Looking at Jiang Yuwei's regretful expression, Ning Huaizhi couldn't help but smile slightly and whisper:
"Wife, why didn't you ask me if I knew how to drive an oxcart?"
Jiang Yuwei stared blankly at Ning Huaizhi's ambiguous smile, and asked in a daze:
"Then, do you know how to drive an oxcart?"
Ning Huaizhi smiled at Jiang Yuwei and said indulgently:
"Alright, honey, get in the car. You give directions, and I'll drive."
Seeing Ning Huaizhi's appearance, Jiang Yuwei blushed with embarrassment. How stupid of her! Ning Huaizhi had been a soldier and ridden horses; how could she not have thought that he would definitely drive an oxcart?
After getting into the car, Jiang Yuwei pointed to East Street and said:
“Let’s go to the East Street market to buy some food and supplies, and then see if they sell poultry. We can buy some to raise, otherwise the sheds we built at home will just sit empty. Luckily, we have an oxcart that can carry them all.”
Ning Huaizhi chuckled, tightened the rope, patted the cow's rump, and whispered in Jiang Yuwei's ear:
"Okay, I'll do whatever my wife says."
Jiang Yuwei blushed as Ning Huaizhi's breath touched her cheeks, and she lowered her head, muttering softly:
"Don't call me 'wife' in public anymore. I... I'm embarrassed."
Ning Huaizhi loved seeing his wife blush, and said with a smile:
“I’ll call you wife, you were originally my wife.”
The family of three arrived at the market chatting and laughing. As soon as Jiang Yuwei entered the market, she saw vendors selling chicks, ducklings, and goslings, so she got off the oxcart and went up to ask them for directions.
How much does a chick cost?
The old woman selling chicks, seeing a customer come in, smiled and grabbed a chick, handing it to Jiang Yuwei, saying:
"Madam, look at my chicks. They're all so energetic. You'll definitely be able to raise them when you get home. These are all chicks that we hatched ourselves. Hens are twenty coins each, ducklings are also twenty coins each, and goslings here are thirty coins each."
Seeing that the chicks were indeed well-raised and that she could raise them herself, Jiang Yuwei directly selected ten hens, ten ducks, and one geese (one male and one female). She kept the chickens and ducks to lay eggs, and the geese to guard the house.
Jiang Yuwei paid the money, loaded the children onto the oxcart, and then instructed Ning Huaizhi and Ning Wan to wait for her on the cart.
Jiang Yuwei went into the market to buy some seasonings, then went to the butcher shop to buy some meat, and then went to the grain and oil shop to buy some rice, flour and cooking oil. She then carried the bags out of the market and put them on the oxcart.
The three of them drove the oxcart toward Ningjia Village. On the way, they met Uncle Ning Wu, who was still waiting for them. Jiang Yuwei then moved the things she had set up her stall onto her cart. In the future, with her own oxcart, she would no longer need to take Uncle Ning Wu's cart to town, which would be much more convenient.
After returning home, Jiang Yuwei helped Ning Huaizhi off the cart, unloaded and stored the things she had bought at the market, then drove the cow to the cowshed, unloaded the cart and placed it behind the house, and moved the chicks and ducklings from the cart into the chicken coop. Jiang Yuwei had already laid out dry hay in the coop, so the little ones would be fine to raise there.
Jiang Yuwei put the goslings in the yard to let them get used to their surroundings. The wildcat, Xiao Jiu, seeing so many new animals suddenly in the house, curiously sniffed each one. Jiang Yuwei, fearing Xiao Jiu might bite one of the chicks, quickly went over and patted Xiao Jiu's head, saying:
"Little Jiu, you can't bite it. We're raising it to lay eggs."
As if it understood, Xiao Jiu glanced at Jiang Yuwei, then lowered its head to lick the feathers of each chick. The chickens and ducks seemed to like Xiao Jiu very much. Now, Xiao Jiu didn't even stay in its own little house anymore, but lay down in the chicken coop, hugging a group of chicks in its arms. Jiang Yuwei had no choice but to let it be.
