Since the last time I took out all the money in my family, the fish farming business had to be temporarily stopped. Liu Bicao thought about raising fish and lotus root after the New Year.

Now Liu Bicao is not worried about the food problem at home, and the most worrying thing is the New Year, and the purchase of New Year's goods for the New Year needs silver.

"Bicao, what are you busy with?" Aunt Chen's daughter-in-law, Xiuling, came over with a winter coat to find Liu Bicao.

"Xiuling is here, come in." Liu Bicao saw that Xiuling was coming, and hurriedly beckoned her, "Sit down." ”

After the autumn harvest, every household has nothing to be busy with, and Liu Bicao saw that there was still some coarse cloth and cotton at home, and thought about making winter cotton clothes for the family.

"I know you're good at embroidery, so I'm looking for you to make cotton clothes." Xiuling was not polite, sat with Liu Bicao, and took a sip of the water served by Shen Mei.

Shen Mei sat next to Liu Bicao and made the handkerchief that Bicao brought back from the embroidery room.

"Bicao, I heard that the Liu family has been arguing about the separation of the family?" Xiuling was talking while working.

Liu Bicao looked at Xiuling with a gloating look on her face and nodded. Xiuling took over the conversation and talked about the Liu family's separation, and seeing that Liu Bicao didn't react, she didn't talk about this topic anymore, and only concentrated on the work at hand, asking Liu Bicao's opinion from time to time.

"Sister-in-law, my eldest brother is back from digging bamboo shoots." When it was time to cook, Xiuling's house went to cook, and as soon as she left, Shen Jinyan opened the curtain and ran in, hugged Liu Bicao's legs, and looked at Liu Bicao.

Two days ago, when Liu Bicao and Shen Jinqian entered the mountain, they encountered two pheasants, and Shen Jinqian brought the two pheasants back.

Seeing that the weather was cool, Liu Bicao cleaned up the two chickens, salted them, and hung them in the kitchen. As soon as I cooked these two days, the smoke smoked the pheasant, and it had a fragrance.

The people in the family were hungry when they smelled the smell, and after eating the morning food today, Liu Bicao asked Shen Jinqian to dig up the winter bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest behind.

Liu Bicao followed Shen Jinyan out to see, and Shen Jinqian dug half a basket of winter bamboo shoots in the yard, all of which were fresh and watery, which made people like it when they saw it.

"Tonight, I'll make winter bamboo shoots and roast pheasants for everyone to eat." Liu Bicao touched Shen He's head, "Bo'an and Meizi will go get some wine, and your father and your brother will have some drinks in the evening, and there will be no work in the field tomorrow." ”

Shen Mei answered, took the money and went to the house of the wine seller in the village with Liu Boan.

It just so happened that Shen's mother came back, so she and Liu Bicao worked together to process the winter bamboo shoots, put them in a pot and boil them, and remove the bitterness. The pheasant hanging was removed, cut into pieces, the wild garlic was cut into sections, and ginger, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, etc. were prepared.

It didn't take long for people to wait, and the fragrance wafted from the sky above the courtyard of the Shen family.

The people of the village sniffed it and were envious. Since the last conscription for conscription, many families who could not afford it had to go out, and some people gritted their teeth and sold the grain harvested in the autumn, and lived a life of bolting their belts again.

Fortunately, the Shen family still has Shen Jinqian's hunting skills and Liu Bicao's dexterity, as well as the flexible brains of the two of them, and they can also let the Shen family see a little meat every once in a while.

"Sister-in-law, the marinated meat seems to be more fragrant." Shen Mei helped Liu Bicao with the dishes and chopsticks. After entering the autumn, the Shen family moved to the hall house for dinner.

"Hearing you say that, it's true." Liu Bicao helped Shen's father and Shen's mother to add good food, and also sat down to eat with Shen Jinqian.

The Shen family's meals are different from other families, and they all like to cook at home.

"I've seen bamboo forests before, and we can dig up the winter bamboo shoots in it and sell them in the town, and we can also pick up the hairy chestnuts on the mountain." Liu Bicao was thinking about things in her heart, and she was not in a hurry to eat.

