Chapter 38 Chapter 38 Building a house.
Ji Xu counted the six people who said they could come, and then asked Old Man Chen:
"Do you think this man is good enough?"
Old Man Chen shook his head and said, "It's still a little short. Not counting me and your mother, Lu, we need at least ten people, and more of them strong and capable. We can finish it in two days, so as not to delay you any longer."
Some of those who have registered now are still minors, who signed up because they wanted to have a good meal.
Lu Ai lowered her voice and said on her behalf, "Don't let those boys who are only a little over ten years old come. They can't do much work. It's a waste of your money to feed them."
"It's okay, they are in a good mood, so they can make as much as they can. They won't eat much.
"There are still four people missing. I'll go door to door and ask if there are any laborers available tomorrow or the day after tomorrow," said Ji Xu.
"Your father Chen and I will go with you. Let's discuss tomorrow's division of labor and which family will bring which tools and equipment. Let's discuss it while it's still early."
The oxcart unloaded the tiles and left. The people who were watching the fun in front of the house gradually dispersed in groups of two or three. Only Feng, Zhu Ermei, and some children were left to admire the piles of tiles.
"Don't touch it carelessly. If you break it, you have to pay me four cents!"
Ji Feng stood in front of the tile pile, keeping a close eye on the hands of the young men, preventing anyone from touching them.
After Ji Xu told his sister where to go, he was accompanied by the two elders of the Chen family and went to each household in Benguli.
"You are really capable, Miss Xu. You have built a house not long after coming back."
"I should have gone to help, but unfortunately, my family is busy."
The woman held the child in her arms and sent the man away. After returning to the house, her husband asked:
"I refrained from exposing your words just now. Don't I have nothing to do tomorrow?"
The woman said, "Are you crazy? She only has three daughters. When we build a new house in the future, what can they do to help us?
Digging and carrying soil is strenuous work. You are exhausted just for a meal from her. You might as well rest at home."
Next door was the Cui family. The two elders of the Chen family were still unaware of the fact that Liao's marriage proposal was rejected by Ji Xu, so they were the first to step into the courtyard.
Ji Xu had no choice but to go back and talk about this matter. Although he felt that there was little hope, he still followed him in.
Liao was sewing shoes. After hearing the purpose of the visit, she bit the thread and sighed:
"My son Guangzong has learned his trade at the iron shop in the county. Now, he's a blacksmith. He's busy all day long and hasn't come back since the autumn harvest. The families who want to marry him have been knocking on the door so hard. I have no choice but to push him away. Tell me, how can he find the time to help you build a house?
My husband and I happen to have to go to my mother's house for a banquet tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. It's really a great opportunity for us to do so at the same time.
My daughter Cui Si is quite idle. She is from my mother's family. I don't even want to ask her to hold a broom at home, let alone build a house.
My Guangyao is only seven years old, but he spends all day climbing trees to catch birds and going to the river to catch fish. Even dogs dislike him. If you don't mind, let him help!"
Ji Xu and the two elders of the Chen family understood this excuse, so they said a few polite words to bother them and left.
"Bah! You son of a bitch! You're building a house and you're in my sight!
God bless, it will rain and be windy tomorrow, and it will rain heavily and be windy the day after tomorrow..."
After they left, Liao was alone in the room chanting curses.
When passing by the Wang family's thatched cottage, the two elders of the Chen family looked at each other, but passed by silently.
They knew that Wang Mazi had stolen cucumbers from Tian's family in his early years. If they went to this house, they would bring bad luck to Ji Xu, so they all left.
Ji Xu paused and said, "Wang Mazi is a bad guy. I remember Aunt Cao is a nice person. Why don't you ask her if she is free?"
"That's good. His wife Cao is indeed an easy-going person." As Lu Ai said this, she called her into the yard.
"Mrs. Cao?"
I saw a cluster of fire burning in the open space in the yard. Cao was burning some bamboo tubes in it. There were crackling sounds in the firelight, and the flickering shadows of the flames fell on the mud wall.
She turned around and comforted Wang Mian, who was crying on her back, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. The mountain demon has been scared away."
Seeing this, Aunt Lu asked, "Is it a fever?"
According to legend, there was a monster with a human face and a monkey body in the deep mountains and old forests in the west. It was more than a foot tall and had only one leg. The people called it Shansao. If anyone offended it carelessly, they would suffer from chills and fever. It was said that the Shansao was afraid of loud noises, so Cao burned some bamboo tubes to drive it away.
Cao swayed slightly with her back to him, sighing, "Yes, her grandfather is taking Ali to look for some herbs."
Wang Mian's face was rosy and she looked pitiful. Aunt Lu chatted with her for a while and asked her to feed her some bean water. Seeing that she was anxious, she didn't want to mention the matter of building a house anymore.
It was Cao who coaxed the little girl and then said, "Come in and sit down. I wonder what brings you two elders and Miss Xu here?"
After hearing this, he nodded hurriedly, "When I'm free! I'll go to Ms. Xu's house to help tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. Let her grandfather take care of the child."
