Chapter 36 The Deliciousness of Chestnuts

   "Mother, what is this, a stone?" Wen Yuanqi curiously picked up the reflective chestnut as a stone to play with.

   "What kind of stone, this is a good thing to fill your stomach." Chen Ningya laughed and scolded, and hurriedly took everything to Zhang\'s room.

Wen\'s family has only four houses. If there is no place to put things, they can only store them in rooms that outsiders will not enter. This year, because of Chen Ningya\'s ripping, apart from the bed and a path that people can pass through, Zhang\'s room, Other places are used to store things. There are grains that Wen Youshan has collected from time to time, and taro that has been dug from the mountains one after another. Now several baskets have been piled up, and a piece made by Zhang last year is still hanging on the beam. Bacon, and now with chestnuts, people who are not aware of it really think that Wen\'s family is full of grain.

   That night, Chen Ningya steamed the chestnuts and served them on the table.

   The family stared at Chestnut with big eyes and small eyes, and no one dared to reach out.

Wen Youshan tried to hold it with chopsticks, and found that it was not slippery, so he just took it with his hands and subconsciously put it in his mouth and took a bite, a fragrance instantly filled the tip of the tongue, and the soft and glutinous taste was mixed with the hard shell of chestnuts. , Wen Youshan was surprised and frowned at times, "Ma\'am, this stuff is delicious, but the shell is a little harder."

  Puff! Chen Ningya couldn\'t help laughing, and while laughing, she peeled the shell for him, "Let\'s try it this way."

   Wen Youshan only took two bites this time, his eyes widened instantly, and he said incredulously: "It\'s delicious! It\'s delicious, and as soon as I eat this stuff, I know it can fill my stomach."

   A few children almost drooled when they heard it. They did not need Chen Ningya\'s help to peel it. Even a little kid like Wen Yuanjing knew that the stone would break open and pick meat to eat.

  Chen Ningya couldn\'t help but laugh.

   After a few children tried it, they stopped drinking porridge, and divided a small pot of chestnuts in two or three times. They were not satisfied after eating, and they all stared at Chen Ningya with glowing eyes.

   "Mother, let\'s cook some more tomorrow." Wen Yuanliang, as the representative, spoke first.

Chen Ningya shook her head without thinking, "Our family grows less grain, and these things are used instead of grain. When the geography work is finished, I will go into the mountains with my father to get some more, and then we will even out some of them. I will give you snacks, and the rest will be dried and put away."

   Speaking of this, Chen Ningya looked at Wen Youshan, "Do you know where you can buy stone mills?"

   "What does the lady want to do with the stone mill?" Wen Youshan put down his bowl and chopsticks after eating the last bite, and looked at Chen Ningya doubtfully.

  Chen Ningya didn\'t hide it from him, she said directly: "I thought that our family is all children, and there is a stone mill that can occasionally grind something for the children to eat, so it\'s good for the children."

Wen Yuanliang on the side jumped up and said excitedly: "Mother, I know where it is, Uncle Ergou will grind the stone, as long as we prepare the stone and pay the wages, that\'s right, Dad, Uncle Ergou\'s uncle will look for it. You, say you have work to do, go and ask."

"Oh, I\'m dozing off and looking for a pillow, so when are you free to go to a mountain? By the way, I would like to ask about the stone mill. It\'s best to make it out in winter, so that we don\'t have to go out in winter. Get your own food, save trouble." Chen Ningya narrowed her eyes with joy.

   Seeing her like this, Wen Youshan got up without saying a word and went out directly.

  Chen Ningya shook her head in disbelief, "Your father is really hot."

   "That\'s right, otherwise Dad wouldn\'t have gone out for a few days to find his mother without taking anything, and he almost became a beggar." Wen Yuanliang teased.

  Chen Ningya patted him angrily, and Wen Yuanliang stuck out his tongue, daring not to talk nonsense any more.

Wen Youshan had been out for most of the day. Chen Ningya coaxed the children to sleep and he had not come back. Just when she was planning to go out to find someone, Wen Youshan came back with a smell of alcohol. Ning Ya fell down and said incoherently, "Miss, I\'m so happy, I\'m here to live."

   "What makes you so happy?" Chen Ningya tried her best to push Wen Youshan away. She got up and saw that he fell asleep, making her so angry.

The next day, Wen Youshan woke up with the pain in his ears, opened his eyes and saw that it was Chen Ningya, the anger he was holding back did not dare to flare up, and he lowered his head and begged for mercy again and again, "Lady, be gentle, I\'ll do it again. I dare not."

   "Don\'t dare?" Chen Ningya exerted a little force.

  Wen Youshan immediately said loudly: "I don\'t dare to drink anymore and I\'ll be back later."

   "You\'re acquainted." Chen Ningya glared at him and let go.

Wen Youshan immediately gasped for breath and smiled flatteringly: "Don\'t be angry, madam, I\'m not happy! You don\'t know, as soon as I came to the door yesterday, my uncle said that he wanted me to give his little girl a dowry, and said The wood and wages were ready. As soon as I heard it, I immediately agreed. By the way, I talked about the stone grinding. Uncle was very happy at the time. He only said that I would give my sister a dowry, and Ergou would give me the stone grinding. counteracted."

Dowry is easy to beat, nothing more than cabinets, beds, dressers and the like. The countryside is not as particular as the city, but also carved and depicted, and it is simple, but the stone mill is not easy to beat, and the wages of a pair of stone mills can be beaten. There are several pieces of furniture, and the Huang family kindly saved him dozens of pennies.

  Chen Ningya frowned slightly, not spending money is a good thing, but she also doesn\'t like taking advantage of others, "Did Uncle say what you want to fight?"

Wen Youshan nodded, crossed his legs and said, "A bed, a wardrobe, a dresser, I want to make another set of tables for my sister, I will go to the mountain to find the wood, anyway, uncle said that there is no hurry, the girl will not be in a hurry next year after the spring ploughing. Getting married, there is time."

  Chen Ningya nodded approvingly, "Just do as you said, it\'s not easy for everyone, we can\'t take advantage of others."

   They are all from the same village, and there are no secrets. If people find out about this, they must gossip behind their backs. If the relationship between the two families is embarrassed, it will not be beautiful.

  Wen Youshan also thought so, and quickly told Chen Ningya a rainbow fart, so she was too embarrassed to stay in the room.

  Because the work in the fields was not finished yet, Wen Youshan did not go into the mountains again that day, but led Wen Yuanliang to work in the fields.

Chen Ningya took advantage of the good weather to peel the chestnuts and spread them out in the dustpan to dry. Wen Yuanzhen still helped Chen Ningya, either doing laundry or sweeping the floor, or going to the backyard to water the taro. The brothers and sisters did it in two rounds. The remaining three little ones were playing in the mud in the yard, and Chen Ningya didn\'t care.

  After the crops were harvested, the empty courtyard of Wen\'s house was full of harvests. The open space on the left was drying food, and the space on the right was drying chestnuts.

   Wen Youshan could not stay at home, so Chen Ningya and a few children took turns.

   (end of this chapter)