When Old Mrs. Yang came out of the kitchen to greet her, she saw her little granddaughter winking at her, and the two of them exchanged words silently.
Little granddaughter: I know someone is coming to the village.
Mrs. Yang: What should Mr. Xie do?
Little granddaughter: I'll make arrangements.
So Mr. Xie stood in the yard and watched the Zhao girl use a small broom to help him clean the dust on his body. There were a group of dolls around him who were also doing this.
Naturally, no one could speak at this time, but it seemed very lively.
Xie Chen followed the dolls in circles, and then covered his mouth and nose like Zhao Yuanrang. The children in Fengxia Village nodded to him, meaning that he did the right thing.
Xie Chen only felt that the people in Fengxia Village were too honest. It was just that he did not reveal his identity in the city yesterday. Now he is not regarded as an official. He is only enthusiastic and less restrained. Xie Chen does not feel ignored, but is very
comfortable.
After getting clean, everyone fetched water to wash themselves. They all used cold water, but Mr. Xie didn't get any preferential treatment. Zhao Yuanrang washed his face and looked sideways at Xie Chen, who was standing next to him washing his face.
Zhao Yuan gave way: "Sir, is the water cold?"
Xie Chen nodded.
Zhao Yuanrang grinned: "Sir, your eyes will be bright after washing."
Xie Chen came from a poor family, but he was valued by a gentleman, who took him under his sect and taught him carefully, so that he could pass the imperial examination and enter the official career. He also washed himself with cold water before becoming an official, but he was not used to being served by others these years.
Xie Chen wiped his face with a towel, then looked at Zhao Yuanrang: "How many years have you been studying?"
Zhao Yuanrang smiled and said: "After I moved to Taozhou when I was studying seriously, I started learning after meeting my husband. Before, when I was at home, I just followed my father to read and write."
Xie Chen thought of Mr. Song. The children of the Zhao family were lucky enough to find such a teacher.
"However," Zhao Yuan gave way, "my sister is your true disciple. She forced us on to him. She said this is called adding head."
Xie Chen couldn't help but smile after hearing this. Who would do this to "add hair"? How much did Mr. Song like this female disciple before he agreed? He seemed frustrated and wanted to walk around casually, but ended up trapped in Fengxia Village and couldn't get out.
Already?
Xie Chen said: "What do you do on weekdays?"
Zhao Yuan gave way: "All the adults in the village went to work on the stockade, and I and the others also went. The rest of us, the younger ones, stayed in the village with my husband."
Xie Chen was a little surprised: "Everyone in the village went to the village?"
Zhao Yuanrang nodded: "My father and the others went to build a dung cellar, my mother and the others made needlework, and my mother and the others made some food to sell. My fourth uncle and Uncle Niu also made their own spinning wheels. We made fur coats a few days ago, and the people in the village were
If it’s not enough, all the emigrants from the surrounding villages are coming.”
When Xie Chen heard about the dung cellar, his heart brightened. Livestock were raised on the stockade, so the dung cellar was of course of great use. The women were good at needlework, so he could understand selling some food, but...
"Can you make a spinning wheel yourself?"
"Yes," Zhao Yuan conceded, "The spinning wheel is at Mr.'s home. Do you want to go and take a look?"
Xie Chen said: "Isn't Mr. Song not in the village? Isn't it good for us to go there like this?"
"It doesn't matter," Zhao Yuan conceded, "We often do this, sir, I won't blame you, just tell Grandpa Second and it will be fine."
Xie Chen really wanted to see the spinning wheel, so he was pulled out of the house by Zhao Yuanrang.
The meal has not yet been prepared, and the female relatives in the village are still preparing for it. When Xie Chen arrived at the courtyard, he found that the people in Fengxia Village were still doing their own things. When they saw him, they just smiled without much courtesy. This atmosphere made people wonder.
I blended in without realizing it.
However, Xie Chen still found the Zhao girl entering the kitchen holding two cups of tea.
Logically speaking, even drinking tea in a farmer's house shouldn't be like this. Is it possible that the Zhao family still has guests? Xie Chen was thinking about it when he saw the kitchen curtain being lifted, and a figure standing at the door looking towards him.
"Sir, let's go quickly!"
Zhao Yuanrang's voice came, and Mr. Xie looked away.
"Just go from here," Zhao Yuanrang pointed to a gap in the corner, "We usually go to your husband's house like this."
Xie Chen didn't know what to say. Instead of going through the main entrance, go through a hole? It's really...convenient. It seems like there are two houses, but what's the difference between them and one house?
