Chapter 25: A Late Night Visitor (I)
"Xiang'er, if it weren't for you, I would still think this grape was poisonous."
Zhao Xiu picked a big and round grape, wiped the hoarfrost on it, and threw it into his mouth. Looking at the villagers picking grapes nearby, Zhao Xiu's eyes were filled with a kind of contempt, especially the sister-in-law Zhang, who was the happiest at picking grapes.
When Sister-in-law Zhang knew that Lu Xianger had made wine, she said that she was dying, and she actually used poisonous fruits to make wine. Later, seeing that the Zhao family and the Zou family, who had been drinking wine for many years, had nothing to do, she began to eat grapes. Moreover, when the grapes are ripe, she picks a lot of them, and she is not afraid of spoiling.
Zou Yue knew Zhao Xiu's careful thoughts, so she nodded his head and said with a smile: "You can't stop your mouth if you eat." When you're done eating, pick it up. Otherwise, there won't be much wine going on this year. ”
"Sister Yue, you just got married to my brother, but you haven't really become my sister-in-law, so you start to take care of me." Since Zou Yue married Zhao Yi two months ago, Zhao Xiu has made fun of her. Zou Yue was also a little uncomfortable with the change of her identity, and she actually knew how to be shy in front of Zhao Xiu and Lu Xiang'er. However, seeing that Lu Xiang'er was out of the joke, Zou Yue was busy fighting with Zhao Xiu.
Speaking of which, Zou Yue and Zhao Yi's marriage really surprised Lu Xianger. Lu Xianger knew that the ancients got married early, but she didn't expect that she could marry at the age of twelve. Fortunately, Sister-in-law Zhang didn't know why in the end, so she chose Zou Yue as her daughter-in-law, but Lu Xianger secretly wiped her sweat.
Although Lu Xianger is also ready to get married and have children in this ancient world, if she is married at the age of twelve, she really can't stand it. Of course, this kind of 'unbearable' refers to the fact that physically, Lu Xianger's soul is in her thirties, and she can be a child's mother.
After laughing for a while, the three of them began to pick the grapes. Because there are more people picking, the harvest of Lu Xiang'er's three is relatively small. Fortunately, the wine made from the grapes picked by the three of them is still enough for the three families. The sun rose higher and higher, and the sun was also very sufficient, so Lu Xiang'er and the three of them went down the mountain early.
Zou Yue and Zhao Xiu put all the grapes in Lu Xiang'er's yard, and the two left separately. And Lu Xiang'er went to the kitchen alone to heat up the hot morning meal and simply ate a bite. Lu Erniang went to the county to deliver fruit wine and buy some ingredients for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Lu Hong went to the school and didn't come back until the afternoon.
After eating, Lu Xiang'er went into the mud room to make wine. From anyone's point of view, the steps of Lu Xianger's grapes are very simple, and it can be said that they can be seen at a glance. Aunt Zhao and Mrs. Zou watched it for a day before they went back to try it themselves. But the wine made by the two is either rancid or sour, and it smells disgusting, let alone drinking. It was also at this time that the two realized that this wine was not something that ordinary people could make, and not anyone could make such a delicious wine.
Lu Xiang'er can make delicious wine, in addition to having the brewing knowledge of her previous life, the most important thing is her intentions when doing things. Every step, she had to think about it several times in her heart, until she was sure that there were no small mistakes, and Lu Xiang'er would not move on to the next step. The most important part of the wine is the stirring, fermentation, and temperature control afterwards.
In this ancient world, there was no thermometer, and Lu Xiang'er relied on the experience of her previous life, and there were times when she made mistakes. Fortunately, with the accumulation of experience and Lu Xianger's careful thinking, her winemaking skills are getting higher and higher. Not only are the number of misses getting less and less, but the wine is getting stronger and stronger each time.
After putting all the grapes picked today into the jar prepared before, Lu Xiang'er came out of the mud room. Feeling that the afternoon sun was not so strong, Lu Xiang'er turned around and went into the house to sleep. It wasn't until Lu Erniang's ox cart entered the yard that the big rooster who felt that his territory was violated made a series of strange crows that Lu Xiang'er was woken up.
Rubbing her eyes, Lu Xiang'er slowly walked out of the room. Seeing the pile of ingredients and 'snacks' on the ox cart, her eyes were completely opened, and she immediately ran over to help. The mother and daughter quickly cleaned up and let the big be honest.
