After digging for about two hours, everyone was exhausted.
Jiang Yue felt that the cart piled up enough, so she called a halt to the men's digging.
"Let's stop digging here for today. Let's cut some more tree branches and stuff to cover the kudzu roots and take them back first."
"Okay, I'll listen to my third sister-in-law."
Wu Dalang nodded. Not only was he covered in sweat and his back was soaked, but the other children were also exhausted.
"Honey, come up here and have some water."
Feeling sorry for her husband, Madam Zhou helped him up with difficulty.
"Why."
After Wu Dalang came up, he was panting heavily.
Then he pulled his sons and nephews up.
"Mother, these roots are really hard to dig up."
As his name suggests, Da Niu Ren took the water his mother handed him and drank it down like a cow.
He gulped down a few mouthfuls and then handed it to his second brother.
"If it were easy to dig, how come we would have been the ones to discover it?"
Although the words were crude, the principle was sound. As soon as Jiang Yue said this, everyone else felt that it made sense.
Cao'er's eyes lit up with excitement; she thought her mother was amazing!
"Woof woof woof~"
At the same time, Xiaobai suddenly cried out in unease.
The group immediately gathered together, each holding a "weapon" for self-defense.
"Coo coo coo~"
A colorful pheasant darted past and quickly disappeared from sight.
I was so scared!
It was just a pheasant!
It was a false alarm!
Jiang Yue shrugged, and after confirming there was no danger, she began to gather firewood and dry leaves to cover the kudzu roots on the cart.
Others followed suit, and soon the cart was full.
The cunning Er Gou casually sprinkled dry leaves into the pit they had dug, making it look like a deep pit, and no one could tell what treasures were inside.
This cartload of kudzu roots will keep Jiang Yue and the others busy for several days!
Sure enough, on the way back, some villagers, still unwilling to give up, blocked the road, looking around and asking questions.
"Hey, Dalang, didn't you say you were cutting down trees to make a main beam? What are you cutting down?"
"Aunt Guihua, do you think it's so easy to find a suitable beam? If you don't find a suitable one, can't you at least bring some firewood home to burn?"
"I'm just asking, why are you being so aggressive?"
"Hey, Aunt Guihua, if you have nothing better to do and are feeling bored, why don't you help us chop some firewood tomorrow?"
"Second Brother's wife is quite the smooth talker. Your sister-in-law hasn't even said anything yet, so who gave you the right to speak up for your brother?"
"Aunt Guihua, please watch your mouth. My second sister-in-law is just being straightforward and speaking up for her own family. It's none of your business!"
"Hey, you—"
"Oh, Aunt Guihua, how about inviting our whole family to your house for dinner? It's been so long since we've had your cooking, we've been craving it!"
Jiang Yue leaned closer, and the moment she opened her mouth, Aunt Guihua was so frightened that she ran away!
Pooh!
She's not a fool, and Jiang really has the nerve to offer to treat everyone to dinner!
The Zhou family gave a thumbs-up and couldn't help but praise:
"Third sister-in-law, you really have a way with things!"
"Sister-in-law, please don't tease me. I'm really hungry. Let's go home quickly and see what delicious food Mom has prepared!"
Jiang Yue clutched her stomach, chatting and laughing with her sister-in-law and the others.
The children pushed the cart with all their might, while Grass and Little White trotted behind, picking up the fallen branches as much as they could...
After returning to the old house and closing the gate, the whole family pitched in to prepare the kudzu root.
This was the first time Old Mrs. Zhou and Old Master Wu had ever seen kudzu root, and they thought it looked similar to ordinary tree roots.
But if you look closely, the juice exposed on the cut side is very white, and it feels a bit sticky when you rub it with your fingers.
"Sister-in-law, let's wash the dirt off the kudzu roots."
"Big brother, second brother, you guys cut the kudzu root, the finer the better, even small pieces are fine~".
"Da Niu, Er Gou, and Da Shi, you three brothers come to the mortar and take turns pounding the finely chopped kudzu root."
"Little girl, Grass, and Little Stone, you all help Grandpa wash the jar and bucket, and just stand by and wait for instructions."
Seeing that the food wasn't ready yet, Jiang Yue instructed her family to get to work.
Actually, extracting kudzu root powder is very simple; you just need to pound the kudzu root and stem until they are thoroughly crushed.
Next, collect the mashed kudzu root powder, put it in a filter cloth and rinse it with clean water. Place a large wooden bucket underneath to collect the water and filter it repeatedly several times. Remember not to throw away the filtered water, because the kudzu root powder is still in it.
After repeated filtration, let the water settle in a bucket. After a night, you will find a layer of white powder at the bottom, which is kudzu root powder.
Finally, the powder that settles at the bottom is taken out and dried to become kudzu root powder.
The process went smoothly, with everyone doing their part and quickly finishing about half of the kudzu root.
After doing this kind of work, you'll easily get hungry.
When everyone was starving, Old Zhou finally announced that it was time to eat!
Everyone stopped moving, helped each other to their feet, rubbed their backs, and happily ate their meal...
After the meal, everyone except for Da Zhou Shi, who had to help wash the dishes and clean the kitchen, went back to the courtyard and got back to their duties.
"Knock knock knock~"
"Is Old Wu home? It's me. I need to talk to you about something."
It was the village chief's voice. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Jiang.
Should I open the door?
Jiang Yue understood what everyone meant and nodded. The village chief was a good person; even if he saw what they were doing, he wouldn't spread rumors.
"Cao'er, go open the door."
Jiang Yue nodded, signaling her daughter to open the door.
"Why."
When Cao'er heard her mother tell her to open the door, she happily went to open it.
"Hello, Grandpa Village Chief!"
The village chief's smile deepened when he heard the little girl's clear voice.
Then I went inside and was surprised to find Old Wu's whole family working enthusiastically in the yard...
Hmm, is his timing bad?
"You've arrived, please have a seat!"
Wu Dalang quickly pulled out a chair for his elder to sit on, and then explained:
"Uncle, please sit down for a while. My father just went to the outhouse and will be back soon."
"Okay, sure."
The village chief nodded, then glanced around discreetly, his eyes filled with confusion.
Surely Yongfu's family isn't so poor that they have to eat tree roots?
He glanced at Jiang Shi working and nodded. It seemed Jiang Shi wasn't putting on airs and was doing quite well at the old house.
"Grandpa Village Chief, have some water!"
Cao'er is now outgoing and generous, unlike before when she liked to hide behind people.
As a habit, she would pour water after guests arrived.
"Oh, thank you, Grass."
The village chief was very satisfied and affectionately patted the little grass head.
After Old Master Wu came out, he explained his purpose:
"The foundation for the third brother's house is finished, but they're missing the load-bearing pillars. I've come to ask you whether you want to buy timber or cut it yourself in the mountains?"
These past few days he's been watching the workers lay the foundation, and now that the walls are almost up, he came specifically to ask Jiang and Yongfu about it.
After pondering for a while, Old Master Wu said to his third son's wife:
"Third son's wife, if we cut wood, it will need to be dried, which will probably take a long time to complete the house. It's up to you to decide."
"Father, then we'll buy it. We can't compromise on the load-bearing pillars. As for the main beam, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you and my two older brothers to help cut it down."
Jiang Yue did not hesitate and chose to buy it with money. As for Da Liang, she felt that the timber from the mountains would suffice, and there was enough time.
"Okay, then we'll listen to the third son's wife."
That's what Grandpa Wu thought too: money should be spent where it's necessary!
Having received confirmation, the village chief knew what to do next.
Then his gaze fell on what the others were busy with, a look of curiosity on his face...
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