Archives: FS

A bottle of Five Grain Liquor was one pound, and only half of the bag was filled into the water bag. After pouring two bottles, it was almost full.

Gu Fei carried it to the backyard.

Handing the water bag to Zhang Ze, Gu Fei said embarrassed: “I really can’t find a decent bottle at home. It’s rude of me.”

Zhang Ze waved his hand: “Miss, you are too polite. I am rude to run so far to ask you for wine.”

“By the way, where is the winemaker now?”

Gu Fei shook her head quickly: “This wine was given by someone my father met by chance in his early years. Later, I heard that the man had passed away. He didn’t have any descendants, and the winemaking skills could not be passed down.”

“What a pity.” Zhang Ze shook his head: “By the way, does this wine have a name? I’ll tell my young master’s uncle later when I see him.”

“Five Grain Liquor. This wine is called Five Grain Liquor, and it is said to be brewed with five kinds of grains.”

Zhang Ze asked again: “Miss, do you know which five kinds they are?”

He scratched his head embarrassed: “My young master’s uncle loves wine like his life, I’m afraid he will ask me later.”

“Wheat, sorghum, corn, glutinous rice, rice, as for the ratio, I don’t know.” Gu Fei remembered that she heard someone say it once when she was drinking in her previous life.

“Thank you, young lady.” Zhang Ze took out a silver note of 100 taels: “This is the money for buying wine.”

Gu Zhang quickly pushed it back: “Why are you giving money? How can a little wine be worth that much?”

“Your young master’s uncle loves to drink, and this wine can be regarded as a meeting gift. Take the silver back quickly.”

Zhang Ze and Gu Zhang pushed each other for several rounds. Seeing that Gu Zhang was determined, he had to take back the silver note: “Second Master Gu, my young master’s uncle is still waiting for my reply, so I’ll take my leave first.”

Gu Zhang sent Zhang Ze out, turned around, and quietly asked Gu Fei: “Is the wine really that good? Is there any more? Let me try some.”

Gu Fei smiled, “Yes, but not much. This wine is excellent. I’ll pour Dad a glass when we have dinner later.”

Gu Zhang licked his lips: “Just one glass?”

“Of course not. This wine is very expensive. You have to drink it sparingly. It will be gone after you finish it.”

In modern times, it was also a bottle of wine worth one or two thousand yuan. How can it be bad?

*

Zhang Ze returned to the Prince Qi’s Mansion. This time he didn’t meet Prince Qi, so he returned to Su Chen’s yard first.

After telling what happened, Su Chen frowned unconsciously when he heard that the plum blossom vase was kept by Gu Fei for fun.

Zhang Ze saw the opportunity and quickly raised the water bag and said: “Although this water bag is not as beautiful as the plum blossom bottle, it is also used by Miss Xiao Fei to drink water. Otherwise, I will change the bottle and you give it to the prince.”

Su Chen glanced at it lightly: “It’s not this, the lid of the water bag she drinks water from is tied with a red thread.”

Zhang Ze was secretly shocked. It seems that the young master really cares about Miss Gu Fei and even notices her water bag for drinking water.

“It’s better to change the bottle. This water bag is not very good, so as not to waste the good wine.” Su Chen said lightly.

Zhang Ze responded and went out to call the maid to change the bottle.

Su Chen sat in front of the window, looking at a bunch of banana trees outside the window, while imagining the appearance of the plum blossom bottle in his mind. When he thought of the bottle that Gu Fei had played, fell into Xiao Yu’s hands, and his brows frowned unconsciously again.

At this moment, a maid’s voice came from behind: “Young Master, the young prince sent someone to deliver a pair of Ru kiln bottles. Should we store them in the storeroom or put them in the study?”

Su Chen turned around and saw two maids carrying a brocade box and placing it on the table.

 

Zhang Ze had no choice but to hand it over.

Xiao Yu was one step ahead of Prince Qi and took the bottle in his hand.

The father and son each carried a bottle of wine and left with a few followers.

Zhang Ze looked at the backs of the father and son, wanting to cry but without tears, and turned to go to Su Chen’s yard.

Su Chen was sitting in front of the window practicing calligraphy. The sun was good these days, and he felt warm sitting in the window.

The maid came in at the door and bowed: “Young Master, Guard Zhang has a reply for you.”

Su Chen put down his brush: “Let him in.”

Zhang Ze came in and stammered about the matter.

Su Chen’s eyebrows slightly twisted: “My uncle likes the wine, and Brother Yu likes the bottle?”

“Brother Yu wants to exchange the bottle from Ru Kiln with me?”

Zhang Ze nodded vigorously: That’s right.