After settling all the poultry in the backyard, Jiang Yuwei said to Ning Wan:
"Wan'er, when you go out to cut grass today, remember to cut more. In the future, you'll not only have to feed the little rabbits, but our yellow ox will also need to eat."
Ning Wan smiled and nodded, then picked up her basket and went out.
Jiang Yuwei chopped up the leftover rotten vegetable leaves from cooking earlier, mixed them with coarse grain flour, and cooked a pot of chicken feed on the stove in the yard. She then took it to the backyard to feed the chickens.
Then he took out the ten lanterns he had bought in town that day. He first hung two at the gate of his own yard, then two at the gate of the main house in the yard, and then hung the remaining four lanterns in the cowshed, sheepshed and chicken coop in the backyard.
Jiang Yuwei thought that she had been very busy these days and hadn't had time to collect honey. She figured she should have accumulated quite a bit by now, so she put the leftovers from yesterday's service in a pot to heat up, and then picked up her basket and went outside to the locust tree.
At this time, the locust flowers were in full bloom, and the bees were busy. Jiang Yuwei thought that this batch of locust honey should be delicious, so she began to harvest the honey. After harvesting all the honeycomb she had made, she picked up the bamboo hook she had made and hooked a lot of locust flowers into her basket, preparing to pick some to make locust flower buns for tomorrow.
As Jiang Yuwei entered the courtyard, she saw Ning Wan's small basket already placed there. She put down her basket and went to the backyard to check. She saw Ning Wan feeding grass to the yellow ox, and the wild cat Xiao Jiu was licking the ox's fur while perched on its back. Jiang Yuwei smiled helplessly and said:
"Wan'er, be careful. Come to the front yard for dinner after you finish feeding the cows."
Seeing Ning Wan nod obediently, Jiang Yuwei went back to the front yard and lit all the lanterns. She liked the bright and cheerful yard.
Ning Huaizhi stepped out of the house and saw Jiang Yuwei smiling as she looked at the lantern. He felt a surge of contentment; his little courtyard truly felt like home now, all thanks to his capable wife. Thinking this, Ning Huaizhi smiled at Jiang Yuwei and said:
"Wife, what are you going to do with all those locust tree branches?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and pushed Ning Huaizhi into the courtyard, then picked up a locust tree branch and handed it to him. She then casually moved a wooden basin to Ning Huaizhi's feet and instructed him:
"Huaizhi, just pick the locust flowers like this. We'll save them to make locust flower buns tomorrow. I'll go start a fire and render the pork fat first. After Wan'er feeds the cow, we'll eat."
The family of three were each busy with their own things, and the courtyard looked very peaceful and cozy under the warm yellow light.
Jiang Yuwei poured the rendered lard into the pot, then scooped out the pork cracklings and sprinkled them with salt. The fragrant lard and a plate of crispy pork cracklings were ready.
Jiang Yuwei put the lard in the kitchen, then took the heated food from the pot to the stone table in the yard. After putting the pork cracklings on the table, she fetched a basin of water and had Ning Huaizhi wash his hands first. She then pushed him to the stone table before going to the backyard to call Ning Wan.
When Jiang Yuwei arrived at the backyard, she saw that Ning Wan had already finished feeding the cows and rabbits and was chasing Xiao Jiu all over the backyard, quacking happily. The ducklings she had just caught were also lined up behind Ning Wan and running after her. Jiang Yuwei shook her head helplessly. Did these ducklings think Wan'er was their mother?
Jiang Yuwei shouted with a smile:
"Wan'er, stop running. You're all sweaty. Go eat in the front yard."
Just as Jiang Yuwei finished speaking, a loud bang was heard from the front yard. Jiang Yuwei immediately became alert and grabbed Ning Wan, running desperately towards the front yard.
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