Chapter 008: One Girl, Three Gang

Feng Jian's face finally eased a bit, but when he lowered his head to glance at his injured leg, a look of regret surged in his eyes.

"Since we are staying here for a while, let Xuanming explore the area more."

"Young master, rest assured, I will have Gao Ren run an errand tomorrow."

Gao Ren, who was sleeping on the kang, turned over and his snoring resumed, as if he hadn't heard their conversation at all. However, the two of them were not worried...

Lu Xiaomi didn't know that the servants in the east wing were so concerned about the country and the people. Even if she did, she wouldn't care.

At the moment, she had just put various cooking ingredients into small pottery jars, and the rice and flour into the crock. Finally, she covered each one with a lid, smiling from ear to ear.

This is what the old folks often say, "If there is grain in the crock, there is no need to panic."

With so many grains added today, along with the sorghum rice and millet left over from before, the family finally didn't have to worry about going hungry this winter.

Lu Laodad and Lu Laoda, father and son, were originally helping on the side, but seeing their little daughter here and there, they were so happy that they seemed to want to fly. The father and son glanced at each other, both touched their noses, feeling a little guilty.

As a daughter of the Lu family, it was really unlucky to have such a father and brother. In the future, she must remember to be more mindful. Even if she couldn't help much, she couldn't continue to be a burden.

Of course, their determination was firm, but there is an old saying that goes, "The country is easy to change, but one's nature is hard to change..."

After indulging in the satisfaction of being a "resourceful woman," Lu Xiaomi urged Lu Laoda to help her take the cloth and cotton she had bought during the day to her backyard.

The batches of cotton cloth provided by the leather goods merchant were indeed as good as he had said, with good quality, but the colors were a bit old-fashioned: two pieces of indigo, one piece of ash gray, one piece of navy blue, and two pieces of ivory white.

However, it had only been three months since Mrs. Bai passed away, and the Lu family was still in mourning, so these colors were just right.

When buying cotton, she also bought some brightly colored satin, intending to sew quilts and new clothes for Feng Jian's servants.

With all these items added together, the fabrics and cotton piled up half of the kang.

After a busy day, with the money in hand and the items purchased, Lu Xiaomi finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt the tide of fatigue rising.

She didn't bother to tidy up and just laid down on the kang with the quilt. Tomorrow, Mrs. Liu and a few other neighbors would come to help, and if she tidied up now, she would have to do it all over again later.

Sure enough, the next day, after breakfast, Mrs. Liu came with a few friendly neighbors without waiting for Lu Xiaomi to invite them.

Lu Xiaomi greeted them with a smile and joked, "Aunties, did you come early to block my bed because you knew I was going to stew chicken and mushrooms today?"

Everyone laughed, and Mrs. Liu pointed at her head in mock anger, "We came to help you with sewing, and you're making fun of us. Next time, you'll have to do the sewing yourself and see who ends up crying with eyes as red as peaches."

"Oh, Auntie, I'm sorry!"

Lu Xiaomi was not good at household chores since she was young, and now with her "condition," she was even more clumsy. Hearing this, she quickly hugged Mrs. Liu and acted coquettishly, "If Auntie doesn't help, I'll go to Auntie's house and cry!"

"Alright, alright, you've got me!"

Mrs. Liu had no daughter of her own, and seeing Lu Xiaomi acting so coquettishly made her very happy.

After a few jokes, they took out the cloth and cotton to inspect. Xiaomi pointed out the fabrics she had prepared for Feng Jian's servants to make quilts and clothes, instructing, "Auntie, this piece of brown hidden flower silk is for Feng's long shirt, with tighter cuffs to make it easier for him to walk in the fields for some time. This smoky gray cotton is for two sets of undershirts for him, and this ivory cotton is for a four-pound cotton lining. I want to cover it with a quilt cover made of this sapphire blue satin, embroidered with a soaring eagle, it will be beautiful! And this navy cotton is for my father's coat and pants, and this indigo is for my second brother's cotton robe, and this..."

Lu Xiaomi had made a list early in the morning and was well aware of all the fabrics and cotton. At this moment, she spoke clearly and arranged everything clearly.

The women listened with a mix of amusement and concern. Girls of Xiaomi's age were doted on in every household, and occasionally embroidering a skirt with their mother was considered a great skill. Only Xiaomi was worried about the entire family's food, clothing, and shelter, which couldn't be described as anything other than hard work.

This was the life of a girl without a mother, she had to endure hardship.

Mrs. Liu had lost her mother at a young age, and now she felt even more heartbroken. She grabbed Xiaomi's hand and scolded her, "You, how come I've been listening for so long, and all these clothes and quilts are for others, but you don't have a single one for yourself?"

"Yes, it's almost the New Year, even if you're in mourning, you should still make a new coat and skirt for yourself. A girl as pretty as a flower shouldn't be so hard on herself!"

The other women also advised her. Xiaomi had been living frugally for the past few months, and she hadn't thought of buying fabric for herself yesterday. Besides, the money was from Gao Ren's hunting, even if Feng Jian had said she could distribute it as she pleased, she couldn't just spend it on clothes for her father and brothers and waste the money on herself.

"It's okay, Auntie, my old coat and skirt are still almost new, and my second brother bought me a new coat the other day. I don't need new clothes."

