The other half of the cart contained grains, dried vegetables and fish, a large bag wrapped tightly, and a square bamboo cage covered with gray cloth.
Fang Er, the manager, said: "The owner of the village specifically told me that all the other items are ordinary things, but these two items are my feelings for the lady -" As he spoke, he opened the big bag, and there were two delicious and fat wild sheep in it.
"The mountains are spacious, and the wild animals have been roaming for more than half a year. It is the time when the meat is the freshest. Our village owner went to the mountains to hunt first and hunted a few. He picked the best ones and brought them to the lady to stew, roast, and cook in pots. They are all very beautiful.”
People from the state are always the most considerate in their work. Mutton is warm in nature and is the best to eat in winter. Yin Huai'an's thoughts are just right. Manager Fang also speaks fluently and his high-pitched voice sounds bright and clear.
Shen Yuan was moved in his heart and said with a smile: "It's hard for your master to worry about going into the mountains in such a cold weather. Why don't you go back and thank him for me." After saying this, he called the maid and the boy, and he unloaded the cart and put it in the cellar. .
"Don't dare, don't dare." Manager Fang Er nodded repeatedly. He was a typical dark-skinned mountain man, but not thin. His face was full of wrinkles when he smiled. He pointed to the gray cloth cage again with a cheerful expression. Quite similar to his father, Old Square Tou: "There is also this, miss, please take a closer look."
Manager Fang put his hand and pulled, and there were a few fluttering sounds in the cage. It turned out to be a pair of palm-sized little hares with gray-brown fur. The air outside was cold and the gray cloth was tight. The little rabbits suddenly had no cover. They shook their ears and fluttered. After a few moments, he retreated into the haystack and looked out with wary eyes.
The girl's family loved these little animals so much. The little pavilion master said "Ah" in surprise, and several maids were also attracted. Fang Er, the steward, carried the cage as if he were offering a treasure, and said: "The naughty boys went up the mountain to dig a rabbit hole. , the old rabbit went somewhere, and the two cubs survived. The owner of the village said that he just gave them to the young lady to keep them to relieve her boredom."
Shen Yuan summoned Feiyun to take over the cage and played with it happily for a long time. The little rabbit was probably just one month old and its fur was shiny and smooth. Manager Fang Er said that the old rabbit was probably giving birth to cubs for the first time and was as confused as a ghost. It was chosen during the twelfth lunar month of winter. When the boys on the farm took it out, most of the five or six little rabbits had frozen to death.
"When I brought it back, the owner of the village looked very pitiful, so he kept it until he had regained his energy before sending it over."
Manager Fang Er's speculation was reasonable. Shen Yuan nodded and looked at the two little hares with bright eyes, huddled together dumbly, not daring to move. They were probably frightened by the bumps on the road. She waved her hand and told the maid to go ahead. Take it down: "It's too cold outside, let's keep it indoors."
The sky is bright and clear. Although the air is cool, the sunshine is really clean and bright, almost as clear and lustrous as the moonlight. As soon as the small courtyard is decorated with grains, millet and rice, it immediately smells like fireworks, just like what is seen in poetry. A state of leisure and comfort.
Shen Yuan looked up at the sapphire sky, feeling warm in his heart. He rarely relaxed his mood, and politely said to Manager Fang: "Second Master Fang is here for a visit. I should have left you a cup of tea, but it's like this." I'm afraid that if I keep you in this place, your master will find fault with you when you go back."
"Miss, you're welcome. It's natural for us to work for the master's family. How dare we ask for credit?" Manager Fang Er said again and asked the servants to gather in front of the car. "Dad has told me that the village affairs are busy, so we must be early." Go back soon and catch up on the way, just enough for lunch, so I won’t disturb the lady."
Each had a suitable explanation. Shen Yuan ordered Feiyue Haosheng to send one off, and then went to the house to take a look. The charcoal fire was burning warm, and the two little rabbits were already asleep. She won't come down to spend the winter this year, and the ones in the back garden are The house was usually unoccupied, so he sent the little maid away and temporarily sent the rabbit to the Qin Pavilion to be raised.
Feiyue and Feiyun accompanied each other and sat in the room in the back garden for a while. Feiyue picked up the fire chopsticks and stirred the ashes in the stove: "Girl likes that rabbit, why don't you take it back to the front? Tortoiseshell is naughty. , but in the winter, I started to sleep too much, and I became a lot more honest. If the slaves keep an eye on me, I won’t pounce on the rabbit.”
"More than just liking it, I like it from the bottom of my heart." Shen Yuan was holding the charcoal pot to warm his hands. It was rare that the corners of his eyes and brows showed sincere tenderness. "It's warm upstairs in front and the people are noisy. It's great to be able to raise a tortoiseshell turtle." It is smart on its own and will not be bullied by outsiders."
She glanced out the window, took the reheated hand stove, and continued: "That little rabbit is stupid and stupid, such a delicate bunch. It's not good to raise it in the front, with many people and hands, but I can't help it." No matter how much you like them, you should be considerate of them first. Besides, rabbits are inevitably lively when they are big, and my wife works hard every day, so there is no need for them to be noisy and quiet."
Feiyun nodded thoughtfully: "That's right. When the weather gets cold, the girl needs to recuperate and has no energy to play with cats and rabbits. Miss Sheng has to go to the Qin Pavilion every day. Just ask her to take care of her. Wait until it opens. In the spring, the little rabbit will grow up a little, and the girl will come over to play again."
Feiyue stood at the window and picked up a handful of water from the copper basin, washed the ashes on her hands, took out the handkerchief from her waist and wiped them clean: "What the girl said was obviously a rabbit, but the slave sounded like she was talking about a person. Sure enough. , people still need to drink more ink to speak in a fashionable manner."
Feiyun didn't quite understand what she was hearing. She only saw her master smiling and saying nothing. She waited for Feiyue to come back and sit by the charcoal basin with her, then suddenly stretched out her plain white fingers and pinched her cheek softly: "What a big-mouthed sister." , I have to make a promise to you to give birth to a little brother in the future, and urge him to drink ink."
The three masters and servants laughed together, Feiyue covered her face tightly, her cheeks were red, and even said that the girl was not ashamed, and her daughter, who had not left the palace, talked about childbirth with empty teeth. Feiyun covered her face with laughter. She was holding her belly, her eyebrows were curved into a pair of crescent moons, and she kept saying "good girl" and "good sister", finally pulling the two away from each other.
"Come on, come on... stop making trouble." Within a moment, Shen Yuan felt that he was weak. He held the maid's hands on both sides, slowly sat back on the couch, and drank a cup of hot tea to moisten his throat.
The room was not only paved with earth dragons, but also had a northern kang bed, which was also heated. She simply ordered the kang table to be set up, and asked Feiyue to go to the kitchen to send a message, and lunch would be delivered directly here.
Shen Yuan likes to see the lively scenery, but what she loves even more is a quiet place to live. She likes this small courtyard, all because when it started to get cold this year, there were so many sudden things, and she was too lazy to move, so she just stood in front of her. That's it.
Later, there was a lot of noise in the firewood house, and the orioles refused to stop, and no one could stand it. Shen Yuan wanted to be quiet, and his ears were very good, so it was right not to come here.
This year is also strange, it is colder than in previous years. Shen Yuan led the maid to eat on the Kang, which felt particularly warm. However, she assessed the weather and wanted to wait and see for a while, but it was not possible to wait for it. After watching the orioles, it gets quieter later, so it’s better to move here for the winter.