Work was finished early today, and when she got home, Tian was a little surprised. "The roof is done?" She looked behind her and said, "I don't see Yan Dashan and the others." "Mom, didn't Dad come back with you?"
Zhou walked in and dusted herself off. "They went up the mountain with your Uncle Musheng to cut bamboo. Chunxiao wants to build a shed in the yard. I just came back and saw a group of children heading west to the village. The clerk seemed to be there too. What are they doing?"
"Mrs. Zou's pigs gave birth, so they went to join in the fun."
"That's great! I'll go there in a couple of days and reserve two piglets for our family." She glanced at Chunxiao beside her and said, "Do you want to keep one? Or you can raise one too and sell it during the New Year. You can earn three or four taels of silver."
Chun Xiao waved her hand and said, "Let me take care of myself first."
"You really don't understand. You can only save money if you have income. If you don't want to raise a dog, then don't raise one. Just get your life in order for the first year."
Chunxiao felt that raising pigs was too troublesome. One had to serve them three meals a day. Raising a pig meant one had to take care of it all day long. It was easy if it grew meat, but if it didn't, one would be worried to death.
"Mom, our pigs are strong this year. I think selling them for four taels of silver won't be a problem." When Tian mentioned silver, her face lit up with a smile. "Then we can save some meat to have a good New Year."
"We'll see when the time comes. Whether it's more profitable to sell the whole pig or the meat. We'll make money in whatever way we can. At worst, we can just weigh some meat and bring it back."
Another day passed, and the whole family was drying mud bricks in the open space at the end of the village. Yan Laowu had made windows and doors for them, and knowing that they were busy, he delivered them directly to the end of the village.
"Fifth Uncle, you are very efficient. You finished the door in just two days." Dashan looked at the brand new wooden door and hurriedly called Dahe to go with him to lift it down from the cart.
"I know you guys need it urgently, so the whole family is working on it. It's also because your wood is good." Yan Laowu hadn't been to the end of the village for a long time. He saw Yan Musheng and his son setting up a shed in the yard. "Why, have you been conscripted and are working here for Bingfa?"
"Who says it's not? But it's not like I'm working for nothing. I can still make a living." Yan Musheng joked, "You craftsmen are the best. People come to you all the time to ask for favors."
Yan Laowu was also very proud. Carpenters were very popular even in the countryside. In the whole village, except for the headman, his family had the best life. However, they were very busy. Yan Bang sent over, "As I told you yesterday, I will owe you the wages for now. I will pay you back after the New Year when you have more money. Keep a record of it."
"I see. We're all from the same village, so I'm not afraid you'll run away. Okay, I've delivered the things. I have to go back quickly. There are two more sets of doors, which should be ready by tomorrow. I won't deliver them to you. You can ask Dashan or Dahe to get them. I'll lend you the cart when the time comes. Just return them to me in time."
"Thank you very much in advance."
Today, Yan Laowu delivered the main hall door, the small door leading to the back room, and three window frames. Installing the door was a bit of a hassle, but Yan Musheng was a seasoned hand, so he handled it with ease. They removed the old, dilapidated door, cleaned the slots on both sides, and slotted the new door frame in. Fearing it wouldn't be sturdy enough, they applied the pre-prepared brick mortar, then installed the door and secured it with stones.
The front and back doors were installed and secured, and then the three windows were replaced. Several people looked outside and said, "With these doors and windows replaced, the house looks like it's new. It's great."
"There's nothing we can do about it. If we have money, we can just tear it down and rebuild it. There's no need to go through so much trouble." Yan Bingfa helped them build the bamboo shed again.
Zhou, Tian, and Chunxiao were making mud bricks while Zhang went back to cook. The family had gone out early in the morning to dig up mud from the riverbank; the mud there was sticky and perfect for making mud bricks. The open space was large, and the weather had been good the past two days, which was a bit of luck.
Chunxiao looked at the mud bricks neatly laid out to dry in the open space and said, "Mom, why are they drying on the slope? The sun can't reach here."
"Silly boy, this mud brick can't be dried directly in the sun. If you want to dry it, you can only do it in the sun, otherwise it will crack easily. And remember to turn it over later."
Although Chunxiao knew a lot, she had never made mud bricks before. She wanted to use cement, but there was no material available here. Even if she wanted to make it, there was nothing for her to do. "Does it have to be burned after drying?"
"Yes, it can be used after burning it. It only takes about an hour to burn it."
"Mom, there's some open space here. Why don't we make some tomorrow? It will be convenient if my little sister needs to build a pigpen or chicken coop or something."
Zhou thought about it and felt her daughter-in-law's words made perfect sense. "Okay, then, let's go pick up a few more loads of mud tomorrow. We don't need too much, as there won't be room for more." The three of them diligently worked on making mud bricks. After eating the meal Zhang had sent them, they continued in the afternoon. They made about three or four hundred mud bricks, and turning them over took quite a while. Over in the yard, the straw mat was also set up, and Yan Bingfa was setting up the ladder to lay the roof. Dashan and Dahe were helping. After Yan Musheng and his son finished setting up the scaffolding, they returned home. After all, they had a lot of things to do at home.
The mud bricks were already formed, so they were left to dry. Zhou and the others began to build a fence around the yard with bamboo strips according to Chunxiao's wishes. Zhou was afraid that it would be unsafe for a girl like her to live there, so she cut the bamboo longer when she first cut it. As a result, the fence was erected very high, enough to keep outsiders out.
"Plant them more densely. If there's not enough, we can go up the mountain and cut more."
Tian laughed at the side, "Our fence is only half this high, and it wasn't as dense as it is now. Mother really thought so much about this little sister."
"What are you talking about? If you don't like the fence at home, we can just go home and replace it. It's just a matter of effort."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
