Chapter 110 Chapter 110 Treating Guests and Suppressing Bandits
At night, Yu Li obediently went back to the room in the backyard to sleep.
As for the two children, they successfully moved into the wing in the front yard and had their own room.
Zhou was a little worried, "Can you really do this?"
The two children have been with her since they were born. She has taken care of them since they were babies. They have never been separated from her. However, Zhou is still somewhat worried about them.
Not to mention letting them sleep in the wing room in the front yard.
Although the house was not big and the front and back yards were not far away, she was still somewhat worried about her child suddenly leaving her.
The two children patted their chests and assured: "Grandma, it's OK!"
“We’re five!”
"We sleep alone!"
Although the brother and sister were raised to be a little timid and afraid of strangers, they are still very independent at home.
Zhou wanted to say something, but suddenly she remembered that Fu Wenxiao started sleeping alone when he was two years old. Now the two children are five years old and still need adults to accompany them. This is not good for them.
She touched the two children's heads and said, "Okay, you guys can sleep by yourselves from now on. If you get scared, come back to find grandma."
The two children are indeed a little timid, so we have to let them go and allow them to be independent.
Yu Li looked at Zhou's repeated instructions and seemed worried. She wanted to let them move back to the inner courtyard while she could live in the outer courtyard herself.
But I don’t think the two kids would like that. Although they are young, they don’t like adults always treating them like children.
Forget it, she won’t compete with the kids for the room.
The next day, Yu Li was going to work in the butcher shop.
Since she lived in the county town, she didn't have to get up in the middle of the night, so she slept for an extra hour.
When she woke up, she found that Zhou had also woken up. Yu Li said, "Mom, you don't have to get up so early to make breakfast for me. There is breakfast at the butcher's shop. I can eat there. You can sleep a little longer."
Now we don’t have to rush to the county town, and we won’t get hungry even if we walk this short distance.
Zhou was wearing clothes and smiled when she heard that, "That's fine." Then she thought of something and asked, "By the way, Li Niang, now that we've moved here, should we invite your sister, Boss Tu, Boss Zhang and the others to come over for dinner?"
She knew that Boss Tu and his people took good care of her, so since she had moved to the county town, she decided to invite them over for a meal.
It can also add some popularity to the new home and make it more lively.
Yu Li nodded and discussed the treat with her.
"Why not invite them tomorrow and have them come over for dinner tomorrow?" Zhou suggested. "I'll clean up a bit today. The house is almost done now."
Originally, they were going to spend a few days putting their things in order, but they didn't expect the Wang family to send servants to help them, so they had almost finished putting everything in order yesterday. Only some personal belongings remained to be put in order, which would be done soon.
Yu Li had no objection to this, and said, "Then I'll go to Fu Lai Restaurant and book a table..."
"Why order a table? Since we're inviting guests, let's just cook it ourselves!" Zhou said with a smile, "When we invite them to dinner, of course we should cook it ourselves to show our sincerity." Their family is not a wealthy one now. There are only a few people in the family, and there are no rules like those of wealthy families. They can just do as they please.
In fact, Zhou likes her current life very much. Her family is simple and there is no intrigue. She doesn't have to be cautious all the time, guarding against this and that. She lives a very comfortable life.
Of course, this assumes that no one in the family is sick and everyone is well.
This is also the reason why she likes Yu Li. She feels that as long as Li Niang is around, she will always feel at ease.
Yu Li said: "But there are many people to invite..."
In addition to inviting the people from the butcher shop, she also had to invite her sister, Sun Fangniang, Yu Xiaogu and others, so the number of people suddenly increased.
As for the Wang family, of course they had to invite them, especially Mr. Wang. If he knew that they didn't invite him, he would definitely be angry. Since they invited Mr. Wang, then Old Madam Yao had to be invited as well, after all, she was Mr. Wang's aunt...
At this moment, a low, hoarse voice with a hint of sleepiness sounded: "Li Niang, I can help."
The two turned around and saw Fu Wenxiao also walking out with his clothes on.
"Xiao brother, did we disturb you?" Zhou said apologetically.
Fu Wenxiao shook his head and said to Yu Li, "Listen to mother, let's invite them tomorrow. I'll go to the restaurant to order some dishes, and we'll make some more. Then we'll invite them all over."
Upon hearing this, Yu Li thought this was a good idea. After all, he didn't want Zhou to work too hard.
