Chapter 212 Xia Can
Zhang An didn't come back last night, so naturally he wanted to call Wang Fang and Zhang Jianguo at home to save them from worry.
On the phone, Zhang An also briefly mentioned this matter.
At that time, Aunt Zhang and Aunt Zhang happened to be watching TV at Zhang An's house.
Suddenly, everyone in the family knew that the matter between Zhang An and Su Ying was settled.
So today Aunt Zhang and Aunt Zhang went to find some silkworm seeds and started making silk quilts for Zhang An.
“Auntie, you don’t have to go to such trouble.”
Zhang An had a bit of a dumbfounded look on his face, but he didn’t really pay much attention to this.
The two aunts finally had a break from farming. Zhang An would rather they rest more than spend too much energy on it.
“This is nothing troublesome. Your grandma taught us the craftsmanship in the past. Now that we no longer need it, we will forget to give it to her.”
When Wang Fang and her three sisters-in-law married into the Zhang family, Mrs. Zhang taught them the technique of raising silkworms.
At that time, half of the family’s income depended on selling silkworm cocoons at home.
It’s just that in the past two years, no one has come to collect silkworm cocoons, and the family has not continued to raise them for several years.
And in July and August, when the farm work is done, they have plenty of time to serve these little ancestors.
Summer silkworms are no better than spring silkworms and are very troublesome to raise.
Spring, summer and autumn are suitable for raising silkworms every year, but silkworms in summer are very difficult to maintain.
Because the temperature is too high during this season and there are a lot of mosquitoes.
These are all factors that silkworms don’t like when they are growing.
So if you want to raise summer silkworms well, you need to spend several times as much energy as spring silkworms.
But here in Changqing, you don’t have to worry too much about the high temperature when raising summer silkworms.
Because it is placed in a house, no matter how high the temperature outside is, the house is still very cool.
Speaking of which, at this time, it is neither hot during the day nor cold at night, and the temperature in the room is just right.
However, we still need to pay attention to the mosquito problem, because there are many more mosquitoes in mountainous areas than outside.
And these mosquitoes cannot be smoked, even light smoke, because silkworms are more afraid of smoke than mosquitoes.
In Zhang An’s memory, it was many years ago when his family raised summer silkworms.
At that time, Wang Fang had to put it under the mosquito net for fear of mosquitoes flying in.
As long as one mosquito flies in, the silkworms inside the silkworm plaque will be almost useless.
However, raising silkworms in summer also has some benefits. Compared with spring, everyone has more time.
Of course I have a lot of energy to take care of these weak guys.
After all, spring is always busy with harvesting and sowing.
No matter how easy it is to raise, the crops in the field are more important in everyone's heart.
Wang Fang saw her two sisters-in-law taking action, and she wanted to raise some with her.
After all, the three sisters-in-law have always done everything together.
Furthermore, she married into the Zhang family earlier than her two younger sisters-in-law, and she had already learned the skill of reeling and weaving silk from the old lady.
The cocoons raised at that time can be used to weave fabrics at home to make clothes for Su Ying.
“Other people go to their mother-in-law’s house with big and small bags, for fear that they won’t be allowed in if they are missing something.”
Then Aunt Zhang saw Zhang An bringing back so many things in the car, and she He joked about Zhang An.
“Look at our Zhang An. He didn’t bring anything with him when he went there. When he came back, he just followed up on the goods. This is called his ability.”
Looking at Zhang An moving things, several people He also helped pass the handle.
“That doesn’t mean that our Zhang An is liked by his mother-in-law.”
Most of these things are supplements, tobacco and alcohol, and most of them are things that Chen Cheng gave to Su Shaowen and his wife in filial piety.
Every time Zhang An went there, he would be brought back with him.
“There are so many clothes, this set must be bought for my sister-in-law.”
Carrying these bags of clothes, Aunt Zhang saw the women’s clothes inside at a glance.
The sisters-in-law immediately took out their clothes and took a good look at them.
“Yes, Mom, these are the clothes Su Ying bought for you and my dad.”
When Wang Fang heard that the clothes were bought by her future daughter-in-law, the smile on Wang Fang’s face became even brighter .
"You have to be young and discerning. Look, these clothes are much better than the ones we bought. Sister-in-law, go and change into them."
Usually the second aunt and the others buy them for themselves. When buying clothes, the most important thing to pay attention to is whether the fabric is good and whether it is durable.
