Chapter 88 Sending Gifts for the Winter Solstice
Actually, the tofu puffs were already being fried at this point.
There were people in front of all twelve stoves.
The remaining people sat in twos and threes in front of the stove, chatting and warming themselves by the fire.
But as soon as they saw Jiang Fuzheng and Ye Li drive the cart into the workshop, everyone, including those in charge of frying tofu puffs, such as Zhang Shi and Aunt Lü, poured out of the stove and looked at Ye Li and Jiang Fuzheng with eager expressions.
They were also invited to warm themselves by the fire in front of the stove.
Zhang Shi stood at the front and said warmly, "Are you cold? Brother Li, if you're cold, go to the stove shed, the fire is burning brightly."
“Uncle Shi, I’m not cold.” Ye Li shook her head with a smile.
"They're all here?"
Jiang Fu got off the mule cart, looked around, and was somewhat surprised.
As Zhang Shi glanced at the mule cart, he laughed and said, "Isn't this something new? I've lived for decades, and this is the first time I've ever encountered such a good thing as getting free meat."
Upon seeing the red and white pork in the basket, his voice instantly rose several octaves, and he slapped his thigh: "Hey! You really bought it?!"
He hurried over to the mule cart, which had five baskets on its backs, containing 150 jin (75 kg) of meat.
There was also a bag of rice next to the basket.
But rice is not as expensive as meat extract.
Zhang Shi stared at the five baskets, grinning from ear to ear. If he weren't afraid of Jiang Fuzheng scolding him, he would definitely have touched each one.
Wow, so many succulents!
Seeing this, the other employees couldn't help but move forward and surround the mule cart.
The smiles on their faces and the eagerness in their eyes were no less than those on Zhang Shi's.
But Ye Liang, Ye Adie, Jiang Dahe and the others stood in front of Ye Li.
They had already received their wages once, so they were somewhat calm now.
Ye Li was in a hurry to get back to the village, so he only bought a few pancakes for Jiang Mai, Jiang Ya, and Jiang Fuzheng and his son to eat. When Ye Adie heard this, he hurried home to cook.
Ye's father assumed that Ye Li would have lunch in the county town, so he didn't invite him to stay for a meal.
Ye Li wasn't in a hurry to leave; she still had meat to divide up later.
Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya wanted to see what was going on, so they stayed behind and stood on the oxcart watching the crowd surrounding the mule cart.
As for Jiang Ya's holiday gift, Ye Li had already converted it into copper coins and given it to him.
Compared to rice, meat is more appealing.
Moreover, this scene is rare.
So Ye Liang, Jiang Dahe, and the others squeezed into the crowd.
Everyone had smiles on their faces, along with some感慨 (feelings of emotion).
As long as you live long enough, you'll see all sorts of amazing things.
These ordinary people, who used to only have to pay grain and money to the government and landlords, are now able to receive rice, flour and meat for free from the workshops.
This is something completely new and unprecedented!
Aunt Lü was overjoyed and pointed to the basket closest to her, saying, "Oh my, it's all good meat. Look how thick the fat is, we don't even need to add oil when we make dumplings with it."
Jiang Rong was standing next to her and nodded upon hearing this: "That's right, enough to make dumplings for three meals."
"Hey! Rong, things are different now, why be so frugal? Treat us to two meals and eat to our hearts' content!"
Aunt Lü looked disapproving.
Upon hearing this, Niu Shuangquan, who was standing on the other side of Aunt Lü, couldn't help but say, "It would be better to make half dumplings and half steamed buns. It's been a long time since I've had meat steamed buns."
There are two families with different surnames in Yezaopo, and Niu Shuangquan is one of them.
"Huh? Yeah, it's been a long time since I've had steamed buns with white flour and meat."
Aunt Lü nodded in agreement.
Although life has been better in the past six months, her family still has many expenses. They want to build a house next year, which will cost a lot of money.
Besides, a decent meal can be really expensive.
One pound of flour can make seventy or eighty dumpling wrappers, but a strong man could eat all those dumplings in one meal if he ate to his heart's content.
Her family has nearly ten members, and the flour used to make dumplings for one meal must be at least three pounds.
Even if the wheat is from their own land and they can grind the flour themselves, if converted to copper coins, the cost of flour alone for this meal would be fifteen coins.
