Chapter 87 Chapter 87-Two-in-one rezoning of the residential land, ready to build...
After she finished speaking, Mrs. Hu said, "This stone mill is not cheap, right?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's a little expensive, six hundred coins a plate, but first come first served, so I gritted my teeth and bought it."
That was the truth, but Mrs. Hu still took a breath. Six hundred coins! It would take a long time to save up six hundred coins.
She knew that Lin Chuntao and her family would soon be preparing to build a house, which would cost a lot of money, and she became worried just thinking about it.
Lin Chuntao drank a bowl of water. It was still early today, so she looked at the potatoes in the pot and saw that they were not yet fully cooked, so she covered the pot and continued to cook.
She also sat down and joined in. The sun was shining brightly outside, making people feel warm.
We will try to pick out two to three hundred kilograms of beans today to soak, and then steam them tomorrow. After steaming, we can cover the beans. We will not waste time, and we can make them as soon as possible and sell them as soon as possible.
They worked until lunchtime, and then left in a hurry when their family came to call them to eat.
Lin Chuntao and her friends had to wait for Lin Chunxing and her friends to come back before they could eat, so they ate later than other families in the village.
Before they left, Lin Chuntao asked them to rest for a while after dinner before coming back. But Sun and the others returned quickly after dinner. Firstly, they felt they had received their payment, and secondly, they also felt that Lin Chuntao was in a hurry to make the sauce, and sitting down to work was not very tiring. So they did not rest and hurried back after dinner.
When they came back, Lin Chunxing and Pei Ying had just returned from the county town.
Lin Chuntao kneaded the dough to make sauce-flavored pancakes. When Lin Chunhe saw Lin Chunxing coming back, she packed up the winnowing basket in her arms, washed her hands, and went to make the pancakes.
She made the cakes and Lin Chuntao baked them. After they were baked, they were brushed with the sauce and the whole yard was filled with fragrance.
This was the first time Sun and the others had seen this way of eating corn. They had tasted Lin Chuntao's cooking before when they were helping to plant corn. It was so fragrant that it made people dizzy. There was actually a new way to eat it.
"Chun Tao, is this something new you've come up with?"
Sun couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, grandma, you can try a piece later. It's made with this sauce and is very simple." Lin Chuntao greeted her, and Sun waved her hand. How could she have the nerve to eat their food when they were paid for their work?
"You guys eat, you guys eat. We just had a full meal at home, so we're not hungry now."
After all the pancakes were made, Lin Chuntao cut them into pieces and invited the four of them to eat.
But they didn't come, so Lin Chuntao had no choice but to take a bowl and put some over, saying with a smile: "Grandma, Auntie, you guys try some."
Sun said, "No, no, really. We just came here because we were full."
"It's not a big piece, and it won't take up much space in my stomach."
It was hard to refuse Lin Chuntao's hospitality, so they had to take a piece each. The pancake was brushed with sauce and sprinkled with a little chopped green onion. The flavor of the sauce seeped into the pancake. The inside of the pancake was also filled with meat stuffing, and there was no smell at all. The wheat aroma blended with the spicy sauce and meat stuffing. After taking one bite, they couldn't help but want to take a second bite.
If you make such delicious cakes at home, one bowl will not be enough for everyone.
Mrs. Hu and Mrs. Deng had heard the old lady say that Lin Chuntao was a good cook before, and they thought the old lady was exaggerating. But after eating the food today, they both almost wanted to ask Lin Chuntao how she made it.
Fortunately, he restrained himself. Lin Chuntao set up her own food stall. What if these were cakes that Lin Chuntao had made and was preparing to sell outside? It would be embarrassing to ask.
This cake was difficult to bake, so Lin Chuntao didn't plan to sell it. After dinner, Mrs. Hu praised her for her good craftsmanship, so Lin Chuntao smiled and told them how to make it. They also had the sauce, so it was not difficult to make.
Sun looked at her and smiled, "Just now your second aunt was asking if you were making something new to sell?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and waved her hand: "This is a home-cooked taste. The method is also very simple. I made it at home."
This pancake looks really easy to make. They saw Lin Chunhe making it just now.
It’s mainly the thought, the noodles, the meat filling, if it were them, they would just make a pancake or stir-fry meat.
When this thing comes into Lin Chuntao's hands, it can be integrated together and become something that is so delicious that it makes your mouth water.
After eating the cake, Lin Chuntao heated up the medicine and drank it, then sat down to rest for a while.
Then he called them and said, "Grandma, I want to go find Grandpa to help us mark out some more land for the homestead. Is he home?"
