However, we have to wait until tomorrow to find the old scholar. The most important thing now is to try this braised pig's trotters.
After simmering for a whole morning, the hooves are already soft and rotten. When you take a bite, they are fat but not greasy. The soybeans inside absorb the soup and feel soft in your mouth, which just neutralizes the fat taste of the pig's trotters.
"Mom, please have another piece."
Zhuang Keqing picked up a piece of the hoof root. The skin there was thick and glutinous, making it more delicious than the tip.
"I'm too old to eat such greasy food. You guys can eat it."
Qin Manzhi refused.
"It's just a piece of meat. Don't push it around like this. I'll go to town to sell tofu in a few days and buy a few more."
After that, Zhuang Keqing put the meat into her mother's bowl and asked her to eat it.
A pig's trotter, chopped open, actually has only a few pieces. It looks like it's sticking out, but it's actually the bottom of the soybean pad. Zhuang Keqing gave Qin Manzhi two pieces, she ate one piece herself, and Shen Ling put one piece in her bowl. Now there's only one left. Two pieces.
Shen Ling didn't say anything. He left the pig's trotters in the bowl and ate the pancakes with vegetable soup and shredded radish. He didn't eat the last two pieces until he saw the mother and daughter sharing the last two pieces. .
After dinner and having free time in the afternoon, Zhuang Keqing went to the kitchen to get the big bones he bought yesterday and processed them. Shen Ling went into the room and read silently.
The pens, inks, paper and inkstones he bought were of the lowest quality, which were completely different from those used by Shen Wei, but Shen Ling didn't care about this.
He took a knife to cut the paper and poured some water on the inkstone. The rabbit brush had been soaked in warm water in advance and could be used after grinding the ink.
When everything was ready, Shen Ling sat at the table and picked up a pen.
The content of the first page of the book clearly appeared in his mind. He closed his eyes for a moment, waited for it to start, and then wrote the first word.
To him, the silent book is just a copy of the content. In the past, this thin book could be obtained in two or three days.
But now...
Shen Ling's fingers were slightly bent, and his pen-holding posture was far less free and easy than before. He tried hard to control the lifting, pause, hold, and licking of the pen tip, but after finishing a piece, the handwriting he wrote seemed weak and weak, and the lines were either ugly or ugly. It's vulgar and really unsightly.
The right hand holding the pen trembled slightly, and he unexpectedly felt a little depressed.
In the kitchen.
Zhuang Keqing simply blanched the big bones, added ginger slices and green onions, and cooked them. After thinking about it, he dug out some dried dates left over from the wedding, washed them and threw them into the pot.
We are a family of three, two are growing up and one is breastfeeding, so I have to take good care of them!
After a while, the bone soup in the pot began to boil. She turned to the stove and turned down the heat, then closed the lid and let it simmer slowly.
He scooped out the flour from the jar, added water and kneaded it into a dough. Zhuang Keqing directly used a basin to knead the flour, and then rolled it out after it was ready to wake up.
After finishing her work, she left the kitchen. The courtyard was quiet. Her mother had just taken Aman to take a nap. Where was Shen Ling? What was he doing?
She walked around the window next to the yard and peeked in.
Shen Ling is writing.
The young man was sitting at the table, with his back straight and his posture upright. His brows were furrowed, and his expression was a little solemn, as if he was fighting something. It was clearly early autumn, but his temples were covered with a thin layer of sweat.
What happened to him?
Zhuang Keqing was confused, but she didn't say anything and instead moved closer to the window.
Shen Ling struggled to finish writing two pages, but his hand could no longer hold the pen.
"Click".
The newly bought rabbit hair fell on the table, staining a page of Gang Mo's book.
"What a waste..."
Picking up the brush with his left hand and placing it on the inkstone, the boy picked up the paper stained by ink, sighed silently, and folded it again.
Zhuang Keqing looked carefully.
Sure enough, this hand...
Thinking of what the doctor once said, Zhuang Keqing felt a little guilty in his heart.
In fact, she didn't have to be like this. Shen Ling never thought that it was not worthwhile to exchange her life with one hand, but it was just a bit regretful.
But after all, Zhuang Keqing is not a person who complains all day long. Since her family Shen Ling has decided to take the exam, she must pass the writing test!
I don't know when Shen Ling was included in her protection. She was like a hen at this time, sticking her head out of the window and saying: "My right hand is not good, let's use my left hand! Don't worry, we will buy pens and ink at every market. Enough for you to practice!"