Unfortunately, she had only spoken halfway when a sharp-eyed young daughter-in-law reached out and pulled out the peach-colored jacket, laughing and scolding, "Your second son is good at throwing punches, but he doesn't understand the details of daily life at all."

"That's right, this jacket can only be worn for filial piety. It's probably going to be too small in two years."

Aunt Liu reached out and opened the ivory-colored cotton cloth, and made a decision, "I don't think this piece of cloth will be used, so why not make a jacket for Xiaomi, embroider a few light-colored flowers, and it won't break the rules. If there's leftover stone blue and ash gray fabric, we can make a skirt, and maybe even make a pair of shoes, to make a set."

"Auntie, that's a good idea. Let's measure the size first."

The women were all skilled at sewing, and a few young daughters-in-law took off their shoes and laid out the cotton on the kang bed, while Mrs. Wang went to measure the size for Mr. Lu and his son, and Xiaomi took Aunt Liu to the east wing.

"Yang Bo, is Mr. Feng awake? I brought Aunt Liu to measure the size and prepare to make a new jacket."

As soon as Xiaomi's voice fell, Mr. Yang smiled and opened the door curtain. There was still a lingering smell of medicine in the room, but it was very clean, and there were just two cups of tea on the small table by the kang bed. Mr. Feng, with his slightly pale hands, held a cup of tea and looked over when he heard the door curtain move.

Ever since Aunt Liu heard that the Lu family had a distinguished guest, she had been eager to see for herself, not because she wanted to gossip with the women in the village, but purely out of concern for Xiaomi. After all, the Lu family only had one daughter, and her father and brothers were generous, so if they encountered someone with bad intentions, deliberately tarnishing the girl's reputation would be a bad thing.

But at this moment, she was completely at ease.

As the saying goes, a person's appearance reflects their heart. Not all people with malicious thoughts are necessarily cunning and sly, but Mr. Feng, with his handsome features and a hint of nobility in his demeanor, was definitely not a malicious and cunning person.

"Mr. Feng, Xiaomi asked the old lady to make clothes for you, so I hope it's not offensive to measure your size."

"No, thank you, Auntie."

Mr. Feng put down his teacup, his tone calm, but not in the least condescending. His gestures and movements were just right.

On the other side, Xiaomi was also measuring Mr. Yang's size. As she busily worked, she said, "Mr. Yang, I asked the sisters-in-law to add two more pounds of cotton to your quilt. When you sleep on the kang bed, even if it gets a little cold in the middle of the night, you won't be afraid. Also, the sheepskin boots will take a few more days to make. Don't sweep the yard early in the morning, as it's easy to catch a cold with cold feet. If my second brother gets up early to practice boxing, let him do the sweeping."

"Okay, thank you, Miss Lu."

Mr. Yang's eyes and eyebrows were all smiling, his old face wrinkled with joy, showing that he was very pleased with Xiaomi's thoughtful care.

On the other side, Mr. Feng also listened and glanced at Xiaomi several times. Xiaomi was oblivious, and when she asked Aunt Liu about the whereabouts of Gao Ren, she said, "Auntie, you've seen Gao Ren too, so it should be fine to measure the size like Mrs. Wang's son, right?"

"I think it's about the same. Let's start sewing, and if it doesn't fit, we can make adjustments later."

After discussing it, they returned to the backyard.

These days, it's not popular to buy ready-made clothes from the store. Any household with women would sew their own clothes and socks.

Aunt Liu and the others were all skilled and efficient at sewing. In just an hour, they had cut out most of the clothes and bedding.

With the precious guests in mind, Xiaomi served tea and some snacks she had bought from the city, along with a plate of melon seeds and peanuts, and then decisively went into the kitchen.

The pheasants and rabbits that Gao Ren had brought back the other day, about six or seven of them, had already been cleaned and frozen in the snow by Lu Wu, who had been making mistakes. Xiaomi had thawed two pheasants and two rabbits the other day, and now she put a whole chicken in a pot of boiling water to blanch it, and added half a pot of water to a clay pot, along with jujubes, wolfberries, and some wild ginseng roots that Uncle Bi had asked for, and brought it to a boil before simmering it over low heat.

The other pheasant was cut into pieces and added to the pot with the dried mushrooms she had picked in the autumn.

She hesitated for a while in front of the bag of potatoes, but in the end, she took a few more and peeled and cut them into pieces to throw into the pot.

As for the two rabbits, there was nothing more to say. She added red chili, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise to make a pot of spicy rabbit meat.

The lid of the rice jar was also opened, and a ladle of white, shiny glutinous rice was poured into a clay basin, washed and then poured into the clay pot on the stove to cook until the water bubbled and then scooped back into the clay basin. When the chicken was stewed with mushrooms, the rice would be ready.

There was a row of Chinese cabbage frozen outside the window, all selected from the autumn harvest without the heart, but now frozen hard, but it preserved the moisture in the leaves very well. She picked a few, chopped them, washed them, and boiled them in hot water until they were cooked and drained.

She also made a bowl of egg sauce, the best companion for the meal.

Gao Ren had been out running around all morning, and as soon as he smelled the aroma, he jumped into the courtyard and went straight into the kitchen.