The fisherman girl in Jingchai's cloth skirt wiped the tables and chairs quickly with her hands and feet. Her indigo cloth skirt was starched and clean. She had black hair like clouds, skin like cream, and a pair of big eyes on her oval face that flickered like stars in the night sky.
, although she is dressed as a fisherman's girl, her movements are light and elegant, she does not look like a fisherman's girl from a small fishing village, but more like a lady from an official family.
The three people looked at the fisher girl with different expressions. Liu Ziguang had never seen any beauties except the Peng sisters since he came to this world. Now that he suddenly saw such an outstanding beauty, he couldn't help but stare at the fisher girl's graceful figure unscrupulously.
He kept looking at him until the eldest lady gave him a fierce look before he stopped.
Although Peng Jinrong has been to many places and has met many ladies, including Xiaojiabiyu, this is the first time she has seen such a fresh and refined girl. If she were to be put into palace clothes, she would probably not be as good as the royal princess and princess.
Not much different, the combination of this blue and indigo sarong and the scenery by the Yanyu Lake is full of charm, the people and the scenery blend together, making it look like the person in the painting.
Peng Jingwei was more straightforward. When she saw that the girl was about the same age as herself, she asked: "Little sister, what's your name? Are there a lot of snails here?" As soon as the eldest lady heard this, she knew that this girl was talking nonsense. The next sentence
You must ask people if the snails have changed.
The fisherman girl smiled slightly and replied calmly and generously: "My name is Zeng Cheng. I have heard the story of the snail girl, but I am not as diligent as the snail girl." Her voice was as clear and sweet as an oriole, and it was pure Mandarin.
What a generous and smart girl, everyone thought to themselves.
A middle-aged woman's voice came from the thatched house: "Cheng'er, come and help me pull the bellows." The girl said "Hey", smiled at the three of them, turned around and walked into the thatched house.
Peng Jingwei stretched out her little hand and waved it in front of Liu Ziguang's eyes, and asked: "What, are you stupid? He has already left." Liu Ziguang felt a little embarrassed and quickly looked away from the door of the thatched hut. Just as the captain came out of the thatched hut to greet him
He relieved the siege, and everyone asked the captain to tell him about the mother and daughter.
While waiting for the meal, the captain told everyone about the origins of the mother and daughter. It turned out that the mother of the little girl was the concubine of a wealthy family in Beijing. After the Qing Dynasty invaded the country, the wealthy families in the north moved south one after another, leaving them homeless in chaos.
When we arrived at Hongze Lake, our youngest daughter was a concubine, so she took her with her. The orphaned and widowed mother was taken in by an old fisherman couple, who taught the woman the skill of making a small fish pot. Later, the fishermen couple passed away and left their mother with her.
Next to a thatched hut, there is a small boat. The mother and daughter make a living by fishing and collecting lotus on weekdays. Occasionally they cook a small fish pot meal for passing boat passengers, but they never charge money and are only willing to accept some rice. Because their daughter is pregnant
She is so beautiful that the local gangsters often come over to tease her when they have nothing to do. Fortunately, the boatmen nearby get along very well with the mother and daughter, and they always help her when encountering difficulties. Recently, this woman fell seriously ill.
They almost died, but some kind-hearted person lent them a few taels of silver to give them medicine to survive. Having said this, the captain sighed, "It's not easy for orphans and widowed mothers, and it's even harder for orphans and widowed mothers who are a little bit pretty.
.”
It turns out that she comes from a wealthy family in the north. No wonder this girl has such an outstanding temperament. She must have learned it from her mother since she was a child. Everyone seems to understand a little bit.
Liu Ziguang asked curiously: "Then why don't they open a restaurant specializing in small fish pots?" According to his thinking, local specialties should have great development prospects.
"General Liu, you don't know something. Although there are some cargo ships passing by here, most of the sailors eat on the ships. There are not many people like us who come here specially to eat small fish pots. Naturally, dignitaries will not condescend to eat like this.
Even if you open a restaurant with country food, you won't get much business, not to mention that this mother and daughter don't want to show off, so there is absolutely no way they can do such a thing."
"Then let's give them some more money later," the second lady said.
"I'm afraid they won't want it. Regardless of their poverty, the integrity of this mother and daughter is still very admirable. It is said that in the early years, a wealthy family in the village wanted to take this mother-in-law's house as his concubine. Logically speaking, this is not considered a breach of integrity.
Who knows you if you are not familiar with the place? But this woman refuses to give in. She would rather live a wandering life than live a life of worry-free life as a concubine. Let’s just say that recently, there are big families in the city.
The young master of the family fell in love with this daughter and gave her a betrothal gift of five hundred taels to marry her as a child. But five hundred taels of silver, people on the lake would never see that much money in their lives, and besides, the woman was still ill.
, urgently need money, but guess what they said, they insist that they don’t dare to climb high because they don’t have this blessing. People from small families are quite good at talking. It is said that when a young master from the Ma family marries a fisherman’s daughter, he is looking down on them, but they would rather die of illness.
She also refuses to marry into the Ma family, as if she has a grudge against Qianzi."
The captain shook his head and clucked his tongue repeatedly, expressing how unbelievable it was. Peng Jingrong said: "It's called food that doesn't come without complaint. Of course you can't take the money given by others. It seems that this woman has also read poetry and books, and she doesn't want to
Marrying a daughter is even more understandable, what is the difference between that and selling a daughter."
Liu Ziguang was very surprised and said: "You ancient people... I mean, we Ming people, don't we put filial piety first? In order to cure my mother's illness, marrying that young master seems to be worthy of everyone's approval.