She spoke so boldly, but she didn't see how funny her posture was.
Zhuang Keqing suddenly appeared from outside the window. Shen Ling was stunned for a moment, then relaxed his eyebrows.
"No need to buy extra pens and paper, just polish a bright bluestone."
Boys and girls, from one window to another, talked about the "big thing" of how to practice calligraphy in an economical and practical way.
"I see, this method is very good. It only requires a slate, pen and water, and even the ink sticks are omitted."
Zhuang Keqing raised a big smile and said, "You are really diligent and thrifty."
When Shen Ling said this, she couldn't help but laughed.
At that moment, Zhuang Keqing felt as if the young man in front of her was not in a shabby room, but under a peach blossom tree, leaving her eyes full of gorgeous flowers.
As if she was bewitched, she reached out her hand and lightly touched Shen Ling's cheek.
It was warm and moist, just like him, exuding a jade-like temperament. His fingertips slid across the corners of his lips along the soft but not feminine lines, caressing slowly as if to retain the beauty of this moment.
If they weren't already married, Zhuang Keqing's behavior would have been called frivolous and shameless.
A trace of panic flashed across Shen Ling's face, and he leaned back slightly, avoiding the girl's touch without leaving a trace.
Just this subtle movement made Zhuang Keqing wake up and turn around.
Beauty is misleading?
This is the second time!
Not only did I look at it, I also touched it!
He didn't know whether it was shyness or embarrassment that was stirring in his heart. Zhuang Keqing simply shrank his head like an ostrich, laughed sarcastically, and ran away.
Now that the noodles are ready, it’s time to roll out the noodles. She said to herself.
For dinner, we had bone soup noodles. The thick white soup was slim, smooth and chewy. The blanched green vegetables were covered on top. They were crisp and tender, making you want to eat with your fingers.
But both young men were eating absentmindedly.
Seeing this, Qin Manzhi felt clear in her heart. She covered her lips and smiled. She didn't say anything and just ate her own food.
The second day.
Remembering to go to Lao Xiu's house, the whole family got up early.
The three of them simply ate a few pieces of noodles and pickles in the main room, picked up meat, sugar, and snacks and set off.
Yesterday, news spread throughout the village that the young couple from the banker's family brought heavy gifts to the village chief's house. However, today someone saw the family going out with gifts that were not as good as yesterday's. They immediately couldn't help but ask.
"Sister-in-law Qin, where are you going with your daughter and son-in-law? Are you leaving so early?"
Qin Manzhi didn't want to hide it either. Shen Ling already knew everything when he studied and participated in the scientific examination, so he told it openly.
"I'm going to visit the old scholar of Daxing Village. We, Shen Ling, want to ask about the academic examination."
Qin Manzhi said it frankly, but the people who heard it opened their mouths and didn't know how to reply.
"Auntie, if it's okay, we'll leave now."
Seeing that the person couldn't react, Zhuang Keqing directly handed him a step up the stairs.
The man hummed and groaned, but he didn't come back to his senses until they were all gone and out of sight.
How strange!
The banker still wants to support his son-in-law to study!
This is not a marriage, it is obviously bringing back an ancestor!
Except for the village chief and Li Guihua, who had talked to the Zhuang family, even Mrs. Liu and her family didn't understand.
Even if Shen Ling is a good kid, the imperial examination cannot be accomplished in a year or two. Didn't you see that the old scholar is almost sixty now? What use is the life of a scholar all his life? ?The days are not as good as those of them who farm honestly.
That's what he said, but no one knew how to persuade him. He was living his own life, and at worst, he really wouldn't be able to pass the exam. I just wanted to stop talking behind his back.
Erlizi Village is not too far away from Daxing Village. Before the sun has climbed halfway up the mountain, several people have already arrived at the entrance of the village.
After asking the villagers on the roadside where the old scholar lived, the three of them hurried on their way again.
Aman woke up halfway and cried for sister to hold her. After this delay, when we saw the old scholar's house, it was almost time for lunch.
However, the old scholar was a nice person. Without asking any questions, he let them sit inside first and have a rest.
Qin Manzhi was the only elder in the family, but she was just an ordinary peasant woman. When she saw the old scholar, she didn't know what to say, so she just bowed to him and sat aside.
Shen Ling understood his mother-in-law's restraint, so he stepped forward and bowed before talking about the reason for their visit.