The dumpling filling also costs a lot; the vegetables are from our own garden, but we have to buy the meat.
A little bit fatty, it costs eighteen or nineteen coins per pound.
In this way, even if you only buy one pound of meat, the cost of flour will add up to more than thirty coins for a meal.
If you buy two catties of meat, it will cost more than fifty coins.
Her family couldn't afford to eat like that.
However, life is better than before. Even though they are frugal, her family still eats meat three times a month.
I buy about a pound each time, and either stir-fry it with vegetables or eat it with cornbread.
Or make it into cornmeal and meat buns.
The main reason is that nowadays every household has plenty of eggs and eats them every day, so naturally they eat meat less often.
White flour dumplings and steamed buns—her family hadn't eaten them in a long time.
Or, how about we make half dumplings and half steamed buns?
Anyway, I can still get five pounds of flour.
Like Aunt Lü, everyone present was already discussing how to eat the five catties of meat.
As Jiang Fu listened to the crowd's discussion, he clapped his hands, signaling everyone to be quiet.
"Alright, alright, everyone go home and get your basins and bags. We'll distribute the stuff now."
Before the crowd could cheer, he pointed to the stove and said, "Those who fry tofu puffs, turn off the fire first."
The reputation of the tofu puffs is at stake; they can't be burnt.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Shi, Aunt Lü, and the others quickly agreed and hurried to the kitchen.
The rest of the group happily went home to get containers for holding meat, rice, and flour.
Jiang Fuzheng told Jiang Mantang to go home and bring the scale.
He then directed Jiang Dahe and Jiang Tong to carry the flour out of the small house.
Finally, he went to the kitchen shed and moved the cutting board used for cutting tofu onto the mule cart, intending to use it for cutting meat.
Soon, footsteps and laughter could be heard outside the workshop.
Free rice, noodles, and meat—this is a big deal!
When the employees returned home and told them about it, every household mobilized their entire family to witness this grand spectacle.
Actually, the villagers who weren't employees had wanted to come to the workshop earlier.
Jiang Fuzheng forbade unauthorized personnel from appearing in the workshop, so the villagers who were not employees stayed at home to wait.
Now these villagers who aren't employees come to watch the spectacle, but they only dare to stand at the workshop entrance.
They only happily stepped into the workshop after Jiang Fuzheng waved to them.
The village was small, and soon all the employees who had gone home to get their equipment returned.
Jiang Fuzheng counted the number of people and found that no one was missing, so he asked the employees to line up in front of the two vehicles.
Non-employee villagers stood on both sides of the line.
Jiang Fuzheng was in charge of weighing.
His eldest son Jiang Fengdeng, second son Jiang Jinyu, and youngest son Jiang Mantang worked as his assistants.
The first one in line was Zhang Shi, who was carrying a basket containing a small earthenware jar and a burlap sack.
Jiang Fu was in charge of cutting the meat. He picked up the cleaver and asked, "Do you want pork belly or pork leg?"
“Five flowers!” Zhang Shi pointed to the basket on the side and answered loudly.
The piece of pork belly in this basket has a lot of fat and little lean meat; it would be incredibly delicious to make dumplings.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fuzheng placed the large piece of pork belly from the basket onto the cutting board. He estimated the weight, cut off a piece, and weighed it; it was only four jin and six liang.
He then cut off another small piece, making it a total of five jin.
The scale wasn't weighed too high, and Jiang Fuzheng didn't give Zhang Shi any extra just because Zhang Shi was his cousin-in-law.
Knowing Jiang Fuzheng's temperament, Zhang Shi happily took the meat and put it in the basket.
At this moment, Jiang Fengdeng used a wooden ladle to scoop the rice into a cloth bag.
After scooping it out, he handed it to Jiang Fuzheng, who weighed it on the scale and found it to be exactly five jin.
Jiang Fengdeng then poured the rice from the bag into the cloth bag that Zhang Shi was carrying.
Next up is the flour...
In this way, Jiang Fuzheng, the most prestigious official, was in charge of weighing the items to ensure impartiality and fairness.
After receiving the three items, each person left the group.
As for Jiang Dachuan, he received two gifts, the latter being his birthday.