Secondly, when choosing, you usually choose colors that are stain-resistant. After all, you have to work frequently.
The most important thing is the price. They are reluctant to spend too much money on clothes.
For them, although they also like to tidy up and dress themselves up.
But I still consider my family’s financial situation, and more importantly I want to save more money.
Even if I buy some cheap clothes, I don’t want to buy a few pieces a year, as long as they can be worn.
The clothes Su Ying bought for Wang Fang were not cheap.
Not only is the workmanship good, but the materials used are also of the highest quality.
And the style is also very good-looking. It is now popular among people in the city.
Wang Fang did not refuse when she heard what the second aunt said, and immediately went back to the room to change her clothes.
"How about it, do these clothes look good?"
Soon, Wang Fang changed her clothes and walked out.
"It's so beautiful. My sister-in-law looks so much younger when she wears this dress. The clothes Xiaoying chose are so suitable for her. She has found a good daughter-in-law."
Seeing Su After Ying bought the clothes for Wang Fang, Zhang An's two aunts looked envious in their eyes.
I was thinking that in the future, it would be great if the family’s sons were like Zhang An and found such a daughter-in-law for them.
"This dress is light and comfortable to wear, and it's also cool."
Hearing what his mother said, Zhang An didn't know why this dress was so good.
It was also because Su Ying bought it for her, so it had some psychological effects.
But seeing his mother so happy, Zhang An felt that Su Ying's intentions were not in vain.
After the three sisters-in-law admired the clothes Su Ying bought for Wang Fang, the two aunts went back with the silkworm seeds.
Then Wang Fang returned to the room and changed into new clothes.
"Mom, Su Ying bought this dress for you, just wear it."
Seeing his mother continue to wear old clothes, Zhang An couldn't help but say a few words.
“Why should I wear such good clothes when I have to do things at home?”
For Wang Fang, such good clothes would not be worn on ordinary days.
Generally, you will dress more formally when you are going out to visit relatives or visiting distinguished guests.
"Don't worry about this, just wear it. Su Ying will definitely buy it for you often in the future."
In the past, Zhang An didn't even want to buy his own clothes at home, let alone I said I was picking out clothes for my parents.
But with Su Ying here in the future, such things will definitely happen to her.
"It's enough for Mom to know that you have this intention. What do you do with buying so many clothes? It's a waste to just put them away if you can't wear them all."
"Everything is fine now. I used to tell you When Dad got married, each of them only had one suit that could fit her body, and the rest were sewn from torn clothes.”
For Wang Fang, they were used to not having enough to eat and not enough clothes to wear. day.
Life is very good now, and she doesn't expect anything more. Simply speaking, now that she can have meat to eat every day, she feels that it is the best life.
Not to mention the mountains, their family’s living standard is not necessarily comparable to that of some people in the city.
"Mom, don't worry, our family's life will definitely get better and better."
Zhang An looked at his mother's kind smile and said solemnly for the first time.
"Yeah, mom knows."
Wang Fang had no doubts about what her son said.
Ever since my precious son came back from school, the family has become completely different from before.
Since Wang Fang decided to raise silkworms, she had to clean up a room and use it as a silkworm house.
For Zhang An’s family, it’s not a big deal. After all, Zhang An’s family has many rooms.
Silkworms are creatures that are very afraid of the cold, so generally everyone hears about spring silkworms.
It is said to be spring silkworms, but if there is no external influence, silkworm farmers usually choose to start raising silkworms in April and May.
After the spring silkworms, there are the summer and autumn silkworms.
As you can tell by the name, summer and autumn silkworms are silkworms raised in summer and autumn.
If you start raising summer silkworms at this time, you don’t have to worry too much about the effect of temperature on silkworms.
It is summer after all, even at night, it is still around 20 degrees.
So the meals prepared by Zhang An’s family only need to be cleaned and then the mosquitoes are driven away.
After cleaning up the silkworm room, Zhang An followed his mother to the old house and moved the shelves where silkworms were raised.
Although this wooden shelf has not been used for several years, it is not damaged at all.
It’s just that it’s covered in dust, so it seems like the wood is pretty good.
After some scrubbing, the wooden shelves were clean.
When it dries, it can be moved to the silkworm house.
The shelf has been washed, as well as the gauze next to it.
This is the mosquito net Zhang An mentioned before, specially put on the shelf.
