Aunt Fan recognized Qin Fang's voice and hurried to open the door. " Master, you are here! Oh, you've caught a prey". There was a rabbit and pheasant, but what was the bigger one? Aunt Fan didn't know what it was.
The servant's courtyard was closest to the main gate. Hearing the noise, the private guards family came out to see what was happening. However, they only looked around the courtyard and didn't approach. Although they didn't know the rules of wealthy family, they didn't dare to approach Qin Fang.
This time, Qin Fang went hunting with five of his personal guards early in the morning. After a day in the mountains, they managed to kill only four prey: a pheasant, two hares and roe deer. This was actually good luck, as it was beginning of spring and the prey were looking for food.
At the border, hunting is good in both spring and winter. This is because prey are out looking for food in spring, while in winter, they're less likely to come out. As long as you can find a sign, you can always catch one. However, generally speaking, spring is still the best time to hunt.
Qin Fang and Kun Shi carried the four prey animals to the kitchen while Huang Huzi and the others led the horses to the stable to clean then. Aunt Fan followed behind, looking about how to prepare the meat in the evening.
When Yang Haiyan and the children heard three noise and went to the kitchen, they saw the prey on the ground. Yang Haiyan thought: " Hey, can we catch a living wild rabbit?" Rabbit are breeding very fast. If we raised rabbits, will we still worry about not having a meat?
Qin Fang thought she didn't want a rabbit and said confidently, "Sure". Whatever she liked, he had to satisfy her.
When Yang Haiyan heard this, she said, " Then you catch a male and female and let them reproduce". After reproducing, they can be raised and eaten. Yang Haiyan had never thought that rabbit were so cute that they couldn't be eaten.
Qin Fang was shocked when he heard this. After the new year, his wife would be eighteen and with nine months left, she would surely be eager to have her own child. " Okay"
Aunt Fan looked at the four dead prey and asked. "Madam, what should we do with this?".
Yang Haiyan began to arrange the game: " Braise the two rabbit and stew the pheasant in soup. When stewing the soup, add dried bamboo shoots, dried wood ear mushrooms and dried mushrooms".
Aunt Fan responded loudly. " Hey".
Kun Shi skillfully went to skin the hare, Aunt Fan took Aunt Yu to pluck the pheasant and Qin Fang caught the remaining roe deer himself.
After the game was processed, the private guards who had groomed the horses also came over.
Seeing that they five private guards were all there, Yang Haiyan recalled what happened before and said: " Captain Kun, all of you come here."
Five private guards, led by Kun Shi, walked up to Yang Haiyan and said: " Greeting… Madam"
Yang Haiyan said: " No need to be polite. I mainly want to tell you something. In the past, you didn't have any family around you and it was inconvenient to cook for yourselves, so the mansion always prepares meals and sent them to you. But now that your families have all arrived. I have decided not to prepared meals for you anymore. But don't worry, the meals will be converted into grains and sent to you every month.
According to your appetite, the mansion will provide you with 40 catties of grain, 40 catties of vegetables,4 catties of meat and 10 eggs every month. Starting in April and for the remaining days of March, each of you will be given a subsidy of 50 coins. What do you think?"
Kun Shi: " I have no objection." This is good. I have a wife at home, so we can cook these things ourselves.
Then, mother private guards also said there was no problem.
Yang Haiyan smiled with satisfaction: " Then come and collect next month's food tomorrow morning. Vegetable send non-vegetables dishes can be collected every seven days and grains can be given all the time." Otherwise, the vegetable and non-vegetable dishes would go bad if they were given at once".
Kunshi and others: " Yes".
The dinner was a feast for both master and servant. The private servant's families were specially delightful, each receive a bowl of braised rabbit and bowl of pheasant soup. While the braised rabbit wasn't much, with each private guards receiving only five or six pieces, the chicken soup was a generous bowl and even though it was just soup, it was delicious. However, for a single private guards, this was enough for one person, definitely enough.
After dinner, the kitchen brought in some roe deer meat, two pounds for each of the five private guards. Qin Fang has taken everyone hunting, so naturally he had to share some with them.
Kun Zang accepted the roe deer meat and asked Kun Shi with some confusion: " Why did the kitchen send some meat?"
Kun Shi remembered that he hadn't mentioned the food distribution that the Madam had mentioned, so he said: " Madam had said that starting tomorrow, the kitchen will no longer open to deliver cooked food to us. Instead, we will receive a monthly allowance of 40 catties of grain and vegetable. 4 catties of non-vegetable dishes and 10 eggs. For the rest of the month, we'll receive 50 wen. I think that's great. Since you're here, you can cooked the dishes to your liking".
A monthly food allowance of 40 kilograms, along with meat, vegetables and eggs was indeed quite generous. Kun Zang said, " This is still the best".
Kun Shi: "Madam said we can collect it to tomorrow morning. It a one-time subsidy for grain and vegetables and non-vegetables can be collected once every seven days."
