The next day is the fifth day of the first lunar month.
Shu Shu and Brother Jiu were both idle, so the couple planned to visit Baiwangshan Villa.
Xing Hai and his wife have already gone to Yunnan, and now Zhuang Tou is Xiao Yu's brother.
The poultry and pigs of the Prince's Mansion are supplied here, and they plan to grow corn and potatoes next spring, so the couple planned to go and have a look.
The two of them didn't say anything. After telling Mrs. Bo, they took about ten people to Zhuangzi.
The atmosphere of Zhuangzi's New Year's Eve is even stronger.
In recent years, the village has been raising cattle, which can be used by tenant farmers, as well as raising chickens, geese, pigs, and sheep. In addition to farming, every household has other errands, and their lives are not bad.
The children wore new clothes and hats and played on the ice at Zhuangzikou.
Seeing the red-wheeled carriage coming, accompanied by many mounted guards, the children dispersed in a hurry.
"The noble man is here, the noble man is here..."
Reports were sent around.
This Zhuangzi belongs to Prince Fujin, and everyone in Zhuangzi knows it.
Shu Shu and Brother Jiu have also been here several times in the past two years.
When the carriage stopped at the entrance of Zhuangzi, Wu Feng, the head of the village, trotted over.
"Fu Jin, Master Jiu..."
Wu Feng hurriedly called Qian Qian to say hello.
On the first day of the first lunar month, he had already entered the city and paid New Year greetings to Shu Shu along with other foreign affairs officials. There was no need to pay New Year greetings today.
Shu Shu raised her hand and said: "Guan Wu, let's get started."
After Xing Hai's family moved away, Wu Feng lived in the Xing family's yard.
Shu Shu and Brother Jiu did not enter the yard, but went directly to the newly built chicken coop next to the yard.
It was built last fall, with two rows at the front and back, with seven rooms in each row.
Both earth dragons and fire walls are used, so raising chickens in them will not delay laying eggs.
"There are still two hens nesting in the nest and hatching more than a dozen chicks. I am thinking of giving eggs to my little master during the Lantern Festival."
Manager Wu said.
Shu Shu thought of the problem of chicks hatching, and what they asked for was temperature.
It can hatch in winter, and the temperature of this chicken house is not low.
But just waiting for the hens to hatch is a bit slow.
She has an idea in mind, but the number of chickens she raises is limited right now, so she is not in a hurry.
The group entered the chicken coop.
The chickens in the house are not free-range, but are kept in bamboo cages, stacked on wooden frames in several layers.
The smell in the house is turbid, there is nothing we can do about it, but it is still clean to the eye. It can be seen that people have arranged for cleaning during the Chinese New Year, which looks good.
In a separate hut, there are free-range chickens.
Two old hens were clucking, and one chicken led a group of chicks, pacing and eating millet.
Shu Shu was stunned.
Colorful chicks.
Black, brown, rust, orange, red, white and yellow.
Never imagined.
This is her knowledge blind spot again.
She always thought that chickens were all yellow, and after losing their nipple hair, they turned into chickens of various colors.
It was also the first time for Ninth Brother to see chicken chicks, and he was surprised to see them. He said, "Why do they look like little fat birds?"
He thinks white and yellow are good, they look clean and have the same color.
He then told Manager Wu, "Put these on, and I and Fujin will take them back later."
Manager Wu agreed.
There was a strong smell in the room. Shu Shu and Brother Jiu looked around and then came out to talk.
"How many eggs and goose eggs have been stored?"
Shu Shu asked.
The last time Zhuangzi delivered eggs and goose eggs to the prince's mansion was on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, which was only seven or eight days ago.
Manager Wu did not say anything directly, but led the two of them to another single room and said: "They are all stored here. There are two tanks of eggs and half a tank of goose eggs..."
They are all large vats four feet high and three feet in diameter, filled with chaff.
Inside the chaff are layers of eggs.
Shu Shu said: "Ask someone to pack the basket and take it back together later..."
As she spoke, she thought for a while and told the specifications of eggs and goose eggs.
Approximately only one serving.
Manager Wu invited the two of them to serve tea at home and asked his subordinates to arrange for people to pack eggs and goose eggs.
Brother Jiu thought of the Baiwang Mountain next to him and said to Shu Shu: "There are cold-resistant varieties of bamboo that can be planted in the capital, but what about the tea trees?"
Shu Shu said: "The tea tree likes warmth and is afraid of cold. It probably won't survive the winter. Don't worry about it."
It is still the tail of the Little Glacier, and the capital is much colder than it will be a few hundred years ago. Unless it is a small ornamental tea tree in a greenhouse, it is meaningless.
Sister-in-law Wu came in to serve tea.
This was also the eldest girl that Shu Shu had let out in her early years. She was very happy to see her young master.
Shu Shu looked her over and said, "She looks good, what does the doctor say?"
Sister-in-law Wu had given birth one after another in the past few years and had some loss of energy and blood. After Shu Shu opened the house and found out about this, she asked Xiaoyu to bring her a pack of Korean ginseng and a pack of donkey-hide gelatin.
Looking at his current appearance, he doesn't look very strong, but he is no different from ordinary people.
Sister-in-law Wu said gratefully: "Thank you Fujin for your kindness. The doctor said that one more winter will be enough."
Shu Shu said: "That's good, my errands here are all on a rotational basis. You can live and recuperate in Zhuangzi for a few years. I will have other arrangements with Manager Wu."
Sister-in-law Wu agreed honestly and called four more children to kowtow to Shu Shu.
The older one is eight or nine years old and the younger one is three or four years old.
This is equivalent to four births in five or six years. No wonder she was in bad health before.
Shu Shu signaled Ging Guo to give her purse and looked at the four children carefully.
