"What?" Next to the dinner table, Huo Ran's got up Jacquelin knocked over the jug, half of her body was soaked, this peasant woman who had just turned forty years old, but her hair was already gray, she was undecided, and only stared at Wu Qingchen, who was narrating her experience at the table: "You mean, the farmer has been exempted from this year's summer service at home?" ”

"Yes, this is what Lord Barres said personally, this year's summer service, the family does not need to participate in it anymore, and it is ......"

"William!"

Before Wu Qingchen's words were finished, the mother on the other side had already screamed, Jacquelin grabbed her husband's arm hard, her eyes widened, her eyebrows opened, and every wrinkle on her forehead exuded a contradictory brilliance of extreme disbelief, but at the same time extremely joyful: "William, do you hear me?" The old man said that he was exempted from this year's summer service at home, and there was no summer service this year! ”

"Shhh...... Yes, yes......"

Obviously, Jacquelin used great force, and old William immediately bared his teeth and hurriedly replied: "I hear, I hear...... Hiss ......"

"So we don't have to go to the commons this year? Can you do your own job? Is this true? This summer, we can do our own work? ”

"Shhh...... Really, really! You can work as much as you want, and you can work as you like...... Also, let go of me, my hand is going to break! Hiss ......"

While shouting and flicking his arms, a smile could still be seen on Old William's distorted face, and his thin face was flushed with ruddy.

"Alright, alright...... Mother, you sit down first, sit down first...... Your clothes are wet, twist them quickly......" Idra, who had sat on the other side, finally got up and came to help, half-pulling and half-pulling, and finally brought Jacqueline back to his seat.

"Father, we don't have to work in the commons, we don't have to go to the fields to pull the plow, and we don't have to get up at night to cook peas......" Little Nina also walked over, and her two dark eyes were full of hope and expectation.

"No, no, no! …… Haha, silly daughter......" Old William laughed: "Exempt from summer service, the benefits are not these, there is more time for summer service, more than ten days, we can do a lot of things...... Haven't you always wanted to eat cabbage and lettuce? In a few days, we can clean up the vegetable garden outside the house, put a fence on it, loosen the soil, go to the river to pick up some soil to accumulate some fertilizer, and then go to Uncle Richard's house to borrow some seeds, and in a month or two, we will be able to harvest in the autumn at the latest......"

"Don't you often say that hens and goats are always running around the house, making a mess and stealing food? Instead of going to work in the lord's commons, we can ask the steward to go to the forest and find some wood, and then build a big, beautiful barn next to the hut, and then you will have to go next door to pick the eggs and milk the cows...... And ......"

"And ......" Idra, who was holding her mother, was also radiant and interjected: "With this work, we can harvest the grass that we didn't have time to harvest a while ago, and while the weather is still suitable, we can dry it well and prepare a little more food for your friends for the winter......

"You can clean up the house well......" Grace pointed to the slowly dripping roof above the bed where she usually sleeps, "Plug all these damn places!" ”

"You can weed peas and green grass ......"

"Finally had time to trim the ridges of the field by the river......

"Maybe we could open up a small piece of wasteland......"

"Maybe it's ......"

At the dinner table, you and I said a word, the family was noisy and shouting, and they made all kinds of arrangements for the more than ten days of leisure that fell from the sky, and the wooden house was full of eagerness and longing for the future.

Suddenly, half a month more than half a month, a full ten days of free time, for the farmer's family, who have been tired for many years and hardly have any rest all year round, it is completely a great happiness that they dare not think of in ordinary times.

After many years of accumulation, the weight of life is so heavy that it is breathless, and there is suddenly hope for relief.

Leveling the vegetable garden, harvesting pasture, weeding the wheat fields, resting the ridges, clearing the wasteland, and building barns......

There are more and more arrangements for the family, the atmosphere at the dinner table is getting more and more enthusiastic, and everyone's expressions are getting more and more excited, only old William slowly frowned.

"However, if there are so many things, ......" Suddenly, old William knocked lightly on the table: "Maybe there is not enough time, right?" ”

The few people who were talking quieted down, and Old William's slightly worried voice sounded in the wooden house: "...... After all, the cow in the family had just had an accident, and although Little Rose had been treated, he still couldn't work for several days...... I'm afraid that there will be a bit of a delay here, and it will take a few more days...... In this case, you still have to think about the things at home and pick the most important thing to do first......"

A sigh of regret rang out from the cabin.

"Alas......" "yes, that's a pity......" "Harvest the grass first...... "Damn cowherd!"

"It's okay......"

