Gospel of Lazy Cancer

Chapter 21

In the evening, the grandfather of the Yao family walked on the ridge of the field and greeted the villagers he met from time to time.

"Go to the field again to look at the cold melon?"

The grandfather of the Yao family replied with a smile: "I have to look at it every day. The cold melon has grown, but it's not yet ripe. I'm afraid it will be picked up by thieves, scorpions or others."

Cold melon (watermelon) is very precious. It was introduced from the north, and it is mostly grown by wealthy households in high families. It has not been widely spread yet.The farmer has never planted before and lacks experience, so he is very careful about it.

Ever since Yao Chen gave him the cold melon seeds before he went to Beijing for the exam, the grandpa of the Yao family has made it his daily task.

When the flowers bloom in warm spring, soak the seeds, and then wrap them in a warm damp cloth to germinate.After the buds are ready and the stems and leaves are healthy and strong, they are planted in the deeply plowed land.Because Yao Chen reminded Han Gua that he likes loose and airy land, he personally drove the cattle back and forth to plow it several times.

Cold melons are light-loving, drought-tolerant, and not suitable for excessive water. When the sun is good, he will smile. If it is rainy, he will start to worry, worrying that too much rain will affect the melon seedlings.

Yao's grandma couldn't help but mutter: "Not only do our family only have melon fields, but we also think that there is too much rain. Spring rain is as expensive as oil, so we don't care about ten dumps of wheat, soybeans, and fruit trees?"

The grandpa of the Yao family couldn't refute, he just wove the mat with his own hands, built a simple canopy for the melon field in the rain, drained the excess water, and took good care of it.

Hard work pays off, and the ground bears green fruits one after another.As the temperature rises, the watermelon bulges up like an inflated balloon, round and round, with circles of green ripples, which is very cute.

The grandfather of the Yao family counted the melons several times a day, and in order to keep an eye on the melon fields, he specially adopted a dog from someone else's house.

The grandmother of the Yao family looked at the little yellow dog as if she were looking at some monster that would bring disaster to the country and the people, and she was very worried. The family just got rich not long before it was about to start to lose.She especially despised the small but edible dog. In order to keep it strong, the old man fed a lot of grain and occasionally brought livestock into the water.

"This dog eats better than I did when I was a child!" Yao's grandma complained while making food for humans and dogs.

After Chunwei, good news came from the capital one after another.

Mr. Yao Xiaolang entered the palace examination.

Yao Xiaolangjun high school Jinshi.

Mr. Yao Xiaolang is going to be an official!

……

The villagers in Yaojia Village expressed that they were already numb. This is someone else's child, who attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven. It is really smoke from the ancestral grave.Look at my own, it's covered in mud, and it went rolling in the field again, picked up a stick and beat it up, and went to read to my father!

This year is destined to be a harvest year for the Yao family, except that Yao Chen won the second-class Jinshi, and Yao Silang, who has been serving for many years and has not heard from him, has finally returned.

At that time, the Yao family could have donated money to avoid military service, but Yao Silang was not interested in farming, but was interested in the military. Of course, the two elders of the Yao family disagreed, and there was a lot of trouble.At the end of the stalemate, Yao Silang simply stole two pieces of money from the family at night, climbed over the wall and left with someone, without any clothes.

At the beginning, it was just passion, but it was only when you entered the military camp that you realized how hard it was. The recruits were bullied by the veterans, and even exploited by petty officials.Yao Silang also suffered a lot before he learned to be good, he behaved like a man with his tail between his legs, and gradually became a soldier, and changed to bullying others.

He himself ran out secretly, and took the family money, so he must not go back in disgrace, so he held back his energy, seized the opportunity to climb up, and made meritorious service in several battles against bandits.He has a flexible mind and knows how to flatter his superiors, so he privately gave away a few calligraphy and paintings by famous artists that were detained during the suppression of the thief's den.

So he took a leave of absence happily, and came here, um, and returned home.

Yao Silang went straight to Yaojia Village. He hadn't contacted his family for many years, and he didn't know that his family had changed drastically. He not only ran a shop in the city, and his business was booming, he also offered a Jinshi master.

"Father, mother, my son is not filial."

The dignified seven-foot man didn't even tremble in the face of the murderous gangsters, but his voice began to tremble when he looked at his old parents. He knelt down on the ground and kowtowed a few times.

"It's Shiro who's back!" Yao's grandma recognized her youngest son first, rushed to hug her, cried and screamed, filled with joy.