Su Chen shook his head: “That’s not right. What does Brother Yu want those two bottles for? No matter how valuable the bottles are, they won’t be more valuable than the bottles from Ru Kiln. Besides, he never likes these things.”

Zhang Ze hurriedly said: “That bottle is worthless. It’s just an ordinary bottle. I don’t know why the prince suddenly-”

His brain is cramped.

He muttered: “The two bottles of wine were given to me by Miss Xiao Fei herself.”

Su Chen was silent for a while, and pursed his lips: “Since the eldest uncle asked you to go, then you should go again and talk to Uncle Gu. If the wine is available, it’s fine. If not, just give Uncle a reply.”

Zhang Ze nodded: “Then I’ll go.”

Zhang Ze went to the steward to get some silver, rode a horse, and rushed out of the city.

Gu Zhang gave Liu Zhuangtou half a deer turned around, and happened to meet Zhang Ze dismounting at the gate.

“Brother Zhang, why are you wandering around at this time? Did you forget something?”

Zhang Ze was embarrassed, “Second Uncle Gu, I just brought two bottles of wine back, and I happened to meet my Young Master’s uncle, who is crazy about wine. He praised your wine and sent me to ask you for some more.”

Gu Zhang was a little surprised. Since Young Master Su was the son of the county governor, his uncle must be a similar official family. Young Master Su’s uncle must not be an ordinary person. It can be said that he has seen good things. Is the wine really that good?

He let Zhang Ze in: “Wait a minute, Brother Zhang, I have to ask my daughter. She kept this wine. I don’t know if she still has it.”

The two of them walked in together. Gu Fei was cutting wolf skin on the table in the main room. When she saw Zhang Ze coming in, she quickly put down the scissors.

Gu Zhang told Gu Fei about Zhang Ze’s purpose. Gu Fei felt that the return gift was too little, but she certainly couldn’t give too much. After all, Zhang Ze came with them all the way. There was not even a wine jar on the mule cart. Giving too much would arouse suspicion.

She nodded: “There is still some wine, but not much, probably only about two kilograms, but——”

“We just moved in, and things haven’t been packed up yet. Brother Zhang, wait a minute, I’ll go find a suitable jar.”

Zhang Ze hurriedly said: “You don’t have to be so particular. The plum blossom bottle from before is good enough.”

Gu Fei laughed dryly: “I keep those bottles for fun. Brother Zhang, sit for a while, I’ll be back soon.”

Gu Fei quickly went to the front yard and searched in the kitchen for a long time. She only saw a few black pottery pickled vegetable jars. Not only did they smell sour, but they were also tacky and big.

After searching everywhere, Gu Fei suddenly remembered the water bag he had used to drink water on the road. He quickly found one and washed it, closed the kitchen door, and took out a bottle of Five Grain Liquor to drink.

 

Xiao Yu, who was standing by, raised an eyebrow and pricked up his ears. The last name was Gu.

Old Ma said that Su Chen came to Ping’an City with Gu Fei’s family. Could this be a gift from Gu Fei’s family?

Xiao Yu stared at the bottle. There was a white plum blossom on the pink porcelain bottle. No matter how you looked at it, it felt like the kind of wine specially made for women.

Xiao Yu suddenly took the bottle from his father: “Let me try it.”

Prince Qi was watching anxiously: “You kid, you don’t like to drink, oh, don’t waste my good wine.”

Zhang Ze was standing by, his mouth twitching: How did this wine become yours?

Xiao Yu took a sip. The wine was indeed strong, not the kind that women drink.

But this bottle——

Xiao Yu returned the bottle to his father, staring at Zhang Ze with a pair of imposing phoenix eyes: “Which family is it with the surname Gu?”

Prince Qi also asked: “Yes, which family? It’s rare for a family fleeing famine to have such good wine.”

Zhang Ze had to say, “It’s Second Master Gu’s family. His family originally lived on the young master’s farm. Now they have bought a yard, not far from the young master’s farm.”

Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes. It was none other than Gu Fei’s family!

Prince Qi held the bottle tightly his eyes still staring at the other bottle in Zhang Ze’s hand: “Give me this bottle too. Tell A’chen that I like this wine. Just treat it as a filial piety to his uncle.”

“I’ll give him some good things later.”

Zhang Ze held the bottle and handed it over reluctantly.

He knew the young master’s mind. Although the young master didn’t want a return gift, he would want something that Miss Xiao Gu Fei personally brought out.

And this wine bottle, one pink and one green was a pair, what a good meaning.

Zhang Ze struggled and said: “Well, that’s fine, but can the prince return the wine bottle to me so that I can report to the young master?”

