Jiang Miao opened his eyes after hearing a few rooster crows. He felt warm in his arms, which was much more comfortable than the cold quilt he usually slept in.
There were already sounds outside, the girls' soft whispers sounded like larks in spring, especially pleasant to the ears.
He got up, tidied himself, and called Xiao Shitou to go out to wash and eat porridge. The porridge was probably mixed grain porridge, in addition to a little brown rice, it also put a lot of sweet potatoes and corn grits, it didn't look good, but it tasted sweet and filling.
After eating, Jiang Miao originally planned to call an oxcart to take them out of the village, but after asking Wang Xiaochun, he found out that there was no oxcart specifically for pulling people in the village, but there were a few oxen doing farm work. Wang Xiaochun didn't know that Jiang Miao in front of her had changed. She just sighed that life was better in the city. Even a frugal person like Miao Ge'er knew to take a car when going out.
In desperation, he could only walk out with his brother. Although he had never walked this road before, fortunately, Xiao Shitou knew it and led him out in no time.
After leaving the village, there is only a narrow ridge road with paddy fields on both sides. It is winter now, the grass and trees are withered, and there are only inch-long straws left in the fields, and there is no water. Xiao Shitou is used to walking on the ridge road, and his steps seem very brisk, but Jiang Miao is a little embarrassed, and he almost stepped on the air and fell into the field several times. He secretly complained in his heart, no wonder there is no ox cart in the village, even if there is a car, they don’t know where to go! If you want to get rich, build roads first, this is really true!
After walking about four or five miles, they finally saw the official road. It was a loess road that could accommodate two carriages driving side by side. Compared with the small field road in their village, it was as wide as a highway to heaven. Of course, it was incomparable to the road to Puling Temple in the north of the city.
Once on the official road, they would occasionally meet one or two people riding fast horses, with yellow dust flying in the air. Jiang Miao and Xiao Shitou would stand by the roadside and eat dust from time to time. In desperation, Jiang Miao had to tear off some of the cloth and wrap a flowered scarf for himself and Xiao Shitou to cover themselves.
After walking for a while, a bullock cart appeared at the intersection ahead. Jiang Miao's eyes lit up and he shouted over there, "Hey, old man, wait a minute!"
Jiang Miao hurriedly pulled the little stone forward a few steps and caught up with the ox cart in front. The driver was a man dressed as an old farmer, and there were many burlap bags piled high on the cart, and no one knew what was inside.
"Young man, what do you want me to do?" The old man stopped the car, turned around in confusion, and looked at the two people, one big and one small, panting in front of him. He thought it was a young wife with a child, wrapped in a flowery headscarf, but when he got closer, he found it was a young man.
"I want to ask where you are going, old man, and if you can give us a ride?" Jiang Miao walked on the mountain road for half a day yesterday, and walked for a long time again today. His legs felt like they were stepping on cotton and he could no longer walk.
The old man looked at Jiang Miao, then looked at the little stone staring at him eagerly, and asked, "I want to go to Liangjing City, where are you going?"
"We are going to Liangjing City too! You just need to take us to the city gate. Just tell me the amount for the travel expenses. I will come up if it's possible." Jiang Miao still kept a small piece of silver and didn't give it out. It weighed about one penny.
"Forget it, just get on board. This isn't a passenger car, so it's not easy for me to charge you any money. Just consider it a good deed I'm doing today. Just watch your step and don't break my things."
Jiang Miao thanked him repeatedly, then held Xiao Shitou and sent him to the car first, then he climbed up and found a good place to sit.
After the two of them sat down firmly, the old man shouted and the cow in front started walking.
Unlike donkeys, cows pull carts. Although they are slower, they are very stable. Jiang Miao sat for a while and started to talk to the old man. He had one good thing about him, that is, he was never afraid to talk to strangers. He could get to know them by talking. According to some stupid netizens, he had a bit of social stunt syndrome.
"Uncle, what's your name? I see you turned out from the intersection ahead. Which village is that?"
"My surname is Zhou and I'm from Liantang Village. Where are you, kid?" The old man was obviously a talkative person.
"Uncle Zhou, I'm from Jiangjiawan. My last name is Jiang, and there are three waters in my name. You can call me Sanshui Boy, and this is my younger brother Xiao Shitou."
"Oh, Jiangjiawan! I'm familiar with that place. My second aunt married there. I went there several times when I was a child..."
The two chatted all the way, and Uncle Zhou was glad that he had brought the two brothers along, otherwise it would have been so boring. Jiang Miao was also very happy, because he had a deeper understanding of the surrounding villages. He would have something to talk about when he got home.
Walking down this official road, you will reach the East Gate of Liangjing City. It was almost noon when they finally arrived. The inspection for entering the city was more complicated than that for leaving the city. Jiang Miao sat on the ox cart and observed the pedestrians coming and going. If the people living at the West Gate were generally poor, then those living at the East City were generally richer. Once you enter the city gate, you can find that the people here are dressed differently and have different mental outlooks.
Just now when they were chatting all the way here, Jiang Miao found out that the reason why Mr. Zhou came to Liangjing City was because of a distant relative of his named Zhao Xing, who worked as a small manager in the kitchen of Zhu Mansion in the East Gate. This time the mansion wanted to buy lotus roots, so he asked someone to bring a message to him. After all, there was not much in Liantang Village at this time of year, but there were plenty of lotus roots.
