The Little Widower (farming)

51

Early the next morning, Li Tiejiang asked Niu Niu to run errands and called Zhou Yuan to come home.

Chen Qing didn't go with him. He took some vegetable seeds from Aunt Sun and planned to plant them so that they would be ready for eating soon.

When Zhou Yuan came back, Chen Qing was going to fetch water from the river to water the fields. Zhou Yuan quickly pressed his shoulder and said, "I'll pick it up."

Chen Qing followed him and asked him about today's situation: "They What should I say?"

Zhou Yuan replied: "I have decided to go. My adoptive father is watching Niu Niu, and Shu Ning and Li Xin will go together." He has been there before, so he wants to go too.

Chen Qing nodded: "As long as Aunt Yin has figured it out."

"You also come with us." Zhou Yuan said.

"Me?" Chen Qing stopped and said, "It's better not to. I'm at home. I can help look after the cows and help my mother with some work."

The wandering life on the road in the past few years made Chen Qing feel... The word "journey" arouses fear in his heart. When he talks about going out on the road, he always thinks of the wind and sand in the sky, the worn soles of his feet, and many unpredictable dangers.

He turned his head to look at Zhou Yuan, and remembered what Zhou Yuan had always told him, that he should speak out what was on his mind, so he said, "I'm afraid."

Zhou Yuan put the bucket into the river, and waited until it was filled with water before lifting it up: "What are you afraid of?"

Chen Qing lowered his head: "I will always think of the past."

Zhou Yuan stirred up the water and asked Chen Qing to walk in front.

After arriving home, Chen Qing watered the ground, and Zhou Yuan followed him: "I'm always by your side, A Qing, don't be afraid."

Chen Qing put down the water ladle in his hand and looked at Zhou Yuan.

"Don't you want to go out for a walk with me? Remember what I said, I also want to go back to your hometown with you, my hometown."

"This trip to Xixin Mansion is just a preview. Don't think of it as a preview. It's a long journey. I, Li Xinshuning, and Aunt Yin are all with you."

Chen Qing blinked and covered up the astringency in his eyes: "Obviously we are going to treat Aunt Yin. , why is it like treating me?"

Zhou Yuan leaned over and kissed him: "It's to cure your heart disease."

They decided to set off the next day. Before leaving, Zhou Yuan called Niu Niu aside: "I have a task for you.

Niu Niu blinked and heard Zhou Yuan say, "Brother, I'll leave the cow to you." "

Okay!" Niu Niu patted his chest, "I will take good care of Niu Niu."

After all, Zhang Yin was worried. Li Tiejiang was a big boss. The old man had work in the shop on weekdays, so she pulled Niu Niu: "If you are hungry, go to Aunt Sun's house for dinner, and wait for dad to come home in the evening."

Niu Niu smiled and said, "I will take good care of dad."

Zhang Yin Touching his hair, you know that he is a good boy. Even though Tiejiang Li is a little alienated from him, he still admires his upright father.

"Okay, then Niu Niu will take good care of daddy."

Qi Shuning packed up his book box and told Niu Niu that he should practice writing more on the sand every day. He also said that when they came back, he would teach Niu Niu to write on paper with pen and ink.

Before leaving, Tiejiang Li gave all his family's savings to Li Xin. Apart from the money he had given to Li Xin to repair his house, he still had fifty taels left.

Fifty taels were what he had forged over the years. As long as Zhang Yin could be cured, it would not be a problem to run out of money and he could start over.

Li Tiejiang sent them to the town, rented a very comfortable carriage, and rode with Zhou Yuan.

They modified the carriage so that Zhang Yin could lie down. Zhou Yuan rode with Chen Qing, and Li Xin and Qi Shuning drove the carriage.

Chen Qing was riding a horse for the first time. He was a little scared and clung to Zhou Yuan's clothes. When the horse started to move, he felt like he was dizzy.

Zhou Yuan did not dare to let the horse run too fast, so he followed the carriage and talked to Qi Shuning.

Li Xin disliked Qi Shuning very much, and asked him while driving: "Why do you want to go with me?"

Qi Shuning said with a smile: "There is a Shuming Academy in Yunxi Town, and all the students have done well in the scientific examinations over the years, so I think Go and have a look."

