bookrandom Chapter 107 Boiling lard
Chapter 107 Boiling lard
The next day, everyone in the village knew that the newly moved-in Si family was so stingy that they scared away their daughter-in-law.
Lady Zhao fell ill again and never recovered.
Of course, she was faking it.
Having lost all face, how could she possibly say that she had almost recovered and could help Si Erlang watch over the workers?
Of course, the best way to save face is to pretend to be sick and stay in your shack.
Doctor Hu knew she was faking it, so he didn't even check her pulse for routine health checks.
Only when Si Shaoheng returned to pack his things and took him to Huangyang Town did Doctor Hu leave a bottle of pills for Zhao.
"You have a high chance of having a stroke, so try to keep a calm mind and try not to get angry. If you really can't control your temper, just take two of these pills and have Silang come to Huangyang Town to call me."
He left as soon as he finished speaking, without lingering for a moment, giving Zhao no chance to seek medical treatment.
"Third brother, are these things you're loading onto the carriage from the Cheng family or yours?" Si Erlang stood beside the carriage, watching Si Shaoheng load and unload them.
He didn't care what people said about him driving his sister-in-law away.
People who are thin-skinned can't get rich anyway.
But Si Sanlang is his younger brother, a scholar whom the whole family supports!
Even if his wife ran away, he couldn't go with her. He could only stay at home, study hard for the exam, and bring honor to his ancestors in the future.
In front of the workers coming and going, he loudly asked what he meant by those words, which was to tell Si Shaoheng—don't even think about going to live with your wife at her parents' house!
But will Si Shaoheng pay any attention to him?
Si Shaoheng raised his eyes, giving him only a cold glance. "The Cheng family has hired a tutor for me to help me pass the county school entrance exam in a few days. What, second brother, don't you want me to go?"
Sijiro:......
What else could he say?!
So what if you're rich?!
If you have money, why don't you help support your in-laws?
A worker passing by overheard Si Shaoheng's words and laughed, exclaiming that he was lucky to have found such a helpful in-law family.
"Speaking of the Si family's third son's in-laws, aren't they also settled in our village? Their house is right next to the Si family's, so why have we never seen them come over?"
“I know, I know! I even asked the village chief if the Cheng family needed to hire someone to build a house. The village chief said that the Cheng family had settled in the village, but they weren't in a hurry to build a house because they had a business in town and already owned a house!”
"Wow, they bought a house in town? They're rich!"
"If you don't listen to what the Niu family says, Cheng Niangzi from Si Sanlang's family is generous and well-mannered. Look at the daughter raised by a wealthy family, how could she not be generous and well-mannered?"
"Hahaha, no wonder Madam Cheng was scared away by the stinginess of the second son of the Si family. It must be that the second son of the Si family has his eye on his sister-in-law's family's wealth and is trying to get her to use her family's money to subsidize her husband's family, right?"
The workers chatted about the Si family's gossip while they worked.
They chatted in front of the foreman, Si Erlang.
Purely close-up and wide open.
Aren't you afraid that Si Erlang will take back your job and kick you out?
laugh.
I couldn't be happier!
If it weren't for the village chief saying that the whole village should "look out for each other" and prevent the Si family from freezing to death in their shacks in the winter, who would be willing to work for him for a day to earn twelve coins?!
Even in the off-season, you can earn fifty coins a day carrying heavy loads at the county dock.
Si Erlang blushed with embarrassment at their uninhibited jokes, not out of shame, but out of anger.
He turned and went to Zhao's shack, his face drooping, and called out, "Mother... Third Brother and the others..."
After Si Shaoheng moved his own books, clothes, and the things left behind by his mother and the three of them, he went to help Doctor Hu move his things.
Even after everything was moved, Si Erlang still didn't come out of the Zhao family's shack.
He couldn't help but sneer, "Didn't realize the second son was such a mama's boy?"
He muttered this to himself, which was overheard by Doctor Hu in the carriage. Doctor Hu also lifted the curtain and took a look, clicking his tongue and saying, "Isn't your second brother the kind of 'tattletale' my apprentice was talking about?"
Si Shaoheng's lips curled into a smile: "Is that so? Don't worry about him. Dr. Hu, let's set off."
"it is good."
Actually, when Si Shaoheng sent his mother and three children over last night, he didn't plan to move there himself. After all, he was worried that going to his mother-in-law's house so often would make Zhao Shi so angry that she would become paralyzed.
But after last night, the atmosphere at the Cheng family's house really made him reluctant to leave, so he stayed there overnight.
Cheng Ruoan has her own courtyard in the newly purchased Cheng residence. In addition to the spacious main hall with an inner room, there is also a small study and a small side room where her sisters live.
Cheng Ruoan wanted to sleep with the children, so he was told to decide for himself whether to settle them in the study or the small side room.
Si Shaoheng naturally chose the study directly.
Upon entering the study, Si Shaoheng discovered that there were actually quite a few "examination textbooks" in the bookshelves.
It was something the original owner of the house didn't take with them when they moved; three hundred thousand coins, the Analects, and similar items.
Books were very expensive in ancient times, but these basic textbooks, copied by unknown scholars, only cost two or three taels of silver each.
However, Si Shaoheng also saw some annotations on it. Based on his knowledge of the imperial examination system from the original owner's memories, these annotations were quite worth reading.
In addition, he couldn't bear to part with his child and Cheng Ruoan, so he came up with an excuse to move there together under the pretext of coming back to pick up Doctor Hu.
We arrived at the Cheng family's residence in Huangyang Town.
Si Shaoheng drove the carriage in through the back gate and took Doctor Hu directly to the guest garden.
Dr. Hu had a lot of medicinal herbs and bottles and jars, which made it easier for them to unload the goods.
After a period of tidying up, Shaoyang came to pick up Doctor Hu to go find Cheng Ruoan.
"Dr. Hu, my sister and everyone else are rendering lard in the kitchen in the backyard, and the medicine stove is also working over there. Would you like to come with me?"
Dr. Hu stroked his beard, laughing so hard his eyes were almost closed: "That little monkey, she's already started working on it. Why is she in such a hurry? She didn't even wait for me to arrive."
Si Shaoheng: "My mother-in-law bought the person yesterday, and my brother-in-law also brought back a lot of lard. Ruo'an said that if everything is ready, she will do the basic work while waiting for you."
"You're in charge of preparing the medicinal liquid for the hand cream; it wouldn't be appropriate to have you also render lard."
As he spoke, he thoughtfully helped Dr. Hu carry his medical kit containing medical supplies and medicine bottles, and then humbly invited Dr. Hu to walk ahead.
backyard.
Cheng Ruoan, dressed in a self-made "work uniform," directed a burly old woman to stir lard in a large iron pot.
"Yes, Aunt Zhang, just stir it in one direction with even force. No matter how fast you stir, the lard won't melt quickly."
"Second Miss, can't the fire be bigger?" Aunt Zhang was an impatient person, and she did everything in a whirlwind, very quick and efficient manner.
The task Cheng Ruoan assigned him was slowly wearing him down, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
She was getting a little anxious.
I even felt like scratching my head.
But she was wearing what the second young lady called "work clothes," and her head was wrapped tightly with a headscarf, so she couldn't even scratch her head.
Cheng Ruoan said seriously, "You can't add fuel to the fire! You have to remember this from now on. It's all about the right amount of heat. If you don't mind being tired, you can reduce the heat by a little, but you can't add even a fraction more. Otherwise, I'll have to deduct your bonus."
Cheng Ruoan figured out the right heat for the stove by testing it little by little early this morning. It should be medium to low heat, so that the pork fat can melt without producing a burnt smell.