My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 10

Chapter 10: Making a Good Meal

Song Ye finished three meat buns and stopped. He went to buy salt and oil, as well as new bowls, chopsticks, and porcelain.

Liang Su said she wanted to make dumplings. Changxu had already bought the meat, and they would roll out the dough themselves to make the wrappers. He also bought a few feet of cloth. They had plenty of linen at home, so this time he bought cotton cloth, choosing a lake-blue color to make a new long robe for Song Changxu.

Farmers didn’t waste fabric. Song Changxu’s childhood clothes were given to Xu Cheng, and others were taken apart to be used as rags, for embroidering purses, or for making shoes.

After buying everything, the father and son headed home. This time, they didn’t run into the Xu brothers on the ox-cart.

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Xu Zhici had a handful of lettuce and two bunches of celery left in his basket. He sold these three bunches together at a low price to an old woman to avoid having to carry them back.

Things like scallions, ginger, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns never had leftovers. The family was already preparing to clear a few more acres of land this year to plant them.

Sichuan peppercorn seedlings were not easy to buy, so they had to plan for that in the long term.

He put the copper coins in his purse. In his basket, there were also clothes and a few pieces of cured meat that he wanted to send to Xie Huaichuan.

He didn’t know how Xie Huaichuan was living in the army camp. Cured meat was easy to preserve, so he would bring some for him to satisfy his cravings.

According to Xie Huaichuan, an ordinary soldier’s monthly salary was one tael of silver, as stated by the court. In reality, they only received five or six hundred copper coins, and they still had to buy their own food and clothing. The grain and rice distributed would also be embezzled by the officers. In the borderlands, they could barely be considered to have enough to eat and wear.

When war broke out, those without connections would be the first to charge, acting as vanguards and cannon fodder. When there was no war, they had to undertake tasks such as building fortifications, cultivating land, and scouting the enemy.

It would be bearable if there was an end in sight, but who knew how long the military service would last before they were released.

Xu Zhici and Xu Zhizhou went to the post station together to send the package. The people at the post station were already familiar with Xu Zhici.

He quickly sent the package, and then they went to buy the things the family needed.

They needed to buy oil, salt, and vinegar, get three liang of yellow wine for Xu Sunzheng, and buy some spools of thread at the cloth shop.

The thread was cheap. They bought five or six spools in total, which was enough. They had earned one qian of silver from selling vegetables in town, and spent two qian on these purchases. At least the money from selling vegetables offset some of the cost; otherwise, it would have been a real heartache.

After the two brothers left, the person at the post station weighed the package and sighed, “This package has been sent for almost three years. I heard they’re only engaged and not yet married. This young ge’er is truly devoted.”

Life in the borderlands was hard. It was rare to have family thinking of you, which must be a great comfort.

Xu Zhizhou had previously advised Xu Zhici to stop waiting, but what could be done? His elder brother had his heart set on Xie Huaichuan.

Every time they went to the temple fair, besides praying for a lifetime of wealth and glory for himself and good health for his family, Xu Zhizhou would also add a prayer for Xie Huaichuan’s safe return.

After buying everything, they took the ox-cart back. The ride was bumpy. Xu Zhizhou thought of Song Changxu. This time, without Song Changxu to hold him, he held onto his basket and saw the three or four oil-paper packages on top.

He smiled and swung his legs, feeling very pleased.

When Xu Zhizhou returned to the village, he had a constant smile on his face. The young men walking by couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

It was a well-known fact in the village that the two Xu brothers were handsome. Xu Zhici had been betrothed to a boy from another family, leaving only Xu Zhizhou.

All the young men in the village had had thoughts about him, but they hadn’t expected the Xu and Song families to arrange an engagement so quickly.

Liang Feng slapped a young man on the head and scolded, “Still looking? That’s my cousin’s wife-to-be. You’re craning your neck longer than a goose.”

The young man withdrew his gaze and gave an embarrassed smile. He had almost forgotten that Liang Feng was here.

Liang Feng and the others were on their way to the back mountain to chop firewood. The weather was good, perfect for chopping firewood and coming down the mountain. They also threw some dry grass into their baskets for kindling.

