"You mean that girl? You're a grown man, why are you arguing with a girl? Everyone has a different temper. Hurry up and get ready to help with the work!"
Liang Shuyan came out and said something, then turned and followed Zhang into the kitchen.
The kitchen isn't big either. As soon as you enter, you can see the shiny stove. Apart from the pots, the rest of the kitchen is in a better condition. There's a cutting board that's been unused for years. The original cutting board has cracked, so it's probably not suitable for cooking for the time being.
"Erniu, come here and help build a stove. We'll just make do in the yard for now. The kitchen is too dilapidated. We'll make do with this for a meal, then we'll go to the market to buy some things and hire a craftsman to clean up the house. Otherwise, it's uninhabitable like this."
Erniu didn't dare to refuse. He carried over a few clods of earth, found a wooden board, mixed the mud, and started making a simple stove, just like a craftsman. In no time, a simple stove was finished.
Zhang took a satchel off the donkey cart and took out a pot from it. It was the pot they had used on their journey to escape famine, and it was still usable for a while.
"Mom, this iron pot can still be used. We've just arrived in this place, and there are many things we need to spend money on. Let's use it sparingly for now, and we can buy a new one when we have more money."
Zhang was clearly a thrifty person. She took out some rice from her satchel, washed it, and started cooking it.
Dashan cleared all the weeds from the yard and pointed at them, saying, "Mother, put these weeds down to feed the little donkey. Our little donkey is a real hero now. I think we should ask someone to build a donkey pen in the backyard, so that the donkey will have a home when it rains or the wind blows."
Liang Shuyan nodded: "Okay, now that you're all ready, wash your faces, come sit down, and let's discuss how to live together from now on?"
Indeed, as the head of the family, Liang Shuyan definitely needs to plan her future life carefully. She doesn't want to bring her mother to ancient times to live such a filthy life.
Da Shan found a table, and he and San Wang carried it to the yard and fixed it in place. He patted it and said, "Hmm, it's alright. Let's make do with this for now. After we finish eating, San Wang and I will go up the mountain to cut some bamboo. We don't have any money right now, so we'll use the bamboo to make some household things."
When bamboo was mentioned, Liang Shuyan thought for a moment, then stood up. Seeing that the doorway was empty, she said, "How about this, we dig up a few bamboo stalks that are growing well on the mountain and plant them neatly at the door. That way, we'll have a place to cool off even in the summer. We should also build a bamboo canopy over the area where we eat."
Zhang gently stirred the rice porridge in the pot with a spoon, ladling a bowl for each person and placing it on the table.
Liu scooped some radish strips from the jar, put them on a plate, placed it on the table, and shouted with a grin, "Alright, time to eat! Time to eat!"
Liang Shuyan glanced at the plain porridge in her bowl and said somewhat apologetically, "Today is our first meal after moving here. We should have eaten something better, but we don't have any cooking pots or stoves, and we don't have any food either, so we'll just make do with this. We'll go to the market later to buy some things so we can have something nice to eat tonight."
Li Lanfang picked up the bowl in her hand, glanced at it, and laughed heartily: "What's wrong? Isn't this kind of life good? Children, at least we don't have to run around anymore, do we? We don't have to worry about our food being stolen, or where we'll sleep at night, right?"
Da Shan nodded heavily: "Grandma is right. Now we have a home and don't have to travel around anymore, which is a good thing."
Erniu picked up where Dashan left off, saying, "It's still quite a distance from here to town, Mom. I think I'll go out and find some odd jobs. After all, our whole family needs to eat, and we need some money to make our lives a little better."
Erniu is an ambitious and hardworking person. He can't sit still for a moment. As soon as he arrived, he started thinking about making money. Liang Shuyan appreciated Erniu's idea. She put down her chopsticks and said slowly, "Erniu, I support your eagerness to make money. But didn't Wang Daikui say he would give us land? When we get the land, we can plant all the land and then do some odd jobs or small businesses. That would be fine."
Sanwang frowned: "Mother, then I'll follow you and do some chores. The family needs to carry water and chop firewood; we need a man too!"
Zhang didn't speak, but glanced timidly at her mother-in-law: "Mother, your daughter-in-law also wants to do some small business to help you manage the household. With so many people, how can you let Mother manage all the household affairs by herself?"
"Don't worry about this kind of thing. You're the daughter-in-law of the Jin family. Now, work hard with Dashan and have another baby. That's your job!"
After saying this, Liang Shuyan cursed herself inwardly: "You're still a virgin, how can you have the nerve to say such things to your daughter-in-law? How uncouth!"
Li Lanfang glanced at Liang Shuyan but said nothing.
Jin Dashan blushed and said, "Mother, what are you saying? We've already had two girls. What if we have another one and it's another girl?"
"You jinx! If you treated your wife well, wouldn't God grant your wish?"
Madam Liu was quite pleased with herself and pointed to her mother-in-law, asking, "Mother, do you think I can start doing some small business with you?"
"What's wrong with you all? Don't you want to stay home? Are you planning to sprout wings and fly away? Look at your cooking skills! You can't even cook a proper meal. Now you want to talk to me about what kind of business you want to make? First, clean up the kids and cook three meals a day for them!"
The dinner table fell silent; no one spoke.
After finishing their meal, Zhang and Liu took the initiative to remove the bowls and chopsticks and clean the kitchen.
Liang Shuyan didn't want to rest either, and said to Erniu and Sanwang, "Erniu and Sanwang, pack up and make sure the donkey is well fed and watered. We're going to town now."
Liu's eyes darted around: "Mother, here is the list of things we're missing that you asked me to register. Take a look!"
Liang Shuyan then remembered that she had asked her daughter-in-law to register what was missing from the house. She slapped her head and said, "Look at my memory! How could I forget something so important?"
Liu blushed and handed the note to her mother-in-law. Liang Shuyan took one look and immediately took two steps back in surprise, pointing to the strange characters on the note and saying, "What are these things you drew? Round and X's?"
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