[Red House Chai Dai] Salted Pork Knuckle, Crab Rice Wine

Baochai said solemnly again: "I gave you these books just to relieve your boredom in your free time, not to help you learn these things that you don't have. Poetry and books are certainly a good thing, but they are only suitable for cultivating your temperament. , if you are obsessed with it blindly and ignore the fundamentals, it is a big mistake. You are not too young now, and it is the duty of a girl's family to learn some needlework. Don't talk about you and my daughter's family, just talk about the past dynasties There are quite a few literati and inkmen who have mistaken themselves and others. For example, Liu Sanbian wrote lyrics by order in the previous dynasty, "endure the false name, and change it to a shallow singing."

Xiangling was terrified of being taught, quickly put away the joy on her face, and put away the book embarrassingly.

Seeing her like this, Baochai couldn't bear it, so he softened his tone and talked to her about small things in his hometown, such as food and daily life, etc., and briefly talked about parting. A little stronger, really happy in my heart.Then I asked Grandma Liu next to me, and heard Grandma Liu talk about the livelihood of the family, and said with a smile: "So my grandma's family also grows cotton? My family also accepts this now. Why don't grandma send it here, the price is more fair than the shop outside."

Grandma Liu was overjoyed when she heard the words, and said hesitantly: "My family only has a few acres of cotton fields. How many bales of cotton can I get after excluding the ones for my own use? The girl's shop must be doing big business, and our needlework and brains are not enough. It's a small change, if you don't have a wink and take it, I'm afraid the girl will be embarrassed. It's better to ask the cotton collectors in the village to collect it."

Baochai knew that the northern countryside also had the habit of growing cotton. Although it was not as prosperous as in the south of the Yangtze River, it should not be underestimated.Although there are commercial shops in the city that collect cotton, they do a big business of several thousand catties and tens of thousands of catties, and they don't bother to accept scattered goods from villagers like Grandma Liu.There is a kind of merchant in the city, who has a small capital, and goes to the countryside every year to receive the goods, breaks up the parts, and then trades with the big merchants to earn the difference.For example, when you buy cotton in the countryside, you only get five cents for a catty of cotton, but when it is sold to commercial banks, it is only six or seven cents.Although the villagers know about it, they have no other way. They have been exploited for many years, and they have long been accustomed to it, taking it for granted.

Hearing what Grandma Liu said, Baochai secretly praised her for being knowledgeable and knowing how to advance and retreat, so she hurriedly said: "It's irrelevant. This is my own business now, it's not worth anything, so why bother?" You don’t know, the business of this silk and satin shop has picked up. I’m discussing with someone that I want to use the interest of the previous few months to open a cotton cloth shop in the city, so as to start this business. My house opened If you come here to do business, you don’t want to compete for more or less, grandma just sends it, the price will definitely be more economical than you selling it to the cotton harvester.”

Grandma Liu was a person who could bear hardships, so she couldn't help being overjoyed when she heard this, and thanked Baochai a thousand times.Baochai taught her again: "My family also collects cotton thread, cotton yarn and cotton cloth. Grandma is a knowledgeable person, so she naturally knows that the cotton is spun into thread and woven into cloth, and the value is much higher. If I have time, I will spin the thread and weave it. No matter how much cloth is sent here, the price is only higher than outside."

The two talked about some simple business experience casually, and seeing that it was getting late, Grandma Liu took Xiangling out.

When Xiangling parted, she cried and said to Baochai, "It's all because of me, but the girl has been wronged so much. How can I feel sorry? I heard that my wife is also angry because of this matter." Where's the girl?"

Baochai hurriedly smiled and comforted her: "Don't worry, everything is fine now. You don't know what's going on in my family, and my mother just asks me to advise you about what happened to my uncle. Now it is for this reason, She can't be angry with me anymore, but she treats me much better than before." Suddenly, I heard the voice in the golden lock say faintly: "It's just a matter of face, and in a few days I'm sure it will be treated as mud and rubble again. It's normal." Baochai felt a sharp pain in her heart, so she ignored it and sent Xiangling away for a moment.

After a while, the nanny Zhang Momo came in and said, "Did the girl get angry just now? Why did I see the little daughter-in-law who came to deliver the silk and satin before wiping away tears?"

Baochai had no choice but to deal with it perfunctorily, but Nanny Zhang was serious, and her tone was very earnest: "The girl is usually so calm and stable, why should she be as knowledgeable as a lowly person. Besides, she is not from our family. It is strange to say, then The daughter-in-law is so well-groomed and has a very kind face, as if she's seen it somewhere before."

Ying'er came in with a plate of snacks. After hearing this, she quickly put down the tray and said to Nanny Zhang with a smile, "Your old man must have misread it. How can there be such a thing?"