Her family was having a hard time after the tax and was in debt. If she could go to help and have a meal outside, no matter how good or bad, she could at least save some food for herself so that they could get through the winter.
In fact, Cao couldn't let go of her daughter who was suffering from fever, and wanted to let Wang Mazi go. She opened her mouth, but swallowed the words back and didn't mention it because she was embarrassed.
When they were leaving, Wang Mazi and Wang Li happened to come into the yard one after another. Wang Mazi was carrying a hoe. When he saw them, he turned his head to the side and said nothing.
Wang Li, who was at the back, was holding a basket and greeting the two elders of the Chen family.
As he passed by, he called her in a low voice, "Sister Xu."
"Where are you coming back from?" Ji Xu Jiachang asked.
Wang Li immediately breathed a sigh of relief and shouted much faster, "I've just come back from digging grass roots at Niupi Mountain."
Ji Xu took a special look at the basket, which contained two herbs, Scutellaria baicalensis and Forsythia suspensa, both of which can clear away heat and purge fire, so he didn't say anything more.
Then he went to a few households and found a man who was free and willing to come. In total, he was still short of two people.
When they were near Feng's house, Bao Yu, who had just returned from his mother's home, bumped into him.
When he heard they were looking for someone to build a house, he welcomed them in with a smile, calling them "Xu Mei" and quietly asking:
"I've heard all about the latest happenings in Shengchang. Tell me, why did Wang Dianji of the Gan family come to you?"
Ji Xu did not hide it from her and told her about helping him cook two dishes for the Gan family. Bao Yu covered her lips and exclaimed:
"That's the Gan family. If you can get along with them, you won't have to worry about not having good business in the future."
Bao Yu felt more and more that this girl was right. He saw a figure outside the door, who overheard this and turned away angrily, leaving behind a piece of skirt.
Bao Yu curled his lips and said, "Forget it. The Gan family is like a needle buried in the flesh of my heart. There is no way to talk it out."
After chatting for a while, Bao Yu went with them to see Xu Mu, who was in charge, and said to her:
"Mother, Xu's family is building a house and needs two laborers. Coincidentally, Yun Lang, who works at the Jingshe School, is also home on leave. Let him go and help with Feng Er tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
When Aunt Xu heard this, she took Ji Xu's hand and said with a smile, "You've only been back for a short time, and you're so capable. But Yun Lang still needs to review his lessons, and the lecturer will need to take care of him after his vacation, so we can only ask the second son to help."
"Studies are important and cannot be delayed. Let's go ask somewhere else." Ji Xu had not planned to ask Feng Yun in the first place. It was already great to have Feng Er's help.
He asked them to stay and not to see him off, and left the hall with the two elders of the Chen family.
After wandering for half a day, it was getting dark. I saw a thin figure in the pavilion in the courtyard, holding a copper lantern and looking over here. His eyes behind the lamp were indifferent.
After the outsiders left the main hall, Aunt Xu frowned and said to Bao Yu, "Why did you call up my sister? She and Fu Zhen are of the same generation. It's really absurd to mess up the generations."
Bao Yu was not in a position to explain why he and Ji Xu had such a good relationship. Seeing his brother-in-law holding a lamp and about to go through the hall to the study, he said with a smile:
"Come to think of it, Miss Xu is the same age as Mr. Yun. I call her my sister, and I think... it's not wrong. Who knows if our two families will become related by marriage in the future."
"What are you talking about!" The usually amiable Xu Ni responded loudly.
This actually scared Bao Yu.
Feng Yun shook the lamp in his hand and said, "Second sister-in-law has said too much."
Then he went to the study.
Speaking of the Ji family's eldest wife,
Jin counted the two coins Ji Zhi earned from selling preserved pears and said unhappily:
"Why only two? Ji Xu could even afford a tiled house by selling steamed buns, so why can't the one I gave birth to be as good as hers? It's useless to raise them."
Ji Zhi had been hawking for most of the day and was already angry, and tears rolled down his eyes when he was scolded.
She had wanted to talk to Jin about Wang Dianji's search for Ji Xu, but now she kept it in her heart and decided not to mention it. It would only make her angry if she did, so she lay down in the west room and cried for a while.
She wiped her tears, locked the door, took out a coin from her pocket, crawled under the bed, and stuffed it into the mouse hole. There were already five coins in it.
She had been selling preserved fruits recently, and she had been saving one or two every day. She couldn't save too much, otherwise, if Jin found out that the preserved fruits and money Yu brought home didn't match, she would definitely scold her to death.
"Why are you locking the door?" Ji Yuan said from outside.
Ji Zhi opened the door while tying his clothes, "Change into clothes for the fire."
She had two sets of autumn clothes, both of which she picked up from Ji Yuan. One had patches on it, and the other had none, so she wore them to sell preserved fruits.
Ji Yuan didn't bother to be suspicious, he went into the room cursing and sat on the bed.
"How ignorant! They're blocking over a little bit of tile, as if everyone else doesn't have it! They're rushing to sign up like this."
Ji Zhi went to make a fire, and no one paid any attention to Ji Yuan's annoyance. She was so angry just sitting there that she went to find Cui Si.
