Everyone cheered upon hearing Fu Xiaoniu's words.
Fu Xinci had come prepared, with ample pork, beef, and lamb. She had taken care of every small group.
Xiang Tong and the captain had mentioned to her that Lan Tianyao was fond of horses. Fu Xinci did not disappoint them, agreeing to lend them ten horses first.
With confirmation, Xiang Tong wanted to inform Lan Tianyao immediately. He immediately fired a large firework into the sky.
"What's this for?"
"Lan Tianyao said if you agreed to sell him horses, I should use this to notify him."
"That's great, more convenient than smoke signals."
Fu Xinci's remark reminded Xiang Tong and the captain. They exchanged a look and agreed it was a good method.
They decided to wait for Lan Tianyao to arrive and together, they would use these fireworks as a tool for urgent information dissemination.
Winter days were short. Fu Xinci did not wait for Lan Tianyao; she left ten horses and returned.
Before leaving, she pretended not to see Xiang Tong's pleading face again.
Today, her companions had complained a lot about how that person often played the pitiful card in front of them. Even the captain had fallen for it, so she was warned not to be fooled.
She had boasted that she would absolutely not be fooled.
On the way back, she still walked with ease. Only when descending the mountain, taking advantage of being alone, did she lead a horse out of her space. The horse carried two large oilcloth-wrapped bundles.
One bundle contained bone-in pork with head, trotters, and offal, all prepared. The other bundle contained a whole sheep, equally cleaned and packed.
Meng Qicheng, following his second uncle's instructions, had been coming out to glance this way after noon whenever he had nothing else to do.
Seeing his niece finally return, he spotted her from afar leading a horse laden with what looked like small mountains. He ran over.
"Xinci is back. I'll help you lead this horse."
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Cheng."
Fu Xinci handed the reins to Uncle Cheng and followed behind slowly.
When Meng Qicheng led the horse into the courtyard, Ning'er, who was talking with her grandfather on the kang, saw it.
Without her grandfather's prompting, seeing the strong, tall horse, Ning'er knew her sister had returned.
"Grandpa, sister is back, and she has a big horse."
"Mmm. Come, let's go down and see what delicious food your sister has brought us."
"Mmm, delicious food."
As the grandparents put on their shoes and thick coats and left the room, Meng Qicheng had already led the horse to the vicinity of the kitchen.
Fang's father and son, seeing from their room in the west wing, came out one after another to help without being told.
When Meng Qicheng and the Fang father and son clearly saw the pork and sheep packed in these two large bundles, they were also surprised.
Fang's father, in particular, looked at his in-law and asked, "So much meat, aren't you going to sell some?"
Grandpa Meng smiled and replied, "We have a large family, and this meat might not even be enough for the whole winter."
Fang's father understood that his in-law, no longer a county magistrate, was indeed wealthy. But eating a whole pig and a whole sheep in one winter was something he had never dared to imagine before.
Fu Xinci remained silent, knowing her grandfather would handle it.
"Cutting the pork and lamb into small pieces is still a job for Yuanshan. Cheng, go to the Thousand Household's office and ask Yuanshan to come over soon. Only he can do this job; no one else can."
"Yes, Second Uncle, I'll go now."
"Also, invite Old Jin to come over. We'll have a good meal today and invite Old Jin's family to join us."
"Yes."
Seeing her father-in-law preparing to host guests, Mrs. Fang looked at her husband.
Fu Yu glanced at the white, fatty pork and gave Fang's wife an idea. "Can we eat the sauerkraut we pickled?"
"Mmm, it's all pickled."
"If this fatty pork belly is stewed with sauerkraut in a large pot, the aroma will surely waft for two li."
"Oh my, brother-in-law, please don't say any more, or I'll be swallowing my saliva soon."
Hearing her uncle, Ning'er chimed in, "Dad, Ning'er is craving it too."
The laughter from the courtyard occasionally drifted into the west wing. He Shi looked at her youngest daughter, who was sound asleep, and continued sewing her jacket.
This piece of fabric was given by her elder sister-in-law a few days ago, a pomegranate-red silk material. Not only did she cherish it, but even her mother-in-law admired it greatly.
She was so happy at the time that she didn't know what to say. She even reluctantly asked her elder sister-in-law to take it back to make clothes for her niece.
But her elder sister-in-law said that Xinci had plenty of clothes, and this was for her, so she should make herself a jacket.
She cherished it for several days before daring to cut it. If her mother-in-law and elder sister-in-law hadn't urged her, she might have held onto this silk for a couple more days.
The color, the sheen, it was exquisite no matter how she looked at it.
He Shi sewed a few more stitches and glanced in the direction of the kitchen.
Ever since arriving in Liaodong and living in her elder sister-in-law's home, she felt as if she had fallen into a nest of fortune.
The Meng family had meat almost every day, with chicken, duck, and fish prepared in rotation.
Last night, her husband had told her that since coming to the Meng family, he had gained at least two jin.
Of course, even if her husband hadn't said it, she knew it.
Even she herself had gained weight since coming to the Meng family, and their elder daughter had gotten much chubbier.
As He Shi was lost in thought, she heard the courtyard become even livelier. She looked up through the glass window and saw Commander Qi arrive.
She now knew that Commander Qi was Xinci's future father-in-law, and the Junior Commander Qi living at the Meng family's residence was Xinci's future husband.
Speaking of the glass windows, He Shi found them even more novel.
As a girl who grew up in the mountains, how could she have seen such fine things?
Glass was transparent, allowing one to see the people in the courtyard and the piled-up items clearly from inside the room.
Oh my, if she hadn't come to the Meng family, she would never have seen such good things in her life.
The most important dish for dinner was sauerkraut stewed with pork belly. Fu Xinci, sitting in the small building, had been smelling it for a long time.
She was a bit tired today, so she didn't go out to eat. She asked Chunyu to bring her food in her room.
Xiao Bai sat on the table and took a deep sniff, "Zhi zhi zhi."
"Smells good, want a bite?" Fu Xinci said, picking up a piece of pork belly with her chopsticks, scraping off the fat, and putting the lean meat into Xiao Bai's bowl.
"Zhi zhi zhi." Really doesn't know how to eat.
"You eat the fat too?"
"Zhi zhi zhi."
Fu Xinci glanced at the fatty meat, which she had crushed into pieces, and put it on a separate plate. She then picked up another piece of pork belly and placed it in Xiao Bai's bowl.
Xiao Bai looked at the human holding a white porcelain bowl and drinking soup, and let out a few more "Zhi zhi zhi" sounds.
It seemed to be looking down on her.
Fu Xinci rolled her eyes at it and generously admitted, "I just like drinking sauerkraut soup, what about it? Is it illegal?"
"Zhi zhi zhi." It's not illegal.
After speaking, Xiao Bai ignored the human and focused on eating the meat.