Chapter 33
Chen An looked at the cleared plot of land and answered readily, "I'll give it to you, but it's only for the next two days. I don't have many pieces of oil residue left. But you can come back tomorrow. I won't give it to you today anyway. We have to make dinner."
The eldest sister-in-law said that she would prepare more goods today, and he also wanted to find some purslane and ask the eldest sister-in-law to take it to the county to sell tomorrow. Shen Jin would be in the way if he stayed here any longer.
"Making dinner so early?" Shen Jin looked at the sky and muttered. However, he had worked for a long time and was already tired. Anyway, he had already eaten a piece of the oil residue. He couldn't finish another small piece today. He would have to wait until tomorrow to eat. He patted his butt and said, "Then I'll come back tomorrow morning."
He picked up his hoe and went away.
Shen Yin and Shen Tie wanted to dig for a while longer, but they looked at their third brother, then at the piece of land they were digging, and after thinking for a while they bent down to pick up the small pieces of wood, as they had agreed to dig some more.
Chen An stopped the man and said, "Okay, you guys go home too, come back tomorrow."
The two little brothers looked at Shen An, then looked at Shen Ning, and when they saw Shen Ning nodded, they really dared to leave.
Shen Yin took a step forward, and then remembered that his second brother had just said that they hadn't finished their work today, but they could eat the oil residue like the third brother because they were good. He quickly stopped and moved back, pretending that he hadn't turned around and left just now, and said obediently: "Okay, then second brother, sister, let's go back."
Seeing Chen An nod, Chen Ning smiled, then pulled Chen Tie and ran down the mountain.
…
Sang Luo was reminded by Chen An's words about preparing dinner. She looked at the sky, put away the roll of flax she had spun and went back to the house. She cleared out an empty backpack, put a clean empty ceramic basin in it, and put the cloth bag of grain in it.
The rice at home was gone, so she had to borrow a stone mortar to pound the rice before the Chen family made dinner. She also had to pay back the one liter of rice she owed.
Thinking about the amount of magical tofu I would have to make in the evening, I put in the cloth that I had exchanged with someone at the market a few days ago. I had to borrow a pair of scissors from Chen's house to cut the cloth. I also had a needle. When I got back, I used the hemp that I had just spun today to do the edge locking process while it was still light. I could then replace the large piece of new filter cloth in the evening, and it wouldn't be so difficult to make.
Since she needed to borrow a pair of scissors to cut cloth, Sang Luo simply looked through the scraps of cloth she had bought at the county cloth shop today, and picked out two pieces of plain-colored but thick, appropriately sized scraps to take with her. She also hurried to sew the purse, as it was not a good idea to put too many copper coins in her sleeve pockets, as they were scattered all over the place and she was afraid they would fall out accidentally.
After everything was packed, he went out with the backpack on his back. Shen An also wanted to get some purslane, so he left Shen Ning to look after the house and hurried out.
Mrs. Chen knew that Sang Luo would come to her house to pound rice in the afternoon, so Old Man Chen did not go out in the afternoon. While Sang Luo was pounding rice, she had a brief communication with the old man, telling him what she was building and how big it was, and asked him what she needed to prepare.
The result was exactly as Mrs. Chen said. The main materials, wood and yellow clay, were readily available on the mountain. What Sang Luo really had to prepare herself were the straw for making mud when making adobe bricks, rice chaff for smoothing the walls, and reed foil and straw for repairing the roof.
These things don't cost much, but the difficult part is the bathroom that Sang Luo wants to build that can easily drain water.
The house built of yellow clay was good in every other way except for Sang Luo's requirement of draining water from the inside. Even if she was willing to spend money to pave the ground with bluestone slabs, the rammed earth walls would become powdery and collapse in a few years if the foundation was leaking water all year round.
A brick house in the county is possible, but the cost is too high. In her situation, she bought bricks in the village to build a bathroom. Sang Luo didn't want to be ostentatious, nor did she want to go through the hassle of just a bathroom at this time. In the end, she decided to build the bathroom with yellow clay like the kitchen, and buy a bathtub, which would only be a little more troublesome if someone could carry it to pour water.
Buy a toilet and put it in the corner of the bathroom, so their family will have a clean toilet.
As for the thatched hut that was built on the side of the mountain some distance away from the house, Sang Luo asked Chen Youtian to clean it up. Naturally, all the manure inside was given to the Chen family.
After hearing this, Mrs. Chen looked at Sang Luo with a look that said, "You are indeed a spendthrift woman." "Don't you want to grow vegetables? With your mountain land, without fertilizer, what can you grow?"
Sang Luo thought about how dirty the toilet was and shook her head: "No, I'll just ferment some green manure and use it as fertilizer when I open up land on the other side of the mountain."
Are you kidding? The land that Shen An and his sister are busy cultivating is not far behind the house. Applying manure, especially fertilizer with so many unknown creatures, makes Sang Luo feel sick just thinking about it.
