Chapter 95 Chapter 95-Two-in-one look at the day of building a house, preparing...
After chopping it, Lin Chuntao scooped some clean water into it to soak it.
While waiting for the rice to be steamed, Lin Chuntao quickly washed the pig's trotters, changed the water and put them into the pot, chopped the green onion and ginger, poured in a small amount of wine, and waited for the foam to boil.
After boiling the water, take it out and rinse it, then put it back into the pot and stir-fry.
Put the dried ginger slices, dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns and star anise into the pot and stir-fry until they have a strong aroma. Then Lin Chuntao pours water into the pot. After boiling over high heat, Lin Chuntao takes out a clay pot and pours all the pig's trotters and soup in the pot into the pot, and continues to stew it slowly in the pot.
Every family in the village was preparing to have lunch, but Lin Chunxing and the others had not returned yet.
Aunt Guizhi and Grandma packed up the winnowing baskets and beans and went home to eat.
The main thing is to measure each work at a certain time. Otherwise, Lin Chuntao thinks that they should set a time to get off work, go home at that time, rest after eating, and come back to work when it is almost time to go back.
About two or three quarters of an hour after they left, Lin Chunxing and Pei Yingcai came back, along with Yu Meixi and Sun Hu.
When they got home, the braised pork trotters were almost done.
As soon as I stepped into the yard, I smelled the fragrance floating in the yard.
Lin Chunxing saw Yu Meixi and the others busy inviting them to sit down. After entering the house and putting down her things, she hurriedly asked, "Sister, what delicious food did you make?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "We didn't cook the pig's trotters yesterday, so I just stewed them. They're already cooked. We just need to stir-fry two more dishes and we'll be ready to eat."
As Lin Chuntao was speaking, Lin Chunxing walked over to the stove and took a look. There wasn't much soup left, but it still looked quite rich. The pig's trotters had also taken on some color and looked very appetizing. She swallowed and quickly ran to wash her hands.
Lin Chuntao made tea and brought it to Yu Meixi and Sun Hu.
"Sister-in-law, please sit for a while. I'll cook some food."
Yu Meixi smiled and said, "Sister, you go ahead and do your work. Don't worry about us."
Lin Chuntao said, "We were originally going to the county town, but we were dividing the trees this morning, so we went to work on this matter."
I heard yesterday that they had fir trees. After hearing about the trees being divided, Yu Meixi took over the conversation.
"But is it divided?"
Lin Chuntao: "Not yet. Our trees belong to a whole family. We measured them this morning and will divide them up after lunch."
"Are we going to the woods again?"
Lin Chuntao nodded, and Yu Meixi said, "Then we'll go with you to take a look."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Okay, it's not too far, just over this mountain."
While chatting, Lin Chuntao brought down the clay pot. Yu Meixi and Sun Hu were also there today, so there were two more people eating. It happened that Lin Chunxing and the others had just bought some pork belly, so Lin Chuntao cut out a piece and prepared to make another twice-cooked pork.
Twice-cooked pork is easy to make and the process is not complicated. While the meat is cooking, Lin Chuntao asked Lin Chunhe to go to the field and get two cabbages.
She went with a basket of vegetables, and when she came back there were still a lot of pea tips in the basket.
Before Lin Chuntao asked, Lin Chunhe said, "Sister, Aunt Wandoujian gave it to me."
"I don't want to be pinched. She said she has already started pinching them. The pea tips are growing well this year."
Lin Chuntao nodded and said with a smile, "I feel embarrassed to eat her pea tips so often."
Lin Chunhe: "Sister, those peas you planted earlier have sprouted. They will probably be ready to eat in a while. By then, ours will be ready to take over after Auntie's family has finished eating theirs. Let Auntie come to our field to pick them."
"Um."
In the village, many people have good relations with their neighbors. As long as they grow vegetables in the fields, whoever's vegetables are cooked first will eat them. When another family's vegetables are ready, they will invite everyone to take them and eat them.
