The Daily Life of the Daughter of a Minor Official

 Chapter 3 Dinner

When Su Ruojin brought rice soup and sugar water, Su Ruojin couldn't help her mother with her little strength. She called out to Shu Tongshu for help, but her mother refused to let her go and said it didn't matter: "We'll eat it when your father comes back."

 “But if you don’t eat, how can you feed your brother if you don’t have water?”

Cheng Yingzhen still disagreed and asked her daughter to put her youngest son into her arms, "Let him eat first."

Not knowing if there was any water, Su Ruojin had no choice but to send her little brother to her mother's arms to let him drink first.

Shu Tong was working anxiously outside, looking at the courtyard door and facing the hood. The north wind was blowing, and the sky was getting gloomier, as if it was going to snow. He couldn't help shouting: "Second Madam, I'm going to pick you up."

Su Ruojin quickly opened the heavy curtain and stepped out. She looked up at the sky. It was so cold that it could freeze someone to death. "Okay, Uncle Shutong, be careful too."

Shutong took the felt hat, went to the shed, took the mule, and went out to pick up Su Yanli. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared from the sight of the Su Ruojin brothers and sisters.

If he had known that the stone paintings could be sold for money, he would not have let his father go out.

I knew it was hard to buy something with money. Su Ruojin could only sigh and turned around and entered the room again. Her younger brother was humming and eating, probably because he had eaten. She raised her eyes and looked at her mother. She had given birth to four children in eight years, and she was exhausted. He looked pale and seemed to have aged several years a day.

Su Ruojin felt heartbroken when she saw her, "Mom, just wait."

As if she thought of something, she turned around and left the nursery. She went to the bedroom dressing table and took out an ear of wheat from the plum vase. It was a handful of dried wheat ears she picked up during a trip to the countryside in midsummer. She took it back and put it in the plum vase for decoration. In the room, I found a small pair of scissors and cut it twice, which turned out to be an environmentally friendly straw. I quickly took it to the kitchen to rinse it, and then ran straight into the ward room again.

“Mom, when I finish eating, you can use this to drink rice soup and sugar water.”

Cheng Yingzhen was not surprised by her daughter's quirkiness. She was too weak after giving birth and had no strength. The corners of her mouth curled up and a smile of approval overflowed from the corners of her eyes.

She didn't even have the strength to laugh. This birth was really debilitating. Su Ruojin was heartbroken. While waiting for her little brother to eat, she thought of countless nourishing delicacies. Half an hour ago, she was worried that her family only had two days of rice. , now...with seven taels of silver①, I can definitely make my mother's confinement rich and abundant. I must raise her to be white and fat.

The cold wind howled outside, and there was a fire cage in the tent. The little brother finally ate well and fell asleep peacefully in his mother's arms.

Su Ruojin asked her mother to turn her head, put the orange tube to her mouth, and asked her to drink rice soup and sugar water.

 Half an hour later, Cheng Yingzhen fell asleep tiredly after drinking.

Su Ruojin tucked her mother-in-law into bed, tidied them up, took out the empty bowl, and left the kitchen. She went to the kitchen.

The delivery was settled and she had money in her hands. Su Ruojin was finally in the mood to prepare dinner. She divided the vegetables and meat prepared for tomorrow and used them tonight. Everyone had been tired for a day, so it was best to eat well in the winter. Keep out the cold.

Su Dalang Su Anzhi's eyes lit up when he saw his sister move a small stool to stand in front of the cupboard, open the cupboard door and take out the stored meat and vegetables, "Ajin, are you going to eat meat tonight?"

Su Ruojin took out a small piece of pork belly, and then took out a large tube of bones, "We will eat the stir-fried pork belly, and the large tube will make soup for my mother to replenish her health."

Three-year-old Su Sanlang and Su Ganyi jumped for joy when they heard that there was meat to eat, "Eat meatloaf...eat big meatloaf..." If the kitchen hadn't been small, he would have fought hard.

Su Dalang is older after all, and he is the eldest son. He is happy but also worried, "What will we eat tomorrow?"

Su Ruojin took three trips to take out the ingredients from the cupboard. Seeing her elder brother's frown, he smiled and said, "The stone I asked dad to paint was sold a few days ago, and I got more than seven taels of silver!"

