The Taoist priest joked, "Since you know that, why don't you do more of it in the future?"
Grandpa Zhao chimed in, and after eating Dan Niang's cooking many times, Lu Chuan couldn't help but bring up the matter of having Xu Han continue cooking.
"Alright, alright, since you all want to eat, I'll make more in the future. After we distribute them all, I'll still cook the meals at home."
The Taoist priest smiled even more broadly upon receiving a satisfactory reply. "You said it yourself, so you can't go back on your word."
"No regrets, no regrets."
Dinner ended amidst everyone's laughter and conversation.
At night, the couple, having not seen each other for several days, naturally had to whisper sweet nothings to each other.
Xu Han knelt on the kang (a heated brick bed), pressing on Lu Chuan's shoulder as she asked, "I went to the fields today and the crops are all ripe. Do you think we should arrange for them to prepare for the autumn harvest?"
Lu Chuan closed his eyes contentedly. "Hmm, it's time to get started. It rained a couple of days ago, which delayed things. The ground is probably still very wet and it's hard to walk on it. Let's let it dry for another day and start the autumn harvest early the day after tomorrow."
Xu Han thought for a moment and agreed, "Starting the day after tomorrow is fine too. Tomorrow the sun will be strong, which will be a good time to let the land dry and then we can dry the autumn grain."
"Then tomorrow I will lead them to continue building the houses, try to speed up the work, and distribute them as soon as possible."
This way the house will be quieter, and you won't be as tired from cooking or doing other chores.
Xu Han changed her posture and sat directly on the kang. "Cooking isn't tiring now. Dan Niang and the others help me with everything. I only need to stir-fry the vegetables. If you don't like Dan Niang's cooking, I'll cook from now on."
I've noticed that the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao have been eating significantly less lately, which has also affected Ze'er and Mu'er's diet. The two children are at a crucial stage of growth and easily get hungry; we can't let them go hungry.”
"That's fine, you decide what to do. There are a lot of people in our family now, so just tell them what to do instead of doing everything yourself."
If you're free, just call me, and I'll go for a walk with you.
"Yes, after we finish the autumn harvest, let's go to the mountains to pick wild fruits. I haven't been to the mountains much this year!"
"Okay, I'll take you there when I'm done with this."
The two chatted for a while longer, and Lu Chuan's hands became increasingly restless. Before long, the temperature in the room rose sharply, and a passionate night ensued...
The next day, Xu Han overslept again, as expected. Fortunately, everyone was used to her sleeping in late, and since everyone knew she liked to sleep in, no one thought much of it.
Xu Han got dressed and left the room. The courtyard was quiet and no one was around. She turned around and went to the kitchen, where she saw that rice had been left for her in the pot and was still warm.
She brought out breakfast: a boiled egg, a bowl of multigrain porridge, and a steamed bun. The bun must have been steamed by Dan Niang that morning; it was very soft and fluffy.
Xu Han then picked out some pickled cowpeas for herself and took them with her to Baozi.
After eating and drinking her fill, she went to the valley.
It had been raining lately, and Xu Han hadn't come over, so she naturally didn't know how far along the house construction was.
When I came here today, I saw that all ten houses had been built, but only four of them had roof tiles; the rest had not yet had their tiles laid.
"You guys are moving pretty fast, are you almost ready to put up the roof beams?"
Liu Erzhu scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Hehehe, Madam, you're right, it's time to raise the roof beam. The Taoist priest said today is an auspicious day, suitable for raising the roof beam, and everyone is waiting! Once the auspicious time arrives, we can begin."
"That's great! It seems I really came at the right time. It's such a coincidence that I arrived just in time."
When Lu Chuan saw his wife coming over, he walked over and said, "The Taoist priest just said that today is an auspicious day, and we can start preparing for the roof beam raising without waiting any longer."
I thought that even though this house isn't ours to live in, it's still our house, so we can't just leave it unprepared!
I was just thinking of sending Danniang back to find you, and here you are.
Xu Han nodded after listening and said, "Yes, raising the roof beam is a big event. Although time is tight, we really can't be unprepared."
Lu Chuan continued, "There's no need to prepare anything special. We have fruit and other things at home, as well as pheasants and rabbits. We have plenty of things. Just prepare some offerings as you see fit. We're not going to be too particular. Something that's good enough."
"Okay, I understand. I'll have Dan Niang and Sister-in-law Li come back with me to work on it together."
After she finished speaking, she was about to call for help, but then she remembered that there were still wild sheep at home that hadn't been dealt with, so she turned back to Lu Chuan and said, "Have someone go home and kill a sheep later. The roof-raising ceremony is a big day, and we can't do without meat."
Although we're not having a big celebration, we still want to have a good time. We'll slaughter a sheep and have mutton soup for lunch today.
The wild goats we hunted yesterday were originally intended for consumption during the autumn harvest, but since it coincides with the raising of the roof beam, we can only enjoy them ahead of schedule.
Fortunately, they brought back a lot of wild sheep, otherwise Xu Han was really worried that so many people wouldn't have enough to eat by the end of the autumn harvest.
"Okay, you go ahead and do your own thing. I'll have Han Qi go back and handle it later."
"Okay, don't forget!" Xu Han said without waiting for Lu Chuan to reply, and then called Dan Niang and Sister-in-law Li and headed home.
Fortunately, everything at home was readily available, and with a little cobbling together, they managed to put together the offerings.
Sister-in-law Li and Dan Niang went over there to deliver the things, while Xu Han stayed at home to wait for Han Qi to finish processing the sheep.
Just as Han Qi finished peeling the mutton, Dan Niang and Sister-in-law Li turned back.
"Why are you back? Weren't they going to raise the roof beam over there?"
Sister-in-law Li smiled and said, "Master sent us back to help you. We can't let you cook for so many people by yourself."
"Haha, you've come back just in time. Han Qi just skinned the sheep, and there's hot water in the pot. Let's clean out the sheep's head and offal first."
Dan Niang replied with a smile, "Alright, we'll wash it. Madam, you don't need to lift a finger. Just leave it to us."
Xu Han stood up and said as she walked towards the front yard, "Alright, you can handle these offal. You know how to clean the sheep's stomach and intestines, right? Make sure they're cleaned thoroughly!"
Dan Niang was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this. "I know how to handle the sheep's head and such, but how do I handle the sheep's stomach and intestines? Isn't it enough to just rinse them with water?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Han knew they wouldn't come out with sheep intestines and tripe, so she turned back.
"The sheep intestines and tripe have a very strong smell, and they are inedible if not properly prepared."
When dealing with these things, not only must they be cleaned thoroughly, but they also require special treatment.
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