Chapter 90 This cheap labor!
Jiang Nuanzhi made soft egg pancakes.
I cracked two eggs into the batter, added some oil and chopped green onions, and seasoned it. Then I scooped out a spoonful and sprinkled it around the edge of the hot iron pan.
Once set, make two horizontal and vertical cuts with a spatula to divide it into four equal parts, each shaped like a small fan. Fry until golden brown on both sides, then remove from the pan.
There were still quite a few potatoes at home, so I shredded them, sautéed them with scallions and garlic, added meat sauce, and stir-fried them. I made rolls for the kids to eat.
The diced radish that came with it was pickled radish that Aunt Wang had given us. Jiang Nuanzhi washed it clean, added scallions and garlic, and mixed it together. It was sweet and sour, and very appetizing.
I also cooked a pot of egg drop soup to soothe the children's stomachs.
Jiang Nuanzhi ate until she was about 70% full, then put down her chopsticks and turned to examine her corn.
She carefully picked off the corn kernels one by one, making sure they remained intact.
Then, select the plump grains to use as seeds, which should amount to about two or three hundred.
The ear of corn that Jiang Nuanzhi got wasn't very big to begin with, and the kernels at the top were relatively small, so it couldn't be used as seeds. The remaining seeds weren't wasted, though; they were put in a bag and will be cooked and eaten by the children later.
Store the selected seeds in a cool, dry place.
Jiang Nuanzhi took five grains, placed them in a small dish, added water, and covered them with a soft cotton cloth, keeping the cloth moist.
Then, place the small dish at the end of the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed), where there is a little warmth but not too hot.
Soaking the corn kernels for five or six hours can remove bacteria from the surface of the kernels and also activate the germination ability of the seeds.
Jiang Nuanzhi was unsure about the condition of her corn plant, so she decided to dig up some soil and plant a few to try.
Now that the Grain in Ear season has passed, it is the perfect time to plant corn. Jiang Nuanzhi doesn't have much time to experiment, but as long as the seeds can germinate normally, they can be planted, and the best seeds can be selected batch by batch later.
After all that fuss, she went outside and found that the firewood was gone again. She then sighed softly at the stove.
"Anuan, wait a moment, your brother has gone to chop wood and will be back soon," the waiter said while clearing away the dishes.
Knowing that Jiang Nuanzhi would be using the stove to brew medicine for wounds later, Li Junping ate his meal and then rode Xiaoli out to chop firewood.
Jiang Nuanzhi squatted by the stove, looking worried: "In the past, Ping'er could chop firewood, but Ping'er will be going to school tomorrow, so firewood is a problem."
"School!"
He murmured Jiang Nuanzhi's words, then his hand, which was rinsing the dishes, suddenly stopped. He looked up in shock: "Nuanzhi! You...you really allowed your brother to go to school?"
Jiang Nuanzhi turned around: "Yes, didn't I say that before?"
Li Xiao'er's eyes reddened: "Anuan! I can go chop firewood! Don't worry, I will never let you run out of firewood. I can do all the housework, you don't need your brother."
After saying that, he pointed to Xiao Xuanting beside him: "He can do it too. He's about the same age as his brother, and I'll teach him well! We really don't need his brother at home."
After saying that, he looked at Jiang Nuanzhi pitifully.
Xiao Xuanting had just finished eating his pancakes and was sitting on a small stool, looking completely satisfied, lost in thought.
Suddenly being pointed out, he blinked in bewilderment. He gritted his teeth inwardly; he was utterly fed up with this little idiot.
But when she noticed Jiang Nuanzhi looking over, she managed to put on an extremely sweet smile: "Don't worry, Aunt Nuan, I can do it too."
Jiang Nuanzhi suddenly burst out laughing: "What are you guys thinking about?"
After saying that, Jiang Nuanzhi reached out and poked the waiter's head: "Silly boy, you can do it, but what will you do when you go to school? You have to think of a way to solve this."
Li Xiao'er was stunned: "Can I go to school too?"
Xuan Ting couldn't help but roll his eyes. This idiot, he can't even understand what I'm saying.
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and touched his little face: "Of course, your little sister will have to go too when she grows up!"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoer grinned foolishly and said, "Okay! We'll all go! Then when I come back from school, I'll help Anuan with chores and I'll make sure she's not tired."