Whether it's pea tips or cabbage, Lin Chuntao prefers pea tips. Whether boiled in noodles or plain, she prefers pea tips.
Lin Chuntao fried the pig skin yesterday and planned to use it to make a pea soup.
"Chunhe, wash the pea tips."
Lin Chunhe asked, "Aren't you going to wash the cabbage?"
"Wash, just one tree is enough."
Lin Chunhe responded and ran to fetch water from a clay basin to wash the vegetables.
The pork belly in the pot was almost cooked. Lin Chuntao took it out and rinsed it with water, then cleaned the pot and put it on the fire.
"Chun Xing, take the pot off the water when it's dry."
After giving her some instructions, she went to cut the meat. If the twice-cooked pork is cut too thick, it will be greasy when fried. If it is cut a little thinner, it can be fried into a dry and fragrant dish, or it can be just ordinary twice-cooked pork.
Lin Chuntao was quick at cutting things, and in just a short while she had finished cutting the food and put it in a bowl. She then washed two garlic sprouts, a piece of fresh ginger, and took out two dried chilies, and cut them all for later use.
Lin Chunhe had already washed the vegetables and placed the pea tips and cabbage in separate colanders to drain.
"Chunhe, peel a few more potatoes and wash some coriander and green onions."
As he spoke, Lin Chunhe took the colander containing the cabbages and cut them into sections and set them aside.
After everything was done, Lin Chuntao took two bowls to scoop out half a bowl of oil residue and another bowl of pig skin. At noon, she made fried Chinese cabbage with oil residue, boiled pig skin with pea tips, stir-fried pork and a potato, and stewed pig's trotters, making five dishes in total, enough to eat.
After the dishes were prepared, Lin Chuntao started to fry them.
Heat oil in a pan, add garlic stalks, ginger and dried chilies, and add the meat after the aroma comes out. Lin Chuntao scooped up the sauce while frying the meat. After the meat was cooked, Lin Chuntao continued to fry for a while until the surface of the meat was a little golden. It would taste a little harder, but much more fragrant.
After the meat was fried, Lin Chuntao added the garlic sprouts. After the garlic sprouts were cooked, she added salt and sauce, stir-fried them over high heat, and the red twice-cooked pork was ready.
The whole yard was filled with the aroma of meat and chili peppers. Yu Meixi looked at Lin Chuntao who was cooking, then looked at Sun Hu, her pupils trembling.
She sniffed and found that her husband also wanted to take a deep breath and smell the air. The couple looked at each other, as if saying, how can Lin Chuntao fry this meat so fragrant?
Yu Meixi really wanted to say it smelled so good, but it was a bit awkward to meet someone who couldn't leave for lunch. If she praised someone's food, wouldn't it be the same as saying I wanted to eat it?
Yu Meixi: So embarrassing, but it smells so good...
After Lin Chuntao finished frying the meat, she wanted to wash the pot, but there was still oil in it. Everyone was reluctant to wash the pot, so they habitually scooped two spoonfuls of rice into it, just like making some lard rice.
Lin Chuntao cooked a bowl of rice and then washed the pot. She then stir-fried Chinese cabbage with oil residue and boiled pork skin with pea tips. While the two dishes were cooking, Lin Chunhe had already peeled and washed the potatoes. Lin Chuntao scooped oil into the pot and then ran to cut the potatoes. She cut them into irregular pieces very quickly. When the lard was melted, her potatoes were also cut and put into the pot to stir-fry.
Stir-frying potatoes would take a little longer. Lin Chuntao brought the cooked dishes to the table and then said to Lin Chunxing, "Chunxing, I steamed a bowl of dumplings in that steamer. Can you bring it out?"
After hearing what was said, Lin Chunxing brought the steamer over, opened the lid and tested the temperature. It was not hot, so she brought it out directly.
Lin Chuntao said, "Get your bowls and chopsticks and serve the rice. It's time to eat."
