Ugly girl only wants to farm

Chapter 171 Winter Solstice

The next day was the winter solstice. Xu Chaoyan and her sister-in-law got up early to go to the butcher to get some meat. They planned to wash vegetables and make dumplings, which would be a big undertaking.

Xu Chaoyan planned to buy some meat and some offal to braise and eat, so that everyone could have some drinks and relax tonight.

Because today is the winter solstice, Meng Jiu and his school are taking a day off.

The weather was getting colder and colder. When Xu Chaoyan got up in the morning, Meng Jiuhe also insisted on going with her, but Xu Chaoyan pushed him back to bed.

"You rarely get a day off, so just lie in bed and rest. This is a small matter, and my sister-in-law and I can handle it."

Meng Jiuhe's face immediately darkened, and he looked displeased: "What do you take me for? A gigolo? I can do things too, okay?"

Xu Chaoyan deliberately put her hands on his cold skin, but Meng Jiuhe didn't react at all and continued to sulk. Then she pinched his fair face twice, looking both annoyed and amused.

"Who thinks you're a gigolo? We're just worried about you and want you to sleep a little longer. You won't be of much help coming with us anyway."

Meng Jiuhe's expression remained unchanged. He pulled her over and made her sit in his lap. He tidied her hair at her temples and became somewhat displeased: "I'm a man. I can do these things myself. You're looking down on me."

After saying that, she turned her face away. Xu Chaoyan had forgotten that this man was very petty. She had been unable to coax him for several days because she had angered him before.

She gently pecked the man's handsome cheek and coaxed him gently, "I'm just worried about you. If you really want to help me out, then take out my accounts from these past few days and give me a proper check. How much should I pay each of the craftsmen, and how much material did I buy? Besides, if we go to buy vegetables and meat, aren't you, a grown man, afraid of being laughed at by others?"

Meng Jiuhe didn't seem satisfied with just a couple of light kisses on his face. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forcefully several times before finally letting her go.

"Then I'll listen to you and help you sort out these accounts at home. I'll start a fire and boil some water to make a pot of porridge for you. I'll wait here for you to come back and eat."

Xu Chaoyan nodded in satisfaction: "Remember to roast some sweet potatoes for me."

Then she rubbed her face vigorously, looking somewhat unhappy: "Be gentle, look, you've left marks on my face. People will laugh at me if they see this. I made plans with my older sister and the others to go out together, so it's really inconvenient to take you out today."

After these days of calm and tranquility, Yue Niang's mindset has improved considerably.

She used to be quite depressed, thinking that a woman who was abandoned at home would be a burden to her family and younger brother. With Xu Chaoyan's persuasion, she slowly came out of it and became self-reliant with her own hands.

When Zhang Yueniang was little, she also helped her parents make tofu. As her parents got older, she and her younger brother always helped with the work.

Xu Chaoyan had previously thought about trying to make bean curd sheets. She had discussed it with Yue Niang, saying that after the winter solstice, the end of the year was not far away, so they could try to make some bean products and sell them for a good price during the end of the year.

Last year, her dried tofu and blood tofu were quite popular. This year, she wanted to make some more, but she couldn't earn much money from them alone. It would be enough for Meng Jiuxia to earn some pocket money.

In winter, there aren't many green vegetables to eat; we usually eat mostly cabbage, radishes, and sweet potatoes.

It was rare to find chives for sale at the market, and Xu Chaoyan's eyes lit up. These chive fillings were delicious. If you added some vermicelli or eggs, they would have a unique flavor. She would make several different flavors so that everyone could enjoy them to their heart's content.

In her hometown, it's customary to drink mutton soup on the winter solstice. As the old saying goes, "Drinking mutton soup will keep you warm all winter long."

She suddenly missed the days when she drank mutton soup. She used to not like drinking soup much, but her parents always forced her to drink a big bowl, saying that it would warm her up.

Now that the winter solstice has arrived, she suddenly feels homesick: "Xu, what's wrong? Are you homesick?"

Xu Chaoyan then realized what was happening and hurriedly put the chives in her hand into the basket. She raised her hand and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and spoke somewhat embarrassedly.

