Xu He held a small red envelope, untied the rope from it, and counted down to sixty-six renminbi. This is the red envelope stuffed by his Aunt Chen. The wedding banquet was done beautifully. As the chief cook, he should have given the red envelope, but he just put it on temporarily. Therefore, the Chen family gave so much generously.

In fact, money is still a trivial matter, what matters is the recognition you get.

He leaned lightly on the chair, no wonder Zhang Fangyuan agreed when the Chen family made a request. He felt that although Zhang Fangyuan sometimes looked unreliable and had many minor problems, he had a clearer and longer-term perspective than him on major issues.

Looking back, Zhengzhuer was already lying on the bed and fell asleep. The night was already very dark, butcher dragged the bridegroom and officials to drink for a long time, if Chen's mother hadn't come out to rescue him, his cousin might not be able to go to the bridal chamber today.

After Xu He went to coax his leader back, he wiped his body and carried him on the bed. The big guy was half as heavy when he was drunk than when he was awake, and he couldn't drag it away. Fortunately, he fell asleep when he was drunk, and he didn't vomit and go crazy, otherwise he couldn't subdue it without a few strong men.

He blew on the lamp, went to the bedside, patted the legs that were hanging on the edge of the bed, and the man in his sleep honestly put his legs back.

"Brother He, come here, let me hug you."

Xu He heard someone murmured clearly, looked closely, his eyes were closed again, his chest was a little hot, he reached out to hold Zhang Fangyuan's hand, and lay down beside him in the twilight hut.

The next day, the two of them went to sleep early in the morning before getting up to eat some porridge. The Chen family's affairs were done, and it was time to do things honestly.

After a few days, Zhang Fangyuan had to buy again after the pigs he bought were sold out.

"During the banquet of the Chen family, the Huang family in the east of the village asked me to visit the livestock in the next few days. If it is suitable, I will make an appointment, and it will save me from going to other villages. Do you want to come with me?"

The couple were eating breakfast, Xu He had a sip of porridge, and he hadn't gone out with Zhang Fangyuan to look for livestock yet, so he wanted to have a look: "I happened to go over there to pick some wild grass to feed the horses."

Zhang Fangyuan laughed and didn't say much, the two locked the door together and went out after eating.

Just to see the livestock, it may not be settled, so the two of them did not drive the ox cart, but only brought tools for slaughtering pigs. If it is suitable, it will not take much trouble to go back and drive a car to install it after slaughtering it, and it is only a few steps to the left and right of a village.

After seeing the pigs in Huang's pen, they were in good condition, weighing two hundred catties, so Zhang Fangyuan settled down readily.

From late April to early May, rice seedlings are being planted everywhere in the village. Families with a lot of fields will ask for help, or a few neighbors will change jobs. Today, rice seedlings are planted at Zhang’s house, and tomorrow at Li’s house. No money is required, but the host has to provide three meals a day.

Usually at this time, some good food will be prepared, and meat is definitely indispensable. Moreover, the villagers who transplant rice seedlings will also make pig cakes with meat fillings and soft glutinous skins, and dry them in the fields around noon or in the afternoon. Those who worked hard were sent to pad their stomachs and lay down tooth sacrifices.

Naturally, pork is selling better than usual these days.

Zhang Fangyuan made an order at Huang's house to boil water and slaughter pigs. People in the village got the news that those who wanted to plant rice came over and wanted to buy some fresh pork to eat nearby. When Zhang Fangyuan went home to drive the cart, several villagers followed him.

"Success, I'll charge everyone fifteen cents, not expensive ones."

Everyone wanted to make friends with Zhang Fangyuan and wanted to make it cheaper. Since they didn't go to the city, it didn't matter if they were cheap in the village. Zhang Fangyuan agreed readily, and more people came to buy after getting the news.

"Shaochun, our family is going to plant rice seedlings. There are only two men in the family. Lian'er can't help in the academy, and your father-in-law can't do it alone. I have already agreed with the two villagers that I will change jobs tomorrow." The Huang family butchers pigs and sells them. I heard that Zhang Fangyuan only sells them to villagers for 15 cents a catty, so you can go and buy two catties and come back tomorrow to greet the villagers who will help you."