Jiang Nuanzhi found him to be adorable and innocent, so she reached out and pinched his two little cheeks, rubbing them vigorously.
After the massage, the kid was even more stunned and couldn't help but laugh out loud again.
Just then, Lin Dazhu from next door came back carrying wood.
As he passed by Jiang Nuanzhi's house, he heard laughter and couldn't help but glance over. Seeing that Jiang Nuanzhi was looking at him, he immediately quickened his pace.
Jiang Nuanzhi's eyes lit up when she saw this person. She felt in her pocket that she still had a few copper coins, and immediately leaned over the wall to greet him.
"Brother Lin, are you off chopping firewood?"
Lin Dazhu saw Jiang Nuanzhi, his fat face twitched, but he still replied, "Yes."
Sensing that the other party didn't have a good impression of her, Jiang Nuanzhi didn't say much and simply handed over two copper coins.
"Could I buy some firewood from you?"
The Lin family next door has four brothers, each tall and burly with a face full of menacing features.
To be honest, the reason why Old Lady Lin was so domineering and unreasonable was because her sons were known in the village as tall, strong, and not to be trifled with.
Lin Dazhu was taken aback when he saw the money Jiang Nuanzhi handed him: "You want to spend two coins to buy my firewood?"
Jiang Nuanzhi nodded: "Yes, is that alright?"
Lin Dazhu looked at Jiang Nuanzhi as if she were a fool: "You really want to buy it?"
Jiang Nuanzhi: "Yes."
Lin Dazhu immediately rubbed his hands together: "Then I'll chop it up and bring it over to you?"
Upon closer inspection, there was a hint of nervousness in his expression.
Jiang Nuanzhi thankfully gave him two copper coins, saying, "Thank you for your help."
Jiang Nuanzhi hadn't originally planned to ask him to chop wood, but since it was an added service, she couldn't refuse.
Lin Dazhu was holding the copper coin, looking a bit dazed. Without saying a word, he started chopping firewood in Jiang Nuanzhi's yard.
He was tall and imposing; when he swung the axe, the muscles in his chest bulged, and in almost fifteen minutes, he had chopped up the entire pile of firewood.
I picked it up and arranged it neatly.
Jiang Nuanzhi looked at the firewood and became more and more satisfied.
Lin Dazhu nervously rubbed his hands together, and after a while, he asked rather embarrassedly, "Do you need firewood tomorrow?"
These days, firewood from the mountains is the cheapest commodity, and neighbors often help each other by bringing firewood. He felt a little embarrassed to accept money.
However, going to chop firewood and coming back with two coins was just a side job for him. Lin Dazhu still asked the question.
Jiang Nuanzhi raised an eyebrow and pulled out twenty coins from her pocket: "Let's calculate based on Brother Lin's quantity. Two bundles this big, I'll give you two coins. What do you think?"
Lin Dazhu was all muscle and looked like the kind of guy you wouldn't want to mess with. When he heard Jiang Nuanzhi's words, he nodded blankly and grinned, "You wait here, I'm going right now."
Even if you go to town to work, it's hard to earn twenty coins a day.
He earned the firewood by going up and down the mountain several times. How could he not be happy?
Jiang Nuanzhi smiled and said, "It's not a rush. Brother Lin, take your time. If you can't handle it yourself, you can ask someone for help."
Lin Dazhu chuckled and waved his hand, "Don't worry, girl, I promise I'll get it done for you today."
Jiang Nuanzhi couldn't help but sigh, "In the countryside, money really is a luxury."
Go outside and buy some fabrics, some skin cream, some medicinal herbs. It feels like an ounce or two of silver is gone in the blink of an eye, not even enough to satisfy your curiosity.
But once they returned to the countryside, two coins would be enough to buy a huge pile of firewood. The two large bundles that Lin Dazhu had just carried back were piled up so high that they were equivalent to what she could have chopped herself twice on the mountain.
She turned around and patted the waiter's head: "See, the firewood problem is solved, isn't it?"
The waiter looked pained and said, "Ah Nuan, isn't this a bit of a waste of money? It's just firewood."
Jiang Nuanzhi let out a long sigh and couldn't help but lament, "This cheap labor is really the same everywhere."
Xiao Xuanting peeked out from behind the door, his face full of curiosity: "Aunt Nuan, what is twenty coins?"
Second update!
(End of this chapter)
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