"It's good to come back." The Yao family's grandpa also loves his son, his anger has long since disappeared, and he is getting older, how can he still pursue his little mistakes when he was young?Hearing him talk about all kinds of things in the army, it's not easy to sigh secretly.

The mother and son reunited after a long absence, and there seemed to be endless words.

"Let mother take a look, it's dark, but also strong! This armor is really magnificent, more energetic than the general guarding the city gate!"

"Aniang, are you in good health? Do your joints still hurt when it's raining? I brought back medicinal wine from snake brew, which is very useful."

"It doesn't matter if the old man is sick. If you have a filial mother, you will be happy. Life at home is good. Don't buy things randomly in the future."

"I did a little favor for someone, and it was given by someone else." Yao Silang took out a bag of gold and silver from his arms, which seemed to be quite a lot, "This is the salary I saved, mother, you take it well."

"Good good..."

"How long are you staying at home this time?"

The grandfather of the Yao family smoked a cigarette and asked, he looked at his dark-skinned and much stronger son, and managed to find the shadow of his youth in his eyebrows and eyes.Serving as a soldier is hard work, and he earns his life's money. He is clearly only in his early twenties, but he looks several years older than he really is.

"About one or two months, I got a transfer order, transferred from the Xiang Army to the Forbidden Army, and I have to report to the capital."

The Tai/Zu of this dynasty selected young and strong men to form an elite division called the Forbidden Army, and the rest were the Xiang Army.From the Xiang Army to the Forbidden Army, it can be said that they have advanced.

The grandfather of the Yao family calculated the time, and it happened that the cold melons were almost ripe, so he ordered: "Bring something to your nephew when the time comes."

"..." Yao Silang slandered: I just came back, so I was thinking of sending me.

However, he also lamented the changes in the world.

When I was a child, I didn’t think Yao Chen was so smart and capable. He looked white, clean, and thin. I never expected to become a Jinshi. I heard that he even became friends with the Prime Minister... Tsk tsk, his black-hearted boss was only a Jinshi. , In the future, we will be counted as people in the court, right?Can't you walk sideways in those hills?Ha ha ha ha!

I heard that the Jinshi examination will have an audience with the emperor, and I don't know what the emperor's old son looks like, is he tall and rich with a face...

Yao Silang returned home with a small group of soldiers. In the Han Dynasty, the captain was second only to the general, but now he is only a low-level officer. These are not subordinate to him. They are used as guards. When he goes to the capital, they will return to Xiangjun .

Yao Silang asked them to live in the villagers' homes, gave them some money subsidies, and instructed them to help the family with work. Most of the soldiers were called by farmers, and they did the work well.There was a man who could build walls, and Yao Silang asked him to build higher walls for his house, and gave him an extra [-] Wen a day.According to his personal experience, it is so short that it can be turned over in one fell swoop.

His eldest brother took Yao Xing to visit his sister-in-law in the city, and his second brother's house was also in the city. Father took some people to the field, and Yao Silang stayed behind as a guard to supervise the work of the soldiers.

Although he has not been home for many years, he quickly found the rhythm of life at home and adapted well.

The only dog ​​at home couldn't get used to the smell of them, probably because they smelled of blood and were very irritable.

"Wangwangwangwu——" For some reason, the dog started barking again.

"This dog is really annoying, if you bark again, you will be stewed!"

Yao Silang was annoyed by being called, got angry and kicked over, the big yellow dog dodged nimbly, and swished out, Yao Silang caught up, and suddenly saw a handsome scholar standing at the door.It turned out that the big yellow dog smelled a stranger.

The other party seemed to be shocked when he saw himself, and forgot to react.

Yao Chen almost thought that he had gone the wrong way.

He left Beijing in a hurry, and he didn't have time to inform his family. The motorcade that accompanied him didn't enter the city, so he simply came back to see the elders first.

Unexpectedly, there are a group of strong men in the family, who are sweating and working for the family, exuding male hormones.

This is the snail man?

A little wolf dog left, so God sent me a group?

Yao Chen thought somewhat mysteriously.

Among the group of men, the most eye-catching one was the one in leather armor, he looked like a leader, he was born with thick eyebrows and big eyes, tall and mighty, a head taller than Yao Chen, his skin was healthy wheaten color, and he smiled heroically.

"Are you Brother Chen?" The other party asked in surprise.

"I've seen this general before." Yao Chen hasn't recognized him yet. Yao Silang has been away from home for several years. It's no wonder he doesn't have much memory, and Yao Silang has changed a lot.

"Hahahaha! I met Master Jinshi! Master Jinshi is so handsome! Does Master Jinshi miss me?" Yao Silang laughed heartily, warmly gave his nephew a bear hug, and patted him hard on the back.

