Travel back to ancient times and open a Sichuan restaurant

Early in the morning, Zhong's mother got up to make breakfast. As soon as she opened the lid of the water tank, she felt a refreshing scent coming towards her.

She was a little confused and bent down to look at the water tank. Sure enough, she asked the third child to fill it with water before going to bed last night. The water was clean even with the lid on.

Although Zhong's mother was a little grumbling in her heart, she continued to boil water and cook breakfast as usual. Before Zhong's mother brought out the food, Zhong Lao San, who had gotten up early to work, ran in and took the ladle from the water tank to scoop a ladle of water to drink. As soon as the water entered his mouth, his eyes lit up. This water is so sweet! Sweet and clear.

"Mom, did you add sugar to the water? Why is it so sweet and delicious?" Zhong Laosan smiled innocently.

Mother Zhong rolled her eyes speechlessly, "What great thing are you thinking of? Who has so much money that they add sugar to the water they drink everyday? You're so smart. Isn't this the water I asked you to fetch last night? You're already a grown-up and you're still thinking about drinking sugar water!"

Is that so? Zhong Laosan touched his head and didn't dare to say anything more. Maybe he was thirsty from chopping wood early in the morning and that's why he thought the water tasted sweet. He quickly took the food from Zhong's mother and brought it to the table. Not only was his mouth dry, he was also hungry!

As soon as Zhong Laosan walked away, Zhong's mother couldn't help but scoop up a bucket of water and drink a few sips. Oh my god! How come it's really sweet? The third kid didn't lie. Today's water is really sweet, sweeter than sugar water, and after drinking it, I feel refreshed!

"Old woman! Old woman!" Mr. Zhong's voice came from the main room. Mother Zhong thought something had happened and hurried over.

Mr. Zhong wanted to say something but stopped himself. What happened to the old woman? How come this multi-grain porridge, which usually had no taste, tasted sweet? The two of them started talking about this issue.

The person involved, Zhong Ruyi, was eating porridge with his head down, a smile on his face, hiding his achievements and fame.

She can't enjoy such a good thing alone. Sharing happiness is worse than enjoying it alone. The Zhong family was so good to the original owner, but it was a pity that the original owner passed away early and was unable to honor his parents. Now that she is here, whether the original owner comes back or not, she will treat the original owner's parents well on his behalf.

After dinner, Zhong's mother wanted to go to Wang the butcher's house in the village to buy some pork. When Zhong Ruyi heard this, she immediately said that she also wanted to go and see, and Zhong's mother agreed.

Mid-November is the slack season for farmers in the village.

Farmers work all year round and only have a break during these few days. The village where Zhong Ruyi is now is called Xinghua Village. It has a good geographical location and suitable temperature. Wheat and rice can be grown in the fields. The villagers will also leave a few rows of ridges to plant some peanuts, beans, cucumbers, radishes and cabbages. They only need to plant enough for their own consumption. Some hardworking people plant more and harvest them early in the morning and take them to the town to sell. Although they don't make much, it is also a small income.

In Dazhao, land was divided into 10 mu for males and 5 mu for females. Of the 10 mu for males, 5 mu was paddy field and 5 mu was dry field. Of the 5 mu for females, only 1 mu was paddy field and 4 mu was dry field. Regardless of whether you planted the land or not, the annual harvest was 30% taxable, which means that if you harvested 30 dan of grain from the land, you would have to pay 1 dan of tax. This tax rate was very low compared to other dynasties in history.

But the grain output in this era was not high. Farmers worked hard all year round and even after paying taxes they could not save much grain. Unlike modern times, the yield of ordinary rice per mu can reach about 900 kilograms, and some high-yield rice varieties can double that.

In today's dynasties, the most that farmers can do is apply manure as fertilizer, and they really rely on the weather for their livelihood.

Just after the mother and daughter walked out of the house, Aunt Zhao from next door also came out. The two sides greeted each other. Aunt Zhao looked at Zhong Ruyi in surprise, "Dafu's mother, your Ruyi is..." Zhong Ruyi's eldest brother is Zhong Dafu, the second brother is Zhong Daxiang, and the third brother is Zhong Daji. People in the village usually call her Old Zhong or Dafu's mother.

