Once things became valuable, Xiao Luolan hesitated.
"Mrs. Xiao, you can peel it for me to eat." Zhou Xu retreated and asked for the next best thing.
Xiao Luolan then reached out and peeled one off and put it on the edge of the plate. The clean one, with its white and tender flesh, was very eye-catching.
Xiao Luolan pushed the plate towards Sect Master Zhou.
Zhou Xu also pushed the household registration booklet to Mrs. Xiao. While she was looking down at it, he suddenly took Mrs. Xiao's hand and wiped the sweet lychee juice from Mrs. Xiao's fingertips.
Xiao Luolan flipped through the household registration book. When he saw the names of himself and his daughter, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Sect Leader Zhou. His other hand was clenched into a fist. Her breathing was up and down. The curtain and hat were occasionally blown up by the wind. The tightly pursed red lips, the lip lines were tight and cold.
Zhou Xu looked at Mrs. Xiao's red fingertips, lowered his head again, and said with a vague smile: "Taiyang's household registration is very good. I applied for Langge's household registration for you, Mrs. Xiao, and it is several times better than Taiyang's. "
Zhou Xu looked at Mrs. Xiao. Under the cover of the curtain and hat, Mrs. Xiao's face seemed to be separated from the clouds.
He suddenly thought of a poem.
Beauty is like a flower in the clouds.
What's wrong with planting a blooming flower in your own soil?
He is her root and she can never escape.
Chapter 32
"Tsk, tsk, did you make Mrs. Xiao anxious again?" Zhao Qingshan shook his folding fan and bent down to observe his master's hand, and tsk-tsk in his mouth: "I told you what your hobbies are, Mrs. Xiao is an unusual woman, don't you? She will be merciful to you because you are Zhou Youzhou, so good, why would you do anything to provoke her?"
There was a smile in Zhou Xu's narrow eyes: "It doesn't hurt anyway." Zhou Xu thought of Mrs. Xiao's leaving figure and threw the lychees peeled by her hands into his mouth.
It's definitely sweeter.
Zhou Xu ate lychees and put away the household registration book without paying much attention. He was actually right. Langge's household registration was indeed much better than Taiyang's.
Knowing that Mrs. Xiao planned to settle down in Taiyang, Zhou Xu felt that something was wrong. Firstly, two lonely ladies like Mrs. Xiao and Mrs. Xiao were living outside without any servants around them, so their safety could not be guaranteed. Secondly, their safety could not be guaranteed. Once they left, the officials from the aristocratic families in Taiyang County might be kind to them at first, but as time goes by, trouble will definitely follow, whether they are curious about Mrs. Xiao, want to find out information from them, or... The trouble caused by her appearance, with Mrs. Xiao's character, there was no way she could fight against that group of people.
Naturally, it is best to take them to Langge so that they can be looked after nearby. When they arrive in Langge, they will select some good streets and put them directly under her name, and then buy some manor and land, and the slaves and tenants will be allocated from under him. Go out and give them to them. This is Zhou Xu's temporary plan. He knows that Mrs. Xiao doesn't want to rely on him, especially after realizing his intentions towards her, she can't avoid him. However, because of fear of the turmoil in the world outside, he has no choice but to choose Taiyang, Zhou Xu could tell that Madam Xiao no longer wanted to be attached to him, but it was not Madam Xiao who had the final say in this matter.
Mrs. Xiao must be secretly angry now, Zhou Xu thought, stroking the stubble of his beard and laughing again.
Zhou Xu never thought that one day he would make a living for a woman. He was very indifferent to women. He had never remarried since he lost his wife early in his life, and he had no concubines in the back house. He thought he would live like this. , I didn’t expect to meet Mrs. Xiao.
In front of her, he seemed to have returned to the irritable and irritable boy he was when he was young and vigorous. He always wanted Mrs. Xiao to show some other expressions to him, such as anger and shyness. Zhou Xu liked to see everyone who came.
"Be careful, Mrs. Xiao is tired of you." Zhao Qingshan sat on the chair next to him. There were three intact lychees on the desk. He put away the folding fan and peeled one off. The lychees were rushed from the Xunjiang River. This kind of The delicate fruit is extremely rare in the North. If the weather is hot, if the lychees are separated from the original branch, the color will change in one day, the fragrance will change in the second day, and the taste will change in three days. In order to prevent the discoloration and taste change, responsible stewards will keep the lychees intact. Cut a section of the lychees, then freeze the lychees with ice cubes, spread a quilt on top, and then take a boat down the Xunjiang River day and night. After about three days, you can eat fresh lychees.
"Come on, follow me to the government office to see where Judge Xu has found out."
Zhou Xu stood up, straightened his clothes, and led Zhao Qingshan and Lei's cavalry out.
In Dou Mansion.
Xiao Luolan returned to Xinghuaju to see her daughter.
"Mom." Xiao Qingxue called out when she saw her mother coming over while sitting on the stone bench under the apricot tree.
"Yes." Xiao Luolan sat next to her daughter. There were some rectangular wooden boxes and some gauze baskets placed on the stone table.
