Cheng Yue came out of the kitchen when she heard the noise. Zhao Sihou had already run far away. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Uncle Sihou runs really fast!"
Qian Yulan laughed and said, "Uncle Sihu is afraid of being asked to stay for dinner, so he left quickly!"
Cheng Yue knew perfectly well, and shook her head with a smile, saying, "It's just a meal, nothing special."
She's not that stingy; living in the same village, a meal won't bankrupt her.
Wang Chunmei lifted the pot lid and stirred the food with a spatula. "The food is cooked. Cheng Yue, would you like to eat?"
"It's already noon, let's start eating!"
As soon as Cheng Yue finished speaking, Wang Chunmei immediately replied, "Okay! I'll go call out!"
He ran out, and a moment later, footsteps echoed from outside the door. "What are you making? It smells so good!"
"I didn't feel hungry while I was working, but now that I smell this, my stomach is growling!"
Cheng Yue called out, "Everyone has worked hard, come in and eat!"
The aroma was so enticing that a large group of people swarmed in, quickly placing their pickaxes against the wall and then grabbing their bowls and chopsticks to wait by the pot.
When helping others build houses, not only do everyone have to bring their own pickaxes, shovels, and baskets, but also their own bowls and chopsticks. Otherwise, with so many people, there definitely wouldn't be enough bowls and chopsticks. These are all established rules.
In fact, Cheng Yue had bought a lot of bowls and chopsticks in advance, but since everyone else had already prepared them, she didn't take any out.
Everyone lined up along the edge of the pot. As the head chef, Master Qin should have been at the front. He couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw the food in the pot.
Although it's a common pork, cabbage, and tofu stew, Cheng Yue put in so much meat!
Upon closer inspection, wow, it was all glistening with oil and filled with slices of meat!
Several senior workers behind Master Qin craned their necks to look ahead, their mouths watering uncontrollably.
Houshui Village is poor, and they were prepared that they wouldn't get to eat anything good. But since their wages weren't withheld, they weren't at a loss. They were already here!
As it turns out, the food was just as good as everyone else's. It seems they were being petty!
Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei quickly served rice and vegetables to everyone, saying, "Please eat first, and we'll add more when you're done. The host said it's absolutely enough to fill you up!"
Everyone had a large bowl, which was enough for most people to eat their fill. Some people with big appetites were too embarrassed to ask for more.
Now that the host has spoken, they naturally responded happily, "Great! Thank you, host! The host is so generous!"
Cheng Yue laughed and said, "Everyone, eat well and you'll be ready to work!"
Everyone laughed at that, and Liu Chunlai was the first to declare, "I promise to work hard!"
Zhang Dashan glared at him, pretending to be annoyed. "You're the only one who stands out!"
Originally, Master Ji and several senior workers were not familiar with Cheng Yue and the others, but now, with a change of scenery, the atmosphere was exceptionally relaxed with laughter and chatter.
Chen An called to Liu Chunlai, "Stop being cheeky. We need you now. Help me put the table back together."
Then he addressed the crowd, saying, "Everyone, please bring your own chairs and sit down!"
One of the workers casually shouted, "Why sit? We don't care about that. We can just squat anywhere and eat!"
People are used to squatting to eat because there aren't enough stools, but Chen An made quite a few stools beforehand, enough to seat at least thirty people.
"Sit down when I tell you to; wild boars can't eat fine chaff!"
After cursing, Master Ji plopped down in his seat. If you don't want to sit, fine, I'll sit!
Several senior workers chuckled, but Master Ji put on a sour face again. He quickly sat down!
Cheng Yue smiled, then walked to the door and looked outside. Seeing that there was no one there, she asked Chen An, "Uncle Village Head, where are Aunt Xu and the others?"
"Sister Chunmei just called for dinner, and in the blink of an eye, everyone was gone. We couldn't stop them."
Cheng Yue was exasperated. They acted like they were getting a huge advantage by eating a meal with her, and then they all disappeared as soon as it was mealtime…
While serving the food, Qian Yulan called to Cheng Yue and Chen An, "They won't feel at ease eating here. Don't worry about them, come and eat!"
