Chapter 47 Killing the New Year Pig!
Under Qin Zhizhi's careful care, Xiaotuanzi's health gradually recovered.
Little Tuanzi is about six years old. Now he has gained some weight thanks to Qin Zhizhi's care and looks very cute.
Because he had no name, Qin Zhizhi named him Gu Zheng. Now everyone in the village knows that he is a relative of the Gu family. His parents are no longer around, and he was adopted by the Gu family.
Whether in the Gu family or the Qin family, Xiaotuanzi’s favorite person is Qin Zhizhi.
Little Tuanzi is not only good-looking, but also very smart. Qin Zhizhi lets him study in the village school with Gu Jingshu and others.
Qin Zhizhi discovered that Xiaotuanzi should have been able to read before, but when asked about family matters, he couldn't remember.
Qin Zhizhi felt that maybe this was the fate between her and Xiaotuanzi.
When Xiaotuanzi came to the Gu family for three months, it was the New Year.
During these three months, Qin Zhizhi used the money from selling chili peppers and chili sauce to build a big house on the foundation of the Gu family's land.
Because she was afraid of the cold, she even asked someone to build a brick bed and a toilet for her.
In the new house, Qin Zhizhi designed a separate study for Gu Jinghuai, the children also had their own rooms, and two guest rooms were also reserved.
Qin Zhizhi designed the house in the style of a quadrangle courtyard, so it is very spacious.
When the villagers saw such a beautiful house, they all worked hard to make money, and their dream was to build a house like this.
This year's New Year is the most lively year for the Gu family and the Qin family.
The Qin family got a share, and with their own hard work, they had an income of nearly one hundred taels at the end of the year.
Mrs. Qin made the decision, giving each family ten taels, and the remaining seventy taels were reserved for public expenses.
In the past, when there was a scholar in the family, we never saved any money throughout the year. I didn’t expect that we would save so much money in less than a year this year.
Mrs. Qin felt that it was all thanks to her father-in-law and granddaughter. As for her granddaughter, the whole family would spoil her, and as for her father-in-law, of course he would prepare rich offerings.
In previous years, our family was poor and couldn’t afford good things. This year, we have money, so we must have a lively New Year.
Gu's mother had already discussed with Mrs. Qin that the two families would celebrate together this year in Gu's new house.
As the twelfth lunar month began, the Qin and Gu families became busy, and the busiest one was Qin Zhizhi.
The academy has not yet closed for vacation, but the village school has already closed for vacation. Considering the situation of Zhang Xiucai and his mother, Qin Zhizhi personally went to their home to invite them to celebrate the New Year together.
Mr. Zhang was once the teacher of Gu Jingjinghuai and the Qin brothers, so it was not strange for them to celebrate the New Year together.
Mr. Zhang and Mrs. Yao were very moved. When they learned that Qin Zhizhi was settling accounts at the end of the year, Mr. Zhang offered to help.
Qin Zhizhi hates settling accounts the most, mainly because she is not used to these ancient things. Zhang Xiucai offered to help, which was basically a rescue for Qin Zhizhi.
Originally, she was planning to keep it for Gu Jinghuai and her brothers, but now that she had Zhang Xiucai, Qin Zhizhi was more than happy to get it.
After someone settled the accounts, Qin Zhizhi had more time to prepare New Year's goods.
After delivering the last batch of goods to Manager Wang, Qin Zhizhi gave the people working in her own workshop a paid vacation, and they were still paid.
Everyone felt very guilty and came to the workshop to work secretly every day. Qin Zhizhi had no choice but to lock the door of the workshop.
When everyone has nothing to do, they will come to Gu's house every day. They would never dare to dream of getting paid without working.
Later, Qin Zhizhi issued an order that anyone who did not comply would not be allowed to work during the New Year. Only then did everyone start their vacation obediently.
Qin Zhizhi also distributed New Year's goods to the people working in the workshop, including two pounds of pork, a can of chili sauce, a can of spicy peanuts, and a batch of cotton cloth.
This incident caused a great sensation in the village. Everyone said they didn't want it, as they had already been paid and still received so many things.
Qin Zhizhi repeatedly explained that this was called employee welfare and would be given every festival in the future, so everyone accepted it.
The twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month.
Gu Jinghuai and his companions finally returned home.
The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.
The old man's family killed the two New Year pigs they had raised for a year.
Originally, they wanted to kill one, but Qin Zhizhi accidentally said that she wanted more meat, so the old man decided to kill both.
Early in the morning, Gu Jinghuai took Gu Jingshu, Gu Jingyao and Gu Zheng to the old man's house to help.
Before leaving, Qin Zhizhi specifically asked her to find a clean basin to keep the pig's blood for her.
Although Gu Jinghuai didn't understand what his wife wanted pig blood for, he would do it as long as his wife told him to.
After telling the old man about this, the old man took it more seriously than he did and personally took the basin for Qin Zhizhi to catch it all.
Qin Zhizhi wanted the pig blood to make blood sausage, which was her favorite dish. Her aunt was from the north and she often made it for her when she was a child.
So when Qin Zhizhi heard that the old man was slaughtering a pig today, she wanted to try it.
Qin Zhizhi made the broth in advance, adjusted the ratio of pig blood and broth according to the ingredients her aunt had given her, mixed the seasonings with the broth, and then added it to the blood.
Then stuff it into fresh pig intestines, tie the two ends tightly with string, and cook in a pot until no more blood comes out but oil comes out.
Mrs. Qin was very impressed to see that Qin Zhizhi could make such a magical thing using unwanted pig blood and intestines.
In Mrs. Qin's eyes, anything can be eaten by her granddaughter.
The old man knew that Qin Zhizhi loved to eat pig's trotters and pork ribs, so he reserved four pig's trotters and half a pig's rib for Qin Zhizhi.
Many people in the village made money this year, so they were willing to buy meat. Therefore, the two pigs slaughtered by the old man were sold one and a half in the village.
The old man's family originally planned to exchange the remaining half of the fish for Qin the butcher, but it was all bought by Qin Zhizhi.
Mrs. Qin and Mrs. Gu were shocked when they saw half a pig. They could not finish the meat even if they ate it every day.
Qin Zhizhi just smiled and said nothing. Who said she ate it herself?
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, Qin Zhizhi also fried Sanzi, Youguozi, radish balls, fish cubes, etc. These things are easy to preserve and can be eaten after the New Year.
The Gu family's courtyard was filled with fragrance all afternoon, and the women were busy all the time.
Because everyone was celebrating the New Year together this year, Mrs. Qin and her wives steamed a lot of white flour buns together.
Because Mr. Zhang and his mother had been invited to come along, Mrs. Yao came early to help.
Today, Mr. Zhang has sorted out all of Qin Zhizhi's accounts. At this moment, he is discussing with Gu Jinghuai and others in the study how to write a policy paper.
The county examination will begin after the New Year, and he hopes that he can help a few children and ensure that they all pass the exam.
That night, Qin Zhizhi invited everyone to dinner. The next day was New Year's Eve, so everyone could welcome the New Year together in advance.
On the way back in the evening, Zhang Xiucai's eyes couldn't help but become moist. It had been a long time since he and his mother had enjoyed such joy.
Fate brought him hardships, but also gave him preferential treatment, and allowed him to find the courage to live again.
These were all taught to him by the young lady named Qin Zhizhi. In the days that followed, it was Qin Zhizhi who helped him see farther into the distance.
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