"Auntie, we haven't got everything yet." Xiao Qingxue used to have tools in her hands when doing activities with the club, but now she has to find materials one by one and get the tools before she can do the next thing.
"What can I do?" Xiao Luolan didn't understand what her daughter was going to do, but she wanted to help.
"We need to find a craftsman to make the soap model more beautiful. We need to get the model out first. These wooden boxes are too simple and too big, and their appearance is not beautiful at all." Xiao Qingxue said.
Xiao Luolan: "Then I will borrow a skilled craftsman from Madam Dou later."
"Mom, we still need some plant ash and lard and so on." Xiao Qingxue said: "I asked Fang Yun to get some quicklime. When she comes back later, we will borrow Clan Master Zhou's small kitchen for use."
When Xiao Luolan heard that she was going to see Clan Master Zhou, she couldn't help but think of her visit to him. She hesitated and told her daughter: "Qingxue, Clan Master Zhou has settled our household registration, but it's not in Taiyang. It's It fell to Langge."
Xiao Qingxue propped her chin up and frowned: "Well, I just think Langge is too far. You have to go through Xunjiang and Nanning to get to Langge. I'm not used to living in other people's homes."
"When this soap is successful, we will sell the formula and buy a house in Langge."
When Fang Yun came back, Xiao Luolan took them to the small kitchen in Xiyuan. The cook in the kitchen retreated knowingly when he saw the noble man coming again.
Fang Yun followed the little master's instructions to get a jar of plant ashes from the stove, and then filtered out the large pieces of wood and gravel with gauze.
Xiao Luolan took a knife to cut a piece of pig suet. Her knife skills were very good and she cut a square piece. Seeing this, Xiao Luolan couldn't help but smile. She put the lard in the pot and added water. Yun helped his master light the fire. Seeing his master sitting in front of the stove, he stepped forward and said, "Master, let me light the fire."
"No, it'll be fine in a while." Xiao Luolan has made lard before and is very skilled at it. After a while, the oil residue will be made crispy and crispy, which can be used as a snack for her daughter. Xiao Qingxue will Add lime to water to get lime water, then add filtered plant ash plus twice as much water and lime water into a small pot, heat it on a small stove, and let it stand after heating.
Xiao Luolan picked up the oil residue, blew it, and let her daughter take a bite. Xiao Qingxue's expression suddenly changed. Xiao Luolan said quickly: "Is it burnt? Quickly spit it out."
Xiao Qingxue spit out the lard residue: "Mom, it's too fishy."
Xiao Luolan ate one, and a fishy smell suddenly spread in his mouth. It was indeed not delicious.
"Master, little lady, pork is not delicious." Fang Yun said with a smile.
About three or four hours later, after the alkaline water floated up, Xiao Qingxue found a thicker cloth and put it on her hands. She poured the alkaline liquid floating on it onto the fine cloth and filtered it five or six times.
The next step is to combine the lye and grease. Xiao Qingxue slowly poured the lye into the grease. Fang Yun burned the fire below. Xiao Luolan stirred them with a long wooden chopstick to fully blend them together. Qingxue also added some salt, and then poured a little wormwood juice into it while her mother was stirring.
Saponification took a long time. Xiao Luolan felt that it was inconvenient not to have an automatic mixer. After spending a long time with her daughter, she finally got a thick liquid with a slightly green texture like milk. She quickly put it in a simple mold and let it Cool and shape.
Fang Yun looked at the things in the mold in surprise, feeling that her master and mistress were so powerful.
Xiao Qingxue looked at what she and her mother had made, full of pride. Xiao Luolan couldn't help but praise: "My dear baby is awesome."
Fang Yun lowered his head and pretended not to hear his master's endearment to his little mistress. The little lady was thin-skinned.
After simply tidying up the kitchen, Xiao Luolan and her daughter Fangyun returned to Xinghua Residence in Dongyuan. Xiao Qingxue held the mold in her hand, smelling the faint fragrance of mugwort, and her eyes turned into crescents. She was not so useless. Well.
When he got outside, Xiao Luolan realized that it was already dark.
"Mrs. Xiao, Miss Xiao." Mrs. Dou hurried over from the garden with her maids and slaves. There was an anxious look on her face. When she saw Mrs. Xiao, they didn't care about their manners and hurried over. Their clothes were in disorder. ring.
"Mrs. Dou, what happened?" Xiao Luolan stepped forward and asked with concern.
Mrs. Dou grabbed Mrs. Xiao's hand: "Mrs. Xiao, the prefect, the prefect is here."
Xiao Luolan was startled, and then asked: "Where is Sect Master Zhou?"
"Master Jiedushi went to Taiyang Mansion and has not returned yet." Mrs. Dou was very nervous: "Master Taishou handed over the greeting card and wanted to come in. I, we didn't dare to stop him, so we asked the prefect to go to the middle hall."
They were just a small aristocratic family in Taiyang County, but Prefect Li was the prefect of Taiyang County. Dou Haitao did not have the guts to openly refuse the prefect, but he was worried that the governor would hate them. Without a master, Dou Haitao could only let his wife Go to Mrs. Xiao first.
"Are the Lei family's servants in the house?" Xiao Luolan thought of Lei Shan and the others.