Since the family had already prepared a meal, Cheng Yue decided not to cook anything separately and simply eat the same food as everyone else. Otherwise, it would be troublesome and wouldn't seem appropriate.
Chen Tong and Chen Ning sat to the side, eating with relish. It's true that it's more fun to eat when there are many people around.
After serving everyone the food, Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei took off their aprons and prepared to leave. "Cheng Yue, we'll head back now and come back tomorrow!"
Zhang Dashan and Zhang Dajiang are responsible for providing meals, so it's fine for them to eat here. They only cook one meal, so it's inappropriate for them to eat after receiving their wages.
Cheng Yue stopped her, saying, "Why are you leaving? Sit down and eat with us. This food is for you all!"
As she spoke, she pressed the two of them down onto the stool. Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei looked awkward. They never expected that Cheng Yue, who looked so thin and small, would be so strong.
They couldn't leave now, so they quickly glanced at Zhang Dashan and Zhang Dajiang, only to find the two brothers engrossed in their food, their faces buried in their bowls, and they had no time to care about them.
The two sisters-in-law looked at each other and said, "Let's eat!"
Everyone in the courtyard was focused on eating, and among the group of men, Zhao Datou ate the fastest.
Seeing that he had finished eating, Cheng Yue quickly served him another large bowl. Zhao Datou thanked her repeatedly and hurried down the mountain amidst the envious gazes of the crowd.
If I had known, I would have asked for less pay and sent some food home instead! Those five coins were well spent!
When Zhao Datou came running up, panting, everyone had almost finished eating. They washed the dishes and went back to work.
Cheng Yue said, "Everyone has just finished eating, let's rest for a bit before we get back to work."
Master Ji waved his hand, "It's alright, let's do something easier first! We've dug up quite a few stones that haven't been picked up yet."
Cheng Yue couldn't stop them, so she let them go. Once the group left, the courtyard was empty again.
Qian Yulan and Wang Chunmei had finished eating and quickly cleaned up the dishes and chopsticks for everyone.
When Cheng Yue saw that there was still a lot of food in the pot, she took out bowls and ladled it out, making a total of five large bowls.
She didn't want to eat this again that night; it was too oily for her, and she felt like she was going to have diarrhea in the afternoon after eating it at noon.
"Sister-in-law Yulan, Sister-in-law Chunmei, there's still so much food left. It would be a waste to throw it away. If you don't mind, please take it back and eat it."
Even though no one used the chopsticks, it was still leftovers, and it felt a little awkward to give it to someone else.
Wang Chunmei repeatedly refused, saying, "How can I eat and take at the same time?"
Such delicious food, who could mind? On the contrary, it's too good to take.
Qian Yulan understood Cheng Yue's meaning: if they didn't take it, they would probably throw it away, and they couldn't let the food go to waste.
“Then let’s take it. Aunt Xu was busy here just now, so we’ll deliver two bowls to her family, and also to Aunt Li, Aunt Yang, and we’ll give the last bowl to Qiu Fen.”
Cheng Yue had no opinion on who to give it to, but added, "Take it to Qiu Fen's house and keep an eye on Er Laizi, make sure he doesn't cause any trouble!"
The house belonging to Er Laizi has been repaired, and Wang Qiufen and her three daughters have already moved back. Er Laizi is the kind of person who always puts the good food in his own mouth and never cares about his wife and children.
Qian Yulan snorted, "Where has that rascal gone? He hasn't come home in days!"
After saying that, he spat three more times, "Pah, pah, pah, my foul mouth! We'll send it over right now!"
On the first day of construction, when the word "death" was mentioned, Qian Yulan quickly slapped her mouth and went down the mountain with Wang Chunmei carrying a basket of bowls.
Cheng Yue thought to herself, "It would be better if he died outside. That would be doing good for Wang Qiufen and the child. Anyway, he's just a menace if he's alive!"
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