Thinking that he needed to go to the restaurant to order food and he would not be able to do so without money, I turned to him and said, "I put the money in the box in the cabinet, go get it yourself."
She was in charge of the family's money, but it was not locked up, so he could get it himself if he needed anything.
Fu Wenxiao smiled and nodded.
"Okay, go back and sleep for a while." Yu Li waved at him, "You will feel better if you get more rest."
Fu Wenxiao said, "I'll take you out and then go back to sleep."
Yu Li looked at him and wanted to say something, but seeing that Zhou was laughing all the time, which made her feel strange, she soon forgot what to say.
Forget it, I won’t say anymore.
When she was about to leave, Fu Wenxiao saw her off to the door.
The weather in Shanping County in March was already warm, but the temperature difference between morning and night was still quite large. When Yu Li came to the door, he urged him to go back and not catch a cold.
After saying goodbye to the man who was standing at the door to see her off, Yu Li walked under the starlight on the streets of the county town before dawn.
When we arrived at the butcher's shop, everyone was there and was having breakfast.
Seeing her, they called her over to eat with them and asked, "Li Niang, did your move go smoothly yesterday? Is there anything else you need our help with?"
In fact, they all wanted to help, but Yu Li said that most of the things in the house had been moved and there was nothing they needed help with.
Yu Li took a meat bun and ate it, saying, "It went smoothly. There's nothing I need help with."
Then she told them that she planned to invite them to her house for dinner tomorrow to add some popularity to her new home.
When everyone heard this, they all said they would definitely go.
After delivering the goods, Yu Li turned to Jucai Lane and told his sister and others to go to Shuying Lane for dinner tomorrow.
After hearing this, Yu Jin said, "Sister, we will definitely go!"
My eldest sister is hosting a dinner party to celebrate her move to a new home, so they will definitely go.
Then I asked her how her sister's new home was, whether she lived comfortably, whether the neighbors were easy to get along with, whether she had arranged her home, and whether she needed any help.
She was so worried that her sister would not feel comfortable living in the new home.
Yu Li said, "The new house is pretty good. I have almost everything in place. There is nothing I need your help with. I was busy yesterday and haven't met the neighbors yet."
The people who lived in Shuying Lane were all scholars, and they were quite reserved. It was really unlike other places where neighbors often visited each other. Perhaps they had just moved there, and the neighbors knew that they had not yet settled down, so they did not rush to disturb them.
In Yu Li's opinion, the only problem with the new house is that it is too small, with too few rooms and not enough space to live in.
Yu Jin was puzzled, "How can there be so few rooms in the new house? There are several."
The main reason is that the Fu family doesn't have many people, so the house is completely enough for them to live in, unless her sister and brother-in-law have a baby in the future. Then they can move to a bigger house and hire a few servants to serve them.
Yu Li wanted to say something, but then closed his mouth silently.
In the eyes of the world, she and Fu Wenxiao are a married couple. If she said she wanted to sleep in separate rooms, wouldn't it be a bit strange?
Yu Li understood this principle, and he also knew that it was quite strange that he couldn't stand the sound of another person's breathing in the room.
It seems that I will have to work hard to get used to this in the future.
After all, there are no alien monsters in this world, and no one will attack her for no reason in her sleep. She should not have to be on guard when sleeping like before.
Yu Li thought silently and felt that she should try harder. At least in the past two months, she no longer couldn't help strangling the person next to her in her sleep. This was also progress.
After telling his sister and the others about this, Yu Li went to Shuangrong Lane to look for Aunt Yu.
Yu Xiaogu naturally agreed and was also concerned about their move, asking if they needed any help and saying that she should visit more often in the future.
After visiting these two stores, Yu Li returned to the butcher shop.
She ordered some pork fat from the butcher's shop today. Zhou had asked her to buy it, saying that they had run out of oil at home and needed to make some lard.
After putting the pork fat into the backpack, Yu Li said goodbye to Zhang Fu and the others and went straight home.
When he returned home, Yu Li saw Zhou and the two children were there, but Fu Wenxiao was not there.
"Xiao brother went to the Wang family to deliver the invitation." Zhou said.
The Wang family is a family of scholars and they value rules. They can't be like other people. She just needs to run over and let them know, or give them a letter of invitation. Of course, Fu Wenxiao hasn't come back yet, so he knows without asking that it must be Mr. Wang who is talking to him again.
