Traveling through ancient times, storing supplies and not fleeing famine

On the twenty-third day of the lunar year, Xia Shengsheng got up early in the morning.

I let several children wear the new clothes that I made some time ago.

I also made some simple milk oatmeal porridge and paired it with ready-made sandwiches.

Several people sat together and had breakfast.

After breakfast, he packed up simply, left Xiaotian Dog at home, and drove the donkey cart towards the city.

It was cold in winter, so Xia Shengsheng made a new cart frame with a canopy, and the previous cart was left idle at home.

There is also a charcoal barbecue stove in the carport, which is very warm.

Because the journey to the provincial capital is quite long, Xia Shengsheng, Ye Chao and Er Cheng will take turns driving the car.

This way you don't have to freeze alone for several hours.

Although the weather is cold, it is the dry and cold kind.

Apart from the first light snowfall since the beginning of winter, there has been no snow since then.

The Chinese New Year is almost here. If it doesn’t snow after the New Year, I guess everyone will be wary of next year.

This time when Xia Shengsheng went to the provincial capital, in addition to picking up Yiyi and Shanshan, he also had to buy some New Year's goods.

This way, you don't have to go to the provincial capital during the Chinese New Year. If you need anything small, you can buy it in the nearby town or from Qiqi.

Although we say we are preparing for the New Year, there is actually not much to buy.

Xia Shengsheng had already asked the tailor shop to make new clothes for the New Year.

At the beginning of winter, two sets were made for each person, and three more sets were made for each person before the New Year. After the clothes of Yiyi and Shanshan were made, they were given to the two children.

You don’t have to buy various vegetables outside.

We have chickens, rabbits and sheep at home.

There is still a lot of pork left from the previous order.

Xia Shengsheng also prepared a lot of ribs, pig's trotters, beef, etc.

All of them were frozen in the water tank outside.

One good thing about the north is that when winter comes, the outside becomes a natural refrigerator.

It's convenient to save anything.

The purpose of going to the provincial capital is to see what new things are there.

Take a few kids for a walk and make them happy.

"Mom, we're here!" Ye Chao drove the donkey cart to the door of Mr. Yu's house.

Only then did Xia Shengsheng come out of the car.

Xia Shengsheng lifted the curtain, walked out, and saw that a lot of people had gathered outside Mr. Yu's house.

Some drove donkey carts, and some drove horse carts.

It seems that the family conditions are good.

It is said that the holiday starts from the New Year, but those who live nearby have already returned home after class last night.

Those who came to pick up their children today all live far away from home.

They are usually towns and villages near Ning'an Prefecture.

Xia Shengsheng's family should be the only one living in the village.

"Let's wait a while! Let's go up after they pick up the kids."

Xia Shengsheng and his friends arrived a little late.

It is even more impossible to force your way to the front now.

They can only wait until each family has picked up their children before they can go over.

"Okay, mother!"

Fortunately, they didn't wait outside for long.

People usually gave New Year gifts to Mr. Yu, exchanged a few words with him, and then took their children back home.

After all, it’s the New Year, and we can’t waste Mr. Yu’s time no matter what.

Xia Shengsheng saw the crowd gradually dispersed.

Ask a few children to help take the New Year gifts for Mr. Yu off the carriage.

Xia Shengsheng didn't know what other families had prepared.

Anyway, she prepared many styles, but they were not particularly expensive.

The New Year gifts included two jars of daughter's red wine, a gift box of pastries from the famous Qingfengzhai in the city, a gift box of candies assembled by Xia Shengsheng himself, a gift box of fruits, a slaughtered sheep, two chickens, and vermicelli and instant noodles sold by Xia Shengsheng himself.

Mr. Yu saw Xia Shengsheng and her children coming over with bags, and quickly sent someone to greet them.

"Why did you take so many things? Madam Xia is so polite."

"This is the first year we are sending Mr. Yu a New Year gift. We don't know what to prepare. We just hope Mr. Yu doesn't mind."

