After dinner, Mu Yuanqing and his family did not leave in a hurry. Instead, they stayed and helped carry the soil for half a day before leaving.
Ningxia looked at the three-pound bowl of noodles they brought with them when they came to eat, and accepted it with a smile.
Neighbors know when to advance and when to retreat, and they can get along well in the long run. Everyone has settled here, and when the road is opened, other households will surely come.
It’s not a bad thing to establish good relations with Mu Yuanqing’s family in advance.
Besides, Ningxia looked at Sangsang, who was holding Qingtian and chattering in front of her. After all, humans are social animals. She couldn't avoid...
The cellar was completed in just five days. It was a pure earth cellar, with just a few wooden planks fixed on the roof. The workmanship was mediocre, but Ningxia was already satisfied.
"How's it going? It's working, isn't it?" Old Liao said in a rather contented tone. "This plot of land is too small, so I can only tie a rope ladder for you to use to go up and down, but this cellar is absolutely working perfectly!"
Ningxia is grateful.
Li Gang also suggested covering Maomao's shed, otherwise the little guy would not be able to survive the winter in the shed that was leaking air from all sides.
Ningxia politely declined, saying that she could also seal the shed, but she would be slower.
Friendship is friendship, but the squad leader and the others don't owe her anything, and she doesn't want to rely on others for everything.
Seeing that Ningxia was determined not to have their help, Li Gang offered to leave.
"Squad Leader! What do you mean? You're leaving right after you finish your work? You won't even stay for two days?"
Li Gang smiled and said, "We have to go back. We have been out for more than half a month. It will take us almost twenty days to pack up and return. If we don't return to the camp soon, there will be something to complain about."
"So which way are you going? Back over the mountain or to Brother Tiger's side?"
"Let's go to Tiger's side and see how the road is being repaired. Maybe we can apply for two horses to ride next year."
This was exactly what Ningxia wanted. "Well, how about this? You go back and pack your bags today, and we'll meet by the river tomorrow. I'll also go to Brother Lao Hu's house."
Li Gang was puzzled. "Why are you going to the sentry post?"
"Last time we went into the mountains, didn't you give Lin Yi the walkie-talkie that could be used to contact the sentry post? I thought I'd take this opportunity to thank him properly. It just so happens that the lamb ribs at home are well marinated, so I might as well bring them over to try."
Li Gang and his companions took the 200 kilograms of meat Ningxia handed over. This 200 kilograms was the stationing tax for Lao Chen, the four of them who were stationed at the sentry post.
There were still two hundred kilograms of mutton left at Ningxia's house, and an entire beam was hung full of it.
Hearing Ningxia say this, Lao Liao narrowed his eyes and said, "Okay, let's set off early tomorrow morning and meet you by the river. We'll go to Lei Lao Hu's place and have a good reunion! The next time we meet will be in the spring of next year!"
Ningxia thought the same thing. Whether it was the guards at the sentry post or the squad leaders, they had all been incredibly kind to the three of them. Honestly, it would take more than a few meals to repay them for all the kindness they had shown.
After the discussion, Li Gang and his companions left the Ning family compound carrying about 200 kilograms of Ningxia pickled and slightly dried mutton.
The few people worked efficiently and beautifully, and only left after they had cleaned up all the dust in the yard.
"Sister Xia Xia, are Sangsang and I going too tomorrow?"
"Well, let's go. You haven't had an easy time these past few days, so treat tomorrow as a day off. Go to your Uncle Lei's place and have some fun."
Ningxia then turned to Sangsang and said, "Alright! Stop pouting. You'll see your brother Xiaojie again tomorrow! I don't think you'd be this sad even if your own brother passed away."
Sangsang pouted, glanced at Ningxia gently, and went into the house in her slippers.
Ningxia raised an eyebrow and sighed indifferently, "You've really grown up. How dare you taunt me? You should spank children early."
Lin Yi laughed secretly but didn't say anything. Anyway, Sangsang's temper was getting worse day by day. Sister Xia Xia was okay and could barely control her.
As her brother, if he didn't get glared at by her eight or ten times a day, he would be in trouble.
"Go to the woods and bring Maomao back. Let's wash him in the yard today. After we get back from your Uncle Lei's, we'll pack up the sheets and quilts and wash them.
The monitor and the others have left, and the children's room is now vacant. You can move into the children's room. Sangsang and I will continue to sleep in the master bedroom."
Lin Yi knew about the differences between boys and girls. He was already thirteen years old. To be honest, he felt a little embarrassed to sleep in the same bed with Xia Xia, so he accepted the idea of moving to the children's room well.
After instructing Lin Yi, Ningxia went to the stairwell and took down the six sheep's trotters. She had already prepared the spices, originally intending to braise them and bring them to Li Gang and the others for the journey.
Now they were going back to their base, so she had to get it out tonight and bring it to them tomorrow. They left in such a hurry that she hadn't had time to make many preparations.
After braising the lamb's trotters, Ningxia started to pack the ingredients to be taken over tomorrow.
Ningxia took away more than 30 pounds of lamb ribs, and there was a thin layer of coarse salt on them.
Ningxia leaned forward and smelled it, fortunately there was no strange smell.
Ningxia washed each long rib again, removed the salt, cut a small slit in it, and smeared a layer of Sichuan peppercorns and five-spice powder on them before hanging them back from the beams. He would take them over tomorrow and grill them directly.
She picked two large bunches of lush chives in the bathroom and plucked them all. Thinking of the taste of roasted chives, Ningxia didn't care about whether she would get a sore throat.
It will probably take a long time for those two poor leeks to grow.
Lei Laohu also had a lot of potatoes, but Ningxia didn't bring any from home.
"Did you finish washing?"
"Well, let me help you, Sister Xia Xia." Lin Yi casually wiped his wet head and threw the handkerchief aside. Fortunately, his hair was not too long and it dried in a short while.
"I'm fine here. You take your sister to bed first. I'll take the sheep's trotters out of the pot and everything will be fine."
Seeing that Ningxia had cleaned the kitchen tidy, Lin Yi knew there was nothing to do, so he nodded and went back to the bedroom.
Ningxia returned to the house and looked at the basket of eggs by the stove. After some thought, she decided to leave some charcoal in the stove hole. It had been half a month, and there was no movement. Could it be that it had gone bad?
There was no point in thinking more, as she couldn't really crack it open to see for herself. She could only wait patiently.
"You haven't finished yet?" Ningxia looked at the rabbit hair in Lin Yi's hand. It had been so many days, why was he still messing with the rabbit hair?
Lin Yi smiled and said, "Sangsang and I have already made the vests, and now I am making it for you."
"Really? Let me see."
Lin Yi took out what he had given to Sangsang and handed it over.
The color of the gray rabbit's fur is not very uniform, and it doesn't look good, but it feels soft in the hand.
Ningxia took a closer look and discovered that the vest was made with a hidden purpose. A piece of cotton cloth was added inside the fur layer, and thin strips of cloth were used to tie the cotton cloth and fur together.
This way, if the side of the vest gets dirty, you can just remove the cotton cloth and wash it, without having to clean the thick fur. The vest is also carefully hemmed around the edges, so overall, it's a very nice piece of clothing.
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