Qingming Festival is approaching. Since they are back today, Uncle Jiang said that they should sweep the tombs in advance to save them from coming back the day after tomorrow. Jiang Miao has no objection. The custom here is to sweep the tombs three days before and four days after Qingming Festival, that is, you can sweep the tombs three days before and four days after Qingming Festival.
They carried the sacrificial supplies they had bought earlier and held the three animals for offering, and first went to the Jiang family's ancestral tomb to sacrifice to their ancestors, and then went to the sunny slope of Xiaohuangshan Mountain.
The last time I came was in winter, when the vegetation on the mountain was withered, so it was easy to walk. Now that everything is revived, the vegetation is growing very fast, and the original narrow path has long been submerged in weeds.
Jiang Miao took the axe on his waist and swung it, walking in front to clear the way. Suddenly, he noticed a bunch of small fist-like bulges hidden among the grass and trees. These things popped out from the ground, straight and straight, without any branches, and looked gray-brown, covered with a layer of small hairs.
Uncle Jiang noticed Jiang Miao's gaze and said, "This mountain fern is growing well. If you want to eat it, pick some after you sweep the graves and ask your aunt to cut some bacon and stir-fry it."
Jiang Miao nodded and said, "Yeah, I haven't eaten it for nearly a year, and I still miss it."
In modern times, every spring, he would go to the supermarket to buy some bracken to eat. This thing was shipped from the countryside, and it aged quickly in the wild, and the price was also high, generally more than ten yuan per pound, and the most expensive time was even more than twenty yuan, which was indeed a bit expensive for vegetables. And this thing tasted a little astringent, some people might not be used to it, but Jiang Miao liked it.
Arriving at the graves, Jiang Miao picked up some things to weed a few graves, then offered incense and candles and began to worship. Just like the last time, Jiang Miao told them what had happened recently, as if he was chatting with them face to face.
After that, Jiang Miao felt relieved. Uncle Jiang was still apologizing to his elder brother and sister-in-law, saying that he had made a mistake in helping Xiaoyu find such a family. The two of them looked very similar in their chattering expressions, and they looked like a family.
After offering sacrifices to their ancestors, they walked back. In addition to the bracken they had agreed to buy, they also picked some dandelions to eat cold.
When they got home, it was almost time for dinner. Second Aunt Jiang and several sisters were still in Jiang Yu's room comforting her, so Jiang Miao volunteered to take on the task of making dinner.
He washed the rice first and put it in the pot, and while the rice was cooking, he prepared the vegetables. The bacon was hanging on the beam in the kitchen, Jiang Miao took a pole to take it down, cut a small piece and washed it.
After being washed, the bacon has a shiny color and looks very tempting. It also has a smoky aroma when you smell it carefully. It was smoked by Aunt Jiang after Uncle Jiang cut pine and cypress branches.
In addition to fried bracken with bacon and cold-mixed motherwort, Jiang Miao also made a few other dishes based on the ingredients available at home.
When the aroma of the food drifted into the main room, Uncle Jiang couldn't help but sniff it. He patted Jiang Xin, who was particularly quiet today because of that incident, and asked him to call Aunt Jiang and several sisters to eat.
At the dinner table, Jiang Xin, who was a little depressed at first, immediately brightened up after taking the first bite of the dish. He scooped a mouthful of rice into his mouth, then picked up each dish and tasted it.
"Brother Miao's cooking is better than mom's!" Finally, he came to this conclusion.
His three sisters nodded vigorously, and even Jiang Yu, who had been in a bad mood, smiled at Jiang Miao.
Second Aunt Jiang asked in confusion: "I also think that A Miao's cooking is better than mine. You said they are the same ingredients, why do the tastes are so different?" She also looked and saw that the dishes were made with things she had at home.
Jiang Miao smiled and said, "It's not that my cooking is better than Second Aunt's, it's that you are used to Second Aunt's cooking, and when you occasionally eat my cooking, you find it a little fresh."
Hearing him say that, Second Aunt Jiang was very happy and was about to say something, but Second Uncle Jiang didn't respond and said, "That's not the reason. What you cook is just better than what your Second Aunt cooks."
Second Aunt Jiang's face darkened immediately: "If you think my cooking is unpalatable, then you can cook it yourself tomorrow. We are all men of the Jiang family, how come Miao can cook so deliciously, but you can't even cook?"
Uncle Jiang was confused, not knowing what she was angry about: "I didn't say your cooking was bad." Didn't they just say that? Why were they picking on him
Jiang Miao and the other children smiled at each other, then buried their heads in eating, carefully hiding their desire to watch the fun in order to avoid being drawn into the fighting.
The Jiang family's dining table was bustling with activity. In the alley outside the side door, Pei Che and the two little ones looked at each other, both of them speechless.