Xie Chen thought about walking through the hole in the wall.
…
In the kitchen.
Mrs. Bai kept raising the curtain and watching until Xie Chen's figure disappeared. After not seeing each other for several years, Xie Chen seemed to have aged a lot. Back then, he and Jiang Wei looked very high-spirited.
"Mama Bai," Zhao Luoyang said, "my brother has taken her away. If you want to go back to the village, it's best to leave now."
Mrs. Bai understood what Zhao Luoyang meant. People from the village didn't come out often because they were afraid of causing trouble, especially court officials like Xie Chen.
The fact that the girl from the Zhao family can think of this shows that she knows a lot about the relationship between the village and the government office.
Mrs. Bai looked at the steaming cauldron with fragrant aroma: "I haven't eaten the rice yet, so don't leave in a hurry."
Zhao Luoyang smiled: "Okay, then I will send you and the clan leader away after you finish eating."
Mrs. Bai nodded: "However, if I am here, I may also cause trouble to the village."
Zhao Luoyang didn't care: "If we were afraid of trouble, we would not go to the village to find work from the beginning."
Zhao Luoyang spoke clearly. Mrs. Bai looked at her for a moment, nodded and said, "That's right."
Mrs. Bai continued to return to the stove to add firewood, and Zhao Luoyang didn't stop her. Mrs. Yang didn't care even more, and kept talking to Mrs. Bai about home affairs.
Zhao Luoyang pulled out some hot ashes from the stove, buried the eggs in his arms, and then took out a small tile and placed a handful of beans on it.
Mrs. Bai looked down.
Old Mrs. Yang said: "She just likes to tinker with these things. All the children in the village like to hang around her, knowing that she has delicious food here."
In fact, the beans are not delicious, and the eggs are probably roasted because she is here. Mrs. Bai looked at Zhao Luoyang while thinking about it, and found that Zhao Luoyang had taken another small iron pot and put it on the clay stove.
The charcoal fire in the clay oven had gone out, and there was only residual warmth. Zhao Luoyang picked up a piece of cheese and put it into a small pot, then handed Mrs. Bai a few pieces of dried meat she had heated.
"When the cheese melts a little, put it on the dried meat and eat it," Zhao Luoyang said, "it's very fragrant."
Mrs. Yang took a look and laughed out loud: "I usually put the pottery bowl on the charcoal fire to heat her cheese. I don't know how many bowls I burned. Fortunately, I found a small pot at Mr. Song's place."
Mrs. Bai followed Zhao Luoyang's example, picked up some warmed cheese, put it on the dried meat, and took a bite.
The meat is crispy and fragrant with a layer of tender cheese, making it even more delicious after chewing.
Mrs. Bai finished all the dried meat in her hand, and then looked at Zhao Luoyang: "The village is a place with a lot of milk, why don't you eat this?"
Zhao Luoyang said: "I like to tinker with food. I didn't have cheese at home before, but now that I have it, I want to eat more deliciously. Otherwise, I will be busy all day doing something."
Mrs. Yang listened to her granddaughter's words and said, "Go ahead."
Mrs. Bai leaned back, feeling a little more relaxed: "Eating well, drinking well, and living comfortably are the real skills." She looked at Zhao Luoyang, and suddenly understood why she liked this girl.
She has seen many smart people, but it is rare for Zhao Luoyang to be so unabashed and have a sense of freedom and ease. From the bottom of her heart, she envies Zhao Luoyang.
The fragrant smell of roasted beans comes out. A handful of humble beans, at such times, can fill people's hearts with fragrance.
So what she lacked these past few years was nothing else but the smell of fireworks. If she was a little hesitant just now about whether to stay and see Xie Chen, now she didn't want to leave at all.
Zhao Luoyang looked at Mrs. Bai who was deep in thought and continued to wrap the cheese on the dried meat. Shi Jiu's voice came in his mind: "I want to eat it too."
"Okay," Zhao Luoyang said, "I'll keep it for you."
After speaking, Zhao Luoyang broke the dried meat, gave her milk with one piece, and ate the other piece into her stomach.
Shi Jiu said: "Aren't you keeping it for me?"
"Well," Zhao Luoyang said, "stay in my belly."
Shi Jiu also laughed, and something suddenly came to his mind. He lowered his eyes and his cheeks warmed unknownly.
…
In the west room of Mr. Song’s courtyard.
Xie Chen looked at the loom in front of him and the picture in his hand with a surprised look on his face.
He never expected that a Fengxia villager could make such a thing and draw it so carefully.
What kind of person is Mr. Song? He has such a talent?