—Ren Qiucheng.
Renqiu is one of the seven cities in Mozhou. The number of cities and towns in each state is different. Mozhou has seven cities and states, which is considered medium-sized.
I heard from Li Jingnan that Da Qi has a total of 132 state capitals. When the late emperor was in power, he ceded twelve state capitals. Then a year ago, the Liao soldiers invaded again, and the borders fell one after another. The Qi soldiers retreated steadily, and finally The current emperor ceded the six border states of Qin, Wei, Yuan, Xi, He, and Mo to the Liao Kingdom. Therefore, there are only 114 states in Daqi today.
Once a lion opens its mouth, it doesn't stop easily.
Hua Qingxue knew that this was just the beginning.
The Emperor of Qi sacrificed the interests of these six states and could only achieve short-term peace.
If the people here could ignore the high-pressure surveillance of Renqiu City by the Liao soldiers and the humiliation deep in their hearts, Hua Qingxue felt that their lives would not change much.
But these are just ifs...
The tragic scene she witnessed on the street gave Hua Qingxue a huge shock.
The insignificance of human life made her heart so heavy that she could hardly breathe.
She has a soft personality but is also positive and optimistic. However, she has been living in such a precarious environment, and she can't help but feel the taste of despair...
On this day, Hua Qingxue went back very late.
During the time she was away from home, Li Jingnan had been very anxious.
In this strange place, neither of them thought about how the remaining one would survive if one of them was lost.
When Hua Qingxue knocked on the door, Li Jingnan ran over and opened the door without even thinking.
Li Jingnan said proudly: "I swept away the snow in the yard today, and I also heated up the porridge." There was a flattering tone in his tone that he didn't even notice.
Hua Qingxue's face tensed up, she turned around and closed the door, shouting involuntarily: "Why did you open the door without asking a question?! What did I tell you before I left?!"
Li Jingnan was stunned. This was the first time he saw Hua Qingxue getting angry. If it had happened before, he would have been furious. But at this moment, he forgot to put on airs and just defended in a low voice: "...I just forgot for a moment..."
After Hua Qingxue finished speaking, she felt that she had gone too far.
She took a breath and said in a more soothing tone: "I bought steamed buns outside. They are stuffed with meat. Let's eat steamed buns tonight."
"oh… "
Li Jingnan took her bundle and walked into the house, looking back at her uneasily.
Hua Qingxue thought with some self-deprecation that she was worse than an eight-year-old child. Li Jingnan saw the body of the guard with his own eyes and just cried when he came back. What did he think? Does extreme fear cause emotional loss
Speaking of this, Hua Qingxue couldn't help but admire the shopkeeper of Fengle Building. The shopkeeper, no matter how fearful, resentful or disgusted he was, he could always put on a warm smile when facing the Liao soldiers who came to the store, even if those people didn't pay every time they came.
In order to survive, people always have to abandon something...
In the evening, Hua Qingxue and Li Jingnan ate steamed buns next to the hot stove.
Both of them had not known the taste of meat for a long time, and they ate it without courtesy. Each of the big meat buns was as big as a palm. Hua Qingxue and Li Jingnan each ate a full two, and then filled half a bowl of gruel.
It must have been a long time since she had eaten so comfortably. Hua Qingxue felt a lot more relaxed. She thought optimistically: Fortunately, she and Li Jingnan, one is a woman and the other is a child, can afford to eat these meat buns occasionally. , if you are an ordinary adult man, you may not be full if you don't eat four or five.
God just likes to act like this. When you are suffering, you will never be in despair.
This is probably what it means.
The next day, both of them slept until about three o'clock in the morning.
I woke up, but no one wanted to move, so they just huddled in bed and chatted.
"Are you still doing laundry today?" Li Jingnan asked next to her.
"I won't wash it today. It's the twelfth lunar month of winter. I don't change my clothes as frequently as when the weather is hot. I don't have many clothes in the first place." Hua Qingxue said slowly with her eyes filled with worry.
This is true. Rich families have their own maids and women to wash their clothes, but poor families don’t even have a change of clothes, let alone wash them for outsiders.
The reason why Hua Qingxue was able to take on some laundry chores was because of Aunt Yan's care.
"Then are you still going out today?" Li Jingnan looked at Hua Qingxue uneasily. He still remembered that Hua Qingxue went out yesterday and was not in a good mood when she came back.
Hua Qingxue shook her head, "There's no need to go out today. I bought rice yesterday, plus the leftovers Aunt Yan gave us, it's enough to cope with it for a while."
Li Jingnan rolled his eyes, feeling a little disappointed, "...then...what should we do today..."
He was a prince and the emperor's only son, and his schoolwork was always fully scheduled. He studied the Four Books and Five Classics in the morning, learned riding and archery skills in the afternoon, and practiced Chinese calligraphy for an hour in the evening. He had never worried about his schedule.
When he first arrived in Renqiu, he and Hua Qingxue were busy worrying about food, clothing, and shelter, and then they were anxious to get information. Now that the security was getting tighter and tighter, he was detained by Hua Qingxue in this small courtyard, and he felt panicked.