Mother Zhong felt a little embarrassed and a little proud. The villagers had always known about the situation of her daughter Ruyi when she was born. The nice people would not ask about these things and would at most mutter a few words in the house. The bad-hearted people loved to listen to other people's bad things and not only loved to ask about them but also loved to run to her and ask her eagerly, "Is she, Li Xiulan, the kind of person who can be bullied?"

That couldn't be possible. Someone had to be a jerk. She had fought countless times with those rotten-hearted people.

Aunt Zhao lived close to her home and was a nice person. When her son was not working in the fields, he often worked as a laborer in the town. He was a hard-working man and would never starve anywhere, so her family lived a comfortable life and could get along well with the villagers.

Mother Zhong and Aunt Zhao were standing there chatting. Zhong Ruyi was getting a little bored waiting. When she looked around, she saw a little girl walking by carrying a small backpack.

The girl was not very old, about the same age as Cuicui. The original owner did not find this person in her memory. It might also be because the original owner seldom went out and met few people, so she had no impression of her. After talking to Mother Zhong and Aunt Zhao, they continued to walk towards the butcher's house.

"Mom, who is that?" Mother Zhong turned around and looked, "That's the girl from the Chen family in the village, her name is Xiaoxue."

When we arrived at the butcher Wang's house, he had already slaughtered a pig early in the morning. He had put a table at the door as a stall, and there were already several people waiting there.

When they saw Zhong's mother and Zhong Ruyi coming over, they opened their eyes wide in surprise and came up to talk to them.

Mother Zhong was reserved and proud. She wished she could tie her daughter to her waistband every day so that those gossipers could see clearly that her daughter was standing properly now, not like before.

Butcher Wang shouted, and the people who were originally chatting dispersed and rushed to his stall. They talked to each other, but Butcher Wang did not make any mistakes and his moves were spot on.

Mother Zhong asked for two pounds of meat, which cost twelve cents per pound, and three large bones, which were picked clean and cost one cent each. Mother Zhong bought the bones and planned to take them home to make soup with radishes.

The weather has been getting colder recently, and it is even colder at night. It is so comfortable to drink a bowl of warm bone soup before going to bed.

Before leaving, Zhong Ruyi saw Wang the butcher throwing the cut pig offal into a wooden barrel. She reached out and grabbed Zhong's mother's sleeve and said, "Mom, don't you want those pig offal anymore?"

Mother Zhong glanced at the wooden barrel, which contained some pig intestines, pig hearts, and pig stomachs. "Yes, of course I don't want it. But pig offal is not easy to handle, and it's not as expensive as normal pork. People who can't afford meat but want to try some meat buy it. We don't want to eat that. I'll go back and make some pork bone soup for you to drink. It's good for your health. Look at how pale your face is."

Zhong Ruyi smiled awkwardly. Her complexion was not good, just rosy. Her mother always felt that she was weak and needed to replenish her body.

But pig offal is a good thing. In modern times, a little braised large intestine costs dozens of yuan. "Mom, buy some pig offal. I want to eat it."

Mother Zhong glanced at her. Pig offal is not easy to handle. It takes a lot of effort to buy it and eat it. But since her daughter wants to eat it, she can buy some.

He turned back and bought a pair of pig intestines. When others saw this, they openly said that Zhong's mother loved her daughter, but privately said that she was confused. No matter how good her daughter was, she would be married off to someone else's family. Why was she so good to her? She spent so much money in vain and raised her daughter so well, only to raise her to someone else's family.

Zhong's mother also knew what the villagers said about her in private, but she didn't listen. She had a hard childhood. Zhong's mother's surname was Li and her original name was Dahua. The name Xiulan was changed by her mother-in-law when she arrived at the Zhong family.

She has four older brothers and she is the youngest. She is the one who works the hardest. She has to get up before dawn to make breakfast for the whole family. After making breakfast, she has to go to the stream to wash clothes. After washing clothes, she has to cut grass to feed the pigs and clean the chicken coop and duck house. If she is not satisfied with anything, her parents will beat and scold her.