After saying that, Lin Duoer quickly went into the house to get out the dishes and chopsticks. Lin Duoer brought out seven bowls. Lin Chuntao smiled and said to Yu Meixi and Sun Hu, "Sister-in-law, Brother Sun, please join us for a meal."
The couple waved their hands hurriedly at the same time.
"No, no, we've already eaten. We came here after lunch."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "You guys eat early. It's already this hour. Sister-in-law, please don't be disgusted. Just make do with what you have."
Yu Meixi thought to herself, the dishes on the table were better than what they had eaten. If they were just making do with this, would they still be alive?
And this dish is so delicious!
The pork trotters were still steaming from the freshly served dish, and they smelled so good that it made people dizzy.
Just looking at the red fried pork slices made her feel like she could eat three bowls of rice with them. It took a lot of courage for Yu Meixi to refuse this meal.
"No, no, sister, hurry up and eat. Your brother and I came here only after we were really full. We're not hungry now."
I'm not hungry, but it smells delicious.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "If you're not hungry, just eat some food. Don't be so polite, sister-in-law."
Lin Chuntao was enthusiastic. Yu Meixi could tolerate being rejected once and twice, but she couldn't bear being rejected three times.
Just then, a breeze blew by, and the aroma of the food on the table was blown into the tip of Yu Meixi's nose. "Sister, your brother and I will not be polite."
Lin Chuntao laughed when she heard this, "It's too polite, we don't need to be polite."
Lin Chunhe was stir-frying potatoes in the pot. After Yu Meixi agreed, Lin Chuntao went over. The potatoes in the pot were already cooked. Lin Chuntao quickly added salt, chili powder, sprinkled in coriander and green onions, added a small amount of sauce, stirred it quickly and served it. It looked very appetizing.
She brought the potatoes to the table, and Lin Chunxing and the others had scooped up their rice, so she sat down and prepared to eat.
Since they had already agreed to eat, Yu Meixi didn't hold back. She first tried the twice-cooked pork that she wanted to taste the most, and ate it with a mouthful of rice. Although it looked red, it was not spicy at all, but very fragrant. When she chewed it again, the meat slices had a hint of crispness. It was simply amazing and went very well with rice!
After taking a bite, Yu Meixi stared at Lin Chuntao with wide eyes and praised, "Sister, how did you make this dish? It's so delicious! It smells delicious, and it tastes even better when you eat it!"
Lin Chuntao was praised, and Lin Duoer felt a little proud. She smiled and said, "Whatever my sister cooks is delicious."
Lin Chuntao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said to Yu Meixi, "It's just a home-cooked stir-fry, and it's mainly thanks to this sauce."
Yu Meixi almost wanted to ask her if she bought the sauce from Chai's Sauce Factory, but then she thought about the backyard house that Lin Chuntao had planned. Didn't it look like a small sauce factory? Adding to her sauced pork noodle soup, Yu Meixi smiled and asked, "Sister Chuntao, is this sauce the same as the one in your noodle soup?"
Lin Chuntao nodded, "Sister-in-law, it's one."
"Did you do all this by yourself?" Sun Hu asked.
"Yeah, I made it all myself."
After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Yu Meixi said to Sun Hu: "What you said is a kind of sauce, it must be made by sister Chuntao."
Sun Hu said, "I've eaten soup noodles before. If I hadn't eaten at my sister's house, I wouldn't have known that these two sauces are the same."
Lin Chuntao said, "There are many ways to use this sauce. You can use it with fried rice, stir-fried meat, mixed with potatoes, or cooked with noodles or soup."
Yu Meixi nodded, and admired Lin Chuntao's excellent craftsmanship in her heart.
"Girl, why don't you sell this sauce?" Yu Meixi thought that if she sold it, many people would definitely like it, so she asked.
Lin Chuntao said, "We don't have much in stock, just enough for making noodle soup on a daily basis. We should be able to send it to the county town to sell by the end of next month."
