Yipin Farmer

When Ting Shuang returned to the village, he first went to Lizheng's house to buy twenty chickens from his family. His family raised the most chickens, but country people mainly raised chickens to make eggs for oil and salt. Roosters that can't lay eggs and can only eat will be sold.

So I bought twenty young roosters and went home, and saw that Mr. Chu was busy in the kitchen.Go over and see that he is growing wild vegetables.

Radish sprouts, sweet potato leaves, chrysanthemum vegetables, marshmallow vegetables, these things that humans and animals eat together can also be delicious in the hands of Mr. Chu.

"The same thing, why can't I make it?" Ting Shuang didn't understand very much.

"You have to blanch the vegetables. Some vegetables have a bitter taste. Add a little salt to remove the bitter taste. And don't boil the vegetables until they are broken. Quickly scoop them up and put them in cold water, so that the taste will be good. You make cold dishes Most of them are soft and rotten." Mr. Chu showed him how to blanch the vegetables and put them in the basin.

"Fry some peppercorns and dried chili peppers in oil, and sprinkle them on the minced garlic. Be careful not to burn the peppercorns when the oil temperature is too high. Add a little vinegar, cold water, and a little sugar and salt."

"How much is this little?" Ting Shuang was very troubled by the "little" and that "how much" in Chinese recipes.

"You have to control the amount by yourself, just do it a few times. When mixing, you need to knead it with your hands instead of chopsticks. You have to knead it repeatedly, which is more delicious. It would be better if there is sesame oil and red oil on it."

"Let me do it, you watch from the side." Ting Shuang washed her hands and prepared to do it herself.

Old man Chu's face turned even paler, he couldn't bear it anymore and sat down, watching him with a smile.

Ting Shuang arranged the food and greeted him for dinner, but found that Mr. Chu was nowhere to be seen. He went to the firewood house in the backyard to look for him, and found him lying on the grass bunk, his face was pale, his breathing was unstable, and his spirit was extremely bad.

"What's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Ting Shuang hurried over and asked, "Tomorrow I will go to the city to invite you a doctor."

Old man Chu reluctantly shook his head: "My body knows that I can't last long, and it's only a few days."

"Why do you say that? I'll invite the doctor tomorrow, just take two patches of medicine, just relax."

Old man Chu smiled: "The doctor can't cure the disease, my life is over, and the gods can't save me. I have already taught you how to cook roast chicken, and other cooking methods are also recorded in the booklet, you take it No, it’s just that I’m worried that it will bring disaster to you. If someone asks me, you just say you don’t know.”

Ting Shuang and Ting Hui looked at each other at a loss, old man Chu passed on his recipe to them, how could something bad happen?Maybe he was sick and confused.

Old man Chu asked them to find him a good dress as a wrap, but he didn't want them to wear it for him. Instead, he asked them to leave, close the door, put on the clothes with difficulty by himself, and then lie on the bunk waiting to die.

Although the old man Chu refused to invite a doctor and behaved strangely, Ting Shuang was still planning to go to the city to ask the doctor to come over. He got up in the middle of the night to prepare the chicken, and went to the city on his back at dawn. Satisfied, he said: "Yesterday's chicken was served on the table, and the guests agreed after eating it. You will send another twenty chickens tomorrow."

Thinking of having to use money to hire a doctor, Ting Shuang asked him to prepay tomorrow's chicken money, and then hurried to the Huichun Hall to ask for a doctor, not wanting that Doctor Gao was treating a patient who had a sudden illness, so he had to wait in the outer hall.

"Dude, grab the medicine." A familiar voice came from the side.

Ting Shuang followed the sound and looked over, and it happened that the person who grabbed the medicine also turned around, and when he saw him, he cried out in surprise: "Master, it's you."

It turned out to be the former servant, Ping An. Seeing the former servant in such an embarrassing situation, it would be embarrassing to be replaced by someone else, but Ting Shuang didn't care about the status level at all, and greeted him happily when he saw an acquaintance.

Ping An came over to chat and asked about the situation after the separation. When he learned that Mrs. Meng had passed away, Ping An couldn't help but wiped his eyes: "My wife is the best person I have ever met. I can't think of..."

"How are you? How are you doing?" Ting Shuang turned around.

"Not good." Pingan cried bitterly. He is also a poor man. After his parents died in the countryside, he became an orphan. He wandered for several years. After a few years of comfortable life, Meng's shop caught fire, and the servants could not survive in the city, so they dismissed the servants and returned to the countryside. He had to rely on a distant relative, who introduced him as an apprentice in a pawnshop, and happened to be assigned here with his master. home semicolon.

"The pawnshop is ready, the wind won't blow, the rain won't drench, and the sun won't shine. What's wrong?" Ting Shuang didn't understand why he was frowning.I have heard people say that for those who have a certain amount of capital, opening a pawn shop is a relatively stable way to make a fortune, and for those who make a living, entering a pawn shop is also a career that can be relied on for life without suffering.

"Working in a pawn shop is not as easy as you think."

Working in a pawn shop, it is very difficult for an apprentice to pass the first pass. An apprentice has to get up early in the morning, put up a cover, empty the pot, sweep the floor and wipe the table. According to the rules, an apprentice will not have a seat within ten years of entering the pawn shop, so he stands at the counter for up to ten people every day. For many hours, after closing at night, everyone else had a rest, and he had to practice writing and abacus.