Li Xin was speechless after hearing that he was studying. Zhou Yuan controlled the speed of the horse, fearing that Chen Qing would not be used to riding a horse for the first time. He walked beside them and said, "I remember that the provincial examination is in September. , will you participate?"

Qi Shuning shook his head: "I want to settle down for another year."

This was also the advice given to him by Li Xin's uncle before they went to his grandfather's house.

Due to the wars in recent years, people's livelihood and sentiments are different from those in previous years. Therefore, the requirements for the officials selected below are also different from those in the past. My uncle asked him to visit more and maybe he would have different experiences, so he had to follow them. Let's go to Xixin Mansion together.

One is to take care of Li Xin, and the other is to pay homage to Shuming Academy. It would be better if I could get one or two textbooks from the academy.

The carriage was not moving very fast, and Zhou Yuan was riding slowly. Chen Qing finally got used to it. It turned out that if he stood a little higher, he would see such a scenery. Is this how Zhou Yuan usually sees it?

Seeing that he had adapted, Zhou Yuan said to Li Xin: "Let's run for a while, I'll wait for you in front."

After saying that, he waved his whip, and the horse started running hard, making Li Xin who was sitting on the carriage eat a mouthful of ashes. .

He looked at Zhou Yuan fiercely and wanted to scold him but couldn't hear him, so he could only say to Qi Shuning: "It's all your fault! I want to ride a horse too!"

Li Xin also wanted to ride a horse, but he didn't know how, and he couldn't let Zhou Yuan lead him. He could only blame Qi Shuning for not living up to expectations.

Qi Shuning had a good temper and comforted him softly: "When mother is cured and comes back, I will ask my eldest brother to teach me how to ride a horse. I will also take you to ride a horse in the future."

Li Xin snorted: "That's about the same."

Zhang Yin leaned on the carriage . , listening to their bickering, she didn't feel tired. She sat up and opened the carriage curtain: "Xinxin, don't always quarrel with Aning."

"I understand, mother." Li Xin is very well-behaved and can kill anyone under her control. He pinched Qi Shuning's arm tightly.

Along the way, Chen Qing realized that traveling can be like this, without the shouts and whips of managers, but only a leisurely and comfortable mood.

Sometimes when Chen Qing got tired from riding, he would climb onto the carriage to keep Zhang Yin company. Sometimes when Li Xin wanted to ride a horse, Zhou Yuan would help him up, and then he would lead the horse under the horse to let him take two steps.

Sometimes they were on their way too late and there were no inns nearby, so they made do in the wild.

They brought a lot of dry food along the way, but just eating dry food left several people with no taste in their mouths. When they encountered a mountainous place, they parked the carriage aside, and Qi Shuning took two horses to graze. Li Xin accompanied Zhang Yin, Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan to go up the mountain to see if there was any game.

Zhou Yuan held Chen Qing's hand and saw that his face looked okay. He breathed a sigh of relief: "How is it? Are you okay?"

Chen Qing nodded: "Pretty good."

This was Chen Qing's first time on the road. In a hurry, he had time to see a flower on the roadside, a tree in the distance, and a trickling river. It turned out that sometimes it was unknown and not scary.

"Just think of it as a few of us hanging out together, except that the place to play is farther away."

Chen Qing smiled at him: "I understand."

Zhou Yuan touched his hair: "Don't be afraid, I will handle anything. Stay with you."

They didn't come back empty-handed even after a trip to the mountains. Zhou Yuan's hunting skills that he had practiced hard in the village came in handy. They caught a fat rabbit and a pheasant and came back. Chen Qing picked up some edible wild vegetables in the mountains. The two of them Returning to their pruning grounds with a bountiful harvest.

Seeing them coming back, Qi Shuning and Li Xin went to collect firewood. There was a river not far away, and Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan went to the river to process the game they had caught.

Zhang Yin sat in the carriage and coughed twice, covering her handkerchief. She also felt that their trip was not like going to treat a disease, but like taking a group of children out to play.

She had been walking for almost ten days, but she didn't feel particularly uncomfortable. Every time she arrived at an inn, Li Xin would make some medicine for her. If she was in the wild, she would take it in the mountains and forests.

I usually can't get out of bed when I'm tired, but now I've been running around for several days, but I don't feel any discomfort at all.

Maybe it was God's will that made her take this trip?

While she was still thinking about things, Chen Qing came back. When Chen Qing was packing his luggage, Zhou Yuan asked him to bring some spices, saying that they might be needed on the way.

