Seed dealers in ancient times

It was getting late back in the city, and the crate of fish that we brought back was short of water, and the sun was so bright, it was not as fresh as when we caught it just now, so Zheng Jiangting simply dealt with it.

The belly of a fish that weighs more than one catty is round, and the inside is full of golden fish eggs. It is not to mention how delicious it is to cook in a pot.

Before returning to the village, he took a stroll around the field and picked some mature peppers. At that time, there were several kinds of pepper seeds for the villagers, such as ordinary peppers, two wattles, millet peppers, big sweet peppers, etc., peppers The growth is good, and some of them are ready to be picked, but today's time is not right, otherwise they can all be picked.

Today he picked some spicy millet and ordinary chili to try something new, and he will go to the village again after he has dealt with the affairs in the city in two days.

In the past, when there was no chili, cornus was used instead. Cornus has a strong taste, but it is not as good as chili. Moreover, cornus can only be used as a seasoning, unlike chili itself, which can be used as a vegetable. Otherwise, it will not be replaced by chili after many years. full replacement.

Fearing that Chu Xian and the others would not get used to eating chili for the first time, Zheng Jiangting didn't use it too much. He washed the remaining chili and threw it into the kimchi jar.

He chopped the chili into fine pieces, and fried them in oil pan with onion, ginger, garlic and peppercorns. There was a crackling sound when the seasoning entered the pan, and the spicy smell splashed out, and the whole kitchen room was filled with fragrance.

Generally, how well the ingredients are fried determines the taste of the whole pot of fish, so every time he cooks fish, he will carefully control the frying of the ingredients until the seasoning is fried until it is fragrant and golden before adding the soup.

When Chu Xianfang entered the yard, he smelled a spicy smell, which made him want to sneeze. He covered his nose and ran into the kitchen: "What are you doing, why are you so choking?"

The pungent nose was because of the hotness, Zheng Jiang stopped to add water to the pot, snorted, and then the pungent nose became less so, he put his waist in and said, "I'm cooking fish, is mother back?"

Before Chu Xian could answer, Zou Yun entered the door: "I'm back."

The restaurant closed early today, and the family finally had a meal together at home.

Zou Jun looked at the rice flower fish with golden fish eggs in the pot on the stove, and said in surprise, "Ah, why did I buy so many good fish?"

"It was caught in the village." The water in the pot boiled, and Zheng Jiang stopped twirling the tail of the fish, and put the whole fish into the pot: "The fish will be ready soon, let's serve dinner."

Chu Xian hurriedly said, "I'll go."

After cooking the fish for a while, Zheng Jiangting put the fish eggs into the pot, and put some green vegetables on the bottom of the fish pot. The boiling hot fish soup was just enough to cook the vegetables.

After the fish was cooked, he put the shallots and coriander in the middle of the basin, heated it up and poured it on top. The green onions and coriander were cooked instantly, and the fragrance was overflowing, and the boiled fish was ready.

In the past, because there was no chili pepper, Zheng Jiangting always made pickled fish and steamed fish. This is the first time to cook boiled fish.

Chu Xian wrinkled her nose and sniffed: "It seems different from what I did before."

Zheng Jiangding put a piece of fish ball into Chu Xian's bowl: "Taste it quickly."

Put another piece into Zou Jun's bowl: "Mother eats too."

The fish balls were boiled in chili and the taste was pungent, stimulating the mouth and secreting saliva. Chu Xian ate it for the first time, and subconsciously frowned.

"Is it too spicy?"

Although Chu Xian frowned, she couldn't stop her mouth work: "It's a bit spicy, but you won't feel it after eating two more bites."

Zou Jun also nodded in agreement: "Where does this seasoning come from?"

"Plucked from the village."

Zou Jun said: "You too, dare to bring anything back to eat."

Zheng Jiang stopped laughing and said: "During the famine, the bark and yellow mud can be eaten. If the seasoning is not poisonous, you can't eat it. Just make the best use of it."

Zou Jun picked up a fish and put it in Zheng Jiangting's bowl: "Don't be poor, you can eat it too."

The rice flower fish is tender, with a special sweet taste, and the long-lost chili pepper. Zheng Jiangting thinks this pot of fish tastes better than anyone else.

Zou Jun was happy to eat, but he was also emotional. In the past, it was not easy to have a meal of meat for ten days and a half a month. The boiled fish in clear oil like this is just a good taste. , It is something that I dare not even think about, after all, life is better now.

After dinner, Zheng Jiangting went back to the house early.

Half a year later, the Zheng family's property has changed a lot, but his room is still exactly the same as when he came here, with simple furniture and a narrow bed.

He dragged out a small locked wooden box from under the bed, and the key clicked open. It was full of silver coins, and the broken silver and bank notes were placed in a pile in a mess.

The money was all from selling potatoes and other money he earned. Zou Jun and Chu Xian watched over the proceeds from the restaurant, and the money in the wooden box was all his belongings. He paid some money, but he didn't know the exact amount. In fact, he himself didn't know the exact amount, he only knew that it was a few dozen taels.

He cleared out the banknotes one after the other. The banknotes are generally of relatively large amount. There are five pieces in the box, totaling 30 taels of large and small. In addition, there are some broken silver and copper plates, which add up to more than 20 taels of silver. .