Jiang Miao went out early this morning. After Little Stone woke up, he dressed and washed himself, climbed back into bed, dug out a few coins from his pocket, and prepared to go to the morning market to buy some food.
When he turned over the bed, he found that Pei Mu was also awake and was lying there looking at him with a pair of bright eyes.
"Little Wood, do you want to get up and go buy some food with me?" Little Stone invited.
Pei Mu sat up, nodded, and began to put on his clothes clumsily. After he was dressed, Xiao Shitou gave him some water to wash up, and then took him by the hand and went out together, not forgetting to close the door before leaving.
"Xiao Shitou, is your brother home?" Aunt Liu asked casually when she ran into them after coming back from shopping.
Little Stone stopped and said seriously, "Hello, Aunt Liu, my brother went back to his hometown today."
Aunt Liu asked, "Who will take you to school later? How about Aunt Liu take your brother Yijie there and then take you there?"
"No, thank you Aunt Liu, the guard uncle will take me there later."
Aunt Liu groaned and said, "Look at my memory. I always forget that your brother and the prince are married. What about the young master? Your brother is out today. What about him?"
Little Stone puffed out his chest proudly: "I'm taking him to study today!"
"Oh, that's great. I've wanted to say this before. How can a child of that age not study? Those who are quiet should study even more. There are so many people in the private school, and they will gradually learn to talk." Aunt Liu was most proud of her grandson's study, so she wanted to encourage him to study whenever she met someone.
Xiao Shitou spoke to her for a few more words before politely saying goodbye and walking out with Pei Mu, who was frowning slightly.
The street in the morning market is very busy, and there are a lot of people selling food. Since Jiang Miao's steamed buns are no longer sold here, the vendors have become more enthusiastic as they have lost a major competitor.
"Little Wood, what do you want to eat?" Little Stone took the few coins in his pocket, looked around, and decided to find the cheapest food to buy. Unexpectedly, Pei Mu took him straight to the stall selling fried fruits. Jiang Miao usually didn't want them to eat too much fried food outside, and a fried fruit was often torn into two pieces.
Xiao Shitou was furious. One oil fruit costs four cents, and eight cents for two people. This is too expensive!
"Wait! How about we not eat this?" Xiao Shitou pulled Pei Mu.
Pei Mu shook his head. He wanted to have one each.
Little Stone struggled for a while, counted the money he brought, and finally decided to be generous: "Uncle, buy two oil fruits."
After hearing this, the uncle selling oil fruits took two prepared oil fruits and fried them in the pan. The soft, sweet and fragrant aroma was stimulated by the hot oil and immediately floated into the noses of the two people, making them swallow their saliva in greed.
Little Stone said "hmm" and then fell silent. Oops, he just forgot what his brother said to them!
After getting the oily fruit, Xiao Shitou paid the money and took Pei Mu back home.
Pei Mu couldn't help but start eating, but Little Stone was a little conflicted. But Pei Mu was eating so deliciously that Little Stone thought about it and couldn't resist the temptation and started eating. It's such a waste if I don't eat what I spent money on! He comforted himself in his heart while eating.
After eating, he told Pei Mu not to tell his brother about it, otherwise he would not buy it for him next time. Pei Mu, who thought it would be better if they shared one, looked at him and did not respond.
After staying in the house for a while, the guard who had been secretly following them since they left came and knocked on the door, leading the two of them into the carriage.
After arriving at the private school, Pei Mu was a little nervous for his first time, and he held onto the corner of Xiao Shitou's clothes tightly when he entered. When Master Yu noticed him and asked him to pass, he was like a little hamster being forcibly pulled out of its nest, with resistance written all over his body.
Seeing this, Master Yu did not force them, but asked Little Stone to sit down and then began to teach them to read. The children here only learned the Three Hundred Thousands plus some books on prosody, which made them rhythmic and catchy.
When Xiao Shitou followed other children and read aloud with his head shaking, Pei Mu looked very strange without any movement. When others looked at him in confusion, Pei Mu also looked at Xiao Shitou with a little puzzlement, not understanding why he was like this.
After reading what they had learned today many times until everyone was familiar with it, Master Yu began to teach them how to write. Pei Mu was familiar with writing, as he had been practicing with Xiao Shitou these days. When he saw them laying out paper and grinding ink, he also picked up a pen and waited for Xiao Shitou to grind it so that he could use it together.
When Master Yu noticed this, he found that the two were sitting side by side writing, and their handwriting on the paper was exactly the same, ugly but cute. Master Yu smiled and shook his head, Jiang Lei learned quickly and memorized quickly, but he really didn't know what to say about his handwriting.