"Hands are not light or heavy. Scholars are weak, how many times can they withstand your slaps?"

That night, all the members of the Yao family gathered together, and the grandmother of the Yao family scolded the youngest son a few words.

"Don't blame Uncle, he is so happy to see me." Yao Chen hurriedly defended him.

The grandmother of the Yao family put it down and asked, "Why didn't you send the letter back? Didn't tell you in advance, so we can pick you up."

"I have a surprise for you guys!" Yao Chen acted cute.

Everyone was amused, only looking at Yao Chen's young appearance, no one would have guessed that he would be a Jinshi master.

Zhou touched her son's face, feeling a little distressed: "It's still skinny."

"It's hot in Beijing, and I can't eat anything. I only feel an appetite when I go home."

"Then eat more!" Mrs. Zhou didn't care about eating by herself, so she brought some food for him.

"Where's my brother?"

"I can turn over, but I just like to be noisy, not as good as you were when you were a child."

Everyone chatted while drinking, Yao Chen shared his experience in the capital, Yao Silang talked about some interesting military stories, it was very lively and joyful.

Yao Chen asked the family, and was relieved to learn that everything was fine.

"By the way, is the cold melon ripe?"

"It's ready, I'll pick a good one for you." Grandpa Yao's family smiled.

Yao Silang: "..." P!I asked you during the day and you still said you were not familiar with it!

Surrounded by his family, Yao Chen temporarily forgot everything about the capital.

Yao Chen lives leisurely every day, occasionally helping Yao Silang's soldiers to write letters, going to the village school to give lectures, working in shops in the city, or visiting friends.Others say that he is modest and polite, and he has not forgotten his roots.

Yao Chen was already handsome and good-looking, but now that the new Jinshi is high-spirited, the nearby matchmakers are ready to move again.

The Yao family's grandmother was very caring. She felt that although the capital city was good, it was not as good as Jinyang's people, so she started to look at Zhou's together.

But every time she got a fancy to someone and had a little contact with them, they all faded due to various reasons, and she sighed for a while, feeling extremely disappointed.

Yao Chen knew that there was probably someone secretly playing tricks, so he was not upset, but instead comforted his family: "Maybe the marriage is not here yet, I am still young, so don't worry."

The grandma of the Yao family brought rich gifts and visited the sorceresses and monks near Jinyang one by one.

The living gods all said that Yao Chen committed the crime of Peach Blossom and should not get married prematurely, otherwise it will affect the official luck/life span/health.

Yao Chen: Hehe, you have the ability to make that Taohuasha talk to me!

Yao Chen's life-long event caused the Yao family's grandma to temporarily give up her heart, and she turned to worry about the marriage of the other two older young people in the family.

Yao Silang is an old man, he is actually not a few years older than Yao Man and Yao Chen, but he is not even engaged at this age, so he can be regarded as a leftover man.He has seen the world and has a high level of vision. He doesn't like what he likes, and he doesn't like what he likes.

Coupled with the social atmosphere that emphasizes civility over martial arts, after all, no one wants their daughter to marry a high-risk occupation. If you accidentally become a widow, it will be so sad!

Yao Silang: Start cursing me before it's done, roll!

With his temper, his parents can't do anything about him.

So it will be delayed.

Compared to Yao Silang's no progress, Yao Man's marriage went much smoother.

When he returned to Jinyang to visit the teacher, Yao Chen had already asked the teacher to be a mediator; on the other hand, Zheng Hao also started to do family work.

The elders of Zheng's family always knew that he was close to Yao's family. Before Yao Chen went to Beijing, he gave Zheng Hao his own experience in solving the test, and Zheng Hao often helped Yao's family write family letters.This back and forth, his family also saw some ways.

Yao Man is beautiful, practical and capable, she is indeed a good wife candidate, Yao Chen has a bright future, the Yao family's family background is no longer a problem, and Zheng Hao himself is willing, and he has the face of an old housekeeper.The marriage of the two is a matter of course.

The families of the two parties had an agreement, and the matter was probably settled. The Zheng family invited a matchmaker to come to propose a marriage, exchanged Geng stickers, and pressed the bottom of the teacup in front of the Kitchen God statue to test the spirit, and asked a fortune-teller to make sure to see Year and Geng are compatible, and the zodiac has no mutual restraint.

Then there is the ceremony of marriage negotiation and engagement. The two parties exchange engagement certificates. The man sends a letter, and the woman sends back a sticker for approval. After the engagement is completed, the marriage is completely settled.The date is chosen on the first day of August, which is suitable for marriage.

