While waiting for the food to be served, I listened to the chatter of the people around me. Because there were so many people, even if everyone lowered their voices, it was still a bit noisy.
There is nothing new in the content. They are either complimenting each other or complaining about the past.
I don’t know if it was suppressed by the government. It seems that the matter about the Guan family in Liquan County has not been reported. Otherwise, it would be considered a big event and there would be no way that no one would talk about it.
"Chou Chou, what's going on over there in Liquan County? Did you find anything?"
After a while, Chou Chou replied: "I have just been arranging the division of labor among several bears. I have been watching, and there is already suspicion over there, but there is no clue that the beasts have entered or left the county, so we are in a stalemate.
I would like to give them some hints, but Bear Three is now in my space and is our bear. There is no way I can hand it over and take the blame for the real murderer. "
Qingyan nodded in her heart. It was true. The real murderer was still unknown. If the bear was handed over, the bear would take all the blame. Instead, the real murderer would go free.
"Did anyone go back to the tiger's yard yesterday? You can't feed it every other day, or the tiger will go crazy with hunger."
Chou Chou: "Not yet. It may be fed once a day. We found it in the evening yesterday, not long after feeding. Someone will come by in the afternoon. I will keep an eye on it. Don't forget to buy seeds."
Qingyan patted her forehead lightly and said that she seemed to have forgotten something. It turned out that she had forgotten to buy seeds. It seemed that she had to go to Nancheng after dinner.
When the food was served, she tasted everything. The stewed mutton was soft, tender and fragrant, with a hint of spiciness, which should be the taste of pepper. The pepper had not yet spread.
The mutton soup with pepper is also more delicious. One sip will warm your whole body.
The specialty dishes in the store are more unique, including sweet and sour ones, and sour and salty ones. Well, the main one is sour.
While eating, I let Chou Chou collect it into the space. It didn't take long for me to finish it. Despite the variety of dishes I ordered, the portion was really not as big as other places, at least not as affordable as the restaurants in Qinzhou.
I ordered two portions of everything I had eaten and packed it up. I just had time to wait for the food to be packed, so I picked up the food box and left.
I found a deserted place for Chou Chou to take in, and went to Nancheng again.
I don’t know if all the stall owners have gone home to eat. The streets are much deserted, with only a few people.
She went directly to the grain store, and after asking, she found out that most of the vegetable seeds were saved by the farmers themselves, and they were rarely bought. Only grain seeds were available, but they had to go to Yaxing.
Qingyan was a little dumbfounded, then they wouldn't be able to plant it.
Seeing her disappointed look, the owner of the grain store couldn't bear it, so he said to her: "My old lady usually likes to plant some vegetables in the backyard, so I should have left some seeds. If you really want it, girl, I can ask her to give you some."
But even if we have the seeds, they will have to be planted next spring. I can't guarantee whether the seedlings will emerge. "
Qingyan looked at the boss in surprise, this was another village where everything was bright and clear.
"That's great. I want to try planting it in a greenhouse. I don't have to wait until next spring. It doesn't matter if it doesn't come out. I just want to try it."
Planting in space should be similar to indoor planting. As long as a few seeds can germinate, you can also save the seeds yourself.
The boss really wanted the piece, so he called the waiter and asked him to look at the shop while he went to the backyard.
He came back after a while, followed by an old woman.
Of course, when it comes to looking old, most people in ancient times look older. Judging by their appearance, they are probably no more than fifty years old.
The woman handed a small cloth bag to Qingyan and said, "There are several kinds in here. I gave you some of each kind of seeds I saved.
There are alfalfa, green onions, garlic, coriander, cowpeas, cucumbers, peas, eggplants, and peppers. I also have leek roots buried in the snow behind me. I can dig some for you if you want. "
The more Qingyan listened, the brighter she became. She didn't expect there to be so many kinds. She thought it would be great to have three or four kinds.
She did know that there were many kinds of dishes in ancient times. For example, she saw many kinds on the dining table of the Xue family in Xingtang Mansion the previous summer. These dishes were introduced to the Central Plains during the Qin and Han Dynasties, but she did not expect that the proprietress of the grain shop would So complete.
"This is great, boss lady, I want all of this. How much money will I give you?"
The landlady shook her head and said: "You don't need to give me any money. I keep this for myself. It's not for sale in the shop. It's hard to set the price..."
