He pretended to be calm, and Jiang Miao nodded doubtfully.
"Thank you, sir. There is a lot of ash here. Please go inside and don't get choked."
"Need not."
Want to stay with you...
Shen Yanqing swallowed back the rest of his words and could still feel the softness of the woman's cheek as he rubbed it with his fingertips.
Jiang Miao didn't care about him. The extraction was at the last step. The iron pot she bought heated up quickly, and the extracted floral water had no impurities. Soon a pot of rose water was ready. Jiang Miao added beeswax to it. Go in, mix and solidify.
Shen Yanqing watched the crystal clear fragrant beads being born in Jiang Miao's hands. The faint scent of roses floated over, and a strange movement flashed in his eyes.
Jiang Miao didn't want to hide the matter of making fragrant beads from him. Fragrant beads are women's things. Shen Yanqing may not know what she is doing, and may think that she is messing around. It doesn't matter if he knows, as he happens to make money for himself. After explaining that she had been spending a lot of money recently, Shen Yanqing must have doubted where the money came from.
Shen Yanqing did have doubts, but he thought Jiang Miao was making sachets. After all, the embroidery skills in Xu Ziwen's hands were exactly the same as those given to him by Jiang Miao. According to Xu Ziwen, a sachet cost two hundred coins. To catch up with him I copied twenty books.
Jiang Miao was more powerful than she thought. Although he knew very little about spices, the fragrant beads made by Jiang Miao were round and translucent. They were extraordinary. This craft was only available to aristocratic families in the capital.
Could it be that Jiang Miao was also from the capital before?
Shen Yanqing's eyelashes fluttered and his eyebrows were lowered. For the first time, he had doubts about Jiang Miao's identity.
"alright!"
Three pots of fragrant beads were ready, and Jiang Miao put them into the boxes one by one. These were enough for Jinxiu Pavilion to sell for two months. She could make them more slowly in the future.
"Hiss!" Just as she was about to stand up, she found that her feet were numb from squatting. Her arms were supported by the man, and Jiang Miao stumbled twice to stand still.
"Thank you, sir," she smiled, her eyes sparkling, and she didn't notice the complexity in Shen Yanqing's eyes.
"No, where to put these?" He put away the pot and stove and asked Jiang Miao.
"Just pile it up in the corner."
The two of them packed up and went to the front yard. The big house had come back. Boss Shen had a sullen face, Mrs. Zhang's face didn't look good either, and Mrs. Wang's eyes flickered, showing a bit of panic.
"Mom, brother and sister-in-law, what's going on?"
"The pigs in several surrounding towns have been confiscated. Our business cannot be done!"
Mrs. Zhang said sharply.
"I don't know anyone who has received a thousand cuts and cooked like ours, without even leaving a trace of a pig in the water."
"Mom, maybe a few stalls happen to be sold out. When Da Lang goes to a distant town, there will definitely be some."
Wang's mouth was bitter and she tried to persuade her in a low voice.
She is now hoping that Dalang can buy a pig to sewer, otherwise the old Shen family's business will be completely cut off.
Her brother wants her life!
…
"There are two paintings left in Wutong Town. The price was two cents higher, so I bought them both."
Shen Dalang was so hot that he was covered in sweat. He picked up cold water and poured it into his mouth. Wutong Town was thirty miles away from Qingquan Village. He ran through several towns and his legs were almost broken.
Mrs. Wang used a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, her hands trembling a little.
She knew that her brother had indeed bought the pig-laying fruit. Wutong Town was further away from Wangjia Village, so Wang Erzhu missed it.
How dare he! He promised well at the beginning that he would not delay the Shen family's business, but he...
Wang's heart felt so cold.
"Okay, just buy it." Mrs. Zhang's face softened and she called Jiang Miao and Mrs. Xu into the kitchen.
What Shen Erlang bought was hind leg meat. Two pounds looked like a lot of meat, but only a few pieces were given to each person.
