It was the middle of the Si hour, and many villagers were working in the fields. They were surprised to see An Dashan driving a mule cart towards the village. Someone who was curious shouted, "Dashan, you have made a fortune. I just heard that you are going to build a new house and you bought a mule and a cart. If you know any way to make money, please tell us."
An Dashan knew that some villagers would be jealous, so he said loudly: "It's not that I don't help my fellow villagers. It's because I went to the county town a few days ago and helped the county magistrate catch a fugitive. The county magistrate rewarded me with some silver, so I have the money to build a new house and buy a mule cart!"
An Ning silently gave An Dashan a thumbs up, thinking that his father was good at talking and had immediately rebuked the malicious person. Now no one would dare to come and try to take advantage of this matter. When the villager heard that An Dashan had even mentioned the county magistrate, he dared not disbelieve it, so he shut his mouth and dared not say anything.
After hearing what An Dashan said, Master Mo in the carriage thought to himself: I didn't expect that An Dashan would have such an opportunity. I must help him build the new house. Maybe I can even get in touch with the county magistrate in the future.
When they returned to the An family, An Dashan invited Master Mo to come in for a cup of tea before going to see how to build the house. Master Mo refused and said, "Let's go directly to the homestead so that I can go back and design it. It will be cold soon. The sooner it is built, the sooner you can move in."
Seeing this, An Dashan took Master Mo directly to the vacant lot next door. Master Mo took out the measuring tools he carried with him and began to measure, recording the measurements on paper. After the measurement, he asked An Dashan about his requirements for the house and recorded them all. After everything was done, he asked An Dashan to take him back to town.
When we arrived at Master Mo's house, Master Mo said, "Today I will list all the materials you need. Come over tomorrow to get the list and order all the bricks, tiles, wood and stones you need to buy. Then we can pick a good day and start work."
An Dashan nodded and said, "Thank you, Master Mo, for your concern."
Master Mo waved his hand and said, "This is all part of my job, no need to be polite."
An Dashan came out of Master Mo's house, thinking that he would go to the village chief's house later to ask the village chief to calculate a good day to start work. Whenever there is a happy event in the family of Huaishu Village, the villagers will go to the village chief's house to ask the village chief to calculate the date, and An Dashan is no exception.
An Dashan thought about the last time he bought land, he asked the village chief to go to the county government with him. Because they were in a hurry, they didn't have time to buy anything. This time, he must make up for it. An Dashan first went to the pastry shop and bought four kinds of pastries, two of each, one for the village chief and one for his wife and daughter. Now that the family has money, he can't let his wife and daughter suffer a loss, right?
After leaving the pastry shop, An Dashan went to the pork shop again. The owner of the pork shop saw that An Dashan came here in a mule cart this time, and said with a smile: "Where did you make your fortune, sir? You've been driving a mule cart for a few days?"
An Dashan smiled and said, "It's just a small amount of money, which can't be compared with the shopkeeper's."
The shopkeeper laughed and said, "Sir, what kind of meat would you like to buy today?"
An Dashan thought that although the village chief's family lived better than most families in the village, they lived frugally because there was a scholar in the family and rarely bought meat. So he pointed to the piece of fat meat and said, "Boss, give me two pounds of this fat meat."
The shopkeeper cut off a piece of pork with his knife and weighed it, which was exactly two pounds. Then he asked An Dashan, "What kind of meat do you want to cut?"
An Dashan thought about An Ning's wish to eat braised pork that day. He had heard people say that the best meat for braised pork is pork belly, which is not greasy but melts in the mouth. So he pointed at the pork belly and said, "Boss, weigh this piece of meat for me. I want all of it."
The shopkeeper was very happy to see An Dashan being so generous, and said, "Okay, I'll weigh it for you right away."
The piece of pork belly weighed 6.2 jin. After An Dashan paid for it, he put the meat into the carriage and drove the mule cart back to Huaishu Village.
After a busy day, when An Dashan returned home, Gao had already prepared dinner. When Gao saw An Dashan coming back, she quickly greeted him, "Dashan is back, the dinner is ready, wash your hands and eat!"
An Dashan thought that the village chief's family should also be having dinner at this time, so he thought he should go after dinner. An Dashan agreed, unloaded the car, and tied the mule to the backyard. In the backyard, Gao had already cut two bundles of grass. An Dashan untied one of the bundles and placed it in front of the mule, then went back to the main room to eat.
The three members of the An family were very excited today. Gao and An Ning cooked a lot of delicious food. Gao made steamed buns with the remaining mutton, and An Ning thought that the mutton head and trotters should not be wasted, so she added the two remaining mutton legs and mutton bones to a large pot of stew. Gao was afraid that too much meat would be too greasy, so she also fried a small pot of cabbage. After eating and drinking, An Dashan took the four snacks and the two pounds of fat meat to the village chief's house.
An Dashan said, "Uncle Village Chief, my family is going to build a new house, right? I wanted to ask you to choose a good day for us."
The village chief smiled and nodded, saying, "It's not a big deal. Why bring so many things? Take them back and feed the children!"
An Dashan said hurriedly, "Uncle Village Chief, I troubled you to go to the county government office last time, but I didn't buy you anything. I happened to buy some in town today, so please don't think it's too little."
The village chief waved his hand and said, "This is a lot. I have never seen anyone so generous in giving gifts during the New Year." After thinking for a while, he said, "Dashan! I heard the villagers talking about you helping the county magistrate catch a fugitive. Is this true?"
An Dashan nodded and said, "It's true. We went to the county town to do some work that day. When we were leaving the city, we happened to meet a sneaky man. I happened to hear my brother who was the city guard at the city gate say that he was catching fugitives recently. When I saw that this man was the same as my brother's description, I rushed forward and fought with him. Fortunately, my boxing skills are pretty good, otherwise I really wouldn't have caught him."
The village chief took a deep breath and said, "You are too brave, young man. If you meet a vicious person, you will be in danger if you can't catch him."
An Dashan chuckled and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Uncle Village Chief, even if this matter is over, I would like to trouble you to help me choose a good day."
The village chief nodded, agreed, and said, "Wait for me for a moment. I'll look through the almanac and pick the best day for you."
The village chief spent a long time looking through the almanac and finally decided on a date three days later, which was the sixth day of August, a good day for breaking ground. An Dashan got a good day and left.
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