Dangzi is an industry secret used in the pawn industry. There are more than 1000 characters. It is not easy to read and write proficiently, but it is a basic skill that must be mastered.Therefore, he had to practice under the dim oil lamp for two hours every night.

Ting Shuang felt very sympathetic when he heard it, and felt that it was not easy to do any job, so she persuaded him: "Young people are not afraid of hardship. This is a rare training. You see, it is just as hard for me to farm in the countryside." Show him the cocoon.

"That's different. Although farming is hard work, it is very happy when harvesting, and there are slack seasons. I used to be in the countryside. During the slack season, a few good friends gathered around to play cards or play croaking, helping my mother. Steamed jujube buns, very happy. And playing around is even more fun."

Talking about life in the country, Ping An is elated.Go to the field to gather weeds, and before returning with a full load, take a short rest, pick up a few small stones, draw a few lines on the ground with your friends, and start playing.At night, a group of children played hide-and-seek in front of and behind the house.In summer, when you go to the pond to catch fish and shrimp, you can also step on mussels. If you step on a round thing with your bare feet, it will be a mussel.I also fished eels, caught frogs, went to the house to dig house sparrows, and then dipped some coarse salt on the door of the pot. A few naughty boys competed for each other, so happy.

But working in a pawn shop, standing at the counter for more than ten hours a day, and having to practice pawning and abacus after closing time, staying in a dark room for years, old and lifeless, eating and living in the pawn shop, not allowed to go out, even if you hold back People are suffocating.Colleagues are also old-fashioned, and they can't even find a speaker.

Moreover, this line of work is very closed, and once you enter the line, you cannot change your line of work.Most other industries regard customers as their parents, and their attitude is very friendly. Only the people in pawnshops are used to seeing customers asking for their own needs, handing over clothes and bags, and have developed a habit of being proud of themselves. The service attitude is quite poor. Therefore, other industries are It is very difficult to change careers if you are unwilling to accept people who have changed their careers from pawnshops.

"Eldest young master, please take me in, I will listen to you and work hard." Ping An begged him.

Ting Shuang thought of him as a young man in his sixteenth or seventeenth year, when he was young and playful and active, and spent years in a lifeless pawnshop like a prisoner, without even having a holiday, it was really hard for him.Then he said, "Now I'm poor too, and you won't be as comfortable following me as before. There's a lot of work to do in the fields."

"Working anywhere is better than working in a pawn shop. At least you can see the sun." Ping An said with a firm attitude, "Young Master is humble and studious, and treats people well. Sooner or later, you will have a prosperous day. I believe in you."

"Okay," Ting Shuang agreed. "It just so happens that I have opened up a lot of wasteland and there are not enough people. You can follow me if you want to. Don't complain when the time comes."

"Oh, thank you, young master." Ping An cheered.

"Please don't call me the young master, why does it sound so bad?"

Ting Shuang told him the address, and watched him take the medicine bag and leave. After Dr. Gao dismissed the patients, he went out with Ting Shuang to see the doctor.Soon, he rushed to Sanhua Village. When he saw the patient, he shook his head and said, "Get ready for the funeral."

Old man Chu's eyes began to lose sight, and he only breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Ting Shuang's return, his eyes suddenly lit up, he grabbed his hand, and his lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something.

Ting Shuang lay down and put her ears close to him, and heard him say, "Please bury me casually next to your graveyard, and give me a bowl of jelly when you pay homage to your parents on New Year's Day."

Hearing the desolation he said, Ting Shuang's heart ached, and she almost shed tears, so she nodded vigorously.

"Don't...don't tell others...my business...it will bring disaster to your family..." Old man Chu said intermittently, raising one hand with all his strength, pointing to the pond in the courtyard, and opening his mouth , the raised hand fell down feebly.

Ting Shuang sighed. Although he didn't get along with old man Chu for a long time, he had some feelings. He seldom talked, but just worked with his mouth closed all day long. When he first saw him, he felt that he was weak. He was hungry. Unexpectedly, he was already terminally ill at that time.Thinking that after the family is better off, he will be able to spend his old age in peace, but unexpectedly, he did not wait for this day after all.

Ting Shuang felt uncomfortable for a while, and wiped away the cloudy tears from the corners of his eyes with a towel.

"Brother, Uncle Yao sent a bowl of soup and medicine, saying that it can reduce phlegm..." Ting Hui brought a bowl of black medicine juice, hurried over, but tripped on the sole of his foot, and the medicine spilled on Old Man Chu.

"Why are you so careless, you've stained your clothes." Ting Shuang angrily taught him.

Look at the old man Chu who changed into the clothes he was going to bury yesterday, and the black concoction was spilled on it, and he couldn't wipe it off.Then he ordered: "Go to the house and find a good piece of my clothes in the suitcase and wrap them up."

Ting Hui hurried back to the front yard, found a good satin dress in the suitcase, and brought it over. Ting Shuang poured a basin of clean water, and was about to wipe Old Man Chu's body. When he took off his clothes, he was startled by what he saw. .

"Ah ah ah..."

Ting Shuang was speechless in surprise, and Ting Hui seemed frightened.

"His body, why... how... is it like this..." Ting Shuang was so frightened that her teeth stuttered.

"He's a eunuch." Ting Hui made a judgment first.