Mr. Yu actually likes the things Xia Shengsheng gave him the most.

Every time Xia Shengsheng came to pick up Yiyi, she would bring some homemade vermicelli and various candies for Mr. Yu.

Sometimes I also bring some fresh fruit.

Not only Mr. Yu, but also Mr. Yu's children like it very much.

This time is no exception.

Liu Yiyi had been waiting at the door, knowing that her mother and brothers would not be too late. She saw them when Xia Shengsheng and his companions arrived, but did not rush over due to etiquette.

Instead, she waited until the crowd had dispersed and greeted her mother and husband before she greeted her mother and brothers.

Seeing that Yi Yi did not forget etiquette when meeting her family, Mr. Yu nodded with satisfaction and continued talking to Xia Shengsheng.

"How can you say I despise it or not? How much money would all these things cost? It's not easy for you to live with several children by yourself.

Please don't bring so many things over here in the future. They can be called New Year gifts, just a token of my appreciation. I am not confiscating their tuition money.

Don’t ever do this again.”

Mr. Yu knew that Xia Shengsheng was doing business.

She had also heard about the vermicelli that Xia Shengsheng gave her every month. She also heard from the servants at home that it sold for one tael of silver per pound in the market!

At this price, let alone ordinary people, even her family couldn't afford to buy it often.

I know Xia Shengsheng is not necessarily short of money, but I always feel that it is not easy for her, a woman with several children, to survive in this world.

If you can save a little more money, keeping it in your own hands is better than anything else.

"Okay, I got it!"

It was not yet noon when Xia Shengsheng and others left Mr. Yu's house.

"Let's pick up Shanshan first, and then we'll go to the restaurant for dinner."

After Xia Shengsheng finished speaking to the children in the cart, she drove the donkey cart towards Huang's house.

The children were very happy when they heard that they were going to a restaurant for dinner, but they were not as excited as the first time.

After all, after experiencing it a few times, restaurants are no longer so strange or longing for them.

Moreover, Xia Shengsheng’s cooking is delicious and has many varieties, which is in no way inferior to that in a restaurant.

However, Xia Shengsheng knew in his heart that this was just a filter that the children used for their biological mother.

She only has a few specialties, and they are dishes that are not available in this era.

She really can't cook any complicated dishes.

She finds it troublesome even to follow a recipe.

The gift that Xia Shengsheng prepared for Mrs. Su was exactly the same as the one for Mr. Yu.

Almost every time both sides are treated the same, with no discrimination.

When I went to pick up Shanshan, I was unexpectedly invited into the inner courtyard by Mrs. Su.

Except for the first time Xia Shengsheng entered Madam Su's inner courtyard, every time he came to pick up Shanshan, he would wait in the small hall in the outer courtyard or directly at the corner gate.

However, her children were left outside.

Xia Shengsheng originally thought that Mrs. Su only exchanged a few words with her because of the New Year.

It turns out that Mrs. Su also had a purpose.

"Mrs. Xia, please don't blame me for being direct. I invited you in this time because I wanted to ask you if the vermicelli, instant noodles, and the chili peppers that Mr. Tao has been selling on the market recently, are all from you?"

In fact, Mrs. Su should have known about this matter from the very beginning.

Xia Shengsheng had given these things to Mr. Yu and Mrs. Su.

Moreover, it had already been sent to both families before Tao Wuji promoted it on a large scale.

However, anything that enters the Huang Mansion has to go through layers of screening, and it is not easy to finally deliver it to Madam Su.

Mrs. Su had tasted all the candies and fresh fruits that Xia Shengsheng had given her before.

Like vermicelli, instant noodles and chili peppers.

Although I told the servants in the Huang Mansion how to make these things.

However, because they were not familiar with these new things, they did not prepare them as dishes and present them to Mrs. Su.

It was only now that Mrs. Su found out that the Tao family, which could compete with the Huang family, had its most popular business recently, and it actually came from a peasant woman.

That's why I specially invited Xia Shengsheng into the inner courtyard to ask him this time.