After returning, he felt much better and talked to Jin about Ji Xu being rejected when he went to Cui's house.
She said, "She's still looking. She even went to the Cui family. It seems no one is willing to help her."
Jin was fiddling with her jewelry in the east room: a pair of silver earrings, a pair of thin silver bracelets. The most valuable ones were the two pieces of silver that were as thick as a thumb.
These were all given to her by Aunt Jun alone. The neighbors next door were jealous of her at first, but now she felt relieved after seeing these.
After hearing what Ji Yuan said, he felt even more refreshed and couldn't help but guess:
"Could it be that they are short of manpower and have to come to our house in the end?"
Ji Yuan nodded. "It's very likely. When I came back just now, I saw her even going into Wang Mazi's house. Wang Mazi is a shady guy, but she invited him too." Ji Yuan said anxiously, "If she comes, mother, please don't agree!"
Jin put away the jewelry one by one and said happily, "Help her? Dream on! I'll embarrass her first!"
Until dinner time, Jin was distracted, keeping an eye on the wide-open courtyard door, waiting for Ji Xu to come so that she could flirt with her and then reject her harshly. She had even thought of the words over and over again.
Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound in the yard, like the sound of shoes.
Ji Yuan, who was standing by, twitched his ears and said to Jin, "Here she comes!"
Jin whispered, "Everyone, pick up your chopsticks and eat. Don't look up."
"Why are you suddenly killing chickens to eat today?" Ji Zhi wondered.
Ji Huhai ate with big mouthfuls, his cheeks puffed up as he said, "It must be the New Year's Eve!"
Jin glared at them. "What nonsense are you talking about? We eat the same food every day. Eat it politely!"
While he was secretly glancing at the main room door, he heard the sound of shoes getting closer and closer, and his heart was already shaking with joy.
But then I saw a yellow-haired dog sticking half of its head in, and following the smell of meat, it wanted to go deeper.
"Go! Who doesn't keep an eye on their dog? I'll catch him and sell him off!"
Jin rushed out with a roar, picked up the clothes pole and chased him out of the yard, then locked the gate with a loud bang.
When she returned with a gloomy face and heavy steps, the three children, including Ji Huhai, were indeed eating in a very polite manner.
At night, Jin turned over in bed and also chanted the spell:
"God bless you, there will be thunder and rain tomorrow, and it will last for ten days or half a month..."
The next day, the weather was sunny.
As usual, Ji Xu got up at cockcrow to make steamed cakes. She had no time to sell them today, so these were Zhuang Huiniang's share to sell in the market.
The rest was used to prepare breakfast for the villagers who came to help. Although there was no fixed number of people provided by the boss, she and the two elders of the Chen family left the Feng family yesterday and visited several other households, but they still couldn't find any free labor, so there was a shortage of one person in terms of number of people.
I think each family also has concerns, afraid that the girls in her family will not be able to put in enough effort to help build their own houses in the future, so they simply refused.
This is also a reasonable move. Ji Xu treats the people who come to help him well, firstly to express his gratitude, and secondly to let others see that he is not the one taking advantage, so that he can do things more easily in the future.
"Aunt Zhuang, these are forty of them for you to take to the rural market for business." Ji Xu picked up the basket and went to the Feng family's courtyard.
Zhuang Huiniang originally said she would stay to help, so she didn't come to decide on the number yesterday.
Ji Xu was not willing to accept it peacefully. The two elders of the Chen family were already busy running around, and they wanted Zhuang Huiniang to give up her livelihood to help. So he advised:
"Aunt, go and sell your steamed buns. I haven't had time to sell them these past two days, but at least you can help me earn some money."
Zhuang Huiniang was also unable to explain her and could only smile helplessly. Her aunt, Lu Ai, then said:
"Now that you've made it, don't waste time. Go to the market and do some business. If you finish selling, come back early and you can help for half a day. I'll help with Ms. Xu's family affairs first."
Zhuang Hui Niang left, saying, "I'll be back in the afternoon and help with the mud. It'll be quicker."
Ji Xu asked Lü about the carpenter again. The doors and windows of her house had not yet been decided. Lü laughed when she heard about it.
"I've thought about this for you. Niupishan can cut down ordinary wood. If you don't mind, my son Ah Da can do some carpentry work. He's lame, so he can't do the heavy work of carrying loads and felling wood. It's a good opportunity for him to help with some carpentry work at home. What do you think?"
After Chen Dalu became lame, he spent his free time at home practicing carpentry, thinking that when he became proficient, he could earn some money for his family. He knew how to make doors and windows.
"It's just not as good as the one made by the old carpenter outside, but it is sturdy and durable." Chen Da said honestly.
"It saves me so much trouble. This way, the wages that should be paid to the craftsmen will still be based on the outside price..."
Lü Wu interrupted her with a wave of her hand, saying, "Don't mention wages. I'm afraid you'll dislike this crude practice thing. I don't want to ask for a craftsman's fee. I just want him to come to your house for a dinner and satisfy his appetite."
