Song Qiu and old Yuan didn't know what the villagers were saying, and they went all the way to the door of Yuan's house.
Yuan Cheng, who was in the yard, saw the mule cart from afar, and hurriedly came out and opened the courtyard door, allowing the mule cart to be driven in. He also helped lead the mule cart to the backyard, where he fed the mules water and grass to rest.
Everyone else came out and called for help, and then they went to work. At noon today, there were no plans to sit at three big tables. Sister-in-law Xiang and Chen were busy working in the kitchen room with their daughters.
Xiang's sister-in-law also came to help prepare the food.
Yesterday I killed a big fat chicken and bought some meat and fish at the market.
The fact that the woman came back to visit the house should not be looked down upon.
The yard was neatly kept inside and out, and there wasn't even a weed in the vegetable garden.
Yuan Shuanzi and others all wore their best clothes and were neatly trimmed.
Lao Meng came out and invited Song Qiu and Lao Yuan to come into the hall to sit and talk.
In the main room, melon seeds, candies and fruits were all placed, the tables and benches were all polished, and there was not even a trace of residue on the floor.
Song Qiu found it very interesting to see such a prepared person. It was the first time for her to experience this woman coming to look after the house.
Old Yuan's married aunt came back today just to help support her popularity and look after the house, and she also wanted to see these relatives.
Mrs. Hu Yuan will also come back today, but the village is further down the mountain, so she probably hasn’t arrived so early.
Song Qiu sat for a while, hearing that her grandma and her uncle and grandma were having troubles with each other. Occasionally, Old Meng mentioned the two-part sentence. When she saw Yuan Sanping running in, grabbing a candy and running away, she took advantage of the situation and got up and followed him out.
.
Yuan Hua and Yuan Daping and Yuan Erping were rolling up their sleeves and killing fish at the well. Three big carps were so fat that one of them was scraping their gills so hard that they made a squeaking noise.
Song Qiu came over and joked, "Cousin, you are the protagonist today. How can I ask you to kill fish? If the fishy smell is on you, it will not be easy to serve the guests later!"
Yuan Erping was a stupid young man. When he heard this, he quickly grabbed the brush from Yuan Daping's hand, "My cousin is right! Brother, please stay aside. You are wearing new clothes today. It will get dirty."
It won’t be easy to meet people later.”
Yuan Daping blushed, but did not drop the brush in his hand.
Yuan Hua laughed and scolded his son, "You idiot! I didn't realize that your cousin was joking! Why are we farmers afraid of being dirty? When the woman comes to visit later, your brother will have to be more diligent.
The better! If you really don't do anything, other people won't think that this son-in-law is a lazy guy? How can they think highly of him?"
Yuan Erping was stunned when he heard this. He retracted his hand silently and glanced at Song Qiu sadly. That look in his eyes said, "Look at me, cousin, you are joking and getting scolded."
Song Qiu burst out laughing and hurriedly hid in the kitchen room.
In the kitchen house, Mrs. Xiang and Mrs. Chen saw her coming in. They greeted her and quickly told her to go back to the main room and sit down. There were a lot of fireworks in the kitchen house, so don't dirty your clothes.
It was just a piece of clothes, how could he be so squeamish, but Song Qiu didn't go inside, and just stood at the door, watching the busy work inside.
Seeing that she didn't leave, Xiang didn't say anything. In the past, when Auntie and the others came back, Aqiu would often go into the kitchen to help them with their work.
It's just that they feel it's different now, so they don't ask Aqiu to come to the kitchen to help.
But if Ah Qiu wants to keep it, just watch it.
It just so happened that she wanted to ask Aqiu how she made her boiled fish.
Originally, she bought three fish, intending to braise them like Chinese New Year, one for each table, but she also wanted to change it to something new and ask the woman to eat it as a novelty.
I'm afraid you can't eat this boiled fish anywhere except Aqiu's inn. The woman must have never seen it before!
"There are both tofu and cabbage. We couldn't bear to eat the jar of bean paste and a pack of dried chili peppers you brought last time. There are still plenty of them!" Xiang thought and asked Song Qiu for advice, "Ah.
Qiu, just open your mouth and teach us. You don’t have to do anything to avoid soiling your clothes."
Life at home is getting better now. Today is an important day. Yuan Shuanzi went to the market yesterday and was not stingy. He bought a lot of soy sauce, peppercorns, and soybean oil.
It has everything, so you don’t have to worry about cooking without any smell.
Boiled fish is not an unknown recipe. After the fish is killed and brought in, Song Qiu teaches Xiang and Chen how to separate the fish bones and meat, and fillet the fish to flavor it for later use.
It's still early now, so the fish should be eaten immediately after it's cooked. The fish will not be so tender if it's been left for a long time.
It will be ready to stir-fry in the pot later.
Xiang then braised the meat and stewed the chicken.
At this moment, there was another movement outside the courtyard. It was Mr. and Mrs. Hu and Yuan who came.
Also coming were Hu Yusheng and his wife.
They drove their own ox cart here.
We entered the main room together, and suddenly there were more people in the main room. They were lively and chatting and laughing, which was not common. It was rare to see them once, so naturally they had endless things to say.
Talk long and short, talk about children and grandchildren.
While talking, Hu Mengsheng’s marriage was brought up.
Hu Mengsheng is seventeen years old, two months older than Yuan Daping, and he is still the elder.
Speaking of this, Mrs. Hu Yuan became worried, "This boy, the eldest is not young anymore. He is as big as a man. Not to mention starting a family, he looks like he is hurrying and taking his time. He is so careless, what else can he say?
If he doesn’t want to ask for a wife, it’s said that Lao Hu’s family already has his eldest and second brothers passing on the incense, and it doesn’t matter whether he wants a wife or not!
Brother, sister-in-law, eldest sister, listen, is this what he should say? I was so angry that I scolded him, and he ran out. He was homeless for two days and went to the wild somewhere.
went!"
Everyone sitting here is more or less aware of Hu Mengsheng's temperament. He has been a playful person since he was a child. A few years ago, he often clamored to join the army and fight.
But now that the world is at peace, there is no war, no conscription, and there is nowhere he can go if he wants to, so he stopped.
Otherwise, Hu Changshan and his wife might be scared off.
Yuan Shuanzi advised, "You say you are seventeen, but you haven't decided yet. If you don't want a wife, you are still talking like a child. Why are you so anxious? You scolded the person, in case there is someone outside.
You will never regret it."
Old Meng also advised, "Didn't the eldest son of the Liu family at the end of the village complain that he didn't want a wife when it was time to get married? The couple of Liu family were so angry that they beat and scolded them, but it was useless.
Make him kneel down to wake him up. Look at it now, haven't you got your wife, son, and daughter? This is what he wants to ask for later, and he will be anxious if you don't ask for it for him!"
"Meng Sheng is still young and undecided. He says he doesn't want a wife. In two years, he won't think so anymore. Don't worry, you two. Even if you wait two or three years, Meng Sheng will still be twenty."
Well, if you can't be poor, why are you afraid that you won't be able to find a wife?"
Mrs. Hu Yuan was a little relieved after being persuaded like this. Her son had been running away for two days. How could a mother not be worried?
It's just that her mouth has always been tough, but she won't go down this slope.
Everyone knew her well and saw that she had listened, so they didn't say much more about it.
At the right time, there was movement at the door, but it was Xiang's maiden sister who acted as a mediator and brought the Wang family to the door.
Everyone immediately stopped talking, got up and went outside.