"What green manure is as useful as manure?"
Mrs. Chen didn't quite believe it. She had already guessed that it was just because Sangluo disliked the dirt and stench. She wondered why the vegetables didn't turn out like that last time. She said angrily, "Is it reasonable for farmers to dislike the dirt and stench of fertilizer? You're lucky you have the skill to make tofu, otherwise you'd be starving."
I was skeptical that Sang Luo could grow the vegetables this time. I didn't want to waste her several bags of vegetable seeds, otherwise she wouldn't even be able to eat a few chopsticks of vegetables.
But after all, it was someone else's business, and they had a way to make a living. Mrs. Chen didn't say anything more. After she was sure that Sang Luo really didn't want the manure, she agreed to clean the toilet.
"I won't take advantage of you. You don't have to look for other people to get the straw and bran you need to build your house. You can pick up the straw from my haystack when the time comes. As for the bran, if you take care of the food for a while, you can probably save up a lot. If the bran you have saved is not enough, you can come to me and take what you need. I will exchange it for the fertilizer."
Sang Luo finally didn't have to be carried by the old lady to apply manure to the vegetable garden behind the house. There was also someone to help her clean the toilet that she felt pressured to get even one meter away from. She breathed a sigh of relief.
She went home in a very happy mood, carrying the pounded rice and cut cloth.
She should hem and sew before the sun sets. Besides saving a lot of effort in making fairy tofu tonight, she is also a person with money, and Shen Ning gets a bath towel.
That's right, she cut the large piece of linen into a relatively square filter cloth, and the remaining towel-sized piece was used as a bath towel.
Take a shower with clothes on, return home with wet clothes, change into dry clothes while water is dripping from your body, without even a towel to wipe your body... Only those who have experienced this kind of life know.
This piece was given to Shen Ning, and she and Shen An did not leave any behind. They picked out two pieces from the rags that were slightly larger than a palm and relatively soft, and each of them used one piece first.
"We'll need to cut filter cloth in a few days, and I'll cut two more pieces then, so we can each have one piece."
Chen An waved his hands repeatedly after hearing this: "Sister-in-law, I don't need it, this one is much better."
He felt that the piece that Sang Luo gave him now was very good, and it was soft when he pinched it in his hand.
Sang Luo looked at the tiny piece and smiled: "You are quite good at living. As long as you are happy."
It's ok to use it now, why not try it in winter?
But there is no need to say this, just change it when the weather gets cold. Frugality is also a good virtue.
With the good mood of having a kitchen and a small courtyard soon, the three of them cooked half a clay pot of white rice porridge in the evening, with a bowl of pickled radish skin from lunch, a bowl of cold bracken, and a bowl of cold purslane. Each of them held a small bamboo tube as a bowl, and they squatted together to have a delicious dinner.
While eating, Shen An still felt a little dazed and unreal.
"Sister-in-law, are we really going to build a kitchen and a courtyard wall?"
Sang Luo nodded: "Yes, we will start the day after tomorrow."
"How much will that cost?"
Sang Luo pondered. Trees and soil are indeed free. Straw and chaff are now exchanged for fertilizer. She only needs to spend money to buy some reed mats to cover the roof. The cost is not large. She said, "Probably the money for food. It depends on how many people there are and how many days they work. We will know tomorrow."
If your relationship is not strong, who will work for you for free?
So who can be found to help depends on whether the Chen family can help ask today.
When Shen An heard that he was in charge of the meals, the porridge in his bowl suddenly lost its aroma: "I saw Erniu's family building a house two years ago. Many people helped, including my third uncle. They gave them white rice twice a day, and Shen Jin said there was meat."
There are more than ten people, and they need to provide them with food and meat for more than ten days. How much does that cost?
Shen An couldn't figure it out at all, and immediately became worried.
Shen Ning obviously also remembered that incident. There was no way around it. Shen Jin had hugged his uncle's legs and insisted on going to Erniu's house to eat meat. It was hard not to have a deep impression of it.
"Sister-in-law, do we also provide white rice and meat?"
Sang Luo nodded: "Well, even if we don't have to pay them, they should be well fed. Otherwise, why would they work for us for free after doing such tiring work?"
Seeing that the two little ones were a little depressed, one of them tapped them lightly and said, "Eat, don't worry. We don't have to buy all the food in one day. We make money every day and can buy food every day. Don't worry, make more fairy tofu. We can still supply it for the next ten days or half a month."
It's hard to say after a long time, this thing is just for fun, who would buy it every day as a meal, so the best business is in the first ten days or half a month, it will decline later, but it doesn't matter, it's just setting up a kitchen and a wall, the construction period is definitely shorter than building a house properly, it shouldn't take ten days or half a month.
Sang Luo thought there was nothing wrong with it.
