Carpenter's Lady

Chapter 35

At the beginning of October, Zhang Mu's milk finally had a clue, and a cow was raised in the Cheng family's village.The little grandson of the Cheng family was weak and sick. The old doctor said that after weaning off breast milk, he could be fed with cow's milk or goat's milk. The goat's milk was too strong, and the little grandson of the Cheng family would spit it out even if he drank it. The wife of the Cheng family asked people to search for it nearby. A cow came.The village sent half a bucket of milk every three days, and the grandson of the Cheng family drank half a bowl a day. The Cheng family couldn't get used to it, so they threw away the rest.

When Zhang Mutuo Ding Erniang came to the door, Mrs. Cheng held the little jade ring on her left hand, still a little puzzled, thinking to herself: What is this thing for?
When Zhang Mu saw Mrs. Cheng's bejeweled and rich appearance, he couldn't help but want to laugh. He always felt like Sister Fei was acting in a TV series.Seeing Mrs. Cheng's expression was a bit puzzled, she smiled and said, "I'm idle at home all day, and I want to do some pastry business. The Gan's shop has bought all the pastries in the town, so I want to make something different. One of them is The raw material is milk, after searching for it for many days, I heard that your family has it! That's why I dragged my mother to bring me to the door!"

"Oh, I just thought, your mother-in-law is so kind to bring me such a beautiful lady like you, there must be something wrong." Mrs. Cheng's family looked up and down as soon as Zhang Mu came in. Back, she had heard her name before seeing Mrs. Zhang. When the housekeeper went out to buy things that day, she came back and told her about the excitement. She had always hated this little lady who dared to beat her ex-mother-in-law. Some curious.At the wedding, I saw her beautiful features, but her body was a little weak. After these two months of raising her, she also felt a little mellow.

Mrs. Cheng squeezed Zhang Mu's slender hand, saw that her fingernails were neatly trimmed, her eyes rolled, she looked at Ding Erniang and said, "Such delicate hands can be used for cooking, and only your family has them." This is a blessing." This little lady is very clean and tidy, and it is reassuring to cook and eat.

"You have to nod, Mrs. Cheng, to have any clues about this matter! Don't fool me!" Ding Erniang and Mrs. Cheng's family were relatively close, and she asked directly without speaking hoarsely.

"Of course, it's not for your sake, but for the sake of such a beautiful little lady! Then I have to leave a portion for my little grandson every day to satisfy his greed!" The little ancestor at home After drinking milk for a few days, I started to dislike it again. The one and a half year old boy babbled and shook his head when he smelled the smell of milk, saying, "Grandma, don't drink it!" The small wave drum she was holding was like a wave drum, and her heart softened into cotton wool, but the doctor said that he wanted to drink some livestock's milk, so he could only coax him to drink it patiently.If Mrs. Zhang uses milk to make cakes, she will have to save some trouble in the future.

"It's natural, why should Mrs. Cheng ask! Your promise to help me is a great kindness! As long as the young master likes to eat, I will send some to your house every day!" Zhang Shiyuan was still thinking about this. The milk source can only be supplied for a while, and other preparations have to be made. Now that Mrs. Cheng said this, a thought came to her mind, if the young master of the Cheng family took this mouth, the milk source would be fixed.

On the way back, Zhang Mu couldn't help asking: "Mother, what does the Cheng family do? I see that Mrs. Cheng is very rich." This cow costs 30 taels of silver, and the Cheng family raises it for the sake of their grandson. A sip of milk.

"Her house has a wide road, and there are hundreds of people under his command for water transportation! Sometimes your father needs to buy some wood, so he has to go through her house." Ding Erniang listened to "Mother". , there was a slight smile in her eyes, Mrs. Zhang behaved decently in Cheng's house today, she was still worried before coming here!It would be fine if her young couple lived in the town all the time. Those who are used to getting along, and those who encounter difficulties, can act a little aggressively, but according to the husband-in-law, the family has already found them, and Ah Ling will definitely not guard them in the future. in town.Taking a slight look at Zhang Mu, Ding Erniang sighed in her heart, she didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse!
On the second day, the butler of the Cheng family brought a sixteen or seventeen-year-old young gentleman over with half a bucket of milk. Mrs. Cheng personally instructed the butler to stay in the Cheng family for more than ten years. I still have some ideas in my mind.Seeing Wu Ling and Zhang Mu coming out, he said very politely: "My wife personally ordered it to be delivered to your house. If it is not enough, you can send me another message!"

"Old butler, you're being polite. That's enough. Why don't you come in and have a drink of tea to moisten your throat!" Wu Ling had also dealt with the old butler before, seeing the old butler wave his hand and say, "Don't bother me!" He took two packs of tea in his hand and handed them over, "I know you're welcome, I got some tea a few days ago, so I don't want to refuse anymore."

Seeing the couple acting like this, the old housekeeper couldn't help but pay more attention to it, and said with a smile, "It's hard for you to remember! I'm not polite anymore." Then he stretched out his hand to take it, and after a while, he smelled that it was a young man. orchid.I thought: No wonder my wife valued Mr. Zhang, these two couples acted according to Master Ding's rules.

After making an appointment to bring some pastries back to the young master when he came to deliver the milk in the future, the housekeeper of the Cheng family went back, and before leaving, he mentioned something: the young master is growing teeth, and his wife does not allow him to eat too sweet.

