In the twenty-first year of Dading, before dawn on February 16, Li Dalang had boxed and had breakfast, and then drove the cattle to the ground. Situ Yan carried the basket into the mountain early in the morning, and found some newly emerging Artemisia annua in a small valley on the south side of the mountain. It's just that the quantity is too small, only enough to make some artemisia cakes and keep them for the Qingming Festival to eat as cold food, and can't be sold.

Packed with the picked artemisia annua and herbs home, the herbs are not cleaned directly into the ring, the artemisia sprouts, glutinous rice, japonica rice together, so that the artemisia juice and rice flour into one, with meat, vegetables as the stuffing into a cake, and then into the drawer steamed. Artemisia cake is emerald green in color and has a fresh fragrance.

Tomorrow is the Qingming Festival, but also the Cold Food Festival, no smoking, eat cold food, this artemisia cake can be used to sweep the grave and worship the ancestors, but also can be eaten as a meal.

Before dawn on February 17, Li Dalang carried the incense and candle offerings prepared by Situ Yan, and Erlang carried a shovel on his back, and the family went to the grave of Li Dazhu and his wife.

The four brothers of the Li family removed the grass, laid a new layer of soil, and pressed paper money with stones. Situ Yan put the sacrificial artemisia cake on the table, poured a bowl of wine, and served incense and wine with a few people, and then burned the paper money.

Maybe a few people read some books, maybe they had already talked to their parents last time, and although a few people were sad, they didn't cry, but Shiro wiped his tears. told Li Dazhu everything about this time, and just like during the New Year, he dug a pit for the artemisia cake and buried it in front of the grave, and a few people took their things home.

Qingming outing is a leisure activity for rich families to be idle, and poor families have that leisure, and the villagers all take farm tools to go to the field to get busy after sweeping the graves. At noon, Da Lang came back with the cow and took out a few cakes from the back basket and gave them to Situ Yan, "Xiao Wu, Uncle Zheng of the village came to the field at noon today, and sent a few cakes, saying that today's Cold Food Festival, don't let the fire start, I'm afraid that we don't have any preparation and break the rules." ”

"It's okay, save it for tomorrow to eat, and send two of the artemisia cakes to Uncle Wangfu in the evening, so that Uncle won't have to worry about it."

Li Dalang nodded and thought it was good, although there was not much artemisia cake left, but he saved some food, and then some cakes were enough for the family to eat.

After taking a nap, the sky is still sunny, not even a single cloud, let alone rain, not a single rain after the beginning of spring, the farmers who rely on the sky to farm the land, which is not in a hurry, but it is useless to be anxious, and they have no way if it does not rain. Fortunately, these days are just ploughing the ground, and it will be too late to plant a few days later.

But this is not Situ Yan's character, she has already planned it, and at this moment she is pulling San Lang and Shiro to dig a water cellar by the official field to find water veins. And dug a canal along the water cellar and stretched it out to the field, although it was not deep, it could be used to divert water just right.

In the evening, when the village masa's house was about to have dinner, Li Dalang entered the door with a cake, thanked the village and went home. Lijia Village is poor, not to mention making artemisia cakes to eat, even if I haven't heard much, after all, glutinous rice is used to make this thing.

Aunt Fu distributed the cakes to the family and tasted them, and the youngest son Li Guisheng was the happiest to eat, shouting that it was better than the cakes at home.

"Don't say that my little grandson loves to eat this thing, even I eat it smoothly, soft and chewy, and even eat all the vegetables and meat."

"No, that's what the girl thought. Little lamb, how did you say this green chicken came out? "The village is eating and feeling fragrant.

"How do I know? That girl has a lot of ideas, but I eat a smell of grass, what kind of grass should I dye it with? Seeing that the family was happy to eat, Aunt Fu moved the idea of asking Situ Yan.

"I'm afraid it's not easy to do, I eat this sticky strength, like glutinous rice, if it's easy to make, the girl will already sell it in the city." I won't just send two. ”

"Grandpa is right, Xiao Wu only sells persimmons when he goes to the county seat these days, and the one he sent a few days ago, and there is nothing else to sell at home." Although Xiao Yang'er thinks this thing is fragrant, he also knows that it must be difficult to make.

A few people ate two cakes in a row, and this dinner is considered to have been eaten.

On the 20th of February, the first water cellar was dug very smoothly, and it was dug in more than three days, and Li Erlang found some wooden planks and straw mats to make a cover.

Situ Yan was busy raising seedlings and drying herbs at home, and saw San Lang running back in a hurry, "Little Wu, come with me to the field to have a look, it's out of the water." ”

Situ Yan saw that he was in a hurry, and his words were vague, but looking at the joy on his face, he didn't feel like something bad, so he locked the door first, and then rushed to Guantian together.

From a distance, I saw Li Erlang beckoning to her, "Little Wu, come and see, there is water here." ”

Situ Yan took a closer look, and then realized that it turned out that a few people had dug up the water cellar and dug out the water, and she was near here when she was looking for the water vein, and it seemed that there was a slight deviation when she was looking for it, "This water is still a little mixed, and I don't know if it can be drunk." ”

I tasted it, Li Erlang found a bowl and scooped it a little, and before Situ Yan could stop it, he took a sip, "Spit out, spit out, spit out!" "As soon as the water was imported, it was all vomited.