He leaned over, held Little Stone's hand and led him to write stroke by stroke. Little Stone looked at the beautiful handwriting of Master Jing and couldn't help feeling a little frustrated. But after a moment, he picked himself up and wrote carefully, referring to the words left by Master Jing.
Pei Mu was a little stiff, and only after Master Yu left did he relax and continue writing.
At noon, Master Yu heard that Jiang Miao was not there, so he invited them to eat together. The food here was not bad, but the cooking skills of the chef were not very good. Pei Mu was not interested in eating, and he couldn't help looking outside, as if he was looking forward to when Jiang Miao would come in to take him back.
"Eat quickly, brother said not to waste food!" Little Shitou was easier to feed. After he finished eating, he came to urge Pei Mu. In the end, he almost couldn't help but snatch the spoon from Pei Mu's hand to feed him, so that he could finish the rice in the bowl.
We learned Chapter 9 in the afternoon.
Maybe it was because he was particularly sensitive to money and numbers, but Xiao Shitou was very good at arithmetic, better than all the other children in the private school. Pei Mu only counted money with Jiang Miao, and spent the afternoon class as if he was listening to a foreign language.
After finally getting through school, Pei Mu almost rushed out of the private school. When he realized that there was only a carriage outside and no sign of Jiang Miao, his disappointment almost materialized.
"Why are you alone? Where's your brother?" During the Qingming Festival, the Imperial College was closed for three days because they didn't have a day off on weekdays. They could leave this afternoon. Pei Che took a car straight to Yifeng Street, thinking of staying here for one night and taking Mu'er home to prepare tomorrow morning.
"Brother Pei Che, my brother went back to his hometown today." Little Shitou answered obediently, feeling a little lost. When he turned the corner and saw a figure just now, he thought it was his brother who came back.
"Going back home? What happened?" Pei Che felt something was wrong. Qingming Festival was the day after tomorrow, so why were they in such a hurry to go back today
Little Stone frowned and thought for a while, then said, "My brother didn't say anything, but he said he would be back soon."
Pei Che looked at the sky and said, "It should be soon. Open the door and go in first." He decided to wait for Jiang Miao to come back and then ask him for a key to the side door. The room door alone was not enough.
Xiao Shitou took out the key hanging around his neck, opened the door, walked in with them, then opened the door and returned home.
There were three people in the small room, but the atmosphere seemed a little deserted. It was only one person missing, but it seemed like a lot was missing.
Pei Che felt a little uncomfortable. He recalled Jiang Miao's usual behavior and said, "I'll have someone bring some food over. You guys eat first?"
Little Stone shook his head and said, "I'm going to wait for my brother to come back and eat together." Pei Mu nodded and joined him.
"Then, Little Shitou, why don't you practice calligraphy first?" Pei Che actually didn't know how to get along with children.
"Oh, OK." Little Stone responded and walked into the study. Pei Mu followed him in, he was also practicing calligraphy!
"Mu'er, you can write so many words now?" Pei Che was a little surprised. The last time he came, he was only concerned with resolving the misunderstanding with Jiang Miao and hardly noticed Pei Mu's changes.
Pei Mu raised his eyes and looked at him. Although he didn't say anything, he couldn't help but sit up straighter, as if he wanted Pei Che to see him more clearly.
Pei Che praised him a few more times, and when he saw him lower his head to write seriously, he shifted his gaze to Xiao Shitou's words.
"Who wrote this?" Pei Che asked, pointing at the piece of paper on the small stone table. The edge of the paper was jagged, and it looked like it was torn from somewhere.
"This was written by our Master Yu. His handwriting is so beautiful!" Little Stone does this every day.
"She's more handsome than elegant, but lacks character." Pei Che commented.
Little Stone was a little unconvinced: "Brother Pei Che, are you saying that our teacher's handwriting is not good? Then can you write such beautiful words?"
Pei Che raised his eyebrows, took the pen from Xiao Shitou, and wrote the same word on the paper. The piece of paper placed next to his words immediately looked inferior. Even a kid like Xiao Shitou who had just started school felt that Pei Che's words did look better.
Little Stone became excited: "Brother Pei Che, can you write a few words for me? This way I don't have to tear up what the teacher wrote every day!"
Pei Che looked around and suddenly realized that there was indeed no copybook in the room. When children were learning calligraphy, their elders would prepare copybooks for them to copy. Copybooks were usually works by famous masters, and only by copying such copybooks could the characters they wrote look good.
"It was my negligence. I will write a few for you today, and then I will give you a few copybooks. When you practice calligraphy every day, just write according to the ones above." Pei Che felt a little apologetic. Jiang Miao didn't understand this, and he should have remembered it. After all, he cared too little about Xiao Shitou.
Pei Che wrote a few lines and asked Little Stone to copy them. He stood up and looked around the study, making a list of things to buy in his mind.
(End of this chapter)