Yu Meixi said: "That's great, we can buy it in the city when the time comes."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "If sister-in-law likes it, I'll scoop some for her later."
Yu Meixi waved her hand: "No, no, no."
Lin Chuntao: "Just order the homemade sauce. If it's not sold enough, there's still some for friends and family to enjoy."
Yu Meixi wanted it in her heart, but Lin Chuntao had just said that she wanted to save it for selling soup noodles, so she felt a little embarrassed to ask. Unexpectedly, Lin Chuntao said it herself, so she had to say, "Then I won't be polite. Sister, help me scoop two pounds." She would give Lin Chuntao some money when the time came.
While eating and chatting, Yu Meixi also tasted the steamed Yuanbao dumplings. Every household fries these during the Chinese New Year, and the taste is similar.
Sun Hu originally just picked one up at random, but he didn't expect that his eyes widened after eating it, so Yu Meixi followed suit and picked one up.
These are not freshly fried, but they are very delicious. If they were freshly fried, I wonder how fragrant they would be.
Before, when they built houses for other people, Yu Meixi was the one who cooked.
But at this time, the couple were a little shaken.
If we take on the job of building a house for Lin Chuntao, it will take at least more than a month. If the craftsmen have to eat the food cooked by Lin Chuntao during this month, they will probably be full of energy to work!
The couple looked at each other and words were on the tip of their tongues, but the deed had not been signed yet and nothing had been agreed upon. They had to wait until Lin Chuntao looked at the drawings, confirmed that there was no problem, and signed the deed with them to decide to build the house for them before they could talk about eating.
Yu Meixi thought that if Lin Chuntao cooked, then she would work too and eat here.
Lin Chuntao had no idea that the couple had thought so much during the meal. She only felt that after the meal, the two of them were more enthusiastic about talking to her about building a house.
Today's pig's trotters were stewed very well. There were only four of them, so the stewed amount was not that much. Each person ate two or three pieces and they were all finished.
Lin Chuntao picked up some vegetables from the tender and tasty pig's trotters, while Yu Meixi and Sun Hu each ate a piece, and they were very satisfied.
Lin Chunxing, Lin Chunhe and others started making reservations for the next meal after they finished eating.
Lin Chuntao said, "Make it, make it, and buy more to make in two days."
The sisters collected the dishes and wiped the table as they talked.
After the wiped tabletop had dried, Yu Meixi and the others took out the drawn drawings and called Lin Chuntao to sit down and take a look.
Lin Chuntao didn't quite understand what style this drawing was, but it was very clear at a glance.
Lin Chuntao wanted a wooden corridor on the second floor. Sun Hu also told her that the outer wall should be extended a little so that the roof and the outer walls on both sides can block the rain. When it rains, it will not leak in, and the wooden boards of the corridor can be used for many more years.
Because the house is not very high overall, and considering that Pei Ying, Lin Chuntao's family member, is quite tall, in order to avoid the second floor being too short and cramped, Sun Hu suggested slightly increasing the slope. In this way, people from the outside would only see a roof, but the space for activities inside would be larger.
Yu Meixi explained, "If the house is small, then a steep slope wouldn't be good. Repairs would be troublesome, but your house is large, so this slope is not bad."
Lin Chuntao called Pei Ying to come and see. If this thing needs to be taken up in the future, it must be Pei Ying who will do it. She herself has never done this before, so she has to ask Pei Ying.
Pei Ying looked at the drawing and nodded.
The pigpen is not a double-layer one, but a single-layer one, and it is not too low, so it is still a little spacious. Lin Chuntao wanted to build a stone trough directly in the pigpen, but if it is made of mud, the pigs will dig it up, and it might be damaged soon.
After she told him her idea, Yu Meixi said, "Sister, you might as well get a stone trough. However, stone troughs are not cheap. The main thing is that you farm, so you definitely need manure. There is a lot of manure all year round. If you put a trough in it, there will be a lot of things in it, and you will have to deal with it frequently."