The Fei family is also at the east end of the village, and there are several families on this side, all of which are quite close. The Huang family sells pigs, and several families know the news at once.

Xu Shaochun was washing clothes in the yard, seeing her mother-in-law going out to watch the excitement, and arranging things for her as soon as she came back, she couldn't help frowning slightly.

Before she could speak, Fei's mother said: "Your younger brother is also here, let's talk about it in private, and then give up the price. The weather is hot, so I wash my clothes by the river, and I have to carry water at home. That's right. , The bed in my house was also washed along the way, the weather is good and it is suitable for washing."

Xu Shaochun was told a lot of things in a row, and he didn't know which one to refute for a while. In the past, when she took the initiative to do something at home, her mother always praised her. How could she receive such a complaint. Ever since the Chen family came back from dinner, she found that her mother-in-law was always arranging things for her.

Trivial things from day to day, from waking up in the morning to lying in bed at night, even after Xu He got married, things fell on his head, but he was not as busy as he was in Fei's house. She suddenly felt that people with a small population were really uncomfortable.

"My younger brother's money is dead, let alone me, I'm afraid my mother would not say it. It's better to go over to my mother-in-law. You can talk, and you may be able to make him cheaper. "

Fei's mother laughed when she heard the words: "It doesn't matter whoever goes, the important thing is that tomorrow the seedlings will be planted well and I will order food. I also have to carry the seedlings to the field, and then the house will be run by you."

Xu Shaochun's face paled when he heard the words: "Here, my daughter-in-law may not be too busy alone!"

"No, why not get up earlier and prepare. You are a humble and self-restraining person. I don't know you yet. Your mother said you can cook, so it happened to show off."

Mother Fei spoke lightly, but her voice was cold.

Xu Shaochun listened to Fei's mother, as if he wanted her to do it, and responded weakly: "The husband is not at home, so it is appropriate to share some things with the mother-in-law."

The promise was good, but after finishing speaking, he put down his clothes, rubbed his forehead and wiped the sweat: "It's just that I didn't sleep well yesterday, and I'm a little groggy today, but I don't want to delay the work at home. I wash and wash clothes at home when I go to the river. I just don’t know if I will cough, if I cook like this, it’s not good to help our folks when I’m poor.”

Mother Fei heard the delicate words, she went into the house to get a basket to buy meat, but she backed out immediately.

Having been angry for a long time, she finally couldn't bear it anymore at this moment, she gave Xu Shaochun a cold look: "I said Miss Xu Er, you shouldn't come out to get married, it should be the Chunxi troupe in the upper city to sing an opera."

When she came back from the Chen family's drinking day, she asked Xu Shaochun to do all the farm chores, and watched from the side.

This little girl is fumbling around when she starts to work. She can't finish half a day's work in a day. She always thinks about hiding for a while, and she either needs to go to the toilet or drink water when she starts to work.

He can do the job, but he is definitely not skilled. But I have never eaten pork, but I have seen pigs running. How can a child from a farming family not know how to do farm work, even a scholar in their family who has never done any work can occasionally do it.

It's okay to fool outsiders, but you can't fool the peasant women who often work under the same roof.

She didn't suspect, didn't pay attention, and didn't pay attention to what she found, but after a closer look, she really made her feel angry.

Back then, her old lady boasted about how powerful she was, how beautiful she was, and how she could manage the accounts and run the house. From now on, apart from her excellent mouth, it doesn't seem likely that her hands can do anything decent.

It turned out that she didn't want to have a fit, and she was going to wait for this girl to show her original shape. She never thought about the reason why she didn't finish her daily work, and she would come up with an excuse, either because her head was hot, or her hands and feet were cramped, and she blamed the washboard knife for not working well. It's not as good as their Xu family.

She is so thick-skinned that she doesn't look like a little woman of her age.

Today she couldn't bear it any longer: "I've been sick for two or three days, and I can't do much anyway. You might as well go back to Xu's house. I happen to be recuperating with your father and let your mother take good care of you."

When Xu Shaochun heard this, she also became angry. She had never heard of harsh words at home. The work done by Fei's family was half as much as before, but Fei's mother was still not satisfied. The first two days were just yin and yang, but today It was bluntly cursing, and she felt wronged and angry in her heart, and she didn't look good: "Mother-in-law, don't be so mean. What's the matter at home that I didn't help with?"

