Hearing Madam Gu ask about her son, Song Lao Er became furious and turned around to curse angrily, "Your precious son is asking for money again today, saying he wants to buy books. Is he studying or just eating money?"
The family needed to buy grain and clothes, as well as pots and pans. The wife and mother on the kang (a heated brick bed) also needed to buy medicine and see a doctor.
The five taels of silver that Master Xue gave Song Shuirong when he took her away were gone in the blink of an eye.
In addition, due to the need to buy vegetables and meat to entertain the people from Gujia Village who came and went several times, Song Lao Er had no choice but to sell three mu of land.
The money hadn't even warmed my hands before it started to dwindle again. Two taels of silver had already been paid for Xiao Bao's schooling alone, and now they wanted more.
Song Lao Er felt as if he had wasted the previous decades of his life.
If this continues, my dozen or so acres of land won't be able to hold up.
With snow just around the corner, the kang (heated brick bed) at home is too cold to heat up, and we'll have to spend money to buy firewood.
Sigh! When did my life become so difficult!
On the other side, upon hearing the words "my precious son," Madam Gu immediately burst into tears, wailing, "My precious son! Ah! Ah! Go to the King of Hell in the underworld and explain yourself: you were kicked to death by Song Defu, not by your mother..."
When Song Lao Er heard Xiao Gu Shi mention the stillborn child again, he felt a chill run down his spine and cursed her as a vicious shrew. He then slunk back to the main room.
Song Dekui also had a difficult time during this period.
Since he returned to Xiaoshi Village, aside from Song Lao Er, who kept pressing him for information about Da Ping and the other two, even the villagers would casually remark to each other, "It's getting cold. I wonder if those three kids are hungry or cold? I hope they don't freeze to death!"
Song Dekui was a seasoned street urchin, and he could easily see through the intentions of these gossipy women. Although he managed to brush it off with a simple "I don't know," he still felt exhausted, afraid that he might accidentally let something slip.
Fortunately, my family didn't ask.
The village head's wife processed the acorns according to Song Dekui's method and was amazed to find that the acorn tofu was indeed free of bitterness.
So she stopped staying at home and spent her days happily picking acorns on the mountain with her daughter-in-law and grandson.
They also sent acorn tofu to their eldest son's house in town so he could try it too.
Song Lizheng spent half the night smoking tobacco leaves, and the next day he told Song Dekui to go back to town to manage his business and not to come back to the village unless necessary.
She also urged the village head's wife to quickly arrange a marriage for Song Dekui and find him a wife, hoping to tie him down as soon as possible.
As for anything else, he knew nothing and didn't care.
Since the matter has already been reported to the authorities, the government will naturally take care of it.
……………………………………
Broken Gold Town.
The sky had been overcast for two days, with thick clouds pressing down on us.
Song Zhenping, with his neck hunched, carried two wooden basins as he emerged from the town center.
Although the cold wind made him run faster, and his injured leg ached a bit, it couldn't erase the joy on his face.
Boss Mu makes three bowls of acorn tofu every day, even though peeling the acorns and boiling and soaking them is quite troublesome.
You can earn 27 coins a day, which adds up to a little over 100 taels of silver a month.
As long as I don't slack off every day, I can save up ten taels a year, except for food and drink. After two or three years, I can find a good doctor to treat my younger brother.
Inside Baolinju, Song Liyun squatted under the greenhouse, her eyes shining as she looked at the small green vegetables that had already sprouted two large leaves, her mouth watering.
She's become quite picky about food; cabbage and radishes aren't enough for her, she wants leafy greens too.
Sigh! People really can't be spoiled. He's only been in the Wu Dynasty for two months, how come he's already so pampered?
Back in the apocalypse, when we were fleeing in chaos, we were starving. We survived by eating compressed food and energy bars every day.
If you could exchange it for rice or something similar, that was a festive treat. It wasn't until later that you could eat convenience foods more often.
Song Liyun secretly despised herself: Now that she can eat natural food every day, she's become picky.
Sigh! Never mind, I need to think about what to eat for lunch.
Bok choy paired with chewy noodles is a perfect match.
The most flavorful meal Song Liyun ever ate after coming to this world was probably the bowl of noodle soup she ate at the village head's house.
Just thinking about the lush green leaves and the bright yellow egg flowers makes her feel like a hungry cat is scratching at her throat.
Although these seedlings are a bit small, if you pick the bigger ones, you can still get a bite to eat.
Please, just sacrifice yourself for me!
As Song Liyun muttered to herself, she reached out her clutches to the delicate, pitiful seedlings, comforting herself: "Song Zhenping said that if the seedlings grow too densely and too many, they will rot at the roots and turn yellow, and the seedlings will be too thin and tall. We must thin them out."
Yes, I was just thinning out the seedlings to help them grow strong.
Song Liyun picked and chose among the weak seedlings, selecting the tallest among the short ones.
After selecting a round of large seedlings from the two greenhouses, I was surprised to find that they filled a small pot.
Then, I carefully picked a few scallion sprouts and a few tender celery leaves, and a sumptuous side dish was ready.
Humming a little tune, she happily washed the vegetable leaves with water, then kneaded the dough and stretched it into long, thin noodles.
Song Liyun's noodles hadn't even been cooked yet when Song Zhenping returned.
Looking at the vegetable leaves that had already been washed clean on the stove, Song Zhenping was dumbfounded: these seedlings had only just started to grow in the dead of winter, and he hadn't even had time to thin them out yet, so how could they already be being eaten?
wrong!
Song Zhenping dropped the wooden basin in his hand, rushed over, picked up a small leaf of vegetables, and examined it closely.
His expression immediately turned serious. He examined a few leaves, then turned and ran to the backyard.
Song Liyun didn't pay any attention to his actions. She simply put the noodles into the boiling water and shouted loudly to the door, "It's almost time to eat. You two remember to wash your hands before coming in. If you bring dust into the house again, I'll make you stand as punishment."
The noodles boiled and tumbled in the pot, quickly becoming translucent. Song Liyun scooped them up with a slotted spoon and put them into a bowl.
Eating vegetables in winter should be done with a little ritual.
Besides vegetables, Song Liyun also prepared other things.
White noodles are topped with red chili sauce, sprinkled with finely chopped scallions and celery leaves, chopped pickled cabbage, and then topped with a golden fried egg pancake, with pickled cucumber strips placed on the side.
Finally, add those lush, tender little vegetable seedlings that look so juicy you could squeeze water out of them.
The bowl is filled with rich and vibrant colors, with distinct layers, making it incredibly appetizing at first glance.
Xiao An ran out of the side room, brushing the acorn shavings off his hands as he sniffed, "It smells good, it smells good!"
He swallowed hard, then turned and ran to wash his hands.
My second sister said that I can't eat if I don't wash my hands or change my clothes.
Black Gold, wearing a floral cotton-padded jacket, ran very fast, grabbing the table and trying to climb up.
"Black Gold, your livelihood isn't here."
Song Liyun roared to stop Hei Jin's actions.
Hei Jin peeked out from behind his thick lips and made a strange face at Song Liyun.
Before Song Liyun could throw a chopstick at it, it nimbly dodged it and squeaked as it went to Xiao An for comfort.
A short while later, Song Zhenping returned looking completely bewildered: all the healthy seedlings in the greenhouse were gone.
As soon as he saw Song Liyun, he said, "Xiaoyun, where are the vegetable seedlings in the field? Did you pull up all the big ones?"
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