Lu Gu ladled out two bowls of hot water and handed two square cakes to Shen Xuanqing. Since the dogs were hogging the stove, the two of them sat to the side, drinking water and nibbling the cakes to settle their stomachs.
The red bean cakes were soft and chewy. Since sugar was expensive, Wei Lanxiang had used only a little, but the natural fragrance of the red beans made the mild sweetness just right.
By the time Shen Yaoqing and Wei Lanxiang braved the snow to arrive from the old house, Lu Gu and Shen Xuanqing were already busy. Lu Gu carried a basket to the duck coop to gather eggs, while Shen Xuanqing hauled dry grass to feed the cattle and sheep.
With snow covering the ground, there was no need to sweep the yard. Wei Lanxiang and Shen Yaoqing shook off the snow under the eaves of the main hall. Thankfully, they all lived in Qingxi Village, close enough that even heavy snow couldn’t stop them from coming over.
Shen Yaoqing took a shovel and dung basket to clean the rabbit hutches, while Wei Lanxiang added two sticks of firewood to the clay stove before stepping outside. She’d want to warm her hands later, and keeping the fire going saved her from relighting it.
In the woodshed, she picked two heads of napa cabbage from the piled stock. They had planted a lot of napa cabbages here this year, and some still remained in the fields. After the snow, those would become frozen napa cabbages, just as tasty.
The pile in the woodshed was reserved for the rabbits. She placed the napa cabbages on the chopping board, cut off the roots, and sliced the leaves into long strips. Unlike chickens and ducks, rabbits didn’t need their food finely minced.
After filling the feeding basin with the sliced napa cabbage leaves, she carried it toward the rabbit hutches, also bringing an armful of dry grass. In winter, there was no fresh grass or leaves, so aside from napa cabbages, the rabbits relied on dry fodder. Mixing the two ensured they had enough to eat.
Having fed the rabbits many times before, she knew the routine. As soon as she approached with the dry grass, many of the rabbits hopped to the front of their hutches in anticipation.
They took good care of their rabbits. Once winter set in, each hutch was lined with thick layers of wheat straw and rice hay. Not a single stalk of the wheat and rice straw harvested from their thirteen mu of wheat and eight mu of rice fields had been wasted—all were stacked into haystacks, enough to last the entire winter.
The straw in the rabbit hutches, once dampened by urine, was replaced every three or four days. The soiled straw wasn’t thrown away either, it would be spread out in the yard to dry, it could still be burned as fuel. What did it matter if it was mixed with rabbit droppings? Country folk had always lived this way.
Shen Yaoqing swept and shoveled dung inside the pens. The sides of the sheds were tightly woven with bamboo strips, leaving no gaps for wind to slip through. The thatched roofs were sturdy, built with logs cut from the mountain and layered with more thatch, ensuring no leaks. The many supporting logs meant even heavy snow wouldn’t collapse them.
After gathering the duck eggs, Lu Gu set the basket in the main hall. Seeing Wei Lanxiang enter the hay shed, he hurried over. Both of them carried bundles of dry grass toward the rabbit hutches. With so many rabbits, each feeding required plenty of napa cabbage and hay.
As they walked, Wei Lanxiang said cheerfully, “With this snow, we still have those pork ribs from earlier. I told your sister-in-law we’d stew them today, just like last year—simmering them in a pot on the clay stove while we sit around it. Nice and warm. When your elder brother and I came over, she and Shen Yan were already chopping the bones. After stewing for two hours, the meat will be tender, and the broth rich.”
Though the cakes had staved off hunger, the thought of meat and broth in this cold weather made Lu Gu’s mouth water.
He smiled. “Then we won’t need to cook other dishes for lunch. We can chop some napa cabbages and boil it in the broth, meat and vegetables all in one.”
They had done this before when stewing meat. The vegetables absorbed the savory broth, making them even more delicious.
“Good, good. Just like that.” Wei Lanxiang nodded in approval. Both Lu Gu and Ji Qiuyue had been well-behaved since joining the family, never causing any trouble, and she couldn’t help but adore them. Whatever they fancied eating, as long as it was possible, not just her sons but even she would find a way to get it.
Besides, after Shen Xuanqing’s marriage, though the initial period had been rough, things had only improved since. Just a few days ago, Shen Xuanqing had returned from selling fox furs in the prefectural city, buying plenty of pork and bones from Meng Dayue, enough for both people and dogs to enjoy.
As for the money from the furs, only he and Lu Gu knew the exact amount: a full three hundred taels.
The two flawless white fox furs alone had fetched a hundred taels. The remaining twenty-two red fox furs, varying in quality, sold for another two hundred taels exactly.
Added to their previous savings of one hundred ten taels and the twenty-five taels from selling the dwarf deer, their total now stood at four hundred thirty-five taels.
He set aside four hundred taels, hidden at the bottom of a large chest. The remaining thirty-five taels were split—twenty to Lu Gu, fifteen for himself. In the mountains, he hardly spent anything, and back in the village, living expenses were low. Pork, oil, and salt were the main costs. Firewood, rice, vinegar, and tea were either homegrown or foraged. This year, Wei Lanxiang had even made persimmon vinegar herself. The fifteen taels in his pocket, along with some loose silver and copper coins, were more than enough for daily needs.
After returning from the prefectural city, he had borrowed Shen Shunwang’s ox to pull a cart loaded with mountain goods and a sack of new rice, taking Lu Gu to Jixing Town to visit Old Man Yang. They bought good wine and pastries, and even then, he hadn’t spent all his money.
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