"Uncle Lu, what should I do? I just bumped into someone, and that person seems to be very rich." Li Tugen ran to Uncle Lu and said nervously.
"It's OK."
"Really?" Li Tugen still didn't believe it.
He used to do business in the town with Sister Xiaomin, and he often saw the sons of landlords bullying men and women on the streets.
The young masters of several other wealthy business families were not as extreme, but they were not much worse.
As a result, Li Tugen is now a little allergic to young masters from wealthy families.
"Yeah." Lu Changge responded, and his eyes indicated that he should go find the shopkeeper to discuss cooperation.
The shopkeeper of Feiyunlou, who had been standing behind the counter, saw the bumping incident clearly.
Seeing the person coming over, he said expressionlessly: "Is there anything I can do for you? If you want to eat, please let the waiter take care of you."
"Uh...we want to discuss cooperation with the shopkeeper."
After Li Tugen finished speaking, Li Xiaomin opened the snack box containing cooked food.
There was only one plate inside, but it contained several kinds of cooked food.
Three pieces of brined meat, two boneless chicken feet, a handful of cold shredded chicken, etc., and several other cooked foods.
As soon as the lid is opened, the fragrance spreads out instantly.
The shopkeeper, who was about to refuse, was stunned by the overbearing fragrance and became speechless.
A few guests passing by had just paid their bill and were about to leave when they smelled it.
"Mr. Jin, what is this dish? It smells so good. Is it a new product from Feiyunlou?"
"New product? Shopkeeper, give me one."
“Give us one too!”
Several guests who had just walked in and were about to eat also smelled it and quickly spoke up.
"Dear guests, please be patient. This is indeed a new product that we at Feiyunlou are going to launch. We will hang up the wooden sign with the menu in the next two days. Please come and support us then." Shopkeeper Jin said soothingly.
After all the guests who had gathered around had left, Shopkeeper Jin looked at Lu Changge and the other two with an apologetic look on his face.
"How about we go upstairs to discuss cooperation?"
"Okay." Li Tugen glanced at Uncle Lu and nodded.
Naturally, Li Tugen's little trick could not be hidden from the shrewd manager Jin.
Shopkeeper Jin observed the man silently, and finally concluded that this man was no ordinary person.
Half an hour later, the cooperation discussion was completed.
The two sides had a pleasant discussion and finally decided on a cooperation plan.
Li Xiaomin could only cooperate with Feiyunlou and provide two kinds of cooked food every day, fifty servings of each, and the unit price was determined by the type of meat.
The types of cooked food can be decided by Li Xiaomin.
Another collaboration is buying out recipes.
Now Feiyun Pavilion has sold out the recipe for boneless chicken feet, and the purchase price is two hundred silver coins.
After discussing the cooperation, Li Tugen and Li Xiaomin left with Uncle Lu with bright smiles on their faces.
On the second floor of Feiyun Building, a young man was looking at Li Tugen and the other two who had already walked away downstairs.
The plate of cooked food on the table in front of him was exactly what was in Li Xiaomin's lunch box just now.
The delicate young man withdrew his gaze, picked up the chopsticks and prepared to pick up a piece of boneless chicken feet, but was stopped by the eunuch beside him.
"Your Highness, this food is really..."
"It's okay." The young man ignored the eunuch's words and picked up a piece of meat and put it in his mouth.
After chewing for a few times, I was immediately overwhelmed by the spicy taste in my mouth.
…
After discussing cooperation with Feiyun Tower and Fugui Tower, Lu Changge and others left the inner city.
When I got home, the firewood that the dental shop staff had helped me order had already arrived and was piled in the yard.
There are about 60 bundles of firewood, 20 bundles per family.
After moving the firewood outside the small kitchen, Lu Changge began to cook.
In the yard, several kids were playing games.
The yard is not large. In addition to the cross-shaped green brick path, there is also a well and two water tanks in the yard.
A large flat rock that has been hollowed out to form a pool.
In addition, of the four plots of land divided by the brick paths, three are simply left uncultivated.
"Uncle Lu, there are three pieces of wasteland in the yard. Can I grow vegetables on them?" Li Tugen shouted while standing in the yard.
"Can."
After hearing Uncle Lu's answer, Li Tugen took out a hoe and prepared to turn the soil.
Lunch was prepared by his grandfather, who now had to hurry up and plant the vegetables.
"Brother, do you want to dig the soil and plant vegetables?" Li Goudan, who was playing with other children, saw his brother turning the soil and ran over to ask.
