Yipin Farmer

The Meng family's shop is a silk and satin shop, and there are often thousands of silver in and out of the account. The shop is not small, and the gold-lettered signboard is shining.

Ting Shuang looked left and right curiously, and saw the legendary silver scissors, with a short mouth and a long handle, one end was fixed on the wooden case, and the other long handle opened and closed.Ting Shuang finally understood why most people don't have clippers, and it takes skill to use this kind of thing, even if they have it, they don't know how to use it.To cut silver with clippers, the hand strength is not enough, and the weight of the whole body must be pressed hard to cut the silver. Without special training and mastering the tricks, it is very likely that you will hurt your hands or the clippers will slip up and down. fall.

Ting Shuang practiced a few times, fell a lot, and had to give up.Instead, he learned to weigh silver with a scale. The scale is similar to a scale, but more accurate. It took him a long time to learn how to use the scale with the two rows of tiny crosshairs on it.However, it is uncertain to distinguish genuine and fake banknotes. Goryeo paper or parchment paper with blue watermarks can be seen from left to right.

What's more difficult is to look at the fineness of silver, that is, the purity of the metal in modern times.Ting Shuang was dizzy from learning and complained in her heart, seeing how happy and unrestrained the seniors who traveled through the business world and monopolized the market, why is it so difficult to get to him?Is his IQ really lower than those people?

depressed.

But I can't be cheeky and be an old man, so I have to work ten times harder to study, study and study again.

Meng Kejian was still worried about letting him do things like inspecting goods, receiving goods, collecting money, and remittances. He only let him watch the shop and learn from his old buddy.Later, seeing that he was very motivated, he was assigned a very important task, which was to arrange for Yang's 49th birthday next month.

The traditional concept holds that everything is full, and fullness leads to loss.On the ten side, it has the meaning of reaching the end and reaching the top. Doing the tenth birthday seems to mean that the life is over, which is unlucky.Therefore, the ten-year-old birthday is advanced to the nine-year-old birthday, which means that life is far from over, and it implies a long life and a long life.Therefore, to celebrate the birthday of the elderly is to do nine instead of ten.

It was the first time Ting Shuang heard about the rules of making nine, and found it very interesting.Since I received this very important errand, I have raised my spirits a hundred times.Mrs. Yang cared and loved him, but she was also strict and disciplined him very strictly, resolutely nipping in the bud the bad habits of gambling, smoking, opium, and laziness.

Therefore, Ting Shuang was afraid that she would respect her and appreciate her, and wanted to do something for her.

The first step is to ask the old servant girl at home. She has served Yang Shi for more than ten years.Ting Shuang inquired clearly, and figured out the customs and etiquette of celebrating the birthday of the elderly in this era, and began to get busy step by step.

The second step is to set up a banquet. This is not difficult. There are restaurants that specialize in hosting festive banquets. The specifications and starters are set. What kind of starters are served with what kind of side dishes? The restaurant will match them properly. It is a package that can be rented at any time, and even a series of services such as posting a car and horse to invite the troupe to open the hall are all included.Ting Shuang felt very satisfied with such a series of supporting services, which were more considerate than that of a modern hotel, and did not need to worry about the owner.

Then prepare clothes accessories and presents.

"What gifts have you prepared?" Ting Shuang asked the brothers.

"I haven't thought about it yet." Ting Hui swayed his legs on the couch, looking like he was doing nothing.

"Oh..." Ting Ke sighed, "The best gift for a mother is that her son can be admitted to the scholar. But..."

Ting Shuang taught them a lesson: "You dangle your arms all day long and don't know how to read. If you can write good articles, it is better than the best gift."

Ting Hui curled his lips: "You still have the nerve to tell us, after studying for so many years, your article is well written, let's take a look."

Ting Shuang was speechless, he couldn't write the stereotyped essay even if he was beaten to death, yet he was looked down upon by this kid.I had no choice but to stare at him fiercely. This guy sleeps in all day long, and he spent a lot of effort trying to wake him up. In the end, he threatened that if you don't get up early in the morning to exercise, you won't have the energy to satisfy your wife after you get married, and you won't be able to have children. .

