In the afternoon, Zhulan was afraid of snakes so she didn't go up the mountain. There were many snakes in the woods in ancient times, making it difficult to guard against them. After the summer when the grass and trees grew lush, she didn't even go to the riverside. She really couldn't muster up the courage to go up the mountain.
Li and Zhao followed them up the mountain. There were a lot of wild vegetables on the mountain, especially ferns that could be dried and eaten in winter. Zhulan suggested that they pick more and store them, so that at least the vegetables would have more variety in winter.
Last year, she and Zhou Shuren came here in autumn, and there were not many ferns left at home. Later, they went to the county grocery store to buy some, but unfortunately they didn't buy any, because ferns are bitter if not cooked well, and many people can't get used to the bitter taste. The rich families in the county are not short of ferns, and farmers in rural areas basically pick them themselves, so the grocery store doesn't sell them.
This year, Zhulan will definitely store more and also collect some dried ferns from the village. She loved eating spicy mixed vegetables when she was in college, and the ferns tasted delicious when soaked and mixed with spicy vegetables.
The neighbors moved, and except for the woman who wanted to take advantage of the situation, no girls went. There was only a short while of excitement in the morning, and no movement at all in the afternoon.
Zhulan and her two daughters were picking and drying vegetables in the yard, talking and laughing, and everyone next door could hear it clearly.
Wang Ru sat on a specially made bench. The more she heard the laughter from next door, the uglier her face became. The house that she had been satisfied with now became annoying to her. When she thought about the money to buy the house, Wang Ru felt heartbroken. Zheng asked for one hundred taels of silver at the beginning, and finally she said she didn't want to buy it, so she bargained it down to sixty taels of silver. She also gave up the old house of the Wang family that she had just bought, and spent thirty taels on renovating the yard. Together with the two taels she spent at the Qian family in more than half a month, more than ninety taels of silver were gone.
The silver that Shi Qing sent her in half a month was only fifty taels. Adding the previous money, she had more than one hundred and twenty taels in her hand. After spending more than ninety taels, and adding the money for buying a dog and giving benefits to her two sisters, she only had more than twenty taels of silver left.
Wang Xin was holding her breath in the morning, and only came back to her senses in the afternoon. She vaguely remembered what she had forgotten, and hurried to find Wang Ru, "Third sister, the days of Master Shi sending money are over."
At Zhou's house, Zhulan happened to be standing on a shelf under the wall, turning over ferns. She heard everything clearly and silently calculated the days in her mind. The days had really passed. She knew in her heart that Shi Qing was angry with Wang Ru and wanted to teach her a lesson. She did not think that the only lesson was to cut off her silver.
Wang Ru was shocked and realized that it was true. As time went by, she only had twenty taels of silver left in her hand, and she started to panic.
Wang Xin looked at Wang Ru carefully, and her heart skipped a beat. She had just imagined her life as a young lady, so she thought, "Third sister, how about writing a letter and asking?"
Wang Ru quickly calmed down. She felt disdain for Shi Qing in her heart. She couldn't control her, so she wanted to teach her a lesson. She still had something in her hand. Let's see who can outlast the other. "Don't worry, I'll deliver it to you in a few days."
Wang Rong stood under the eaves looking at her sister, her heart sinking. She thought her weak sister was the best person, but now her sister looked so much like Sun. She smiled sarcastically and turned back to the house.
Zhulan heard no movement from the other side before pulling Xuehan away.
After finishing the yard work, Xuemei cleaned the yard. She put down the broom and wiped her hands. "Mom, big brother and second brother, help me get some firewood. I'm going to buy some meat and a fish to have dinner for the family in the evening."
Zhulan thought for a moment and said, "By the way, I can buy two pieces of tofu. It will be nice to make wild vegetable and tofu soup in the evening."
Nowadays, she seldom eats wild vegetables, especially pollution-free, pure green wild vegetables, which are difficult to buy in the city. In ancient times, since wild vegetables could be eaten and the days without green were finally bid farewell, Zhulan has fallen in love with wild vegetables. The wild vegetables at home are made into various dishes, such as shepherd's purse dumplings, wild vegetable buns, cold dishes, stir-fries, and all kinds of dishes you can think of. Even those eaten with sauce are delicious.
Zhulan’s favorite is wild vegetable tofu soup, it’s very fresh!
Xuemei took note and said, "Yes."
Zhulan took her little girl back to the house and poured herself a cup of tea. "Tell me, how do you think Shi Qing will teach Wang Ru a lesson?"
She really seizes every opportunity to teach her children. Today, Zhao and Li were not at home, so they missed a class.
Xue Han also poured herself a cup of tea and smiled with crooked eyes, "If I were Shi Qing, the first step would be to cut off the money, the second step would be to make Wang Ru have no money, and the third step would be to force Wang Ru to look for it, so as to get more things I want."
Wang Ru's abnormality had never been hidden from her mother. She had always been taught and guided by her mother, and she never focused on the present. She also learned to look at things in the long term and consider issues from different perspectives.
Zhulan was really pleased with her little girl. "Then tell me, how did Master Shi make Wang Ru lose all her money?"