"Yes." Li Tugen replied casually.
Turn over the compacted ground and then break it into smaller pieces.
"Brother Tuwa, when will the vegetables grow?" Little Tuanzi also ran over and asked curiously.
"It will take many days."
"How many days is 'many days'?" Sihu nearby also came over to join in the fun.
"It will grow in fifteen days." Li Tugen quickly turned over one piece of land, and then carried the hoe to turn over another one.
Some green vegetables with a short growing period may take from half a month to twenty-three or four days from sowing to harvesting.
Li Tugen certainly didn't expect to sell vegetables to Fuguilou from the ones grown in the yard.
The vegetables planted in the yard are reserved for them to eat.
The vegetables sold to the wealthy are grown in individual pots inside the house.
By using both nutrient soil and culture solution, a crop can be harvested in half an hour.
There are three rooms in the west wing. Li Tugen lives in one room alone, while Grandpa Li and two-and-a-half-year-old Li Goudan live in one room.
The last remaining room is used by Li Tugen to grow vegetables.
"Fifteen days..." The kids began counting on their fingers.
"Wow! There are more than my two hands." Sihu stretched out his two little hands and said in surprise.
"Fifteen days... Goudan's two hands and Wo's one hand." Little Tuanzi stretched out his left hand to Goudan.
"Yes." Li Tugen replied while bending down and digging the ground.
Seeing them all coming over, Li Tugen stopped what he was doing and stood up.
"Go somewhere else to play, it's dangerous here."
"good!"
"Can we go out and play?" Little Dumpling pointed toward the gate.
"I want to go too..."
"Is it fun outside?"
Seeing that they were eager to try, Li Tugen interrupted the discussion of the young guys.
"It's almost time for dinner, we can't go out."
"It's OK after dinner?"
"Tuanzi, you can go ask your father. If Uncle Lu agrees, then it's fine."
As he was speaking, Lu Changge just came out of the small kitchen carrying a lunch box.
"Tuanzi, come in and eat."
"Oh!" Tuanzi responded and ran over quickly.
"Brother Tuanzi, remember to ask Uncle Lu!" Sihu shouted from behind.
"Good!"
Tuanzi was called to eat, and soon Grandpa Li and Li Xiaomin's families also finished their meals.
After entering the house and closing the door, Lu Changge walked in with the food box and asked Tuanzi, "What do you want to ask me?"
"I want to go out and play with Goudan and the others. Brother Tuwa needs to ask Daddy." Little Tuanzi answered, and then asked, "Dad, can we go out and play after dinner?"
"No." Lu Changge refused directly.
"Ah... why?" Little Dumpling was a little disappointed.
"Why? Didn't Daddy tell you before? Have you forgotten again?" Lu Changge lowered his head and looked at Tuanzi who was standing at his feet.
"ah?"
"What can't children do?" Lu Changge gave some hints.
"Oh! I didn't forget!" Little Dumpling looked as if he had suddenly realized something. "There are a lot of bad things out there. Children can't go out without a baby. They have to go out with daddy and mom! Daddy, am I right?"
"Yes, that's why we can't go out and play with Goudan and the others." Lu Changge put the food out and nodded.
"You can bring Dahei and Erhei with you. Dahei and Erhei will protect us!"
[Dahei and Erhei? Young master, if you take them with you, those two stupid dogs will definitely be caught and eaten by the people outside. They can't even protect themselves, so they definitely can't protect the young master.] Er Teng laughed out loud.
"Ah? Why do they want Dahei and Erhei?" Little Tuanzi said a little fearfully.
[Because they have no meat to eat.]
"Okay, let's eat." Lu Changge interrupted their conversation.
After dinner, Xiaotuanzi and the other kids no longer insisted on going out to play.
He also kept an eye on Dahei and Erhei, not letting them step out of the door, for fear that those bad guys would jump out from somewhere and snatch Dahei and Erhei away.
After dinner, Li Tugen went to harvest some vegetables.
The two men carried six wooden buckets and went out to fetch water.
Before going out, Lu Changge specifically asked who wanted to go with him. The kids all shook their heads and ran away.
Only the little dumpling stayed where he was.
"Tuanzi, do you want to go?" Li Tugen asked.
"I want to go..." Tuanzi wanted to go, but was a little hesitant.
"Follow me if you want to."
When he heard his father speak, the little girl smiled and ran over.
Daddy said that children shouldn’t go out without permission, but he followed Daddy out, so those bad guys definitely didn’t dare to get close to him.
