The bride was pregnant, so Zhang Chi hired a four-wheeled carriage to take the family of four back to his hometown. By the time he comes back from the training ground, it should be the end of the year, and then the family can be reunited. That's what it's like to be a soldier, there are so many differences.
Watching the carriage gradually go away and his family saying goodbye to him in the car, Zhang Chi felt a little helpless. During the days when my wife was pregnant, I was always a little regretful when I was not around. I hope she can be safe when she returns to her hometown.
It is two hundred miles from Xinye to Dengcheng County. After noon on the fifth day, Dingniang and her family arrived outside the village.
At the entrance of the village, I settled my wages with the driver. Several people were packing up and saluting. After receiving the news, Saburo hurried over.
I saw my son was wearing short clothes, the straw sandals on his feet were full of dust, and he was sweating profusely. Zhang Yan said anxiously: "You hired someone, so you don't have to work so hard. The human body is not made of iron. How can you keep doing this?"
Sanlang said: "I was just looking around at other people's work, why didn't I do anything, I'm not tired. You have worked hard all the way, go home quickly."
After saying that, he stepped forward to help Ti bow. Holding two big bundles in his hands, he went ahead.
Wulang said: "Brother, why don't you ask a few workers to help you with the ceremony? Look at those officials, who are not cheering each other up, how can there be anyone like you? They obviously employ twenty or thirty people, and they still have to do it." Do everything yourself.”
Sanlang said: "What do you know! The supply and marketing cooperative is under heavy pressure these days, and the people who work can't be idle for a moment. Okay, go home quickly. Cook a pot of meat in the evening, and I will drink with you."
Wulang smiled and said: "Third brother, you are not as good as the second brother. When we were in Xinye, we had several dishes every day, and there was no time to cook meat. Before leaving, the second brother came from outside I called the kitchen helper, and the food is so delicious!"
Saburo said in a low voice: "How can I compare with my second brother? He is an official, and Xinye is not like our countryside, so of course it is different."
As he spoke, he bowed and entered the village with his family.
This is a small village. For many years, Zhang Chi was the first official in the village. When people in the village saw Zhang Chi's family, they all took the initiative to avoid the roadside and saluted respectfully. Zhang Yan nodded his questions one by one, feeling very satisfied.
After entering the house, put down the salute. Sanlang said: "Wulang, go buy some meat and a bottle of wine. Let mom do it and we will drink together in the evening. There is money here, take it and be careful on the road. Go back quickly and don't play outside." "
Goro took the money. He said: "Why, I just got home, did I arrange to do something? Today the family is back, why don't you take a day off?"
Sanlang said: "You can't live without me in the banquet. I really can't leave. As soon as the sun sets, I will join you. Don't worry."
Wulang said: "Do you have to eat after the sun has set now? Doesn't it cost oil to light a lamp?"
Sanlang said: "The oil I bought has oil, so you don't have to worry. I'm taking advantage of the sun to go down to do more work, so there's no need to worry about eating!"
As he spoke, he quickly walked out of the door and headed towards the factory in the west of the village.
Looking at his brother's back, Wulang said to his father: "Dad, what do you think the third brother looks like like this?"
Zhang Yan sighed: "He is carrying a debt of two hundred dollars, so naturally he can't be careless for a moment. You are not a child anymore. You should think more about your brother and don't just think about having fun. When the debt is paid off, your third brother will marry a wife ,everything will get better."
Goro snorted dissatisfied. Taking the money given by Saburo, he walked towards the main road at the entrance of the village.
Sanlang opened a reed mat club in the village, and the number of people in the village increased. On the roadside more than a mile away from the village entrance, there are several small stalls on weekdays, slowly forming a grass market. A butcher in the neighboring village sells the remaining meat there every evening, which is equivalent to having a meat stall. However, there is more meat and less meat. It all depends on how the butcher's business is at the market today. Sometimes there is, sometimes there is not. In addition to meat stalls, there are sometimes sellers of fruits and vegetables, daily groceries, and of course wine. These are people from nearby villages who go to other places to go to the market. The goods that are not sold at the market are sold at the intersection. With these stalls, nearby villagers have a lot of convenience.
When Wulang arrived at the intersection, he saw that there was only one leg of lamb left on the meat stall, and there were various bones in a mess. He said to the stall owner: "Dad Qin, is business so good today? It's not dark yet, so there is no meat left."
Father Qin pointed at the leg of lamb and said, "Little boy, what nonsense are you talking about! Isn't this leg of lamb the best meat?"
Wulang said: "Mutton has no aroma. I want to eat pork today. Don't you kill more pigs and less sheep on weekdays?"
Father Qin said: "There are not many pigs selling around recently, what can I do? Mutton is good meat, but you are still picky!"
Wulang had no choice but to buy a leg of lamb, and then went to the side and bought a bottle of wine, holding it in his hand. Seeing that it was still early, I went to the nearby big willow trees to look for earwigs and cockroaches. The officers of Xinye like to use this thing to drink. After living in Xinye for a few days, Wulang learned this way of eating and liked it very much.
In this era, there are so many cicadas and not many people eat them. There are countless holes under the willow tree. Wulang didn't have much experience. When he saw a hole in the ground, he went to dig it out. Although many of them are ant holes and unknown insects, without much effort, there are still a large number of earwigs and cockroaches. Wulang picked a big leaf from the ditch next to it and wrapped it in his hand. Wulang went home happily.
When I got home, I saw my mother cleaning the newly killed fish in the yard. When he saw Wulang, he said to him: "When you go out, my brother won't allow you to play wildly outside. Why did you come back? Look at the sky, the sun is going down."
Wulang said: "Mom is joking. The sun is still so high and it's still early to set down the mountain. Now in summer, it's the longest day."
As he spoke, he put the leg of lamb and wine in his hand into the water tank under the shed. Take the cockroach and show it to your mother. Said: "What good luck! I also found a lot of these things! I fried them in a while and drank them with wine tonight. I didn't know this was edible before, and I even caught this thing to play with the children. I didn't know until I went to Xinye , it turns out this is the supreme delicacy!”
The mother sighed and didn't bother to care about Wulang. Wulang took the cockroach, went to the edge of the tank, scooped a spoonful into the basin, and washed it there alone.
After a while, my father came out of the house. He said to Wulang: "While we were on the way, I originally thought of asking you and your third brother to go outside to catch some eels. But your third brother was so busy. I wanted you to go alone, but you ended up... Played outside for a long time."
Wulang said: "Today's is enough. If you want to eat eels, I will catch them tomorrow. I don't know how many there are in the ditch outside. How many people are rare enough to eat them? That is to say, people in the city regard them as treasures."
Zhang Yan said: "When I was in Xinye, I ate the eel they cooked, and it was really delicious. These things must have oil. Without oil, no matter how little salt, what's the taste? If there is no shortage of oil and salt when cooking, the taste will be the same. It’s very different.”
Salt administration was an important source of government officials in the Song Dynasty, and its price was very high. Ordinary people don't dare to eat anything too salty. Wang Xiaolie does not make money from salt management, and salt prices have dropped a lot in the past two years. Coupled with the improved conditions at home, Zhang Yan's family also pays attention to taste.
