Chapter 87 - Two-in-one rezoning of residential land, preparing to build...
After she finished speaking, Madam Hu said, "This stone mill must be expensive, right?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's a bit expensive, six hundred coins a plate, but it's first come, first served, so I gritted my teeth and bought it."
That makes sense, but Madam Hu still gasped. Six hundred coins! It would take a long time to save up six hundred coins.
She knew that Lin Chuntao and the others would soon be preparing to build a house, which would require a large sum of money, and she was worried just thinking about it.
Lin Chuntao drank a bowl of water. It was still early today. She looked at the potatoes in the pot and saw that they weren't fully cooked yet, so she covered the pot and continued cooking.
She sat down and joined in; the sun was shining brightly outside, making everyone feel warm and cozy.
We'll try to pick out two or three hundred catties today to soak, so we can steam them tomorrow. After steaming, we can start making the soybeans. We won't waste any time and can get them ready to sell as soon as possible.
The group worked until lunchtime, when their families came to call them for lunch, and they hurriedly left.
Lin Chuntao and the others were waiting for Lin Chunxing and the others to come back before they ate, so they ate later than the other families in the village.
Before they left, Lin Chuntao told them to eat and rest for a while before coming back. But Sun and the others went back and ate, and returned very quickly. Firstly, they felt they had received the money, and secondly, they could tell that Lin Chuntao had made the sauce quickly and that sitting and working wasn't too tiring. So they didn't rest and came back in a hurry after eating.
When they returned, Lin Chunxing and Pei Yinggang had just come back from the county town.
Lin Chuntao kneaded the dough to make savory pancakes. When Lin Chunhe saw Lin Chunxing return, she tidied up the winnowing basket in her arms, washed her hands, and went to make the pancakes.
She made the pancakes, and Lin Chuntao baked them. After they were baked, they were brushed with sauce, and the whole courtyard was filled with their aroma.
This was the first time Sun and the others had seen this way of eating. They had tasted Lin Chuntao's cooking before when they helped plant corn, and it was so delicious it was intoxicating. This was a completely new way to eat it!
"Chuntao, is this another new idea of yours?"
Sun couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, Grandma, please try a piece in a bit. It's just this sauce, it's very simple to make." Lin Chuntao invited, but Sun waved her hand. They were paid for their work, so how could they accept eating their food?
"You guys eat, you guys eat. We ate a lot at home, so we're not hungry right now."
Once all the pancakes were made, Lin Chuntao cut them into pieces and invited the four of them to eat.
But none of them came, so Lin Chuntao had to take a bowl, put some food in it, and said with a smile, "Grandma, Aunt, please have some."
Sun said, "No, no, we really did eat before we came."
"There's not much of it here, it won't fill you up."
Unable to refuse Lin Chuntao's hospitality, they each took a piece. The pancake was brushed with sauce and sprinkled with a little chopped green onion. The sauce flavor seeped into the pancake, and there was also meat filling inside. There was no gamey smell at all. The wheat aroma blended with the flavor of the chili sauce and meat filling. After taking one bite, they couldn't help but want to take a second bite.
These pancakes are so delicious, if you made them at home, one bowl wouldn't be enough for everyone.
Hu and Deng had heard the old lady say that Lin Chuntao was a good cook before, and they thought the old lady was exaggerating. But after eating it today, they almost asked Lin Chuntao how she made it.
Fortunately, she managed to restrain herself. Lin Chuntao set up her own food stall. What if these were pancakes that Lin Chuntao had prepared to sell? It would be awkward to ask about them.
The cakes were troublesome to bake, so Lin Chuntao didn't plan to sell them. After dinner, Madam Hu praised her cooking skills, and Lin Chuntao smiled and told them how to make them. They also had the sauce, so it wasn't difficult to make.
Sun looked at her and smiled, "Your second aunt was just saying, are you making something new to sell?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and waved her hand: "This is just a home-style flavor, and the recipe is very simple. I made this at home."
This pancake does look easy to make; they saw it when Lin Chunhe made it.
It's the thought and effort put into this, the dough, the meat filling. If it were them, they would just make a pancake or stir-fry some meat.
When these things get into Lin Chuntao's hands, they can be combined and turned into this incredibly delicious treat.
After eating the pancake, Lin Chuntao heated up her medicine and drank it, then sat down to rest for a while.
Then he called out to them, "Grandma, I want to go find Grandpa to help us mark out the land for our house again. Is he home?"
“You’re at home, just go and call.”
"Let's go together, Grandma, can you take a look for me?"
