. She said that the seedlings are best eaten when they are tender and should be pulled up as soon as they grow a little.
Every time he sees these vegetables being cooked in a pot before they've even grown up, he feels guilty and has to eat an extra bowl of rice.
Not only him, but everyone ate with great appetites at every meal, and rice and flour jars were almost always full.
He wanted to save money, buy rice for his younger siblings, make fine cotton clothes, and buy mutton and horse meat from vendors, but he couldn't let Yun'er touch the treasure bag again.
His daily income of twenty-odd coins is definitely not enough to support such expenses.
Fortunately, the worries didn't last two days. As soon as the first snowflakes fell, the acorn tofu business suddenly picked up.
Boss Mu's business increased from three basins to five, and his daily income rose to forty-five coins. If things continued like this, becoming rich would be just around the corner.
On his way back after delivering goods that day, Song Zhenping was stopped by Xue Zhuang.
Granny Cui has been running her small restaurant selling acorn tofu for over half a month. After the previous commotion, both sides knew who was buying and who was selling, but neither side tacitly revealed it.
When Xue Zhuang called out to him, Song Zhenping immediately felt nervous.
After leaving the army and no longer undergoing arduous training, Xue Zhuang got married and started a family. With three meals a day provided, he visibly gained weight. Add to that a sheepskin cloak that appeared out of nowhere, and he became even more robust.
Even after eating his fill for two months, Song Zhenping, still thin and frail, stood before him, looking as weak as a chick.
Song Zhenping frowned and said nervously, "General Xue..." But as soon as he said it, he realized that Xue Zhuang was no longer a soldier. He wanted to change his address, but he didn't know what to call him.
Xue Zhuang looked at Song Zhenping and laughed: "Daping, I heard Lao Mu call you that, you don't mind, do you?"
Song Zhenping grew increasingly nervous, clutching the package in his hands tightly, and took a step back, asking, "What are you going to do?"
I had a falling out with the guy surnamed Xue at a banquet. Later, Uncle Kui warned me to be careful of retaliation. I don't usually see him, so why am I being so polite to him for no reason?
This is outside the town, and there's no one around. I'm carrying red sugar cubes, which cost fifty coins. I hope I don't get robbed.
Xue Zhuang smiled warmly and said, "Brother Ping, I'm twenty-five this year and married, so I'll play the big brother and you can just call me Brother Xue."
“Look, both of our families are military households, and now we call each other brothers.”
The things that happened before were my fault. I got drunk and lost control, which offended Brother Ping and Sister Yun.
Time has passed, so if there are any hiccups or difficulties, please be more forgiving and don't take them to heart.
Hearing that they wanted to reconcile, Song Zhenping felt a little more at ease. He had met Xue Zhuang when they were choosing a house, and if it weren't for the nonsense the soldiers said during the drinking session, he wouldn't have any ill feelings towards Xue Zhuang.
Hearing this apology, most of the disgust in my heart subsided, but I was tongue-tied and couldn't say anything nice, so I could only nod haphazardly: "I don't mind, I don't mind!"
Hearing this, Xue Zhuang laughed even harder, stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "It's still early today, brother, come sit with your elder brother for a while. I got some good meat from the garrison, and we brothers can have a drink to warm ourselves up."
Song Zhenping was startled by his sudden tap and shook his head repeatedly: "No, I have to go back and shell acorns, later... later!"
"Hey! What do you mean by later? Let's go. It's rare to see each other like this, so let's do it today."
Xue Zhuang grabbed Song Zhenping's arm, and like an eagle snatching a chick, Song Zhenping struggled but was unable to break free, and was forcibly taken away in a half-drag, half-carry manner.
Time flew by and it was noon. Song Liyun cooked the rice, but Song Zhenping didn't return after waiting for a long time. Seeing that Xiao An was already rubbing her stomach from hunger, she decided not to wait any longer.
First, he served Xiao An a freshly baked flatbread, millet porridge, and pickled vegetables, then gave Hei Jin a large coarse grain flatbread. Only then did he instruct the two others:
"Xiao An, you and Hei Jin eat at home first. I'm going into town to find my brother. Be careful to lock the door."
Although it has been snowing these past two days, it's just sparse snowflakes, and the roads aren't too difficult to walk on.
She was worried that something had happened to Boss Mu, which had delayed Song Zhenping.
Xiao An and Hei Jin were used to staying at home, so they nodded in agreement. Hei Jin even saw Song Liyun off carefully, and as soon as she left, he tumbled back to the kitchen.
Xiao An was standing on a stool when she opened the pot lid: "Hei Jin, there's a sugar packet in the pot!"
Black Gold immediately curled his lips into a chuckle.
Emerging from the thicket, Song Liyun pulled out a handkerchief to cover her head and strode towards the town.
When she arrived at Boss Mu's shop, she didn't see Song Zhenping except for two soldiers who were buying things.
When the two soldiers saw a girl suddenly appear, they stood aside and whispered to each other.
Anxious, Song Liyun ignored the others around her and asked Boss Mu, who was struggling to pull a leather wine bag from the corner of the shelf, "Boss Mu, has my brother been here today?"
Boss Mu, covered in dust, was surprised to see Song Liyun and said, "Wasn't Daping in a hurry to get home to shell acorns? I asked him to stay a little longer, but he wouldn't listen. He said he wanted to make some cakes and left with some brown sugar. What, he's not home yet? That can't be!"
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