Qingyan said quickly: "I can't take what you have for nothing, we just met by chance, how can I be so embarrassed..."
The landlady raised her hand to interrupt her, "Don't worry, girl. Even though I don't need any money, I'm not giving this to you for free. I want to ask the girl how to grow vegetables in a greenhouse."
"Uh...that's it..." Qingyan was speechless for a moment, but she didn't expect that she would make up a random reason and be taken seriously.
"Is it inconvenient to reveal it? Yes, this must be a secret skill passed down from family. I was rude."
Qingyan quickly shook her head, "No, no, it's not a secret, it's just more troublesome."
Then she began to try to remember the steps her grandma used to grow vegetables in the greenhouse in winter.
"First there must be an empty room, with a fire wall built inside and windows on both sides for ventilation, and then get some fertile soil in..."
The woman listened attentively, and the grain store owner also took out a pen and paper and started recording.
By the time Qingyan finished telling her what she knew, the old couple were already looking at her with admiration.
"Girl, you are so talented. If you can do it like this, why worry about not being able to grow it? There is a fire wall in the house behind my house. You can just leave a room and try it. If you can really grow it, I must thank you girl."
Qingyan waved her hand, "That's not necessary. Just think of it as thanking the landlady for the seed. My family is in Youzhou and I will be leaving tomorrow. We can only meet again by chance in the future."
"That's such a pity. I would like to discuss the experience of growing vegetables with the girl in the future. Girl, wait a minute. I'm going to dig some leek roots for you and put some soil in the basket. It should be able to bring It’s best to go to Youzhou.”
"Then thank you boss lady again."
"No need to be so polite..."
When Qingyan came out of the grain store, she not only got a small bag of seeds, but she also carried a small basket containing leek roots and soil.
Not far ahead there was an alley. Turning into the alley, Chou Chou put the small basket in. The seeds were collected as soon as he went out. He and a few bears were inside waiting to be planted.
At this point, I have basically bought all the things I want to buy today. Don’t worry about dry food or anything like that. You can buy it in the city tomorrow. Just buy some before leaving.
In fact, there is still a lot of inventory in the space, so there is no need to buy too much. She just stores more out of habit.
It was just past noon, so she was not in a hurry to go back, so she rode her horse to Dongcheng again, and found the largest teahouse there to sit.
I ordered tea and some snacks like peanuts and melon seeds, hoping to see if I could hear any news here.
Of course it wasn't for the matter of the Guan family in Liquan County, which had little to do with her. She was just listening to the fun, but she didn't urgently want to know the follow-up. After all, Chou Chou was watching, and she would hear it sooner or later.
She just wanted to see if anyone was coming from the southeast and hear if there were any disasters over there.
After all, where she was going, if there was a disaster, it would also have an impact if she ran into refugees or something on the way. She couldn't hide even if she wanted to. In a snowy day like this, it was impossible for her to go into the mountains.
Not to mention that the carriage can't get in, and the horse won't freeze to death. In this kind of weather, we can only take the official route.
It definitely couldn't be like the time when I was with the Yang family before. It was summer, the mountains had dense vegetation, many animals, water sources were easy to find, and there was no shortage of food and drink.
Although there are some snakes, insects, rats, and ants, I can overcome them. At least I can lie down on the ground and sleep. Once it snows in this winter, it is easy to get lost in the mountains, and it is easy to get trapped in it.
It is better to walk on the official road. At least there are many villages along the official road, and there will be towns at regular intervals, so there is no need to worry about lack of supplies.
Qingyan sat in the teahouse all afternoon, chewing melon seeds until she lost consciousness, and finally heard some news that lived up to her expectations.
It was a table of people who came in at about three o'clock. Among them was a businessman who had just returned from the south. The other people were probably his friends. They told a lot about what they had seen and heard there and on the road, and asked a few people to help. He collected some medicinal materials.
The general meaning is that the weather in the south is also unusually cold, but it is not serious enough to snow. It is just freezing rain that fell in advance in some places. Not to mention ice hanging on the trees, the road is also very slippery.
Moreover, the walls of houses in the south are not as thick as those in the north. They are relatively thin, and many windows are leaky. Although they are not freezing to death, they have caused a lot of frostbite.