It is to prevent mosquitoes from getting into the silkworm rack.
After finishing it, it was time to rest.
Wait until night, and you can start preparing to hatch silkworm eggs.
In a week or two at most, those very small, black eggs will hatch into tiny silkworms.
When they first come out of the silkworm eggs, they are gray-brown and very small.
At this time, they have a proper name, called ant silkworms.
"By the way, where is my dad?"
Zhang An came back and didn't find that his dad was at home.
And just now he took a look at the pen. Dahei and his family's sheep were all in the grass dam behind.
So Zhang An is sure that his father did not go out to herd sheep.
"Second Grandpa is going to the Purple Bamboo Forest to cut some bamboo and come back to build a bamboo bed. After dinner, he went over to help."
"Then I'll go take a look and help out on the way."
Zhang An went home, changed into work clothes, and took Xiaohu towards the Zizhu Forest.
Purple Bamboo Forest is also a mountainous area, but that side is full of bamboo, which is just opposite to the Wild Boar Rock.
It's not that far from the village. It only takes 20 to 30 minutes to walk.
Zhang An heard from the old people in the village that a long time ago, there were no bamboos in the Purple Bamboo Forest.
It was because later, a Taoist from the mountain over there brought back some purple bamboos when he returned from traveling far away.
In this way, what was originally a large land slope became the current bamboo sea after many years.
I don’t know that this place has been called Zizhu Forest since then.
No one has any doubt about the story told by the old people.
After all, there is a Taoist temple on the mountain behind the purple bamboo forest.
Zhang An shouldn’t be too familiar with it because he went there often when he was a child.
The thing is, because of Wang Fang’s health, Zhang An is considered a premature baby.
When Zhang An was born, he was very small and thin.
The tiny person weighs less than five kilograms. Many people shook their heads when they saw it.
In their opinion, Zhang An is not easy to support, especially in a mountain village with difficult conditions.
But at that time, Mr. Zhang did not give up on Zhang An, his eldest grandson.
I spent all the money in the family to pay bills everywhere, buy milk powder and supplements for Zhang An, and just support Zhang An.
It wasn’t until he was three or four months old that Zhang An could be considered a normal baby.
But even so, I still get sick from fever from time to time.
Later, the oldest old man in the Zhang family said that Zhang An was like this because he was not protected by a Bodhisattva.
If you want him to grow up safely and healthily, you have to find a godfather for Zhang An, which means godfather.
But the average person's life is not strong enough to protect Zhang An, so he has to find someone with a relatively hard life.
After finally asking around, the most suitable candidate was the Taoist from Zizhulin Mountain, named Zhang Yixing.
After Mr. Zhang learned about it, he hugged Zhang An and brought the whole family to the door.
I want to ask Zhang Yi Xing to adopt Zhang An as his godson.
And Zhang Yixing was also very kind-hearted, after listening to Mr. Zhang explain the cause and effect.
Without any hesitation, he agreed to Mr. Zhang’s request and accepted Zhang An as his godson.
Oddly enough, after Mr. Zhang carried Zhang An to greet Taoist Zhang and his party.
Zhang An is no longer the same as before, with a fever every three days and a cold every two days.
Although he is still relatively thin, he has grown up healthily.
After Zhang An was four or five years old, he often went to Taoist temples to find Taoist Zhang.
Taoist Zhang Yixing also liked him very much. From time to time he would tell him some stories and catch some squirrels and birds for him.
In this way, Zhang An developed the habit of climbing trees and catching birds.
It is said to be a Taoist temple, but in fact it is just a few mud houses, thatched houses, and a few fields next to it.
But later, when Zhang An was seven or eight years old, Taoist Zhang Yixing went out to travel.
Until later generations, Zhang An never saw Taoist Zhang Yixing come back.
Zhang An has heard Taoist priest Zhang Yixing say since he was a child that Zhang Yixing is considered an orphan.
When he was very young, he was picked up by the previous old Taoist priest and brought here to be raised as a disciple.
The places he wants to visit most are Qingcheng Mountain and Wudang Mountain.
In later generations, Zhang An also went to these two places specifically, but he never saw his godfather again.
So for Zhang An, the place Zizhulin also occupied a large amount of space in his childhood.
Zhang An kept walking along the mountain road, and Xiaohu was already exploring the way ahead.
(End of this chapter)