Traveling through ancient times, I led my family to prosperity

Rabbits cost 80 wen each, pheasants were small, 30 wen each, a total of 140 wen. This was the first time Xiao Lan had touched money since she came here, she put it in her pocket with a smile, "Boss Xu, I will send you game when I get it in the future, is that okay?"

As a rule, one should not hit a smiling person. Shopkeeper Xu looked at Xiao Lan's cleverness and cheerfulness and said, "Okay, as long as the game is fresh, just send it over."

After thanking Shopkeeper Xu, Xiao Lan carried the empty basket and planned to go to the grocery store to buy some daily necessities. She was running low on salt and needles and thread at home, and a lot of salt was needed to pickle fish.

Salt is relatively expensive in this era, but you have to buy it no matter how expensive it is. If the fish is not pickled, it will easily go bad.

Xiao Lan picked a can of salt and a bag of needles and thread, and bargained with the shopkeeper. In the end, the shopkeeper gave her two cents and sold it to her for eighty cents. Xiao Lan paid the money and left the grocery store. She ran into her aunt and Sheng Xiaoru near the door.

The two were dressed in luxurious clothes. Xiaoru wore a brand new silver-red jacket with floral patterns and a lotus-colored skirt. Her jet-black hair was tied into a bun on top of her head with a small gilded phoenix hairpin, a pink velvet flower, and earrings of the same color. She had snow-white skin, almond eyes, and rosy cheeks. She looked very pretty in this outfit. Wang wore a half-worn dark green jacket and a skirt of the same color. She wore a silver hairpin and lilac earrings on her head.

When the two sides met, they were both stunned for a moment. Neither of them expected to meet here. They still remembered the beating they got last time. When they saw Xiao Lan coming out of the grocery store, they looked unhappy and said, "You look so poor. Where do you get the money to spend here?"

Xiao Lan rolled her eyes at them and said, "You guys are really nosy. Do you want to sell me out again?"

The mother and daughter shut up immediately. There had been a lot of rumors about her family in the village and town a while ago, but they had died down a bit recently. They didn't want to bring up the past again, lest the rumors start again.

"I'm afraid this is the money your grandma gave you for heating the kang. It's not easy to set up your own household and live there. You might not have enough to eat in the future." Wang said sarcastically.

"Even if my family wants to beg for food, they won't come to your doorstep. It's a shame." Xiao Lan made a pooh sound and spat at her.

The mother and daughter quickly took a step back. Xiaoru glared at her and pretended to go over and fight her, but was stopped by Wang.

Xiao Lan gave the mother and daughter a provocative look and walked away.

Xiaoru is at the age of getting married. If she fights in broad daylight, it will be difficult for her to get married in the future.

This little thing did not affect Xiao Lan's mood. She went to the market and bought four catties of fat meat. In this era, fat meat was much easier to sell than lean meat. It was twelve cents per catty, and she spent a total of forty-eight cents. She put the meat in a backpack and went home.

"Mom, I'm back." Xiao Lan greeted Zhang as soon as she opened the door.

Zhang and Xiaoting were busy at home, slicing fish, drying mushrooms and chestnuts. Shengxuan and Xiaowen were not at home. They went to Nanshan to pick branches.

The mother and daughter hurried over to help Xiaolan take down the backpack and walked back to the main room. Xiaolan took out pork, salt and needle and thread to show Zhang and Xiaoting.

"Xiao Lan, did you buy meat?" Zhang asked.

"Well, I see that we don't have much oil at home, so I cut two pounds of fat meat to cook with. When we make more money next time, we'll buy some lard." Xiao Lan took out twelve coins from her cloth bag and handed them to Zhang, "Mother, this is the remaining money, keep it."

"Keep it and use it to buy candy for the others." Zhang pushed the money to Xiaolan.

Xiao Lan put the coins away with a smile.

The fish fillets in the yard were almost done, but the salt in the house was running low, so they hadn't put salt on the fish yet. Xiao Lan bought some salt to replenish the stock, and while the three mothers were rubbing salt on the fish, they were discussing how to eat the fish after the oil was used up.

Xiaowen came running in from outside, jumpy, and then Shengxuan followed in with firewood on his back.

"Second sister, you're back." Xiaowen said with surprise when he saw Xiaolan.

"Well, we'll be done soon and start making dumplings later," Xiao Lan said.

Xiaowen was very happy.

Sheng Xuan felt sorry for the child. Xiao Wen was too young, and he was afraid that the firewood would damage the child's shoulders, so he didn't let him carry firewood. Sheng Xuan was a good father, and Xiao Lan never doubted it.

"Dad, let me help you stack the firewood." Xiaowen happily ran to the pigpen and shared the good news of making dumplings with Shengxuan.

"You go and have fun, I'll finish it in a moment." Sheng Xuan was happy and worked more enthusiastically.

Zhang washed the fat with water and cut it into slices with a knife. The fat cannot be cut too thick, otherwise the oil will not be easy to boil out. It cannot be cut too thin, otherwise it will burn easily. Pour the cut fat into the hot iron pot.

There are certain requirements for the temperature when boiling oil. It cannot be too low, otherwise the oil will be released slowly; and it cannot be too strong, otherwise the meat will burn.

Xiaoting was in charge of lighting the fire, while Zhang boiled the lard. When the lard was boiled out, it was scooped into a jar prepared in advance. At this time, the oil was a clear liquid. When the oil temperature dropped, it would solidify into a snow-white solid. This is what rural people call lard.

Youshaozi is the residue left after the fat is drained out of the meat. It contains very little oil and is fragrant, crispy and very delicious.

Zhang took a bowl, scooped a spoonful of oil, sprinkled a little salt, stirred it, and handed it to Xiaolan and Xiaowen who were watching the oil boiling at the edge of the pot. "Take these and eat them, and make dumplings with the rest."

Xiao Lan quickly took it, picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in her mouth to taste it, "It's delicious."

Zhang and Xiaoting occupied their hands, so Xiaolan picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and fed them, and also fed Xiaowen a bite.

"It's so delicious." Xiao Wen narrowed his eyes at the deliciousness of the oil-sauers. How much oil-sauers could there be in a spoonful? Several people ate it up in one bite each.

After Zhang put the oil in place, she went to mix the flour. Although her grandmother's family had sent her a lot of white flour, she had to save this precious thing for later consumption. This time, she used a mixture of bean flour and white flour to make dumplings.

After Sheng Xuan finished stacking the firewood, he went to the backyard to cut leeks. He picked them, washed them, and controlled the moisture. Then he cut the leeks into thin pieces and chopped the oil spindles into small pieces. He mixed them together and added simple salt and soy sauce to season them. It was very fragrant.

After the filling was prepared and the dough was mixed, Zhang placed the board on the edge of the kang. Shengxuan was in charge of rolling the dough, while Zhang, Xiaoting and Xiaolan were in charge of making dumplings. Xiaowen also wanted to try, but Zhang didn't dare to use him, fearing that he wouldn't know how to do it and waste food.

This era is a typical patriarchal society. Men don't touch the kitchen. The meals and housework at home are done by the wife and daughter. But Sheng Xuan has no such problems. He does the housework with his wife and children. He never feels that this is a loss of face and a violation of the dignity of men.

"Hey, third brother, are you making dumplings at home? They smell so good." Shen's loud voice came from the yard next door.

"Second Auntie must have a dog's nose. She can smell it from such a distance." Xiao Lan whispered to Zhang and the others, "I'll go to the yard and say a few words to her. Don't let her come knocking on our door when she sees that no one is talking."