"Yes." Mrs. Dou replied.
"Please tell Clan Master Zhou to go and tell Clan Master Zhou about this." Xiao Luolan felt that Clan Master Zhou should be informed of this matter. From the looks of it, Governor Li seemed to be here for Clan Master Zhou.
Mrs. Dou held Mrs. Xiao's hand tightly: "My husband has sent his cavalry to notify."
"You and I will go to the front yard to have a look. You don't have to worry." Xiao Luolan felt that Mrs. Dou's hands were cold and comforted her.
"Auntie." Xiao Qingxue followed and said, "I'll go with you." After saying that, she placed the molds at Fang Yun's place: "Fang Yun, take these to Xinghua Residence."
Fang Yun glanced at his master.
Xiao Luolan nodded helplessly.
"Mrs. Dou, did Governor Li bring many people?" Xiao Luolan wanted to know what the situation was like in the front yard.
"No, the prefect came here with Li Sanlang and dozens of slaves." Mrs. Dou replied.
Mrs. Dou led Mrs. Xiao and the others along the corridor and crossed the second door.
In the central hall, after Dou Haitao ordered his servants to serve tea, he stood aside in fear. His eldest son followed Judge Xu out early in the morning. Lord Jiedushi also left with Qingshan. There were only a few Lei clan left in the mansion. Cavalry, he has quietly sent one to inform the Lord Jiedushi.
Li Hanzhang stood in the courtyard, looking at the moon that seemed to be absent in the sky. After hearing the footsteps, he looked at Mrs. Dou and the others. His eyes glanced at Mrs. Xiao and Mrs. Xiao behind her. When Mrs. Dou walked by, He took a step forward and smiled slightly: "Mrs. Xiao, you still remember me. I am Li Sanlang. I am really sorry to bother you last time."
Mrs. Dou looked at Mrs. Xiao and the others who were stopped, and hurriedly asked Qiao Xin to call her servants over. When she saw the servants of the Li Mansion separating the two of them, Dou Haitao stood up immediately in the middle hall.
Xiao Luolan looked at the incomprehensible Li Jiasanlang and didn't understand why he greeted her. Her wariness immediately rose: "Li Langjun, what can I do for you?"
"Mrs. Xiao, there is some misunderstanding between my father and Lord Jiedushi, so I would like to ask Mrs. Xiao to correct it." Li Hanzhang said sincerely, and at the same time he bowed: "Sanlang would like to thank you here." Duan said. He has a graceful demeanor and a temperament as refined as bamboo.
Xiao Luolan avoided him: "Li Langjun, I'm sorry, I can't help."
A look of disappointment appeared on Li Hanzhang's handsome face, and he whispered: "Mrs. Xiao, from your accent, Sanlang is also from the Chang'an family. How come he is with soldiers like Zhou Youzhou? But he is being coerced? If Mrs. Xiao wants to escape, she can Find me.”
Before Xiao Luolan could speak, something like a jade pendant was stuffed into her palm, and she was startled.
Xiao Qingxue also saw it.
The two were surrounded by the slaves of the Li family, and others could not see what Li Sanlang had stuffed for her mother.
"Sanlang, come back." Li Taishou said impatiently.
Xiao Luolan held the thing as if it were a hot potato and wanted to return it to Li Sanlang, but Li Sanlang walked away very fast.
Li Hanzhang sat back on his chair and stared at the tea intently.
Li Taishou was sitting in the first place on the right, looking at the woman he had only met once in the hall. He remembered her, and Zhou Xu took her to meet him at the Yellow Crane Tower. This time he observed carefully that Mrs. Xiao really had a long face. A troublesome figure that scares men.
Li Bozhi's eyes became colder and colder, and he scolded: "Witch!"
Xiao Luolan's face suddenly turned red with anger. How could this man curse so well?
"Old man, why don't you say something more?" Xiao Qingxue stood up, pointed at Prefect Li and cursed.
"The daughter of a temptress is nothing to say." Li Bozhi sneered.
Without thinking, Xiao Luolan smashed the thing in her hand and the tea cup on the table against the old man. She stood in front of her daughter, her face was extremely cold, her eyes were filled with anger, and she said coldly: "Prefect Li today You bark when you see people, is it because you are old and have forgotten to take your medicine?"
Li Bozhi was caught off guard and was covered in tea. He stood up suddenly and even threw the jade pendant to the ground. His face was twisted: "The witch's poisonous words, no..."
"Who is the old man scolding?" Zhou Xu walked into the middle hall from the night with a black whip, looked at Li Bozhi, turned around and ordered: "Chop off two fingers of Li Dalang in prison, put them in a brocade box and give them to the Li family. .”
"Zhou Xu!" Li Bozhi roared angrily: "How dare you!"
"Chop two more."
Lei Shan responded and left.
Zhou Xu walked forward, pressed Li Bozhi on the seat, picked up the black whip and patted his face, with a ferocious smile: "Old man, don't be so shameless. If you let me hear those two words again, I will kill you." My son chopped it up piece by piece and fed it into the dog’s belly, do you understand?”
Li Bozhi's body weakened and he fell down on the chair, trembling and unable to speak.