"Hey! You are mean. If you cut grass to feed pigs and wash your clothes, I will be mean to you. Go and take a good look at every house in the village. Is there any daughter-in-law who has done less than you? It is the Qiu family next door." My daughter-in-law has a big belly and does more than you, and she is busy from morning to night, and she also carries dung water to water vegetables!"

Xu He counted the money for the pigs for Mrs. Huang's family, and came out to watch Zhang Fangyuan shave the pigs. The villagers who were waiting to share the pork disappeared, and the busy courtyard immediately became clear.

"Where's the person? Buy everything and leave?"

Zhang Fangyuan carried the kettle to wash away the last strand of hair from the pig's tail, and raised his eyebrows watching the show: "They all went to Fei's house to persuade them to fight."

Rather than persuading a fight, it is better to say it is to watch the excitement, Zhang Fangyuan does not know the peeing nature of the people in the village, and he likes to watch people quarrel the most.

"What are you asking for?"

"Miss Fei quarreled with your second sister. The quarrel was fierce. Your second sister was crying and arguing. Maybe the villager who bought the meat told your mother. They finally took a rest in the yard over there. , your mother came and pinched even more fiercely!"

The men from the Huang family had just come from there, and it was common for the wives and husbands in the village to quarrel, so it was not easy for these men to intervene, so they came back after seeing that there was no fight.

Xu He was taken aback, how long did they get married, why did they start arguing.

"Aren't you going to see it?"

Zhang Fangyuan said: "What am I going to do? Before everyone went to watch the fun, they asked me to quickly bring out the pigs. They can buy them when they come back."

Xu He frowned: "Then I'll go and have a look."

Zhang Fangyuan pulled him suddenly: "Just watch the excitement, don't worry about it."

Xu He nodded.

"When you first married someone, you talked nicely, but it turned out to be an empty shell. You are not afraid of being struck by lightning for telling these lies. Pity my well-mannered son, who suffers from being dumb like yours!"

"Your family is at a disadvantage? There is no one more savvy than your family! The bride price is thinking about the lowest reward, and I also want my children to be cattle and horses, and I am not afraid to make people laugh if I say it! If you hadn't said that the children would be fools when they got married! See it personally, I will promise you? Bah!"

When Xu He came along the lower road, Fei's mother and his mother Liu Xianglan were scolding each other with their waists up, like two roosters with their feathers blown out, one more fierce than the other.

"Okay, everyone is here, just in time to comment. The surname Liu said that her daughter is virtuous and capable of cooking, but in fact, she can't cook a few dishes at all. Why did she pretend to be sick and refused to help at Chen's house that day? Isn't it? Xu Shaochun can't do it at all! He even lied to people that Xu Shaochun is capable! That brother He did it!"

Just seeing Xu He approaching, the villagers all looked at Xu He. Everyone thought about it, but no one opened their mouths.

"Hey! I said that the child can cook, but I didn't say which child it is. It's none of my business if you don't ask clearly! At first, I wanted our family, Shaochun, to show you off, but now I don't like it. Well, ten fingers have different lengths, so is it possible that an adult can do everything well? Do you think your family Fei Lian is so good! Still, you can’t do anything, and you have to be taken care of to study!"

When quarreling, both parties feel that they are justified, and they don't care about it. They just poke people's hearts and don't care about other things, but the quarrel must be won.

"My son is a scholar with fame and fame. Even if he doesn't know how to handle farming, he also has monthly money from the court and envoys for fertile land. What else does your Shaochun have besides empty shells? It may not be possible to use it for food. ?”

"Hey, I don't see anyone demolishing bridges like you when crossing the river. Didn't you just take a fancy to the beauty of our family Shaochun? The scholar in your family looked at the person well-behaved, and he didn't blink his eyes when he looked at Shaochun."

Seeing that Liu Xianglan described her darling son as a womanizer, she said angrily: "Do you think my family's Lian'er must be like Xu Shaochun like you? Some people want to marry our family, and it was my son at first. It's not that you look down on Xu Shaochun, who is useless in your family, but he clearly likes..."

