CH 73.1

The chickens and ducks got down from the mountain, and they were a little wilted for the past two days because of the bumpy journey. Lu Gu didn’t let them out. He regained his energy and then went out to prepare their food. He chopped half-dried grass and mixed it with chaff, and fed it together with the chickens and ducks raised at home.

When he came out of the backyard, he saw Wei Lanxiang came back with Shen Yan, carrying a small bag of borneol and shortbread in the basket.

In the cold weather Wei Lanxiang often carried a small cloth pad in the basket, and the cotton inside was sewn in from old cotton clothes. She used the pad today when she bought shortbread, and it was still warm when they came back.

"Go, here for you and your sister-in-law." Wei Lanxiang opened the oiled paper bag, took two pastries and handed them to Shen Yan.

Seeing Lu Gu coming out from the backyard, she smiled and said: "Gu Zi wash your hands and come to eat."

"Got it, mother." Lu Gu's sleeves were rolled up because he was chopping chicken grass just now, and now he put them down after washing his hands.

Seeing that Shen Xuanqing was killing the last badger, Shen Yaoqing was cutting the fat of the badger in the kitchen, so as to refine the oil in the pot later, Wei Lanxiang went into the kitchen and took out the borneol and put them on the edge of the chopping board, she sai: "Hold it in the basket, you two take it by yourself after finishing it."

"Okay." Shen Yaoqing agreed, and his hands kept cutting the fat meat. When he saw the puppy rubbing against his leg, he smiled and said, "It's not cooked yet, you will eat it later "

Fat meat from badgers could be used to refine oil, and lean meat could also be eaten, but their family didn't like to eat badger meat. Anyway, they had dogs at home, and a dozen badger meat was enough for them to eat for a while, and it was also fattening in winter.

When Lu Gu entered the main room, he first glanced at Ji Qiuyue's room. Wei Lanxiang was joking with her. When he saw Shen Yan coming out, he lifted the small cloth pad on the basket and was about to take it when he heard Shen Yan said, "Brother Guzi, take one for mother too."

Taking out three shortbread, Lu Gu followed Shen Yan into the east room, and sat on the edge of the bed to eat the shortbreads. Except for Ji Qiuyue who ate two in their family, everyone else ate one.

Wei Lanxiang saw the thin red cloth on the bed that hadn't been put away, and said while eating: "I'm in a hurry today, I forgot to buy another red cloth, it's hot in summer. Make a few bellybands for the baby to wear, otherwise the baby will get prickly heat, and it will be cooler with bellybands."

Ji Qiuyue finally had a child. Looking at the red cloth that was being made into clothes, she was happy in her heart, and she was not willing to put it away. Hearing this, she nodded, it should be done.

Lu Gu sat beside them without saying a word, feeling very satisfied eating the soft shortbreads, but Shen Yan leaned over and whispered: "Brother Guzi, I beg you to do something."

No one had ever talked to him like this, Lu Gu was a little nervous, thinking that something happened to Shen Yan, so he could only nod quickly because there was something in his mouth.

Shen Yan scratched her head with the other hand, she seemed a little embarrassed, she smiled flatteringly and said, "The new jacket my mother made for me was ready, can you embroider two flowers for me?"

"I'm just learning to embroider, it’s okay to embroider on a handkerchief, but if the embroidery on the clothes is damaged, Caixia and the others must laugh at me.” She took a big bite of shortbread, frowning and looking very sad.

It turned out to be this, Lu Gu relaxed his mind, and said with slightly frowned eyebrows, "Okay."

Wei Lanxiang heard them talking, Shen Yan lowered his head and muttered, she asked curiously, "What are you talking about with your brother Guzi?"

She was criticized twice because her embroidery work was not good, and now she asked Lu Gu to embroider for her. Afraid of being accused again, Shen Yan said, "Mother, it's nothing, I'm going to ask Brother Guzi about something."

"This little girl is still not telling the truth to her mother.” Wei Lanxiang gave her a smile, but didn’t press the question, and talked to Ji Qiuyue about putting the longevity lock on the child.

The two of them were talking, when Shen Yan saw that Lu Gu had finished eating and stuffed the remaining shortbread into his mouth, she stood up and signaled Lu Gu to follow her.

In the kitchen, Shen Yaoqing boiled the fat meat and refined the oil, Shen Xuanqing tidied up the yard, shoveled the soil with a shovel, and covered the blood splashed outside the basin, so as not to step on the dirty blood and made their soles dirty.

There were sixteen badger skins in total. He thought about it, if the wind blew in winter, no one could go out of the house, and the cold wind poured directly into the neck, it was better to leave six pieces and make a fur collar for everyone in the family. The fur was light and warm, and the neck was comfortable. No more freezing.

Tanning fur was also a labor-intensive job. The remaining ten skins could simply be sold as raw hides. It didn't matter if the price was slightly lower than the tanned ones.

Seeing that Lu Gu came out to wash his hands again, and Shen Yan was still following him, Shen Xuanqing smiled and asked: "What are you two doing?"

Shen Yan still prevaricated him, saying: "It's nothing, second brother, you should be busy with your work. "

“Brother Guzi, I'll go get it first.” Shen Yan said after washing her hands.

"Okay." Lu Gu agreed, washed off the white foam from his hands and got up to wipe his hands. Seeing Shen Xuanqing smiling at him, he paused and saw no one around, so he whispered: "Shen Yan asked me to make a few flower embroiders on  her a new coat."

He thought it was not a secret that couldn't be said, and it shouldn't hurt to tell Shen Xuanqing, even if he didn't say it, the family would definitely see it when he embroidered the flowers later, and he couldn't hide it.

"No wonder." Shen Xuanqing smiled, he knew his sister too well, and when he thought about it, he knew that she was afraid that his mother would nag her, he said: "Then you go, if you are cold, sit on the bed, the pot is occupied at the moment, and you can't boil water for tang pozi. "

"Yes." Lu Gu nodded.

The chimney smoke wafted from the chimney, people were talking and laughing in the courtyard of Shen's house, sometimes there was a dog barking, and the days after going down the mountain were still solid and comfortable.

Early the next morning, after eating two hot steamed buns and a small piece of salty lump, Shen Xuanqing poured a small half of the wild bath beads from the sack into his big bamboo basket, and the rest must be enough for his own use.

Shen Yaoqing, who was chopping firewood, saw him tidying up, so he asked, "Going to town?"

He took out the needle and thread to make children's clothes, scratched his head and smiled innocently, took out some money from his pocket, and said in a low voice: "If you go, buy me a silver hairpin at Jinyinxuan. I’m very optimistic about it. Last time I didn’t bring enough money to buy it. It’s a phoenix tail inlaid with small silver beads. If someone already bought this one, there’s another phoenix tail there, it’s also pretty. Anyway, buy one and come back.”

“Okay.” Shen Xuanqing took the money and said with a smile, he stuffed the money into his pocket, his eyes paused slightly as if he was thinking about something.