When Xu Han returned home, Lu Chuan had already come back and was resting on a chair made of tree roots in the yard.
Upon seeing Xu Han enter, he asked, "Where have you been?"
"I went for a walk outside." After Xu Han finished speaking, she told Lu Chuan about Zhang's matter. Lu Chuan listened without saying anything.
He thought to himself, "What other women do has nothing to do with me. I have no objection to how my wife wants to arrange things."
Seeing that Lu Chuan didn't speak, Xu Han knew he wasn't interested in the matter, so she changed the subject, asking, "Has the land outside been turned over?"
"There's only a little bit left. I estimate we can finish turning it all over before sunset today. We were planning to have them plant the winter wheat tomorrow!"
Xu Han thought for a moment and then said, "Isn't it a bit too early to plant now? It's just past the Mid-Autumn Festival. If we plant too early, the wheat will grow too tall, which is not good."
Lu Chuan replied, "Yes, that was originally my plan. Zhu Qiang also said the same thing today, so I thought I'd come back and ask you about it!"
In Xu Han's memory, whether in modern times or in ancient times, there seems to be no instance of planting wheat during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"Let's wait two more days and start planting in September."
Lu Chuan said, "Okay, then I'll take advantage of this free time to lead them to pave the bluestone slabs in the courtyard. The courtyard on the other side of the valley is big, and paving bluestone slabs is a big project."
“That works too. You lead the men to pave the bluestone slabs, and I'll lead the people to make the pear preserves. We'll divide the work and work together. Once I've finished making the pear preserves, we'll take them into the mountains to pick wild fruits.”
Or you could take them first; I reckon the wild grapes and wild kiwis would be ripe by now, and it's perfect for picking them.
Lu Chuan replied, "When Han Qi and I went into the mountains a few days ago, not many wild fruits were ripe yet. This year, the fruits are ripening later than in previous years. Tomorrow, Han Qi, the Taoist priest, and I will go into the mountains together to take a look."
"If they're ripe, we'll wait for you to pick them together. Your pear preserves probably won't last long."
Xu Han nodded. "Yes, we have a lot of people, so we can finish it all in about a day."
"Okay, you guys start making the canned goods first, and we'll go scout out the mountains tomorrow."
After the two discussed it, Dan Niang came over. It was time to cook dinner again, so Xu Han told Dan Niang to start cooking first, while she went into the backyard to greet Grandpa Zhao first, otherwise he would definitely be confused later.
After Xu Han explained her purpose to Grandpa Zhao, he readily agreed.
It's true, after all this time, my family members have been well taken care of, and very few of them get sick. Today, they can finally treat patients.
Grandpa Zhao was very happy about this, finally he could be of use. His skills had finally found a place to be put to good use.
Grandpa Zhao smiled and said, "Alright, alright, let him come. If anyone else feels unwell, they can come to me too."
Seeing that Grandpa Zhao was very happy, Xu Han smiled and said, "Okay, don't worry, I promise I'll get it."
Just as Xu Han was about to go to the front yard to cook, she ran into the Taoist priest again when she came out of the back yard. The Taoist priest was carrying a bucket, and she didn't know what was inside.
"Master, what are you holding in your hand?"
The Taoist priest proudly held up the bucket in his hand and said, "We'll have an extra meal for everyone tonight."
Xu Han took it and saw that the bucket was full of small fish, none of them very big, just right for deep-frying.
Xu Han then said, "This size is just right for deep-frying. I'll go prepare it in a bit and then I'll add a snack for you to have with your drinks."
Upon hearing this, the Taoist priest waved his hand and said, "Haha, that's great! Go quickly, go quickly."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chuan, who had come out of the house, said, "Leave it to me. I can handle it quickly."
Xu Han didn't stand on ceremony and handed the bucket to Lu Chuan before going to the kitchen to cook.
Inside the kitchen, Dan Niang had already started cooking the rice, and the side dishes had all been washed and chopped according to the recipe. She was about to start stir-frying the vegetables.
Xu Han took the spatula from Dan Niang's hand and said, "I'll cook today's dishes. You help me tend the fire."
Upon hearing this, Dan Niang didn't say anything, but turned around and sat down in front of the stove to start a fire.
Lu Chuan quickly finished processing all the small fish, and Xu Han even specially picked out a few crucian carp, intending to make some crucian carp soup for the two children.
Add sesame oil to the pot, then sprinkle in a few grains of salt to prevent the fish from sticking to the pot later.
After frying the fish until golden brown on both sides, mash it with a spatula and then add boiling water. The fish soup in the pot will instantly turn milky white.
After the pot boiled, Xu Han ladled out the fish soup, then filtered out the fish bones with cheesecloth. She also fried two eggs and added them to the fish soup to cook together.
Just before taking it off the heat, add a few wild goji berries to the pot; it will look even more appetizing.
Xu Han shouted loudly outside, "Mu'er, Ze'er, go and call your father and the others for dinner."
The two children playing in the yard responded, "Yes, Mother."
The two disappeared as soon as they finished speaking, and Xu Han had no idea where Lu Chuan and the others had gone, even though it was almost dinnertime. Fortunately, Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest finally returned after Dan Niang had finished setting out dinner.
"Where have you been? It's almost dinner time and you're still running around outside."
Lu Chuan explained, "I'll go tell Zhu Qiang that we won't be planting wheat tomorrow. I'll have them go find some bluestone to make bluestone slabs."
"Okay, let's eat quickly, the food is getting cold."
The Taoist priest and the others quickly went to wash their hands. Thanks to the continuous efforts of Grandpa Zhao and Xu Han over the past few years, the family members have developed the habit of washing their hands before eating.
Even Ze'er, who is usually sloppy, knows that he won't be fed if he doesn't wash his hands.
The family finished their dinner happily before it got dark.
Since they bought servants, Xu Han's family has been eating much earlier than before. They used to finish their work and eat after dark, but now that they don't have as much work to do, they can eat earlier.
The key is that I had already developed a habit when I lived with them before. If it's too late to eat, I can't see, so I can only start eating early. After I finish eating, it will just get dark, and then I can go back to rest.
Dinner was earlier than usual today, and it wasn't completely dark when the group finished eating.
Just as Danniang cleared away the food, Zhu Chunsheng arrived with Zhang Shi.
At that moment, Grandpa Zhao was resting in the courtyard. When he saw them coming, he didn't say much, but gestured for Zhang to sit down so he could take her pulse.
Zhang looked at Xu Han, and seeing Xu Han nod, she sat down and looked at Grandpa Zhao with a nervous expression.
Zhu Chunsheng, standing to the side, was even more nervous, his face flushed red, his eyes darting around, a mixture of fear and anticipation.
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