After Yu Li finished lunch, Fu Wenxiao finally came back.
"Li Niang, you're back." he asked with a smile.
Yu Li hummed, and seeing that he looked tired, he habitually pulled his hand to transfer his supernatural powers to him.
Zhou was cleaning up the dishes. When she saw this scene, she couldn't help but smile with her hands covering her mouth.
Fu Wenxiao knew that she had misunderstood and felt a little embarrassed. Seeing that Yu Li didn't seem to realize this, she thought that it might be because of the county examination. Every time she saw that he looked unhappy after the exam, she habitually gave him treatment at any time and didn't care what others thought.
After transferring her supernatural powers to him, Yu Li felt a little tired. After washing up, she went to bed for a nap.
When I woke up in the afternoon, I smelled the aroma of refined lard in the air, which suddenly made me awake.
Seeing her hurriedly putting on her clothes and about to go out, Fu Wenxiao quickly grabbed her, pulled her back, and combed her hair.
Maybe because she is more casual at home, she sometimes lets her hair down.
In the past, the rules and etiquette that Fu Wenxiao learned since childhood would make him feel that this was a very rude thing. No matter whether it was a man or a woman, as long as they left the bedroom, they should dress neatly.
But now, he has put all his principles aside. He even guessed that maybe in her previous world, people didn't pay much attention to these so-called rules and etiquette, and people didn't think it was rude to have messy hair, so she was so casual.
When Yu Li finished combing her hair and came to the kitchen, she saw that the lard residue had already been taken out of the pot.
When Zhou saw her coming, she scooped out some still hot lard residue, sprinkled some sugar on it and handed it to them. It became a delicious snack.
The lard residue dipped in sugar is crispy, sweet, oily and fragrant. It is especially delicious and even the two children like to eat it.
Yu Li said: "Mom, it's delicious."
It turns out that lard residue can be eaten with sugar, she learned.
The two children echoed: "Grandma, it smells so good and tastes so good~~"
Fu Wenxiao also came to the kitchen. Yu Li saw him and handed him a piece of rice. He shook his head, indicating that he didn't like to eat such greasy food.
Seeing that he didn't eat, Yu Li became even happier because she could eat more. She liked people who wouldn't snatch food from her the most.
Yu Li held a bowl of lard residue and finished it quickly, still feeling a little unsatisfied.
At this time, Fu Wenxiao brought a bag of snacks and handed it to her.
Yu Li opened it and found lotus crisps inside. He asked in surprise, "Did you buy it?"
He smiled and nodded, and seeing the joy on her face, he felt very satisfied.
In the past, he didn't understand why his father would always buy some small things for his mother every time he went out. Even though his mother always complained that the food outside was not tasty and the workmanship was not good enough, his father still enjoyed doing it.
Now I understand that although my mother said she was disgusted, she was actually happy in her heart.
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The next day, Fu Wenxiao went to Fulai Restaurant to order some dishes. Yu Li also brought back some meat from the butcher shop and went to the market to buy a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits.
In some markets in the county town, every day villagers from nearby villages carry vegetables and fruits grown by themselves to sell in the county town. If you want to eat them, you can still buy them, but most people think they are too expensive and it is better to grow them yourself.
Zhou said, "There is an empty field in the front yard. I plan to turn it over in a couple of days and spread some vegetable seeds. We can grow some vegetables to eat and don't have to buy them every day."
Yu Li said, "Okay, I'll go plow the soil tomorrow."
Zhou added, "This yard is quite empty. You can plant some flowers over there."
Yu Li didn't understand this. She had seen the countryside in spring with flowers in full bloom, and had also been to the Wang family. There were many flowers and plants in the Wang family's yard, and they were all beautiful.
But if you grow flowers at home, what kind of flowers should you plant?
She didn't need to worry about this either. Zhou smiled and said, "There should be flower farmers in the county who specialize in growing flowers and plants. We can go to them and buy some to plant back home."
Then I told her what flowers to buy that were easy to grow and looked good. She was very experienced in this and explained it very clearly.
Yu Li continued to nod, "Okay, I'll go get some back tomorrow."
At this time, Fu Wenxiao said: "Why don't we go now? It's still early anyway. Let's add some flowers and plants to the yard. It will be comfortable for guests to see them in the afternoon."
