"mother!"

"My son, come in quickly. Are you tired from the journey?"

Li Kui walked into the house and found that the dark room was cold and cold, without a trace of smoke. It was getting late, and if he was not busy cooking, he would have to eat in vain. Li Kui took Li Quan's package and put it in the house.

The books that Zhou Yuan brought from somewhere were put in his room, and then he brushed them and started to prepare for cooking.

By the way, Li Quan asked Li Quan to take out the things he bought from the town: "Mom, this is to honor your old age."

Mrs. Zhang looked at the brown sugar and linen in her hand, with red eyes, and recalled: "When I gave birth to you, your father just wanted to buy a few kilograms of brown sugar to replenish my health, so he went into the mountains to hunt in the winter, and finally stayed in the mountains.

Didn’t come back.”

As he spoke, tears fell down.

"My child has made my mother sad. It's okay if you don't want to eat the brown sugar!" After saying this, Li Kui put the brown sugar in the paper bag and bluffed it out.

Mrs. Zhang couldn't bear it, so she hid in her arms and held her in her arms. She burst into tears and laughed: "This is my son's filial piety to me. How can I waste it?" After saying that, he stretched out his fingers to twist a little brown sugar in the paper bag and put it in his mouth.

The sweet taste instantly comforts and satisfies people.

Is there any food in the world that can satisfy people? Most people would say sugar.

Sugar is a miraculous food. When people are sad, after eating sugar, they can quickly calm their injured hearts, which is especially useful for children.

Not only children, adults also like candy.

It is a pity that there are so few sources of this precious food that during a long historical period, sugar became one of the tributes when offering sacrifices to ancestors. Ordinary people have heard of it but may never taste it in their lives.

In the Tang Dynasty, sugarcane varieties from India were introduced to China and planted in large areas in the south. Sugar production was greatly improved. Especially after the Song Dynasty, sugar became the people's favorite source of sweets. In fact, before the Tang Dynasty,

There is also sugar cane in the south, even in the pre-Qin period. First, due to the limitation of soup-making technology, sugar cane can only be made into syrup, and cannot be turned into rock sugar and granulated sugar. In addition, due to the variety, the yield is not high and it is difficult to extract. Add

Due to transportation restrictions, wealthy families in China could only choose maltose or honey, expensive sugars.

After the Northern Song Dynasty, the sugar industry developed greatly, and technological breakthroughs allowed this era to have solid sugar - rock sugar.

The transportation industry in the Northern Song Dynasty was even less developed than in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

This has greatly alleviated the rise in prices caused by transportation, and the release of production is also key. But even so, sugar is still a very expensive luxury product for ordinary people.

Li Kui squatted on the ground, washing the pot with snow water, and asked: "Mom, when did eldest brother come back?"

"He!" As soon as Li Dalang was mentioned, Mrs. Zhang's face became very ugly, and she pouted and said with disdain: "He was driving a cart to deliver goods in the warehouse, and he lost the cart and the oxen that were pulling it. Not only did he give

If you send me back, you will have to pay a large sum of money. You are a useless thing and you will be embarrassed in the village. But how can your family have the money to accompany you?"

Mrs. Zhang is also at a loss. She comes from a womanly family and can't make much money even if she does some handicrafts at home. What's more, she doesn't know how to...

If Li Kui didn't hunt, their family would really suffer from the northwest wind.

Li Kui frowned. He found that he seemed to be going bankrupt again. The money promised by Han Dahu had not been earned yet. Once it changed hands, he would have to fill the famine for his eldest brother. When encountering such a bad thing, he felt a little more gloomy. But the family

, it would not be justified if we really ignored it. In a clan society, family harmony is a very important aspect in evaluating individuals.

Li Kui thought for a while and said, "Why don't you let me come in to talk first? It's not a big deal if I don't let him in in this cold winter. There will always be a way to solve it. Don't worry, mother."

"Oh, what a careless person, let him in!"

Before Zhang could finish speaking, Li Dalang, who was waiting at the door, carefully slipped into the house from the edge of the door frame and sat on the edge of the fire pit, not daring to speak and curling up in a circle, like a doormat.

Li Kui didn't stop talking, and asked: "Tell me, where was the car lost? Can it be found? If not, how much will the owner ask you to pay?"

"The car was lost near Wangzhuang. It was stolen by that bastard Wang Fu. This bastard was idle all day long, but suddenly he became rich. Later I found the car in a dry ditch near Wangzhuang, but the cow was not there.

I went to Wang Fu, but this bitch refused to admit his guilt. He also said that I falsely accused him and he wanted to report it to the official." After speaking, Li Dalang held his head in annoyance, squatted on the ground, and howled twice, which made everyone who heard it feel uncomfortable.

It's rough and uncomfortable.

Li Kui glanced at Li Dalang and asked: "Have you reported to the official position?"

"I don't dare!" There was a hint of gray in Li Dalang's timid eyes. He spoke with great enthusiasm. This guy is a husky, and he is sharp-tongued. If he really wants to rush forward with a real sword or a gun, he will immediately give up.