Sun originally intended to skip the work, but after wandering around for a while, half an hour had passed.
Aunt Guizhi looked up and saw Lin Duo'er skipping and jumping to go, and then she saw Lin Chunhe and Lin Chunxing also going. She then smiled and said, "Go ahead, Auntie. Please help Chuntao take a look. I don't know where Chuntao and the others' homesteads are located."
After Aunt Guizhi called out to them, everyone went together.
The previously designated plot of land for residential construction is located at the entrance of the village, next to a small hill.
Lin Chuntao was satisfied with the location, but the area she had marked out at the time was a bit small. Now that she was making soy sauce, she needed to set aside a special area for it, so she included building the house in the plan.
When Lin Chuntao and Cunzheng were talking about the size of the location.
Muramasa said, "There are no houses around there, so you can use any of the open spaces around the house site."
Lin Chuntao knew what it meant, but the land for the house still needed to be finalized, and she also wanted to build a courtyard to enclose it.
There are no houses here now, but villagers will definitely build houses in the future, and if they build next to each other, it will be easy to cause trouble.
She expressed her concerns, and then said that making the sauce required a piece of land.
Lin Cun was thinking about her sauce-making project. It had only just begun, and she had already hired four or five people to work. If she were to make more in the future, would she need to hire even more people, and how many would she need?
If there are many people who need the job in the future, then the villagers won't need to go to the county town to find work. In their spare time, they can work with Lin Chuntao and earn a few more copper coins.
“You need a lot of space to make this sauce, right? If you make more and more in the future, you’ll have to set aside a lot of space first.”
Lin Chuntao nodded as she looked at Lin Cunzheng's expression. Her main concern was how the homestead was divided and what the basis for it was. It would be troublesome if she wanted more land but couldn't get it.
Fortunately, after she shared her ideas, Lin Cunzheng allocated her a much larger area, more than double the previous one. Lin Cunzheng said, "This land has been abandoned for a long time. There are a lot of weeds near the mountain. Before you build the house, take a sickle and cut it down. Once it's cleared, you can use it."
Looking at the vast expanse, Lin Chuntao was somewhat incredulous and asked to confirm, "Grandpa, can I use it from the foot of the mountain all the way here?"
Lin Cunzheng misunderstood her meaning and asked in return, "If it's still not enough, you can draw another ten feet." As he spoke, Lin Cunzheng drew outwards. Lin Chuntao certainly wanted more space, but was it really okay to draw it this big?
She swallowed hard and still asked, "Grandpa, is there any problem with our big plot of land?" because she noticed that the houses in the village didn't seem very big.
Upon hearing this, Lin Cunzheng slowly smiled.
I told her that there had been troubles in the past, and that everyone lived close by for safety reasons, and also because people didn't have much money, so the houses were just built to be habitable.
In reality, this area is sparsely populated, and a household can have two mu of homestead land.
Lin Chuntao's eyes widened in disbelief! Two acres of land for a house—that was more than enough! It was more than enough for her.
Lin Cunzheng said, "This whole area can be designated. See if it's enough. Are you planning to build it?" Lin Chuntao replied, "Yes, I'm guessing it will be by the end of this month. We want to build it as soon as possible so we can move in for the New Year."
"It's good to move into a new house for the New Year. If you're planning to build one, take another look and see if it's big enough. After you're sure, you need to take measurements and register it with the government."
The area too close to the mountain would be a bit shady, which would be fine in the summer, but it might get damp in the winter. Lin Chuntao extended the area a little further out, and the land ended up being a little over an acre.
With such a large area, Lin Chuntao felt as if she had been given a blank canvas, and she was already full of anticipation as she prepared to paint on it.
The group of people who came to join in the fun had their own thoughts about the huge plot of land.
In this village, every household is pretty much the same; their houses, yards, and land are all similar. If you were to say which family is a little richer, it would be because they raise more chickens, have more men in the family, and do more odd jobs in the county town in their spare time, thus saving up more money.
Lin Chuntao and the others originally lived with the adults. The fifth branch of the Lin family was neither poor nor very rich.
After they separated, the sisters were like rootless duckweed in the whole village, not even knowing where they lived.
It was Lin Cunzheng and his family who kindly lent them their old house, which had been abandoned for several years.
Only a few months later, they were already building a house.
Previously, people would feel a pang of jealousy when they saw the girls frequently adding things to their homes, saying that they didn't know how to manage their money and that they didn't even have a place to live, let alone know how to save money to build a house.
Now things are really going well; they're actually going to build a house.