Zhou Yuan built a fire, skewered the hare with a thick branch, and put it on the fire to roast. After a while, there was a smoky aroma. There was a small iron pot on the other fire, which was made by Blacksmith Li, in case it was ready. When needed.

There is pheasant soup boiling in a small iron pot with some wild vegetables from the mountains in it. It smells very fragrant.

The chicken soup was stewed for Zhang Yin to drink. Zhang Yin did not spoil their fun. She broke the dry food into pieces, soaked it in the chicken soup, and ate it in a hot bowl. She sweated a little, but she felt a lot better.

The roasted rabbit smells good, but it doesn't taste very good when eaten. The meat is wood-fired and has an earthy smell.

Chen Qing ate all his portion with the mentality of not wasting. Zhou Yuan had been out all year round and had experienced all kinds of hardships. Not to mention rabbits, he had eaten all the more delicious ones.

Li Xin and Qi Shuning didn't have such good tolerance. Li Xin just tasted it and threw it to Qi Shuning, saying it wasn't delicious.

Chen Qing looked at his lack of appetite and remembered that there was a small bag in his baggage, which was the spices Zhou Yuan had brought back from Xixin Mansion. When he opened the bag, he smelled a very pungent smell. smell.

Chen Qing handed the purse to Li Xin. Li Xin saw that it contained some red and yellow powder: "What is this?"

"I thought about the seasonings that Zhou Yuan brought back from Yunxi Town. You can ask how to use it," Chen Qing said.

"Is this really edible?" Li Xin was a little unsure, and when she got closer to smell it, she felt like sneezing.

Zhou Yuan came over, holding a bit of rabbit meat in his hand: "Try it, you don't want to eat it anyway, so don't waste it if you can't eat it."

Finally, Li Xin sprinkled the powder on the rabbit meat doubtfully, looking at it a little The bit of red sprinkled on the burnt rabbit makes people more appetizing inexplicably.

Zhou Yuan also made the same move as him, but he didn't give it to Chen Qing. He took a bite first. A very strange taste that he had never tasted filled the air. After swallowing, he felt a little tingling sensation. In the mouth, this taste is neutralized, and the earthy smell of rabbit disappears. Instead, the oily aroma of roasted rabbit meat is stimulated, making the rabbit meat much more delicious.

Zhou Yuan remembered the taste. It was the same one he had at Tianji in Yunxi Town. The shopkeeper said it was spicy.

So she nodded to Li Xin and said, "Try it, it's delicious." He tore another piece of meat to Chen Qing and said, "Try it too."

After hearing what he said, Li Xin took a dubious bite, frowned at first, and then Finally, I couldn't control myself and ate big gulps.

Chen Qing was not used to the taste at first, but later he couldn't control it. Even Zhang Yin tasted a little bit. When he finished eating, Chen Qing's eyes were watery and his lips were a little swollen. Looking at it from a distance, he swallowed.

Li Xin said: "Let's go over there and buy more of this. It's so delicious."

Zhou Yuan nodded: "There are many delicious things in Yunxi Town. When my godmother's health gets better, we can go there Let's go shopping in Yunxi Town and buy some novelties. "

After finishing all the food, Li Xin was still a little unfinished. He looked at Zhou Yuan and said, "Why didn't you bring out such good things earlier?"

"Come back and give it to me . I forgot about it after Ah Qing," Zhou Yuan said.

The sky was getting dark, and they were going to sleep in the wild tonight. Zhang Yin naturally slept in the carriage. Originally, they asked Li Xin and Chen Qing to sleep in the carriage together, but the carriage was too small, and Chen Qing also felt uncomfortable.

So Chen Qing followed Zhou Yuan, their backs were against a big tree, and Zhou Yuan put Chen Qing into his arms with a big coat.

The chirping of insects in the mountains is endless. Although it is noisy, it is also soothing.

"How long will it take to arrive?" Chen Qing asked.

"If it goes quickly, it will take another ten days, if it goes slowly, it will take another fifteen days." Zhou Yuan said softly.

"Will Aunt Yin's illness be cured?"

Zhou Yuan shook his head: "I don't know, I just know that we have done our best, and we cannot predict what fate will bring."

Chen Qing nodded and hummed: "I hope to go here. All the best."