Zhang Mu plans to focus on jujube cakes. Chiffon cakes use too many eggs, and the eggs here cost two cents a piece. The cost is a bit high, and the milk used for puffs is also a little bit more. At the beginning, it was still at a low price It is better to break into the market.The jujube cake has a strong fragrance. When she was studying in the past, the queue for buying the jujube cake was quite spectacular every time in the snack alley of the school.

Zhang Mu went to the blacksmith's shop early in the morning to make custom abrasive tools. Baking cakes on the stove at home was troublesome, so Zhang Mu bought two more stoves when he came back.Wu Ling now has to work in the shop every day, and after a while, he will go to the county again with his master. The order he received earlier is due for delivery.I plan to get my daughter-in-law's business done before I leave. I get up early in the morning to pit the red dates and cut them into thin strips.

Zhang Mu put the shredded red dates into a small iron pot, add water to boil, add some leaven and stir until even, then add some butter and brown sugar, there is no butter here, but fortunately Zhang Mu remembers that butter can be curdled from fresh milk Extract it from the oily skin, and get it by yourself, and then sift out the cornmeal and baking flour bit by bit.Pour the mixed red dates into the flour, Zhang Mu weighed it, added three eggs, stirred well, then divided them into the grinder one by one, put them in a special small round steamer and roasted slowly.

The beauty smelled the fragrance and jumped out with a huff. She didn't expect her master to be so diligent and capable after coming here!

After waiting for a quarter of an hour, Zhang Mu was about to take off the lid of the pot, but Wu Ling stopped him, "It's hot, don't burn it!" After saying that, Zhang Mu took a step back, and wrapped his hands in a wet cloth to uncover the lid. When the lid of the pot was lifted, a burst of hot air rushed out, and the beauty raised her head and yelled "meow".

Zhang Mu poked it with a toothpick, saw that there was no flour on the toothpick, so he smiled and said, "Sir, it's done, let's bring it to the table in the main room!"

Zhang Mu's pastry stall was placed by the door of the bamboo raft shop, and he and Ding Erniang also took care of them.There was a long table, red date cakes were placed in bamboo baskets, and two layers of fine gauze were placed in the bamboo baskets, and a wooden sign was erected on the table, with two lines written on it: red date cakes, ten renminbi and six yuan .Wu Ling helped his daughter-in-law set things up and went to the backyard.

The smell of jujube is very strong. Many people who came to buy things on the street in the morning came early in the morning, and they were still empty stomachs. They could not help sniffing twice when they smelled the fragrance. Seeing many people looking over here, Zhang Mu felt that Hou Huo was almost Then, he took out a plate of pastries cut into small pieces from the bamboo basket that he had prepared earlier in the morning, and said loudly: "The red date cake made by my family will be set up at the stall on the first day, folks are welcome to taste it for free!"

Then two women with children came over, the children's mouths were full, the women couldn't help but took a piece, and as soon as it was in their mouths, they swallowed it quickly, seeing Zhang Mu smiling at her , said with some embarrassment: "I didn't expect it to be so delicious, I almost bit my tongue!" The people standing next to me couldn't help laughing when they heard this, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively, saying that they bit their tongues. The woman blushed and bought twenty Wen, and squeezed out of the crowd with her stuffed child in her arms.

Zhang Mu didn’t do much today, so he wanted to take a look first. He didn’t expect that the supplies in the town were relatively scarce, and they were sold out before Sichu. Fortunately, he left [-] yuan for the second elder of the Ding family early in the morning. Seeing that Zhang Mu's place was sold out, Ding Erniang helped take back the table basket.Seeing the empty basket, I couldn't help laughing and said: "I just said that your cooking skills are better than embroidery. In the past, you couldn't earn so much money in a day of embroidery! Next time Ah Zhu comes back, I know there will be new ones. If you eat the pastries, you will be haunted by your house!"

"Mother, Azhu likes it. My husband and I couldn't be happier! Speaking of it, I haven't seen Azhu for more than a month, and I still miss him." Zhang Mu smiled when he thought of Azhu's strange appearance.

"Hurry up, the government exam is coming up tomorrow, and I guess I'll be back on the tenth!" Ding Erniang counted the days in her heart several times a day. When the bastard was around, he thought he was noisy, so I haven't seen him for a while. , you have to keep it in your heart every day.

"Mom, do you smell it? It smells so good!" A girl said towards this side.

"I'll take a look when I come back later. I'll buy the candied fruit first. You've wasted a lot of time looking here and there along the way. I told you to stay at home, so you have to follow me! Add to the chaos!" Zhang Mu heard. My heart skipped a beat at the woman's voice.

He raised his head and glanced to the left, that sharp face was the most familiar.

"Mother, I will marry far away in the future, and it will be difficult for you to think that I will go shopping with you!" Zhao Miaomiao said dissatisfiedly with her lips pouted.

After hearing what her daughter said, Mrs. Zhao stopped talking and followed her daughter.Ever since San'er left, she has always been at a loss in her heart. When she caught a glimpse of a round little lady on the right looking at her, she felt a little familiar for a while.Seeing the little lady put away the stall and went into the bamboo strip shop next to her, she felt excited, that's not that little slut of the Zhang family!

(End of this chapter)