During the new year, the crown prince relayed what Su Hai said to Pan'er, but Pan'er didn't say a word.
On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, all the preparations for the New Year have been prepared, and the only thing left is to wait for the New Year.
This was probably the most fulfilling year for Pan'er. From the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month in advance, she and Aunt Qing had been tossing about making so-called New Year's goods.
Chicken, duck, fish, everything you can think of, and all kinds of caramel and fruits. These things are obviously not as good as those in the palace, and they can be rough. She still bought some of everything like ordinary people doing New Year's goods with great interest. return.
Twenty-three sticky melons, twenty-four sweeping the house, twenty-five grinding tofu, twenty-six cutting meat, twenty-seven killing a chicken, twenty-eight handfuls of dough, twenty-nine steaming steamed buns, and thirty nights of cooking. accommodation.
Pan'er not only followed suit one by one, but also made a lot of fried goods.
This is a local custom in Yangzhou. Chicken, duck, and fish can be cut into pieces, marinated with seasoning, and then dipped in flour and fried in a frying pan.
Deep-fried until golden, put it in a basket and hang it on the beam of the house. It can be eaten until the end of the twelfth lunar month without spoiling. Whether it is stewed, steamed, or cooked in a pot, it is delicious no matter how you eat it.
At the suggestion of cattails, they also fried hemp leaves.
According to cattails, this is the food of their hometown. The noodles are reconciled and rolled into flakes. It doesn't matter what kind of cut it is, and it can also be made into patterns. Then put it into the oil pan and deep-fry until golden brown, take it out, sprinkle sugar or salt on it, it's delicious.
The plate tasted it, and it was just like that, and it was crispy, but the cattails cried after eating, crying while eating, saying that they were homesick.
But her home is too far away, in Henan, far away from Yangzhou.
In fact, everyone is homesick, but Pan'er has no home to think about.
But she also figured out one thing. Turning around, she met the prince and told him that she wanted to go to Su's house on the second day of junior high school.
Anyway, they will leave here after the next year, and this is probably the last time we meet, so let's take it as a farewell.
On New Year's Eve, the reunion dinner was eaten by Pan'er and the prince, and Aunt Cattail Qing and the others also set up a table. The reunion dinner of the guards was hosted by a newly hired cook. The cook's skills were mediocre, but at least the outside restaurant would not be open during the Chinese New Year, so the guards could have food.
Pan'er originally told the prince to watch the night, but unexpectedly fell asleep while playing chess with the prince, and when he woke up again, it was the sound of firecrackers and fireworks coming from outside.
It seemed that the whole city of Yangzhou woke up all of a sudden. Cattails hurried in from the outside and said, "Master, someone is setting off fireworks. You can see them from the yard. There are a lot of them!"
Pan'er remembered something, and said to the prince, "His Royal Highness, hurry up, let's go to see the fireworks. Every year at this time, the Jiang family and several other salt merchants will set off fireworks, and the whole Yangzhou city can see them."
She put on her shoes and ran out without a cape on.
The prince got off the arhat bed, took the cloak from Qing Dai's hand, and followed him out.
It can indeed be seen in the yard, but it is still a little lower. It just so happens that there is a small three-story building in this house, and Pan Er dragged the prince outside, saying that he was going there to watch the fireworks.
The sky is full of stars and moon.
What is even more shining is the fireworks like cycads and silver flowers in the sky. There are various shapes and colors. When the fireworks bloom to the extreme in the sky and pour down, the beauty is suffocating.
"Your Highness, do you know? Every household in Yangzhou City will keep vigil on New Year's Eve, adults and children alike, because at this time, salt merchants will set off fireworks like a competition, which can last for more than an hour. I I remember once when I was young, I heard my elder brother say that it seemed that two salt merchants got angry and set off fireworks until Tianma Maming. More than half of the people in Yangzhou City stayed up all night that day, but I couldn’t bear it and fell asleep.”
"That needs a lot of silver, right?"
Pan'er gave him a subconscious glance, wanting to say why this person is so unattractive and how he can get money for everything. It took a moment to realize that this kind of fireworks is expensive to make, and if you put dozens of them at will, nearly a thousand taels of silver will be gone. If you put them on from midnight until dawn, how much silver will it cost
Even the imperial palace didn't have such handwriting, but a small salt merchant did it.
Is it the king's land in the whole world, is it the king's minister on the shore of the land, where does the salt merchant's money come from? From the top of the salt, whose family is the salt? It belongs to the imperial court and is surnamed Zong.
Pan'er guessed that the prince had his own family's money, and was indignant at being ruined by these prodigal things.
"It should cost a lot of money. These fireworks are different from ordinary firecrackers."
Having said that, he didn't say anything, the prince glanced at her, thinking about how she, a woman in the house, knew such things, probably the biggest account she had ever calculated was the little cosmetic money in her hand. If Pan'er knew what he was saying, she would probably reply that she should not look down on others.
