On February 5th, the well at the front was 90% complete. The water was flowing, and the foundations were almost finished. Just one day left to finish. The family was thrilled. They had a deep well here, and even a simple drought wouldn't be a problem.
Two masters were left to finish the work, and the other four began to do the preparatory work in the yard.
"I've wanted to ask for a long time, what do you cook every day? It smells so good, it's so tempting." The well digger sniffed, and the smell was even stronger when he entered the yard.
At this moment, Tian was braising meat in the kitchen with the door closed.
"We have a meat business. The meat is cooking in the pot. How can it not smell good? When the chefs are done, please try it."
"Thank you very much. The meat is so delicious. I have never seen pork so delicious. Your business must be good." This well requires two wells to be dug. Who would be willing to do that without money?
"Thank you for your good wishes." Since there were people doing housework at home, Zhou couldn't leave.
Chunxiao and his family have completely stopped selling charcoal. Last time, Yan Dashan and his family took three days to sell out the hundred pounds of charcoal they had left. Now they can't sell any more, so they'll have to wait until next year. These past few days, they've been plowing and fertilizing the fields up front. The base fertilizer is almost finished. They'll need to cultivate the soil for a while, and then, once the seedlings are established, they can transplant them.
The braised meat business was now completely on track. They had already agreed with the butcher in the next village to deliver three sets of meat a day: three heads, twelve hooves, six ears, three tails, and three sets of large intestines. If the butcher didn't pick it up the first day, it would be kept for the next day. If the butcher didn't notify them in advance and didn't pick it up, if the food went bad, the Yan family would pay for it. The butcher was very satisfied with this promise, which gave him peace of mind.
Three complete sets weighed about 140-150 jin (approximately 200-300 catties). The restaurant had also agreed that they had no objection to the extra quantity, as long as it was delivered on time. Chunxiao roughly calculated that, not counting the cost of the marinade, her eldest and second brothers would earn nearly 50 liang (approximately 200 kg) each month. She kept this a secret from both families, hoping to have a surprise when the money was divided at the end of the month.
Chunxiao went to the fields to check every day, and finally on February 9th she saw many seeds sprouting. She hurriedly pulled Zhou over to see.
"It sprouted so quickly. It seems that the seeds do sprout quickly after being soaked." Zhou was delighted.
Chunxiao called the children over and asked them to help lift the winnowing basket and sort out the dead grass. They wouldn't be afraid of the sprouts now. The family spent most of their time here, so only one child stayed over there to watch over the pigs and feed the chickens. The pigs were still young and didn't eat much, so feeding them wasn't difficult.
On the 12th, Yan Dashan sent Yan Qi to a private school in the next village and paid a year's tuition of 2 taels of silver and 200 coins for lunch for a month. There was nothing he could do since the school was far away and he couldn't come back at noon. Chunxiao gave him a homemade brush and went to the town to buy him ink and paper. He also bought one for Shuwen. Although it was agreed upon at the beginning, it would not work if the gap was too big.
Both of them were very happy to get the things. Shuwen asked Yan Qi to study hard in the private school and come back to teach his brothers and sisters. Yan Qi agreed solemnly.
On the 13th, Zhou took a backpack to the village and brought back 100 chicks. She put them in the chicken roll and it was very lively. She also picked some cabbages from the village fields, chopped them into small pieces and fed them to the chicks.
At noon on the 15th, the well in the yard was completed. Both wells were dug quite smoothly. Coincidentally, when they went to get the meat yesterday, the butcher had given them an extra set of sausages, which they braised and set aside for their own consumption. Zhou, feeling generous, cut off three pounds of sausage and added it to the dumpling soup she had cooked at noon. She served each of them a large bowl and steamed a large plate of sausage for them to eat.
"This is the food you made. It's really delicious."
"What kind of meat is this? I've never eaten it before. It's so sticky and chewy."
"As soon as you put this food in your mouth, you can tell it was made by an expert. It must be expensive."
"Chefs, if you like, please eat more. There's more in the pot." Yan Bingfa smiled and handed them some braised sausages. "These are specially made sausages. I hope you can eat them."
"Intestines? How can intestines be so delicious?" The chefs seemed unconvinced, but judging from the shape, they were indeed intestines.
"This is a secret recipe of intestines," Zhou said proudly. "We sell it for 40 wen a pound. I usually don't want to eat it."
"It's really not cheap. I'm really enjoying the host's kindness today. I can eat such delicious meat. Thank you very much."
"I also want to thank all the workers for their hard work in digging two wells for us. With these two wells, it will be much more convenient to get water in the future."
"You gave the money, and that's what we should do."
Chunxiao handed the final payment of 16 taels that she had prepared long ago to the leading contractor and said, "I'll trouble you again if I need anything in the future."
"We applaud and welcome it. The more the better."
After seeing off the well digger, the whole family gathered around the well in the yard. "Aunt, this is your well from now on."
Chunxiao touched Duo'er's head and said, "This will be our well from now on. When you play in the future, don't climb on the wellhead. It's dangerous, you know." Fearing that the children would be careless, she asked the master to build the well platform a little higher. Even so, she still had to remind them.
"Mom and Dad also told us, we will be careful." Several children looked into the well and asked, "Why is the water yellow?"
"This well has only been draining for two days. The mud and sand at the bottom haven't settled yet. In two days, the water will be clear and ready for use."
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