Chapter 34
Excessive Attention on Words
Buying books did not count.
Any random book would cost two strings of coins. If he had to buy it all, he would probably have to spend dozens of taels.
One had to know that eggs only cost one coin each, and meat only cost 25 coins per catty.
Chu Heng’s spending’s could be comparable to a house in the countryside. A house cost a string of coins. Chu Heng’s expenses for a year of studying were enough to build a house for a large family.
As for the villagers, who did not build a house once every generation? Some even shared the same house for three generations.
This was enough to show that scholars spent a lot of money.
Ye Muyu felt that, as a newcomer, she should not only cut down on expenses, but also think of ways to increase revenue.
She looked at the surrounding land and confirmed that these lands needed to be turned over before planting vegetables. She was afraid that it would cost her a lot of labor.
After going out for a while, Ye Muyu understood the financial situation of the family. She could not help but feel that the original host was too bad at living. She had to plan well.
In the kitchen, Chu Heng had already chopped up most of the meat.
Ye Muyu could not find ginger, and the original host did not have any memories of ginger. She followed her habit of asking questions if she did not understand and asked Chu Heng directly, “Do you know where I can find ginger?”
“Ginger? Why do you want this?” Chu Heng asked suspiciously.
Ye Muyu felt that zhe had to be more thorough in order to avoid being tricked by this man again. Considering the fact that ginger could ward off the cold had been recorded a long time ago, he said, “It’s been raining these two days. I’m worried that the children will catch a cold from the wind, so I thought of putting some ginger to drive away the cold.”
“According to the Compendium of Materia Medica, ginger has the effects of strengthening the spleen, stimulating the appetite, expelling cold, dispelling dampness, sweating, and other health benefits.”
“Ginger can indeed ward off the cold and can also be used in dishes, but we don’t have any at home. Mother has some, and the medicine shop has some too.”
When Ye Muyu heard the man’s words, she could not help but sigh at the charm of the ancient scholars. They had to think about the source of their words. Their memory was much better than that of the later generations.
“So?” Ye Muyu felt that it was not a good idea to go to the old residence to get the ginger. After all, they had already moved out. If she went to the old residence to get something, it would make her sister-in-law uncomfortable, right?
She felt that there was no need to offend people over such a small matter.
“Doctor Lu should have some on the stone bridge. I’ll go buy it myself.”
Ye Muyu nodded in satisfaction and said, “Thank you for your hard work.”
Chu Heng glared at her.
He knew that he had worked hard, but he did not see her move at all.
As expected of a hypocrite.
Although he was complaining in his heart, Chu Heng was not a petty person and naturally would let Ye Muyu go. He just felt that Ye Muyu’s reaction was beyond his expectations.
He did not realize that he was also affected by Ye Muyu.
Chu Heng left after chopping the meat.
He only used half a catty of meat to chop up a lot of meat paste.
Ye Muyu first seasoned the minced meat before adding the onions.
Seeing that Chu Heng had not returned, she peeled the sweet potato first. She planned to make sweet potato rice. It was very filling and saved more oil than cooking a sweet potato dish alone.
This time, Ye Muyu finally understood why ordinary farmers in the countryside liked to eat all kinds of vegetables and rice. It was not because they were delicious, but mainly because they wanted to fill their stomachs better and save on seasoning oil.
As for the taste, it only became important after the conditions were better.