Chapter 123: It’s better to hit your head against tofu and die
"Actually, if you taste it carefully, you can still taste a bit of an unusual flavor, but I masked it with the taste of sugar."
Sang Yu's tongue was more sensitive than his. After tasting it carefully, she keenly sensed the fishy taste that was covered by the sweetness.
However, given the lack of various spices, she has done her best to achieve this.
"Ah? There's a strange smell? Why can't I taste it?" Sang Yongjing's face was full of question marks. Could it be that his tongue was damaged?
Sang Xingjia nodded in agreement: "Yes, this meat is completely different from the pork I've eaten before. It's so delicious."
"If it tastes good, eat more. We'll have to eat meat every meal for the next few days."
Sang Yu smiled and shook her head. She didn't know when she would finish eating so much pork, and she didn't know if it could be stored.
The continuous rain in the past few days disrupted Sang Yu and her friends' original plan.
The bamboo that had been cut down and left to dry naturally was soaked by rain before it was completely dry, so it was useless. They had to ask the people who helped with the logging to cut some more bamboo.
The charcoal burning site has the habit of making bamboo charcoal. The dried and roasted bamboo materials are stored. They can bring fresh bamboo and directly exchange it for dried bamboo.
Taking advantage of the fact that the foundation was not dry enough to start construction, Sang Yu and Sang Yongjing started preparing materials for building the house in the next two days.
Things like pillars and beams were temporarily stored at the charcoal yard and could be brought over whenever they were needed. The bamboo men also set out to cut bamboo in the mountains. The only thing left was soil.
The winter temperature in Lingnan region does not reach below zero, so the insulation measures of houses are not very important, but heat insulation is necessary.
Using bamboo as wall support has good air permeability, but the gaps between the bamboo nodes will inevitably leak air, so soil is needed to fill the gaps.
Use ordinary loess or clay on site, add water and mix it and apply it. It has good viscosity but not strong enough, so it may need to be repaired every now and then.
At this time, you can add hay, wheat straw or plant fragments into the soil, which greatly improves the crack resistance compared to pure mud and also has certain thermal insulation and protective effects.
Many stoves and earthen kangs in rural areas are still built in this way today.
The second one is durable enough, but Sang Yu also knows the third formula.
Lime, river sand and loess are mixed together. This method has been used to build the Great Wall and city walls since the Qin Dynasty.
What she plans to use is an advanced version of the third formula, which is lime, loess, river sand, glutinous rice juice and brown sugar. After drying, it will be as hard as stone, waterproof and corrosion-resistant.
As long as there are no natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, it can stand for a hundred years without collapsing. Even if the owner is gone, the house still exists, and one family can pass it down for three generations.
Lime can be made at the charcoal yard, so it's easy to buy for a small amount of money. You have to go find loess in the mountains, and river sand can be collected from the bottom of the stream.
I don’t have brown sugar, but the amount needed is not large, so I can just buy it together with the glutinous rice.
Originally, Sang Yongjing wanted to go directly to the creek in Qingxi Village to dig sand. After all, it was close, and the dug sand could be transported directly to the mountain wall to dry, saving the trouble of transporting it back and forth.
But Sang Yu stopped him. She shook her head in disapproval and said, "Dad, let's go dig sand from the stream in the mountains. Last time I went fishing, I saw a layer of fine sand at the bottom of the riverbed. We can collect enough sand."
"Why bother? Isn't it in the creek in Qingxi Village?" Sang Yongjing waved his hand nonchalantly.
Sometimes Sang Yu really wanted to open her father's head to see if there was a brain inside. Many things could be seen at a glance, but he just couldn't understand them.
She sighed helplessly, "Ah, Dad, have you ever thought about this: why is there a stream in the middle of Qingxi Village, but no one has ever sold fish in that market?"
"Eh? Now that you mention it, it makes sense. Could it be that they caught and ate them all themselves?"
Sang Yongjing didn't pay much attention to it before, but after she reminded him and thought about it carefully, it was true.
After the rain, the stream water rises greatly, and you can often see oxygen-deprived fish jumping in it, but you have never seen anyone catching fish to sell at the market.
"How is that possible?" Sang Yu couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.
People in this era were reluctant to even eat wild vegetables themselves. They would first sell them and only take them home if they couldn't sell them. If they could catch fish, why would they not eat them themselves instead of selling them for money?
"Without a fishing net, you might not be able to catch a lot of fish, but you can definitely catch one or two."
She had been able to catch fish in the mountains using her outer robe before, and she didn't believe that the villagers couldn't even catch one or two fish.
"What's the reason?" Sang Yongjing vaguely understood something. Thinking of the time when he and Sang Yu went to give money to Village Chief Shen, a flash of enlightenment flashed through his mind, "Why not arrest him?"
"Father, you are finally smart for once."
Sang Yu felt that she had explained it so clearly. If her father still couldn't figure it out, he might as well just hit his head against a wall and die.
"But we're not going to catch any fish. Can't we just dig some sand?" Sang Yongjing still didn't give up.
"..." Sang Yu held her forehead helplessly. She would definitely buy a piece of tofu when she went to the market next time. "Dad, the point is not about catching fish or digging sand. The point is that the clear stream is someone else's private property. We can't touch it."
To prevent Sang Yongjing from arguing with her any further, she added, "If you want to move, just bring some money or food to their door and say hello."
No matter what you give, it cannot be less than the money you gave when you first built the house, because you are asking someone to do something for you.
Instead of wasting this money, it is better to spend more effort to dig sand from the mountains and bring it here.
Maybe Sang Yongjing has forgotten the beating, but she has always kept it in her heart.
Qingxi Village is far from being as quiet and peaceful as it seems. Lurking in the shadows is a dark force that is on good terms with Village Chief Shen.
Sang Yu sometimes even thought that maybe that force was cultivated by Shen Wenfu himself to ensure that his status and position in Qingxi Village would not be shaken.
Speaking of having food delivered to the door, Sang Yongjing suddenly remembered the taste of the rabbit meat last time. He swallowed subconsciously and continued, "Then let's go to the mountains and see if we can catch some more fish."
Money should be spent wisely, like buying a rabbit to roast after the house is built. Anyway, the family has nothing to do right now, so a couple of extra errands can be considered exercise.
Sang Xingjia finally finished his medicine, and with Sang Yu's approval, he was released from restrictions. He had been running around with them for the past two days, as if he had just been released from prison.
After all, it was just a layer of sand applied on the surface and in the gaps of the bamboo, and it was not a real plan to build a fort, so the amount of sand needed was not much. Sang Yu led the Sang father and son into the mountains to dig sand.
This time she also brought a bamboo basket woven by Mrs. Shi. It has small gaps and can filter water quickly, making it a good choice for catching fish.
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