Wu Qingchen finally waited for the opportunity to interject: "The steward said that the farming cattle in the village belong to the baron, and there are three farming cattle that can still go to the ground, but they are only slightly injured, and the farmer asked me to cure these three farming cattle first, and at the same time, these three farming cattle can also be lent to us to plough the fields first, and it will take three days to ......."

"What did you say?" "Lend it to us?" "And this?" "Three ploughing oxen!"

The jug that had just been lifted at the dining table was damaged again, and two other seats next to it fell to the ground, and Grace, who had fallen off the seat, sat on the ground with his mouth wide open, and old William, Jacqueline, and Idra stood up sharply at the same time, and their six eyes shot a completely unbelievable light.

"Yes, these three ploughing oxen can lend us the ploughing fields......"

"Oh my God! It's such an important thing, and you're only talking about it now......"

Completely forgetting that he had just eagerly arranged the summer service time, and did not give Wu Qingchen a chance to speak at all, the old William who was confirmed was not only not happy, but was so anxious that he grabbed Idra and Grace after a few seconds: "Idra, you go out now, go east, go to Wolff, Avilia, Tony, and old Hult, and see if the plowcar in their house has been borrowed......"

"Go south, Grace, and go to Richard, Freeman, and Ildros, and Crane, and Gillen, who have all finished ploughing, and see if you can borrow a plow...... Alas, so late...... It's too late, it's definitely too late...... Alas...... Alas......"

"No...... You don't have to go ......" Wu Qingchen hurriedly grabbed the two brothers who were walking quickly: "Wait first...... Wait, listen to me! ”

"Master Barris also said that he could lend us three plough carts at the same time, and other necessary tools, as well as three days' worth of fodder for the oxen, and ...... In short, there will be everything, you don't have to worry! ”

This time, Wu Qingchen spoke quickly in this series of words, and he said it in one breath, leaving no gap at all.

"This ...... This...... That's really ...... I...... I ......"

Hearing this series of surprises, Old William was stunned for a while, and he was speechless for a long time.

“…… I'm so confused......"

After a long time, Old William finally shook his head and smiled: "...... The steward, the farmer, what kind of character, how could such a mistake be made......"

While speaking, Old William gently stroked Wu Qingchen's shoulder: "Luos, it can be seen that the old man has great hopes, and you must take good care of the ploughing cattle in the village...... Kindness...... Early tomorrow morning, you will go and heal the cattle in the village. When the time comes, you ...... You're ......"

Speaking of this, Old William suddenly froze, "you" for a long time, but he has not been able to say the content after "just".

He frowned and muttered for a long time, and suddenly, old William smiled dumbly.

At this time, the middle-aged farmer, who habitually wanted to give his youngest son a little instructions, but could not come up with specific content at all, suddenly realized how redundant his ideas were.

What do you command?

When a cowherd steals livestock, a family cow is injured, the family is suddenly in danger, and the whole family is at a loss; When I ran to the land early in the morning, when people were living in the mud, rolling in the mud, and being so tired that my body was sore; Eat cold food, brave torrential rains, pull plows, and don't care about the days that follow......

Told Little Los to go to the priest? Ordered Little Rose to find herbs? Instructed Little Los to heal the cow and relieve the predicament directly from the root?

The farmer came looking for Loth and asked him to try to heal the other injured cattle in the village......

He also ordered Xiao Los to exempt his family from summer service? Ordered Little Los to borrow the ploughing ox? Borrowed a plow? Or even get three days of forage at the same time?

What do you command?

Did you tell Little Ross how to heal the injuries of the ploughing cows?

It was at this time that old William finally understood the last words that Pastor Praia had said before leaving.

Looking at the youngest son in front of him, who was looking up slightly and waiting for him to continue talking, Old William had a complicated expression.

“…… It's nothing, you can rest assured to treat it. ”

After a long time, Old William finally shook his head slowly, gently stroked the top of Wu Qingchen's head, and Old William smiled slightly: "Looth, my son, I am indeed very lucky." ”

"Alright, that's it for now, Idla, Grace, since you don't have to borrow a plowboard...... Come, come, sit down......"

Beckoning his sons to sit down, old William pointed to the pocket on the dining table: "...... Let's see what the farmer gave us little Rose......"

This is the pocket that the agricultural officer threw to Wu Qingchen, after the old man left, old William began to ask Wu Qingchen about his experience at night, and he didn't have time to open it at all, so he kept throwing it on the dinner table.

"Well...... I'll take a look at ......."