Zheng Hao raised his brows with joy and smiled when he met everyone, Yao Man also seemed to have infinite spring in his eyes.

Seeing them together, the Yao family's bachelors felt complicated.

Because he was unable to attend their wedding in person, Yao Silang specially asked someone to make a set of gold and silver jewelry as a dowry. The style was drawn by Yao Chen, which was very delicate and decent.

Yao Chen felt like marrying a daughter, and Zheng Hao felt displeased.

He eats and uses the food at home, and knows nothing but reading. He really doesn't work hard and doesn't care about grains. After marriage, [-]% of his life depends on Yao Man.The aristocratic family also needs to eat, and without income, the life of the aristocratic family may be tight.

Yao Chen discussed with his family. What he meant was to buy a shop for Yao Man, and he would teach her his own recipes, which would be regarded as a dowry. With income, he would be able to speak harder at his in-law's house in the future, and even if the marriage was unhappy and divorced, he would be able to live well done.

Yao Dalang and Li Shi were overjoyed. Of course they hoped that their daughter would marry well, but they were afraid that their daughter would be bullied and the family would not be able to help them. It's great to figure it out.

With the consent of the two elders, the family allocated a sum of money from Yao Man's dowry to buy a shop, which was small in size and not far from Yao's shop, so it was convenient to take care of her.

Yao Chen taught Yao Man the method of making toffee with caramel (maltose) as the raw material. At that time, people used sugar cane and beets to make sugar, and caramel was also quite common, and ordinary families could afford it occasionally.

The preparation method is not complicated. Stir the caramel with a small amount of salt in a pot and heat it. When boiling the sugar, pay special attention to the heat. The firepower should not be too high to prevent it from burning. The sugar is white.

Then quickly add the whipped egg whites. Yaoman is already very skilled in making cakes. The key is to make a quick word until the raspberries don’t disperse. Put it into the pot and stir with the maltose evenly, then add the milk. At this time, you need to change the slow speed up and down Stir.

Yao Chen also thought about using milk powder, but milk powder is mostly produced in grasslands, and the supply is not very stable. He has no connections at the moment, so he can only use the old method of making cream, let the milk stand for layers, and take the upper layer with less moisture and higher fat content.

"Ah Chen, do you think it's almost there?"

Yao Chen stirred it, the viscosity and humidity were just right, he took it out, put it on a non-stick board, folded and pressed repeatedly, twisted into long strips, cut it and let it dry.This board is specially made, imitating the method of selling caramel.

Yao Man is very quick to learn, and she also knows how to make red dates, preserved fruits and other flavors without a teacher, and distribute them to family and relatives for tasting.Yao Chen gave gifts to everyone he knew and asked them to help promote it.

Yao Xing's eyes were sharp, and when he saw his sister packed a big bag for Zheng's family, he sighed old-fashionedly: "Girls are extroverted." Then Yao Man twisted his ear and hit him in anger.

The toffee shop plans to take the upper-middle route, and the Yao family asked someone to order edible glutinous rice paper, colored thin paper to pack the toffee, and outer packaging bags of large, medium and small sizes.

Yao Chen believed that building a brand was very important, so he specially asked Carpenter Chen to engrave a seal, dipped in ink on the outer packaging bag, and it became a vivid rabbit.

On an auspicious day, the White Rabbit Toffee Shop opened.

The new shop is not crowded. After all, ordinary families can’t afford it. Caramel candy is only bought during the holidays. Fortunately, the publicity was in place before, and the big households in the city were very supportive. They took care of the Yao family’s face and placed a lot of orders.The store also launched a redemption activity. For every [-] candy wrappers collected, a small pack of toffee can be exchanged, which provoked the children in Jinyang to develop a new hobby of collecting candy wrappers of various colors.

Toffee is very popular among children and women. It has a strong milky taste and can be swallowed and slowly melted in the mouth, or chewed. It is sweet and sticky to the teeth.

"Don't eat too much at night, or you will get tooth decay and hurt you to death." As soon as the woman of this family put away the toffee, the youngest daughter hugged her leg and acted like a baby.

"Aniang, Aniang, eat another one, I'll brush my teeth after I finish..."

"Okay, the last one for today."

"Then I want to eat the one with nuts, it's very delicious."

"That's called nougat."

"Why is it called that?"

"I don't know, it's probably made by adding milk and rolling it..."

"...Auntie, we're done eating."

"Tell me what to do, brush your teeth."

"Hey..."