Building a new house costs money. Even building one for their own family would cost a lot of money. They would also have to give auspicious money to the people building the house, provide food for them every day, carry soil and tamp it down. If they also had to build the pigsty and other things, it would take at least a month and a half to finish.
We can't do it during the busy farming season. It's almost harvest time, and everyone's busy with the crops in the fields. Who has time to help build a house?
Standing in the crowd, Li Honghua looked at the large plot of land, and no one knew what she was thinking. She raised her voice and answered Lin Chuntao's words.
"Chuntao, you chose this month, at the end of the month. Everyone is busy with the crops in the fields and probably won't have time to help you cover it."
Hearing the voice, Lin Chuntao turned around and looked over. Thinking of the time when this person asked her to move back to the old Lin family house, she smiled and said lightly, "I know everyone is busy with the crops in the fields, but I can't wait any longer. Winter will come when everyone is done with their work, so I've invited craftsmen from the county town to build it. At most, I'll ask one of the aunties to help me cook a meal."
"Have the craftsmen from the county town come to build it?" Li Honghua exclaimed in surprise.
Lin Chuntao said, "Yes, I already asked about it before."
"How much will that cost?"
Not only was Li Honghua curious, but many people wanted to know as well, and everyone looked over.
Lin Chuntao said, "We haven't discussed the exact amount yet, but it will be more expensive than building it ourselves."
Someone in the crowd said, "My hometown village hired craftsmen from the county to build it. It turned out very beautiful. I heard them mention it before. It cost twenty or thirty strings of cash."
The smell made him gasp, and the man added, "But that one isn't very big either."
"Chuntao, are you going to build on this whole area?"
Before Lin Chuntao could reply, Sun Shi, who was standing next to her, laughed and said, "Sixth brother's wife, what kind of question is that? Every family has a few rooms to live in, a few pigsties, and a place to store firewood and hay."
As soon as Sun finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.
That's true, but even if someone like them built a few houses and a few pigsties on such a large plot of land, it would still be bigger than theirs.
If you build a bigger one, won't it require more money?
However, now that the homestead land has been allocated, Lin Chuntao and the others are preparing to go back.
The crowd that had come to join the fun dispersed.
Meng Yun and Fan Liniang were preparing to go into the mountains when they happened to meet people returning to the village on the way.
They were not familiar with some of the people, so they just nodded in acknowledgment.
As Fan Liniang passed by, she overheard the group discussing how Sun Shi and her mother-in-law had gone to Lin Chuntao's place. The person next to her said that she saw them go there early in the morning, come back for lunch, and then go back again. They then mentioned that Lin Jiahui had also been going to Lin Chuntao's place early in the morning and late at night recently.
The group exchanged glances, and a guess formed in their minds.
"Are they perhaps doing things for that brat Chun Tao?"
"That's impossible!"
"What's impossible? Before, everyone said they spent all their money instead of saving it to build a house. Now that they're building a house, they must have money! Maybe they even paid each other to help with the work!"
"If you're going to pay them, how much would you give them? I don't know what they're thinking. They're so old, being bossed around by that little girl! I think ten coins would be the most you'd give them!"
A bystander laughed and said, "Would you do it for ten coins?"
The speaker blushed slightly but said firmly, "I wouldn't lower myself to this level even if you gave me twenty coins."
As the villagers' voices faded into the distance, the two sisters-in-law asked Meng Yun, "Sister-in-law, do you think Lin Chuntao and the others are really hiring people to do work?"
Fan Liniang noticed today that Lin Chuntao had brought back those tools and the stone mill, so she must be busy with something.
She just didn't know how many people she would need. Lin Chuntao would definitely ask her close friends and family for help first.
She glanced at Meng Yun beside her. These days, they had been chopping, carrying, and selling firewood. Meng Yun's originally fair face had turned yellow from the sun. In fact, it wasn't just from the sun, but also from being tired and not eating well.
Fan Liniang pondered for a moment and said, "If Madam Lin really wants to get things done, then you can go and ask if she needs someone to write things down?"
Meng Yun took a deep breath and asked somewhat nervously, "Can I go?"
Fan Liniang said, "There's no harm in trying. She doesn't want us to continue working, but what if she needs us later?"
Meng Yun nodded, "That's right, I'll go ask tonight."
Lin Chuntao and the others were very excited after they got back to the house site. While Sun Shi and the others were busy, Lin Chuntao was drawing pictures all over the yard with a stick. The shape of the house had been decided: three rooms facing each other, three rooms on each side, one room for each of the sisters, one room for the kitchen and dining room, and one room left empty. The remaining issues were how to arrange the soy sauce making area and the pigsty.