Wu Qingchen was also a little curious, and quickly opened the thin line at the mouth of the bag.

52. Remembering the Taste (Part II)

"What is this?" The thin thread was completely disassembled, Wu Qingchen opened the pocket, pressed the bag lower, and put it on the dining table.

"What is this?" Grace frowned and looked at Idra beside her.

"I don't know, I haven't seen ......" Itra shook her head, her expression sympathetic and suspicious, as she sniffled, "It seems to smell like something......

"Yes...... Grace also sniffled, looked around, and quickly looked back at the dining table: "...... That's right, it's a little flavorful......"

This smell is very light, with a slight fragrance, and it smells quite pleasant.

Wu Qingchen gently pressed the top cut, its surface was very soft, and a shallow indentation appeared when his fingers were placed on it.

"Huh......" It was probably quite interesting, and little Nina also laughed, following Wu Qingchen's example, and stretched out her right hand to the open pocket.

"Don't touch it!"

Old William's voice came from the side.

The first time he saw the things in his pocket, Old William's eyes widened, and it took a long time to finally come back to his senses, Old William quickly grabbed Little Nina's outstretched arm and took it back hard: "Don't touch, don't touch, can't touch it like this!" ”

"Father, do you know this thing?"

"Know...... How can you not know ...... How long has it been since the last time I saw this......"

Staring at the cut in his pocket, Old William carefully stretched out his right hand and put it at a position where he was still half an arm away from his pocket, and his deep voice trembled slightly, with an irrepressible emotion: "Domination...... I didn't expect to be able to see this in my life...... Children, remember what is in front of you, this is bread, the food of the old men......"

"Bread?" Little Nina showed a suspicious expression: "Father, we have seen bread!" Shouldn't bread be black and hard? When I went to church last month for summer prayer, the pastor gave us a piece of ......"

"Such a big piece ......" gestured to the size of a fist, and little Nina couldn't help but lick her lips, "They taste so good......"

"Yes, the priest's reward for summer prayer is indeed bread, but it is only black bread...... And this ......," William pointed to his pocket: "This is the real bread, the food of the old man, the most wonderful food in the world......"

The most wonderful food in the world......

"They smell so good...... little Nina leaned closer, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

The most wonderful food in the world......

Idra and Grace also stood closer, their eyes firmly fixed on the slice in their pockets.

The most wonderful food in the world......

Wu Qingchen lowered his head and rolled his eyes involuntarily.

"Okay, okay, don't be so tight...... Old William turned his head and looked at Wu Qingchen: "Lots, how much do you want to eat?" ”

What does it mean to eat how much?

Wu Qingchen frowned.

"Do you want to eat it now? You're tired all night. ”

In the past two days, I didn't have time to poach, and I ran around for most of the night, and when I heard Old William's reminder, Wu Qingchen touched his stomach and felt a little hungry, so he took a piece of bread from his pocket.

"Good ......" Seeing that Wu Qingchen didn't mean to continue to take it, Old William turned his head and glanced around, his eyes swept over his children: "Children, don't tell anyone about bread, don't make trouble." ”

Old William's instructions are not exaggerated, in the medieval world, mildew, the black bread that must be picked and picked at the bottom is a treasure, and the value of white bread is naturally more amazing, a piece of white bread appears in the thief's den, and may even cause a bloody conflict.

"Okay......" Picking up the thin thread that Wu Qingchen had dropped casually before, Old William handed the bread bag to Jacqueline, "Put it away carefully, there are a lot of rats at home......

"Hey, what is this?"

After a short while, Jacqueline, who was arranging the bread bag, suddenly showed a strange look, and several people looked at Jacqueline, and soon found that her open right palm was spreading out two small shiny discs the size of knuckles.

"This ...... It looked like an unused piece of iron......" Idra pinched a piece, "...... No, not quite like ......"

"It's not a piece of iron...... Old William touched another piece: "The piece of iron is not so soft, and it is not so bright......"

"Maybe the iron used by the old men is also different!"

"What's the difference between the old man's iron? Haven't you ever seen a farm tool in the commons? ”

"That's iron for everyone, don't you use the iron for your own use......"

"Yes, too...... I heard that the old man also has a spoon specially used for eating at home...... Could it be that this is also cutlery? Cutlery for eating bread? ”

"It's so round, how can you eat it?"

There was a discussion in the cabin, and the direction became more and more outrageous.

"It's silver!"

When you hear "Could it be that this is also food?" When he saw Grace stuff them into his mouth and bite them, Wu Qingchen finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Sler (silver)?" Old William studied the syllables made by Wu Qingchen, "What is a silver coin?" By the way, is this really edible? ”

Wu Qingchen has entered a petrified state.