"Little Wu, this water is bitter, you can't eat it!"

Bitter, Situ Yan had a moment of excitement, she remembered that in her previous life, she turned over some information, the well salt water is bitter, and the well salt is more in Bashu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Guizhou and other places, and very little in the Northeast. I took the bowl and took a sip, not only bitter, but also salty. Without waiting for Li Dalang and a few people to react, she jumped into the pit at once, digging with a shovel, she wanted to know if this was a salt well, Li Erlang saw it and jumped down to help.

The brothers didn't know what the little sister was digging again, but it could be seen that the little sister was very nervous, and a few people didn't know what to do, so they all moved and dug more than two meters deep, and it really made Situ Yan dig it, the salt brine layer, but the salt layer is not deep, but for her, it is already an unexpected harvest. As for how big the salt layer is, it doesn't matter to her, this is a windfall, and if it is used well, their family will not have to worry about food and clothing for several years.

Coming out of the bottom of the pit, Situ Yan told a few people, "Brothers, don't dig this pit anymore, find something to cover it, and don't tell anyone." ”

"Little Wu, is something wrong?" Several people could see that Xiaomei was nervous and excited.

"Brother, this is a salt well. We won't have to worry about eating salt in the future, but if we let the government know about this matter, we will come to seal the well and seal the land, and then the land we turn over will be in vain. ”

"Yes, I can't say it, only our own family knows about it." Hearing Xiaomei say this, Li Dalang of course nodded in agreement.

"Yes, even Uncle Muramasa can't say it." Several people quickly came to a consensus. Situ Yan went home and fetched two buckets and filled them with some salt brine, and Shiro helped carry them back. Situ Yan was busy boiling salt all afternoon, and one or two coarse salt came out of a pound of salt brine. With the results, Situ Yan worked even harder, so busy that she almost forgot to make dinner.

When Li Dalang came back in the evening, the rice had not yet come out of the pot, and a few people washed it, and then went to the kang to rest, "What's wrong with Xiao Wu today, it's all here, and the rice hasn't been eaten yet?" ”

"What's the matter, I won't starve you to death in a while." Li Dalang scolded Erlang with a smile, his younger brother is good at everything, but he is a little greedy.

"Big brother, I didn't mean that, I'm afraid that Xiao Wu will be tired, this afternoon, I ran three times just to bear the bitter water, and I don't know what I'm busy with?"

"Yes, big brother, when I came back from helping to carry the water, my little sister was busy in the stove room." Saburo and Shiro are also curious.

A few people were talking, when they heard Situ Yan shouting for a few people to start eating, and they got off the kang to help serve the dishes and bowls. When the meal was served, several people asked the doubts in their hearts.

"Since my brothers want to know, I'll show it to my brothers." After finishing speaking, he put the bun in his hand on the plate, and ran out of the house, and after a while, he walked in with a small stoneware jar and handed it to Li Dalang, "Brothers, take a look!" ”

Li Dalang took the jar and helped Situ Yan to the kang first, then opened the lid and glanced inside, "Xiao Wu, is this salt?" ”

"Show me." Li Erlang was so anxious that he couldn't sit still, and when he heard his eldest brother say it was salt, he hurriedly reached out and grabbed it.

"Er, be careful. Don't break it. Li Dalang saw that the second brother was in a hurry, afraid that he would scatter this precious thing.

"It's really, little three, look." "I want to see it too." Shiro stretched out his head and leaned over.

Li Dalang looked at the little sister sitting on the side, and was a little excited, "Little Wu, where did this thing come from?" ”

"This is coarse salt made from the bitter water dug up by my brothers, and our family will never have to buy official salt in the future. You can save a lot of money in a month. "Every time Situ Yan buys official salt, she has to scold this evil old society, in the previous life, 1 yuan a pack of refined salt, here 25 Wen can buy 1 tael, and it is only coarse salt.

"Little Wu, you're so good!" Li Dalang felt that he couldn't compare to this little sister, digging cellars these days, he just felt that he could contribute to this family, but he was compared to the little sister again, but he didn't have the previous unbearable and sad, but he was very happy. To put it bluntly, Situ Yan got used to it, and even his self-confidence became extremely strong.

"That's, don't look at whose sister I am." Several people were amused by Situ Yan's arrogant appearance and fell on the kang with laughter.

"Big brother, this salt can't be put in the stove room, I will find a place to hide it, if this private salt is discovered by the government, our family will be distributed and exiled. It may even lose its head, no matter who the brothers see in the future, don't mention it. ”

"Yes, you must remember it, especially the second one." Li Dalang was still happy just now, but when Situ Yan said this, he was nervous, and he was a little worried and afraid.

"Big brother, I can remember, for the lives of Xiao Wu and my younger brothers, I won't say anything." Situ Yan saw that several people had a correct attitude, thinking that they had listened to this, so she didn't say more, and took the salt directly to the east room and put it in the ring. Then he returned to the hall and continued to eat.