Duanmu Jade was born with respect, and although it intended to be kind to others, the sense of nobility that radiated from within still made the old man's family feel in awe.
"Uncle, I'm really sorry for disturbing you at night." Seeing that the host was a little reserved, he took the initiative to speak and said with a warm face.
However, I can't help but think in my heart: "The Great China court was strict in controlling people, and over time the servility of the people has been deeply rooted in the bones. It is not like our country, where the people are strong and self-reliant, loyal and self-respecting. Even Mr. Yu and Mr. Xie , Mr. Zhu, if I am a person without virtue and talent, I am afraid that they may not succumb to the shackles of the royal guests and obey my orders."
Seeing Duan Muyu cupping his hand, the old man quickly waved his hand and said, "Hey, don't bother! Don't bother! It's the little old man and his family who are greedy for money!"
When he said this, there was an unnatural smile on his face. Obviously, he was a little uneasy after accepting Duanmu Jing's one ingot and fifty taels of silver.
"The distinguished guests will wait a moment while I wait for the little old man to kill the chickens, ducks and dogs in the yard so that we can prepare the dishes later!" the old man said cheerfully.
His family's financial situation is quite good in the village. Not only does he have four acres of fertile land, but he also has more than twenty mulberry trees planted in the yard. Even so, the only hard vegetables he can get are chickens, ducks, and dogs. Although there is a big buffalo at home, it is used for plowing the fields and must not be killed for cooking.
Duanmuyu stood up and persuaded: "Uncle, there is no need to go to such trouble. Where can we not eat meat and vegetables such as chicken and duck? On the other hand, the fish from Qilan Lake cannot be found anywhere except the three nearby counties. How about waiting for a while? Why don't you cook us a fish dinner?"
Seeing Duan Muyu's smiling face, the old man thought to himself: "Look at the costumes of these eight people. They are definitely not from ordinary families. These meat dishes such as chicken, duck and dog are rare hard dishes in our opinion. In their eyes, it’s just ordinary. On the contrary, there are several kinds of lake fish that are special to this lake and can’t be seen anywhere else.”
"Hehe, if you don't mind being a distinguished guest, that's fine... that's fine! That's fine," the old man replied with a smile.
After that, he took his two sons down to work.
The old man's wife brought two more kerosene lamps, lifted the wicks and lit them. For a while, the wooden house was illuminated brightly.
"Auntie, are you free? Why don't you sit down and chat with us for a while?" Duanmu Jing took the kerosene lamp from her hand and asked with a smile.
The old woman looked a little shy. She quickly pulled her hair, shook off the fish scales on her clothes, and said softly: "I was just killing fish to make oil in the kitchen. The fish scales were splashed all over my body. They were fishy and dirty. Where can I go?" So I can sit close to the distinguished guests."
"Auntie, you're welcome. You don't have to pay so much attention. Just sit down." Duanmu Jing held a wooden stool beside her and asked with a smile, "Boil fish oil? Can lake fish also cook fish oil?"
The country of Jue faces the sea on three sides in the east, west and south. It relies on the sea to eat, so naturally most of the fish are caught from the sea.
At that time, the country of Jue was able to build a fifty-foot-long sea-going ship that could sail five hundred miles offshore. It often caught some whales and brought them back for spices and oil refining.
Duanmu Jing thought, big water can support big fish, and small water can support small fish. I only heard that big fish have fat that can be boiled to make oil, but I didn't expect that the fish in Jinlan Lake can also extract ointment and make oil.
"Yes. Seasonal mandarin fish and lake bream that weigh more than one kilogram will become fat in winter. At this time of year, people from several neighboring counties will go to the lake to catch fish for a whole month." The old woman laughed. He replied, "Both lard and vegetable oil are too expensive, and ordinary people are not willing to buy them for cooking. Fortunately, we rely on such a big lake, and our family can catch hundreds of 'oil fish' every year, and use dried meat to make preserved vegetables." , fat fried in oil."
"Oh, that's it." Duanmu Jing nodded in approval.
Duanmuyu on the side also became interested, leaned forward and asked: "Auntie, has the 'winter grain' in Lingdu County been collected?"
Dahua's taxes are collected in two parts, one is the 'summer levy' and the other is the 'winter levy'. Usually the 'summer levy' is more than the 'winter levy'.
"It was already collected at the end of last month." The old woman replied with a naive smile, "The county government sent someone to tell us that this year Emperor Ruilin just ascended the throne, and taxes across the country were halved, and our family was left with more than 100 kilograms. With enough food, we can finally have a good year."
The four acres of land owned by the old woman's family are fertile land approved by the county government. The official yield per mu is 310 kilograms. According to the 1992 tax system, the amount of "winter grain" paid is 275 kilograms. Now that half of the tax has been reduced, we can save nearly 140 kilograms of grain, which is enough for a family to eat for a full month.
"Haha, yes." Duanmuyu responded with a smile.
He thought for a while and asked: "We are from Sanshui County, Qingxi. The price of salt here has increased by more than half recently. Has the price of salt here increased?"
"Oh, no, the salt here has risen even more! Now the price of sand salt has risen to 1,000 cents per catty, tsk tsk...it's getting more and more expensive!" The old woman was still happy just now. The smiling face suddenly became sad, and he complained softly, "The price of salt has finally come down. After the death of Mr. Mei, who was in charge of the salt policy, the price of salt has become more expensive than before! They say that the salt mines in Anxian produce enough salt. The people of Great China have been eating it for hundreds of years, how come this salt has grown like this?"
Duanmu Jing asked curiously: "Doesn't the imperial court have a unified purchase law? The price of sand and salt in the county cannot be higher than 500 yuan."
He was an important minister of Duanmu Yuzhihua. He had a deep understanding of Dahua's political affairs and even knew a lot about the laws of the imperial court.
After listening to his words, the old woman shook her head and sighed: "You guys look like they are from wealthy families, and they don't often care about the firewood, rice, oil and salt. From the second month after Mr. Mei's death, the county government's salt supply has been less than It was less than half before, and then it started to decrease. As of last month, it was almost no longer selling salt. Now the salt supply in the entire county is private salt. I heard that some gang is in charge of it. Oh, I'm so evil. Very!"
... ...
It was indeed an all-fish feast.
Braised seasonal mandarin fish, braised lake quail, steamed seasonal salmon, steamed lake quail, fried fish soaked with garlic slices, stir-fried lake quail scales, fish residue and diced radish, fish roe blanched in oil, pickled fish head soup.
Eight vegetables and one soup are all served in large pots and bowls, exuding the steaming heat and rich meat aroma.
"It's so fragrant, young master, hurry up and eat it!" Mu Ji held his bamboo chopsticks and said to Duanmu Yudao with a smile.
Duanmuyu stood up from the wooden stool, bowed to the old man and his wife, and said with a smile: "You two, let's sit down and eat together!"
"No need to be polite, distinguished guest, we have already had dinner. The food is simple, don't blame me!" The old man looked at Duanmu Yu with a smile, and replied holding his hand.
One ingot and five taels of silver were buried heavily in the pocket on his chest, causing his clothes to droop down, making him feel more at ease than ever before.
"There is grain in the barn, fish in the pond, and oil in the tank. The marriage of the two sons has been settled. Today I got a lot of money. Tsk tsk... This is not a marriage sent by God. Do you like money?" The old man thought about his current life and felt at ease and complete.
Duanmuyu could tell that the family had indeed had dinner, so he didn't force it. Seeing Mu Juan's eyes gleaming, he laughed and said, "I'm really hungry, let's eat!"