This scene filled everyone with both envy and anticipation.
There were a total of 28 people. Ye's share was collected by Ye's two generations, and the group shrank very quickly.
In no time, all of these items were distributed.
The group, having received their items, did not rush back. They stayed in the workshop, waiting for Jiang Fuzheng to say a few words.
But Jiang Fuzheng has never been one to ramble on.
He put the scales back on the mule cart, glanced around, and looking at the smiling faces, he coughed and said seriously, "Everyone has seen it. Ye Li said he would give out festival gifts, and he really meant it."
"Therefore, this workshop does not only belong to Ye Li, but to everyone. As long as this workshop is running, everyone can get wages and holiday gifts."
"This workshop, just like farmland, can be passed down from generation to generation as long as nothing unexpected happens. Don't you agree?"
That makes sense!
Jiang Dahe immediately responded loudly.
As soon as he started speaking, the rest of the crowd chimed in, agreeing that it made perfect sense.
As long as the workshop is open, you can be guaranteed a minimum of 1.8 taels of silver in wages every month, which is much more and faster than farming!
The workshop is a more precious family heirloom than the family's farmland!
Jiang Fuzheng nodded in satisfaction as he observed the reactions of the crowd.
He clapped his hands again, signaling everyone to be quiet: "Now that everyone understands this principle, then from now on, you should abide by the workshop's rules. Things like being lazy or slacking off must not happen."
“If they show up, I’ll chase them away.”
"They should be chased away."
Jiang Dahe couldn't help but chime in again.
He simply couldn't tolerate this kind of behavior.
That would damage Xiao Ji's business.
The others already knew Jiang Fuzheng's temperament; he had already given them a hard time when they were learning how to make preserved eggs.
Therefore, they repeatedly said they dared not.
This was exactly the answer Jiang Fu wanted.
Although Ye Li took the lion's share of the workshop's profits.
But the villagers also benefited.
I benefited greatly.
If this trend continues, in ten or twenty years, every household will be a landlord!
Such a good thing! People from the neighboring villages have been so envious of him that they've come to him several times. As the village head, he oversees several surrounding villages, and the people from those villages are drooling with envy at the preserved eggs and the workshop!
Therefore, the people of Yezaopo should not take their good fortune for granted.
Thinking this, he looked at Ye Li on the oxcart beside him: "Brother Li, do you have anything to say?"
"No, no."
Ye Li hurriedly shook her head.
With Jiang Fuzheng around, he just needs to wait to count his money.
Seeing this, Jiang Fuzheng waved to the crowd and said, "Alright, alright, stop standing here and disperse."
"Hey you guys who fried tofu puffs, don't go back, keep working."
After such a long delay, it's going to be very late again today.
So the crowd dispersed.
Non-employees leave the workshop.
The twelve people in charge of frying tofu puffs returned to the stove.
Ye Li picked up her five pounds of meat, intending to take the two little ones home.
Liu Yi stopped him and asked him to take back the two portions of rice, flour, and meat belonging to Ye Liang and Ye's father.
"No need, let your older brother take it home."
Ye Li shook her head.
He specially bought five catties of meat today.
"Just let him take one portion back. There are enough dumplings for Dad, Xiaowen, and Yu'er."
"Now that we're both eating here, these things should naturally be handed over to you."
Given Ye Liang's appetite and the Jiang family's food standards, Liu Yi felt embarrassed to let Ye Liang bring all three holiday gifts back to the Ye family.
Ye Li frowned: "Brother Yi, that's too distant of you. My own brother and brother-in-law came to help me, how could I not provide them with food?"
Liu Yi laughed and said, "Of course you have to provide meals, but we can't come empty-handed every day, can we?"
Seeing that Ye Li was about to argue, he quickly added, "Alright, alright, it's just a little thing, not worth arguing about. Just take it back."
"Make more steamed buns and take them to the county town for Xiao Ji to eat, so that Xiao Ji can have some fun too."
"It's such a pity that he can't see how lively it is today."
Upon hearing this, Ye Li couldn't help but recall Jiang Ji's expression of "being unable to go, yet yearning for it in his heart" just now.
He raised an eyebrow: "Okay."
Using this excuse, he was able to go to the county town every day again.
