Chapter 235: I don’t care if I don’t listen!
Gu Tang's eyes turned red with envy!
They were all kidnappers, and they all searched the body. Her father found thirty taels of silver, but he himself didn't get a single penny.
Why?
The difference between the two sides is too great!
Is it because her father is lucky?
The more Gu Tang thought about it, the more jealous she became. The next moment, the silver in her father's hand suddenly appeared under her nose.
"This is..." Looking at the silver in her father's hand, Gu Tang was delighted and wondered if it was for her.
Just as she was about to say this, her father said, "Change it into loose change for me, weigh it on a scale, two and a half taels per portion, twelve portions."
It's not for her...
Gu Tang reached out to take the silver with mixed feelings.
This incident once again proved that her luck was indeed not that good. Adding on the fact that that unlucky guy Agou was holding her back, it was simply adding insult to injury!
Gu Lianshan had no idea what his daughter was thinking. After handing the silver to her, he left the house with a relaxed mood and went to find a pharmacy to buy herbs for making chicken soup.
Third Uncle got up and took out a scale and a pair of scissors, saying that he wanted to help Gu Tang cut the silver.
Each portion is two and a half taels, and twelve portions need to be cut out. The silver notes also need to be exchanged for small change.
He weighed and cut the silver at the same time, and then weighed it out one portion at a time. Finally, twelve portions of silver filled the entire table.
"We need to find something to separate the silver. If they are accidentally mixed together, wouldn't it be a waste of time?"
Gu Tang scratched his head, not knowing how to pack the silver.
Uncle San suggested, "Why not sew some money bags? They don't need to be too thin, as long as they can hold silver."
"Twelve money bags, even if they are rough, will take a lot of work to sew one. It would be better to cut twelve palm-sized pieces of cloth, wrap the silver with the cloth, and then tie them up with fine hemp rope. This way it will be faster."
That works too.
Third Uncle nodded and asked Gu Tang to find Bu.
There was no shortage of cloth at home, but they were all fine fabrics. If we used cloth like this, it would be a bit conspicuous.
After searching for a long time, Gu Tang simply took off her father's linen coat.
This outer coat was originally used to be worn over a fur coat, to prevent people from seeing that you were wearing the fur coat, and to also serve as a shield to prevent the coat from getting dirty.
A good coat was cut into pieces by Gu Tang in the blink of an eye. Third Uncle just smiled and let her make a fuss without scolding her. Instead, he stood on her side and teased Gu Lianshan with a smile.
"I recognize your father's linen shirt. It's two or three years old and he made it himself. At that time, I caught a cold and no one was taking care of me. Your father accompanied me while he made this shirt.
I was so angry that I said your father lived the same life with or without a wife! But your father was not worried at all. He was heartless all day long, arguing with this and that, but he just couldn't be cruel enough to make trouble with your mother. "
"My father looks like a man with a hard heart, but he is actually very soft-hearted and has a good temper. He is not the kind of person who would not treat his wife as a human being.
My mother knows this, that's why she is so unbridled! If someone else with a bad temper were to give her a try, for someone like my mother, three beatings a day would be the least of her punishment!"
Let Gu Tang say that this is all due to habit!
One is greedy and the other is too lazy to care.
Speaking of Zhang, Gu Tang remembered that when she came back, her father saw Zhang shopping with a man on market day. He hurriedly approached his third uncle, and while wrapping up the silver, he whispered to him that Zhang had found a new husband.
When Third Uncle heard this for the first time, he was really shocked. "Your mother is arrogant and very concerned about her reputation. Logically speaking, even if she wants to find a new husband, she can't find someone who is familiar with Dad."
"She had the capital to be arrogant more than a decade ago. More than a decade later, what else does she have to be arrogant about? I guess she won't find anyone better."
This is rather heartbreaking, but it is the truth.
More than ten years ago, Zhang was young and beautiful. In addition, her late husband was a serious clerk. In the eyes of the farmers, Zhang could be called "Madam".
It is very popular!
What about Zhang family now?
She was married to the Gu family for more than ten years and gave birth to a son and a daughter, but was divorced in the end!
No matter how Zhang tried to explain herself outside, she could not explain the fact that she was divorced.
Plus, she’s not young anymore, and having given birth to four children in a row, who knows if she’s hurt?
If you have the money to marry Zhang, you might as well marry a younger widow.
Third Uncle did not respond to Gu Tang's sarcasm.
The old man is not as thick-skinned as Gu Tang and Gu Lianshan, father and daughter, and he still attaches great importance to etiquette.
Discussing the ex-daughter-in-law with the granddaughter… well, just a few words or two will do, anything more would be inappropriate.