Seeing that the two little ones still hadn't smiled, Sang Luo said with a smile: "Don't worry. If you worry so much at such a young age, you'll easily become an old man or an old woman."
"When we build the house later, there will be many people here. It will be difficult to avoid people when we go to pick the leaves of the fairy tree. I will try to come back early, for fear that there will be more goods to sell and I cannot come back too timely. If I am not back by noon, you can pick some fairy leaves when everyone goes back to rest. Remember to only pick them in the mountains around the village where people often walk. Don't go deep into the mountains. When you come out, cover them with more wild vegetables."
When Shen An and Shen Ning heard that they could help, they immediately became a little more energetic and nodded to agree to the task.
…
The little brother and sister were worried that they would not have enough food when their family built a house. After dinner, Old Man Chen went out of the house and asked his acquaintances who could spare some manpower to help build a kitchen and repair a wall for the Shen family's eldest house.
The first family I asked, the woman in the family started to worry before the man even said anything.
"You can help me, but you won't ask us to prepare our own meals, right?"
Every family in the village knew how poor the eldest branch of the Shen family was, that they had to eat bran and wild vegetables.
As soon as the woman finished speaking, her man glared at her secretly: "It's okay, go back to the house and take care of the children."
The woman pursed her lips, half because she was provoked by her man's attitude, and half because she took the opportunity to attack: "Why, Shi Er, did I embarrass you? Uncle Chen is not an outsider to us, and I didn't say anything. Food is precious these days, especially this spring when the grain was collected in advance. Who can afford to eat well? Building a house requires a lot of physical labor. Is it okay for me to ask this? Uncle Chen, don't you think so?"
Old Man Chen knew that all these were said for him to hear, so he smiled and said, "Not too much, not too much, it's reasonable to ask."
Then he turned to Shi Erlang and his wife and said, "You can provide meals. If you don't provide meals, I would be embarrassed to ask you for this, right?"
Shi Erlang was a little embarrassed and said, "We live in the same village, even if we don't have food, we should help those we can."
It goes without saying that helping for ten days is helping, and helping for one or two days is also helping.
Shi Erlang was not really angry with his wife, he just felt that it was inappropriate to ask her in person. Since he had come here for Old Man Chen and asked her once, he would go regardless of whether she was served food or not.
But if he really doesn't care about food, what his wife said is right. No one can stand doing heavy physical work and not having enough to eat. Working for a day or two would save the Chen family's face.
So there is no need to ask this. If the Shen family really doesn't provide food, wouldn't it be embarrassing for Old Man Chen to ask this?
Shi Erlang's wife obviously didn't think so much. When she heard about the meal, her expression relaxed a little, and then turned to curiosity: "Hasn't their family been eating wild vegetables for a while? How are the meals provided?"
Her eyelids twitched and she suddenly thought, could it be wild vegetable soup?
But he also felt that if this was true, the Chen family should not take the lead in this, so he suppressed this thought and looked at Old Man Chen to listen to what he had to say.
Old man Chen was also stunned by the question.
Their family knew that Sang Luo could make money now, but they didn't remember that no one in the village seemed to know about it.
Yes, the first time I went to the market and the time I went to the county yesterday, it was still dark when we left, and when we came back we didn’t go into the village but went in through the small path in the mountains.
Thinking back to the first time when Sang sent them a bowl of magical tofu, he did not hide it from them at the time and said it was made from things from the mountains. So this thing really should not be noticed by too many people.
Old Man Chen realized this and said vaguely, "Don't worry, we will definitely prepare rice. Sang is diligent and usually picks some wild vegetables to sell in the county. My Fangniang lives with her, so she may not eat very well. But when we go to help build the house, we will definitely provide rice."
He did carry wild vegetables to sell, two bunches for a penny. His daughter-in-law had been bragging about it for the whole afternoon, looking for wild vegetables everywhere just to make a few more bucks the next day.
Old man Chen felt relieved. Well, it wasn't really a lie. He just didn't tell the whole story.
Only then did Mr. and Mrs. Shi understand why the Chen family would help the eldest branch of the Shen family.
So Qin Fangniang and Nasang were selling wild vegetables together?
Shi Erlang immediately expressed his opinion: "Uncle Chen, rest assured, I will definitely go there the day after tomorrow. Do we have to cut down the trees first?"
Old Man Chen nodded and said, "Let's cut down the trees first. They don't have any materials in stock, and it will take several days to process the wood. It will be ready when the wall is built."
"Okay, I'll bring the axe with me then."
After the deal was made, Old Man Chen turned around and left. Shi Er walked him to the main hall door, but Old Man Chen waved his hand and told him not to walk him anymore.
Before I even reached the gate of Shi's house, I heard Shi Erlang's wife muttering inside: "How much are these wild vegetables worth? Aren't they everywhere? Can they be used to build a house?"
Old man Chen's back stiffened, and then his steps became noticeably faster than before, and he stepped out of the Shi family's gate in a few steps.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