This was clearly a humble word, and Ji Xu knew it. Looking at the doors and windows of the Chen family, which were obviously new wooden in color, he thought that they were made by Chen Dazhuo. The workmanship was very delicate and meticulous, not clumsy at all.
When she wanted to say more, Lu Ai pulled her back and said in a slow voice:
"I heard from Che'er that Wang Dianji's attitude towards him has softened a bit. Grandmother knows that this is because you taught him the method for making wild rice and melons, and you helped Wang Dianji in the kitchen. Grandmother knows your sincerity and is grateful. So, please don't argue with me about the doors and windows. Building a house is expensive anyway, and you're worried about where to spend your little money."
Ji Xu couldn't help but laugh, and simply took advantage of the situation and said:
"In that case, I should prepare a good meal to entertain Uncle Chen for his cooking skills!"
What they said made Lu Ai and Chen Dadu laugh.
Soon, the women and men who responded to the call to build the house came to Chen's house, following Uncle Chen's instructions. They brought their own tools such as shoulder poles, baskets, hoes, iron hoes, iron saws, and wooden pestles, and gathered with them.
There were still more than twenty meat-filled steamed buns and more than twenty white jade steamed buns left in Ji Xu's basket. He gave them two meat-filled buns and two white jade buns to each of them.
They couldn't believe it and stared at him, saying, "Who cares about breakfast? No one who builds a house has ever done that."
They all had their own breakfast, worked for the boss until noon and then took a break, and then had the boss's meal in the afternoon. Although it was strenuous work, there were many people left and many people could help out, so they were not too tired. They could take a break after working for a while. Besides, they couldn't work so hard, as they were not building their own house. Although they were hungry in the afternoon, the boss's meal would be earlier, so they could get by, because no one would prepare breakfast for them.
"Is this still filled with meat?"
Some people saw that the leather was soaked in meat fat and said.
"I heard that this stuffed meat is only two cents a piece. That's too expensive."
"You've taken it and eaten it before you've even finished your work." Some people said embarrassedly when they received it.
Ji Xu smiled and said, "It can also satisfy your hunger."
Some people eat half full at home, so they take it and eat it while it is hot.
"I've heard it before, it tastes really good."
"Don't worry, after eating this, you'll have a lot of strength. I guarantee you'll be able to build a solid wall for your house."
Everyone couldn't help but laugh.
Cao also smiled quietly, tore off two large mulberry leaves, wrapped the steamed bun, and stuffed it into her arms.
Everyone was full of energy and went to Niupi Mountain.
According to the division of labor assigned by Old Man Chen, some people carried wood on their shoulders, and some carried soil back. At this time, there were already tiles piled in front of Ji Xu's house, and now they would have to pile up mud, which would make it too busy.
These yellow elm trees were first transported to the Chen family's yard, where Chen Da peeled the bark and processed them until they were smooth. Then they were carried to Ji Xu's house to be used as beams and purlins. According to old man Chen, it would be best to dry the wood before making beams, but Ji Xu's broken thatched house could not withstand the wind and cold, so there was no time to dry the wood, so they were used as they were.
"Take it back quickly. The straw stack is worth nothing. We have plenty at home." Aunt Lu pushed the six coins handed to her by Ji Xu.
This wall needs to be piled up with mud and then rammed. Public mud can be dug from Niupi Mountain, but this mud must be mixed with rice husks and straw, so that it will be stronger and moisture-proof.
Ji Xu's family had saved some rice husks from pounding rice recently, but there was no rice straw available. Lu Ai also took her into consideration and silently carried several bundles of dry rice straw from her home to Ji Xu's house.
"I was thinking of buying some from you from the beginning. Building a house costs a lot of money, so how can I get it for free?"
The Chen family needed to make ash fertilizer for farming, and they lived in a thatched house, so the straw was very useful.
The carpenter was saved money, and Ji Xu insisted on giving it to her. After a while of arguing, Lu Ai gave up and only took three coins, saying:
"Even if you want to sell it, you can't sell it at the market price. Just give a little bit of money."
Ji Xu's heart warmed, and he hugged Lu Ai and said, "Grandmother Lu treats me so well, she's like my own mother."
How could Lu Ai stand such nausea? She tapped her nose and said with a smile, "Quickly let go. If you delay for a while, I still have to go chop the grass.
Go find your father Chen and tell him about your toilet incident again. He probably still doesn't understand what you heard yesterday."
Speaking of toilets, this is something that Ji Xu must have when building a house. To be honest, her family still doesn't have a toilet until now, and they still use the dry toilet built by the Chen family on the roadside.
Nowadays, when people in the countryside build toilets, they don’t build them in their own homes. Instead, they build them on the roadside. They are low thatched huts with a large square pit dug and two wooden boards on top for squatting. This is so that more passers-by or people from the village can use them, and they can get more manure to fertilize the land, so that crops and vegetables can grow better.
Ji Feng also cherished this little fertilizer. Ever since she started growing vegetables at home, she always wanted to drag Ji Xu to the vegetable garden behind the house to relieve herself at night. Later, when she came back, she found that this was not feasible. If she didn't add water, the vegetables would be burned to death, so she gave up with regret.