Ting Hui was frightened by these words, whether true or false, so he obediently got up in the morning to exercise.It's just that this guy doesn't like reading, he eats, drinks and has fun all day long, fights cocks and dogs, fiddles with flowers and plants at home, and spends more than 20 taels on flowers and plants every month.

Ting Shuang had an idea: "Don't you like tinkering with flowers and plants? Mother's birthday is the chrysanthemum month. When the time comes, put chrysanthemums in the courtyard and rooms. Are your pots of autumn peonies blooming soon? You take good care of them." , if it is opened on her birthday, it will definitely make my mother happy."

"This is a good idea." Ting Ke strongly agreed. He doesn't pay attention to food, clothing and enjoyment like the second child, but he doesn't have any skills. He usually likes to hang out with maids, pick flowers, and make makeup powder. .

Ting Shuang saw that he was tall, handsome and masculine, and that he liked to hang out in the makeup pile just like Jia Baoyu, so she also assigned him the task of preparing a complete set of skin care and beauty products for her mother before her birthday.

"Brother, what gift are you preparing?"

Only then did Ting Shuang remember that his gift hadn't arrived yet, but what would he do?In modern times he can translate manuscripts to earn money, but in ancient times he couldn’t earn a penny. It’s also meaningless to buy things for her after asking his mother for money, and he can’t do anything by himself.At this time, Ting Shuang felt that she was a waste after studying with me for so many years.

Turning around the room again and again, Ting Shuang slapped his forehead and had an idea.Mrs. Yang likes desserts, why not make some unique cakes as birthday gifts, for example, birthday cakes.

In his previous life, both of his parents died when he was a child, no one remembered his birthday, and no one celebrated his birthday, so he used to cook something for his birthday, and slowly learned how to make a birthday cake.In order to escape the ravages of the school cafeteria, he also cooks some meals, and he has a little bit of cooking skills.

Just do it, Ting Shuang went to the kitchen and rolled up her sleeves, ready to do it.

Mrs. Zhang who was in charge of the kitchen was very strange: "Master, what are you doing here? The kitchen is not a place where men should come."

"The kitchen is a place for cooking, so what should I do?" Ting Shuang didn't quite agree with this kind of difference between men and women.

"Are you hungry? I'll bring it to you after I make a supper."

"No. I want to make my mother happy by presenting homemade food on her birthday."

"Oh, the young master is really filial." Mrs. Zhang admired it very much, and then asked, "Then what will you do?"

Ting Shuang knew that Mrs. Zhang was the old cook at home, and she knew her parents' tastes very well, so she needed her assistance to make the birthday cake.So I told her how to make the birthday cake in detail.

Mrs. Zhang was very surprised, and then shook her head in disapproval: "It is a filial piety to offer food made by myself on a birthday, but the food for birthday celebrations is different from ordinary food. There must always be a wish for longevity in it, such a cake What do you mean?"

"Isn't it a good wish to write the words "Happy Birthday" on the cake with icing sugar?" Ting Shuang thought it was very simple.

Mrs. Zhang shook her head again: "Where did you learn the messy tricks? To celebrate the elder's birthday, it is natural to wish a long life, wishing for a long life, what happy birthday? Petty."

Ting Shuang suddenly understood that the traditional Chinese birthday celebration is to wish the birthday person a long life and good health, which contains rich cultural connotations. The foreign things such as "Happy Birthday" are obviously incompatible with Chinese traditions. Acceptance has gone through a long process, and it is obviously not possible in this day and age.It's ridiculous that he only cares about the novelty to attract people's attention, but ignores the tradition and forgets the etiquette. If Mrs. Zhang hadn't reminded him to present a birthday cake on his birthday, it would be a novelty, but it would be rude.

Since it is in China, it is always good to observe traditional Chinese etiquette.Traditional Chinese birthday celebrations are more connotative and beautiful than foreign gadgets. It is really silly to abandon the tradition and engage in so-called novelties.