"Everyone, the pigs are all ready, if you don't buy them again, I will take them back."

Zhang Fangyuan suddenly came over and interrupted everyone watching the show with a loud voice, and also interrupted what Fei's mother was about to say.

Xu He also vaguely sensed what Fei's mother was about to say next, and was terrified, but fortunately Zhang Fangyuan stopped the quarrel first.

If Fei's mother finds out about those things, there will be more disturbances in the future, and the family will not be able to think about it.

The villagers couldn't get enough of it. In the past, when the two families got married, they made many people jealous. Now seeing the two families swearing at each other so quickly, everyone felt so happy. They wished to hear more about the bad things about the two families.

But after Zhang Fangyuan came to interrupt, everyone couldn't continue to listen brazenly, and pretended to go forward to persuade people, and persuaded both parties to rest.

Xu Shaochun's eyes were swollen from crying in the room. Now that he lost all face in the house, he felt relieved inexplicably, as if he had lifted the shackles on his face. It was splashed in the yard, and the villagers had no choice but to retreat out angrily.

Xu He and Zhang Fangyuan looked at each other, knowing today, why bother. He didn't go forward to persuade him either, and he could only get scolded and punched out if he went by himself, so he simply went back to Huang's house with Zhang Fangyuan, and sold pork for money.

It took two days for Xu He to hear about the follow-up.

Her mother, Liu Xianglan, was so angry that she called Xu Shaochun back when Fei's family was busy planting rice seedlings. Fei's mother chased after her and scolded her, and she had to go home to work.

Xu Shaochun stayed at home for three to five days in a row, at first he was very proud, but he never heard from Fei's family all the time, even Fei Lian came back from the academy to pick her up.

This time Xu Shaochun was in a hurry, and after a few tweaks, he still had the cheek to go back to Fei's house.

Knowing these things, Xu He sighed. It is really ugly that the two families are in trouble like this, and it is impossible to talk about reunion.

Getting married once would hurt your vitality, and getting married again is not as easy to find as before, and you have to spend money again, and it's hard to say it. We can only live in a stalemate like this, and it is common for people like this kind of natal husband to live as if the quarrel is over, but it will definitely not be easy to live a good life in the future.

I only hope that his second sister can grow up after this incident. If she can manage the relationship between husband and wife well and live a stable life, there will be hope in the future. After all, Fei Lian is also a rare scholar in the village.

When Xu He came back from picking vegetables, seeing that Fei Lian and his second sister were the only ones talking about in the fields in the village, he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He and Zhang Fangyuan, two "man of the hour" who were only talked about by the folks, suddenly abdicated.

"Come with me to sell vegetables in the city tomorrow."

Zhang Fangyuan went to help Zhang Shiyuan go to the field to plant seedlings and came back. His two calves were covered with muddy mud. He filled a large ladle of water and washed it at the corner of the courtyard.

Xu He sorted out the side dishes and said, "I won't be selling vegetables in the future."

Zhang Fangyuan paused when he heard the words, then changed hands and threw the gourd ladle into the water tank. He walked up to Xu He and said, "Why don't you go? Those **** don't dare to trouble you anymore, and you will lose all your money." Yes. I will guard you from now on."

Xu He laughed: "If you guard me, who will guard the meat stall?"

"Let's go. I saw that we have saved almost 5,000 yuan yesterday. It won't be long before we earn money together and we will be able to repair blue tile houses."

"You have a good idea, but if you build a green tile house in the village, who would dare to move without a family property of hundreds of taels."

"Then there must be hope."

Seeing that Zhang Fangyuan was holding himself back like a child, Xu He stood up and said, "There are no more wild vegetables to pick. People in the village say that I moved all the wild vegetables around our village away." In the city. It's not a long-term business, and the profit is not high."

"The weather is getting hot. Seeing that there are not many pigs in the water that are easy to sell, and the taste is easy to change, you might as well make a lo-mei. I will go to the city with you to sell it at a stall."

Zhang Fangyuan's eyebrows stretched when he heard the words, he squeezed his hands and raised his eyes and couldn't help but fantasize: "This is good! Lo mei can be sold more expensive than pork, why didn't you say it earlier, you should have done it long ago!"

