Among the classmates Jiaren invited, two were the nephews of the companions Mr. Wen brought to the valley that day. They were of good character and not arrogant.
The other three are from similar family backgrounds to the Li family, but they behave generously and study hard.
The student whose birthday is today is a little fat guy, he is usually gluttonous, and he is very cheerful and kind-hearted. Even if he secretly eats some dried meat in the middle of the night, he will also give Jiaren a handful. The two of them get along very well.
That's why Jiaren thought of asking his brother to cook and give him a birthday banquet.
The little fat man was so happy. He liked this dish, and that dish was also sweet. Finally, he asked the honest family friend where he learned the craftsmanship, and he wished he could send the chef at home to learn the craftsmanship.
Everyone was satiated, making fun of the fat man, and clamoring to ask Jiaren to take precautions, because the fat man wanted to steal his lesson at noon.
At this time, Li Laosan came over with a cold melon in his arms and said with a smile.
"Jiaren, these are the cold melons from our field. We sent three of them here in the afternoon. You cut one and taste it with the young gentlemen. The remaining two will be brought to Mr. Yard tomorrow."
"Oh, Are our cold melons ripe?" Jiaren was happy and quickly thanked his third uncle, then called on his classmates to cut the cold melons together.
The students were curious and gathered around to look at the big guy. Suddenly the little fat man shouted, "Oh, I know. My dad came over the day before yesterday and said he wanted to buy me a jade melon as a birthday gift, but he didn't buy it. No way. Is this it?"
Li Laosan proudly puffed up his chest and said with a smile, "This is it. When I presented it to the emperor, the emperor gave it the name Jasper Melon."
The students exploded, "This is the gift from the emperor. The famous cold melon?"
"It's so expensive, isn't it a pity for us to eat it?"
"I heard that this thing costs ten taels of silver each."
"No, one bite will cost dozens of dollars, isn't it? It's too luxurious! "
Jiaren didn't know what to do with the kitchen knife, so he asked his younger brother for help.
Jia Huan is very quick, just cut it with a few knives.
Jiaren first took two pieces and gave them to his uncle and aunt, and then invited his classmates to eat.
The students also bowed and thanked them, and then ate.
"Woo, this is so delicious." The little fat man hugged the largest piece of cold melon and was so moved that he almost cried, "Jiaren, do you still lack a son in your family? I want to be your brother, and I want to lie down In the field, eat cold melons!"
Everyone couldn't help but laugh, "Be careful if your father hears it, I'll beat your butt!"
"Then let my father plant a few acres, and I'll lie down in my field. Eat inside." The little fat man thought of his father's slap with a cattail leaf fan, and quickly changed his tune, making everyone laugh.
Jia Huan rarely interjected, "Someone at home said that whoever wants to grow cold melons can be taught by our family. Next year, many people in nearby villages will follow suit."
The little fat man was originally joking, but he didn't expect Li He was so surprised that he really wanted to spread the word. He was so surprised that he forgot to spit out the seeds.
"Your family is so generous. You are willing to give away such a cornucopia!"
The other classmates also nodded. A cold melon costs ten taels of silver. You don't need to grow more. If you grow a few acres of land a year, you can get tens of thousands of taels of silver. It's easier than robbing money, and he actually taught it like this.
Jia Huan smiled and nodded, "That's what my family said, so it must be right."
The little fat man quickly collected all the melon seeds and protected them in front of him, "Don't snatch them from me, these melon seeds are all mine."
" No, it's mine, mine!"
"And me, I want it too!"
The students pretended to grab it and made a fuss. Finally, they gave it to the little fat man and made an appointment to eat cold melon at his house next year. That was all. .
The backyard of the small shop was so lively that the roof of the house was almost overturned because these students were visiting.
Li and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Li, were sitting under the eaves, waving cattail leaf fans, smiling and watching their play, thinking that they would talk to my mother one day when I got home, so that she would be happy too.
Now that my nephew has finally established himself in the academy, there is no need for the family to worry too much.
After lunch on the second day, Jiaren took Jiahuan and each of them carried a cold melon into the academy.
Gou Sheng'er wanted to help, but he was too young and had no strength. A cold melon weighed twenty pounds and couldn't be carried at all.
Jiaren went to the dean's yard first, but unfortunately he had not seen the dean and could not go in. He only gave the cold melon to the old servant guarding the yard.
The old servant stared in shock and looked at Jiaren carefully.
A few days ago, a disciple of the dean specially sent one over. I heard it was very valuable.
But at this moment, an ordinary student actually hugged a cold melon to show his respect, which surprised him so much.
He specifically asked Jiaren's name before accepting it.
Jiaren didn't think much and took his younger brother to the coach's yard again.
The teacher in charge of Jiaren's class is named Peng. He is a middle-aged man who is knowledgeable and interesting. Because he is acquainted with Mr. Wen, he takes good care of Jiaren.
Of course, Mr. Peng was also happy to have cold melon now and asked Jiaren to talk a few more words.
Jia Huan felt uncomfortable in the house, so she waited in the yard.
There was a pond of koi carp in the corner of the yard, swimming around happily. He couldn't help but go and check it out, gesticulating with his hands.
A girl watched from a distance for a while, then walked up and asked, "What are you doing, practicing martial arts?"
Jia Huan was startled, turned around and saw a beautiful little girl, he blushed and said quickly, "I I'm not a martial artist, I'm a cook. When I saw these fish, I couldn't help but wonder how to cut them and pickle them to make them more flavorful..."
The girl was stunned for a moment, then giggled loudly, and Jia Huan's face turned even redder. .
Jiaren said goodbye to his husband and came out. He didn't see his brother, so he shouted a few words.
Jia Huan quickly walked out of the corner of the courtyard, "Brother, I'm here."
"Why is your face so red? Are you exposed to the sun?" Jia Ren touched his brother's head and pulled him out, "Go home, wash your face, and have a good rest." In a moment."
"I know, brother." Jia Huan responded and followed his eldest brother out of the courtyard. He couldn't help but secretly look at the corner of the courtyard...
Although the mountains and forests in summer are much more dangerous than in winter, they are shaded by trees. , not exposed to the scorching sun, but extremely cool.
Li Laosi and Ye Shan, along with Jia Yi and Liu Yang, as well as twenty personal soldiers assigned by Mr. Ye, have been in the mountain for eight or nine days.
There were no old or weak people, no extra luggage, and they were traveling very fast.
Li Laosi roasted the rabbit in his hand with one hand, swatted mosquitoes with the other hand, and said to everyone.
"We will arrive at the valley at noon tomorrow. It is only two hills away from the official road outside. Then we will repair it, have a good rest, and then go find out what is going on outside. If we can catch two barbarians, ask Their background information is even better."
Ye Shan and the soldiers nodded. They originally thought that Li Laosi and the two and a half young men would be a bit of a drag.
Who would have thought that these three people would be as at home in the mountains and forests as they were at home.
Sure enough, no one can underestimate it.
That night everyone took turns to keep vigil, and finally set off immediately after dawn.
The valley where the Li family and villagers spent the winter was not on the central line running through the mountains and forests from north to south. It was slightly to the east, so it was not easy to be discovered.
And it's very close to the official road. People who usually go into the mountains and forests do so to avoid being chased by barbarians, so they will definitely stay away from here.
Therefore, Li Laosi is not very worried about the valley being discovered.
But when they finally arrived, they were all stunned by what they saw.
Six thousand words at the end of the day, here you go!