The two watched the fireworks quietly.
It was still very cold, and being blown by the cold wind, Pan'er couldn't help wrapping up the cloak on her body. When she went to see the prince, she realized that he probably came out in a hurry, so she put on a thin homemade cotton gown.
She reached out and touched his hand, it was really cold.
"Your Highness, shall we go back?"
"Don't you want to watch the fireworks?"
"But you don't wear so little..." As she said that, Pan'er thought of a way, took off her cloak and let the prince wear it, then she slipped into his arms and showed her head out of the cloak.
He was born tall, and when she stood upright, she only reached his neck, which was just enough to stand like this. Leaning in the prince's embrace, Pan'er felt much warmer than herself alone.
"There are quite a lot of tricks." The prince smiled and agreed with her.
She smiled and said nothing, and pointed to the few blooming chrysanthemums in the sky for the prince to see, waiting suffocatedly for them to dissipate in the sky.
After watching for a while, she suddenly said: "By the way, the first day of junior high school is supposed to leave relatives, but we don't have any relatives to leave, so what are we doing?"
The prince thought for a while and said, "Play chess."
But Pan'er didn't want to play chess anymore, she found that the prince was not talented in killing idle time, seeing her take the initiative to ask him to play chess a few times, he only knew how to play chess.
"But I don't want to play chess anymore, and I can't beat you."
"Then fight Shuanglu?" The prince was thinking seriously.
Pan'er didn't want to play Shuanglu either, but there was nothing else to play, so he could only play Shuanglu.
On the second day of junior high school, Pan'er didn't get up early.
Don't look at that she has already told the prince to go to Su's house on the second day of junior high school, and even prepared the New Year's gift to bring to Su's house, but she is still quite hesitant.
But before she hesitated for long, Su Hai helped her make a decision.
There is a custom in Yangzhou that when a newlywed returns to her natal family for the first time, if her natal family pays attention to it, someone will come to pick her up.
Su Hai came in person and even drove a car.
The donkey cart has only a frame and no shed. When Pan'er and the prince came to the car, she suddenly had the urge to turn around and go back.
But think about it, in fact, most of the ordinary families of the local people use this kind of carriage, and the carriages are used by people who are either rich or expensive.
Just imagine, horses are in short supply for military resources, and ordinary people generally can’t buy them. Even if they can buy them, a horse needs a hundred taels of silver. Which ordinary people are hungry and crazy to buy a horse to pull a cart, or a donkey cart? More affordable.
This was probably also the first time the prince took this kind of car.
The two victims didn't know that Jiang Yi, who was secretly escorted by someone, felt a sense of insanity.
When the donkey cart stopped in front of a small house that had just entered the courtyard, Pan'er knew that the Su family had changed houses.
The Su family used to live in the north of the city. Although they are still in the north of the city now, they are far away from the slums.
It is said to be a slum, but it is just a verbal name. Because the place is adjacent to the Beicheng River that discharges sewage, and next to it is the "dung government" that handles the entire Yangzhou City. The closer the people are, the poorer they are, and some cannot even afford a house , is a shack.
Although the Su family was there before, at least they still have a house, which can be regarded as a middle-class family. But everyone in Yangzhou knows that the people who live here are poor people, and now the Su family can finally get rid of that place.
Pan'er looked at the unremarkable little house in front of her, feeling rather uncomfortable, and couldn't help wondering whether she had come here by mistake today.
While thinking, the door has been opened from the inside, standing a fat woman in her forties, her cheekbones are a bit high, her face is also a bit old, black hair mixed with some gray hair is pulled behind her head With a bun, he looked at Pan'er with a complicated expression.
"What are you doing standing there and asking me to go out and invite you?"
Yao Jinzhi's attitude was rather cold and hard, the prince glanced at Pan'er, but did not speak.
At this time, Su Datian came out from the inside and said, "Come in, your mother has been talking about you for a long time. Yesterday, even the relatives didn't leave, and she was preparing today's dishes at home. Is this your man? Come in, Let's have a good drink later."
Su Datian is good at this and has a good temper. No matter what Yao Jinzhi says, he doesn't lose his temper.
Because of his greeting, the scene was not too embarrassing. Su Hai seemed to return the car, and he came back after a while, and the atmosphere was even more lively.
"Plate."
"Sister."
Su Jiang and Miao Cuixiang greeted Pan'er with a smile. Unlike the curiosity in Miao Cuixiang's eyes, Su Jiang's smile was a little awkward.
"Brother, sister-in-law."
It wasn't until Pan'er called for someone that Su Jiang felt less embarrassed, and winked at Miao Cuixiang again, telling her to quickly let the two children call for someone.
Mao Dan and Tie Dan are five years old and three years old. Both children look like Su Jiang, except that their eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to Miao Cuixiang. I'm also not familiar with my aunt, the big hairy one is okay, but the iron one hides behind her mother's skirt and can't come out.
