Being Strange

(Not Edited)

After paying half of the deposit and getting the manager's promise, Gulan left the wood shop with peace of mind.

Now that my own carriage is empty, I must not leave it idle. There are many things I need at home, so it's a good time to do some shopping.

The weather is now around ten degrees below zero, which is very cold. There was a light snow a few days ago when I hadn't moved into the new house yet. Fortunately, it was not heavy and did not cause any impact.

However, there are several heavy snowfalls here every year, I heard this from the vegetable vendors when Gulan was at the market.

Once heavy snow falls, the city is fine and life is not greatly affected. However, in the suburbs and surrounding areas, the roads are blocked by heavy snow and few people go out.

Therefore, most villagers outside the city stock up on food, vegetables and other necessities for their families early in the morning.

Gulan also wanted to take this opportunity to replenish all the needs of the family, especially since there would be more than a dozen mouths to feed in the family from today onwards, and food alone would be a huge expense.

Then he went straight to the nearest West Street and found the largest grain store. He bought a lot of rice, flour, and grains, filling up two horse-drawn carriages.

There is so much that it is enough to eat until the busy farming season next year.

Seeing Gulan hoarding food like crazy, Li Da and Li Er were so shocked that they were too tired to complain.

Then he bought bedding and two sets of winter clothes and shoes of the same standard for the servants of the Gu family. These almost filled up an entire carriage.

Then came the various condiments, salt, and the most scarce charcoal in winter. The one I chose was not the silver thread charcoal sent to Yunjin, but a slightly inferior charcoal, which might have a slightly worse durability and produce more light smoke, but was cheaper.

However, Gulan finally bought some silver charcoal. It has just begun winter and it will be cold for two or three months. For the sake of the child's health, she has to buy some even if it is expensive.

Then he loaded up half of the carriage and bought some pork and other tastier parts of the pig.

The mutton was even bought from several stalls. They came late and there wasn't much left at each stall. All together there were only three sheep. It was a pity that they didn't find anyone selling beef. However, there was still a large piece of beef in the space, like the one Yunjin had sent.

Then he bought about ten live chickens and ducks. The stall owner said they were laying eggs. If they continued to lay eggs, Gulan decided to let them live a little longer.

There are also vegetables. We can't just eat grains and meat.

As a result, the remaining carriage was also filled to the brim, with only the space left for the driver.

There are still a few vegetables, just some stored vegetables such as radishes, cabbages, winter melons and pumpkins.

In addition, there was indeed not much space in the car, so Gulan stopped the urge to buy and thought about asking Butler Jin to go out and buy more. The things in the car could last for ten days or half a month.

The two brothers Li Da and Li Er looked at the full carriage behind them. They said they had already calmed down and followed Gulan back to Lijia Village.

When they got home, they saw several grown men surrounding them and realized that they were no longer needed for the rest of the work, so the two brothers said goodbye to Gulan and left.

Gulan did not force them to stay. She saw them out, then looked at the smoking kitchen and went in to give some instructions. The food was too cooked so she didn't say thank you. She thought about adding two more dishes for Uncle Li's family later.

Under the command of Butler Jin, Xia Mu and the others quickly unloaded all the things and put them in their respective places.

In the kitchen, Cai Yu and the two sons of housekeeper Jin were preparing food.

One portion was for the young master, and the other portion was for themselves.

There is only one kitchen at the moment, so we can only do it together.

The food was carefully prepared by the young master's Cai Yu, and their own food was made by the two brothers Jin Zhu and Jin Shi.

Although the brothers' cooking skills are not as good as their father's, they have inherited the true skills and are not bad. They are even better than the chefs in ordinary taverns.

The two brothers only dared to occupy one stove, and the remaining three stoves, two large and one small, were all used to prepare food for the young master.

This was the first meal Cai Yu cooked for the young master, and since there was almost everything in the kitchen, he cooked it very carefully.

There was one dish of sweet and sour spare ribs, one dish of braised pork, and two stir-fried vegetarian dishes, stir-fried black fungus and celery, and stir-fried cabbage with vinegar.

When the young master came in, a few dishes had just been cooked, but the portions were so exquisite that they could not be given away to others.

So Cai Yu cooked another portion of braised pork and a plate of chicken according to the young master's instructions, and left them for the young master to give away.

After Gulan took An'an and Goudan to finish lunch and take a short rest, the dishes in the pot were almost ready.

As for Daya and Erya, who have always been eating with Gulan, they will eat with Butler Jin and the others from today on.

Now that there are more people in the family, rules have to be established.

As the saying goes, there is no order without rules. If everyone does things according to their own ideas, everything will be a mess.

As the saying goes, every country has its own laws and every family has its own rules, and no one can be special.

In fact, Daya and Erya did not have much rejection in their hearts. Ever since Prince Jin came over yesterday, they had been mentally prepared, although there was a slight sense of loss deep in their hearts.

But this sense of loss was completely buried deep in my heart along with the meal.

They are very content. Compared to before when they could only drink the water used to wash the pot, now they feel like they are living a life like gods.

The two sisters didn't need to clean up after the meal. The housekeeper said that from now on they would only be responsible for cleaning the master's room and they didn't need to ask for anything else.

The two sisters, who were feeling a little disappointed because their jobs were taken away, immediately perked up after hearing this.

On this side, Gulan carried the food box packed by Butler Jin and took Goudan to Li's house.

An An felt sleepy after dinner and went to bed. He felt relieved to have Daya and Erya looking after Gulan.

They have lunch earlier at home, and when Gulan arrived, Li Dajia had just started to pick up his bowl. He arrived at the right time.

Looking at the two large meat dishes on the table, Old Man Li didn't know what to say and looked at Gulan helplessly.

The eldest and second sons were just helping out, it was not worth it for them to bring such delicious meat dishes. The aroma filled their noses, and the grandchildren could not take their eyes off the dishes on the table.

"Gulan, you're being distant with your uncle again, aren't you?" Looking at the meat dishes on the table, Old Man Li looked at Gulan with disapproval.

"No way, uncle, you are wronging me. If I were being polite, I wouldn't let Big Brother Li and Second Brother help me with the work. That's why it happens because I'm being polite. And it's because I know you don't mind, that's why I bring over extra dishes I cooked at home. Uncle, you're not happy!" Gulan said with a smile.

"Why would I be unhappy? You're really good at talking, uncle can't argue with you. But don't do this again next time." Old man Li looked at Gulan helplessly.

Gulan shrugged, "I can't decide that. It depends on how much food is cooked."

"You!" Although Mr. Li shook his head, his old face was already blooming with a smile. Even an ant would be lost among the wrinkles among the blooming flowers.

Life is hard now, and every family has to be frugal. No one can cook more dishes, but Old Man Li felt the thoughtfulness.

"Uncle and aunt, please eat it while it's hot. I'm coming back!"

"Would you like to eat something with us?" Aunt Li tried to persuade her to stay.

"No, I've eaten, and Goudan is also full." Gulan reminded him, fearing that the little guy would not know the difference between hunger and fullness and would have indigestion.

"Gulan, Goudan is troubling you again." Li Si's wife was really embarrassed.

"It's not a problem at all. The child is very sensible and I don't need to ask. Besides, I feel relieved to have Goudan playing with An'an. The little guy is lively and can make An'an more lively. Don't take it to heart, sister-in-law. An'an and I both like Goudan very much. We can't restrict him."