【Quick Wear】My Years as a Mother-in-law

"In this case, you can set up a female household and use it as your dowry. It will be quite generous." Yun Xi smiled unconsciously.

As for the dowry, there have been people who killed their wives to take the dowry since ancient times, but this should be impossible in the Li family. It can be seen from the fact that no one ate other people even though they were so hungry that they had a high moral bottom line, which should be related to the prosperous days in the past. When the granaries are full, people know etiquette.

Arya whispered softly, "We thought so too."

"That's great." Li Meizi was a little envious, but she felt balanced again when she thought about the private money her mother gave her.

Not long after, Yu Qianer came back. This time, she had solved her sons' lifelong affairs. She was very happy and started sewing clothes while sitting in the car.

"Sister-in-law, how much dowry will you give to each of your four future daughters-in-law?" Yun Xi couldn't help but ask when she saw how excited she was.

Yu Qian'er didn't hide it and said, "Five strings of cash per person, a pair of silver ear mushrooms and a set of cotton clothes. You don't know how popular they are. I gave the most in terms of betrothal gifts."

"pretty good."

The relationship between the two sides is mutually beneficial. In this era when imperial power does not extend to the countryside, it is particularly dangerous for five girls without the protection of their clan. The Li clan has many people who can provide them with shelter.

At noon, Chief Li brought over seventeen girls, two of whom were accompanied by their children, who were protected by the young and strong men in the village.

"Chief, have you found a wife for a villager?" Yu Qianer joked.

"That's right. For the development of the clan, I've become a matchmaker. It's really tiring." Clan leader Li began to count the people without stopping. After making sure everyone was present, he said, "Let's go to the county government office to transfer their household registration."

These ten or so girls were sold on the spot by their families. Of course, in name only the children were married off and they would not admit to selling the children.

Generally speaking, these women were much more miserable than Yu Xier and the other five. Yu Xier and the other five had twenty mu of land and one string of silver as dowries, and they could also get the betrothal gifts themselves. However, these women were drained dry by their relatives, leaving them penniless, and their betrothal gifts were also taken away by their parents and relatives...

Clan leader Li didn't know what Yun Xi was thinking, and was ready to complete their household registration to avoid any trouble.

Yun Xi did not go with them, but waited outside with Mei Zi. In the afternoon, Patriarch Li finished his business and returned with his men. It took them five days to reach Lijia Village.

Instead of going home directly, Yun Xi found Clan Leader Li and told him about the past events, trying to keep it secret, especially the matter of drying salt. If anyone knew about it, it would be a capital crime.

Chief Li assured her, "No one in the tribe will go to dry salt in the future. I will instruct everyone to keep their mouths shut about our past experiences."

"That's good."

Li Chunsheng and his younger brothers and sisters were eagerly waiting at home. Finally, they waited for their stepmother and Mei Zi to come back, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Chunsheng, feed the cows. I'll take Meizi with me to make bacon. Chinese New Year is in twenty days, so let's clean up the three houses before the New Year." Yun Xi was curious, "Meizi, when did you start spring plowing in the past?"

Li Meizi thought for a moment and said, "The earliest is March. It's still a bit cold then, but we have to start raising the seedlings. We'll start transplanting the rice seedlings in mid-April."

Yun Xi thought, "It's earlier than this year."

"Due to natural disasters this year, the harvest started later. Normally, the autumn harvest would have begun in August," explained Li Meizi.

"How about tilling the soil and applying fertilizer?"

Yun Xi thought of the feces in the toilet. She asked her uncle and others to build the toilet with blue bricks, one for men and one for women. A pit was dug outside the backyard wall to connect to the toilet. There was a broken vat in the pit. The toilet was made of stone and built very high. When not in use, it was covered with wooden boards. There was a bucket next to it. Every time after using the toilet, it had to be flushed with water, otherwise it would be very dirty in the summer.

"After the rice seedlings are grown, the land needs to be turned over with a hoe or a cow, and fertilizer is applied using farmyard manure, feces from toilets, chicken, duck, and goose, as well as pig and cow feces, plus wood ash, buried in a pit and fermented for a few months. After the land is turned over, it is applied to the ground, and then the land is dug, watered, and rice seedlings are planted... The process is similar to this year's." Li Meizi explained.

So that's how it is. It seems that farmers at that time already knew how to cultivate the land carefully.

"What should we do with so much land at home? I want to buy another cow, but I can't find one for sale. I don't dare to use too much effort on this calf when the time comes." Yun Xi was worried. Without listening, she quickly marinated the meat and hung it above the stove to smoke it slowly.

"I'll hire people from my clan to help me out, and each person will get five kilograms of food a day." Li Meizi said, "In the past, my uncle's family would finish planting their land early and then go to work for families with more land. The price was also about the same."

"Let's see when the time comes. If the five of us work hard, we can plant at least 50 acres." Yun Xi said.

We started with dinner with bread, dumplings and buns. Here we eat rice and noodles during the Chinese New Year. We make red date steamed buns and buns with noodles, and rice into rice cakes. We also fry meatballs, which are all delicious.

"Make 200 dumplings tonight and freeze them. Make 300 cabbage buns tomorrow and eat them later. I'm too lazy to cook." Yun Xi washed the four ribs and put them into the pot to boil.

"Mom, can you make some wontons? I still want to eat them."

Li Xiaqing put down his book and ran over.

"Sure, let's pack it. You and Yanran should wash your hands and come to help. There is strength in numbers." Yun Xi will not indulge them. They have to learn life skills.

"Got it."

The two kids first learned how to roll out the dough, and they learned it very well. Their rolling speed could keep up with her and Mei Zibao's speed. Soon Li Chunsheng also joined in.

After another meal of wontons, the children stopped thinking about it. Then the village started to prepare for a wedding, but it was just a formality without a banquet, so there was no need to send gifts, they just went to watch the fun.

Wow, there will probably be a lot of newborns next year. No matter what happens, it can’t stop the desire to reproduce.

The villagers held weddings one after another, and the New Year arrived. This was the first New Year after everyone escaped the disaster. In order to get rid of bad luck, the stingy villagers were particularly generous and killed chickens and cooked meat. The aroma of food filled the air above Lijia Village.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people have to worship their ancestors and the deceased. Yun Xi slaughtered the rooster and gave it to her eldest sister-in-law. At that time, there was a little wild boar in her eldest uncle's house. It was hunted by Li Daniu and his sons in the mountains. It was also kept for sacrifice.

On New Year's Eve, Yun Xi prepared a large table of dishes. She took out all the eggs that she was reluctant to eat. There were omelets, scrambled eggs with green onions, stir-fried pork slices with radish, a low-end version of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall with crispy pork, stewed kelp with radish, stir-fried dried mushrooms, steamed salted fish, seaweed, shrimp and egg drop soup. There were eight dishes and one soup. The staple food was corn soup and red date steamed buns. She tried to make the meal as sumptuous as possible with limited ingredients.

Without being polite with the children, Yun Xi summarized her life in the past year at the dinner table, looked forward to the future, and then told everyone to feel free to start eating!

It is easier to feel sleepy after eating too much noodles. After the meal, the leftovers are placed in a jar and covered, and everyone is asked to go back and rest. Don’t stay up all the time, as it is uncomfortable, especially late at night when there is no entertainment.

After everyone fell asleep, Yun Xi secretly put New Year's money under each child's pillow.

In the new year, I wish everyone peace and happiness.