Yu Li thought it was a good idea, so after lunch he went out with him to find a flower farmer to buy flowers.
Yu Li was very familiar with the county town and knew where to buy flowers and plants, so he took Fu Wenxiao to the south of the city.
There are many peddlers in the south of the city, working in all kinds of industries, and it is a bustling market scene.
Fu Wenxiao saw her leading him through the alleys in a familiar way. She was familiar with every street and every alley. He couldn't help but smile and said, "Li Niang, it seems that you are already very familiar with the county town."
Shanping County is neither big nor small.
Probably because the Zhennan Army was stationed nearby, Shanping County became a rare prosperous county in the southern border area. It was larger than many counties and had a prosperous economy.
Yu Li said: "Of course."
Whenever she arrives at a place, she must first get to know the environment so that she can react in time if she encounters any danger.
It has become a habit.
Although Fu Wenxiao didn't know what she was thinking, he could guess a little bit.
He couldn't help but laugh, feeling that it was a bit like a small animal marking its territory. Although she didn't say it, her behavior treated the area where she lived as her territory, and she would not allow any danger beyond her expectations to exist, and would directly take action to strangle it.
They came to a flower farmer's house and bought a lot of flowers and plants according to Zhou's instructions.
Because they bought a lot, the flower farmer was very happy and said he would deliver the flowers to their homes for free.
When they bought the flowers and went back, it was still early. Zhou was already busy in the kitchen, while the two of them were responsible for planting the flowers and plants.
After being busy for a while, beads of sweat appeared on Fu Wenxiao's forehead and his face turned a little pale.
Yu Li drove him aside to rest, "You take a rest, I'll do the rest!"
Fu Wenxiao reluctantly sat down under the eaves to rest and drink some water.
Fu Yanhui and Fu Yansheng worked very hard and said sweetly: "Aunt, we are not tired yet, we can help you!"
Yu Li put his face close to them and said, "Okay, be good."
Fu Wenxiao took a rest, brought over a pot of red date and wolfberry tea, and poured a glass of water.
"Li Niang, drink a glass of water first."
Yu Li's hands were still covered in mud, and he was too lazy to wash them. He drank the cup of tea from his hands and said, "I want more."
He went to pour another glass and watched her finish it with a smile in her eyes.
Two children who were happily digging turned their heads and saw this scene and shouted, "Uncle, we want to drink water too!"
Fu Wenxiao: "Go wash your hands and come over to drink."
Two children: “Oh.”
Zhou put the meat in the pot to stew, and came out to see how they were doing. She found that it was quite good. The yard, which originally looked empty, now had a lot of newly planted flowers and plants, which looked particularly elegant and comfortable.
"Li Niang, you've worked hard. I steamed some rice cakes. Come and have some."
Yu Li's voice became lighter, and he said, "I'll be there after I finish planting these few plants."
After planting the flowers and plants and cleaning the yard, they went to eat rice cakes.
Zhou’s steamed rice cake is made with sugar. It is sweet and soft, very delicious, and is one of Yu Li’s favorite snacks.
The two adults and two children were sitting there eating rice cakes. Yu Li ate the most, and Fu Wenxiao tasted a small piece. The two children watched their aunt eat the rice cakes while chewing on them, and thought the rice cakes were really delicious.
When the time was almost up, the restaurant delivered the dishes they had ordered.
Then the guests arrived.
Yu Jin, Liu, Sun Fangniang, Yu Xiaogu and others came first, followed by Zhang Fu and others, and then Mr. Wang and his wife.
Everyone was chatting and laughing at first, but when they saw Mr. Wang and his wife, they all became a little reserved.
Mr. Wang and his wife greeted everyone politely and presented the gifts they had brought. They brought two gifts, one from the Wang family and one that Old Lady Yao asked them to help deliver.
Yu Li felt a little embarrassed and declined.
Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "It's okay, take it! The weather has changed a lot recently, and my aunt caught a cold and couldn't come over. She asked us to bring you a gift. This is a little token of her love."
Upon hearing this, Yu Li asked, "Is the old lady okay?"
"It's nothing. I'm just old. I'm not as good as young people. I'm more likely to get sick when the weather changes." Mrs. Wang told her not to worry. Mrs. Yao was in good health. The cold was not serious and she would be fine after taking some medicine.
But they were worried, so they let her rest in the other courtyard.
