Xie and Li Mei had to make braised meat and tofu every day, and they were still not able to do it all day. Although some villagers came to help, Xie felt that this was not a solution.
If villagers always come to help, it's okay once or twice, but if they do it all the time, they are taking advantage of you.
So, Xie hired one more person.
This person is Yang, a widow in the village.
Like her, her husband went to the battlefield and never returned, leaving her with a five-year-old daughter and a mother-in-law at home.
This person was appointed by our ancestor himself.
Yang was efficient at work, had a quick learning ability, and got the hang of things quickly.
Xie had more time to spend with Gao Zhi.
In the evening, after Gao Zhi took a bath, the mother and daughter sat in the bedroom and chatted.
"Mom, we need to make tofu at home. Firewood burns very quickly, so we need to buy some firewood. Also, the kitchen is too small, and it's not convenient to make tofu in it.
Mother, clean up the woodshed and set it up to make the tofu workshop.
Build a firewood room in the yard and put a roof on the millstone, so it won’t be afraid of wind, rain and sun. "
The Xie family’s old house is only two years younger than the Xie family’s. Last year, Gao Ronghua hired someone to help renovate it, so it has improved a little.
In fact, Gao Zhi wanted to propose rebuilding the house, but she privately estimated that the money in Xie's hands should not be enough. Moreover, she knew that the little wolf cub would become successful sooner or later, and Laozhuang Village was just a transition point for them.
Spending money to build a house here may not be a good choice.
Later on, the little wolf cub will probably have a lot of places to spend money.
Money should be spent wisely.
However, if they want to cook, the environment has to be sanitary.
There is always food cooking in the kitchen, so there is a lot of steam and the floor is often wet, which makes it slippery and dirty.
"Mom, after we clean up the firewood room, we still need to lay blue bricks on the ground. We need to go to the town and ask for more blue bricks. We also need to lay blue bricks on the mill in the yard and the kitchen.
This way the floor won’t be slippery, and there’s no need to worry about dust on the floor.”
Xie listened and thought it made sense.
Just think about it, it will cost a lot of money to go through all this.
"But we don't have much money."
Mrs. Xie felt a little distressed when she thought about spending the money she had saved with great difficulty like this.
Gao Zhi counseled her, "Mom, if you don't go out to set up a stall at the beginning, you are worried that you will not make enough money.
These days, our daily income is more than that of setting up stalls, right?"
Mrs. Xie nodded, and her mouth couldn't close when talking about this.
"Yes, yes, that's right! That's right."
“So, once you spend money, you can earn it back quickly.
First of all, we must ensure the hygiene of the food and the convenience of preparing it, which is the only long-term solution.”
Gao Zhi explained patiently.
Mrs. Xie is a smart person and has made great progress over the past year. She can understand what Gao Zhi just needs to point out.
"Okay! Listen to us Jiaojiao."
Xie straightened the quilt and said, "Jiaojiao, it's getting late, go to bed."
"Okay! Good night, mother!"
"Good night Jiaojiao!"
The next day, Xie asked the villagers passing by to help find Gao Shan.
After breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Gaoshan came over together.
"Sister-in-law, are you looking for me?" Gao Shan asked.
Xie nodded, "Brother Gaoshan, let's look over here, I'll tell you something."
"OK."
Gao Shan followed Xie, who talked as they walked.
Li Mei and Yang are already working.
There is no need for Xie to explain anything.
They are all people with life in their eyes.
Xie repeated what she meant and Gao Shan understood.
"Sister-in-law, let's build a roof here. It's not difficult. I can do it tomorrow. I can ask someone to come and do it.
I have some wood at home, so it's easy to build. But is the roof thatched or tiled?"
"Use tiles!"
Gao Zhi had already told Xie what materials to use last night.
Gao Shan nodded, "Okay! I got it. Just build some bamboo fences around it and close it up when it's windy and rainy. Normally, open it so the light is good."
Gao Shan thought that the mill should be surrounded by a fence to provide some protection in the event of wind and rain.
Mrs. Xie shook her head. "No need for a bamboo fence. I've thought about it. I can weave a few bamboo mats and hang them on top. I can roll them up when not in use and put them down when I need them."
Gao Zhi also asked Xie to cut some oil paper cloth that matched the size of the bamboo mat and fix the oil paper cloth on the bamboo mat, so that it would not be wetted by rain or wind leaking in.
Gao Shan is a carpenter.
After hearing what Xie said, he already had a concrete picture in his mind.
"Sister-in-law, this is a good idea."
Xie smiled and didn't say that this idea was proposed by Gao Zhi.
Gao Shan had nothing to do today, so he said, "Sister-in-law, I'm going to the town to order blue bricks now."
"Won't it delay your work?" asked Mrs. Xie.
Gao Shan shook his head, "I'm fine today."
"Okay! Wait a moment." Xie went back to the house and took out five taels of silver. "Brother Gaoshan, take this with you. If you find something suitable, you can pay the deposit first.
By the way, please bring me 30 kilograms of flour. Gao Miao is not at home and I can’t leave, so I have to trouble you.”
"No trouble! I'll go to town first then."
"Okay! Thank you! Thank you for your help."
Gao Shan smiled and waved, went home to say goodbye to his ancestors, hitched up the ox cart and went to the town.
Gao Ronghua's wife Liu was picking vegetables in the yard. She couldn't help but turned her head and said to Gao Ronghua.
"Boss, how about I go and persuade Mrs. Xie? Over the past year or so, she has been raising Jiaojiao, and her life is indeed getting better and better.
But Xiao Miao is in academy now, and Jiaojiao is still so young, so there will be a lot of places to spend money in the future.
I'm a little worried about her spending money like this."
This is definitely not meant as a sign of jealousy. I'm just worried that if Xie's life gets better, they won't be able to live a good life.
After all, making money is not easy.
Gao Ronghua smiled.
"Wife, you are so worried! Xie Xianglan knows how to live. If he wants to renovate the place, he must have his own intentions.
How to manage the household?
You don't need to tell me this.
No matter how he spends the money, he will definitely earn it back.
You see, if he doesn't set up the stall at the beginning, aren't you worried that he won't make any money?
What about now? Are you still worried? "
When Liu heard this, she burst out laughing.
"Okay, I'm too worried. I don't need to worry too much about the Xie family's affairs."
Gao Ronghua smiled and teased her, "It's not wrong for you to help her more! It's good, I don't have any other intentions."
Liu smiled and gave him a look.
The old ancestor was rocking gently on the recliner leisurely.
He guessed that Xie wanted to reorganize the family's firewood room and mill, which was definitely Gao Zhi's idea.
Gao Ronghua feels the same way.
…
Gao Shan returned with his men in the afternoon, dragging back two large ox carts full of blue bricks.
There are two more trucks, and the boss will deliver them soon.
This time, we followed Gao Shan mainly to get familiar with the route.
When the villagers saw that Mrs. Xie bought so many blue bricks, they thought she was going to rebuild the house. After asking, they found out that she was planning to build a mill and pave the kitchen floor.
The villagers secretly smacked their tongues.
Xie Xianglan really made money, and the floor was paved with blue bricks.
Gao Shan was not idle after coming back.
He took the villagers up the mountain to cut bamboo for Xie.
The lively scene at the Xie family seriously stimulated Gao Acai's family.
Especially Gao Laoer’s wife, Shi.
Shi rushed towards the Xie family with red eyes and a kitchen knife in hand.