"Sister-in-law, I'm going right now." Lin Cun didn't care about being kicked at all, and ran off to supervise the villagers of Xinglin Village in paving the road, ignoring the stares from those who seemed to be watching.
Well, that's good. Sister-in-law An has a plan. While waiting for dinner, he quickly finished the things his sister-in-law had asked him to do, so as not to make his sisters-in-law tired.
When An Shuyi returned, she took down all the meat and vegetables, the large iron pot, and moved the live chickens, ducks, and geese to the ground to avoid them smelling too bad. She also placed them far away. She carried the chicken, duck, and goose eggs down in a basket. Finally, she put all the jewelry she had bought that day in the place where she would sleep that night. There was also a large box next to it, which was full of copper coins.
"Mrs. Wu, move all this meat to the open space next to the workshop. A few aunties will be coming to cook with you. We'll all eat together tonight. You can cook some mixed grain rice and braised pork. Chop the bones into smaller pieces and stew them with radishes to make soup."
“Catch five of those live chickens, kill and clean them. I’ll teach you how to do it later. Zhao, you’ll be in charge of washing them, but you’re not allowed to cook.”
"Yes, Mother!" they both said in unison.
In the afternoon, the villagers went to dig the foundation. The clansmen dug the ground, and the women were not idle either. Apart from those who cooked, the others also went to the fields. They simply piled up the grass in the fields and burned it after it dried.
"It's so nice to be a villager in Taoyuan Village. Everyone can eat meat. We can't even afford rice, let alone meat."
"Yeah, I heard they cooked a lot of meat tonight. How could they bear to eat so much meat at once? Didn't they save some to eat later?"
"Aren't you tired? Hurry up and dig. Have you forgotten what the village chief told you? Work more and talk less. Taoyuan Village pays us twenty-five coins a day. Take it back and buy a pound of meat. You'll still have a few coins left over. Don't be ungrateful or you'll lose your job."
"Don't talk, just get to work. Once you get your wages, have your wife buy some meat for you."
Village Chief Lin naturally heard what the villagers were saying, but he didn't care at all. They were able to eat meat thanks to the two sisters-in-law; other villages didn't have this kind of treatment.
After the villagers of Xinglin Village left, the clansmen did not stop working, but continued digging the ground until it got dark. Only when the village chief called out in the village did everyone stop working and eat.
Tables and chairs were set up in the distance where the cooking was taking place, but there weren't many, as there weren't enough seats for so many people. On the third floor, there were two large pots filled with steaming hot dishes, and two other pots filled with mixed grain rice.
Several bowls of food were already placed on the table, which were for the elders. After everyone arrived, Village Chief Lin told them to take as much as they wanted to eat, just don't overeat.
An Shuyi and Xia Hua sat at the table with the elders to eat. There were several tables and enough people to sit. The other clansmen ate like they were in a cafeteria, getting their rice first and then their dishes, but they all got their own.
After getting the food, I just squatted down and started eating.
"Oh my god, this is so delicious! Sisters-in-law, how did you make this?" Lin Changyuan asked the sisters-in-law who were cooking, while squatting on the ground eating.
Lin Changwen's wife, Madam Shen, said, "This is the braised pork that Sister An taught me to make, as well as braised chicken and stewed ribs. Aren't they delicious? I didn't even know I was such a good cook."
When they were called to cook, they were worried that they might not be able to do it well. But when they arrived, they found that all they had to do was wash the vegetables, cut the meat, and cook the rice. When Sister An came over, Wu was in charge of cooking, and Sister An was in charge of teaching. Unexpectedly, the meat they cooked was especially delicious.
Finally, unable to resist her curiosity, she asked Aunt An to take charge of the cooking when making braised chicken. Aunt An said that she didn't expect it to be so delicious, and that it contained a lot of potatoes. She said that this method was much better than the way they used to boil it in water.
It seems I'll have to consult with Sister An more often in the future so that my family can eat better.
Lin Changnian nodded in agreement, "Sister An is amazing. She can think of such a way of cooking. Not only is the meat delicious, but the broth is also delicious when soaked in rice. I could eat five bowls of rice."
Lin Changyuan looked at him and said, "What's that? I can eat ten bowls."
"Really?" Lin Changnian looked up. "I don't believe you. Come on, I'll get you some more rice. I want to see if you can eat this much."
"Hehe," Lin Changyuan chuckled sheepishly, "Brother, you misheard. Four bowls? I'm not as good as you." A true man can bend and stretch.
Lin Changnian squatted down to continue eating. If it weren't for the fact that he was over thirty years old and we were giving him some face, we would have watched him finish ten bowls of rice.
The two's playful antics amused everyone else, and the village was filled with laughter. Seeing this scene, An Shuyi and Xia Hua simply smiled and quickly ate their rice. It was such a rare treat to finally be able to eat a normal meal.
Of course, it wasn't just the two of them who thought this way; all the tribespeople felt the same way, even though it was completely dark. They could only eat by the light of torches, but that didn't slow them down. In the end, the three large pots of vegetables and the two large pots of mixed grain rice were all eaten clean, leaving not a drop of soup.
Finally, Zhao, Wu, and several other clansmen cleaned up the dishes, while An Shuyi and Xia Hua led people to the workshop to make ice. The workshop had been drying for a day and two nights and was completely dry. The molds had also been brought over, and it was time to start making ice.
However, since it was just about making ice, An Shuyi and her companion didn't let the women come, worried that the long process would affect their health. All the women who came were men, a total of sixty people. As soon as they entered, Xia Hua turned on the lights in the workshop.
These are the solar-powered rechargeable light bulbs she bought. They are particularly large, and two are placed in each workshop so that there is no need to light torches. When they go out, she can just charge them. However, they are only used at night, so they don't use too much electricity.
"Sister-in-law, what is this? It can actually glow." Lin Changnian stood under the light bulb and tentatively brought his hand closer, but he didn't feel any heat at all, even after he put his hand on it.
Xia Hua explained, "This is a lamp, like a lantern, a rare item. Be careful when you use it, don't break it." She didn't say anything else. Ye didn't ask any more questions about Lin Changnian or anyone else, she just stood there and watched.
"We'll have time to look at it later, let's hurry up and make the ice!" Xia Hua urged. It was already past midnight, and if they didn't start now, when would they ever finish? She wanted to go back to sleep early!
"Here it comes, sister-in-law!" The others stopped looking and hurried to make ice. This time, with molds, they didn't need basins. The ice they made was also different from before. It was rectangular, 20 centimeters thick and 50 centimeters long. There were 100 molds. After making one batch, they waited for an hour before taking the ice out and placing it in the prepared pool of water, and then they continued to make the next batch.
Seeing his two sisters-in-law already yawning, Lin Changwen said, "Sisters-in-law, you should go back and rest first. We already know how to make it, so we don't need to teach you anymore. Ice is selling so well now, let's make more and store it properly."
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