There weren't many toilets along the road in Benguli. Rich families like the Feng family naturally built their own toilets in their courtyards. They raised pigs, so the toilet was built diagonally above the pigpen, with the pigpen right below the excrement outlet.
Many families lack the manpower and resources to build a toilet, so they just use their own toilets.
Ji Xu was determined to build a toilet, so he didn't spend money to buy a toilet. He just built it in Chen's toilet, without even looking down, and finished the job quickly.
Old Man Chen had looked at the layout of the house. On the basis of this thatched house, he dug out the foundations of two inner rooms towards the east and west. He knocked down the walls of the thatched house, rammed them again, installed wooden windows, and replaced the roof with tiles, forming a layout of one hall and two inner rooms.
As for the kitchen, it is large enough, but a little short and cramped. Uncle Chen can solve this problem by raising it and changing the windows, making the layout more spacious.
The only thing he was thinking about was the toilet. Old Man Chen was still measuring and thinking about the land behind the house.
"Xu Nu, come here and see if what Grandfather Chen is thinking is right."
Old Man Chen held a long wooden ruler and waved at her.
He scratched with his hand and said, "Here, dig a pit eight feet long. This pit should be covered with chalk and lime to make it waterproof. It should have three compartments, two small and one large. The small compartments inside should have a connecting hole. The small one should be connected to the toilet. That way, when the toilet is used, the water will flush down and stay in the first two compartments. After a while, it will seep into the third large compartment and become decomposed water. It will also have no smell. You can lift the stone cover on top and scoop it out to water the vegetables nearby. Is that right?"
"That's right. This is the septic tank I was talking about."
Ji Xu said, feeling that Mr. Chen was indeed an old hand, as he understood it thoroughly. In fact, she only knew the principle vaguely, and she still had to rely on Mr. Chen for practical application.
"It's cheap, but this is such a nice bluestone mortar, and you're using it as a toilet?"
Old Man Chen pointed at the bluestone beside the wall and said, what a waste! If he followed his advice, he could just dig a hole and put up two wooden boards.
I saw that the bluestone was polished to be fine and smooth, and it was long and round, like a basin, but there was a round hole inside, which was leaking.
It was something Ji Xu had found by chance in the country market some time ago. The old man had carried it here on his back, originally intending to sell it as a mortar for thirty coins.
It was much rougher at the time, so Ji Xu doubled the price and asked him to polish it smooth, with the bottom slightly higher in the front and lower in the back, and to chisel a round hole at the low edge to serve as a drain after using the toilet. As for the pipes connecting to the pool, Ji Xu planned to use the bamboo joints that he had stored at home, which were dense and hard.
"Sister, Xiaozhu and I found some stones!"
Ji Feng shouted happily, and the two of them came back from Niupi Mountain, each holding a flat and thick stone.
Ji Xu placed the two stones on either side of the bluestone basin and said to Old Man Chen:
"Look, this is the one that steps on your feet."
In this way, the materials for the toilet were complete. Old Man Chen figured it out, but he felt sorry for her because such a good bluestone mortar had been chiseled out. After a moment of regret, he spat on his hands and started digging.
People were digging the foundation of a house next to them, and some were carrying stones back from the mountains. They were all busy in an orderly manner, and Ji Xu didn't need to worry about them.
She called herself Shang Jifeng and went to the city to buy vegetables. Dinner for more than ten people was a big project and had to be prepared early.
Before leaving, Ji Feng told Ji Zhu to watch over the tiles and not let the little monkeys bump into them or fall.
Ji Zhu agreed obediently.
Wang Li patted his chest and said, "I'm here."
"What are you doing here? I'm here to guard against you, a monkey." Ji Feng walked a distance and turned back to point at him.
Wang Li stuck out his tongue, made a face, and slipped away to Cao's side.
Cao was piling mud in front of the house. She took out the steamed buns from her arms and told him to take them home so that they could have some for dinner. "I'll eat here today. No need to save any for me."
He then instructed, "Be sensible this afternoon and don't come over here, especially at dinner time. Don't let people think you, a little kid, are here to eat for free, okay?"
Wang Li naturally agreed.
Ji Zhu and Chen Sui'er squatted under the eaves, facing the tiles and whispering sweet nothings.
"That's great, your family has built a tiled house." Chen Sui'er looked at the tiles and said enviously.
"Your house will be built later." Ji Zhu said.
"I don't know when."
"Then why don't you stay at my house for a while?" Ji Zhu said again.
"Okay, I'll come to your house as a guest and stay overnight, but my second brother can't come."
Chen Sui'er thought about it, covered her mouth and smiled, whispering in her ear,
"I'm telling you, my brother loves to go to the bathroom and will stink up your house."
Both of them burst into laughter.
On this side, Ji Xu led Ji Feng to meet Wang Dianji at the kiln. She came to deliver fifty preserved eggs as agreed.
Wang Dianji placed the preserved eggs in several lacquered wooden boxes. He said, "I thought you had forgotten about this steamed bun season, and now I regret not signing the contract for half a month."
