My humble days in ancient times

After unloading the cart, I returned it. Some villagers brought vegetables, while others brought eggs.

Xu Ruyi took a look and said: Forget about buying vegetables at noon.

Xu Ruyi was preparing to cook when Xu Dachuan came over and asked everyone to have lunch at the old house.

That's how work is: wiping here and there, and it's quite tiring.

He Tiezhu was sweating from working hard, and waved his hand: "Okay, I'm so glad to have someone to cook for me."

Everyone wash their faces and then go to the old house together.

Li and Xu Dafu worked hard for a long time, buying meat and vegetables, boiling water and killing chickens. Now the dishes are ready and on the table.

Xu Dachuan was busy calling people in the morning: the head of the village, Zhuzi, Xu Xiaohua, Uncle Xu, and the three uncles from the village who helped to look for people yesterday.

Zhuzi was Aunt Zhang's son. When Xu Dachuan came to visit, Aunt Zhang had politely declined. Last time, he found Ruyi unconscious by the river and sent her back home, having already gone out for a meal. This time, Dachuan was mainly thanking Zhuzi. Even though Dachuan had asked the whole family to come over, how could he not know his limits?

I asked Xu Xiaohua and Grandma Wu to come over, but neither of them came.

The head of the village sat at the head seat, followed by He Tiezhu, Xu Dafu, three uncles from the village, He Changsheng, Zhuzi, Dachuan and Qinghe, exactly ten people in total.

Mrs. Li was eating in the kitchen with her children and didn't call Tian Yuhe over.

Li cooked a lot of dishes today: stir-fried leeks, braised fish, stir-fried meat with lettuce, stewed chicken with potatoes, cold shepherd's purse, stir-fried greens, stir-fried bean sprouts, tofu with green onions, fried meatballs, and minced meat with sauerkraut.

The more people there are, the more dishes there are. Nowadays, the conditions of the villagers are not very good. The family of Xu Dafu is already quite good. For a normal family, it is enough to have two meat dishes out of eight dishes.

As they drank and ate, they talked about what happened yesterday and were filled with emotion. They also asked about their separation last night, and Xu Qinghe did not hide anything and told them the truth.

Everyone also toasted Xu Dachuan and said, "It's good to separate. Everyone lives in peace and happiness for each other."

Xu Dachuan only felt embarrassed and ashamed.

He Changsheng praised the village head for his thoughtful consideration, and the village head was so happy that he drank two more glasses.

Everyone had a great time drinking.

As He Tiezhu left, he couldn't help but joke with Li: "Sister Li, I'm sorry for the expense."

Mrs. Li was also happy: "You help the children with the work, and I can't cook a meal. I am very happy!"

He Tiezhu suddenly became serious: "I'm far away, and I'll have to trouble you two old people to take care of the child in the future!"

Li answered readily, "Don't worry."

He Tiezhu and He Changsheng continued helping until the evening, giving numerous instructions before leaving with peace of mind.

After his grandfather left, Xu Qinghe was in a low mood. After all, he was only twelve years old, which would be an elementary school student nowadays.

Xu Ruyi comforted him: "I have thought of a way to make money."

Xu Qinghe's eyes lit up: "What's the method? Tell me quickly."

“Selling egg pancakes and rice balls.”

Xu Qinghe was surprised: "What is that? Why haven't I heard of it?"

Xu Ruyi said mysteriously, "It's a delicious breakfast. You'll know when it's ready."

Xu Qinghe was a little looking forward to it.

While cooking, Xu Ruyuan and Xu Qingyan stood by the stove, not as lively and cheerful as usual.

Xu Ruyi touched their heads and said, "Be happy, you have older brothers and sisters, and you won't go hungry. I'll tell you a story later." Xu Ruyi found that from then on, the two children liked to stick to her.

After hearing the story, the two little ones became excited and immediately ran to the yard to play with laughter.

After dinner, Xu Ruyi told them stories.

Xu Ruyi found it funny to see their expectant eyes.

Xu Ruyi paused and said, "Once upon a time, there was a beautiful woman named Chang'e..."

Xu Qingyan laughed and said, "If you take the elixir of immortality, you can fly to the moon. I want to fly to the moon and take a look someday."

"I want to see if the Jade Rabbit looks good. I want a rabbit." Xu Ruyuan was immersed in fantasy.

Xu Qingyan started hugging Xu Ruyi and acting coquettishly again: "Big sister, tell me another one."

Xu Ruyi thought for a moment and said, "Hua Mulan was a woman from ancient times. She learned to ride a horse from a young age. One day, the imperial court recruited soldiers..."

