Today, the family made sauerkraut and lard dumplings, boiled pork jelly, and stewed a small free-range chicken and a mirror carp.
The feast was almost comparable to New Year's Eve.
Xiao Jinheng was particularly looking forward to the lard dumplings. He couldn't eat this kind of filling before; he would throw it up.
But the dumpling filling today was mixed by Zhao Guihua. He didn't know what she added, but it wasn't greasy at all after eating... Kuaishu Ge
"Grandpa, Grandma, I'll go get you some dumpling soup!" Yun Jinshan, holding a water ladle, trotted to the kitchen.
When the family gathered, it became particularly lively.
Jinshan and Jinhe studied at the academy and only had a long vacation once a year, which was in winter...
So, after returning this time, they wouldn't be able to stay for more than two days before heading back to the county town.
"Young Master Xiao, please eat more. You've spent a lot of money again today!"
Gu Shi placed a few large dumplings into Xiao Jinheng's bowl, filled with gratitude...
Xiao Jinheng pursed his lips and smiled, "Aunt Gu, you're too kind. We've been neighbors for so many years, and it's normal to give a gift or two. Besides, those things aren't valuable!"
"Oh, they're not valuable?" Old Man Yun was flattered. He took out the jade pendant, "This jade pendant must be worth thirty to forty taels of silver..."
His family was large, and Young Master Xiao had taken care of everyone, calculating it all, he must have spent at least one to two hundred taels of silver today.
For an ordinary farming family, relying solely on farming, hunting, and gathering mountain goods, they probably couldn't save this much money in half a lifetime...
Xiao Jinheng couldn't help but chuckle. Uncle Yun was so cute.
Just as he was about to explain, Liu Cuirong interjected at an inopportune moment, "Oh, Young Master Xiao isn't giving it to us for free. If he didn't have his eye on our little Sweet Treasure, he wouldn't be willing to buy these gifts!"
The whole family: "......"
Although this was the truth, it shouldn't have been said in front of Young Master Xiao.
Little Xi Tian's cheeks were burning hot.
She glared fiercely at her second sister-in-law, losing all appetite for the meal...
Second sister-in-law, do you even have a brain?
Saying that is really embarrassing, don't you know?
Gu Shi slammed down her rice bowl and glared at Liu Cuirong, "Second daughter-in-law, take your bowl and eat in the kitchen. Hurry up!"
Liu Cuirong looked unwilling and muttered in a low voice, "I... I was just telling the truth. Why should I eat in the kitchen?"
Mother is too unreasonable.
"Cuirong, get out!" Yun Erman frowned, his handsome face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
It was his son's birthday today. He thought they could happily have some drinks and a meal.
But this troublesome woman insisted on spoiling the mood...
He really wanted to take back the letter of guarantee from his mother's hand and smash it in Liu Cuirong's face, then kick her out.
Go wherever she wants, just never come back.
Liu Cuirong picked up her rice bowl, transferred the chicken legs and wings from the basin into her bowl, then took half a plate of dumplings and half a bowl of pork jelly, and left resentfully...
The atmosphere in the room was quite awkward.
Everyone ate in silence, not speaking.
When Xiao Jinheng tasted something delicious, he habitually picked up a few bites for the little village girl.
Gu Shi coughed lightly and smiled at Xiao Jinheng, "Young Master Xiao, please don't mind. My second daughter-in-law's mouth has no filter. Please don't take it to heart..."
She was truly worried.
After the houses were built and the family was settled, she had to teach her second daughter-in-law a lesson.
Such a daughter-in-law disrupted the peace of the entire family.
Keeping her in the Yun family, even with the little daughter's blessings, wouldn't be enough to prevent her from causing trouble...
"Aunt Gu, I'm fine!" Xiao Jinheng smiled faintly, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the corners of Little Xi Tian's mouth.
He performed these small actions with great proficiency.
It was as if he had developed the habit long ago.
Little did they know, Xiao Jinheng had been taking care of her like this ever since Little Xi Tian first went to the large mansion next door to freeload meals...
"Uncle Yun, when Da Man Ge and Er Man Ge don't need to help with building the houses anymore, there are many workers over there, and the manpower is sufficient!"
Xiao Jinheng said helplessly.
Yun Daman and Yun Erman arrived earlier than the bricklayers every day and worked very diligently.
Xiao Jinheng even wanted to pay them wages...
"It's fine, it's fine. They're just idle. It doesn't matter!" Old Man Yun grinned heartily.
After a bowl of sorghum wine, his face was rosy, and he seemed much younger.
His wife said that to avoid gossip, their own family should not just sit back and enjoy the benefits.
Moreover, looking at the scale and area of those two large houses, without one to two thousand taels of silver, they probably couldn't be built...
That day, Old Man Yun took a stroll around the backyard of the mansion.
He discovered that Xiao Jinheng had built a garden in the back.
There was a pond, a rockery, a small bridge, an octagonal pavilion, and a large garden.
This was not common in the countryside...
Farmers didn't do this. Even if they had a garden, they would plant vegetables and set up bean trellises, never growing various flowers.
Xiao Jinheng smiled slightly and said nothing.
He knew that the Yun family, except for Liu Cuirong, were all ambitious and proud.
Let alone whether the Yun family would give him the hundred taels of silver or provide their own bricks and tiles back then.
Even if they didn't give a single copper coin, he would still proceed with the construction and let the little village girl move in on time...
After Xiao Jinheng finished eating, Gu Shi asked Zhao Guihua to pack him a lot of dried beans and dried mushrooms before he left.
The Yun family had nothing else, but they had stored quite a bit of these dried goods.
But they couldn't withstand such consumption.
Much of it was collected during the summer of last year, and they had hardly gone up the mountain this year...
"Old woman, do you think Young Master Xiao really has that intention?"
Old Man Yun and Gu Shi sat on small stools outside the door, enjoying the cool breeze. Xue Ling, with its tongue sticking out, lay beside Gu Shi, panting.
Gu Shi stroked its fur and sighed, "So, the more favors our family owes Young Master Xiao, the harder it will be to handle in the future!"
Young Master Xiao's character was beyond reproach, but his identity was like a mist, shrouded in secrecy...
In fact, she had guessed Xiao Jinheng's identity long before Magistrate Jin was punished.
Someone who could have Prefect Chen and the Provincial Governor visit him, what kind of background do you think he has?
It's just that Gu Shi didn't want her daughter to enter the palace...
How many wronged souls were buried inside and outside the imperial city, and how many women fought tooth and nail to get in?
She felt that her little daughter was quite good now, living a fulfilling life even in a farming family.
Contentment with a modest fortune, what's the use of striving for fame, fortune, titles, and high status?
As long as they live happily and joyfully...
She herself used to live in comfort and luxury, without worries, and was addressed as "Miss" wherever she went. In the end, didn't she also become a farmer's wife?
"Awooo!~" Xue Ling nudged Gu Shi's pant leg with its large head.
"Old man, it's time to sleep!"
Gu Shi stood up, suddenly remembering something, "Right, tomorrow morning, have Da Man take our daughter to the county town to change the land deed of Yun Wangcai's property..."
That piece of land belonged to the little daughter, and no one could touch it.
"Okay!" Old Man Yun nodded with a smile.
The next morning, Yun Daman took Xi Tian and drove the carriage to the county town...