Before the New Year, the Wei family invited the shopkeeper and gave the shopkeeper and his employees money for the New Year, and the shop officially closed for the New Year holiday. The Wei family also had some New Year gifts to give, for example, to several business partners and to the Zhao family, the Wei family's in-laws.
These are the affairs of the men in the Wei family.
However, there was one thing that Wei Yin did, and that was to send two bags of snacks, two fish, and next year's rent to the landlord Xu's family.
To be honest, it's not that the Wei family doesn't have the money to buy a house in Beijing, but as Old Mrs. Wei said, we have a home, and our home is not in Beijing. We are here to do business in Beijing, and when we get old, we will still go back to our hometown.
Therefore, there is absolutely no need to buy a house in Beijing.
Therefore, the Wei family has been renting other people's houses over the years.
Fortunately, the yard is not small, with three courtyards and more than twenty rooms, which is enough for the Wei family to live in.
Wei Yin asked Chen Xuan to go with him to deliver the rent to the Xu family. Wei Yin said, "Let the second sister-in-law go and get to know the family."
"What's there to recognize? It's just the front and back yards." Old Mrs. Wei muttered, and opened the big pot. A strong aroma of stewed meat came to her face. Not to mention the kitchen, even the whole Wei family was overwhelmed by the smell of stewed meat. Li handed over the chopsticks, and Old Mrs. Wei took the chopsticks and stabbed the meat, piercing it through. Old Mrs. Wei smiled and curved her eyebrows, "The meat is ready, don't add more firewood."
Li responded.
Old Madam Wei turned around and saw Chen Xuan standing by and looking into the pot, so she waved her hand and said, "Go ahead, go ahead. Madam Xu was here on your wedding day, too. You might as well go get acquainted with the family. They live next door to you."
Chen Xuan knew that when the meat was stewed in the past, Mrs. Wei would eat the first bite. Now that the meat was stewed, Mrs. Wei was probably worried that she would stay to eat the stewed meat, so she sent her out with Wei Yin. Chen Xuan didn't say much. Although she also liked to eat stewed meat, she was not greedy enough, so she went with Wei Yin.
Chen Xuan went back to the house and put on her coat. Wei Yin also changed into a new coat. The two smiled at each other. Wei Yin carried a snack bag and Chen Xuan carried a bamboo basket with two frozen fish. The Xu family originally had a four-courtyard house, which was said to have been passed down from their ancestors. Now the master of the Xu family has no business, so he lives on the money from renting the yard. When Mrs. Xu saw Wei Yin and Chen Xuan coming, she hurried out of the kitchen and warmly invited them into the house.
The Xu family was also an old-fashioned family, but unlike the Wei family who were doing business, the Xu family's ancestors were said to be scholars. As soon as she entered his main hall, she was greeted by a flower scroll hanging on the wall of the main hall. On both sides of the scroll were matching couplets, but Chen Xuan could not recognize what was written on them. Mrs. Xu sat at the top and invited the Wei family's sister-in-law to sit down as well. The concubine of the Xu family had already washed her hands and brought hot tea. Mrs. Xu smiled and looked at Chen Xuan, "There are more people in the family this year, and I have always wanted to go over and talk to your old lady, but it was always one thing or another, so you came here first." She greeted Chen Xuan and Wei Yin.
The two handed over their gifts, and Mrs. Xu said they were polite.
Wei Yin handed over the rent for next year, and Mrs. Xu took it with a smile. She said to the concubine, "Our newly steamed sorghum and red date sticky rice dumplings are delicious now. Give two to Ah Yin and the second young lady to try."
Chen Xuan saw that Mrs. Xu was wearing a cotton cheongsam that was washed so much that it turned white. The only jewelry on her body was a pair of thin silver earrings on her ears, which were somewhat similar to what she wore. The Wei family rented the third courtyard of the Xu family, but the Xu family lived in this large courtyard. Although the courtyard was large, it only had a dozen rooms, which showed that the Xu family was not well off. Moreover, according to what Chen Xuan knew in her previous life, the Xu family had six children, both sons and daughters, and had to go to school, which was a considerable expense every year. The Xu family was not a wealthy family, and their sticky rice dumplings were probably only steamed during the Chinese New Year. Chen Xuan felt embarrassed to keep them for food. Wei Yin was very familiar with Mrs. Xu, and he had already agreed with a smile, "Oh, I look forward to the sticky rice dumplings you steamed every winter, Aunt Xu."
Mrs. Xu smiled, "Ah Yin, you come here often, but this is the first time for Second Young Madam. Don't be shy, Second Young Madam. My master has a very good relationship with the old master in the mansion. Just treat us as your own family."
Chen Xuan quickly agreed.
