Chapter 18 Chapter 18 Why not help me (Catching Bugs)
The people of Li County had a good New Year this year, and the trading market became lively.
Gong Jingxiu's family has a family business of slaughtering pigs and meat. Even if she is a girl, she can slaughter meat with ease.
Gong Jingxiu discovered that business had been much better since Princess Anping came to Li County. In the past two days, there had been long queues at the butcher shop.
The lard was sold out first, and people bought it back and made it into lard, which was also delicious when used to stir-fry vegetarian dishes.
Gong Jingxiu couldn't help but sigh. If it had been during last year's Chinese New Year, who would have thought that so many people would buy meat from the butcher's stall in one day.
Wang Ying is Gong Jingxiu's old customer.
Gong Jingxiu knew that Wang Ying was the cook in the county lord's mansion, but Wang Ying was often called Wang Shiyi by the servants and maids who followed her, so Gong Jingxiu followed suit.
"Doctor Wang, what kind of meat would you like to choose today?" Gong Jingxiu smiled generously, and her round face looked particularly friendly.
Wang Ying carried a basket and asked, "Do you have any ribs or pork belly?"
Gong Jingxiu quickly took out a piece of top-notch pork ribs from under the stall, and Wang Ying picked out a piece of pork belly with alternating fat and lean meat.
Wang Ying doesn’t usually go out to buy things herself, but Lin Si was craving for roasted meat today.
Wang Ying lamented that roasted meat can only be made with mutton to be authentic. However, after arriving in Li County, he thought of Lin Si who had never eaten mutton and had only eaten pork every day, so he went out to select it himself.
As soon as Wang Ying left, Carpenter Sun from Shuijing Lane came to buy meat. Gong Jingxiu knew that Carpenter Sun was the only carpenter in Li County. The previous incident with farm tools almost exhausted Carpenter Sun and his apprentice to death.
Sun Chang was in a good mood and also picked a piece of pork belly.
Gong Jingxiu recalled some rumors she had heard a few days ago and chatted with Sun Chang, "Master Sun, I heard that there's a family in Shuijing Lane who didn't want a kang. How can they withstand such cold weather?"
Speaking of this, Sun Chang's expression changed and he shook his head slightly. "Yesterday, the whole alley was knocked on by that family, but no one opened the door."
Gong Jingxiu loved listening to these gossips, and she immediately became excited: "Yesterday was New Year's Eve, and they had the nerve to knock on my door?"
"What's there to be embarrassed about? I guess he wants to have a free meal with his child." Sun Chang looked helpless.
"Is this how you save that little bit of money on bricks?" Gong Jingxiu asked curiously.
"He must be planning to sleep at a neighbor's house." Sun Chang honestly expressed his guess.
"How shameless..." Gong Jingxiu probably knew which family they were from. Every time they came to buy meat, they always wanted to steal the leftovers from her.
Gong Jingxiu laughed even more brightly after hearing the gossip, and happily handed the meat to Sun Chang.
As lunchtime approached, fewer people came to buy meat. The man selling mountain rabbits also set up a stall next to Gong Jingxiu. He neither shouted nor called out, looking very confident.
At first, Gong Jingxiu didn't think much of it. She thought that rabbits have little meat and are not tasty. People with some money would definitely buy pork, not mountain rabbit.
As a result, the butcher's business was not very good at that time, and Gong Jingxiu watched helplessly as all the rabbits were bought out without even asking for the price.
Then on the second day and the day after, whenever rabbits were sold, they would be bought by someone, and the buyers would buy them without any hesitation.
Someone even came up to ask, "Excuse me, ma'am, where's the rabbit seller next door?"
Gong Jingxiu shook her head and said that the mountain rabbits were caught in the suburban fields, and if they couldn't catch any, they wouldn't sell them.
After hearing this, the man returned disappointed and asked, "Why can't we catch it?"
Gong Jingxiu thought about it over and over again, but couldn't figure out who in the entire Li County was so generous as to buy so many rabbits without blinking an eye.
But now I think about it, I’m afraid it was bought by the county princess. Could it be that the county princess loves rabbit meat?
Gong Jingxiu yawned and looked at several neatly dressed young men and women standing in front of the mountain rabbit stall.
She had no idea where these young men and women came from. Were they from Li County?
The children in the manor all received New Year's money, so they were given a day off today and allowed to go out for a walk.
Cong Yiner pointed at the rabbit on the stall: "It's a rabbit!"
Guo Zi nodded, "It's a rabbit."
Guo Han: "It really is a rabbit."
Zhong Diyan said helplessly: "What's so good about rabbits? It's a rare day off, don't waste it looking at rabbits."
Guo Han finally came to his senses: "That's right, let's go shopping again."
Just as the four were about to leave, they saw a slender figure quickly swaying in front of the mountain rabbit stall.
The speed was so fast that Zhong Diyan couldn't react.
Zhu Shixi also got a day off today, but she didn't want to go out at all. She just wanted to stay in the county lord's mansion to read books and do autopsies.
In the end, Lin Si forced her to go out and gave her a bag of money, which she had to spend.
Zhu Shixi walked around left and right, and was not interested in the hair ornaments, the headbands, or Mahora. However, she was interested in the young lady selling the headbands because the blood vessels on the back of her hand were particularly well developed.
Zhu Shixi looked at the copper coins in his pocket and was wondering what to buy to spend them all.
I didn’t expect to see someone selling rabbits!
After Guo Zi saw the appearance of the person coming, he said, "Wish...Wish Madam."
Zhu Shixi smiled kindly at the four children and said, "It's you."