Ji Xu said, "It is only because of the house building at home that I have been delayed. I really cannot forget what I promised Wang Dianji."
Wang Dianji smiled as he heard this. He sent her out and saw a basket of vegetables under the eaves. He said to himself:
"This morning I got some water chestnuts and half a basket of radishes. Oh, you always send them to me when you don't have any left. Tell me, even if I had ten stomachs, I still couldn't finish them all.
Since you have built a house, you will need food to entertain it. You can carry this basket of vegetables and use it to cook."
Because he loved to eat stewed radish pieces, which were easy to make, he could just ask any boy to make it. He picked out two radishes, kept them for himself, and gave the rest to Ji Xu as a free favor.
Ji Xu accepted it with a smile and said, "Then I would like to thank Wang Dianji. It is because of his hard work and contributions to the Gan family that he has this qualification. Who else can be so honored?"
Wang Dianji was so elated after hearing this that he personally escorted her outside the kiln.
Ji Feng kept saying along the way that the kiln was really big, with so many bricks and tiles, and they were worth a lot of money. In the past, he could only see the smoke from the kiln from a distance. If he got closer, he would be chased away by the burly man who thought he was a thief. But now he can go in and out freely, and even the Gan family's accountant will accompany him.
"Sister, you're really capable. I used to hear that Wang Dianji was a badass, but now he's smiling and welcoming you."
Ji Feng was so fond of it that she waited to learn it and show it to others when she got home.
While the two sisters went to the market in Shengchangli and bought water chestnuts and radishes, Ji Xu began to think about what dishes to prepare for dinner.
He still needed to buy more meat. In the market here, some meat was more expensive than in other towns, and some was cheaper. Ji Xu had now bought tiles and some miscellaneous items, such as half a stone of lime and chalk, and two meters of linen, leaving him with only 550 coins. This was enough to make breakfast and dinner for two days, so he couldn't spend lavishly. He had to compare prices from three different stores.
"Ji Zhengbing, where are you buying vegetables?"
Many familiar customers greeted her along the way, even Cai Gaohuan from the local market.
She had just sold a ring of paste mixed with sorghum flour when she heard Ji Xu say that he was building a house at home and needed to buy chickens to slaughter. So he took her to a peddler and saw the poultry in the cages in front, including chickens, ducks and geese, all alive and clucking.
Cai Gaohuan smiled slyly and said loudly, "This is an old acquaintance of mine. You have to give me the best price. If you don't, don't even think about eating my Gaohuan in the future."
"Then I'll give you fifty coins for this chicken. I can buy it from farmers outside for less than that."
"It's too expensive. Your chicken is still tender. Forty." Cai Gaohuan said.
"No, no, forty-five is the minimum! I've been raising chickens for half a year before this chicken vendor came here."
In this way, Cai Gaohuan caught him a fat one and said to Ji Xu:
"That's fine, but be careful."
Ji Xu saw that the chicken had a small beak, small wings and a large body, making it the perfect chicken for poaching. Furthermore, the price was reasonable, so he paid for it.
"Thank you, Auntie. I'll bring you some steamed buns someday."
"Thank you for what?"
Cai Gaohuan pressed her hand and was about to say something when a customer called from the stall behind, so she hurried away.
Later he chased her out for a long distance and stuffed a piece of ointment ring into Ji Feng's hand. Ji Feng was watching Ji Xu's signal and didn't try to confiscate it.
Cai Gaohuan was sweating profusely while running, and said, "I'll give your sister a sweet mouth."
Ji Xu asked her to take it and say thank you. Ji Feng did as she was told and held it in her hands happily all the way. She ate the soft, sticky and sweet taste. She held it up and fed it to Ji Xu, and left some to take back to Ji Zhu.
"Miss, you're here early today, and you still want five pounds of fat meat?" Li, the butcher from the rural market, greeted.
She usually buys meat here and goes home to make steamed buns stuffed with meat.
"Ten pounds of fat and five ribs." Ji Xu said.
"It's different today." Butcher Li said with a smile.
When he heard that it was such a happy event as building a house, and that Ji Xu was his important customer, he picked up the two marrow bones next to him and removed them until only small circles of thin meat were left. He said:
"These two bones are for you to use as a headgear. I wish you good luck in your new home!"
A lot of meat and bones fell into the basket. Ji Feng held the heavy basket and said sweetly before leaving:
"I wish you a prosperous business!"
Butcher Li agreed with a smile, and said that they were worthy of being sisters.
"Saltfish—ten cents a piece—"
In the rural market, fishermen and farmers were hawking their wares by the roadside. The shad in the buckets were bright, lively, and swimming freely.
Ji Xu put the chickens with tied feet on the ground, rolled up his sleeves and personally caught the two nimble ones.
Seeing that there were chickens, meat and bones, all of which were meat dishes, and they also wanted to buy shad, Ji Feng couldn't help but feel pain in her heart and said:
"Sister, these are more than enough."
You know, for the people in Benguli, building a house, if they can cook one oily and meaty dish and eat solid white rice, it is already considered to be top-notch, and people can't find any fault with it.