Just as he was about to explain away with other words, there was a sudden burst of crying, even Baochai was stunned: "Where is the crying coming from? It looks like a child."

Nanny Zhang hurriedly went out to find out what was going on, but when she came back, she was holding a five or six-year-old girl in her hand. She was exquisite and cute, but there were still tears in the corners of her eyes.

When everyone saw the little girl's clothes, they knew she was from a small family, but her eyes were very clear, and there was an aura of aura, which made people love her more and more.Even a dignified person like Baochai came down in person, held her hand, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, coaxed her softly, and fed her fruit.

But when the little girl explained why she was crying, everyone in the room couldn't help but shake their heads, and instead rushed to talk about the little girl's fault.

It turns out that the little girl's nickname is Liu Yiyi, and her ancestors have a lot of background. She is the descendant of Liu Biao, the Duke of Li.However, there are many brothers and heirs of Duke Guo. Except for one grandson, Liu Fang, who is now the first-class son, the rest of the houses are declining day by day.The little girl's grandfather was born as a concubine, and when the family was separated, the family property was the least. When the little girl's father, Liu Quan, lived on more than ten acres of Susukida, he married the daughter of an old scholar named Hu. .

The Hu family learned the court training when they were young, but they can also read and write. They tidy up Liu's house inside and out, but one thing is not good, and there are no children and grandchildren.The Hu family and Liu Quan have been in love for several years. The first child was a girl, and the mother-in-law didn't care, she just said that it will bloom first and then bear fruit. When the second child gave birth to Liu Yiyi, although Yuxue is cute and everyone praises it, but the Liu family Everyone started to get anxious.Granny Liu even looked for opportunities to beat Hu Shi every now and then.

This day, Granny Liu took her granddaughter Liu Yiyi out for a stroll. Liu Yiyi was very young, and when she saw a candy seller on the street, she said she wanted to eat it.That Granny Liu has always been the most stingy character, but today she is willing to spend a few pennies to buy the sugar man and her.It's just that the sugar man wasn't given for nothing, Granny Liu secretly taught Liu Yiyi to say a few words, asking her mother when she would give birth to a younger brother, but Liu Yiyi refused, saying that the younger brother was not good and she didn't want him.Granny Liu was just Liu Yiyi's child, she just rubbed and kneaded her, but unexpectedly, Liu Yiyi, who was always well-behaved, turned against her.Liu Yiyi was in pain, so she couldn't help crying.Although she is young, she is a smart person. Seeing that Granny Liu was still chasing and beating her, she immediately went straight to Xue's silk and satin shop across the street, and sneaked into the backyard when no one was prepared. look on in despair.

Seeing Liu Yiyi's rare and clear narration despite her young age, everyone was amazed in their hearts, but they couldn't help shaking their heads when she finished explaining the whole story.

Nanny Zhang first smiled and said to Liu Yiyi: "It's your fault. Little girls are supposed to be obedient, and old people do what they say. How can there be any reason not to have a younger brother? I can't blame your grandma for being angry."

Liu Yiyi said loudly: "I often hear people say that you must be honest and trustworthy. I don't like my brother at all. Grandma wants to teach me to tell my mother that I look forward to having a brother. Isn't this teaching children to lie? Elder sister is not counted, but also come to coax me!"

Ying'er glanced at Baochai, and saw that her girl was silent, but there was doubt in her eyes, she hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "This is strange. What's wrong with my brother, there must always be a man in the family to support her." Family. In the future when you grow up, if someone bullies you, your brother will stand up and seek justice for you, and then you will know that your brother is fine."

These words made everyone nod secretly, it was obvious that they were also thinking in their hearts.Unexpectedly, although Liu Yiyi is a very young girl, her temperament is extremely stubborn, and she is naughty and not afraid of others. Now everyone in the audience is saying that she is wrong, so she flattened her mouth and said: "Who said there must be Men are here to support the door? Could it be that the stories about Hua Mulan joining the army and Mu Guiying being in command are all fake? Besides, how dare I expect my younger brother to stand up and uphold justice for me? Who knows if my younger brother will be idle and gambling and prodigal? What? This is all I can see from the neighbors. If such a younger brother is just a burden, why should I look forward to having a younger brother!"

Although Liu Yiyi was a child who talked nonsense, but Baochai couldn't help but agree with what was on his mind when he heard such words. Thinking of Xue Pan, he couldn't help but feel dazed.It took a long time before he smiled and said to the little girl: "You child, you look smart, but you have taken a detour. You are too extreme. When you grow up, you will know that there are many good brothers and brothers in the world. What's more, if you don't give birth to a younger brother, your mother will have a hard time in the house, don't you have the heart?"