"Can't ......"

Wu Qingchen shook his head weakly.

Two finely polished, flattened, apparently handmade silver coins were retrieved from William and Grace.

The surface of the coin is marked with two small lines of small letters, the upper row beginning with the Barony of Akford, the next two words are crossed and crossed, and the lower row is full of crosses and forks......

The fork fork means that Wu Qingchen doesn't know him yet.

However, even with so many forks and forks, Wu Qingchen could at least see that this was obviously the currency minted by the barony itself, which was probably used for trading between territories.

In the medieval world, "I haven't seen money" is not a joke, but a true fact, the vast majority of villagers have never seen such a formal currency in their lives, and they usually pay the master's fines in "slots", and most of the time they are directly offset in kind.

"Alright, okay, don't guess." Wu Qingchen stuffed the silver coin back into his pocket, "This should be the agricultural officer's belongings, I forgot to take it after putting it in the bag, and I will return it to the master tomorrow." ”

"And ...... What is this for? Wu Qingchen looked strangely at Jacqueline, who was under the guidance of old William, carefully tying up his pockets, his eyes wandering around, as if looking for a suitable storage place: "Don't you eat?" ”

"Shall we eat?" Old William showed an even more strange expression: "Didn't you hear the orders of the farmer master?" This is your bread, giving you food for these days, how can we eat it? ”

As he spoke, Old William pointed to his family, Jacqueline, Idla, and Grace all had a natural expression, and only little Nina secretly swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva.

"Of course you can eat it!" Wu Qingchen hurriedly waved his hand: "It's okay, everyone eats, let's eat together." ”

"No! How can this be! Without waiting for the others to react, Old William shook his head quickly: "Loos, starting tomorrow, you will have to treat the ploughing cattle in the village, you must eat well, and there must be no mistakes...... These breads have to be put away and can only be eaten by yourself! ”

"No, no, I can't eat it alone."

"Why can't you finish eating?" Old William's face was full of disapproval, "Half a slice of bread with a meal, these breads, no matter how you save them, are only enough for you to eat...... Eat all...... Eat until ......"

After some extremely difficult calculations, William Sr. finally came to the conclusion: "Only enough to eat for five days after the next worship of the Lord!" ”

Five more days after the next worship of the Lord?!

Wu Qingchen's eyes quickly swept around the wooden house, the black roof, the dirty floor, and the moldy pillars......

This environment is combined with the temperature in the summer......

Dad, please spare me!

In the Middle Ages, there was no concept of bacteria and viruses, and villagers who could eat moldy black bread probably did not agree with the meaning of "spoiled......

"Father, I really can't eat alone...... Moreover, it only takes a few days to treat the cultivated cattle, so you don't need so much, so let's let everyone eat a little......

"It only takes a few days...... Eat a little bit ......."

I don't know what old William's thoughts were touched by this sentence, and suddenly, the gray-haired farmer raised his head slightly, his eyes were distracted, and his right hand holding his pocket trembled slightly, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses: "Lot, do you really want to give everyone food?" ”

Eat!

"Yes, father."

"Okay, ...... Lowe" Old William finally regained his composure, and after a deep sigh, Old William reopened his pockets: "...... It's your bread, you can really decide. ”

As he spoke, old William carefully took out a slice of bread, slowly tore it into quarters, and divided it among Jacqueline and himself and his three children.

"Father, you eat too." Wu Qingchen tore off half of the bread in his hand and handed it to Old William.

"No, I'm not hungry." Old William waved his hand again and again, Wu Qingchen handed it several times in a row, and Old William finally took the bread, leaving a very small piece, and stuffed the remaining part hard, hard, and firmly back into Wu Qingchen's hand.

There was nothing in the wooden house for a while, holding a small piece of bread, and the old William and the others carefully tore it into very small pieces, put it in their mouths and held it, almost without chewing it.

Seeing the situation in front of him, Wu Qingchen sighed deeply.

Wu Qingchen understood that due to the tight time and tiring farm work, when he usually ate, whether it was Old William, Idra, Grace, Jacqueline, or Little Nina, they all looked like they were all windswept and gobbled up, but at this time, they all made such small movements and such slow speeds, just to prolong the time of tasting white bread and try to remember this rare taste.

Looking at the relatives of the medieval world trying to remember the taste of white bread, suddenly, Wu Qingchen sighed deeply.

Remember the taste.

Wu Qingchen told himself.