"At home, just go and shout."
"Let's go together. Grandma, please help me take a look."
Sun originally wanted to say she would not go to work, but she just wandered around and half an hour had passed.
Aunt Guizhi looked up and saw Lin Duo'er beside her jumping and skipping to go. Then she saw Lin Chunhe and Lin Chunxing also wanted to go. Then she smiled and said, "Go, auntie. Please help Chuntao with her opinion. I don't know where Chuntao and her family's homestead is allocated."
After Aunt Guizhi called out, everyone went together.
The previously designated residential land was at the entrance of the village, next to a small hill.
Lin Chuntao was satisfied with the location, but the area allocated at that time was a bit small. Now that she wanted to make sauce, she had to set aside a special place for it, and she planned to include it in the construction of the house.
When Lin Chuntao and Muramasa talked about the size of the location.
Muramasa said, "There are no houses around here, so you can use the vacant land around the homestead."
Lin Chuntao knew what it meant, but the homestead and other things still had to be decided, and she also wanted to build a yard.
There is no one here now, but villagers will definitely build houses in the future, and it will be easy to get into trouble if they build one next to it.
She expressed her concerns, and then said that she needed a piece of land to make the sauce.
Lin Cun was thinking about her business of making soy sauce. She had just started and had already hired four or five people to work. If she did more in the future, would she have to hire more people? How many people would she hire?
If there are more people who want it in the future, then these people in the village won't have to go to the county town to find work. They can still work with Lin Chuntao in their spare time and earn a few more copper coins.
"You need a large area to make the sauce. If you make more in the future, you have to set aside some space first."
Lin Chuntao looked at Lin Cunzheng's expression and nodded. She mainly didn't know how the residential land was divided and what the basis was. It would be troublesome if she wanted more but couldn't get it.
Fortunately, after she expressed her idea, Lin Cunzheng allocated her a much larger area, perhaps double the previous one. Lin Cunzheng said, "This piece of land has been abandoned for a long time. There are more weeds on the hillside. Before you build the house, take a sickle and cut it down. You can use it after you have cleaned it up."
Lin Chuntao looked at the vast area, a little bit unbelieving, and asked for confirmation: "Grandpa, can I use it from the foot of the mountain to here?"
Lin Cunzheng misunderstood her meaning and asked, "If it's still not enough, you can draw another ten feet." As he spoke, Lin Cunzheng drew it outwards. Lin Chuntao certainly hoped for more space, but was it really okay to be so big?
She swallowed and asked, "Grandpa, is there any problem with our large residential land?" Because she saw that the houses in the village were not very big.
Hearing this, Hayashimura Masaru slowly laughed.
I told her that there had been troubles in the past, so families lived close to each other for safety. Secondly, everyone was short of money, so the houses just had to be livable.
In fact, the land here is vast and the population is sparse, so a family can have two acres of residential land.
Lin Chuntao's eyes widened! Two acres of homestead, enough! It's enough for her.
Lin Cunzheng said, "This whole area can be zoned out. Do you think it's enough? Are you ready to start building it?" Lin Cunzheng asked, and Lin Chuntao replied, "Well, we're thinking of starting it by the end of this month so we can move in for the New Year."
"It's good to move into your new home for the New Year. If you're planning to build it, take another look to see if it's big enough. Once you're sure, you need to measure it and register it with the government."
A location too close to the mountain would be a bit shady, which is fine in summer, but it might be more prone to moisture in winter. Lin Chuntao extended the land a little further out, and the land was finally measured to be more than one acre.
With such a wide area, Lin Chuntao felt like she had obtained a piece of white drawing paper, and she was ready to paint on it with great anticipation.
However, the group of people who came to join in the fun had their own thoughts when looking at such a large residential plot.
Every household in this village is similar, with similar houses, yards and land. If any family has a little more money, it is because they raise more chickens, have more men in the family, and do more odd jobs in the county town in their spare time, so they save more money.
Lin Chuntao and her friends originally lived with the adults. The fifth branch of the Lin family was not poor, but not very rich either.
After they separated, they and their sisters were the only ones left in the village, like rootless duckweed, and no one knew where they lived.
It was Lin Cunzheng and his family who were so kind that they lent them the old house that had been abandoned for several years.
Only a few months had passed, and they were already building a house.
Before, everyone just saw them adding things to the house frequently, and they would feel jealous and say a few words about how they didn’t know how to live, saying that they didn’t even have a place to live and didn’t know how to save money to build a house.
Now, they are really going to build a house.
