In lean years when food was scarce, the price of pork doubled.
In the past, it cost more than ten cents per catty, but now it has risen to forty or fifty cents. Twenty taels of meat is close to ten cents.
Mrs. Zhao immediately darkened her face: "Er Gou, why are you trying to be a prodigal? You only earned five hundred cash, which is only half a tael of silver. With such a small amount of money, you can't buy anything but meat. Meat is so rich." Expensive, one mouthful is worth a penny, you really think you are a rich man, right..."
"Okay, please stop saying a few words." Old Man Zhao said, "The child finally made some money and wanted to be filial to his elders, but he was scolded as soon as he came. Do you think Ergou will still dare to come to the house in the future?"
Mrs. Zhao was actually happy in her heart. The second grandson thought about herself and knew how to be filial to the elderly. As people get older, don't they expect the younger generation to be filial.
But these two ounces of meat are really too expensive. If you can afford two ounces of meat as a gift, you have to buy at least two kilograms. Two kilograms costs almost a hundred cents. He is really a prodigal, just like his mother...
Mrs. Zhao took a deep breath and suppressed her curse words.
When Zhao Ergou was about to leave, a man walked in at the door. It was Zhao Yougui, Zhao Shagen's biological father.
He said with an embarrassed look on his face: "Uncle, aunt, I want to ask you something..."
Mrs. Zhao said kindly: "We are all a family. If there is anything we can help with, we will never be vague."
Zhao Ergou didn't want to listen to what his elders had to say, so he walked out of the yard. After taking two steps, he stopped because he heard something completely unexpected.
"That's right, I want to borrow two hundred cash." Zhao Yougui scratched the back of his head, "Didn't I just earn five hundred cash? Plus some money I saved before, the total is only eight hundred cash. But stupid people see The married woman's family asked for a dowry gift of one tael of silver, and if I wasn't afraid of delaying my child's life-long event, I wouldn't be able to show my face and ask for a loan."
Mrs. Zhao's face was full of gossip: "Shagen has been stupid since he was a child. He is now sixteen this year. I have always been worried about his marriage. I didn't expect that he would do it without knowing it. Okay, hey, which girl Shagen is interested in, tell us and we will be happy."
Zhao Yougui smiled sheepishly: "She is a girl from the Sun family in Osmanthus Village. Shagen has a cress in her mouth. I have seen that girl once. Her eyebrows are straight and her hands and feet are diligent. This is our Shagen's blessing."
As soon as she heard the name Sun Shuiqin, the smile on Mrs. Zhao's face froze.
Her old man had not forgotten that not long ago, Cheng Wanwan came over to inquire about this girl's family background, and said that she wanted to find a partner for Ergou.
But when she asked again later, Dashan Niang said it was a misunderstanding.
Mrs. Zhao looked at Zhao Ergou's absent-minded look and twitched her lips. It seemed that there was no misunderstanding. Ergou must also be thinking about the girl from the Sun family.
However, other girls have already discussed marriage with Zhao Shagen, so it’s not okay to miss her anymore.
Mrs. Zhao said: "I will ask Dawang to send the two hundred coins later. It will definitely not delay Shagen's marriage."
Zhao Yougui thanked him profusely and left.
Zhao Ergou was still in a daze.
"This girl from the Sun family is quite stylish." Old Mrs. Zhao lowered her head to mend her clothes. "These days, the betrothal gift is only half a tael of silver, and their family actually asks for one tael. If the girl's parents asked for this money, It shows that the father and mother are not people who can handle things clearly. The betrothal gift is too much. How will the daughter live in other people's homes in the future? If the girl asked for the money herself, it means that the girl has quite a lot of ambitions. In short, the girl does not A person suitable for our Zhao family."
Zhao Ergou lowered his head silently, turned around and walked out.
When he returned home, he still looked lost.
Cheng Wanwan looked at him and said, "You just came back. You must be tired. After dinner, go back to the house and rest for a while."
Zhao Ergou went back to the house, changed into patched clothes, and then started making adobe. He was very obsessed with the house. Shuiqin would not refuse him if his house was a little more spacious...
He lowered his head and remained silent.
Cheng Wanwan called Zhao Sidan over: "Go to your grandma's house to borrow some salt, and then ask your second brother what happened there."
Zhao Sidan nodded and immediately went to borrow salt.
Old Mrs. Zhao had the heart to say a few words, so she naturally told Cheng Wanwan through Zhao Sidan's mouth that Zhao Shagen was going to marry a wife.
Cheng Wanwan helplessly held her forehead, and she didn't know what to say.
She had never been in love, let alone experienced the feeling of falling out of love. She couldn't sympathize with Zhao Ergou's sadness, so she had to arrange for this guy to do his work.
"Ergou, there's not enough mud to beat the adobe. You go over there and pick up a few more loads."
"Ergou, we don't have enough firewood at home, please chop some more firewood."
"Ergou, you and your elder brother should do the work in the fields together, and finish it early while the sun is not shining."
Zhao Ergou was so busy running around that he had no time to think, and his energy gradually returned.
For lunch, Cheng Wanwan used a pound of meat, all of which was used to make braised pork. She cut some of it into pieces and made a meat and egg soup, and asked Zhao Dashan to feed it to his wife.
It hadn't been that long since the last time we ate meat at home, but the boys still looked like they hadn't eaten meat in eight hundred years, and their mouths were full of oil.
Although the steps for the braised pork this time were exactly the same as last time, the taste was not as good as the bowl made by Wu Huiniang. Naturally, the children couldn't eat it. As long as it was meat, they would be happy to eat it no matter what.
After eating, Li Zheng walked in.
"Isn't it a coincidence that our family also eats meat today." Li Zheng burped, "Meat is really good, one bite can make you go to heaven. Several boys in our family almost got into a fight to get the last piece of meat. "
The four boys at home coughed dryly.
If mother hadn't been there, the four of them would have fought over a piece of meat.
Of course, because my mother was there, the last piece of meat was put into my mother’s bowl.
Zhao Dashan put away the dishes and went to wash the dishes. Cheng Wanwan dragged out a stool for Li Zheng to sit down.
"I'm here now to tell you good news." Li Zheng said with a smile, "The ice powder you sell has spread throughout several nearby towns, Hekou Town, Fenghuang Town, Baiyun Town, etc. People from there are coming over At that time, I specifically asked if I could help with a message. Their small wine shops and inns also want to buy ice powder and sell it in their shops. I wonder if you can still supply it here?"
Cheng Wanwan laughed: "Of course."
The amount of ice powder seeds stored at home is thirty or forty pounds. As long as there are enough people to wash the ice powder, supply is not a big problem at all.
Li Zheng took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
He didn't know many Chinese characters, but he often saw the signboards on the road, so he naturally recognized them. He read them word by word: "I have asked people to write down the names of those who need supplies. Those with less than 50 bowls will be ignored." , I remember the ones with larger supply... Yingfeng Inn, Zhuji Restaurant, and Ruyi Tavern in Hekou Town have 50 bowls each... Huating Restaurant, Fugui Restaurant, and Food Court in Fenghuang Town have 100 bowls each... From Baiyun Town..."
Cheng Wanwan did a quick mental calculation and found out that the total amount of these small restaurants and pubs turned out to be a thousand bowls.
One thousand bowls means five kilograms of stone flower seeds.
After all, she had to find at least three people to help with the scrubbing work.
Except for the ice powder in Hekou Town, which costs one cent a bowl, the purchase price in other towns is two cents. Calculating this, her daily income can reach more than three taels of silver...
