Chapter 85: 暖房种菜
[Growing Vegetables in Green House]
A dozen days passed in a flash since Xiao Lingchuan’s departure, entering the tenth month of the lunar calendar, a light snow fell in Deer City.
After the snow, Li Haitang changed into heavy cotton clothes. She only went out for a walk in the morning, as a kind of exercise. The rest of the time, she was in the big kitchen with Chen Er aunt, gossiping around the fireplace.
Auntie Chen had a good hand at doing work, making clothes, making shoes, sewing and mending, and her hands and feet are nimble, Li Haitang is smart, and after a few days of learning, she is basically considered an apprentice.
“Auntie Chen, what are we going to eat today?”
Winter has no fresh vegetables, the northern side of the land, only radishs, cabbages and potatoes, constantly changing, the best chef also can not cook a tasty dish.
“Bean sprouts, put in some diced meat, carrots fried, if only there were cucumbers.”
Second Aunt Chen and Li Haitang have been together for a while, and people are gradually letting go. In the main house, not a lot of things need to be settled, even if he is respectful and overcautious, she will still make people uncomfortable.
“I heard from Chun Niang that there are big families in the border towns that use warm rooms to grow vegetables!”
Li Haitang went back to her room to sort things out, she and Chun Niang relied on correspondence, Chun Niang’s side so busy, He Fang had to drink medicine every day, if someone else boiled the medicine, Chun Niang herself wasn’t at ease.
Super way to treat tuberculosis, He Fang drank for a few days, obviously feeling the transformation, for the cure, there is hope, the whole person’s energy is different.
Seeing the day colder than a day, Chun Niang entrusted people from the barbarians for the replacement of thick cashmere blankets and fur, entrusted to send over. The letter mentioned a greenhouse used to grow vegetables.
“Green house to grows vegetables?”
Auntie Chen was surprised, those rich lords, like flowers and plants, specialising in warming room planting, the warming room used to grow vegetables, they really have not heard of it before.
“The flowers and grasses can’t be eaten or drunk.”
Li Haitang is more practical, she can’t do without being practical. A few days ago, she especially wanted to eat dumplings stuffed with leeks, but unfortunately, in the entire Deer City, she can’t find leeks.
As soon as it gets cold, there is seafood shipped over from the barbarian side, big chunks of squid, shrimp, and there is a kind of sea intestine that is white and tastes fantastic fried with leeks!
There is also a kind of fish in the sea, called Spanish mackerel. They remove the thorns, chop the filling to make dumplings which is taste delicious!
What surprises her is that the acceptance of the people of Deer City is not high, and there are not many people who buy seafood
Even if the price is reasonable and there is that free money, the people prefer to buy meat and store it, since they have oil and water.
A few days ago, there was a street vendor in front of the house. street vendor, the first time, he went to the border city to sell goods. Seeing that seafood was cheap, he thought the city was a good place to sell. The results in the market, squatting one day, sold two pounds of shrimp.
Two large baskets of things, if it was not being sold, the capital in it. He really complained bitterly, but also held the heart that wanted to ‘give a try’, and ran to the door of the big family selling. Li Haitang who was strolling on the road caught him red handed.
Squid, prawns, Spanish mackerel, all of which she likes to eat. What surprise her, she found a few sea cucumbers inside!
“Little lady, you said this sea worm?”
The cargo man almost cried out, cursing the barbarians for being treacherous, using sea worms to take up the portion to make up the number, making him almost lose money.
Sea cucumber ah, that’s the best tonic, being called a sea worm?
Li Haitang confirmed again and again that the cargo man did call sea cucumbers as sea worms, and also told her that no one wanted these things, and It’s too much weight for nothing.
“Auntie Chen Er, I think we should also get a warm room out.”
Li Haitang considered it, there was an empty plot of land in the house that was originally reserved for raising chickens, but there were too many chickens and ducks, since there was a big taste in the summer, so it would be better to save it for building a warming house.
“Haitang, let’s grow vegetables too?”
Second Aunt Chen quickly understood, she knew that the main family was not attached to elegance (culture lover), so she wondered why they bought such a courtyard.
“Yes, now we can only eat some cabbage and potatoes, it’s too tasteless.”
More than two months from the New Year, planting vegetables is not too late, when the savage husband comes back, Li Haitang wants to give him a surprise, at least he can eat some green vegetables.
Not to mention other things, leeks are almost universal (all purpose), scrambled eggs, fried squid, fried sea intestines, wrapped dumplings, all is okay.
“I’ve heard that this costs quite a bit of money.”
If you could eat some green leaves in the winter, it felt so good. Chen Er Aunt had not thought about it before, since following Li Haitang, her large family borrow the light (benefited from it), eat and drink well, a few children’s faces grow fatter.
“Earn silver, also must be able to spend silver ah.”
Probably need a hundred taels of silver, but she also have to ask someone to guide, planting greenhouse vegetables, you have to pay attention. Besides that, those vegetables are expensive, if the temperature is too high or too low, you can not grow it.
Li Haitang has money, if you have money, you has the bottom line, has always been pass like thunder and move like the wind. Xiaotaohong temporarily make the play adjustments, replaced by “Double Phoenix Strange Case”, now it was so popular.
This guy, but also a convergence of a good hand, the book sold to other theatre groups, handed over to earn a large sum of silver.
Dequan class left the north, back to Capital to continue to earn silver, the market in the north, and they have nothing to do, it is a cost-effective deal!
That guy is not considered as too heartless, learnt that she almost met the king of hell, sent someone to send a thousand taels of silver “condolence fee”.
Other people earn silver, they start with only a few coins, accumulate little by little, Li Haitang earns silver, the early rely on trickery and looting, the late stage is considered to be on the right track.
“What about cutting pickled vegetables and stewing a pork chop at night?”
Li Haitang likes to eat ribs, so the family keeps some on hand from time to time, and Second Uncle Chen, with his legs and feet healed and on crutches, goes to the market to buy fresh ones.
“It’s cold, let’s make a pot to warm our stomachs.”
Li Haitang immediately expressed his approval, when stewing pickled vegetablea, add a few prawns into it and turn it into a seafood and sauerkraut pot, when it is cold, sit in front of the fire, eat and chat, having a good time.
The wild man husband has gone where? Did he eat on time? Li Haitang rested her cheeks, her eyes staring fixedly into the corner.
Seeing this, Aunt Chen shook her head. Since Xiao Lingchuan left home, this situation basically happened once a day.
The family was quiet, after the death of Li Qiu Ju and the three Zhang brothers, there was no news. Several days later, Li Haitang was still waiting for the officials to come to the door. From sunrise to sunset, the official did not come.
Before dinner, Second Uncle Chen went out to look for someone, and agreed to come on the second day to build a warm room, only twenty or so metres in size, the other side of the mouth, is five hundred taels of silver.
Second Uncle Chen was self-conscious that he had followed Li Haitang into Deer City and had already seen a little bit, but when he heard this price, he still couldn’t help but smack his lips.
“This price is very reasonable, after all, the outside is supported by the glaze.”
This price Li Haitang can accept, more or less a bit of meat pain. But as a foodie, the long winter, yellow does not reach green (idiom); the yellow autumn crop does not last until the green spring crop, just a few dishes in rotation, she was already devastated. Daqi already has the process of manufacturing colored glass or glaze, only the technology is not mature, or chaotic. The only advantage is that the cold and heat will not crack, glazed shed, outside with grass mattress, inside, but also with a stove to control the temperature.