A bundle of firewood sold for four copper coins. In the winter, the price would be higher, selling for eight. It was the busy spring season, so they only chopped firewood for their own use when they had time. A round trip to Shuibo Town cost six copper coins, so there wasn’t much profit. They would only have an income from selling firewood in the winter.

A few half-grown youths passed by the Liang family’s fields. Liang Feng, taking charge, picked a few cucumbers and divided them among them. They could be eaten after a quick wipe.

They talked about the spring planting as they walked back along the main road.

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The Song family had plenty of firewood; they wouldn’t need to go up the mountain to chop any for half a month. Song Changxu was being lectured by Liang Su for spending money on meat and sugar cakes: “It’s not easy to earn money. The most important thing for you right now is to study. You don’t need to worry about household matters.”

Song Ye interjected, “The child meant well.”

Xu Cheng, having received sugar cakes from Song Changxu, immediately sided with him, “Uncle meant well too.”

Liang Su couldn’t bring herself to scold the child. She only said, “You’re grown up now and about to get married. You need to be sensible about spending money. Don’t be a spendthrift. You should always have some money on hand for emergencies, especially since you’re getting married. There will be many expenses.”

Song Changxu admitted his mistake, “I understand, son.”

Liang Su took the meat to the kitchen. Since it had already been bought, she would make minced meat with eggplant today, and use the leftover minced meat to make a few meat patties for breakfast tomorrow.

“Mingyan, go to the fields and pick a few handfuls of scallions.”

Song Mingyan agreed. Song Ye put the sugar cakes in the cabinet to prevent ants from getting to them and spoiling them.

Song Changxu went back to his room and locked the copper coins in a small box.

It wasn’t easy to save money.

Thinking of Xu Zhizhou’s fierce appearance, he hugged his small treasury tightly.

I’m so pitiful.

Song Changxu wiped away a tear of self-pity.

In the future, he would have to find a few more places to hide his money. A cunning rabbit has three burrows. He didn’t believe his hidden money could still be found.

With this thought, he felt at ease.

After he finished copying these two books, he would take a break and read more to practice his writing. Writing essays couldn’t just be theoretical; it couldn’t be all talk.

Song Changxu kept all the essays he had written and would review them from time to time. He knew where his weaknesses were and needed to correct them. It was meaningless to rush into writing another essay and repeat the same mistakes.

While he was reviewing his books at home, Liang Su and Song Mingyan were mincing meat in the kitchen. Besides making minced meat with eggplant, the three catties of pork could also be used to make dumplings. The family hadn’t had dumplings in a long time. Although Liang Su had scolded Song Changxu, she was still a little happy inside.

The two of them worked quickly. Rows of dumplings, with thin wrappers and thick fillings, were set aside to be steamed for breakfast tomorrow.

Song Mingyan bent down to add firewood to steam the rice.

Seeing that the rice would take a while, Liang Su pulled Song Mingyan to the main hall to relax. By chance, her cousin came over to deliver some wood. Liang Hui called Liang Su “Auntie.”

“Uncle said he needed wood. We happened to have some left over at home that we weren’t using, so my parents had me bring it over.”

“Huihui is here. Come, sit. I’ll get some sugar cakes.”

Liang Hui sat on the side and called Song Mingyan “Cousin.”

When Song Mingyan and Xu Peng divorced, his maternal uncles, aunts, and cousins, along with their children and ge’ers, had all gone to the Xu family to support Song Mingyan.

A large group of them had blocked Xu Peng’s door. If it weren’t for his strong maternal family, Song Mingyan would still be suffering in silence at the Xu residence.

Liang Hui was not yet engaged. Seeing how ugly the situation between Song Mingyan and Xu Peng had gotten, and how Song Mingyan was covered in injuries, she was traumatized and felt indignant for him.

Liang Su brought out osmanthus cakes, mung bean cakes, a plate of sesame cakes, and a plate of melon seeds.

“Eat, Huihui. Your cousin Changxu just bought these from town this morning. They’re fresh.”