He helped Gu Tang pack up the remaining silver, skipped this topic, and instead asked why Gu Lian and Gu Tianbao, brother and sister, had changed their personalities and were helping to save Gu Tang today.
Gu Tang did not hide it and sighed: "It's all because of my aunt..." She told the brother and sister's request and said that Wei was really lucky.
Although the eldest daughter Gu Qing is a good-for-nothing, the younger daughters Gu Lian and Gu Tianbao are both filial.
Third uncle doesn’t like Wei. No, it should be said that he dislikes all the daughters-in-law of second brother, no matter they are dead or alive or divorced!
Sometimes he really admires his second brother and sister-in-law. Their vision in choosing daughters-in-law is unprecedented!
No one can do this. Marrying one woman is a vicious woman. Marrying two women is a vicious woman. Marrying three women is still a vicious woman!
This is not just being blind, this is being covered by a ghost!
"If he can be rescued, it would be a good thing. Your uncle has already arranged a marriage, and judging by the way the old couple chooses a daughter-in-law, the daughter-in-law who has not yet married is likely not a good one.
Gu Qing won’t be mentioned, this Lian girl and Tianbao are okay, in the future their family will probably rely on Tianbao to maintain their reputation, but he is too young, if he has a mother around to protect him, he can at least help a little. "
No matter how bad Wei was, there was one thing that could not be faulted, and that was how good she was to her son.
The brother and sister are still young, and this is when they need the care and help of their parents. Unfortunately, they can’t count on their father, so they can only count on their mother.
"Gu Tianbao said that he would return my money when his mother comes back. If he really returns my money, as long as he doesn't bother me in the future, my aunt and I will not interfere with each other."
The misfortune that Wei had suffered was caused by her. Even if she was rescued, she would still be criticized for the rest of her life.
In this era where reputation is more important than human life, the Wei family had to move away. If they continued to stay in Shanghe Village, their lives would be worse than death.
Sometimes, rumors are more powerful than a murderous knife.
This hardship can be regarded as Wei's repayment to the original owner.
The Third Uncle was very pleased with Gu Tang's "magnanimity": "Although my granddaughter is a girl, her generosity is comparable to that of a prime minister!"
Gu Tang was thick-skinned and extremely shameless. She was not at all flattered by these words. She raised her chin and said, "That's right! A gentleman does not fight with a villain!"
This made my third uncle laugh.
While the grandfather and grandson were talking, the twelve portions of silver had been wrapped up and put into a box. Gu Ping'an's voice was heard from outside, saying that the two hens had been cleaned and asked Gu Tang whether he wanted to chop them into pieces or stew them whole.
Gu Tang turned his head and answered, saying that he would be there soon.
She gave the box to her third uncle, and then passed it to her father when he came back, then hurried out of the hall.
He rolled up his sleeves as he walked, obviously wanting to chop the chicken himself.
Sure enough, when they arrived at the kitchen, Gu Tang took the knife from Gu Ping'an and cut the chicken into four large pieces.
Two chickens equal eight big pieces.
Gu Pingan didn't understand: "What's the difference between this and stewing the whole thing?"
"How can there be no difference? If you chop it like this, it will be easier to eat when you fish it out later!"
"Then why not chop it into small pieces?" Wouldn't it be more convenient to eat if it is chopped into small pieces?
"The small pieces will fall off the bones after being stewed for a while, and it will be difficult to fish them out!" Gu Tang found another excuse and glared at him.
If you don't understand, just shut up, little brat. Why are you talking so much?
He glared at the man, then ordered someone to light the stove, asking Gu Ping'an to light the stove. Gu Tang planned to stew the food in a larger casserole.
This clay pot is made of iron. When Gu Tang was buying the pot, the store owner told him that such an iron clay pot is perfect for stewing soups and medicinal foods, so he bought two.
I have kept it aside since I bought it, and today is the first time I use it.
I knocked on it with my fingers and it made a dull sound. The pot was very thick.
"When did you buy this pot?" Gu Pingan took it and felt it was very heavy in his hand. He looked at Gu Tang in surprise: "This is made of iron. The material is so solid, I'm afraid it must have cost a lot of copper, right?"
"Two taels of silver each!" Gu Tang stretched out two fingers and shook them in front of him.
Gu Ping'an's eyes widened, almost popping out of his head: "Two taels of silver for just this small pot?!"
"Is it small?" Gu Tang snatched the pot back from his hand, lifted it up and looked at it, "It's not small, this is a clay pot, for stewing soup and medicinal food, not a big iron pot for cooking!"
"This is too expensive! Does Dad know?"
Before Gu Tang could say anything, she heard her father's voice coming from the kitchen door: "What do I know? Are you two hiding something from me?"