"Is anyone else going? If not, we'll leave."
"I want to go!" Li Tugen's younger brother Li Goudan rushed over.
"I'm going too!" Li Sihu looked at his sister and ran over.
"Saya, what about you?" Li Tugen looked at Li Sanya who was still there.
"I...I won't go. My sister and I are at home." San Ya shook her head.
Finally, three more little kids and Erhei joined the water-carrying team, and Dahei stayed behind to guard the house.
In the residential area, each individual courtyard was originally equipped with a well.
But the drought has lasted eight months and well water levels have begun to drop.
Therefore, two centralized water-drawing areas had to be set up in the outer city.
One is at the end of the fifth alley in the residential area.
There is a nearly hundred-year-old tree there, and three hundred meters away from the old tree is a large well with a diameter of two meters.
The courtyard that Lu Changge and his friends rented happened to be in the Fifth Alley.
Go out and walk into the alley. After passing three courtyard gates, you will reach the end of the alley.
As soon as I walked out of the alley, the view suddenly opened up.
The location of the big well looks like a small modern square.
However, there are no entertainment facilities here, only a big tree and a large well.
There are a few stone tables and chairs under the big tree. When the weather is hot, some elderly people will come here to cool off and play chess.
It's still cold now, so it's a bit deserted.
The large well has a diameter of two meters and can accommodate several people drawing water at the same time.
The surrounding wall is about two-thirds the height of an average person's body, to prevent anyone from slipping and falling.
There was only one hand-cranked water pump and many people were waiting in line.
There were a few who pulled it up with their bare hands, but they were all men with relatively strong builds.
Lu Changge looked around and walked over to get a bucket.
Hold the steady rope in one hand and throw the barrel tied to the other end of the rope down.
I pulled the rope in my hand and felt that the wooden barrel at the other end had completely sunk into the water.
Lu Changge used his hands alternately to reel in the rope. His movements were steady and fast, and the thread was not affected by the weight at all.
In just a few breaths, a full bucket of water was pulled up.
Li Tugen on the side moved the bucket closer and let Uncle Lu pour it in.
After pouring the water into their buckets, Lu Changge threw another bucket down, and soon pulled up another bucket.
"Uncle Lu, you are so fast!" Li Tugen praised.
When Lu Changge heard this, he paused in pouring the water, raised his head and looked at Li Tugen expressionlessly.
"What...what's wrong, Uncle Lu?" Li Tugen asked puzzledly.
Lu Changge didn't say anything, just gave him a look, letting him figure it out, and then continued to fetch water.
Li Tugen: “???”
What did Uncle Lu mean by that look?
I'm confused.jpg
Lu Changge quickly drew six buckets of water, and the whole process took less than ten minutes.
This attracted the attention of the boys and men nearby, who all looked over and talked in low voices while standing in line.
"Whose family is this man? I seem to have never seen him before..."
"I don't know, but he draws water so fast. I don't know if he is married..." This is a boy who came with his family to fetch water.
"At this age... you should get married, right?"
"Ah? Forget it. I finally found one that I like..."
"It's so funny... Even if he's not married, would he be interested in a guy like you?" This is the mortal enemy of the guy who spoke before.
"That's better than you. Look how fat you are. If you are as fat as a ball, no one will want you when you are old!"
"you!"
Those who were whispering started to quarrel.
Lu Changge, the object of their quarrel, had already gone back with Li Tugen to fetch water.
Li Tugen was walking in front, carrying two buckets, while Lu Changge, who was walking behind, was carrying two buckets on his shoulders and two buckets in his hands, but even so, he did not shake at all.
There were three other kids chasing and fighting behind Lu Changge, and Erhei was walking at the back of the group.
Soon, we arrived home.
The little guys cheered and ran in.
The two water tanks in the yard had been cleaned before and could be poured directly into them.
After pouring six buckets of water, the water tank only reached one-fifth of its capacity.
Lu Changge and Li Tugen walked back and forth ten more times, filling the two large water vats and six buckets.
After fetching water, Lu Changge took out all the diapers that he had accumulated, as well as the clothes that his family had changed yesterday.
Then he took out the wash basin and washboard.
"Daddy, where are you going?" the little girl asked.
"Go do the laundry."
"I want to go to the nest too!"
"I'm going too!"
"And me!"
Finally, Lu Changge carried two buckets of clothes and took his three little boys and Erhei out to do the laundry.
One hundred meters to the right of the big well, there are fifteen large stone slabs.