He wanted to find something to do for himself, even sweeping the yard, but he was afraid that if he had free time to think about it, the more he thought about it, the more panic he would get...
Li Jingnan was thinking dully here, while Hua Qingxue over there was also feeling sad.
- Washing clothes is not a long-term task. Not to mention that the timing of this job is sometimes inaccurate, but the cracked opening in my hands has begun to become inflamed. It hurts when I touch it occasionally, let alone washing clothes in the water.
Originally, Hua Qingxue wanted to go to the restaurant to help the shopkeeper settle the accounts. There is a separate accounting room, so there is no need to show up, and her daughter's family can do it. However, in that case, Hua Qingxue would inevitably go in and out of the restaurant frequently.
Daliao's garrison has just been dispatched here not long ago, and the officers have not yet rushed to restrain the people below. It is most likely to cause trouble at this time, and no one will care if trouble occurs. Yesterday's scene confirmed these...
Not being able to go out, but also having to find a way to make ends meet, Hua Qingxue felt very depressed.
From her understanding, when a place is suddenly occupied by another force, the first year is usually the most chaotic time, because the original rules and order are disrupted. This kind of friction will last for a long time. It will take three to five years, or even decades, until new rules and order are established, and this place will truly return to peace.
And she knew nothing about this world, had no survival skills, and had to live with a child. The difficulty was self-evident.
Hua Qingxue could only hope that the legendary General Fu would come to rescue the prince and... take her with him.
"Let's make tea today!"
Suddenly, an idea flashed in Hua Qingxue's head, and her eyes lit up a little, "If it tastes good, we can ask Aunt Yan to sell it in a restaurant!"
Li Jingnan, who was under the covers, immediately looked contemptuous, "You can't even cook rice well, why are you making tea..."
Hua Qingxue didn't mind being ridiculed by Li Jingnan at all, "I've never cooked before, so everything is a first time. Besides, I've made progress since then. I see you ate it all."
Li Jingnan pursed his lips. Was that because he was hungry
Every day was porridge and steamed buns, and he finally had a meal of stir-fried cabbage. Of course he was very rare.
However, Hua Qingxue didn't know how to choose vegetables, and Li Jingnan didn't know either. The whole cabbage was stirred in the pot. In the end, the outside was mushy, but the inside was still raw. The salt was not completely melted, and some leaves were covered in vegetables. It was still stained with salt grains, and it was so salty after one bite that I couldn't eat it any more. I couldn't bear to throw it away, so Hua Qingxue poured it back into the pot and added water. The stir-fried Chinese cabbage turned into boiled Chinese cabbage...
The two of them concluded that cooking is easier than frying, so whatever dishes they wanted to eat later were thrown into the porridge and cooked together...
These things were too difficult for him, the prince of the country, to talk about, so Li Jingnan remained silent.
Hua Qingxue was very interested and continued: "Before I came back yesterday, Aunt Yan gave me half a winter melon! The winter melon is so big that I can't finish it in one or two meals anyway, so it's just right for making winter melon tea..."
Li Jingnan endured it and finally asked her, "Have you done this before?"
"I don't remember, but I feel like it should be fine." Hua Qingxue was full of confidence.
When Li Jingnan heard this, the look of disdain on Xiao Baozi's face became even stronger.
He really couldn't expect anything from a woman who couldn't even stir-fry cabbage!
Hua Qingxue did as she was told, and got up as soon as she turned over.
As soon as the quilt was lifted, Li Jingnan, who was lying inside, immediately shrank back - it was getting colder and colder today!
Hua Qingxue put on her clothes and got off the kang. After taking only two steps, she suddenly stopped, turned around and climbed up the kang with a dejected look on her face.
Li Jingnan blinked, "What's wrong?"
Hua Qingxue replied dully: "There is no sugar at home, and there is only one pot..."
If you really want to make tea and sell it, you must at least have a bucket, right
An iron pot only holds three to five bowls of water. Where can I buy enough
well! So poor...
Hua Qingxue was a little frustrated that the business she finally thought of could only be stranded like this. But when she thought about it, she found that she remembered more things? Various tea-making recipes passed through my mind like turning pages in a book, such as winter melon tea, chrysanthemum tea, wolfberry tea, red date tea, dragon beard tea...
Hua Qingxue was shocked when she casually remembered hundreds of tea making methods!
What's happening here…
Could it be that... she is about to regain her memory
She thought so and tried to remember again.
I still can't remember my identity, but I unexpectedly remembered a few recipes...
This is too strange.
Hua Qingxue muttered silently in her heart.
No matter what, winter melon tea is impossible to make.
Hua Qingxue cut off a small part of the winter melon and fried it with a little oil, a little salt, and some water. It was so fried that it was almost impossible to pick it up with chopsticks. Despite this, the two of them still ate happily.
After lunch, Hua Qingxue squatted down, cooking pots and washing dishes. Li Jingnan took a broom and started sweeping the snow in the yard. The sun was shining warmly on them, making the yard look calm and leisurely.