The two places cannot be too close together, because even if they diligently clean up the pig manure, flies will easily breed in the summer.
She pondered for a long time and decided to build a few houses in the backyard to make soy sauce, a few pigpens on the left side in front, and a stove to cook pig feed. She also decided to open a door on the left side, which was close to the shady spot by the mountain, making it convenient to deal with pig manure.
The building built on the right side can be used to store chili peppers and soybeans, serving as a warehouse for storing raw materials.
After she finished drawing, she called Pei Ying and her sisters over to take a look, and none of them had any other opinions.
Lin Chuntao said, "That's settled then. I'll draw it on paper and take it to the city to find a craftsman tomorrow."
Sun also asked them how they recognized the craftsmen, saying, "Be careful, don't be fooled."
Lin Chuntao replied, "It was introduced by someone who worked with Pei Ying."
Upon hearing this, Madam Sun smiled and said, "It would be good if someone I know could introduce me."
In the afternoon, since everyone had nothing much to do, they all sat in the yard and worked together. After all, they were all farmers, and they were quite efficient at picking beans.
By evening, Lin Chuntao looked at the beans she had picked out and called Pei Ying to weigh them. She had already picked out nearly 300 jin (150 kg). She scooped the excess into another bag and prepared to wash and soak 200 jin (100 kg) of them.
Pei Ying went to fetch water. There was another bucket at home, and washing so many beans would require a lot of water, so Aunt Guizhi also carried the bucket and went with her.
The Sun family helped Lin Chuntao clarify things.
By the time they finished washing and soaking, the sun was almost setting, and Lin Jiahui returned with his little mule.
I managed to buy quite a few beans, but not many chili peppers.
Lin Jiahui said to Lin Chuntao, "Sister Chuntao, we still don't have enough dried chili peppers. We might have to go to the county town to buy some."
Lin Chuntao had already exchanged some money and said, "We'll buy as much as we can in the village. I also bought some from the county town today."
Lin Jiahui nodded after receiving the message.
With things mostly settled, Lin Chuntao gave them their wages for the day. Aunt Guizhi, who often sold vegetables outside, was more comfortable with the payment. However, this was the first time Hu Shi and the others had earned money through work. In the past, their husbands would go out to earn money and give them a little something in return. Today, they earned the money themselves, and they were a little embarrassed when they took it.
Hu and Deng only thought about it in their hearts, but Sun sighed and said it out loud.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "These are all delicate tasks, and grown men can't do them well. Thank you for your hard work today, Madam and the three aunts. We'll have to do it again tomorrow."
Sun said, "It's no trouble at all; we should thank you."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "We're not that close, so there's no need for thanks."
Aunt Guizhi chimed in, "That's right, it'll be getting dark by the time we finish thanking her." Then she looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "Chuntao, we'll head back now. You two should hurry up and cook dinner."
"Oh, Auntie, please take your time. I won't see you off."
When Sun and the others returned, they all had happy expressions on their faces.
When they got home, the children knew that their mother and grandmother had gone out to earn money, and they waited expectantly for their return.
As soon as Hu's youngest daughter saw her return, she rushed over.
"Mother, you're back!"
Mrs. Hu smiled and waved the string of copper coins in her hand at her. The child's eyes widened. Today, the four of them had earned seventy coins, and they had earned them right at home.
Mrs. Sun was overjoyed. She took half from each of her two daughters-in-law and her grandson, and said with a smile, "I'll share the fried eggs with you tonight."
The child jumped for joy at the mention of scrambled eggs. Eggs weren't rare, but they had to be saved up to sell for money, and they weren't something we ate often.
Hu and Deng put the rest of the money away, and Lin Jiahui, who was standing next to them, also gave his money to Chen Dongniang.
Chen Dongniang only took ten coins from him today, leaving him with five.
"Take this, just in case you need it outside."
Lin Jiahui nodded happily. When he went out to visit villages, he would often encounter peddlers who would sometimes sell things like maltose. He could only look at them. But now, Chen Dongniang's words meant that he could spend money.
Smoke was rising from the chimneys of every household in the village.
Aunt Guizhi and the others had cleaned up Lin Chuntao's yard when they left, so there's nothing to do now.
She went to get rice to steam, Lin Chunhe went to feed the pigs, Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunxing washed vegetables, and Pei Ying chopped minced meat. They also started to busy themselves with making dinner.
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