Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Trimming the Hair
On the way back, they took an ox cart. After all, they bought a lot of things, and Huo Xing's hand was injured, so it was more convenient to take an ox cart.
When Li Hongying returned home, she was so angry when she saw what they bought. The two of them acted without authorization and bought two pieces of cloth. Although the family had some money, they could not afford to spend it like this.
Huo Xing was silently being scolded in the yard. Miao Ying came over and took Li Hongying's arm. "Mom, it's New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve is the time to wear new clothes. Farming isn't busy right now anyway, so you and Grandma should prepare some clothes! If there's any leftover, we can even make Huo Xiaobao some underwear or something."
Li Hongying sighed: "You guys really don't know the hardship of firewood and rice until you manage the household."
Miao Ying patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Mom. I'll be the head of the family from now on. Our lives will definitely get better and better!"
He joked around with Li Hongying for a while, and then dragged Huo Xiaobao to pick radishes. Huo Xiaobao especially liked picking radishes with Miao Ying. Every time they picked radishes, Miao Ying would sing the song about picking radishes to him. Last time they sang the song about the little girl, and today they were going to continue singing from the little girl.
Miao Ying learned and performed on the spot, and after the little girl finished singing, he sang the little brother's song.
After the song, the two of them returned home covered in mud. Huo Xiaobao was holding a fat carrot, with mud on the tip of his nose. He hugged Miao Ying's legs and smiled happily.
The big bones they bought are best used to make soup. You can taste the meat and get more nutrition. If you cook radish in them, the radish will absorb the soup and become fragrant and sweet. The bones alone are cheap, so they are most suitable for families like them.
Soon, fragrance came from the kitchen. Grandmother and Li Hongying were already drawing patterns and preparing to make new clothes. Since Miao Ying sincerely wanted them to make clothes and the cloth had already been bought, they decided to just make them.
They were all busy with their own things, leaving Huo Xing alone sitting in the yard, not knowing what to do for a moment.
Before Miao Ying came, life seemed to be like this. Huo San was nowhere to be found, and his grandmother and mother were either doing needlework or working in the fields. Xiaobao always stayed at home alone, but now with one more person, the atmosphere seemed to have become very different.
"What are you standing there for?" Miao Ying shouted into the yard, "Are you waiting for Huo Xiaobao to light the fire?"
Huo Xing then stood up, picked up Huo Xiaobao from the stool, and started to make a fire himself.
Miao Ying bought some lean meat today and wanted to make a simple stir-fry of cabbage and meat. Now that he had lard, it wouldn't be too much to have a delicious meal. He didn't even enjoy the meal yesterday.
However, using lard is not a long-term solution. We still have to find vegetable oil. Logically speaking, the climate here is suitable for growing rapeseed, so why is there no rapeseed oil?
Lunch consisted of a plate of stir-fried cabbage with meat, a pot of carrot and bone soup, and a pot of brown rice. Li Hongying ate a piece of lean meat with chopsticks and looked at Miao Ying: "Why do you like to eat lean meat? Fatty meat is much better, more juicy."
Miao Ying chuckled: "I just like to eat thin food."
Huo Xing took a bite of the radish. Although the radish tasted good, it tasted like wax to him. His mother and grandmother knew Miao Ying's taste, but he was the only one who didn't know.
A soup bowl was handed over, and Miao Ying filled it with bone soup and placed it next to him: "Drink more soup, it replenishes the body."
Huo Xing nodded at him. Miao Ying withdrew his hand with satisfaction and served another bowl to Huo Xiaobao, and finally to himself.
Looking at the whole family concentrating on eating, Miao Ying felt satisfied. This family would be perfect as long as that old guy was not there. He had to find a way to drive the old guy out and not let him destroy the harmony of the family.
Miao Ying didn't know how to wash dishes after cooking, so Li Hongying washed the dishes after they finished eating.
In the afternoon, Miao Ying came up to Li Hongying and the others, thinking that it was a magical thing that they could turn pieces of cloth into a piece of clothing, and it was quite interesting to just watch them do it.
"See if you can save some of this cotton cloth and make two pairs of pants for Xiaobao." Li Hongying drew a line on the cotton cloth with a charcoal pencil. "Mom, stuff yours with more cotton."
Miao Ying sat in the yard. The afternoon sun was a little warm. He supported his face with his hands and began to think about the family's development plans.
In the past few days, I have been improving the food and buying things, and only a little over ten taels of silver are left out of the fifteen taels. The money is still too much to spend, but the food for this big family, young and old, must be nutritious. I can't save money, so I can only increase income.
It seemed that making money was easy for the previous generations who traveled through time. Any recipe they sold could be worth hundreds of taels. Miao Ying also planned to follow the example of his predecessors and sell some recipes in the county restaurant. That would be a very profitable business.
At night he told Huo Xing that he had to go to the county town the next day. Huo Xing didn't understand, but he accepted it.
After entering the twelfth lunar month, the weather became colder. Originally, they could barely keep warm under the same quilt, but now he had to stick very close to Huo Xing to avoid being woken up by the cold. Although he was not under any pressure, Huo Xing did not seem to sleep well, and dark circles could be seen under his eyes in the past two days.
He had never been to his grandmother and mother's room, so he thought it was the same. The quilt would not be very thick. Why not go to the county town to buy a quilt?