Gu Ping'an didn't expect his father to come back at this time. After hearing this, he laughed dryly and said it was nothing.
Gu Tang, on the other hand, didn't hide anything at all. She raised the clay pot in her hand to show her father: "I bought it before. It's perfect for stewing soup or medicinal food."
Looking at the iron sand pot in front of him, Gu Lianshan couldn't help but weigh it, and then his heart trembled. With this size, the price must be quite high.
In order not to show his distressed expression, Gu Lianshan gritted his teeth and did not ask how much it cost. He just put the pot down calmly, took out a small bag from his arms and handed it to Gu Tang.
"These are the raw dragon teeth and thorn bushes you requested. There aren't many left in the medicine shop. I heard you wanted to use them for making soup, and the shopkeeper said these are enough for you to make soup."
Gu Tang took it with a happy face: "That's enough! You've worked hard, Dad. Eat more later. The chicken soup made with raw dragon teeth and spiny vines is very soothing and suitable for today."
Calming down the nerves...
Gu Lianshan nodded. Indeed, their whole family was frightened today when they encountered kidnappers. They had to calm down and reassure themselves.
"Okay, I'll leave today's meal to you. Dad will go to the main hall to talk to your grandfather."
Gu Tang waved at him and told him to just go ahead. She would definitely show off her cooking skills for this soup today, as she often drank it when she was a child.
Seeing his father left without saying anything, Gu Pingan was confused: "Why didn't Dad ask you about the price? This is not like Dad's character."
"I guess out of sight, out of mind; out of hearing, out of heart."
Gu Ping'an: ...Are you trying to cover up your mistakes and steal the bell?
"I got this medicinal soup in exchange for the herbs from a herbalist. Now I'm going to start stewing the soup. You have to watch carefully and write down every step. If you want to stew this soup again in the future, you'll have to do it yourself."
Gu Tang stared at him seriously and told him to look carefully.
Gu Pingan calmed down and nodded quickly: "I will definitely write it down carefully!"
That's good.
Taking out a large bowl, Gu Tang put the raw dragon teeth in the bowl and soaked them in water. Then he cleaned the casserole, added water, put the chicken pieces in, added ginger slices and two spoons of wine and blanched them.
While the vegetables are blanching, crush the Echinops tangutica and Ziziphus jujuba seeds, put them into a small original colored hemp bag, and set aside for later use.
The water in the casserole was boiling and bubbling. Gu Tang stirred it twice with a wooden spoon and waited for a while. Then he took out the chicken pieces, washed them, and set them aside for later use.
After finishing all this, she looked at the raw dragon teeth, poked them with chopsticks, and found that they were not soft enough, so she had to wait a little longer.
"Raw dragon teeth are hard. They need to be soaked for fifteen minutes before stewing into soup." Gu Tang handed the chopsticks to Gu Ping'an and asked him to poke them.
Gu Ping'an was very curious. He took the chopsticks and poked it several times. It was slightly soft, but still hard overall.
After two quarters of an hour, the raw dragon tooth became much softer. This time, Gu Tang asked Gu Ping'an to wash his hands and let him pinch it to feel the softness and hardness himself.
"Just soak it to this extent. Remember?"
"Remember." Gu Ping'an nodded.
Gu Tang took out the soaked raw dragon teeth and put them into a casserole, then added water and boiled the raw dragon teeth separately.
"If you use a low fire, boil it for 25 minutes. If you use a high fire, 15 minutes will be enough. Take the medicine juice and set it aside."
Gu Ping'an followed closely beside Gu Tang, repeating silently what Gu Tang said.
After a while, the raw dragon tooth medicinal juice was cooked.
Take out the boiled raw dragon teeth and keep the medicinal juice. Then put the chicken, the bag of Echinops and Ziziphus jujuba seeds, lotus seeds with cores, ginger, red dates, etc. into the casserole one by one.
Finally heat the water.
"Remember, you must add hot water! After adding the water, bring it to a boil over high heat. When the soup boils, turn to low heat and simmer for more than half an hour. The longest time should not exceed one hour. When you eat it, just add salt."
"Oh!" Gu Ping'an responded and silently repeated what Gu Tang said from beginning to end to make sure he didn't miss or remember it wrong.
The brother and sister kept watching over the casserole. After it had been simmering for half an hour, Gu Tang took two small bowls, scooped half a spoonful of soup into each bowl, added a little bit of salt, and asked Gu Ping'an to taste it with her.
It was the first time that Gu Ping'an ate this soup and he thought it tasted very good. When Gu Tang asked him about it, he just kept nodding his head and saying it was good and couldn't say anything else.
However, Gu Tang felt that it was not tasty enough, so he covered the pot and continued to simmer.
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