Su Dalang was lighting a fire in the kitchen just now when he heard Shu Tong come back, but he didn't see the money as he pulled up his clothes, so he still doesn't know that the stone painting that his little sister asked his father to paint some time ago was sold for money. When he heard that stone paintings could be sold for money, he was surprised and happy, "It's true..." Su Dalang couldn't believe it.

"Of course it's true." Su Ruojin happily ordered: "Brother, pour some hot water from the stove into a wooden basin. I'm going to wash the vegetables and meat to prepare a big meal."

Su Dalang’s mind was half filled with stone paintings and half filled with oily and delicious pork belly. His hands were faster than his brain, and in a daze, he had already mixed the water in the basin.

Two brothers and sisters, one washed and the other helped change the water. After a few rounds, all the vegetables and meat were washed.

Su Ruojin stood on the small stool, stood in front of the stove and deep-fried the fat meat to get out the oil and water, scooped up the excess oil and put it aside. Su Dalang's stove was burning red, the hot oil was sizzling, and the lard residue was fragrant, making him greedy. Su Sanlang choked on his saliva.

Su Ruojin took the chopsticks and picked up a piece of oil residue and gave it to him, "Hey, be careful, be careful not to burn it." As he said this, he blew on the oil residue several times before putting it in Su Sanlang's mouth.

The little guy made a crunching sound, which made Su Ruojin, an old man, almost unable to hold back. He quickly poured the shredded pork into the pot and stir-fried until the pork belly changed color. He also added garlic leaves and radish slices and stir-fried together.

Red meat, green garlic leaves, and white radish, three colors rolling around, the aroma of meat rising in the small stove, making people salivate and make them hungry.

"Sister...sister..." Su Sanlang stuck to Su Ruojin, pulled her sleeves, and eagerly wanted to eat.

Su Ruojin felt helpless at the sight of the little brat, so she quickly scooped up the fried pork belly, picked up the chopsticks with the meat and vegetables, blew on it three times with a large chopstick, and put it into Su Sanlang's mouth, "Isn't the fried pork belly delicious?" ?”

Su Sanlang’s little mouth was busy eating meat, and he had no time to reply to the six-year-old girl’s questions.

Su Ruojin was not really six years old, so how could she really care about it? Su Dalang picked up a large set of chopsticks to light the fire in the stove. "Brother--" motioned for him to stand up and stretch his head over. She stood on the small stool and did not dare to move for fear of falling. ha.

Su Dalang stood up, but did not raise his head to come over. He said sheepishly, "I am an older child, why don't I wait until dad and the others come back before eating?" The eight-year-old boy wanted to eat, but felt that his dad hadn't come back and the food hadn't been served yet. Table, this is not good, it’s so confusing.

Year after year, Su Yanli and his wife have more and more children, but the money they earn remains the same. They eat, drink, have sex, interact with each other, have headaches and fever, and don’t spend money on anything. The life of the Su family is anxious and difficult, and it is really rare to have a meal. .

If her mother hadn’t prepared the meat and vegetables tonight, she wouldn’t have bought them. It would have been a real hardship for these two long-bodied little boys.

Su Ruojin had no choice but to lie half-ly on the stove, stretched out her hand and stuffed a large piece of meat and vegetables into Su Dalang's mouth, "Eat it, I'll make some braised tofu, some Chinese cabbage, and then make a big bone tofu soup for my mother." , dinner is ready, just wait for dad to come back."

 The fat and thin pork belly was tender and delicious as soon as he entered his mouth. Su Dalang didn't know that he was as satisfied as a little tabby cat at this moment.

Just one bite of meat made the two little boys as satisfied as anything. Su Ruojin was happy and sad at the same time. He quickly put the cut tofu into the hot oil, and with a sizzle, the hot steam spread over the three children in the kitchen. Warmth.

It would be great if there were chili peppers. You could have Mapo Tofu. The taste would be so wonderful. But it’s a pity that there were no chili peppers in the Yin Dynasty. What a lot of delicacies were missing!

In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it was worth 2,000-4,000 yuan; in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, it was worth 600-1,300 yuan (or 1,000-1,800 yuan); in the mid-Ming Dynasty, it was worth RMB 600-800; in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, one tael of silver was worth RMB 150-220 Yuan or so.

This article refers to the Song Dynasty as the background.

　　(End of this chapter)