Pan'er took out two small red envelopes from his sleeve, and one of the children stuffed one, saying that it was lucky money.
These two boys are also quick to see money, so they made a lot of intimacy right away, shouting at each other, which made Miao Cuixiang wink at Su Jiang, and wondered how much money was stuffed in the red envelope.
Afterwards, Miao Cuixiang led the two younger ones to help Yao Jinzhi cook, while Su Jiang joined the men of the Su family and the crown prince in the household chores. These daily routines are specifically reflected in where is the hometown, who else is in the family, how much money can they earn every month, and can they support the family
It doesn't sound like an interrogation, but it can be related to all aspects, and then spread from point to point.
The prince had the illusion that the three seemingly ordinary men in front of him were playing chess against him, and it was one against three. No matter how he broke through, he could be pulled back to continue the topic just now.
Only Su Jiang's dan is a bit low, and it can be seen that he is not good at words, so this kind of teasing made him do it very bluntly, as if he had been confessed to be forced to act out of desperation.
On the other side, after Miao Cuixiang went out, she pulled her two sons back to the East Chamber.
Mao Dan is already grown up, and things are not easy to ask for, so she will take care of Tie Dan, and the three-year-old Tie Dan will not understand the benefits of silver, so mother will give it.
Miao Cuixiang opened it to look, and slapped her thigh. Unexpectedly, her sister-in-law was quite generous, and there was a five-cent piece of broken silver in the red envelope.
"Damn, show yours to mother too. Children can't hold silver in their hands, so let mother keep it for you. I will marry you a wife later."
"If you don't give it, you won't give it!"
Maodan hid while talking, and when he saw that he couldn't hide, he ran outside and went to the kitchen to find Yao Jinzhi. He yelled at Yao Jinzhi, saying that it was his mother who robbed him of money.
Miao Cuixiang followed behind in embarrassment and called mother.
Yao Jinzhi said with a straight face, "Did you give it to me? How much?"
"Tie Dan is loaded with five dollars, you idiot... No, he won't show me..."
"I fell into the eyes of money all day long, bring it here! I don't want her silver, but you dare to accept it?" Yao Jinzhi had a serious face, as if someone owed her two hundred taels of silver.
Since the last time Su Hai came back and told Yao Jinzhi that she saw Pan Er and her man, she was like this. Recently, the Su family has been under pressure. Everyone knows that Yao Jinzhi can't be provoked, and he will explode if provoked.
Miao Cuixiang drooped her head, and took out the money.
Yao Jinzhi snatched it without saying a word, and even wanted to leave Maodan's hand. Maodan didn't dare to say a word, which is enough to show that Yao Jinzhi is the sky in Su's family.
Afterwards, Yao Jinzhi put away the silver and asked Miao Cuixiang to help with the cooking without mentioning it. The lunch meal was quite sumptuous, with chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Pan'er thought about selling his several hundred taels of silver, so he was not surprised at Yao Jinzhi's generosity.
Men drink and women eat, and they always eat faster.
Su Datian was still urging his son-in-law to drink, while Yao Jinzhi called Pan'er into the room.
"Ever since your second brother said he met you, I felt he didn't have any good ideas. Whatever he told you or asked for, you ignored him, and just told him to come to me if you had an opinion."
Pan'er stood there, pursed his lips and said, "He didn't mention anything, he just asked Brother Cong to find him a job, because there was no suitable one, so I didn't say anything more."
"What can he do? His heart is higher than the sky, his life is thinner than paper, someone with high eyes and low hands! Just ignore him! You just have to live a good life with your man, even if it's not easy now," Yao Jinzhi paused and looked up Glancing at her, he turned his eyes away with a straight face: "It will always get better in the future."
Pan'er always felt that seeing Yao Jinzhi this time, she seemed to be a different person. She would not speak like this before, nor would she be so blunt. Obviously she was the one who asked her to come back. She had imagined countless scenes, but she never imagined that Yao Jinzhi would behave like this.
She didn't know what to say, she just stood there, the atmosphere in the room gradually froze.
Yao Jinzhi stood up suddenly, rummaged through a cabinet in the room, and found a worn-out purse.
She took the things to the edge of the bed and sat down again, wiped her face, looked up at Pan'er and said, "That time I told you, you just pretend that I didn't raise you, and I'm not your mother. From now on, you will pay off everything you owe me. This is not a word of anger. In fact, you are not my own. At the beginning, I picked you up and raised you, and later sold you. Cleared up.
"I asked you to come back this time. First, I was afraid that your second brother would cause trouble for you and the couple. You would not be able to refuse because of sympathy. Second, I wanted to return your biological parents' things to you. At first, I thought this thing was taken by your second brother. I stole it and sold it, but I only found it this time when I moved, and when I get the things, I will go back with your man, you are not my own, and you should not take care of the Su family's affairs in the future."