Building a new house costs money. Even building one for their own home would cost a lot of money. They have to give auspicious money to the builder, provide food every day, carry soil and tamp it, and if they also build a pigpen or something, it would take at least a month and a half to finish.
We can’t choose the busy farming season. It’s almost autumn harvest time and everyone is busy with the crops in the fields. Who has time to help build the house?
Li Honghua stood in the crowd, looking at the large residential land. No one knew what she was thinking, but she responded to Lin Chuntao's words in a loud voice.
"Chun Tao, why did you choose such a date? It's the end of this month. Everyone is busy with the crops in the fields. I'm afraid they won't have time to help you build it."
Lin Chuntao turned around when she heard the voice. Thinking of the time when this person asked her to move back to the Lin family's old house, she smiled and said lightly, "I know everyone is busy with the crops in the fields, but I can't wait any longer. It will be winter when everyone is done. So, I will hire a craftsman from the county town to build it. At most, I can ask one of the aunts to help me cook."
"Ask craftsmen from the county town to build it?" Li Honghua exclaimed.
Lin Chuntao said, "Yes, I asked before."
"How much does that cost?"
It wasn't just Li Honghua who was curious; many other people wanted to know, and everyone looked over.
Lin Chuntao said, "We haven't discussed the exact amount yet. It will be more expensive than building it ourselves."
Someone in the crowd said, "My mother's village hired craftsmen from the county to build it. It turned out very beautiful. I heard them talk about it before. It cost twenty or thirty strings of cash."
He took a deep breath after smelling it, and then the man said, "But that cover is not big either."
"Chun Tao, are you going to build this entire piece of land?"
Before Lin Chuntao could reply, Sun, who was standing beside her, laughed and said, "Sixth wife, what's the point of asking this? Every family builds a few rooms for people to live in, a few pig pens, and leaves some space for storing firewood and grass."
After Sun finished speaking, everyone burst into laughter.
That being said, with such a large piece of land, even if they built a few houses for people to live in and a few pig pens like they did, it would still be bigger than theirs.
If we build a bigger building, won’t we need more money?
But now that the homestead has been demarcated, Lin Chuntao and the others are ready to go back.
The people who came to join in the fun also dispersed.
Meng Yun, Fan Li Niang and others were preparing to go into the mountains when they happened to meet people returning to the village on the way.
They were not familiar with some people, so they just nodded in greeting.
When passing by, Fan Li'niang heard those people discussing that Sun and her mother-in-law had gone to Lin Chuntao's place. The person next to them also said that she saw them go there early in the morning, come back for lunch, and then go back again. After that, they mentioned that Lin Jiahui had been going out early and coming back late every day recently, and he also went to Lin Chuntao's place in the morning and evening.
They looked at each other and had a guess in their hearts.
"Are they doing something for that damned girl Chuntao?"
"That's impossible!"
"Why is it impossible? People used to say they spent all their money instead of saving it to build a house. Now they're building a house, so they must have money! Maybe we'll even pay them for helping with the house!"
"If they're going to give him money, how much? I don't know what they're thinking. He's so old, and he's being ordered around by that little girl! I think even ten cents is a lot!"
Someone else laughed and said, "Would you do it if I gave you ten cents?"
The man who spoke blushed slightly and said stubbornly, "Even if you give me twenty cents, I can't bring myself to do this."
As the aunt and sister-in-law listened to the villagers' voices gradually fading away, Meng Yun asked, "Sister-in-law, do you think Lin Chuntao and the others are really looking for work?"
Today, Fan Li'niang saw that Lin Chuntao had brought back the tools and the stone mill, so she must have been working on something.
I just don’t know how many people are needed. For something like this, Lin Chuntao will definitely look for people close to her first.
She looked at Meng Yun beside her. They had been chopping and carrying firewood to sell these days. Meng Yun's originally fair face had turned a little yellow due to the sun. In fact, it was not only due to the sun, but also because of fatigue and poor diet.
Fan Li Niang thought for a moment and said, "If Madam Lin really wants to do something, then you can go and ask if she needs someone to write down her affairs."
Meng Yun took a deep breath and asked nervously, "Can I go?"
Fan Li Niang said, "It's okay to try. She doesn't want us to continue working. What if she needs it?"
Meng Yun nodded, "Yes, I'll go ask tonight."
Lin Chuntao and her friends secured a plot of land for their homestead. They were all excited when they returned. While Sun and her friends busied themselves with the work, Lin Chuntao used a stick to draw around the yard. The layout of the house had been decided: three full rooms facing each other, with three rooms on either side. Each of the sisters would have a room, leaving one room for a kitchen and dining room, and another room free. All that remained was figuring out how to arrange the sauce-making area and the pigpen.