Ji Xu could hear her good intentions of frugality. She was indeed short of money at the moment, but this was different from the last time when the children shared steamed buns. She explained the etiquette of social relations between family and neighbors:
"Those who come to help us have to work hard. We try our best to feed them well. They have the strength and understand our intentions. They can build the house quickly and firmly, right? If they ask for help again in the future, they will be willing to help."
Ji Feng said, "These things cost so much money. They are all my sister's hard-earned money. It hurts so much to spend so much on a meal for them, and even give them steamed buns for breakfast."
If Ji Xu's hands weren't dirty, he would have really wanted to touch her head, but he could only smile and say:
"It's okay. I still have the skills, so I can earn more money. Besides, we got some water chestnuts and radishes for free, which will save us a lot of money on vegetables. I can buy some shad, okay?"
After thinking for a moment, he added, "Sister, I'm craving this shad. Slice it, remove the bones, chop it into small pieces, and stir-fry it. It tastes delicious."
Ji Feng heard that she wanted to eat it, and finally stopped being stingy. She pouted and said, "Then we should buy it and eat it. They are really lucky."
"You." Ji Xu was happy.
I went with her to weigh out some side dishes and ingredients, such as pickled vegetables, Huaixiang peppercorns and malted rice, and then went back with three hundred and thirty coins left in my hand.
"Look, Miss Xu bought a really fat chicken!"
"Look, Erfeng is carrying that meat, it must weigh five or six pounds! And there's also some mullet!"
The people in Benguli who watched along the way sighed and groaned, some of them regretted it to the point of regretting it.
"I would have gone earlier. This is such a feast with so much meat and meat, only the rich can afford it."
Ji Feng, who was walking in front, couldn't help but straighten her back, and her little face became radiant.
The wall was already being built at home, and when they saw so many meat dishes being bought, they were all looking forward to the dinner.
Ji Xu entered the kitchen and started to boil water and kill a chicken. She planned to use the chicken to make a white-cut chicken, a stir-fried chicken breast, and a stir-fried chicken with pickles.
The men and women nearby were busy tamping and building the wall, while the two sisters gathered under the eaves, plucking the feathers of a chicken that had been scalded by boiling water in a ceramic basin, one hand each.
"Xiaozhu, you are like me."
Ji Feng said, plucking a handful of chicken feathers to reveal the white chicken skin.
Ji Zhu held the ring brought to her in her mouth, freed her hands, and learned to peel the chicken, then skinned it and brought it into the kitchen to Ji Xu.
The women said, "These two little girls are really capable. Unlike my daughter, who spends all day weeding on the hillside."
"Sister, how do you cook this chicken?"
After peeling the garlic she had grown at home, Ji Feng asked excitedly, "Now, the chickens, pigs and carp have all been processed."
Next to it was a food table borrowed from the Chen family. Every bamboo plate was filled with side dishes and ingredients, red and green, complex and varied. Ji Feng couldn't figure out what they were used for.
"Make some poached chicken."
The two younger sisters were curious and didn't go anywhere, just watching from the side.
Ji Xu took out the chicken's internal organs and chicken fat, put it into the pot and boiled it, then poured cold water on it and put it back into the pot to simmer.
When a layer of yellow oil floats on the soup, pour it into cold water again. The whole chicken will appear golden, firm, plump and round.
Ji Xu was an expert knife worker. She chopped the chicken into pieces, placed it on a plate, and garnished it with a celery leaf. She then poured the dipping sauce she had prepared on it. A bowl of poached chicken with shiny golden skin, red bones and tender meat was ready.
This dish is meant to be eaten cold, so she made it first.
The chicken offal was not wasted. It was cut into cubes along with half a bowl of boiled chicken blood, and paired with the two-headed pickled mustard greens bought from Xiaolang to make a plate of chopped chicken offal. It was sour and spicy and went well with rice.
As soon as the aroma came out, everyone's stomachs started growling and they all swallowed their saliva.
“This tastes so good!”
The aroma of braised pork, salt and pepper ribs, stir-fried pork belly, and stir-fried water chestnuts with pork wafts out, it's even more amazing.
They were so greedy that they could hear each other's stomachs growling, and they were all eagerly looking forward to the evening meal.
As for the two marrow bones, Ji Xu had already used them to make soup in the stove next door. It was bubbling now. He calculated the time and put the chopped radish in it. When it was rotten, it would be ready.
Taking advantage of this moment, I quickly fried a plate of vegetarian celery. This celery was picked behind my house. It was the first harvest and very tender.
The kitchen was almost ready, and Ji Xu called out to Ji Feng, who was intoxicated by the aroma:
"Go to Lu Damu's house and borrow some bowls and chopsticks."
Her family hasn't bought tableware yet, there are only three bowls, and the plates are also made of bamboo. But even if they bought it, it would still not be enough for the number of people today.
When people in Benguli have a big wedding banquet, they borrow some tableware from other families.
After a while, Ji Feng came in with more than ten sets of bowls and chopsticks, some made of pottery and some made of wood.