Cut Jiang Miao into small pieces, boil the blood to remove the fishy smell, add rock sugar in the pot and stir-fry until the sugar color turns white.
Mrs. Zhang no longer cares about sugar and oil. She is surprised to see them. She has never seen so many ways to cook in her entire life.
After the sugar color is fried, Jiang Miao pours the meat in and stir-fries until it gets brown, then adds a bowl of marinade, and the flavor comes out.
"It smells so good!" Mrs. Xu was lighting a fire on the stove, and the scent kept drifting towards her, making her stomach rumble with hunger.
She had to grab two more pieces of this braised pork for lunch.
Taking advantage of the time when the meat was stewed, Jiang Miao picked two more cucumbers from the vegetable garden to make cold salad. Meat alone would make you feel tired, but green vegetables were appetizing and refreshing.
"Mom, let's have rice for lunch." She had never eaten it before in ancient times. Braised gravy with rice made Jiang Miao a little greedy.
"Do we still have enough rice?"
The Shen family usually only has two handfuls of porridge for breakfast, and there is never much rice at home.
"I bought it in town yesterday."
"Then you mix two handfuls of brown rice into it." Rice in the town costs three cents per pound, and brown rice costs one cent. All the rice grown by the Shen family was sold to the town and exchanged for brown rice.
Mrs. Zhang's flesh aches. White rice is so expensive. The dozen or so members of her family can make half a bag in one meal. Who can afford it?
"Hey." Jiang Miao agreed, but she still put in a little bit of brown rice. Anyway, she now has money and will buy more when she goes to town next time.
Fragrant rice, fat but not greasy pork belly, crisp and refreshing cucumber, and a bowl of egg drop soup, Shen Erlang's stomach is full after eating.
"It would be great if my uncle came home every day."
The speaker is unintentional, but the listener is intentional. Shen Yanqing's eyes moved slightly. He also wanted to come back every day, if he could be with Miao Ya every day...
Shen Yanqing clenched her chopsticks tightly, her eyes brightening astonishingly.
Jiang Miao was thinking a little too much. She remembered that Shen Yanqing went home to study after Father Shen broke his leg in the book, and therefore missed the admission to the Confucian Academy. Later, Father Shen passed away, and Shen Yanqing observed filial piety as a rule, delaying three years of studying. He was admitted to the top of the imperial examination at the age of 18. Although he later became the first minister of the imperial examination, he still felt aggrieved about missing the opportunity to become a great scholar.
She bit her chopsticks in thought, and was knocked on the head.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm wondering if we should move to the town." Jiang Miao blurted out what was in her heart as her mind heated up.
"A big house in the town costs hundreds of taels of silver. Food and accommodation are free. If the third family wants to go to the town, it's better to dream faster."
Mrs. Xu chewed the meat and laughed at Jiang Miao's whims.
No one in the Shen family wants to go to the town and transform from a mud-legged person to a city dweller. This is their dream.
But no one can afford a hundred taels of silver. Although they are earning more money now than before, the third child has not saved enough money to take the exam next year. According to the rate they are making money, they are still far away from buying a house.
Unless Lao San becomes an official, they can leave with him.
"I'm just talking casually..." Jiang Miao laughed and laughed.
How can the Shen family make money quickly? Jiang Miao was worried. Counting the days, it was almost time for the great scholar to come.
Mrs. Wang was absent-minded for a long time. She almost broke the bowl while helping to clean it up. Fortunately, Mrs. Zhang caught it quickly with her quick eyesight and hands.
"You are seeking death. Each one of them will cause trouble. I threw the bowl because I wanted to starve you to death!"
Mrs. Zhang cursed loudly. Ms. Wang was already feeling guilty, but now her face turned pale. She pinched the corners of her clothes, slurred at the corners of her mouth, and mustered up some courage.
"Mom, I want to go out in the afternoon..."
Mrs. Zhang's eyes widened and she asked, "Why are you going?"
