Chapter 8: Almost Becoming a Widow
Chen Yao signaled Yang Wenying to read out what she had learned today to everyone.
"Ten pounds and five ounces of soybeans, six feet of hemp rope, three feet of coarse cloth, 47 vegetable seeds, and one penny." Yang Wenying reported the bill to everyone while holding a sand table. His speech was clear and well-organized.
"Mother, what did you and your fellow villagers do today?"
Huang Xing was caught off guard by her daughter's sudden question. After she realized what was going on, she headed to the kitchen and said, "Mom will get it for you right away."
I poured a basket of soybeans into a sack and weighed it on a beam scale, and it was exactly thirteen pounds.
"Ayao, how many pounds of soybeans did you use to make tofu?" Shen Qingshan had been to Qingfeng Town to sell game, so he could calculate for his daughter whether she had made a loss or not.
"Five pounds." Chen Yao replied.
"Then you not only didn't lose money on this trip, but also made a lot of money." Shen Qingshan's eyes were full of admiration for his daughter.
Chen Yao looked at Huang Dongsheng: "Do you think these things we got in exchange are worthless?"
"Soybeans are not valuable." Huang Dong said stiffly.
"If I make soybeans into tofu, dried bean curd sheets, and bean sprouts, and there's no fresh food in the winter, do you think people will buy them? If we had the money, could we carry them on our shoulders and sell them in the city? Would the city folk be reluctant to pay for them?"
Snap——
As Chen Yao finished speaking, Yang Wenying, who was standing beside her, accidentally smashed the sand table in her hand, and her excitement was beyond words.
"City people would definitely be willing to pay for it. So you're doing all this in preparation for moving into the city!"
Yang Wenying was very excited at this time. She stepped forward and held Chen Yao's hand: "If he wants to break up, then break up. I will do it with you. I will carry the burden for you."
Who says this business has no future?
Although she had never heard of the bean curd sheets and soybean sprouts mentioned by Chen Yao, as someone who once had a fortune, she would definitely spend money to buy them and try these foods out of curiosity.
After all, one or two copper coins is really not expensive for city people.
Huang Dongsheng's face flushed red from being bullied by Yang Wenying. He stiffened his neck and said, "Cousin, please give me another chance."
Chen Yao gave him three feet of coarse cloth and six pieces of tofu, and promised him one last chance. At the same time, she also asked him to learn to read and do accounts with Yang Wenying with her every day.
Huang Dongsheng didn't know how he got home. He only heard his mother holding the three-foot-long coarse cloth and praising his ability.
At this moment, he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
"Mom, I'm going to the river to pick up some mud and sand." Huang Dongsheng ran out of the house and fled.
"Why are you panning for sand so late at night?" Miao looked at her son's receding back. Without hearing any answer, she turned around and put away the three-foot coarse cloth.
Huang Xing felt sorry for the two children who had to walk on the mountain road for a whole day, so she let them stay in the main house to talk with her husband and she cooked dinner.
Light a fire and heat the pot. Put five pieces of tofu into the water and blanch them. After they are cooked, take them out and mash them with a spoon. Sprinkle a handful of green wild onions and salt on them, stir them and bring them into the main house.
The loach that had spit out sand for a day was killed with boiling water and its internal organs removed. Since there was no wine at home, it could only be washed several times with salt to remove the fishy smell.
Pour a little bit of animal oil into the pot, fry the cleaned loach and river shrimp until golden brown, add water, put onion knots, and plenty of wild ginger to remove the fishy smell, simmer over high heat until the soup becomes thick and white, then add the tofu cut into small pieces, simmer for a while, and sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving.
The last dish, loach and tofu soup, was also brought to the main house by Huang Xing.
Wild onions mixed with tofu are green and white. When you put it in your mouth, the smoothness of the tofu is accompanied by the spicy fragrance of the wild onions. It is both delicious and filling. The loach tofu soup is even more heartwarming.
Tonight, many people should have tofu made by her family on their tables.
Chen Yao thought happily while eating, this was considered to be improving the food for everyone.
"If my brother were here, he could also eat the tofu we made." Yang Wenying held the bowl of rice, her nose feeling a little sour.
The delighted Chen Yao immediately stopped laughing and scooped a spoonful of tofu for Yang Wenying to block her mouth: "Let's eat first, then work hard and try to take them home as soon as possible."
After everyone had dinner, because the sand table was broken, Chen Yao had an excuse to dig the vegetable garden.
Yang Wenying felt sad for her brother during the meal, so she finally let Chen Yao go and did not expose her.
Before it got dark, Chen Yao soaked the vegetable seeds she had exchanged in water and turned the vegetable field in the yard with a large hoe in her hand.
Huang Xing and her husband sat in the main room, sorting soybeans for grinding tomorrow. She said, "Ayao, take a break."
"Mom and Dad, I'm not tired. Pick me another bag of plump soybean seeds. I'll go to the wasteland and plant them in two days."
As soon as Chen Yao finished speaking, she saw Yang Wenying, who had already cleaned up the kitchen, also took a small hoe and followed her to dig the ground.
This time when digging the ground, Yang Wenying was obviously much more skilled than before.
The small stones in the ground were picked and piled aside, to be used as gravel roads in the yard in the future. The weeds were plowed into the soil, and a small amount of wood ash was sprinkled on it and mixed into mature fertilizer, which can be used as fertilizer and as an insecticide to ensure the germination rate of seeds.
Chen Yao only opened up the land on the left side of the yard, and the side next to the kitchen was left as it was flat and could be used for work and eating in the future.
After several days of hard work, even if the living environment was terrible, Chen Yao could fall asleep as soon as she put her pillow on the pillow, without any energy to think about other things.
