Chapter 81

(It's too late, let's do this first, I'll fix it tomorrow.)

Jiang Zongbao's life is destined to have three miserable and unforgettable nights.

However, this has nothing to do with Du Ruo. Du Ruo is counting silver at home.

After yesterday's farce, she suddenly realized the importance of savings. If there is any emergency, having money in hand will definitely be more convenient, at least not having to beg for help, or like the First Branch, having to sell the land, shaking the foundation of the home.

As a result, after counting, she found that there was less than two taels of silver left.

Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon. The festival gifts for the maiden family cannot be less, and according to the separation contract, she also has to give Yan Pozi some filial piety.

Including herself, everyone in the family is in a critical stage of growing, so they can't eat too poorly.

Counting it up, the hands are a bit tight.

After thinking about it, Du Ruo let Tie Dan go up the mountain for a trip that night.

The next morning, the courtyard was full of wild game, including two rabbits, three golden-haired pheasants, and four silver-ringed snakes as thick as a baby's wrist.

Du Ruo was startled.

Silver-ringed snakes are different from pythons. This guy is highly poisonous, and one bite can kill a person.

Fortunately, Tie Dan had already killed them in advance and thoughtfully tied them into butterfly shapes and stuffed them into cloth bags.

Even so, the few little ones were still scared out of their wits, not daring to get close for half a step.

After breakfast, Du Ruo took these wild game to Xiushan Zhen.

It is estimated that because of the Mid-Autumn Festival, this ox cart was full, and listening to the accent, they were all going to town to buy festival gifts.

Aunt Lin was also there.

Seeing Du Ruo come over, Aunt Lin's hands tightened, and she quickly turned her face away.

The other women were very enthusiastic, greeting Du Ruo one after another, each smiling like a trumpet flower.

"Jiang Li's wife, what is in your bag? It looks quite heavy." A few who were observant helped pull the cloth bag in Du Ruo's hand onto the ox cart and asked curiously.

Du Ruo said thank you and then smiled, "Nothing, just a few mountain goods."

That person pulled Du Ruo to sit next to her, poked her with her elbow, and asked to the end, "Isn't your Jiang Li a head catcher? How come he still has time to go up the mountain?"

Du Ruo choked.

Mountain goods were naturally not brought by Jiang Li, but this pot can only be buckled on him.

"He came back to rest for two days before, and he didn't have anything to do, so he went up the mountain for a trip." Whether he went or not, outsiders don't know anyway.

That person really didn't suspect anything, her tone full of envy, "To say our village, you are the most blessed. Your Jiang Li handles everything inside and out, and you don't need to worry about anything. How good."

Saying this, she pointed toward the village, disdainfully, "Unlike that Jiang Zongbao, messing around outside all day, making Qin Shi into what she is now. Meeting such a man is really eight lifetimes of bad luck!"

The other women echoed one after another, criticizing Jiang Zongbao as worse than dog shit.

Aunt Lin, however, sneered abruptly, "Jiang Zongbao is a waste, but at least he is better than Jiang Li in one point."

The women all stopped talking.

The ox cart was suddenly as silent as death.

Aunt Lin didn't seem to notice, glancing at Du Ruo opposite, "Qin Shi won't even mention it. When she married back then, which man didn't drool? Cherry mouth and willow waist, that skin was as smooth as a peeled egg; now that Qin Shi is pregnant, Jiang Zongbao is even more amazing, actually finding a woman a hundred times more beautiful than Qin Shi."

"So when it comes to the vision of finding women, Jiang Li is really not as good."

In words, it was mocking Du Ruo for being ugly.

Du Ruo smiled and didn't say anything.

Instead, the person next to her couldn't stand it and retorted, "That's not how you say it. Jiang Li's wife is not as good-looking as those two, but look at this big face, it's clearly a prosperous husband face! This is something you can't ask for."

"That is." Others also said, "People say that marrying a wife is for virtue, and taking a concubine is for color. Ever since Du Shi entered the family, the days of the Second Branch of the Jiang family have been seen by all of us, getting better day by day. Look at that Jiang Zongbao, he lost all his face yesterday, and he even lost several mu of land. In the final analysis, isn't it because of lust?"

"That is..."

Everyone talked one after another, almost praising Du Ruo to the sky.

Seeing that they were all biased toward Du Ruo, Aunt Lin's face became even uglier, "What prosperous husband, what not, it sounds so good. Aren't you all just afraid of Jiang Li, so you are desperately sucking up to Du Shi?"

She looked up at the sky, and a dark cloud drifted from somewhere in the distance, blocking the sun.

