North and South groceries

The Xu brothers owed a lot of foreign debts when they built this Xu family guest house last winter.

After the house is built, it is necessary to spend money to buy everything needed in the guest house, from kitchen utensils and tableware to Kang table cushions, to utensils and bedding in each guest room, money is spent like flowing water.

Originally, there was no iron kettle in their guest house, but because the customers in the store like to order noodles with fried sauce, the pottery kettle was very useless after a lot of fried sauce, and it was broken within a few months after the store opened. Two or three.

Helpless, the Xu brothers had no choice but to borrow some copper coins from those brothers who had just returned from Chang'an City, and went to Lishi County to buy an iron cauldron.As a result, you owe more debt.

Recently, Luo Yong's [-] mu of land has been planted with beans, corn and other crops. The Xu family brothers, when they are not busy in the guest house, also find time to make wool felt cushions.

Among the brothers, Xu Sanlang is the one who likes to be lively the most, and also the one who can't sit still. Recently, he mainly handles the work in the front shop, and Xu Dalang and Xu Erlang mainly focus on the wool felt cushions.

"Erlang, if it's winter this year, I'll take the little ones at home and go to Chang'an City with everyone." It doesn't look cramped.

"Even if I went to Chang'an City this year, there may not be much work to do on the heated kang. Don't keep talking about these things, just to make Aye worry." Xu Erlang persuaded.When their uncle used to run a business outside, he lost track of them while running. This was a problem of their Aye.

"If things go on like this, when will the money be paid off?" Xu Dalang asked anxiously.Although the business in the store is good, and recently Professor Luo Yong's fish-flavored shredded pork dish has increased their income, but they now owe tens of thousands of dollars in foreign debts.

"If you can't meditate, then don't make this mat, lest you waste the wool." Xu Erlang looked up at his brother and sighed.

Xu Dalang looked down at his cushion that was a little out of shape, so he had no choice but to put this job down first.

The workmanship of this peony cushion is exquisite, you need to calm down, work carefully, with anxiety and eagerness for quick success, you will definitely not be able to make a good cushion.

Xu Dalang walked to the front hall, it was already past lunch time and the front hall was not very busy, he looked around but did not see Xu Weng, so he asked his eldest son, "Where is your uncle?"

"It's outside." His son pointed to the direction west of the guest house.

Xu Dalang went out to take a look, and saw his father holding a broken hoe and plowing the wasteland next to the guest house.

"Aye, why are you digging this land? Didn't you already open a vegetable field a while ago?" Xu Dalang asked.

"Our guest house uses a lot of soybean oil, so it's better to grow some beans at home, so as not to spend money to buy them." Xu Weng straightened his back and said to Xu Dalang.

"This place is used to graze cattle and horses. If you encroach on this place, where will the cattle and horses that come and go to and from merchants be placed in the future?" Having said that, Xu Erlang went to help him pick up the stones.

"Those cattle and horses have to be released far away." Xu Weng said.

He didn't dare to reclaim the wasteland in the distance. He was afraid that the people in Xipo Village would be unhappy, and he was also afraid that the government would find out that he had reclaimed the wasteland without permission. The land here was included in the foundation of his guest house. It shouldn't matter if it is cultivated or cultivated.

Luo Yong happened to come over with a basket of oil residue at this time, and seeing the father and son farming there, he asked them, "Are you going to grow vegetables again?"

"I, Aye, want to plant some beans." Xu Dalang replied.

"With such a small area, I'm afraid I can't grow many beans. There is still a lot of wasteland on my slope, and I can't finish planting this year. If you want to grow beans, go there." Luo Yong said.

"How does this happen?" Xu Weng quickly declined.

"It doesn't matter, it's still a waste. How much land you have planted by then, just help me pay the land rent." The five hectares of land also need to pay a lot of land rent every year, and it is a good thing that someone helps to pay the rent.

Besides, they helped Luo Yong plow and sow seeds in the spring, and Luo Yong didn't know how to thank them. He couldn't handle so many fields by himself. If he didn't hire someone to help, he would have to point to his disciples.

Now, the Xu family and his son reminded him that Luo Yong's fields that could not be used up for a while were something that many of his disciples couldn't dream of.

"Sanlang, are all the lard boiled today?" At this moment, Mrs. Xu who was in the hall heard their voices and also came out from inside.

"It's all done." Luo Yong smiled and handed her the basket of lard residue.

These oil residues used for food are all refined from better suet and fat meat. Generally, the oil residues like large intestine oil or miscellaneous oil are directly used for fattening.

The Luo family can now produce a lot of oil residue every day, and the family can't finish it, and it is not healthy to eat it every day, so now he takes it to Xu's guest house to exchange manure.There are a lot of cows and horses here in Xu's guest house, and the little vegetable field they opened earlier can never be used up. If they open a bean field in the future, then we will talk about it at that time.

Today, the dustpan oil residue was exchanged for two loads of manure for Luo Yong. Xu Dalang picked one load for him, and Luo Yong picked another load himself. Xu Sanlang ran out of the kitchen and said that he wanted to pick it up for him. declined.

Finally, the two loads of manure were dumped by Luo Yong into a pit at the foot of his house.

In the pit were some dead branches and fallen leaves that Si Niang and the others picked up from the hillside with a bamboo rake, and some weeds and soil that Luo used to hoe from the nearby roadside, as well as pig urine and household garbage, and some oily residue. The shabu-shabu water, as well as the cow dung and horse manure picked up from Xu's guest house, are very fat.

At this time, there is no good waterproof method. Luo Yong put the fertilizer in this pit to ferment. After a long time, it will inevitably lose some fertility.

Luo Yong wondered in his heart whether he should dig out some soil around the pit when he dug the pit for fertilizer tomorrow so as not to waste it.

Not long after, Xu Erlang heard from his family Aye and his eldest brother that Luo Yong was going to lend them slope land to grow beans, so he came to Luo's house to talk with Luo Yong in detail.

When he came over, he was holding a large plate of hot pancakes in his hands. When the children of the Luo family saw the pancakes, they cheered and surrounded them.

People at this time called steamed buns pancakes, and the pancakes in Xu’s guest house were stuffed with oil residue and seasonal vegetables, and thick noodles were used as skins.

In recent days, I can make a batch every evening, and I can buy three for a penny. Because the price is affordable, porters and hawkers who come and go in their area often use this as their staple food.

"Brother, why don't you make dinner today?" Si Niang held a bun in her mouth, and handed one to Luo Yong.

"I won't do it." Xu Erlang took a lot, such a big plate of steamed buns was enough for his brothers and sisters to eat. "Take it while it's hot and eat it with Erniang and the others."

"Oh." Si Niang responded, picked up the plate and went to the backyard. Wu Lang Liu Lang Qiniang Mai Qingdou Li followed behind her, and the whole plate of buns was taken away by her. Are you following closely?

Luo Yong lowered his head and took a bite of the steamed bun in his hand, and took a sip of the soup inside. Mrs. Xu and the others were really good at rolling out the skin of the steamed bun so thin that it was not easy to break after steaming.

To be honest, in these days, it is not a good thing to have a thin skin and a big filling, because food is expensive, and the filling of this pancake is mainly vegetables.

I heard from Aunt Luo that they added several other kinds of miscellaneous grains to the rough noodles used to make bun skins. Luo Yong didn't pay much attention to this, so he didn't remember it carefully.

No matter what, the price of three yuan for one penny is really affordable, and the taste is very good. If there is such a place selling buns next to his house when he was a bachelor, Luo Yong would definitely eat this every day.