Grandma Yun took Yunling and Gangzi to the Luo family's house. Luo's sister-in-law was sorting dried vegetables in the yard. Grandma Yun greeted them warmly.
"Sister-in-law Luo, here, this chicken is for you."
Sister-in-law Luo was first surprised that they could buy seven chickens, and even more surprised that one of the chickens belonged to her. These chickens weren't cheap at all!
"Why should I have it? A group of you would probably eat two chickens in one meal. Keep it for yourself."
Old Lady Yun stuffed the tied chicken feet toward Sister-in-law Luo.
"If it weren't for your guidance, sister-in-law, we wouldn't have found the Luo family, and we wouldn't have known they had such delicious chicken. Also, your dried fish is really good. If we have the chance to make cured meat next year, you must give us some pointers."
Old Lady Yun's words pleased Sister-in-law Luo. Seeing Old Lady Yun forcefully stuffing chicken into her hand, and knowing that her family hadn't eaten local chicken in a long time, she reluctantly accepted it.
But as the saying goes, one shouldn't accept something for nothing. Yesterday, when Old Lady Yun came to buy dried fish and dried pigeons, she made sure to collect all the coins. Now, Old Lady Yun was giving her a free chicken without asking for money, so she felt a little embarrassed and said:
"Hey, does your Yun family build houses on the mountain? My friend knows a thing or two about this place. He built our house himself. I'll have him come over and help you tomorrow."
"I'm so sorry, no, no, I gave this chicken to you not because I wanted you to do chores for our family, oh dear, it's such a mess..."
"Why are you being so polite? Isn't neighborly affection based on mutual help? If you don't let my nemesis help you, then you can take this chicken back."
"I don't want it. This chicken has already chosen its owner. If I take it home and cook it, the bones inside might even be inside the wrong way."
Sister-in-law Luo was truly amused by Old Lady Yun's words. Her laughter attracted the passing villagers, who, upon hearing that the Luo family head wanted to build a house for the Yun family and seeing the chickens Old Lady Yun and her family were carrying, began to scramble for them, saying:
“The Yun family’s husband used to be a laborer in town. He could carry three sacks of heavy goods at a time. If we’re building a house, there will definitely be a lot of moving things back and forth, so he’s perfect for that.”
“The Yun family’s sons are young, strong, and quick-witted. More importantly, they are obedient and hardworking.”
“My husband is also very good. He has worked in the city before, building houses for a big boss. He can give you some advice on houses.”
Listening to their conversation, Old Lady Yun counted the people; there were four. Yun Ruoxia had brought seven bolts of cotton cloth. After using one to pave the ground, there were six left. Giving one bolt to each of the four people would be enough. Thus, she spoke:
"Sisters, I am truly grateful for your help. However, we are new here and there are so many of us. Just cooking every day is already a huge headache. If you come to help, we won't be able to provide enough food."
"We've brought a few bolts of cloth from Pingcheng. If any of your men come to help, we'll give them one bolt each. If we need your help long-term, we can even pay you wages. What do you think?"
At first, when they heard Old Lady Yun say she wouldn't give them food, everyone felt they had spoken too hastily. After all, they were already giving it away for free; to refuse even a meal seemed incredibly heartless. But then, after hearing what Old Lady Yun said next…
They had cloth to collect, and if they could continue working, they would be paid. It was practically a job, so why wouldn't they agree? They all nodded in agreement.
"Yun family, last time I saw you had to borrow tools from your eldest son's family. How about this, tomorrow we'll all have our own family members bring tools to help. That way we can get things done more efficiently. Winter is almost here, and we can't be without roof tiles to cover our heads."
Old Lady Yun also had this idea. With just Old Man Yun, Yun Shenghua, Old Man Fan, and the two sons of the Fan family, or at worst Gangzi and Wen Siqing, it would be difficult to accomplish anything with just these people and these few tools.
She had been thinking of asking the villagers for help, but she didn't know how to ask. Fortunately, Sister-in-law Luo spoke first, and the matter was finally settled. Old Lady Yun was very grateful and nodded to Yunling and Gangzi to thank them.
The three left the Luo family and returned to the mountainside. Everyone was all smiles when they saw the three returning with their bounty. However, they also knew that this stuff was hard to come by. With no business to do now, they were living off their savings every day and could only eat frugally to last longer.
Zhang said:
"I think I'll make some chicken porridge tonight, it'll warm me up."
If Yunling hadn't eaten poached chicken at the Guan family's, she would have clapped her hands in delight. The taste of that poached chicken was still lingering in her teeth, leaving her with an unforgettable aftertaste. Now, seeing chicken again, her teeth were itching to eat it.
“Mother, I think we should have poached chicken for dinner tonight. We can take the chicken out and use the broth to make porridge. It’s very delicious. We’ll have two chickens and we can find a way to cook the remaining four tomorrow.”
"Poached chicken? That really tests a chef's skills. Your mother has never made it before. How about I go down and ask Sister-in-law Luo for advice?"
When Li Yuedi returned with Yun Chu after picking herbs, she saw them discussing the poached chicken and immediately interjected:
"Yes, I can. Don't forget, madam, I am from Yuecheng."
With Li Yuedi's guidance, Zhang did as she was told. The moment the chicken was chopped open, the splattered pieces of meat were eagerly sucked into the mouths of Xiaobai and Dahei.
Although two chickens were cooked, after being chopped into pieces, each person could only taste two or three pieces, which was not satisfying at all. Fortunately, rice grains were added to the chicken soup, and the resulting chicken broth porridge warmed everyone's stomachs; otherwise, they really wouldn't have slept well that night.
The next day at dawn, the sisters-in-law kept their word. After breakfast, they had their husbands or sons carry the tools from home to the mountainside.
Seeing such a large commotion, the other villagers asked them about it. When they heard that they could help the Yun family with their work and get paid, they were eager to join in. Although they didn't know how much the pay was, out of curiosity, they went home, grabbed their tools, and came to the Yun family's house.
In no time, the mountainside was packed with people, chatting and laughing. After discussion and agreeing on the wages, the news of the Yun family's recruitment spread like wildfire. Every able-bodied man in the family carried his tools up the mountain to give it a try. The scene was incredibly lively.
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