As before, Lu Erniang made some of the ingredients she bought back when she was cooking dinner, so that Lu Xianger and Lu Hong could satisfy their hunger. The Lu family has indeed made a lot of money, and Lu Erniang is also very aware of the truth that 'money cannot be exposed'. On weekdays, the Lu family eats the same as the people in the village, and only when there is a festival, Lu Erniang will buy some delicious food. Such a habit of life is also to develop the thrifty character of Lu Hong's brothers and sisters.
After a sumptuous dinner, Lu Hong first watched Lu Xiang'er write a word before going to read his book. Lu Xiang'er, who finished writing, sat on the mattress, waiting for Lu Erniang, who had cleaned up the kitchen and entered the house, calculating the money she had earned in these days.
Lu Erniang took out the wine money she got back from the county today and put it in front of Lu Xiang'er, deliberately wanting to see her eyes shining. Then, Lu Erniang would pinch Lu Xiang'er's little face as usual, and said with a smile: "Little money fan, every time you see money, your eyes will shine, and I don't know who your personality looks like." ”
Lu Xiang'er would smile and not speak in most cases. When Lu Erniang saw this, she lowered her head and counted the accounts. Since the Lu family officially sold fruit wine to restaurants and restaurants in the county, Lu Erniang made a special account book record. It has to be said that Lu Erniang is from a merchant family, and this bookkeeping is very clear. After Lu Erniang finished the calculation, Lu Xiang'er immediately knew that in more than three years, the Lu family had saved more than 1,000 taels of silver. This money is enough for the three of them to live comfortably for a lifetime.
"Auntie, you said that if all this silver is exchanged for a penny, will you count the money until you have cramps?" Lu Xianger still remembers her two dreams, which is to let the whole family sleep until they wake up naturally, and count the money until they have cramps.
Lu Xiang'er often put this sentence on her lips, and Lu Erniang didn't wait for her words to fall, so she smiled and said: "Our Xiang'er likes to count money so much that it cramps, so when there is a chance in the future, A-Niang will exchange this thousand taels of silver for a penny for you to count." ”
"It's better for A-Niang and Xiang'er to count together, Xiang'er is really afraid that she will have cramps when she counts." As soon as Lu Xiang'er finished speaking, the mother and daughter laughed.
Lu Hong, who was sitting under the oil lamp reading a book, listened to the laughter of Lu Erniang and Lu Xiang'er, and a smile appeared on his face. Just as he turned his head and opened his mouth, just as he wanted to say something, Lu Hong's expression paused, and then his face changed. Putting down the book in his hand, Lu Hong immediately stood up and said in a low voice: "A-Niang, you and Xiang'er will meet in the house, and I will go and add grass to our cows." ”
"Well, go ahead. When you come back, we'll rest in peace. Lu Erniang nodded and began to pack up the silver and account books on the mattress.
Lu Xiang'er was strange, and Lu Hong had a somewhat solemn expression on her face when she went out. You don't need to be so serious about adding grass to the cow, Lu Xiang'er rolled her eyes, and smiled at Lu Erniang: "A-Niang, my brother and I will go to add grass to the cow together." ”
"Go ahead. Isn't it just that you want to go to the yard and watch the stars? What is so beautiful about this star and moon, you brothers and sisters want to see it so much. Lu Erniang shook her head, didn't care about Lu Xiang'er, and carefully hid the silver.
Lu Xiang'er went out of the door and saw that there was no one in the yard, so she was a little suspicious that Lu Hong might really go to add grass to the cow. But when she turned around and was about to go back to the house, Lu Xiang'er suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. With this feeling in mind, she slowed down her steps and slowly walked to the cowshed at the back of the house against the foot of the hill.
As soon as she bypassed the house, Lu Xiang'er was lying alone in the cowshed, and a faint sound was still happening. Finding out that this was a stranger, Lu Xiang'er was immediately startled, and opened her mouth to shout, but was tightly covered by a hand. At the same time, a familiar whisper came from his ear: "Don't scream, it's troublesome for people to know." ”
Lu Xiang'er, who was originally covered by someone, didn't know how to react, her whole body was tense, her eyes were wide open, and her eyes were full of horror. But hearing Lu Hong's voice, Lu Xiang'er's whole body softened, and her forehead was sweating, obviously as if she was frightened.
Seeing that he was scared of Lu Xiang'er, Lu Hong felt a little guilty in his heart, and hurriedly explained: "Xiang'er, my brother doesn't want to scare you. But Mr. Song's injury, if the people in the village knew about it......"