How dare he report it to the official! I heard that false accusations are the same as theft. If the goods are of high value, they may be distributed. If he encounters a confused official, won't he never become an innocent person in this life?

He didn't know that he would be punished for making false accusations. It was Wang Fu's impatient threat after being dragged away by him. If it had been anyone else, he would have started talking loudly, but Li Dalang was a sluggish person and was frightened.

When Mrs. Zhang heard this, she clapped her hands on her knees and burst into tears: "What a shame!"

Li Dalang thought that his mother was speaking for him, and blamed Wang Fu's shameless behavior from the bottom of his soul. He echoed: "Mother, you are right. This shameful thing Wang Fu has completely lost Wangzhuang's face."

"I'm not talking about him, I'm talking about you? What a shame. Your father and your brother are both martial arts practitioners. You're such a useless thing. When something annoying like this happens, why don't you beat him half to death?"

Mrs. Zhang was furious, but her anger was directed at her son. Li Dalang's behavior made her so angry that she picked up the firewood at hand and hit Li Dalang on the head and face.

Li Kui didn't stop him. As the old saying goes: A good man will be bullied by others, and a good horse will be ridden by others.

Li Dalang has such a temperament when working outside, it's hard not to be bullied.

"Mom, please be careful, don't fall." Even though he was beaten, Li Dalang didn't cry out in pain, but kept reminding Ms. Zhang to be careful about where she steps. This made Ms. Zhang feel uncomfortable even if she didn't hit her.

At this time, Li Kui had already cut the cabbage, cut some radishes, and put some lamp oil in the hot pot, which is actually sesame oil. In the south, tea seeds are often used to squeeze oil, while in the north, sesame seeds are mostly used to light the lamps.

It can be used for cooking. The oil smoke will rise immediately. Pour the sliced ​​bacon into the pot and stir-fry it for a few times. Add the vegetables. Heat the oil in the pot and quickly mix it with the vegetables.

Water vapor, smoke, and the aroma of food mixed together and filled the room.

When you buy lamp oil on the market and bring it home, you not only have to be on guard against annoying little guys like oil guzzlers, but you also have to be careful with your own children. After all, most children from poor families in this era have no oil or water in their stomachs and are very hungry.

It is also common to take a few sips of sesame oil.

When Li Dalang saw that Li Kui used sesame oil for cooking, he jumped up and pointed at Li Kui's nose. He got angry and said, "You stupid idiot, do you know how expensive sesame oil is? You can use it for cooking for almost a month."

Two sesame oils, you loser..."

Being scolded for no reason, Li Kui was a little dazed. He, the eldest brother, was wilting outside. Didn't he expect that he would still want to act like the eldest brother when he got home?

Besides, he doesn't rely on Li Dalang for his livelihood. Is this guy so brave that he thinks he is the head of the family?

Li Kui said to Li Quan: "Li Quan, drag Dalang out and give him a beating. Remember, be gentle and don't damage him."

"Second brother, you can let me go, but you can't support me in going out to steal food." As he spoke, Li Quan tucked Li Dalang under his arm and ran out.

Li Dalang's screams and angry curses were heard outside the yard: "Oh, Li Quan, you fool, I am your clan brother, how dare you do it!"

"oops!"

"Li Quan, you are so stubborn, you are eating our food, and I haven't said anything yet!"

Li Quan was thinking about eating, and after a few hasty meals, he returned to the firepit. The steamed millet rice on the pot exuded a soft aroma, and he was reluctant to leave Li Kui's house at this time.

After a while, Li Dalang appeared on the door frame again while holding on to the wall. Li Kui glared at him with a threatening look. He was so frightened that he immediately shrank his head and returned to the fire pit in a dull gourd, but he did not dare to continue to be next to Li Quan.

sit.

Li Kui was amused: "If I had known this, why would I have to be so mean?"

While eating, Li Dalang kindly picked out all the meat in the pot and put it in Zhang's bowl. At this moment, he seemed to have returned to the character of the filial son before. But one person couldn't help it, Li Quan.

He looked at Li Kui aggrievedly and muttered: "Second brother..." He seemed to be complaining to Li Kui, but at the same time he also had another meaning. He was willing to beat Li Dalang again. This guy has too little eyesight.

Seeing what he meant, this stupid boy Li Quan regretted that he didn't beat Li Quan hard just now, and actually took away his share of the meat.

Mrs. Zhang didn't say anything, and evenly distributed some of the meat in the bowl to Li Kui. Li Kui whispered: "Thank you, mother."

He also gave some to Li Quan, who followed suit and said, "Thank you, mother!"

"It's my mother, not your mother!"

Li Dalang got into trouble with the idiot Li Quan again, and there was nothing wrong with what he said. He just stated the facts one by one.

But these words made Qingzhou people talk about them with a strong sense of anger. As soon as Li Dalang opened his mouth, he scolded everyone within a radius of five meters around him. Even his mother Zhang didn't hide away. Zhang's brows
Chapter completed!