Chapter 77: Digging a Well
The next day, the well diggers arrived.
Many of the men in the village have dug wells before. After all, they have to look after the crops all day long and want to find something to do during the slack season.
To support their families, they can become masons, bricklayers, stonemasons, well diggers...
After taking on this new job, these ten people immediately changed their identities and began to play the role of well diggers.
After they gathered at the Tang family, the first thing they had to do was to choose the most suitable location and analyze whether it was suitable for digging a well.
But before that, Tang Yichen and others had discussed the soil conditions in their yard. In the end, they chose to dig a well in the backyard. Just now, after the master's analysis, he agreed to their plan.
Qin Huiyin was at home today, and she took the initiative to take over the cooking task.
Tang Yichen had said in advance that four people would stay for dinner today. Qin Huiyin certainly couldn't cook too much, after all, the people in the village were all in similar economic conditions, and if they ate lavishly, wouldn't that make them hateful? Therefore, it wasn't that she was stingy, but for the sake of the overall situation, she had to arrange the meals reasonably during this period.
First of all, there must be meat, but not too much. She can still make grilled fish, because the fish is caught in the river, which is free of cost. Moreover, the fish she makes is more delicious than meat, which shows the enthusiasm of their host.
Secondly, there are six hosts in their family, plus four guests, so they have to cook for ten people. Before, their family always ate white rice, and now they can also eat white rice, but they must add something else to the white rice, such as taro rice. Taro is filling, and taro rice is also delicious.
After the above analysis, the first meal Qin Huiyin prepared included grilled fish, mapo tofu, sweet and sour spareribs, stir-fried cabbage, leek boxes, and mushroom soup...
"Dafu, what are you doing at home? Why does it smell so good?"
Tang Dafu was helping with odd jobs nearby. He wiped his sweat with a towel and said, "My little girl is very good at cooking fish. The fish she cooks doesn't have a strong fishy smell like ours. Smelling this, I have grilled fish for lunch again. I'm not exaggerating. I can finish a five-pound grilled fish made by my little girl by myself."
Originally, the men had no interest in fish, firstly because fish has a strong fishy smell, and secondly because fish is not as oily as meat. However, the aroma was so tempting that even those who had no interest in fish could not help but be tempted.
"If I had known, I would have stayed and eaten. I thought that five cents could buy more than a pound of cornmeal, which could feed our whole family for several days." One of the men said regretfully.
"Forget about it today. You and your family have agreed to go home for dinner. If you want to change your mind suddenly, you have to discuss it with your family. Secondly, the amount of rations has been determined in advance, and we don’t have extra prepared." Tang Dafu said.
Tang Dafu knew that the men who had married had more things to consider. The women in the village were afraid of Li Taohua, and worried that the men would be seduced by her if they worked for them, so they were strictly ordered to go home for dinner. Besides, they could earn an extra five cents by going home for dinner, which was not a small amount for an ordinary family, so they should save as much as possible. If the men changed their minds at the last minute, they didn't know what would happen when they returned, so they were asked to go back and discuss.
The four young men who stayed to eat had made the right bet and were looking forward to the lunch. It was also because they had not yet married and there was no one to restrain them.
"Uncles, it's time to rest." Tang Luwu walked over and said, "Everyone go back and rest for a while before coming back. Don't get too tired."
The six men left reluctantly.
When they passed by the dining table, they looked at the pile of dishes on it and someone slurped.
The other four men felt happy.
Qin Huiyin came out with the last dish of soup and said to them, "Everyone, please sit down. Don't be polite and eat as you please."
Tang Dafu waited for a while, but didn't see Li Taohua, so he asked, "Where's your mother?"
"This table is too small, so I put a low table in the kitchen. I, Sister Luwu and my mother will eat in the kitchen later."
Tang Yi smiled and said, "I'll accompany my mother and sisters."
Tang Dafu felt that Li Taohua was too unfair, but seeing so many men at the table, he understood their concerns and did not force it.
Neither Li Taohua nor Qin Huiyin had the idea of eating at a separate table from men, but they didn't care about the feudal dregs of rules and regulations, which always brought them trouble. For example, if Li Taohua sat down today, several young men would inevitably look at her. People would not think there was anything wrong with the men, but would only think that the young and beautiful Li Taohua was not upright and was too seductive.
"Usually when your family cooks, we can smell the fragrance from far away. Today we finally know that your family's food not only smells good, but also tastes good. We are in for a treat today."
"Yin's craftsmanship is really good. If it were a boy, he could be sent to a restaurant to be an apprentice."
"When Zhang Yungui gets married, he can let Yin help in the kitchen and earn some money."
Tang Dafu glanced at the kitchen and wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.
Who would dare to ask his wife's precious daughter to help in the kitchen?
Tang Yichen said calmly: "Is Uncle Yun Gui getting married?"
Zhang Yungui is the uncle of Zhang Dazhu and Zhang Erzhu.
"That should be the case. I heard that the marriage has already been discussed."
"There's still a lot of trouble about this marriage in their family! The girl Zhang Yungui is dating was originally meant for Erzhu. Erzhu was sent to build a dam, so the old lady of the Zhang family gave the girl originally meant for Erzhu to Zhang Yungui. Zhang Erzhu is not here, but Zhang Dazhu is here. Isn't this family going to be in chaos?"
In the kitchen, Li Taohua said, "My daughter, today's meal is too rich."
"Mom, the fish is caught from the river, the tofu is made from soybeans, and the mushrooms are picked from the mountains. These dishes look rich, but only the spareribs and flour are worth money. And this rice is 70% taro and 30% white rice."
"This meal is already very sumptuous. Mom doesn't care. We have to reduce the food in the evening." Li Taohua said, "Mom is not stingy, but she doesn't like to show off her wealth. We should keep a low profile in everything."
Qin Huiyin agreed with Li Taohua's idea, but she still had modern ideas in her bones, which was her standard after she became low-key. When modern people entertain guests, how can they present a good meal without a few dishes on the table? This idea was engraved in her bones, so that she was still too high-profile.
"Listen to your mother." Qin Huiyin listened to it.
It seems that I need to make something more simple tonight, such as...
A bowl of multi-grain steamed bread with pickles and a bowl of fish porridge.
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