Time flies, and the ninth day of the fifth lunar month is almost here.
As dawn broke, Cheng Yue and her family got up and busied themselves. Chen Tong and Chen Ning were busy cooking breakfast, while Cheng Yue and Chen An prepared offerings for the sacrificial ceremony.
On the other side, Master Ji didn't dare to delay and arrived with several skilled workers at half past 7:30 AM.
Before 9 AM, a commotion arose outside. Cheng Yue went out to see what was happening and found a large group of villagers in addition to the hired laborers.
It seems that everyone in the village who could come, except for Zhao Shi and Li Manying, came. Even Wang Qiufen, who was recovering from her injuries, and her three youngest daughters squeezed into the middle.
The auspicious time was approaching, and Cheng Yue didn't have time to talk to them. After saying goodbye, she continued to follow Chen An to move tables to the open space.
Everyone followed and formed a large circle around it.
When the auspicious hour arrived, Cheng Yue burned incense, and Chen An swung his pickaxe and shouted, "Good luck on the start of work!"
The congratulations grew louder and louder, and auspicious words poured out one after another.
Cheng Yue and Chen An were moved and thanked everyone repeatedly.
After the noise subsided, Master Ji called out, "Everyone come over here, let's get ready to dig the foundation!"
Upon hearing this, all the laborers crowded forward, eager to make a good impression!
The village head waved to everyone: "Alright, we're about to start work. Everyone who has nothing else to do can go back now!"
Everyone consciously started to walk out, but then they noticed the village head standing motionless to the side. "Village head, why aren't you leaving with us?"
"I'll also come and see. It's been so long since our village had such a joyous occasion. I'd like to join in the fun!"
As they were talking, several elderly men stopped to leave; they wanted to see more!
The village head himself was already standing there and couldn't stop others, so he could only say, "Then let's all take a look together. Let's all stand further apart and not get in the way."
Cheng Yue watched from the side. The group of old men was quite interesting. No wonder Madam Feng said that Uncle Village Head was like a child. He loved watching the excitement. What else could he be but a child?
"Let them watch. We're not here. Sister Yulan, Sister Chunmei, come home with me and prepare dinner!"
Cheng Yue was surrounded by a bunch of aunties, sisters-in-law, and cousins, and she quickly invited them to come home and sit down together.
Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei readily agreed, "Then let's hurry up and get going. There's not much time in the morning, and with so many people, we might not be able to finish if we don't hurry!"
Xu Shi and Aunt Li waved their hands and said with a smile, "You all go about your business. We'll just stay here for a while and pour some water for everyone!"
They were old, and even if they just stood there pouring water for a group of men, no one would gossip. Besides, their children were building houses, so they would help out whenever they had free time.
Cheng Yue handed out some candies to everyone without stopping them, saying, "Then I'll trouble you all, aunties and grandmas! That's sugar water over there. If you're tired, have a sip. Call me when you're done, and I'll add more!"
"You're such a generous child!"
After exchanging a few words, Madam Feng, Madam Yang, and several other women went down the mountain. They had no one left at home and needed to go back to their chores.
Wei Lanfen also greeted her, saying, "Cheng Yue, I'm going back now too. I'll help you cook when you move!"
Her in-laws and husband are all here, so she has to go home.
Cheng Yue smiled and said, "Okay! I'll call you next time!"
A housewarming banquet will be held, and when we invite the villagers, we'll definitely need to invite several women to help with the cooking.
After speaking, Wei Lanfen and Wang Qiufen and her three daughters went back together.
The adults had all left, leaving only a group of teenagers. Today, besides the house construction, they also had to go to the yard to prepare lunch.
Chen An has built two makeshift stoves in the yard these past two days, specifically for cooking. It's definitely inconvenient for Cheng Yue in the kitchen to make pastries.
It was the first time Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei had cooked for so many people, and they were a little nervous. "Cheng Yue, what dishes should we make for lunch?"
"There are too many people, let's just make a big pot of stew. We have green beans and cabbage from the vegetable garden, and we can stew them together with some fatty pork. It will taste good too."
Hearing Cheng Yue say this, the two of them were no longer nervous. Big pot dishes are the easiest to make, since there's fatty meat at the bottom, it's impossible to make them taste bad.
"What should we eat for our main course? How about cornbread?"
Corn cakes are easy to make. Just stick them to the side of the pot and they can be cooked together with the other dishes in one pot, which is very convenient.
Cheng Yue: "Corn cakes are fine, but today is the first day of work, so let's have some rice instead."
I bought brown rice and soaked it in advance. I'll mix it with some white rice and steam it later. I'll make corn cakes tomorrow.
She has plenty of rice, but she can't make it too special. Once she sets a precedent, how will the villagers hire people to build houses in the future? Wouldn't that just invite criticism?
Even so, Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei felt a little heartbroken. Mixing it with white rice, and it was dry rice at that, they were really willing to spend so much.
But then I thought, it wouldn't hurt to have a good meal on the first day of work. Besides, Cheng Yue hired a master chef from town. If the food is too bad, people will laugh at us!
After all, everyone knows that Cheng Yue is in business and is building such a big house. She can't possibly eat sweet potato porridge like them!
Judging from this, Cheng Yue is indeed a businesswoman; she thinks much more thoroughly than they do.
"Alright, let's get started now. Cheng Yue, you can go do your work!"
Cheng Yue nodded, went into the kitchen, took out a large piece of pork belly from her spatial storage, and also took out the soaked brown rice and white rice.
Qian Yulan quickly steamed the rice, while Wang Chunmei went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables.
The two sisters-in-law worked together efficiently and quickly.
Cheng Yue and Chen Ning were making pastries, and Chen Tong was like a brick, always there wherever needed. He would help feed the chickens, tend the fire, or fetch water from outside. He was never idle.
Chen An was outside helping to dig the foundation. It was the first day of construction, so he couldn't not participate. However, he would only be doing this for one day. Starting tomorrow, he would focus on training his apprentices.
The rest of the time is spent slowly making furniture. Of course, there are just too many doors and windows, so he and Cheng Yue discussed finding someone else to make them. As for the bed, table, chairs, wardrobes, and the like, that's his job.
Whether it's the men building houses outside or Cheng Yue and the women in the courtyard, everyone is working feverishly.
Around noon, Zhang Sihou, who had gone to deliver the goods, returned.
Zhang Sihou is nearly forty years old. He has three sons, two of whom are in poor health. Because there are not enough able-bodied men in the family, they are extremely poor.
This time, only able-bodied young men were needed for building the houses, which is why it was difficult to find delivery personnel.
Zhao Sihou was recommended by the village head, who said he was reliable and honest, and most importantly, he was strong when he was young, making him safe for delivering goods.
Seeing that it was almost time to eat, Zhao Sihou tied up the oxcart and called out to the kitchen, "Chen An's wife, the goods have been delivered. I'm going home now!"
This trip will earn me ten coins! It's easy and won't interfere with my afternoon work. It's like a windfall!
He can't be so oblivious as to stay here like he's trying to freeload!
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