Xiao Yu raised his phoenix eyes slightly: “This wine bottle is beautiful, I like it, you tell A’chen, I’ll keep the bottle, and I’ll have someone go to the warehouse to find two Ru kiln bottles to return to him later.”

Zhang Ze was stunned.

Are these father and son robbers?

They robbed the wine and even the bottle!

Also, this bottle was just an ordinary item, but the young prince wanted to exchange a Ru kiln porcelain bottle worth thousands of gold. Was he out of his mind?

He stammered: “Young Master, this is not good. This, this bottle, this bottle, I, I, I, I can’t make the decision. Young Master, why don’t you talk to the young master in person?”

After saying this, Zhang Ze broke out in a sweat.

Xiao Yu snorted: “Anyway, I’ll take the bottle. If he can’t bear to part with it, you can ask him to come and talk to me.”

Prince Qi stared at the bottle: “This wine is good, but this bottle is just average, the workmanship is rough, and the porcelain is not fine.”

He looked at Xiao Yu: “What do you want this for?”

Xiao Yu’s ears were slightly red, and his face was expressionless: “I just think it looks good, I want to put it in my room.”

He didn’t know what he wanted the bottle for, anyway, he just didn’t want the bottle to fall into Su Chen’s hands.

Prince Qi didn’t care about these trivial matters and waved his hand: “It’s up to you.”

He looked at Zhang Ze: “By the way, you report back to your young master, then go to the Gu Family again to see if they still have wine. If there is, get it for me.”

He paused and added: “Remember to give them silver. It’s not easy for the families who fled from famine.”

“Also, see if you can find out who brewed this wine.”

Only if the person was found can he drink this good wine continuously in the future.

Zhang Ze responded with a sad face.

Prince Qi waved his hand: “Give me that bottle too.”

 

The Eldest Aunt took Gu Fei’s hand: “How can I thank you?”

Gu Fei smiled: “No need to thank me. I’m afraid that if the peppers can’t be sold, the Eldest Aunt will scold me.”

The Eldest Aunt waved her hand and said firmly: “How can it be possible? The dish with peppers is so delicious, it can’t be sold. Someone will rush to buy it.”

“By the way, your Eldest Uncle has tanned the rabbit skin and four wolf skins for you, you can take them back.”

The Eldest Aunt hurriedly called the eldest daughter-in-law Zhaodi to get the skins.

Gu Fei took a wolf skin and looked at it. The fur was soft and fluffy, without any peculiar smell.

“The eldest uncle’s craftsmanship is excellent.”

Gu Fei held several skins, took out two taels of silver from her arms, stuffed them into Zhaodi’s hand, turned around, and ran away.

The Eldest Aunt saw it, took the silver, and chased after her: “You kid, why give us silver? Take it back quickly. Besides, you don’t need so much.”

Gu Fei ran very fast, shouting as she ran: “Aunt, don’t chase me. If I fall, it’s your fault.”

The Eldest Aunt sighed, watching Gu Fei run away, turned back and sighed to her daughter-in-law: “This girl is really honest and never takes advantage of others.”

Gu Fei ran home quickly.

Mrs. Chen was so fond of several wolf skins that she touched them again and again: “This thing is good. I heard that if it is made into a mattress, you won’t feel cold at all when you sleep on it, and it can also cure rheumatism.”

Gu Fei said with a smile: “Then make it into a mattress quickly for Dad and Mom to use. If you hurry up, it can be in time for the New Year.”

Mrs. Chen smiled but hesitated again: “This is not good. Your grandma is so old, and she hasn’t used it yet. How can your dad and I only care about ourselves?”

Gu Fei rolled her eyes: “Come on, Mom, if you don’t need it, give it to me, but don’t give it to grandma. It’s useless even if you give it to her. Why bother?”

Mrs. Chen shook her head: “It’s not that mom doesn’t want to give it to you, but you can’t sleep on it at your age. It’s easy for children to get hot when they sleep on it.”

“Then Mom, you use it herself.” Gu Fei said.

Mrs. Chen finally nodded: “Then I’ll use it.”

“When I was young, I took cold water during the confinement period and got rheumatism. This might help.”

*

Zhang Ze drove the carriage back to Prince Qi’s Mansion.

He carried two bottles of wine and hurried to Su Chen’s yard.

Unexpectedly, halfway through the journey, he saw Prince Qi and the young prince coming together. Zhang Ze quickly hid on the side of the road.

When Prince Qi passed by Zhang Ze, his nose suddenly twitched: “Hey, this is the smell of wine!”

He looked at the wine bottle in Zhang Ze’s hand and waved: “Give it to me, what kind of wine is this, so fragrant?”