Lin Chuntao nodded and smiled, "That's not a big deal. It's mainly because I cook at home, and pig manure and other things must be cleaned up regularly. Otherwise, the yard will be full of flies and it won't be clean."
Hearing Lin Chuntao say this, Yu Meixi said, "Then I'll ask for a stone trough for you when I get back and try to get one cheaper. We'll also make the pigpen a little lower for you."
The pigpen was agreed on one side, and the other side was used to store things. It was made into an open-style second floor. Sun Hu said, "Sister, if you have a lot of stuff, you don't have to carry it up on your back. You can get a hand crank and pull the stuff up directly from downstairs. It can save a lot of effort, so I didn't block the whole article above."
Lin Chuntao is very satisfied with this design!
In the row of rooms in the backyard, she had previously said that she wanted to build a building upstairs to store things.
She looked at the internal structure, and Yu Meixi said, "For this, we can just open a door from the side upstairs, or from the front or back, which will be very convenient for you to get things up there."
Yu Meixi and the others put a lot of thought into planning these things for her. She didn't have much to change in the warehouse and the area for making sauce in the backyard. She just slightly altered the design of the windows.
From the outside, it looks like a detachable window, but inside, Lin Chuntao had a foldable window made with latches from the inside, a double-layer window. This design is only used in houses where several people live, and not in other houses.
Yu Meixi nodded. Lin Chuntao let each of her sisters have their own rooms, so that she could live alone, which was of course safer.
There are no other major problems.
The rest is the amount of soil, straw, glutinous rice and thatch.
It would be a huge undertaking for Lin Chuntao to prepare all these things by herself. Sun Hu said, "It's not easy for you to get so many things. If you find someone to do it, you might still have to pay for it. You can think about whether to buy them or find someone to dig them up. Finding someone to dig them up will take a while. If you decide to dig them up, we can help you find someone. It costs 20 cents a day. There are many people in the county who are looking for work and can do it."
"Or you can hire someone in the village."
In fact, there are quite a lot of people in the village, so she could hire someone, but it would be very troublesome for her to manage it herself.
Lin Chuntao said, "We'll just find someone to dig it out and then use a cart to haul it. If we have to carry it on our backs, I don't know how long it will take."
Yu Meixi said, "That's right. Just find a few people to dig up the yellow clay, and a few vehicles. There aren't many vehicles that can handle this kind of work in the countryside. I can find some for my sister."
Lin Chuntao said, "I'll look for that person in the village. Sister-in-law, please help me find a car."
Yu Meixi agreed. Lin Chuntao brought up the topic of thatch again. Sun Hu said, "When we start building it, you can ask people to cut it. By the time we're done, it should be enough. There are people selling thatch in the city. The price is not expensive. If it's not enough by then, you can buy some."
This is actually not a big deal. You can make some yourself and then buy some if it’s not enough.
Having said all this, the only thing left is wood. If Lin Chuntao could cut the fir trees herself, she could save a lot of money.
Yu Meixi said, "We're also buying fir wood. Sister, you can plan and cut down a few trees. However, freshly cut wood is still fresh and will shrink after drying, so try to use dried wood. Sister, give us the trees and we'll use the ones at home to make it for you. It will be better."
Lin Chuntao didn't have any objections, but she wanted to calculate the wood material.
"Okay, after we divide the trees, we can go to the woods and take a look."
Sun and Aunt Guizhi came back soon, and Meng Yun also came back with them.
Seeing Yu Meixi and Sun Hu, Sun asked with a smile, "How was your conversation?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Grandma, let's finish the discussion soon. We're still short of that tree, and we don't know how many trees we'll need."
Sun said, "When we arrived, your great-grandfather and his men were still calculating. They should be here soon."
It didn't take long before Lin Cunzheng, Lin Changhua and others arrived.
