Ever since Su Qingluan put stones on the pork strips, she would turn the pork strips over every morning when she woke up and every afternoon when she returned home, so that the salt could be more evenly coated and the moisture could be more thoroughly absorbed.
On the other hand, since she replaced her weapon with a more convenient kitchen knife, Liu Yunniang's level and speed in handling sewage have immediately improved, and gradually she is on the track of exceeding the total amount of sewage handled by the Su family in a day.
Moreover, considering that Yunniang is not very skilled in cutting meat like offal, and her speed has a lot of room for improvement, Su Qingluan feels that the "sales volume" of her offal stall still has a lot of room for improvement.
Now with Yunniang's help, even if the Su family processes less sewage, it can still match the sewage supply on the stall before, and even have some surplus.
Therefore, the Su family no longer had to get up early and go to bed late every day as before, and they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Considering that the Liu family was struggling every day, Su Qingluan paid Liu Yunniang daily wages, and if the wages were almost the same, she would round them up.
Liu Yunniang naturally knew about Su Qingluan's care for her in every little detail. She knew that she had nothing to offer in gratitude for the time being, so she just kept the care in her heart and worked harder.
But Liu Yunniang was only thirteen years old, after all. She had to work and take care of her sick father, so she was a little tired. Although she was young and in good health and hadn't suffered any illnesses, her face was obviously not as energetic as before.
Yagyu saw this and felt guilty and anxious.
He knew that only by getting well soon could he take on the responsibilities that had fallen on his daughter and wife. However, he didn't know when his paralysis would be cured, and the Huichuntang medical fees were slipping away like water. It was becoming difficult for their small family to make ends meet.
Seeing his daughter busying around and his wife going out early and coming back late, Liu Sheng gritted his teeth and made a decision.
That day, when Su Qingluan was walking around the market to see if there were any new spices, she saw Liu Yunniang's slender figure.
Su Qingluan curiously leaned over to take a look and saw that she was buying a kitchen knife - not a wrought iron kitchen knife, but a copper kitchen knife.
Of course, bronze kitchen knives are several times cheaper than iron knives, but the quality is not as good.
"Yunniang?" Su Qingluan looked at the object in her hand uncertainly. "Are you here to buy a kitchen knife?"
"Young Master!" Liu Yunniang turned around and saw that it was Su Qingluan, and hurriedly knelt down to salute.
Su Qingluan is not used to being bowed to. There is no way around it when there are elders, but in private occasions like this, she will avoid it if possible.
Waving her hand casually, Su Qingluan said with a smile, "We are all ordinary people, and of the same age, so why should we be polite?"
Liu Yunniang shook her head: "I have nothing to offer in return for the kindness of the Young Master and his family. I can only pay my respects every time and work hard every day!"
Su Qingluan didn't object to Liu Yunniang working hard: "You're right, only by working hard can you earn a good living. Speaking of which..." She looked down at the bronze kitchen knife in Liu Yunniang's hand, "Is the knife I gave you broken before?"
That shouldn't be the case. The quality of the knives produced by that blacksmith shop is well-known far and wide.
Upon hearing this, Yunniang quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, the knife the young master gave me was very sharp, how could it be broken?"
"So what are you doing...?"
"Oh, this." Liu Yunniang smiled shyly, "The knife I use to cut vegetables is badly rusted, so I came to buy a new one."
Thinking of this, Liu Yunniang felt a sigh in her heart: If she hadn't met Su Qingluan by chance and volunteered to help, her family wouldn't have had much extra income and enough money to buy a new kitchen knife.
In fact, although only half a month had passed since she started helping with sewage treatment, Liu Yunniang had already received almost a hundred yuan in wages from Su Qingluan, which was even more than what many laborers earned in a month.
It is precisely because the remuneration is relatively generous and the Dong family is kind that the Liu family is very grateful to the Su family.
Su Qingluan had no idea what was going on in Liu Yunniang's mind. She just looked at the bronze knife with a bit of embarrassment: "Although I said that the wrought iron knife is for work, you can also use it when cooking!"
"How can that be?" Liu Yunniang said seriously, "I borrowed that iron knife from the young master. If I use it carelessly, what if it breaks?"
Su Qingluan was a little amused and wanted to say, "If it breaks, just replace it." But seeing the other person's serious expression, she swallowed the words back.
Because she estimated that if the knife was really broken, the girl in front of her might still rack her brains to think of compensating her at the original price.
After buying a kitchen knife, Su Qingluan knew that Liu Yunniang was anxious to go back because her father was bedridden at home, so she stopped talking to her. The two said goodbye to each other and Liu Yunniang left.
Back in the narrow alley, Liu Yunniang shouted, "Dad, I'm back... Dad?!"
When Liu Yunniang walked in, she saw that Liu Sheng, who had been lying in bed all day, actually sat up by himself!
Originally, ever since Yagyu was injured and paralyzed, he had been lying there with no interest except for taking care of his three meals a day and taking care of his major and minor physiological problems.
But seeing his wife and daughter busying around for him every day, Liu Sheng gradually developed a desire to recover. So today, for the first time, he tried to sit up with his upper arms without his daughter's help.
After all, he had been bedridden for several months, and Liu Sheng's strength was completely different from before he fell ill.
What's more, he had no feeling in his lower body, so naturally he had no way to use any leverage, so getting up was even more difficult.
But he still didn't want to lie down like this, so he took great pains to finally sit up. This simple action actually made beads of sweat ooze out of his forehead and back.
Liu Yunniang saw this scene as soon as she entered the house.
"Dad, are you thirsty?"
Liu Sheng shook his head and smiled at his daughter, "Look, Daddy is not completely useless, he can still sit up by himself."
Liu Yunniang was stunned and her eyes became moist.
Su Qingluan returned home and went to the kitchen again.
Su Xueyan came over and asked curiously, "Sister, this piece of meat has been pressed under the stone for several days. When can we take it out?"
Su Qingluan lowered her head and scratched the tip of her little sister's nose: "We can take it out today!"
As he said this, he picked up the pork strips covered in salt.
At this time, the pork strips had turned a dark red that was deeper than bright red, and because they had absorbed a lot of salt, they were heavier than at the beginning. Su Qingluan could no longer lift the basin by herself, so she asked Yang to help carry it out. She first burned the awl with fire and then wiped off the black charcoal on the surface.
Finally, cut an opening at one end of the pork strip, pass cotton thread through it, and hang it in a cool and ventilated place in the corner of the kitchen. The pickled meat is finally done.
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