Helping with the work was Aunt Lu, who was holding a wooden food tray. After her husband Chen Da became lame, he often studied carpentry, so the family had no shortage of rough wooden products.
Ji Feng said, "It just happened that we met halfway."
Aunt Lu smiled and said, "I guessed that you haven't bought all these bowls, plates, and wooden tables yet. They are definitely not enough for so many people, so I shared some from home."
After saying that, he started to help. When the sun was half setting, two food tables were placed together next to the tile pile outside. Next to the tables was a reed mat borrowed from the Chen family. Pork bone and radish soup, boiled chicken, braised pork, pepper and salt ribs, stir-fried fish, stir-fried chicken with pickles, stir-fried water melon with meat, stir-fried celery, and hot and sour pickled radish were brought out one after another.
"Fellow villagers, there is water here. Let's wash our hands and have a meal!"
Ji Xu waved towards the new house, then went to the back of the house and invited Old Man Chen to come for dinner.
When everyone heard this, they were all anxious and asked, "Can we have dinner now?"
Those who were piling mud put down their shovels, those who were carrying loads put down their poles and baskets, and those who were working on the rammed earth wall, standing on a wall board about four feet high, pounding the wall with their wooden pestles. Upon hearing this, they also put down their pestles and climbed down the ladder. They chatted and laughed as they came to wash their hands. They had already glanced at the food table and said in surprise:
"How much is this? I'm sorry for the expense!"
The chicken was enough to fill two plates, which showed that the whole chicken was used for cooking. Some stingy families would only cook half of the chicken and keep the other half for themselves.
As for the pork, it was also served in two plates, so full that it was almost overflowing, which showed how much it was.
"No, I'm sorry for the poor hospitality."
After washing their hands, everyone was completely engrossed in the meat, but they still remembered the local etiquette and invited Old Man Chen to sit at the table. Then they smiled and said to Ji Xu, "Miss Xu, sit here!"
Ji Xu was busy and polite: "I am young, it doesn't matter where I sit to pick up the food."
"No, no, the owner of the house must sit in the south seat."
According to the etiquette of dining here, if there is an elderly guest, the host should give up the seat on the north side to the elderly guest, and the host should sit at the seat on the south side. Ji Xu gave way to the elderly guest before he took his seat.
The others sat at the east and west seats according to their seniority and age.
The young men who couldn't sit down would pick up some food from the gaps nearby and eat under the eaves. They would squat anywhere, chatting with each other. They actually felt much more comfortable than sitting at the same table with the elders.
"This chicken is so delicious, tender and juicy."
"And this braised red pork! Feng Xingba has always said it's heavenly, and today we finally get to enjoy it!"
The same was true at the banquet. Everyone was enjoying the meal. The chicken was delicious, the shad was wonderful, and the chicken offal and water chestnuts went perfectly with the rice. Ji Xu steamed a large steamer of white rice, which was enough for everyone to eat their fill.
The two children, Jizhu and Jifeng, ate in the kitchen, and occasionally sat next to Jixu, asking her to pick some dishes for them.
Ji Zhu was shy and whispered in Ji Xu's ear which one she wanted to eat.
"Sister, that chicken is so delicious...
I want to eat pickled radish..."
The women at the table jokingly said, "Xiaozhu, what would you like to eat? Tell us out loud and your aunt will serve you some."
Ji Zhu covered her face with shame and leaned towards Ji Xu. Ji Xu hugged her and said:
"My aunt is a guest, and I'm already underserved. How can I let you come? I've already prepared something for her."
He didn't tease Jizhu for much and just let her eat. Jizhu ran away with the small bowl in her hand.
When it was Ji Feng's turn, she was also teased. Ji Feng was not shy, so Ji Xu just watched with a smile and did not interrupt. She just offered the bowl and said:
"Then please give me some of that chicken giblets. I love it and it goes really well with rice."
"Auntie also thinks that your sister's cooking skills are really better than anyone else in the area!"
Ji Feng was so flattered that she didn't want to leave. She started talking beside him, "It shows that you have a good tongue, auntie."
Make people laugh.
All the dishes on the table were eaten up, including the rice, with no leftovers.
When it got dark, everyone had eaten to their heart's content and agreed with each other:
"Tomorrow we'll be here at daybreak. The walls will be dry now, and we can put up the beams and purlins, install the doors and windows, and cover the roof tiles. We'll definitely help Miss Xu finish this house!"
There was also a kind reminder to Ji Xu: "You must take good care of this tile, don't let some thief steal it."
Gradually dispersed and went home.
A neighbor asked, "Is the food good at Miss Xu's house?"
"Excellent! Big meat, big meat, everything is delicious, even the vegetarian celery is cooked with meat oil!"
The people who heard it felt sad and regretful. Why didn’t they agree to go?
There are also some who, upon hearing about such delicious food, want to go and help tomorrow.
"I heard they're short of staff. I'll go there tomorrow too."
The woman who just came back said:
"Yesterday, the maid and the Chen family came to invite you, but you kept putting it off. Now you want to go? There's no need for so many people! If we go early tomorrow, we can finish the job for her!"
The man walked into the house with a gray body and a sullen look.
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