The shopkeeper happily began weighing the meat. "Sister, there are 180 catties and half a catty left over. Take the half catty and give it to me. The bones are also free for you. It's two taels of silver plus 880 coins in total."
"Boss, carry the meat on your back." Only then did An Shuyi hand the shopkeeper three taels of silver and receive one hundred and twenty coins in change.
"Big sister, come back when you're done eating! Next time you come, I'll give you extra bones."
"Okay, thank you, boss."
After buying the meat, they went to buy other things. Once the eldest brother and Li Nan's baskets were full, they told them to wait at the city gate.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua went to a furniture store, but they couldn't buy a front door because they didn't have one that big. It seems they'll have to let Lin Changye make it.
After they came out, they went straight to the place that sells carts and bought two carts. Then they bought a few bamboo baskets and other baskets to carry chickens. The two of them pulled the carts into the alley. Xia Hua stood guard outside while An Shuyi carried chickens inside.
The chickens, ducks, and geese she bought were all alive, and she put them in bamboo baskets, filling each basket to the brim. Then she put chicken, duck, and goose eggs into the baskets, and finally took out five iron pots, which were very large, each a meter wide.
After putting the things away, I called Xia Hua over to pull them up.
Once the two women reached the city gate, they handed the cart to their sons, instructing them to place the baskets on it and pull the cart while they pushed from behind. Although they also carried baskets, they didn't have many items inside, and the loads weren't heavy.
When they arrived at the village entrance, the road had been paved with cement, but it wasn't completely dry yet, so they couldn't walk on it and had to walk on the side.
When they arrived at the workshop, the road had already been paved to the center of the village, with only a small section left to be paved. Xia Hua exclaimed, "It seems that having many people makes things fast. The road has been paved in just one morning, and the villagers can start digging the foundation this afternoon."
An Shuyi nodded. It was quite fast. After all, many hands make light work. Now they just had to wait for the foundation to be dug out before they could find professionals to build the house. However, it would take many days to dig the twenty-five foundations.
"Huahua, tidy up the things, I'm going to find Mutou."
Go!
Village Chief Lin was supervising the villagers as they paved the road when he saw his sister-in-law approaching and asked, "Sister-in-law, you're back."
"You're back!" Xia Hua nodded and called Village Chief Lin aside. "Mu Tou, we bought a lot of meat today. The clansmen will eat together tonight. We'll also invite a few sisters-in-law, my sister-in-law, and Wu Shi to cook."
Seeing him nod, he continued, "The workshop has been built, but it can only be used after it's completely dry. Tell the villagers to hurry up and clear the land first. The villagers of Xinglin Village will dig the foundations for the houses."
Village Chief Lin nodded, "Sister-in-law, I'll talk to them this afternoon and try to clear the land today and tomorrow."
"You can arrange it as you see fit," she said. Although she had a plow, she needed to go to the blacksmith to make a plowshare. There was no time to do it now, so she could only wait until next time. She would let the clansmen work a little harder. Anyway, it would only take two days. Besides, the blueprint cost five hundred taels of silver, which she was reluctant to spend. If she had more money, it would be fine, but she needed the money right away and couldn't afford to spend it recklessly.
"Once Changye has finished making what I need, tell him not to make the furniture yet, but to make the main gate at the village entrance first. Make it thick, and get a few more people to help him. It doesn't matter if it's a little rough, as long as it's sturdy."
Looking at his sister-in-law's serious expression and remembering what she had said—"thicker, sturdier, urgently needed"—the village chief asked, "Sister-in-law, is something about to happen?"
This wasn't just him overthinking things. Ever since arriving in Taoyuan Village, his two sisters-in-law had been unusually busy, almost wanting to finish everything in a single day. They were buying materials in Jinnan City, finding villagers in Xinglin Village to dig roads, and even going out at night. Now, they were making him even more anxious to finish the gate. It didn't seem like nothing was going on.
An Shuyi stared at him until he wanted to disappear into the ground, then turned her gaze away. "You're quite clever, but I'm too lazy to hide it from you. There's cholera in Anhe Prefecture and Taiyuan Prefecture. Although there hasn't been any in Jinnan City yet, no one can guarantee it."
He glanced disdainfully at Village Chief Lin, who was slumped on the ground, and continued, "If it doesn't happen, that would be best. If it does, once the gate is built, we can hide here and won't be contacted. Try to buy as much food as possible these next few days, and also buy some seeds."
"Heavens above! This is a death sentence!" Village Chief Lin lay down on the ground and wailed.
Haven't they had a hard time this past year? They fled all the way from their hometown to here, without food or water, climbing mountains and wading through rivers, and even being robbed by refugees. They finally found a stable place, and now cholera has broken out.
Although my sister-in-law said that it doesn't exist in Jinnan City yet, the actions of the two sisters-in-law these past few days have already confirmed that it does.
Hearing this earth-shattering cry, everyone looked over in confusion, wondering what was wrong with Village Chief Lin and why he was acting this way.
An Shuyi kicked him in disgust, "What are you crying for? Get up and die already. If I wasn't worried about you losing face, I would really want to kick you to death."
She thought that after experiencing this famine, she would be able to withstand the blows, but she didn't expect her to be so useless. She was glad that she told him earlier. If she had waited until cholera appeared, he would have been furious.
Village Chief Lin didn't move even after being kicked; he continued to lie on the ground and cry.
“Then keep crying!” An Shuyi said, turning her head. “What are you looking at? Hurry up and get to work.”
Upon hearing this, the villagers of Xinglin Village hurriedly paved the road, but they still couldn't resist their curiosity and would glance at it from time to time. Although other clansmen wanted to come and see, none of them dared to approach when they saw An's angry sister-in-law.
Hearing the commotion, Xia Hua came over and saw Village Chief Lin lying on the ground crying. She glanced at him with disdain and asked, "Did you tell him about that?" Otherwise, he wouldn't be in this state.
"I told you!" An Shuyi nodded, "It's just that it's a bit useless; it can't withstand setbacks!"
"Don't say he's too old. If he can't handle it, replace him with a younger one. At least he can withstand the blows. We haven't even reached that point yet, and you're already wailing and howling."
"She's in her forties, which isn't considered old. If it doesn't work out, we should find someone else." She agreed.
"Sisters-in-law, could you please not discuss this in front of me?" Village Chief Lin was speechless and sat up from the ground.
Xia Hua glanced at him and said, "After all, you are the village chief. If we don't discuss this in front of you, in front of whom do we discuss it? Look at you now, do you still look like a village chief? You are over forty years old and the head of a village, yet you are lying on the ground crying and acting like a liar."
"Get up and go supervise their work. If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. What are you worrying about? Your sister-in-law already has a solution."
“Really!” Village Chief Lin jumped up from the ground and looked at Sister An.
An Shuyi was too lazy to pay attention to this idiot who had made her lose face, and went straight back to the workshop.
Xia Hua kicked him directly, "Aren't you going yet? Do you want me to invite you?"
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