When he went to see the house earlier, he probably inquired about the price, basically five or sixty taels, and his private house money was barely enough, so he could go to see the house first and pay a deposit.

He breathed a sigh of relief and closed the wooden box.

The next day, Zheng Jiangting went to the north of the city alone.

The folk alleys in the northern part of the city are not as densely populated as Qingwu Alley. Generally, there is some distance between two houses, a few feet more, and a few feet closer. Houses vary in size. There are only a handful of them.

This area is full of families with money and food, which can be regarded as the middle class of Jincheng. The people who come and go are all well-dressed masters and young masters. Zheng Jiang's first impression when he stopped was like this.

"Master Xiao Zheng, you go this way."

The person who led Zheng Jiang to stop was a person who specialized in introducing houses, which is equivalent to a modern real estate agency. This person often eats in their small restaurant, and he is very familiar with him from time to time.

The two went in along a green path, and the inside suddenly opened up, and it was a house that had just been entered.

Entering the main entrance is the garden, and the north is the main room. Once you enter the courtyard, there are three main rooms. There are two side rooms next to the north main room, which means that there are five rooms in total.

Zheng Jiang stopped to look around in the side room, even the small side room was bigger than the living room of his house in Qingwu Lane, let alone the main room.

"This place was only built two years ago. Although it's not too big, the wood is the best, and no one has lived in it before." The introducer said: "The owner of the house wants to do some other business right now, so I'm in a hurry. Let’s get rid of it, and the price will not be raised too high.”

Zheng Jiang stopped and said bluntly: "How many?"

The introducer stretched out his fingers and made a six.

Zheng Jiang stopped to say good or bad: "Don't worry, let's look at the other ones."

The introducer knew that Zheng Jiangting was not easy to fool, so he didn't say much, and led the person to the next one.

The distance between the two places is actually not far, there are only three families in the middle, but the house occupies a large area, and it still takes a stick of incense to walk.

This time, I looked at a house with two courtyards. It was half the size of the courtyard with a discerning eye. The layout was still the same, except that there were twice as many rooms.

"The house is big, but it is old, but the previous owner left some belongings. Look, the living room is complete with tables, chairs and benches, and there are beds and couches in the main room."

Zheng Jiang wandered around for a while, and paused in the garden for a while: "It's really been a while, the roof needs to be repaired, and the pool needs to be cleaned." The weeds almost covered the lotus leaves.

The introducer hehe said: "Mansions that have been around for a long time are so good and bad, but the advantage is that the price is good, only 90 taels. At this price, you can't find another house in the second courtyard in the north of the city."

Zheng Jiang stopped and didn't say anything: "There's no rush, there's one more place, I'll go and see one too."

The last house is also in the courtyard, between the first two. It is old, but it does not need to be renovated, and there are some furniture.

Zheng Jiangting summed up the advantages and disadvantages of the three houses. The first one is a first-hand house with a good environment, but it is a completely empty house, and he has to configure everything by himself.

The second place is big and has all the household items, but it is old, and it will cost a lot of money to renovate and replace it. As for the last place, I won’t say much.

What he discussed with Chu Xian was to buy one first and enter the hospital. Now there are only three people in the family, and after Huang Jingyi is called back, there are only four people. The room is completely enough.

All in all, he still prefers the first house.

The two returned to the first place, and he asked the introducer, "How much is this place worth sincerity?"

"Master Xiao Zheng, what I told you is the sincere price. If it were someone else, I would have to pay at least ten taels."

Zheng Jiang stopped chuckling: "60 taels is really high. This is an empty house, and it will cost you little money to buy a house."

"But this is new after all. No one has ever lived in it. Naturally, the price is slightly higher than that of other courtyards once you enter the courtyard."

"I also say bluntly that this is the one I like the most among the three houses I'm looking at right now. If the price can't be negotiated, I can take it easy."

The introducer promised a few words, knowing that it was kicked on the iron board. Zheng Jiangting's implication was that if the price is not compromised, he will not want it. His brain hurts. The price is still negotiable. It was 45 taels, and he really gave it so low because he was in a hurry to sell it. Although the price was low, the more expensive he sold it, the more he could earn from it.

Introducers like them are not able to pull the master to book a house every day, and there may not be a deal in a few months. Naturally, he didn't want to leave Zheng Jiang to stop the order, so he gritted his teeth and said: "50 taels, then If it’s less, I’ll have to give you some money.”

"Buy it now, 45 taels."

"Hey, my Master Zheng, you can leave a meal for the young one. How can you get this price, even if the master's family is in a hurry, they won't be able to offer this price."

Zheng Jiang paused and said: "I thought I had to buy a house besides buying a house, and then I had to spend money to marry a wife. This is the only money I can afford to buy a house. If it really doesn't work, let's not be in a dilemma. Let's wait and see. There will always be a fit."

"Really, borrowing some money from the bank will give you a lot of money. The business in the shop is so booming, you might not be able to make it. It will only take a few months."

"The borrowed money can be solid, and the bank has to pay back the interest. If it's not desperate, who wants to touch it? It's okay. It's hard for you and I'm hard for you. Let's come here first today. I'll trouble you today. I'll go to the shop tomorrow. I'll pack the food inside."

Speaking of Zheng Jiangting, he really wanted to call it a day and go back. The introducer was in a hurry, and it was still a profit if he made less money. If the order was lost, he would have no money at all.

"45 taels, that's it!"