There are a total of 176 trees. On average, Lin Chuntao and her friends can get 25 trees. The extra one is not counted, and Lin Chuntao has no objection.
Twenty-five trees, eleven of which are very large, eight are slightly smaller, and the rest are even smaller.
After the trees were divided, everyone went to plant stone piles together. Yu Meixi and Sun Hu also went to see the trees.
They have been buying trees for many years, but this is the first time they have discovered this fir forest. The trees are so big... they don't need more than five or six.
Sun Hu looked at the trees and couldn't help but ask Lin Cunzheng: "Uncle, are you selling these trees?"
Lin Cunzheng shook his head: "I won't sell it. I'll keep it for the children in the clan."
Sun Hu nodded. If they were to build a small house with such a big tree, they could cut down one tree and still have more than enough left. They could save a lot of money, which was great.
Hearing that it was not for sale, Sun Hu gave up the idea for the time being.
After planting the stone piles, Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying walked around the area, memorizing the trees and their locations.
After finishing their work and returning home, Lin Chuntao, Yu Meixi and others began to settle the accounts.
The final decision was that if they cut down the big tree, they would charge three trees as the wood cost, and they would charge the carpenter ten taels as wages. The construction period was between one month and forty-five days, so they would charge the worker eighteen taels. In addition, they had to include everyone's meals, and the food expenses were actually included in the cost. However, after the couple ate Lin Chuntao's meal, they hesitated.
They hadn't figured it out yet, so Lin Chuntao asked, "How are the sisters-in-law going to handle everyone's meals?"
Yu Meixi said: "According to previous practice, we always cook on the spot. On weekdays, I am the one who cooks this meal."
Lin Chuntao heard Yu Meixi's words and she raised her eyebrows slightly. Yu Meixi smiled and said, "Sister, do you have time to cook for us? If you provide the meals, we can quote you a lower price."
Before Lin Chuntao agreed, Yu Meixi smiled and said, "Just now, your elder brother Sun said that if the workers ate the food you cooked, they might be more motivated to work."
Lin Chuntao chuckled and replied, "If that's the case, that's fine. Sister-in-law, give me a total price."
Lin Chuntao paid for the food, and Yu Meixi and the others finally quoted her a price of twenty-nine taels. Lin Chuntao estimated it in her mind, because she paid for the materials and the wood, the total amount was actually almost the same as the wages of the carpenters and masons.
She had calculated before that a skilled and unskilled worker would earn about sixteen or seventeen taels a month, and including the carpentry, the price they quoted was not particularly high.
Lin Chuntao said, "Then I'll have to trouble Sister Yu and Brother Sun."
She agreed to this, and Yu Meixi smiled and said, "Of course, sister, don't worry, we will definitely build this house beautifully for you!"
Sun Hu is writing the deed now, and Lin Chuntao will pay a deposit today, 20% on the day of commencement, 30% on the tenth day after commencement, 30% on the twenty-fifth day after commencement, and the remaining balance when the work is completed.
It was the first time that Yu Meixi and her friends had seen payment being made in so many installments. Most of the time before, they were paid half at the beginning of the work and the other half after the work was completed. Some people would drag their feet after the work was completed, and asking for money was a skillful job.
After Lin Chuntao distributed it all, only 20% was left in the end, which was not bad for them.
Yu Meixi agreed on the spot. They signed the contract and each took a copy. Yu Meixi symbolically took a deposit of 600 wen.
Lin Chuntao said, "It'll be in the next few days. I'll check the date to decide when to start work, and then I'll notify my sister-in-law."
Yu Meixi agreed, and there was nothing to do next. Lin Chuntao scooped two kilograms of sauce for them. The couple insisted on leaving some money for Lin Chuntao before going home.
After seeing the couple off, Sun smiled and said, "I'll ask your great-grandfather to look up the almanac for you later to see when to start work."
Lin Chuntao couldn't wait any longer. She smiled and said, "I'll go find Grandpa right now."
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