Kun Zang understood: "Once every seven days is right, so three vegetables don't go bad. Then when i have free time, I can go to the mountains to dig would vegetables and mushrooms. Oh, by the way, this afternoon we went to visit Madam ands she asked us what our plans were.." Kun Zang recounted her afternoon's events. " What kind of work do you think i should find?"
KunShi said: " Madam has a dim sum shop. Before Mrs Han got pregnant, she often went to her dim sum shop to buy dim sum and then took them to the county town to sell. I see that Mrs Han often goes there to buy dim sum, so it must be good. What do you think?"
Others don't know that Yang Dahua went to Yang Haiyan's dim sum, but Kunshi knew it. After all, he talked to Qin Fang everyday. Han Zhen mentioned that Yang Dahua was pregnant and remembered that the dim sum shop has made dim sum and sold them in the county town, you he remembered it.
When Kun Zang heard this, she became a little hesitant. " Wouldn't this considered stealing Mrs Han's business? If so, that wouldn't be good either, since she's Mr Han's wife after all."
Kun Shi smile and said: " No. First, Mrs Han is pregnant and can't go to the county town to do business. Secondly, the county town is so big. Even if Mrs Han can go there to do business, as long as you don't do business on the same street, it won't affect her. However, you should visit Mrs Han tomorrow and listen to her opinion."
Kun Zang said, " Okay. What f Huang Huzi's family and Meng Ping's family ask about it? If they found out i went to the county town to sell snack, will they also ask Madam for approval?"
Kunshi; " There's no way to avoid this. Besides, the county is so big, so you can sell separately. Isn't this big county, isn't it enough for you to do business separately?"
Kun Zang : " Okay,i have an idea."
The Kun couple were talking about these things, as were the Meng Ping couple.
At Meng Ping's house, Meng Ping and his wife occupies one room and Meng An and Meng Ju occupied another. It wasn't late yet, so everyone finished dinner and sat around to discuss the matter.
Meng Ping's wife said, " My dear, the Madam told us to find a job. Meng An said that there are people in town who can do laundry or collect firewood. Which do you think it's better?"
Meng Ping said, " Let's collect firewood. Sitting on the street doing laundry is bad for your back. Besides,Meng An is a girl and it wouldn't look good if words got out that she has to wash men's clothes. As for collecting firewood, you three can go. It won't ruin Meng An's reputation. Besides, this area is very peaceful and safe."
Meng Ping's wife: " Then, I'll listen to you".
Meng An: "I'll listen to brother".
Meng Ping looked at his sister: " Little sister, what do you think of Chen Dashi or Tao Shan?"
Meng Ping had mentioned this when he brought his sister here and he had also discussed it with his parents before bringing his sister out. He figured that even though his sister's reputation had been ruined by the beast, she would still have to get married and they didn't know that her life would be like after that. So, why not find someone her knew well and who her thought had good character?
When Meng Ping arrived at the master's place. Chen Dashi and Tao Shan were still unmarried. The were both private guards and had served in the military army together, so they were sworn brothers. If his sister married one of them, he would bed able to take care of her. Besides, being a private guards for the master was better than working in the fields in the countryside. Meng Ping's parents analyzed the situation, they brought Meng An with them.
Of course, they had kept this secret from Meng An when they brought her here. After all, his sister had just experienced something like that, she might be quite averse to the idea of dating someone else.
Meng An was a smart person. She hasn't known about her brother's plan before, but now he ask, she know what greed meant. She had meet both Chen Dashi and Tao Shan before. She didn't know if they were good or bad. At least they had a good future. She paused and replied conservatively: " Very good".
Meng Ping heard this and thought there was a good chance. " Then I'll introduced you to someone. Which would you like? Meng An, I'll tell you the truth. That castrate has no conscience, so you shouldn't be so mean. Like Chen Dashi and Tao Shan, they're both loyal. So, be loyal to whom you ever one to choose. If you're doing well in the future, we'll be well to. Besides, they each get a monthly stipend of 300 wen and their food Congress from the mansion. We can save that money every month and our future life will be definitely good. When i brought you here,i told my parents about this and they thought it was a good idea. What do you think?"
Meng An naturally has no passionate love for her previous fiancé. The were engaged and women in ancient timers were conservative and loyal, so she had never been with other men. She had once wholeheartedly wanted to marry her fiancé, have children and live a happy life.
But that man betrayed her in the blink of an eye, so naturally she didn't care. She was also very clear headed. She couldn't be a spinster forever. She would get married and have children in the future, so she was not supposed to looking for a partner. Now her brother asked her about the other two private guards and she thought they were not bad either. Living in a small courtyard like this, three men had decent job, so she could find work for herself and if anything happened, she would have her brother to take care of her.
After understanding,Mrng An nodded: " I think Chen Dashi is a good guy." Because Chen Dashi is a little older than Tao Shan.
Meng Oing was very satisfied when he heard this: " Then I'll say hello to Chen Dashi and see what he thinks. If he likes you too, I'll make a decision and let you get married".
Meng An: "Listen to my brother".
Meng Ping went out happily, intending to talk to Chen Dashi about this matter.