Realizing what Miao Ying was thinking, Huo Xing said, "No need to buy a quilt."
Miao Ying turned his head to look at him.
Huo Xing got out of bed and took out a box from under the bed. Inside the box was a big red quilt.
Miao Ying's eyes lit up, and he looked at Huo Xing: "Why didn't you tell me about this good news earlier!"
He jumped out of bed happily, picked up the quilt and spread it on the bed, then rubbed his face against the smooth quilt.
This was the dowry that Miao Ying brought. The Huo family was not well off, and the quilt they were covering themselves with now was also hand-sewn by their mother and grandmother. Although Miao Ying felt cold covering herself with a quilt, she didn't want to spread her new quilt on Huo Xing's bed, so she kept it away and never touched it.
Looking at the brand new quilt on the bed, Miao Ying had never felt so easily satisfied. He rubbed it twice and smelled a musty smell on the quilt.
The winter in Nankouba Village is damp and cold. The quilt has been hidden under the bed and has become damp. Miao Ying carefully looked over it again. Fortunately, no mushrooms have grown on it. However, it cannot be used to cover the bed tonight. It must be taken out to dry in the sun tomorrow.
Seeing Miao Ying put the quilt away again, Huo Xing was puzzled. He remembered that on the day of his wedding, Miao Ying said that this bed was not worthy of his wedding quilt. Huo Xing lowered his eyes.
"The new quilt is almost growing mushrooms. It needs to be dried in the sun before we can use it. We'll just make do with it tonight." Miao Ying yawned, climbed onto the bed, and called Huo Xing to come up quickly. He couldn't sleep in the warm quilt by himself.
Huo Xing took off his clothes and got into bed. Miao Ying immediately stretched her legs under his calves and sighed comfortably: "After the quilt is dried tomorrow, I will take a shower before going to bed. I haven't taken a shower for a long time."
Since he came here, he has only washed his hair two or three times and wiped his body a few times, but has never taken a good bath. Now that his injuries have healed, it is time to put a bath on the agenda.
The next day, Miao Ying hung his quilt out to dry in the yard while his grandmother was picking beans. Huo Xiaobao looked at Miao Ying eagerly, waiting for him to finish hanging the clothes so he could play with him. His toy was still the shuttlecock that Miao Ying had made for him. Miao Ying huddled together with him, thinking that this was not going to work. Children should play with other children, otherwise they would become introverted in the future.
The aroma of Laba porridge spread in the yard. Huo Xiaobao licked his lips, and Miao Ying ran back to the room to bring him some snacks.
It is also a sunny day today. Miao Ying decided to wash his hair in the afternoon. There is hot water boiling in the pot now.
The first few times he washed his hair, it was Li Hongying who helped him, and Huo Xiaobao was also busy beside him, handing him a comb and a towel.
Miao Ying missed the neat and clean short hair in modern times. He discussed with Li Hongying that he wanted to cut his hair. Li Hongying thought he wanted to trim some of his stray hairs and said she would check the almanac to choose a day to help him trim it. Unexpectedly, Miao Ying wanted to cut his hair completely. Li Hongying was so angry that she gave him a lecture.
Miao Ying was overwhelmed by the sayings that one's hair and body are given by one's parents and that cutting one's hair is like cutting off one's head. He even said that he would never have such thoughts again before he gave up.
"Today is a good day, you can trim your split hair." Li Hongying helped him get some water, "Let Ah Xing trim it for you."
Miao Ying nodded and let down his hair that was tied with a headband. Speaking of tying hair, he remembered that during the time when he was injured, his hair was disheveled almost every day. In his grandmother's words, he looked like a ghost. Later, when Huo Xing went out, Li Hongying helped him tie his hair with a headband every day.
From this smooth long hair, it can be seen that Miao Ying was favored in the family in the past. If she was not favored, her hair would not be so well maintained. Just look at Huo Xiaobao, his hair is sparse and yellow.
Miao Ying wet her hair. Huo Xiaobao was already familiar with the steps for Miao Ying to wash her hair, so he eagerly handed her the soap nuts.
After washing his hair, Huo Xing took a pair of scissors to help him trim his split ends. He sighed as he watched the ends of his hair being cut off bit by bit.
Huo Xing heard it and moved his hand holding the scissors: "I will cut less."
Miao Ying curled her lips: "I hope you can cut more."
After that, Huo Xing's hands became steadier, and he only trimmed the tiny split ends of his hair. After all the operations, his hair didn't even suffer any skin injuries.
After cutting his hair, Huo Xing helped him wipe his hair. His strength was just right, making Miao Ying drowsy.
When he was fully awake, his hair had been wiped dry by Huo Xing and now lay smoothly on his shoulders. Miao Ying was not used to having his hair down, so he asked Huo Xing to help him tie it up completely, making a bun on top of his head.
The top of the head feels heavier, but the neck feels refreshed.
Huo Xing lowered his hand from Miao Ying's head and saw a piece of white neck.
Miao Ying shuddered and turned his head to see Huo Xing's ears were slightly red. Miao Ying didn't know why his ears were red, so he pointed at his ears and asked, "Do you have frostbite on your ears?"
Huo Xing said nothing and avoided Miao Ying's gaze.
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