Aunt Xu came in with a black lacquered tea tray. On the tray were two small coarse porcelain bowls and two pairs of wooden chopsticks. In one bowl was a steamed cornbread made of freshly-cooked sorghum rice and red dates. Because the sorghum rice is sticky, it is called sticky cornbread. Although Chen Xuan may not have seen many high-end meals in Beijing, this sticky cornbread was also steamed by her aunt during the New Year in her hometown. Seeing Wei Yin take the bowl and eat it, Chen Xuan did not refuse. She took it and tasted it. It was indeed delicious. The sorghum flour was good and the dates were sweet. Chen Xuan said, "This cornbread is delicious."
Mrs. Xu smiled, "These are the dates from the old date tree in our yard. The tree is about two or three hundred years old. Every year on August 15th, I pick the dates and dry them to store. I use them to make sticky rice balls to eat during the New Year. The sorghum flour was given to me by an uncle from the countryside. I tasted it and it's better than the ones I bought from the noodle shop in previous years."
Chen Xuan is very familiar with rice noodles and said, "This is the new noodles this year."
Mrs. Xu became happier and said, "Yes."
Wei Yin asked, "Aunt Xu, aren't the second and third sisters at home?" He was asking about the two daughters of Mrs. Xu.
Mrs. Xu said, "Their school is closed today. I guess their teacher has some homework to give them. They will be back soon."
Because the two girls from the Xu family were not at home, and everyone was busy during the New Year, after eating the Xu family's sticky rice noodle soup, Wei Yin and Chen Xuan said goodbye and went home. Mrs. Xu was very polite and asked the concubine at home to fill a large blue and white bowl of sticky rice noodle soup, and asked Wei Yin to take it back to the old lady and grandfather of the Wei family to taste it.
Wei Yin didn't hesitate to thank Mrs. Xu and went home with Chen Xuan.
When the two returned home, Mrs. Wei had already eaten the stewed meat. This was not because Chen Xuan had a brilliant plan, but because the stewed meat was too salty. Mrs. Wei drank three teacups of water in the morning and went to the toilet several times.
Stew meat in the morning and fry fish in the afternoon.
In addition to the big carp that needs to be fried, there is also a small silver fish in a clay pot. This kind of fish is very small, only about an inch in size. After being cleaned up, coated with batter and fried until crispy, it is very delicious with rice. The Wei family members love to eat this. Wei Yin also helps in the kitchen. She picks one up from time to time to eat. Wei Yin has always been likable. She doesn't just eat by herself, but also feeds the eldest and second sisters-in-law. When Mrs. Wei sees this, she can't help but complain, "The New Year hasn't even passed yet, and you've eaten it all."
"It's fried to be eaten." Wei Yin said, "Mom, I'll heat up some steamed buns for you on the stove. You and Ayun can have a bite with this freshly fried fish."
Mrs. Wei immediately had no objection.
In the afternoon, the two girls from the Xu family came to play with Wei Yin.
Wei Yin took some snacks, and the three of them went to Wei Yin's room to talk. When the two girls from the Xu family left, Chen Xuan took out the washed large blue and white bowl and said with a smile, "It's just right to take it back together."
Wei Yin slapped his forehead and laughed, "Look at me, I forgot everything. Now I don't have to make another trip." He gave the bowls to the two girls from the Xu family and took them back.
In fact, Chen Xuan couldn't understand some things. She said to Wei Yin privately, "Ah Yin, you are smarter than me. Please help me think about it. To be honest, I think the Xu family is not well off. Why do so many children in the Xu family need to go to school? I heard that studying is very expensive, and the schools in Beijing are even more expensive. If the children of the Xu family don't study and go out to find a way to make a living, their lives will definitely be better than now."
"The Xu family is different from ours. They are a family of scholars, and their ancestors were all scholars. You see, our family is so poor. I told my second sister-in-law that although our family is not rich, we never have to worry about food and clothing. The Xu family has three meals a day, and they usually have pickled vegetables and soybean paste steamed buns, but even so, Uncle Xu has to support the girls in the family to study." Wei Yin spread his hands and said helplessly, "It's not the case in our family. In our family, only the men study, and the women are illiterate. People now call this blind. Ah Yun is so old, but she is not asked to study. To me, this is all old-fashioned ideas."
"The Xu family, I think they are also an old-fashioned family. They even have concubines." Chen Xuan said.
"People put old times before marrying a wife, but not old times before studying." Wei Yin said quickly.
Only then did Chen Xuan realize that not all families in the world are the same.
Chen Xuan then said, "Ah Yin, can't you read? I see you can read."
"Those were all things my second elder brother learned when he was studying. I only learned them occasionally. What's so difficult about studying? Dad didn't ask me to study. If he had asked me to study, I would definitely have been admitted to that school called a university." Wei Yin murmured to his second sister-in-law.