However, Yang Wenying from next door said a few words about her brother before falling asleep, and in her dream, her family was pardoned and returned to Luoyang.
Eastern suburbs.
As night fell, bursts of wolf howling could be heard from the surrounding wild mountains, making people panic. No one dared to escape. If they were not careful, they would be discovered by the guards, or fall into the belly of wild beasts, and the end would be death!
Everyone had no choice but to accept their fate and stay.
This place is desolate, and people have to do heavy work every day, relying on a steamed bun to survive. Eight out of ten people who come here to work as laborers to build the city wall cannot go back.
In just one month, Yang Jizong and Huang Songbai had become disheveled and emaciated, lying together with everyone else, making it impossible to tell who was who.
"Get up, go find someone to help you carry him and throw him into the mountains." The officer held the sword at his waist and kicked Yang Jizong who was lying on the ground to rest.
In the dark night, Yang Jizong opened his eyes from a nightmare, his whole body soaked with sweat.
"Are you dead? Hurry up and move." Seeing the man sitting there, the officer kicked him several times.
Huang Songbai, who was sleeping on his left, was startled awake. Seeing the officer about to draw his sword and strike Yang Jizong, he was so frightened that he pulled the officer away with all his might and said, "Sir, spare my life."
Although the knife did not hit his upper body, Yang Jizong was still whipped.
Two men carried an unknown corpse and threw it into the wild mountains under the supervision of the officers. The howling of wolves became louder and louder, as if they were hiding around them, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
"What are you looking at? Go back here!" The officer whipped him again. Huang Songbai hurriedly pulled Yang Jizong back to the camp and laid him down among the crowd.
After the officer saw them lying down obediently, he walked away and patrolled the area with his colleagues.
"Are you okay?" Huang Songbai approached Yang Jizong and smelled the blood on him.
Yang Jizong said calmly, "It's okay."
Huang Songbai had worked with him for over a month and knew that he was a man of few words but very methodical in his work. He might have been hiding something when he suddenly angered the officer tonight.
"There is still a long way to go. Take good care of yourself. Our families are waiting for us to go back." Huang Songbai did not ask him too much about what happened tonight. He just reminded him not to do anything stupid.
As A Yao's uncle, he didn't want to see A Yao become a widow at such a young age.
Yang Jizong nodded softly, listening to the howling of wolves coming from the distant mountains, clenching his palms tightly. A cold wind blew, and the wind seemed to carry the sound of wolves sharing food, and the smell of blood became stronger and stronger, just like the scene in his dream.
His property was confiscated, he was exiled, and his relatives were eaten by wolves on the way. In order to let his sister leave the camp, he agreed to marry into the Shen family and take her place in the military service. He worked day and night carrying stones to build the city wall. After all these tortures, his heart had long been as stagnant as water.
As long as he has breath left, he must continue to atone for his family's sins.
When daybreak came, the officer blew the horn again.
Yang Jizong followed the crowd and got up from the ground, walking towards the quarry like a zombie.
When she woke up early, Chen Yao sneezed violently, rubbed her nose, and poured the water she used to wash into the slop bucket.
"Cousin!" Outside the fenced yard, Huang Dongsheng stood there for a long time, holding three plates of mud and sand.
Chen Yao opened the fence gate and saw what he was holding. She motioned him to come into the yard and asked, "Is this made for us?"
Huang Dongsheng nodded.
"Put it under the eaves to dry in the sun. It should be completely dry by the time we come back." Chen Yao walked towards the kitchen.
Huang Dongsheng put down the sand table and followed immediately. Without Chen Yao's instructions, he picked up the soaked soybean buckets and went to the drying yard with great insight.
Yang Wenying followed behind the two of them and curled her lips. This guy is so shameless!
The shameless Huang Dongsheng spoke very little today and worked very hard. He would never let Chen Yao get involved in anything that he could do himself.
Seeing that the two of them could grind the pulp, Chen Yao simply put the matter aside and went home to plant the rapeseed in the field.
There are eight ridges in the vegetable field. Cabbage is planted in the first four ridges, and radishes are planted in the last four ridges. There are also a few holes in the corners and a few pumpkin seeds are placed in them.
When Huang Xing woke up, Chen Yao was already using manure to water the vegetable garden.
"Ayao, the ground must be irrigated thoroughly with the first watering."
Chen Yao held the ladle, bent over, and poured the water while replying, "I see. How are you feeling today, mother? Are you feeling unwell?"
No one knows what Huang Xing's illness is, but she is relying on a belief to hold on. Chen Yao is worried that if this continues for a long time, if this belief disappears one day, Huang Xing may also be gone.
I still have to save money as soon as possible to find a doctor to see her.
"Look at Mom, she's able to work in the fields. That means she's well again." Huang Xing went to the kitchen to light a fire. "The brown rice your aunt sent is running low. Let's have bean porridge this morning."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Chen Yao finished watering the eight ridges, stretched her waist and looked at the distant mountains. The days of digging for food in the fields were really hard.
She had just managed to survive another day, and she wondered if the people here would dare to try selling bean curd sheets with a load on their shoulders today.
"Ayao, what are you going to do with the hemp rope you collected?" Shen Qingshan was worried as he looked at his daughter standing motionless in the yard.
He lay on the couch with his legs unable to move, but his hands had been busy for the past two days, helping his daughter pick out the bad soybeans to the best of his ability so that she would have less trouble.
Chen Yao came back to her senses and skipped back into the house: "Dad, when you have enough, can you make me a few more fishing nets?"
Naturally, Shen Qingshan would agree to her request.
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