Ting Shuang quickly adjusted her thinking and decided to base herself on the tradition, and on this basis, it would be more appropriate to use foreign gadgets to create new ones.

Ting Shuang earnestly learned from Mrs. Zhang how to knead dough and stuffing dishes.Kneading noodles looks simple, but if you have never touched the white table, it is likely to get confused.He knew a little bit in his previous life, but he didn't know how to make dough when there was no baking powder in the ancient kneading dough, so he learned from scratch very modestly.

Although Auntie Zhang knew that the young master had never been in the kitchen, but seeing that he studied hard and quickly got started, she thought that he was talented and smart, so she didn't have much doubt.

"According to the rules, to celebrate the elder's birthday, 99 birthday peaches are served." Mrs. Zhang instructed him to make noodles.

Ting Shuang came up with an idea while studying making noodles.

In traditional Chinese birthday celebrations, birthday noodles are served with longevity peaches, so he is going to make birthday peaches.Western-style jam pies, soufflés and the like can be flexibly applied on this basis.What was the purpose of the Westernization Movement in the late Qing Dynasty?It is "Chinese learning for the body, Western learning for application." Well.

I'm so smart.Ting Shuang smiled triumphantly.

"What are you laughing at?" Aunt Zhang also laughed.

"I want to give my mother a surprise. Mrs. Zhang, you must keep it a secret and don't tell anyone."

Aunt Zhang saw that he was being naughty like a child, she smiled and nodded in agreement.

Although Mrs. Zhang promised to keep it secret, Ting Shuang's frequent visits to the kitchen still attracted the attention of her family, and she couldn't hide it from other people's eyes.Naturally, Yang knew what was going on here, so she cooperatively pretended not to know, but the corners of her brows and eyes were shining brightly, and the corners of her mouth were filled with an uncontrollable smile.

Apart from learning how to make birthday peaches, Ting Shuang had to be busy with other things. Fortunately, Meng Kejian spent money in advance to set the standard. As long as Yang's happy, the more lively the better.With money, everything is easy to talk about.

The whole family knew that this celebration was the first time for the young master to do business, and it was very lively, and they all looked forward to having a good time eating and having fun.

On the right day, it is the golden autumn when golden chrysanthemums are in full bloom. There are high-quality chrysanthemums placed under the hall in the courtyard, and a red satin color embroidered picture of a hundred longevity is hung high in the main hall. The wax brazes on it are a pair of cranes with Ganoderma lucidum in their mouths, which are called crane lanterns. Yellow coins and ingots are pressed under the wax brazes.The birthday cakes are also stacked into a pagoda shape, with colorful Chinese characters for longevity inserted on them.There is also a lamp panel, on which is placed a plate of lantern flowers twisted with colored lantern paper, dipped in sesame oil and lit the lamp.The number of lanterns is calculated according to the age of the birthday star, one for one year old, two more, one for the year of birth, and one for the year of longevity.

On both sides of the table are birthday gifts from visitors, the most notable one is the gift from Luo Fengnian, a handwritten picture of Shouzhang, because it is celebrating a girl's birthday, so there is gold lettering written on the big red satin: "Xuan Ting Ji Celebration There is also a curtain, embroidered with Fushan Shouhai, a rock standing upright in the waves, which means "Shoushan Mountain", a metaphor that life can withstand wind and waves, and above it is a bat flying in the sea, which means "Fuhai Sea", a metaphor for a happy life happiness.Exquisite embroidery, clear layers, thick and dignified, generous and decent color matching, originated from the Bian embroidery in the Northern Song Dynasty, which is known as "a unique piece in China".

Ting Shuang touched it quietly, holding back her surprise.This has more artistic value and beautiful meaning than birthday cakes.

There are various birthday gifts for relatives and friends. Most of them are birthday noodles, peaches, screens and screens, and there are also birthday gifts. These are secondary, and the most important thing is for the sons.

Ting Shuang ran to the kitchen and brought up the things she made by herself.