"Just wait and see. Jiang Li is still just a head catcher with no power. When he gets promoted and makes a fortune one day, you look again, whether he changes people around him."

The women looked at each other, their eyes flickering.

This matter is really not certain. Du Shi is indeed capable, but she is indeed too ugly...

"Aunt Lin is really worried for others." Du Ruo took the words, smiling, "Borrowing your auspicious words, my husband will definitely be promoted and make a fortune. As for whether he changes people when the time comes, I don't know, but there is one point I am very sure of: no matter who he changes, that person will absolutely not be your daughter, Lin Qingshuang."

Lin Qingshuang is Aunt Lin's dead point, can't be poked.

Sure enough, Aunt Lin exploded immediately, pointing at Du Ruo and gnashing her teeth, "What did you little slut say? If you dare to pull it to my Shuang'er again, watch out, I'll tear your mouth!"

Seeing that she was so emotional, others were afraid that she would do it, so they hurriedly pressed her into the seat and persuaded her.

Du Ruo calmly appreciated the scenery on the side of the road.

In front of the ox cart, Old Tietou swung his whip and hummed an unknown tune. The tune was winding and melodious, quite interesting.

In the noise, they finally arrived at Xiushan Zhen.

Du Ruo paid the fare. Old Tietou collected it happily and helped lift the cloth bag off the cart.

Du Ruo was about to leave when the old man suddenly called her again, asking hesitantly, "Jiang Li's wife, that... you really didn't conceive?"

Du Ruo was stunned.

Then she was caught between laughter and tears, "Really not, I don't know who started the rumor, causing this farce."

Old Tietou's rough face showed a trace of disappointment, and he said lowly "Oh," hesitatingly, "Jiang Li is twenty-two, right? It's time to have a child. Jiang Li's wife, you, you have to work hard..."

Du Ruo: "... Good."

Why does it feel weird? Why is Old Tietou so worried about her family's affairs?

And it's such a private thing as having children.

Du Ruo dragged the cloth bag toward the north side of the town. The wine shops and pharmacies were all on that side. As she walked, she thought about this matter in her heart.

Later, she finally reached a conclusion.

I heard that Old Tietou is a loner, without a wife or children. I think he must be very envious of people having children, so he urged her to give birth to one for Jiang Li early.

What a cute old man...

Du Ruo smiled and shook her head. The town is not big, and she arrived at the Herbal Hall before long.

The Herbal Hall is a top-ranked pharmacy in Da Zhao, with branches in many places. Xiushan Zhen naturally has one, but the scale and strength certainly cannot compare to the one in the county.

The shop assistant was very polite. After knowing Du Ruo's intention, he specifically led her to the back hall, so as not to scare the patients outside when the silver-ringed snakes were taken out.

Silver-ringed snakes have extremely high medicinal value.

It can dispel wind, unblock collaterals, and stop spasms; it can also be used for stubborn rheumatism, numbness, stroke, and hemiplegia.

It also has a very good curative effect on treating convulsions, tetanus, and common sores.

It can even be used to make medicinal wine to nourish the kidneys and strengthen the yang.

Anyway, the benefits are countless, and the main thing is that it is highly poisonous, so it is extremely difficult to catch, which can be counted as a famous medicinal herb.

The pharmacy manager saw those four butterfly knots, and his eyes widened.

On the spot, he offered a high price of eight taels of silver.

Du Ruo trusted the Herbal Hall, so she didn't bargain and took the money and left.

When leaving, the manager sent her to the front door, calling her "Du Niang Zi" one by one, smiling and saying that if there are snakes next time, just send them over. The Herbal Hall is honest and never pits people.

Du Ruo responded one by one.

The snakes were sold to the pharmacy, and the rabbits and pheasants naturally had to be sent to the Drunken Dream Residence.

The Drunken Dream Residence was also on this street, not far away. Du Ruo just walked to the door and hadn't had time to step in when she was discovered by the procuress of the Qunfang Pavilion opposite.

The procuress twisted her waist and walked out quickly, the fragrance on her body almost making Du Ruo sneeze, "Oh, Du Niang Zi, I've finally waited for you to come!"

Du Ruo was a bit embarrassed, "Sorry, I've been really busy these few days, and I only got time to come today."

Last time, Ying Jiuniang gave her Chunhua's deed of sale, and the price was to figure out a signature dish for the Qunfang Pavilion. Du Ruo had always kept this in mind and had already thought of a suitable recipe. She originally planned to redeem this promise incidentally.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's good that you're here."

The procuress laughed until she was trembling, and turned to order the fierce man following behind, "Go, call the back kitchen to prepare, Du Niang Zi is going to show her skills and teach them how to cook!"