He smiled and turned the cart around, got on the oxcart and left the workshop. He first delivered two portions of rice, flour and meat to his home, and then led the oxcart to Jiang Dahe's house.
Liang Erxiang, Jiang Liu, Jiang Yu, and Jiang Dahe have all returned home. All four of them work in the workshop and just received four holiday gifts.
With so much meat, Liang Erxiang decided to cut off a piece right now and chop it into filling to make dumplings for tonight—making dumplings doesn't require proofing the dough, which is convenient.
Liang Erxiang wasn't the only one who thought this way.
Other families in the village thought the same way. Five pounds of meat was indeed a lot. If they added some cabbage and radish, wouldn't the final filling weigh ten pounds?
This will definitely require two meals!
Instead of hanging the meat up to eat tomorrow, why not have a meal tonight to satisfy your craving?
As a result, the sound of chopping meat could be heard in many households.
With nothing else to do, Ye Li picked up a cleaver and started chopping minced meat.
However, when he had dinner at home, those families who had made dumplings all brought him a bowl of them, inviting him to taste their cooking.
Ye Li was moved.
But his family doesn't have a freezer.
Moreover, his family was going to make dumplings and steamed buns in the next few days, so he only took a few to taste, and let the villagers take the rest back.
After dinner, he rolled up his sleeves and started kneading dough, preparing to make both dumplings and steamed buns the next day.
In winter, the temperature is low, and the dough does not ferment well.
After kneading the dough, he carried the basin back to his bedroom and placed it on the kang (a heated brick bed).
The thought of meeting tomorrow kept him occupied, so he slept soundly and woke up early.
The next morning, he led the two little ones in a flurry of activity. When Ye Liang arrived, he packed a clay pot of dumplings and a few steamed buns and prepared to head out.
Jiang Ya also wanted to go, and grabbed his sleeve with her little hand, saying, "Brother Li, I miss Big Brother so much too."
Ye Li smiled slightly and said, "My dear Ya Ya, I have a date with your older brother today, so I can't bring you along."
"A date?" Jiang Ya was a little confused, tilting her head as if she didn't quite understand.
Ye Li reached out and tapped his little nose, smiling as she said, "It's just to strengthen your bond. You'll understand when you grow up and have a little boy you like."
Ye Liang, standing to the side: "..."
Jiang Mai coughed lightly, walked over and grabbed Jiang Ya's small hand: "Ya-ge'er, Li-ge and Big Brother have important things to do. We'll go with Li-ge to find Big Brother in a few days."
Although Jiang Ya is young, she is not stupid.
He is almost six years old and can understand Ye Li's words.
However, being so young, he doesn't yet know what shyness is.
Hearing Jiang Mai's words, he pursed his lips and let go of Ye Li's sleeve.
Seeing this, Ye Li reached out and pinched his cheek: "Good boy, I'll bring you something delicious when I come back."
He felt a little happier after hearing that.
That's true. I just saw my older brother yesterday, so let's choose something delicious for now.
He held up two fingers and waved them, saying, "Brother Li, and Second Brother's too, you need to buy two portions."
Ye Lile: "Don't worry, there will be plenty of wheat."
Hmm... Since the little guy is so sensible, he can pack some more ingredients from Banxianju today.
He had already decided that after entering the city today, he would first go to Banxianju to book a private room on the third floor, and then go to the county school to pick up Jiang Ji.
The private rooms on the third floor are completely enclosed, so the privacy is acceptable.
Of course, he didn't do anything.
But when they went to see Jiang Ji before, they always had lunch at small restaurants. In public, they didn't even touch hands, let alone hug or kiss.
Now that we're in the private room, at least we can hold hands, right?
Thinking of Jiang Ji, he didn't delay any longer and drove the oxcart out of the village.
After entering the city, he went straight to Banxianju.
Banxianju is now open for business.
However, today is the Winter Solstice, and we are supposed to eat dumplings. Although the semi-residence also provides dumplings, most people still choose to go home.
Therefore, business at Banxianju was quite slow at the moment, and the first floor was completely empty, with not a single customer at any table.
He booked a private room on the third floor with the assistant manager, Zhang, and then went straight to the county school.
But when he and Jiang Ji returned to Banxianju, the first floor was almost full.
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