Zhang Ze secretly said: Not good.

Prince Qi loved wine and the young prince loved horses. This was known to everyone.

If this wine gets into Prince Qi’s hand, would there be any left?

He kept a careful eye and handed over a bottle.

Prince Qi took the bottle, opened the lid, and took a deep sniff: “What a nice smell!”

The wine smelled so tempting. Prince Qi tried to hold back, but couldn’t help it. He put the bottle’s mouth to his lips and took a sip. After taking a sip, the aroma of the wine spread in his nose, and the mellow wine flowed down his throat as if flowing into his heart.

Prince Qi’s eyes widened in surprise, he said: “Good wine!”

“This wine is strong, but it’s not astringent at all, and it’s easy to swallow.”

He asked Zhang Ze: “Where did the wine come from?”

Zhang Ze lowered his head and replied: “The young master sent me to deliver a New Year gift to someone. This is someone’s return gift.”

Prince Qi stared at Zhang Ze: “Whose return gift is it? Why have I never received such a return gift? This wine is not ordinary, it’s stronger than the Jade wine tribute.”

Zhang Ze felt more and more bitter. It seemed that the wine could not be saved.

He could only say: “It was a family that fled from the famine in the north. Their surname was Gu. They said they got this wine by chance in their early years.”

 

Old Lady Gu was scolded by her eldest daughter and almost choked.

The Eldest Aunt was the old lady’s first child. Besides, there was only one daughter in the family. She had a status in the family in the past. In the old lady’s heart, her daughter was truly filial.

Old Lady Gu covered her chest and pointed at the Eldest Aunt: “You, you are now wearing the same pants as Lao’er.”

Mrs. Qian added: “It’s because you want to curry favor with him because his family has become rich.”

The Eldest Aunt stared at Mrs. Qian: “If you keep talking nonsense, I will ask Laoda to divorce you!”

Mrs. Qian wanted to say a few more words, but she was really afraid that the Eldest Aunt would go to Gu Zhong to tell him.

Gu Zhong was already very dissatisfied with her recently, so she had to be aggrieved and silent.

At this moment, Gu Fei’s crisp voice came from the yard: “Aunt, is Aunt home?”

The Eldest Aunt hurriedly came out of the old lady’s room with a smile on her face: “Xiao Fei, you’re here. Come in, and sit in our room.”

Not only Gu Fei came, but Gu Qing, Gu Erlang, and Gu Sanlang also came.

Gu Qing walked into the old lady’s room with a suckling pig and a salted fish in his hand and said with a smile: “Grandma, Young Master Su just sent a New Year gift. The suckling pig is tender and just suitable for the elderly to eat. Dad asked me to send it to you for the New Year.”

Old Lady Gu’s mouth twitched. She was about to scold her daughter, but she thought that her daughter’s words were not unreasonable, so she had to smile and say: “It’s a pity that your father still thinks about me, an old woman.”

Mrs. Qian looked at the suckling pig with shining eyes and then pouted again. There were so many things in the carriage, but Gu Zhang only sent this little thing. He was stingy.

Gu Fei brought a cured chicken and a cured fish and went into her aunt’s room.

She put the things down: “Aunt, it’s New Year’s Day, keep the chicken and fish for a dish.”

The Eldest Aunt looked around the room for something to treat Gu Fei, but there was nothing at home. She was a little embarrassed: “After fleeing the famine, our family has become poor, and we can’t even afford to entertain guests.”

Gu Fei hurriedly comforted her: “Aunt, you just come in this place, it will get better slowly.”

She suddenly remembered that her mother tried to grow peppers in the empty wing a few days ago, and the pepper seeds had already grown seedlings.

Mrs. Chen also muttered: “There are so many pepper seeds, but I think it’s enough to plant 100 or 200 acres of land.”

Gu Fei’s heart moved, the seeds were just sitting there, and her aunt’s family and uncle’s family were both in trouble now, so why not grow peppers together?

She whispered: “Aunt, what are you going to do after the New Year?”

The Eldest Aunt said: “Your uncle-in-law went to Liu Zhuangtou, and two tenants happened to want to give up their leases. My family and your uncle’s family plan to take over those lands to grow food. At least we won’t starve to death with food.

Gu Fei thought for a while: “Aunt, my family plans to grow peppers in the spring.”

The Eldest Aunt’s eyes flashed: “Peppers? Is it the one you put in the fried rabbit meat at that time? I remember you mentioned it once.”

Gu Fei nodded: “If you want to grow it, I still have some seeds.”

“It’s just that this thing is new, and it’s hard to say how it will turn out.”