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, sister, but I really am homesick."

Moon Lady took a large bunch of chives and said with a smile, "If you miss home, go back to your parents' home for a visit."

Xu Chaoyan and Meng Jiuxia both fell silent and did not utter a sound.

Meng Jiuxia witnessed everything clearly and immediately told her older brother about it when she got back.

After the group returned, Aunt Zhang, leaning on her cane, slowly walked over with her granddaughter.

“Meng’s daughter-in-law, you are so capable. You even treated us to dumplings today. We felt really bad about it, so we specially picked out some tofu. You see, we can cook something else for everyone tonight. There’s nothing special in our family.”

Although tofu is not a rare commodity, in this era, most people eat cabbage and radish scraps from home and rarely go out to buy various vegetables, let alone tofu. For these artisans, it was a luxury.

People here often stew tofu; boiling it isn't very innovative.

Xu Chaoyan thought about making some other dishes to give everyone something new to try.

Xu Chaoyan was pondering whether to make some home-style tofu or stew tofu for everyone.

Meng Jiuhe came out of his small study with an account book in his hand: "Wife, your husband has come to help you. I have sorted out these accounts for you today, and I have also roughly calculated the craftsmen's wages. You can check them later, and if there is anything you don't understand, just ask me."

Xu Chaoyan put the account book aside and praised him a few times: "I trust my husband's work. With your status as a scholar, this kind of accounting is no problem for you. How about I make you some leek and pork dumplings later? By the way, should we fry the tofu or stew it?"

Meng Jiuhe glanced at the basket of tofu and thought to himself that the old lady's family had sent so much, and that they had gone to great lengths to send it over.

He said somewhat embarrassedly, "Auntie, we really feel bad for troubling you to bring us all this food again."

The old woman looked at her youngest daughter with a loving expression: "This little bit is nothing. We don't have anything fancy at home, but we have plenty of tofu. We'll make it tonight so everyone can have a good time."

Meng Jiuxia suddenly pointed to the scallions in the vegetable garden and exclaimed, "Sister-in-law, how about we make some scallion and tofu buns? You made some for me before, and I thought they were quite delicious."

Xu Chaoyan thought about it and felt that it made sense. Frying the tofu would use a lot of oil and wouldn't fill everyone's stomachs. Steaming some buns and keeping them there would be good for them to eat when they needed a snack tomorrow.

This winter solstice was a lively one, with two tables set up in the courtyard and a bonfire burning in the middle.

Xu Chaoyan specially bought two jars of wine and warmed them on the fire, which also emitted the sweet aroma of sweet potatoes.

The little girl was quite sleepy and had eaten dumplings early. She then sat obediently by the fire, warming herself by the flames, nodding her head like a chick pecking at rice.

As Xu Chaoyan watched everyone drinking and chatting, and seeing this warm scene, she suddenly felt very at ease. She had been here for over a year and was slowly getting used to the environment.

Although there were occasional troublemakers, they were always able to escape unscathed. She suddenly realized that this kind of peaceful life was not bad at all, without the immense pressure of going to work.

At this moment, Zhang Yueniang used a fire poker to pok at the sweet potatoes in the fire. After they cooled down, she patted off the ash, picked one out, and handed it to her: "Sister Xu, here, have this. I'm so grateful for your care these past few days. You've given me the courage to live again."

Xu Chaoyan broke off half of the bag and gave it to her: "Sister, we women should be independent and self-reliant, learn to be self-sufficient, and not live off men. You should make a decision about your relationship with that scumbag as soon as possible, so he won't dare to bother you in the future."

Zhang Yueniang nodded: "That bastard hasn't come these days. I guess something happened at home. Maybe he's been messing around with that widow and doesn't have time to come and pay attention to me. I'll try my best to get this matter settled before the New Year. If he doesn't divorce me, I'll make sure he has no face to stay in the village. He's messing around with a widow and has to raise someone else's son. He's shameless, young and old."

Although life was uneventful, some trivial things kept popping up, making their winter uneasy.