Zhong Diyan: .....The desire for the rabbit in her eyes could hardly be hidden.
Zhu Shixi bought all the rabbits in front of Gong Jingxiu and four other children.
Gong Jingxiu, who witnessed the whole process, scratched her head in confusion. Why were there so many people she didn't know in Li County recently? Also, the way this young lady looked at the rabbit was so strange.
Zhu Shixi bought the rabbit and left with satisfaction. Now that his money was all spent, he could go back to reading.
Zhong Diyan and the other three said goodbye to Zhu Shixi and continued to stroll around slowly.
Zhong Diyan didn't want to buy anything. Since they came to Li County, they had never left the manor. Zhong Diyan's purpose was not to buy things, but to go out for a stroll.
As for the other three people, holding ten cents in their hands, they liked this and that.
The three people stood at the stall selling Mahora, their eyes wide open.
The Mahārāja from Li County was not painted and was not very delicate, but such a small clay figurine was enough to attract the attention of three children who had never played with toys.
The stall owner saw that the children were neatly dressed and had rosy complexions, and there were no adults around, so he asked for five cents each.
Zhong Diyan held down Guo Zi's hand that was about to pay, "Two cents, if you don't sell it, we'll leave."
In Jiangzhou, even a painted Mahora cost only two coins each.
"This young man is quite understanding. Two cents is fine."
These little clay figures all have a hole underneath, which can be picked up by inserting a needle. The three children took them carefully and couldn't let go of them.
*
In fact, Lin Si has always been craving some modern delicacies, such as hot pot, fried chicken, and milk tea.
But unfortunately, none of this can be achieved in Dachen. First of all, there is no chili pepper in Dachen yet, and the spicy seasoning can only be made of dogwood. Fried chicken has to be coated with a layer of flour, and refined wheat flour was a luxury in ancient times. Moreover, there is no such advanced technology now.
Not to mention milk tea.
Where can we get fresh milk in Li County, a place as cold as this?
In the end, Lin Si had no choice but to settle for the second best and choose barbecue.
Lin Si knew that roasted meat was made with mutton, but she didn't care at all. She just said, "Pork is fine. Buy some pork belly and bring the stove over."
Wang Ying lowered her head with some distress, "I will go and select the pork myself."
The royal family of Dachen loves mutton. It is eaten at banquets and by royal relatives on a daily basis. As for pork, it is in an awkward situation where the upper class does not eat it and the lower class does not know how to cook it.
During the past few months since arriving in Li County, Lin Si hadn't eaten a single bite of mutton, so it was no wonder that Wang Ying was reminded of the past.
Roasting meat is somewhat similar to grilling meat, but the difference is that grilling meat is grilled and eaten immediately, while roasting meat is cooked and served.
It is inevitable that it is boring to eat alone, so Lin Si invited Zuo You and Liang Nian. Zuo You also took a day off with the children. It was a rare day off, and she was still a little uncomfortable with it.
Lin Si used a serving chopstick to flip the pork belly with even fat and lean parts, while talking to Zuo You about the midterm exam they mentioned last time.
Liang Nian silently followed Lin Si's instruction on how to eat it. He wrapped the roasted pork belly with lettuce and put it into his mouth. The pork belly was marinated with seasonings and roasted over charcoal fire, giving off a charred aroma. The lettuce was crispy, tender, and sweet, which neutralized the fat and greasiness of the pork belly.
Delicious, love it.
Zuo You knew that paper was expensive, but he couldn't help but ask, "The children haven't even learned to write properly yet, how can they pass the exam?"
Lin Si put a piece of roasted meat into Liang Nian's bowl, "So, they have to use paper to write after the New Year."
Zuo You was just about to reply that paper was expensive and that he could just buy cheap bamboo paper or hemp paper when he heard Lin Si speak.
“And I want to make my own paper.”
The meat that Liang Nian had just picked up fell into the bowl. She found that Lin Si had endless creative ideas, and they could always be realized.
Liang Nian patiently explained to Lin Si, "My Lady, you don't know that papermaking is a complicated process. Making paper yourself won't necessarily be cheaper than buying it."
Lin Si said jokingly, "But I just want to give it a try. Besides, many people in Li County might also want to find other jobs besides farming."
Speaking of papermaking, Lin Si really thought of a character in the original book who was not mentioned much but played a key role.
The protagonist Long Aotian’s first wife, Mo Jinglian, died early.
The relationship between Mo Jinglian and Zhuo Zhengchu can be summarized in one sentence: My virtuous wife helped me achieve my ambitions, but I simply forgot about my virtuous wife and gave her countless confidantes and concubines.
All the money Zhuo Zhengchu used to recruit soldiers in the early stage came from Mo Jinglian and the Mo family's papermaking industry. Without Mo Jinglian's early investment, Zhuo Zhengchu would have no chance of ascending the throne.
Zhuo Zhengchu took the money and said he was going out to make a living, and then he forgot Mo Jinglian on Tongchuan Road. When Zhuo Zhengchu remembered him and went back, Mo Jinglian had already died in the long loneliness and waiting.
Zhuo Zhengchu felt very guilty and regretful, and reburied Mo Jinglian according to the queen's etiquette.
To put it simply, they didn't remember the person when he was alive, and after he died, they pretended to be a good person and even dug up his grave.
Lin Si really wants to establish some relationship with Mo Jinglian. The male protagonist is the best. She wants to grab Zhuo Zhengchu's good opportunities and his history of making a fortune.
Instead of using money to help Zhuo Zhengchu, why not help her?
Sister Jinglian, I am different from those stinky men. I am a girl.
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