The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

Seeing that Xia Mianwan had a lot of things, Liu Daniu drove the ox cart to Zheng's house first and helped Xia Mianwan unload all the things.

When Zhou saw that Xia Mianwan bought so many things, she hurried out to help carry them.

"Mianwan, why did you buy so much cloth?" Zhou asked curiously.

"Not only cloth, I also ordered a lot of cotton. I heard from people in the town that it will start snowing in the next few days. In previous years, it would snow for many days in the winter here, and the whole winter would be very, very cold, and almost everyone would stay at home during the winter. I thought that although we have thick cotton-padded clothes, charcoal and other things, we can't stay at home every day and do nothing, otherwise it will be difficult to get through the spring next year. So, I thought we could do some things in the winter." Xia Mianwan said with a smile after stacking the cloth.

After hearing this, Zhou became a little worried. The winters here are so cold, and she wondered if it would affect her life.

Xia Mianwan understood Zhou’s concerns, but she didn’t know what the days ahead would be like, so she could only take things one step at a time.

Night comes early in the north, and after Zhu lit the oil lamp, she invited everyone to eat.

"Vinegar and Chinese cabbage, braised pork, chicken stewed with mushrooms, and stir-fried vegetables." Zheng Lingwan brought the dishes to the table and announced the names of the dishes.

"Good, good, good." Old Mrs. Zheng praised with a smile.

Since they were all exiled to the village, there were no longer so many rules and everyone gathered together to eat.

"Sister-in-law, I have bought some winter supplies for the family." Zheng Xiaoqi said while eating.

Xia Mianwan nodded and said, "That's good. After this winter, we can think about our future livelihood. There is something I want to tell you. Although we are a family living together, we can't ignore our own families. I thought of giving everyone fifty taels of silver. This is the money given by the public treasury to the small families. For example, Lingwan, who hasn't married yet, can save up her dowry now. In the future, 20% of all the income of the public treasury will be distributed to everyone."

"Mian Wan is still the most thoughtful one." Old Mrs. Zheng knows very well that brothers should settle accounts clearly. Even though they are no longer a wealthy family, they still have to follow the necessary rules.

Thinking of her son and grandson whose lives were unknown, Mrs. Zheng felt extremely heartbroken. After arriving in the north, these tiny bits of pain began to surge into her heart.

However, seeing her granddaughter-in-law living such a thoughtful, meticulous and tenacious life, Old Mrs. Zheng couldn't help but want to fight for her dignity. The Zheng family was full of loyal and brave people, but they encountered such a thing. It was impossible not to be disheartened, and it was also impossible to let it go. She could only take everything one step at a time, which was also a solution.

Just when they said they were going to hibernate, the temperature dropped sharply in the middle of the night. The thermometer that I secretly took out during the hibernation night showed that it had dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Xia Mianwan took a deep breath. It was so cold just after the snow fell. If she waited for the snow to melt, she would be freezing. Worried that something was wrong with Mrs. Zheng, Xia Mianwan put on her cotton clothes and went to her room.

Fortunately, the kang was burning, otherwise it would be easy for something to happen to the elderly.

Xia Mianwan added a quilt to Old Mrs. Zheng, and then Old Mrs. Zheng woke up.

"Mianwan, why are you here?" Old Mrs. Zheng propped herself up and sat up.

"Grandma, it's snowing outside and it's very cold. I came to see you." Xia Mianwan helped Grandma Zheng up.

Old Mrs. Zheng looked outside and was a little worried. "With such heavy snow, I wonder if the mountain will be closed."

Xia Mianwan sighed and said, "The mountain will definitely be closed."

"Have we prepared enough food at home?" asked Old Mrs. Zheng again.

"There is enough food, and we asked the hunters in the village to deliver firewood two days ago. It should be enough, don't worry, grandma." Seeing that Mrs. Zheng was worried, Xia Mianwan hurried to comfort her.

"Mianwan, you have suffered so much. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to live like this." Old Mrs. Zheng patted Xia Mianwan's hand.

"Grandma, you don't have to say that to me. Xiaoyun is the eldest grandson. Now that he is gone, I will naturally take care of the family on his behalf." Xia Mianwan shook her head.

"Xiaoyun is unlucky. He treated you like that when you got married, but you can treat us like this." Old Mrs. Zheng sighed.

It sounds like Zheng Xiaoyun didn't have any feelings for the original owner, but that doesn't matter. The person is gone anyway, so it doesn't matter whether there was any feelings or not.

After coming out of Old Lady Zheng's room, Xia Mianwan went to the kitchen trembling again, "Ling Wan, why are you here too?"

Zheng Lingwan smiled shyly and said, "It's too cold. I thought I'd get up and make some ginger tea for everyone to prevent them from catching a cold."

Xia Mianwan laughed and said, "You have a point, but don't just drink ginger tea. I also have brown sugar. You can make some together."

"it is good."

Zheng Lingwan was making ginger tea on the side, and Xia Mianwan thought about it and took a small pot to cook white porridge.

"Sister-in-law, is it time to have breakfast?" Zheng Lingwan asked curiously.

Xia Mianwan nodded and said, "Can you make poached eggs?"

"What is a fried egg?" Zheng Lingwan asked puzzledly.

"I'll show you how to make it later. We got up early today, so we might as well make some dumplings and some pancakes. It's cold now, so we can keep them for quite a few days." Xia Mianwan said.

"I always listen to my sister-in-law." Zheng Lingwan's eyes were sparkling, full of admiration for Xia Mianwan.

Xia Mianwan smiled and taught Zheng Lingwan how to make dumplings and pancakes. For a while, the two sisters-in-law were busy in the kitchen.