"It's not such a simple thing. It's cold first, so how many people can eat lo-mei. Only an alcoholic like you doesn't care about hot and cold. You can eat cold braised meat as an appetizer whenever you want."

Zhang Fangyuan wanted to say that he hadn't been like this for a long time, and he didn't have any spare money to eat those things in his pocket at all. Now, when it comes to eating, he also knows the word "exquisite" that Chen Si used to talk about.

But now Chef Xu wants to do it himself, so he doesn't have to worry about the outside.

He spun around behind Xu He's buttocks: "Then when do we start going out?"

"tomorrow."

Xu He led people into the kitchen, took out a bundled small bag and handed it to Zhang Fangyuan: "Take a look, how about you?"

Zhang Fangyuan was even more happy when he heard that he was going to go out to the stall tomorrow, so he quickly lowered his waist and sniffed: "It's a bag!"

"I have tried the soup with the ingredients, but I don't know if the stewed meat tastes good. I will wait for you to come home and taste the taste first. If it is not good, I will season it halfway."

"it is good!"

Zhang Fangyuan agreed, and went to the house to propose the first choice for making braised pork—pig head.

The assembled material bag is ventilated, thrown into a deep pot of water, and the clean water is dyed in a short while, gradually becoming the color of deep gardenia fruit with old sauce, and it is translucent after a spoonful of it .

Xu He's food bag contained samosas, star anise, cinnamon bark, dried pine, ginger, cardamom, etc... Some of them were collected by himself, and those that were not received by the family were bought in the city.

Wash the pig's head before putting it into the pot, and cook it for about an hour.

About the time of touching a stick of incense, you can still smell the stewed incense in the stewed pot with the lid on, and the more you walk in, the stronger the fragrance will be.

Zhang Fangyuan has only eaten stewed and prepared stewed meat, but has never seen the process of stewing. He always looks into the pot when it is on fire.

The more marinated the brine, the better. In order to enhance the taste of the braised meat, the sauce and marinated ingredients are heavily flavored, which is much saltier than ordinary meals.

To make stewed meat delicious, the brine is one thing, and the sauce for mixing the meat is even more important.

Chili oil is indispensable. He adjusted two flavors, one is ordinary spicy, and the other is purely numb. Fresh pepper oil is pressed, some peppers are added and sesame seeds are added. It is not a stew, but the taste of ordinary dishes is also the ultimate, but it is a pity that it is mixed I can't bear to part with meat, let alone ordinary vegetables.

Xu He also spent a lot of money to buy these. When autumn comes, he has to go to the mountains to pick peppers and squeeze oil. The materials are really expensive.

Zhang Fangyuan promised to go up the mountain to see some prickly ash trees, and he dug up all the pepper trees and planted them in his backyard.

After waiting for an hour, Xu He grabbed the pig's head with a hook, and saw that the flesh and blood could be separated, and it was done.

The white pig's head has been soaked in brine for an hour and has completely turned into a beautiful maroon color. The moment it is lifted, the pot is filled with mist and steam, and it suddenly dissipates like a delicious appearance.

Xu He is quite satisfied with the appearance, and the smell is also delicious, but the taste has to be paid for.

Not to mention that he wanted to give it a try, Zhang Fangyuan started rubbing his hands long ago. The flakes came down to feed the dog, almost scalding the dog's mouth.

"Success, success! Whoever says this is not good, I will beat him!"

Xu He laughed, "It's unreasonable."

The stewed pig's head has a slightly soft and waxy taste after it comes out of the pan, with a strong aroma and a little bit of a mild taste, but the meat needs to be seasoned, which is just right. After the pork is cold, it will not smell fragrant, and the taste will become elastic, and it is delicious with wine and rice.

Xu He was very happy that the ingredients for the first round were so suitable, so he went to get the pig into the water to prepare the marinade with peace of mind. It is very troublesome to take care of pigs in the water. It is just right to put them in the pot later, and take them to the city when I wake up tomorrow.

"You can cut a piece and send it to the fourth uncle's house, and let Xiaomao taste it."

Zhang Fangyuan cut down half of the pig's mouth into his own mouth: "Okay!"

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