.”
"That's wrong. If you go against your mother's will and marry someone else for money, that would be true unfilial piety." Peng Jingrong curled her lips and answered.
"That's right, the young master who wants to marry her must not be a good person after marrying so many wives. If he marries her and angers her mother to death, it would be better to die of illness." Peng Jingwei also followed suit.
While several people were talking, the small fish pot had been prepared and was put directly into the iron pot and brought out. The white fish soup was as thick as milk, and a dozen small pancakes were placed around the edge of the pot.
The fresh fragrance came to my nose. The fisherman girl Zeng Cheng put the pot on the table, and placed a small celadon plate, a pair of bamboo chopsticks, and a small porcelain spoon in front of everyone. She said with a smile: "Miss Young Master, please be patient."
Use." After saying that, he went aside to do his own business and did not serve their meals.
There was a difference between master and servant, so the captain did not dare to eat at the same table as the eldest lady and the others. After refusing for a long time, he reluctantly sat down at the bottom. The four of them began to taste the legendary small fish pot. They used chopsticks to gently pick up a little fish and put it in their mouths.
Tender and refreshing, it melts in your mouth. Take a spoon and scoop out a spoonful of milky white soup. Savor it carefully, and you will have endless aftertaste. The fragrance is left on your teeth and cheeks. Take off a small pancake and chew it. The upper part of the pot is as thin as cicada wings.
, it feels crunchy, fresh, and crispy when chewed in your mouth. The lower part has been soaked in fish soup, giving it a different flavor.
The four of them sat around the steaming small dining table and enjoyed the beautiful small fish pot. The so-called fish is only as big as a thumb. Such a small fish is not worth a few pennies, but it is cooked into such delicious food. The heat is controlled.
It was so perfectly cooked, it was really breathtaking, and the four of us were full of praises while eating.
After a while, the pot of small fish collapsed and was eaten by four people. The two girls were not big eaters and didn't eat much. Although the captain was a strong man, he didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of the young lady, so he just ate symbolically.
Some, so most of this pot of delicious food was eaten by Liu Ziguang.
At this time, the rain also stopped, the sky showed a bright blue, and the trees and wild grass washed by the drizzle looked green. Liu Ziguang took out his wallet and wanted to take out some silver and put it on the table, but the captain dissuaded him again.
"They really don't accept money. They are only willing to accept some rice, flour, oil and salt. If the general insists on giving money, I'm afraid the mother and daughter will be unhappy. Besides, the villain has already given me a bag of flour and a cage of fish. Let's talk about rice.
The capital is enough, so don’t bother the general and spend the money." The captain advised.
"We really have a grudge against Yinzi. Then let's send someone a few bags of rice and two jars of Huai salt later to express our gratitude." Liu Ziguang said as he put away his purse, feeling very puzzled in his heart. He looked to see if it was there.
Zeng Cheng, who was washing clothes in the distance, thought to himself: Does collecting money mean something that makes them uncomfortable?
The Peng sisters were also full of wonder. Is there really someone in this world who has trouble getting along with money? Peng Jingwei smiled secretly and said to herself: I don’t believe it...
At this time, the sky cleared up, and bright blue emerged from the gaps in the clouds. The trees and weeds washed by the drizzle were all green, and the scenery by the lake was quite pleasant. The four of them got up, picked up the oil-paper umbrellas, and prepared to go back.
The captain shouted to the thatched hut: "Madam Zeng, we are leaving, we are disturbing you." The woman did not come out to see her off, but just responded: "Guest, please go away slowly."
Hearing that the four of them were about to leave, Zeng Cheng put down his clothes and came over to clean up the dishes. He politely saluted and said, "Guests, please go slowly. Be careful that the road is slippery after the rain. My little lady will not send you off."
The four of them returned the favor and turned around.
He hadn't walked twenty steps when he heard rapid footsteps behind him and a clear oriole-like cry: "Guests, you have dropped something." Looking back, it turned out that it was Zeng Cheng who was chasing after him.
Everyone stopped, Zeng Cheng chased after her, holding a small gold ingot in her hand, and said directly to Peng Jingwei: "Miss, I picked this up from your seat. Please take away such a valuable thing."
good."
Under the gaze of everyone, Peng Jingwei, who saw through the little trick, put away the small gold ingot and said thank you.
Watching Zeng Cheng leave, Liu Ziguang sighed with emotion: "I really regard money as dirt. A piece of gold may be exchanged for dozens of taels of silver. A gentleman will not bully the darkroom. This little girl is very honest, not bad."
"Well, I believe it this time. This girl is prettier than her sister if she doesn't wear good clothes or dress up. She's only a little bit worse than me. She has such a good character. I'll give them two more bags of rice later. It's my fault.
Sent."
While everyone was talking and walking, several horses came running towards them. Although they were small Sichuan horses, the riders on the horses were very majestic. They wore red pompoms on their soft hats and black costumes, and they beat the horses like flying.
He usually ran past the four of them, and the mud from the horse's hooves splashed all over them.
The second lady was furious and cursed at the rider's back: "You slaves who have suffered from the plague, hurry up and be reincarnated!" The captain looked at the horses and said, "Hey, these seem to be the servants of the rich Ma family. They must be the servants of the rich Ma family.
Went with the Zeng family’s mother and daughter.”
Liu Ziguang was already angry because he had mud splattered on his body, and when he heard that he was a slave of the Ma family who wanted to forcibly marry a commoner's daughter, he became even more angry. He called to everyone: "Let's go back and take a look."