He asked these people to find a way to collect more medicinal materials, just because he wanted to go there and make a lot of money.
After hearing this, Qingyan felt a little relieved. At least she didn't encounter a snowstorm like here, so that was okay.
After hearing the information she wanted, she was ready to go home. The bench in this teahouse was so hard that her buttocks were numb when she sat on it.
After paying the bill, I stood up and took a while to adapt before going out and riding the big bear away.
It was just after four o'clock when we returned to Fang's house. Except for Huiniang and a few servants, the Fang family's father and son had not returned yet.
Qingyan said hello to Huiniang and went back to her room to wash up. After all, she was very dirty after running outside all day.
After washing up, she returned to the main room. She sat on the kang and chatted with Hui Niang about the news she heard in the teahouse. After all, she came back empty-handed after going out for a day, and there was no one else she knew, so something was wrong. Son.
So she said she went to the teahouse to hear the news, which made sense.
In the evening, when the Fang family and his son came back to have dinner together, after chatting for a while, Qingyan took the opportunity to bring up the matter of leaving tomorrow.
The Fang family father and son knew that she was in a hurry to return to Youzhou, so they didn't try to persuade her to stay. They just asked her if she needed anything and they could help prepare it.
Of course not. She had prepared everything she needed to prepare and could leave directly.
Huiniang proposed to make some dry food for her early tomorrow morning and take it with her on the road, but Qingyan refused.
"There's no need to prepare any special preparations. I'll just buy some in the city before I leave tomorrow. It's a cold day and it will get cold very quickly. I can't eat fresh ones anyway, so I just need to buy more ready-made pancakes and heat them on the way. Eat, no need to bother."
Huiniang tried to persuade her again, but when Qingyan refused again and again, she stopped insisting.
Neither she nor the maid and mother-in-law are very good at craftsmanship, and the dry food they make is certainly not as good as the ones outside that sell sesame seed cakes and steamed buns. After all, they make a living from this, and both the taste and appearance are better than what they make. many.
Qingyan hugged the child and hung the jade lock she asked Chou Chou to carve yesterday around his neck, "I asked someone to carve this, just think of it as a memory, so that the little guy won't remember me in the future."
After all, she had raised Zhang Chunhua's children all the way. She had given jade pendants to Zhang Chunhua's children. She couldn't raise them all the way and not express anything.
This one is not made of ordinary jade, is it? It is a low-grade spiritual stone whose spiritual energy has been consumed and almost empty. It looks more gentle than ordinary jade. It is good for the body to wear it for a long time.
It is in the shape of a safe lock, with cloud patterns around it. One side is engraved with longevity and the other side is engraved with the child's name, Fang Zhicheng.
The Fang family only expressed their gratitude to Qingyan and did not refuse. After all, this look was specially made for their children.
Qingyan held the little one and played with it for a while, then said goodbye to everyone and went back to the room. She was leaving early tomorrow morning, and the child must not have gotten up by then. This was the last time she saw her.
At least there will probably be no chance to meet again in the future. Although I am a little reluctant to say goodbye, I also know that there is always a banquet in the world.
Along the way, after several separations, she seems to have gotten used to it. She knows that she will leave sooner or later. Although she is sincere when she interacts with others, she does not go too deep. There is always a certain distance. , leaving some space for both parties.
After returning to the room, before she could immerse herself in the sadness of the upcoming farewell, she heard Chou Chou say: "Someone has gone to the tiger side, but there has been no progress. There is only a servant who has gone, and he is mute. He must have been poisoned." Dumb, he can hear sounds, but can't speak.
He went there specially to put meat and water for the tiger, and burned the fire wall in the house before leaving. "
Qingyan nodded, thinking it was normal. If there was no fire in the house, the water would probably freeze in a short time, and the tiger would die of thirst even if it didn't freeze to death.
"It seems that the other party is quite careful. They probably won't be able to find the murderer for a while. We can only find out who it is when the other party is about to use the empty tiger to commit the murder."
Of course, we can't be sure that this is the murderer's place. Now we just feel that Huo Zi's presence there is a bit suspicious, and we can't be 100% sure that it has something to do with the person who controls the beast.
It's also possible that it was raised by someone with strange hobbies. Maybe he was kept alone in a yard because he was afraid of scaring his family if he stayed at home.
(End of chapter)