The two places cannot be too close to each other. Even if they clean up the pig manure diligently, flies will easily breed in the summer.
She pondered and drew for a long time, and decided to build a few houses in the backyard for making sauce, a few pens on the left side, and a stove for cooking pig food. She opened a door on the left side, which was just close to the shade of the mountain, so as to facilitate the disposal of pig manure.
The house built on the right can be used to store peppers and soybeans, and serve as a warehouse for storing raw materials.
After she finished the painting, she called Pei Ying and her sisters over to take a look, and none of them had any other opinions.
Lin Chuntao said, "That's it. I'll draw it on paper and take it to the city to find a craftsman tomorrow."
Sun also asked how they knew the craftsmen, "Be careful, don't get cheated."
Lin Chuntao replied, "It was introduced by someone who worked with Pei Ying."
Sun smiled when she heard this and said, "It would be great if someone familiar can introduce me."
Everyone had nothing to do in the afternoon, so they all sat in the yard and worked together. After all, they were all doing farm work, and they were very efficient at picking beans.
In the evening, Lin Chuntao looked at the beans she had picked up and called Pei Ying to weigh them. She had picked up nearly 300 kilograms. The extra ones were scooped into another bag. Lin Chuntao prepared to wash and soak 200 kilograms first.
Pei Ying went to fetch water. There was a pair of buckets at home, and washing so many beans would require a lot of water, so Aunt Guizhi also went with him, carrying buckets.
Sun and the others helped Lin Chuntao to understand clearly.
By the time we finished washing and soaking, the sun was about to set, and Lin Jiahui also came back with the mule.
I bought a lot of beans, but not many peppers.
Lin Jiahui and Lin Chuntao said, "Sister Chuntao, we still don't have enough dried chilies. We may need to go to the county town to buy some."
Lin Chuntao had already exchanged some and said, "We'll buy as much as we can in the village. I also bought some back from the county town today."
After hearing this, Lin Jiahui nodded.
Things were almost done, and Lin Chuntao received today's wages. Aunt Guizhi often sold vegetables outside, so she was more relaxed about receiving the wages. It was the first time for Hu and the others to work and earn money. In the past, only the men in the family went out to earn money and gave them some money. Today, they earned the money themselves, so they felt a little embarrassed when they received the money.
Mrs. Hu and Mrs. Deng were just thinking about it in their hearts, but Mrs. Sun sighed and said it out loud.
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "These are delicate tasks, and grown men can't do them well. Thank you, Grandma and the three aunts, for your hard work today. We'll have to do it again tomorrow."
Sun said: "It's not hard, we should thank you."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "We are not related at all, so I won't bother thanking you."
Aunt Guizhi echoed, "That's right. It's getting dark after all the thanking." Then she looked at Lin Chuntao and said, "Chuntao, we'll go back first. You guys should hurry up and cook dinner."
"Hey, aunt, please go slowly. I won't send you off."
When Sun and the others returned, they all had happy expressions on their faces.
When they got home, the children knew that their mother and grandmother had gone out to make money, and they were waiting for them to come back with great anticipation.
When Mrs. Hu's little daughter saw her come back, she hurried over.
"Mom, you're back!"
Mrs. Hu smiled and shook the string of copper coins in her hand at her. The child's eyes widened. Today, their family of four earned seventy cents, and they earned it right at home.
Mrs. Sun was particularly happy. She took half each of her two daughters-in-law and her grandson's. She smiled and said, "I'll share the scrambled eggs with you tonight."
The child jumped up high when he heard about eating scrambled eggs. Eggs are not a rare thing, but they have to be saved up to sell for money, so they are not often available for eating on weekdays.
Hu and Deng put the remaining money away, and Lin Jiahui next to them also gave his money to Chen Dongniang.
Chen Dongniang only took ten cents from him today and left him five cents.
"Take this, just in case you need it outside."
Lin Jiahui nodded happily. When he went out to visit the village, he would also meet peddlers who sometimes sold malt candy and other things. He could only look at them. Now, what Chen Dongniang said meant that he could spend money.
Smoke rose from the chimneys of every household in the village.
Lin Chuntao's yard had been cleaned up when Aunt Guizhi and the others left, so there was no need to do anything else now.
She went to prepare rice and steam it, Lin Chunhe went to feed the pigs, Lin Duoer and Lin Chunxing washed the vegetables, Pei Ying was chopping the meat, and they also started to busy themselves with preparing dinner.
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