She doesn’t know if the dishes with chili peppers in Young Master Zhu’s restaurant sell well.

The Eldest Aunt thought that Gu Fei was not only capable but also lucky.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have bought a house and land as soon as she came to Ping’an City. Her family grows chili peppers themselves, so what else was there to think about? Just follow suit.

She nodded: “Then my family will also grow chili peppers. When spring comes, I will go to your house to buy seeds.”

Gu Fei smiled: “What to buy? There are still some left. I will give some to the Eldest Aunt. If the Youngest Uncle needs them, just tell him to get them.”

 

Gu Fei’s hands were shaking as she recited. For such a heavy gift, she only gave two small bottles of Five Grain Liquor. Now, would it be enough to give the whole bottle of Five Grain Liquor to Zhang Ze?

The deer was still alive, with four hooves tied up and lying on the ground, with wet eyes.

Xiao Cao squatted beside the deer, tilted her head, and looked at it curiously, wanting to reach out and touch it, but didn’t dare.

Gu Zhang’s face was gloomy. What does Young Master Su want to do?

They were traveling together on the road, so why give such a heavy New Year gift?

His family was just an ordinary farmer. Apart from Gu Fei, was there anything worth making friends with?

Could it be that he came for Gu Fei?

After all, Gu Fei killed wolves and bandits along the way, and Young Master Su saw it all.

Gu Zhang sighed: Oh, forget it, don’t think about it, it’s a blessing, it’s not a disaster, it’s a disaster that can’t be avoided.

After a long time, he will find out Young Master Su’s intention.

Mrs. Chen looked at the things on the ground, “My goodness, this rich family is different. They gave so many things as New Year gifts. How much money does it cost!”

She was happy and worried at the same time. What should she do with so many things?
They can’t eat them all!

Gu Zhang said in a deep voice: “It’s the New Year, let’s send the cured chicken, duck, and fish to each household.”

“Liu Zhuangtou, let’s cut the musk deer in half and get some cured chicken and duck.”

As she was talking, there was a knock on the door, and Mrs. Qian’s voice: “Gu Laoer, sister-in-law, open the door!”

Mrs. Chen rolled her eyes.

Gu Zhang frowned: “Everyone, don’t stand there, move the things to the kitchen first.”

“Okay.” Gu Sanlang picked up the deer and left, Xiao Cao followed him with her two short legs.

Mrs. Qian was shouting outside, and people in the yard were busy moving things.

After the things were moved, Li Chunhua went to open the door for Mrs. Qian.

Seeing the whole family standing in the yard staring at her, Mrs. Qian laughed dryly: “I heard that Young Master Su brought gifts to everyone, why didn’t I see it? What did he send?”

Chen sneered: “Everyone? Which everyone?”

“Brother Zhang clearly said that it was for my family.”

“It’s none of your business what he sent!”

Mrs. Qian’s cheek twitched: “Although it’s none of my business, mother is still with us. It’s the New Year, you have to give her something good to show your filial piety, don’t you?”

Gu Zhang didn’t want to argue with a woman, so he snorted and turned away.

Mrs. Chen stretched out her hand and pushed Qian out: “What my family gives to mother is none of your business. Go, go, go, my family has to cook, and I don’t have time to chat with you.”

Mrs. Qian was pushed out of the gate by Mrs. Chen, and then the two doors were closed.

Mrs. Qian almost fell backward in anger.

After returning to find the old lady, she started to cry: “Gu Laoer’s family has lost their conscience. People gave them so many gifts, but they didn’t even give me something to honor Mother, and they kicked me out.”

“Mother, they want to eat alone, and they don’t take you seriously at all!”

Old Lady Gu was so angry that her chest heaved: “I, I’m going to find Laoer! I’ll beat him to death for not caring about his mother!” At this time, the eldest aunt stepped in from the door and sneered at Mrs. Qian: “When I saw you running in, I knew you were going to instigate Mother to make trouble again.”

“Short-sighted thing, you only know how to take advantage of others all day long, you might as well poke a finger at the manure picker passing by. ”

Mrs. Qian turned around and pointed at the eldest aunt: “You, you——”

The Eldest Aunt snorted coldly and looked at the old lady: “Mother, don’t make trouble with this troublemaker. You’ve made Laoer’s heart turn cold. Do you think you can have a good life!”

“I’m not saying anything bad about you. However, if you didn’t make a fuss at the beginning, didn’t care about Laoer’s family affairs, didn’t always scold his wife, and didn’t always scold Xiao Fei, you’re living with them now and enjoying life.”

“However, you still can’t figure out about this, and still want to cause trouble!”