Jiang Miao was interested when he learned that the sacks were filled with lotus roots, because lotus root dumplings tasted good and were fresh, and people here didn't use lotus roots to make dumplings. Jiang Miao asked Mr. Zhou about the price and wanted to buy some to try. But Mr. Zhou said that if the order was small, he would not come because it was too far from home and it was not worth it.
Jiang Miao decided to get off the car with Uncle Zhou and help him carry the lotus roots in. He would also discuss with Zhao Xing to see if he could sell him a few kilograms. He would try it first, and if it worked, he would find another way to get it.
Zhu's residence was not far from the east gate. The ox cart went through two streets and arrived at the back door of Zhu's residence. Uncle Zhou parked the ox cart and then went forward to deal with the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper had a pair of sharp eyes. At first glance, they were ordinary people and were nonchalant in dealing with them. After much persuasion, he agreed to go in and inform the kitchen.
There was a distance from the backyard to the kitchen. Jiang Miao did not look around the whole time, just carrying the things and walking inside. The rules of a wealthy family are very strict. If something goes wrong, he, a commoner, will have no way to escape. This is not like modern times, where you can dial 110 and someone will come to rescue you.
It took three trips to unload all the sacks from the oxcart. When weighing, Jiang Miao went over to discuss it with him. Zhao Xing was not sure if it was because of Mr. Zhou's face, but he was quite easy to talk to. He directly gave him five kilograms. After paying the bill, he even sent them out.
"My nephew, be careful not to eat up all the lotus roots you buy. If you don't wash them, they can be kept for half a month. Don't let them all be washed." said Mr. Zhou. He was afraid that if they were left to spoil, his nephew would be blamed by the host family.
Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Don't worry, uncle. We will finish the lotus roots in one day."
Mr. Zhou looked unconvinced: "Don't tease me, eight or nine bags, can you finish them in one day?"
"Do you know why I bought these lotus roots? Our grandfather is having his birthday the day after tomorrow, and the chef we invited from outside has prepared a dish for the kitchen called osmanthus honey lotus root. These lotus roots are for the banquet."
Old Man Zhou was shocked. With so many lotus roots, how many tables would have to be set up for feasting? Wouldn't the host go bankrupt
Jiang Miao, who was standing by, had an idea after hearing this.
"Brother Zhao, your grandfather is having a birthday party. Have you found a chef for pastry? I can make birthday peaches and other pastries as well."
Zhao Xing looked at him, somewhat unconvinced: "We don't need to hire another chef for the pastry, the few we have in the house can do it." It is enough to invite people in person by the chairman.
Jiang Miao was not discouraged after being rejected. He said, "The birthday peaches I made look different from those in the mansion. It's more prestigious to bring them out for safekeeping. If Brother Zhao changes his mind, you can find me in Tianshui Alley, Yifeng Street, Ximen."
When a wealthy family holds a banquet, the most important thing is to have a good appearance. He learned how to make birthday buns from a star chef. Let’s not talk about how it tastes, but the appearance is enough to please people.
Zhao Xing nodded perfunctorily, still wondering who this familiar boy was and why he came with his uncle. He didn't find the answer, but he remembered the address he gave.
Coming out of the back door of Zhu's house, Jiang Miao, carrying five catties of lotus roots and holding Little Stone, said goodbye to Old Man Zhou. After watching him leave, the two waited on the side of the road for a while, called a donkey cart, and spent fifteen cents to go back to the west gate. The east and the west were quite far apart, and it took a long time to get there.
The silver he had exchanged for copper coins at Zhao Xing's place, Jiang Miao took out fifteen coins and handed them to him, then led his brother into the yard through the side door. A lot of things had happened in the past three days, which made Jiang Miao physically and mentally exhausted. He felt that time was very long, and when he stepped into the yard again, he felt as if he had been in another world.
"Xiao Shitou, we'll live here from now on. Are you hungry? Play there for a while, I'll cook for you." Jiang Miao opened the door, put down his things, then scooped up some rice and went to the well to wash it.
When Little Shitou saw his brother go out, he did not listen to him and go to play by the bed. Instead, he walked to the stove to look around, then skillfully picked up the flint and lit a fire. After the fire was burning, he scooped some water from the vat next to him, poured it into the pot, and started to scrub the pot on tiptoe.
"... Just let your brother do these things in the future." Jiang Miao felt a little sad. At least he had a happy childhood, but Xiao Shitou was forced to be sensible since he could remember.
Little Stone hummed, but Keren sat down in front of the stove and began to light the fire seriously.
Jiang Miao was helpless, okay, anyway, it's warm in winter. He added water to the pot and put the rice in, and went in and out a few times to change the water in the jar. Then, he opened another small jar, and a sour smell instantly came out of it. These were some cabbages that Jiang Miao pickled when he first came. It's been more than half a month, and it's almost edible.
He took out a head of pickled cabbage, chopped it up and fried it. When the pickled cabbage was done and the porridge was cooked, the two of them had a simple meal with the pickled cabbage and porridge.
Jiang Miao felt a little embarrassed. It seemed a little shabby to eat this since it was his brother's first time here. "Little Stone, let's just eat something simple first. I'll make you something delicious tonight."
Little Stone said, "White rice porridge is delicious, brother doesn't need to make anything else." In his previous home, he could only drink porridge made of white rice during festivals.
"In the future, I will cook a lot of food for you. Then you will find that there are many more delicious things than white rice porridge!"
"Hmm!" Little Stone smiled, his eyes sparkling. In fact, he felt that the rice porridge his brother made today was the most delicious thing in the world.
(End of this chapter)