Both parents have decent facial features, and their four children all look good.
According to the current employment standards, the people under the household like the Wu family are more loyal than the people above the household.
She asked Sister-in-law Wu, "Has the older one gone to school? Is there a private school nearby?"
Sister-in-law Wu shook her head and said, "This slave is teaching you how to read and keep accounts indiscriminately."
Shu Shu frowned and said: "How can that be done? That's not a delay..."
At this point, she looked at Manager Wu and said: "Ask around in the nearby villages if there are any old boys with trustworthy character who can be hired to sit in the restaurant. Children in the village who are over six years old all go to school, and girls also go to school for one year." , if you accept three hundred thousand, it will be convenient for Zhuangzi to employ people in the future..."
Manager Wu agreed.
Shu Shu liked the behavior of his grandmother, Grandma Wu, and asked, "Grandma, she is over seventy years old. Is she still in good health?"
That was Jueluo's wet nurse. Before Shu Shu's wedding, she had taught her some intimate affairs through words and deeds.
Manager Wu said: "Well, I went to the house to pay New Year greetings to my wife and adults during the Chinese New Year. I am not deaf or blind, and my hair is thicker than that of a slave girl."
Shu Shu pointed at a few children and said: "Tell the children to respect the old grandma and learn from her behavior. In a few years, the house will choose people to surround my brother and princess."
Manager Wu said with excitement: "Fu Jin, don't worry, I will definitely ask my grandmother to teach these monkey cubs well."
Shu Shu nodded and asked about the situation of the pigs. They couldn't raise them in the house and had to wait for spring to breed.
After a while, the eggs in the chicken coop were packed and loaded into the car.
Shu Shu and Brother Jiu left Zhuangzi.
Brother Jiu thought deeply: "We can't provide eggs to you. We'll lose money and we can't calculate the money. But it's not enough for Lao Bai to give us eggs. I'll find time to tell Khan's Ama and build a chicken coop on the west side of the West Garden to raise chickens." …”
Otherwise, in winter, the supply of eggs in the palace would stop.
From October to February, there were no eggs for five months.
Originally, there were few vegetables in winter, and the lack of eggs was even more pitiful.
Shu Shu said: "It's fine if I go before the emperor. After all, it's around the imperial garden, where the Holy Master is. Who knows whether it's taboo or not?"
Brother Jiu nodded and said: "I know, business matters are done professionally, and it's not for our own sake."
Shu Shu thought of the ninth elder brother who brought some wild vegetables to the palace last year, and said, "I added them here and there in bits and pieces. In a few years, when Fengsheng and the others go to the palace to study, the supplies provided by elder brother will also be gone." It won’t be as simple as it is now.”
After hearing this, Ninth Brother became more energetic and said, "I will go to the imperial palace in the afternoon, so I can ask your grandson about his studies."
This year, in addition to Honghui and Hongshu, the emperor's grandsons who entered the study room include the third elder brother of Yuqing Palace.
Thinking of this, Brother Jiu said: "It's time to ask Khan Ama about the second son of the third brother's family going to school. The three concubines of Yuqing Palace have gone to school. It makes no sense that the second son of the third brother cannot."
This is all to pave the way for Akdan to study, so Shu Shu naturally has no objection.
The couple returned to my elder brother's house.
He Yuzhu and Sun Jin were ordered to deliver eggs everywhere.
There are one hundred eggs and thirty goose eggs in Changchun Garden.
There are eighty eggs and twenty goose eggs in the North Garden.
There are sixty eggs and ten goose eggs in Tuoyuan Bookstore.
The elder brother married Princess Wen Xian with fifty eggs and eight goose eggs, and the thirteenth elder brother and the fourteenth elder brother had thirty eggs and six goose eggs.
At the little elder brother's place in the fourth lotus pond, each person is given twenty eggs and four goose eggs according to the head count.
Because Qi Fujin asked for eggs, he gave Qi Fujin fifty more.
It is not advisable to use knives during the Chinese New Year, and it is not advisable to fry or fry, but steaming vegetables is fine.
During lunch, Shu Shu and Brother Jiu ate egg custard.
Not only here, but also at various elder brother's places, they also eat poached eggs or egg custard.
Except for the little one at the bottom, how can the brother and sister-in-law on the top take advantage?
In the afternoon, people were sent to return the gifts one after another.
Mostly dried and fresh fruits.
At Qingxi Bookstore, Kangxi also discovered new dishes besides New Year dishes.
The key is that this is not an example.
He looked at Liang Jiugong and said, "Brother Jiu is filial?"
Last summer, Brother Ninth paid tribute to me many times.
At that time, he didn't like to eat egg dishes.
Liang Jiugong nodded and said: "It was delivered on the first day of the afternoon. I heard from the manager of the garden kitchen that it was a big basket with one hundred pieces and thirty goose eggs! In addition to the emperor, the kitchen also sent a plate to Master Yi. Steamed eggs.”
With the example of Dongzicai in front of him, Kangxi would understand.
This is similar to the truth. Brother Jiu raises chickens indoors.
He said with disapproval: "I don't know how much money I have to waste just to eat food!"
Liang Jiugong said: "The Empress Dowager is happy to have more vegetarian dishes."
Kangxi thought of Tuoyuan Bookstore, which had a single menu for the first month, and said, "They are delivered everywhere. Where is Tuoyuan Bookstore?"
Liang Jiugong said: "After sending it here and to the North Garden, I went to the Tuoyuan Bookstore. I also sent it to other elders, including the two grandsons who have just joined the garden today."
Kangxi was very satisfied after hearing this.
One year older and grown a lot, that's how it should be.
No matter how close or distant you may be in private, it is best to treat everyone equally...