Liang Hui took a piece of osmanthus cake. It was fragrant, soft, and glutinous. She said, “Auntie, you’ve brought out too much. I can’t possibly eat it all.”

Liang Su: “If you can’t finish it, you can put it in your pocket and take it home.”

After chatting for a while, the conversation inevitably turned to marriage. Liang Hui blushed and said, “It’s still early. I haven’t looked yet. We’ll have to see if there’s any news after cousin Changxu gets married.”

Liang Hui said, “Cousin’s wife-to-be is very beautiful. He and cousin Changxu are a good match.”

Liang Su was also very satisfied with Xu Zhizhou’s good looks and the Xu family’s background.

When arranging a marriage, social standing was important. The Matchmaker Shen they had hired was well-known in the surrounding ten li and eight villages. When she proposed the match with the Xu family, Song Ye and Liang Su had given her a large red envelope.

They had put a lot of thought and money into the betrothal gifts for the Xu family, which was enough to show their respect.

They had even gritted their teeth and had a silver bracelet made as a betrothal gift. The other items were not as valuable as this bracelet.

Since a ge’er from another family was willing to marry into their Song family, they naturally had to treat him well.

Liang Hui sat for a while and then left. Liang Su stuffed a few cakes and a handful of melon seeds into her pocket.

The rice in the kitchen was steamed.

Song Mingyan was a good cook. He was stir-frying the minced meat with eggplant. A fragrant aroma wafted out of the house. The villagers didn’t often eat meat. If they had a craving, they would eat some cured meat to satisfy it. Some households didn’t even have cured meat and could only endure their cravings.

While Song Mingyan stir-fried, Liang Su made a cucumber salad. After stir-frying the vegetables, she made a green vegetable soup, two dishes and one soup.

The family’s meal was made with finely ground corn, golden yellow amidst the tender white rice grains.

Song Changxu scooped some rice, sat down, and took a bite of the minced meat with eggplant. It was delicious.

The family ate all of the two dishes and one soup. Seeing this, Liang Su smiled.

She asked how the vegetable sales had gone.

Song Ye said, “They sold well. All sold out.”

As he said this, Song Ye glanced at his son.

Song Changxu was completely oblivious.

When the villagers went to the market to sell vegetables, the money they earned didn’t stay in their hands for long; it was spent right away.

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After finishing his work in the fields, Xu Sunzheng carried his hoe home for lunch. Today, he had loosened the soil in the fields. In the afternoon, he would go to sow the seeds.

Cao Qin had gone back before him. The two ge’ers had gone to the market, so she had steamed the rice at home and then went to cut pig feed.

When Xu Sunzheng got home, he took a breath and smelled the fragrant aroma coming from the house. His stomach rumbled with hunger.

He had only eaten three coarse grain buns in the morning. After working hard in the fields, he got hungry quickly. Xu Zhizhou came out and heard his father’s stomach rumbling, a smile playing on his lips.

Xu Sunzheng said awkwardly, “I didn’t eat much this morning. It’s normal to be hungry.”

Xu Zhizhou went into the house, opened the rice steamer, and poked it with his chopsticks. The three meat buns were already steamed.

He put the buns on a plate and brought them out.

“I knew you were hungry, so I brought you a plate of buns,” Xu Zhizhou said, raising his eyebrows and striking a pose like a waiter in a restaurant.

Xu Sunzheng took a meat bun and swallowed it whole.

“You mischievous boy, you’ve been spending money recklessly again.” This time, Xu Sunzheng took a bun and chewed it slowly, his eyes narrowed in enjoyment.

“The owner of the bun shop saw that I was good-looking and gave them to me for free.”

Xu Sunzheng stopped eating the bun and looked at Xu Zhizhou suspiciously. “Then I won’t eat these buns of unknown origin. The meat filling might be bad.”

Xu Zhizhou: “We ran into Song Changxu in town today. He bought them.”

Xu Sunzheng breathed a sigh of relief. “I knew it. What fool would give you buns for free?”

Author’s Note:

Little Song: For my peanuts… [Crying]

Father-in-law: (Sighs in relief)