In the morning, the brother and sister went to town together. Since they were going to start a snack business, they quickly prepared.

I first went to a blacksmith's shop and ordered an iron furnace, an iron plate, and an iron shovel. Later, I decided to order ten iron cans to store various seasonings. Then I went to buy various ingredients: black rice, rice, glutinous rice...

After returning home, Xu Ruyi will first prepare the chili oil and noodle sauce, and will not worry about anything else.

I’ve seen a lot of delicious food in videos and eaten it myself, but I’ve never made it myself.

Xu Ruyi placed coarse chili powder, fine chili powder, salt, white sesame seeds, and sugar in a wooden basin. Chicken essence and cumin were not available in this dynasty. Then she added white vinegar and white wine and stirred them.

Heat oil in a wok, then add onions, ginger, garlic, fennel, Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Fry over medium-low heat until fragrant. Remove from the oil and pour the hot oil over the chili peppers in three batches.

Xu Ruyi tried it and didn't expect that she would succeed on her first try.

Then he started mixing the noodle sauce: flour, soy sauce, salt, starch... It took Xu Ruyi many attempts before he succeeded. Xu Ruyi stretched and said: It's done.

The rest is much easier. Just pickle some sauerkraut and diced carrots and add them to the rice balls. Forget about the ham and pork tenderloin, or the seaweed and pork floss. Forget it, just make a simple version.

Xu Qinghe was also busy digging wild vegetables and collecting firewood.

Tian Yuhe finally lived the life she had always wanted. Lying in bed, legs crossed, she felt elated and at peace. Without her children around, she didn't find it boring. On the contrary, she felt that life was beautiful and the future was promising. Thinking of their difficult days ahead brought her great comfort. Then she thought of Huang Guiyun... She jumped out of bed, basket in hand, and walked briskly into the distance.

Huang Guiyun opened the door and saw Tian Yuhe, feeling unhappy: "Why are you here? I lost ten taels because of you."

Tian Yuhe handed the vegetables and a pound of meat in the basket to Huang Guiyun: "Thank you for your help. Please accept the gifts!"

Huang Guiyun felt better when she saw the meat.

Tian Yuhe saw her face improve and said, "Ruyi is a cunning child. Life is hard for them. They have it easy."

Huang Guiyun said: "You won't give alms if you beg for food in the future!"

Tian Yuhe imagined them begging for food, and felt they wouldn't last much longer. "No," she said. "Those kids are ambitious. They won't be able to beg at my door."

Huang Guiyun said: "They have grandparents and a father, so they won't starve to death."

The happier they are now, the more painful it will be when they are slapped in the face in a few days.

Two days later, the products were ready and the stall was set up.

In the evening, Xu Ruyi soaked the purple rice and glutinous rice. Glutinous rice needs one hour to soak, while the purple rice needs three or four hours.

I get up early in the morning and cook rice. Then I prepare other ingredients. I stir-fry some shredded potatoes, tofu skin...

Xu Qinghe helped to light the fire.

After finishing the work, I took Uncle Xu’s ox cart to the county town.

On their first day setting up their stall, the siblings were a bit nervous. Xu Ruyi wasn't sure if the locals were used to this kind of food. They chose a spot with a lot of traffic. Xu Ruyi had found out a few days ago. There were many residents nearby, and it was close to the pier.

They started a fire and rolled out the dough. After they finished rolling out a sheet, they placed it on a clean cloth. Xu Qinghe watched Xu Ruyi as she rolled out the dough one sheet at a time. After a few sheets, Xu Ruyi gained some experience and became more and more skilled.

Xu Qinghe also started to try it, and after spreading a few pieces, he no longer felt nervous.

At this time, the first customer came, a man in his fifties, came over and looked at the sign: What is an egg pancake? What is a rice ball?

The uncle didn't ask, thinking that he would know after trying it once. He ordered an egg pancake.

Since it was his first time, Xu Qinghe was a little panicked and quickly stepped back to let his sister step forward.

Xu Ruyi quickly beat an egg, then took out the prepared dough and placed it on the egg. After a while, she turned the dough over with a spatula, then added sauce, shredded potatoes and bean skin, asked the uncle if he wanted chili, and finally rolled it up and wrapped it in oil paper.

The sign said that an egg pancake was four cents and a rice ball was five cents.

The uncle paid, took a bite, and his eyes lit up: "Delicious, really delicious." The uncle finished it in three or five bites, felt a little embarrassed, and asked for another one.