After saying this, she wanted to pull Du Ruo in.

Just at the right moment, a figure rushed out of the Drunken Dream Residence like crazy, blocking between the two with both hands.

It was Qiu Zhanggui.

Qiu Zhanggui panted heavily, his squinting eyes staring at the procuress, "What do you want?"

"What does it have to do with you what I want?" The procuress put her hands on her hips, tit-for-tat, "What, did Du Niang Zi sell herself to your Drunken Dream Residence?"

That, of course, was not.

But Du Niang Zi is the lucky star of the Drunken Dream Residence and cannot be snatched away by others!

Qiu Zhanggui turned his head and looked at Du Ruo with full hope, "Du Niang Zi, you must be here to send me wild game today, right?"

Du Ruo: "Yes, but..."

"If it is, then it is. Let's go in and talk. Don't worry, I will definitely give you a good price!" Qiu Zhanggui snatched the cloth bag from her hand quickly and was about to leave with it.

The procuress was not to be outdone, grabbing Du Ruo's arm, "Du Niang Zi, you promised to sell us a recipe."

This, Du Ruo was in a dilemma.

She pondered for a moment, then pulled her arm from the procuress, and explained with a smile, "Ying Mama, I have to go to the opposite side first. I promised Qiu Zhanggui to send him wild game before."

Qiu Zhanggui was full of joy.

The next sentence, however, was heard by Du Ruo saying to herself, "Qiu Zhanggui, I also promised Ying Mama to sell her a recipe. Being a person should be honest, so after sending the wild game, I still have to go to the Qunfang Pavilion."

Qiu Zhanggui's smile froze.

The procuress was reasonable and waved the gauze scarf in her hand, "Fine, then I will wait for Du Niang Zi's arrival at the door."

After saying this, she went in laughing.

Qiu Zhanggui spat at her back and cursed "old chicken woman" in a low voice.

When facing Du Ruo, he changed his face again, smiling like a Maitreya Buddha, and welcomed her into the Drunken Dream Residence.

Those two rabbits and three pheasants sold for two taels of silver, which was a very good price.

Du Ruo also explained the recipe to Qiu Zhanggui.

"It's okay, it's okay." Qiu Zhanggui laughed, "I've been fighting with that old chicken woman for more than ten years, and I'm used to it. Du Niang Zi doesn't need to feel embarrassed, just do what you should do."

In fact, although the two families have competition, after all, one is a restaurant and one is a brothel, so the overlap of guests is not high. Therefore, even if Du Ruo sold the recipe to the Qunfang Pavilion, it would not have much impact on the Drunken Dream Residence.

It's just that they don't look at each other, so they quarrel when they meet.

Hearing him say this, Du Ruo felt relieved.

After chatting with Qiu Zhanggui for a few more words, she went to the opposite side.

At this time, in broad daylight, most of the girls in the Qunfang Pavilion were resting in their rooms, and only a few on duty were chirping in the main hall, entertaining a few scattered guests.

Du Ruo followed the procuress to the back kitchen and spent more than two hours teaching the dish.

She taught "One Pot."

This dish is also known as a brothel dish, a layer of chicken, a layer of duck, a layer of meat, a layer of tofu, and underneath are radishes and green vegetables. It is oily but not greasy, rotten but not melted, hot but not scalding, cold but not lacking, maintaining the perfect combination of color, fragrance, and taste, most suitable for flirting while tasting.

The procuress laughed until her mouth couldn't close, feeling that she had taken advantage, so she stuffed silver into Du Ruo's hand again.

Du Ruo didn't refuse either. Money, who would think it's too much?

After saying goodbye to the procuress, she was ready to go back.

Just as she walked to the door, she bumped into a young man. The man was about eighteen or nineteen years old, looking gentle and handsome, with a long figure, wearing a blue and white Confucian shirt, very eye-catching.

Du Ruo's footsteps paused.

It's actually Xiao Liangchen, which is really surprising.

In her impression, Xiao Liangchen has always been the embodiment of a humble gentleman, and visiting a brothel is really incompatible with him.

But forget it, anyway, it has nothing to do with herself.

Du Ruo pretended not to see it and lowered her head to continue walking out, saving Xiao Liangchen from embarrassment if he saw an acquaintance.

Unfortunately, her volume was a bit big, and she couldn't hide even if she wanted to.

"Aman?" Xiao Liangchen called in surprise.

Du Ruo sighed secretly and had no choice but to stop resignedly, looking up at him with a smile, "Young Master Xiao, what a coincidence."