Mr. Wang and his wife were not the kind of people who were tactless. Even to a butcher like Zhang Fu, they were humble and polite, with a friendly look on their faces. Everyone was willing to maintain the atmosphere, so it was very good.
Zhang Fu and others also breathed a sigh of relief.
In the county, the Wang family is very famous. They are from completely different worlds from the common people like them. If it weren't for Fu Wenxiao and Yu Li, they would never have had anything to do with the Wang family in their lives.
After dinner, Yu Li and Fu Wenxiao went to see the guests off together.
When they were leaving, Mr. Wang and his wife smiled and invited them, "There will be a flower viewing event in a few days. You can come too. It's on Taohua Mountain in the suburbs. The peach blossoms there are in full bloom. Many people go there to enjoy the peach blossoms."
Fu Wenxiao said: "We'll see when the time comes. We'll go over when we have time."
"We are waiting for you to come." Mr. Wang said earnestly, "Brother Fu and sister-in-law, you must come!"
Mrs. Wang was a little amused and took Yu Li's hand, "Mother Li, we will wait for you to come over and bring you some snacks made by our cook."
Yu Li agreed immediately.
After seeing the guests off, they began to clean up.
I finished packing and it was already late, so I washed up and took a rest.
Before going to bed, Yu Li asked, "What will the flower viewing party be like? Are we going to eat and drink?"
Otherwise, why would Sister Su specially ask the cook at home to make snacks and bring them over? The original owner had no impression of such a thing, and it was the first time that Yu Li heard of such an activity as a flower viewing party.
Fu Wenxiao laughed, "You're right."
Isn't it all about eating and drinking? A group of people go hiking and enjoying the flowers. When they are tired, they sit down to eat and drink, then go hiking and enjoy the flowers again, and then go down the mountain and go home.
Well, that's it.
Yu Li's eyes were filled with anticipation. "I haven't seen the flowers yet. It's spring now, and there are indeed many wild flowers blooming in the suburbs. They are quite beautiful."
When she lived in the village, she would walk back home every day and could always see a lot of beautiful scenery.
Especially in spring and autumn, there are many kinds of wild flowers on the roadside. Occasionally she would pick some to play with. When she returned home, her hands were covered with flower juice and fragrance, which made her very happy.
But Yu Li was unable to attend the flower viewing party.
Two days later, Boss Tu came back from the provincial capital and came to find Yu Li to talk to her about the bandit suppression.
"Young Master Xuan said that he plans to wipe out the bandits in the hills near Yuqing County." Boss Tu asked her, "He asked if you are free. The reward offered by the government this time is 500 taels of silver."
"So many?" Yu Li's eyes widened.
The last time we suppressed the bandits in Qingya Mountain, we only got two hundred taels.
Boss Tu laughed and said, "Because the government over there wants to quickly deal with those bandits, they are willing to offer more reward money."
Any county magistrate who is somewhat capable would be eager to eliminate the bandits around the area under his jurisdiction.
The magistrate of Yuqing County had just taken office last year. Unlike the conservative previous magistrate, he was ambitious. Upon learning that there was a group of bandits entrenched near Yuqing County, he had been thinking about how to get rid of them.
It just so happened that the family of the county magistrate of Yuqing County had some friendship with the Xuan family, so he wrote to Xuan Huaiqing, asking if he could borrow the Zhennan Army to help suppress the bandits.
Xuan Huaiqing agreed to the task directly, saying that the task of suppressing the bandits would be left to him, but the reward would be in place.
The magistrate of Yuqing County also had some background. He was the youngest son of a noble family in the capital. If nothing else, at least he was not short of money. He didn't even have to pay the government. He said that as long as Xuan Huaiqing could help get rid of the bandits, he would be willing to pay out of his own pocket and offer a reward of 500 taels of silver.
Yu Li's eyes sparkled as he asked, "Uncle Tu, when do we leave?"
Five hundred taels! Even if she had to share it with others, she would still get a lot.
"Just these two days." Tu Lao said, "Young Master Xuan said that the sooner we get rid of the bandits, the better."
Yu Li said that she had no problem and could go anytime.
Then the two of them discussed the time of departure and decided on the day after tomorrow.
At that time, Boss Tu and she would rush to Yuqing County together, and Xuan Huaiqing would also go there from the provincial capital and wait for them in Yuqing County.
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