Shen Jinqian sandwiched a piece of chicken to her: "I'll dig the winter bamboo shoots with Jinxin and Bo'an, and you and Meizi will pick up the chestnuts." ”

Liu Bicao ate the chicken with a smile, nodded and agreed with Shen Jinqian's statement: "Then things at home will be hard." ”

"Sister-in-law, I'll help my mother." "And I will too." Shen Jinyan and Shen He saw that their brothers and sisters had things to do, and they didn't lag behind.

Early the next morning, the Shen family got up one by one, and according to what they said at dinner last night, they went to do their own things.

Shen Jinqian took Shen Jinxin and Liu Boan to the woods with a basket and a hoe, and at noon, Shen's father came back from the field and went to the bamboo forest.

The Shen family's bamboo forest has two or three acres, and the bamboo shoots can grow so well thanks to Shen's father's service for several years. When the Shen family first arrived in the village, this bamboo forest was still a very small piece, and later when Shen's father had nothing to do, he went to serve, so he had two or three acres now.

Shen Jinqian took the two of them to dig in the bamboo forest for two or three days before they were ready, and they were all piled up in the hall.

And Liu Bicao and Shen He went to the mountains to pick chestnuts, and at the same time dug wild vegetables to prepare for winter. There are not many dishes in winter.

While Shen's mother took care of the family's affairs, she also took Shen He and Shen Jinyan to clean up bamboo shoots and chestnuts. Keep the bamboo shoots that have been dug up and don't look good, and eat them as a family or make pickles with wild vegetables, and eat them in winter.

It took a few busy days for the family to stop, and the hall and the house to the west were full of chestnuts and bamboo shoots.

For the rest of the bamboo shoots, Shen Jinqian borrowed an oxcart from Lizheng's family and pulled them to the town to sell.

There are few fresh vegetables in winter, so the three larger restaurants in the town and the big families in the town are very fond of the fresh winter bamboo shoots, and they sell them without much effort.

After selling the winter bamboo shoots, Shen Jinqian took Shen Jinxin to the shop to buy the cabbage seeds that Liu Bicao wanted, and the daily necessities needed by the family, and then drove the ox cart home.

"Yo, green grass, I haven't picked up enough chestnuts on the mountain, how many houses do you have to install?" On the way home from the mountain carrying a basket full of herbs, Liu Bicao met a chatting woman.

The person who spoke was married from Xiahe Village, the eldest daughter-in-law of Uncle Chen in the village, whose maiden name was Li, and she was called Hua Niang on weekdays.

"What's the matter, if you don't pick it up yourself, you don't allow Bi Yatou to pick it up? The mountain is not your home, what are you talking about here? Lizheng's daughter-in-law Yu Niang has been at odds with her, and because Liu Bicao cured her son before, she helped Liu Bicao speak.

Liu Bicao is popular in the village, and rarely says that other people's people are not like long-tongued women. In the mother-in-law's family, he is filial and gets along well with the two sisters-in-law in the family, and many women in the village like to deal with Liu Bicao.

Hua Niang is not good, it has not been long since she became the daughter-in-law of the Chen family, she often bullies her sister-in-law and does not say anything, but also contradicts her mother-in-law, and likes to be careful, and people are lazy, and people in the village don't like to talk to her very much.

Hua Niang saw that someone was helping Liu Bicao, and she was even more unconvinced, "I'm not wrong, I pick up chestnuts on the mountain every day, don't pick up my man when the time comes." ”

Liu Bicao ignored her words, greeted the others and headed home.

When Liu Bicao walked away, the others hurriedly surrounded Hua Niang, listening to what she meant in her words, it was about Shen Jinqian.

For the Shen family, there are many people in the village who are envious and jealous, there is no quarrel in the family, the children are capable and obedient, and now there is a capable and filial daughter-in-law. Life is getting better every day, and there is no shortage of people who are jealous and sour, if you want to see the Shen family's jokes.

No matter what other people think or say sour words, the Shen family has worked hard to prepare for a better winter and Spring Festival in order to have a better winter.

Within two days, Liu Bicao and Shen's mother planted the cabbage seeds together, and planted them in the wasteland reclaimed by Shen Jinqian, not far from home. Shen's father, father and son were busy going up the mountain to chop firewood to make the charcoal needed in winter.

These trivial things at home are busy every day. The family has gradually accumulated savings again.