Because it is troublesome to fetch water, many people would bring their clothes here to wash.
Or you can collect them for a few days and then wash them together.
Those who come to wash clothes are boys or girls, or the daughters-in-law of the family.
Today, a tall, strong and muscular man appeared, which was rare.
Lu Changge walked over with the child, found a place with no one on either side, and put the clothes down.
Then he took the bucket and went to fetch water.
"Stay here and don't run around." Before leaving, Lu Changge warned the three kids.
"good!"
"I know, Daddy. Tuanzi will be a good boy!"
After Lu Changge left with the bucket, the kids ran to the big stone slab and jumped around, and even slipped to a deserted spot nearby.
Erhei sat next to the washtub, guarding the clothes and the human cubs.
Several brothers and brides who were washing clothes nearby looked over curiously while washing clothes.
And whispering with the people next to him.
Soon, Lu Changge came over with two buckets of water and poured them into the wooden basin.
The two buckets of water were enough to soak the clothes in the basin. Lu Changge rolled up his sleeves at the joints, folded them, squatted down and started washing clothes.
The diapers were all covered with Erbao's urine, so Lu Changge washed the clothes first and then the diapers.
At first, Su Qingyun was the one who washed the clothes at home.
Later, after Su Qingyun got pregnant with Tuanzi, Lu Changge took over the job of washing clothes.
Until now.
After three years of washing clothes, Lu Changge has gone from having torn clothes every time he rubbed them to being very proficient at it now.
After washing the clothes, Lu Changge poured the diapers into the basin, soaked them and started washing.
At this time, someone came over from the two stone slabs next to them.
Tuanzi, who was playing up there, quickly came down, ran behind his dad, raised his head and looked at them curiously.
"What's wrong?" Lu Changge, who was washing clothes, suddenly spoke up.
The two girls who had just walked over heard it and thought someone was talking to them. They said "Huh?" and looked over subconsciously.
"Daddy, Wo, Goudan and Sihu want to go play at the big tree." Little Tuanzi lay on his daddy's back and said in a low voice.
"Yes." Lu Changge responded, and then said: "You can't run around the well."
"good!"
The three little guys shouted happily and ran over with their little feet.
Erhei, who was standing by, saw this, stood up, shook his hair, and followed.
Seeing that it was the father and his son talking, a young girl who might have misunderstood blushed and quickly left to find another seat.
The other girl, on the other hand, looked at the tall man squatting nearby washing clothes with some curiosity.
Erbao had a lot of diapers, and it took Lu Changge more than 40 minutes to finish washing them all for the first time.
After squeezing out the water, Lu Changge took out the washboard and poured out the dirty water in the basin.
There is a canal in front of the stone slab leading to the farming area, where the remaining water from washing clothes can be poured into.
After finishing the first wash, Lu Changge took the bucket to fetch water.
Hearing the footsteps of the man leaving, a young girl who had been secretly watching Lu Changge looked over and saw the tall figure of the man.
After washing the dirty ones once, wash them twice with clean water.
Lu Changge squeezed the water out of the last three diapers and put them in the bucket.
He carried two buckets of clothes in one hand and held a wooden basin and a washboard in the other.
Seeing a few kids still having fun under the big tree, Lu Changge shouted, "Tuanzi, let's go back."
Hearing daddy's voice, Tuanzi, who was running happily, suddenly stopped and looked over. He saw daddy carrying things and getting ready to leave.
"Here we go!" Tuanzi ran towards his father, not forgetting to turn around and greet his friends: "Goudan and Sihu, it's time to go home!"
Only after the kids had all come back and were ahead of him did Lu Changge start to catch up.
Erhei, who followed, walked on the left side of his master.
"Uncle Lu, can you come over to play tomorrow?" Goudan asked excitedly with his face flushed.
"Brother Jinbao said he will bring his friends there tomorrow." Sihu said.
The brother Jinbao that Sihu mentioned is a four-year-old child, whom they just met while playing under a big tree.
"Is it possible?" Little Tuanzi was also looking forward to it.
"Okay." Lu Changge nodded.
"yeah!"
Just as they reached home, the kids ran in cheering.
Erhei was the last one to go in. He glanced at the human who had been following them and closed the door with a bang.
A girl who had been following them from a distance was a little surprised when she saw them enter the yard that had been empty before.
"Sanni, what are you doing standing outside? Why don't you come in even though you're home?" The door opposite opened and an old woman walked out.
"Nothing." Sanni took a last look, turned around and walked into the house.
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