Fang Mingxiao followed Jiang Yanqing to open the door, and sure enough, the cabinet makers had arrived. They were a group of carpenters, one old and two young, including a father and son. Nowadays, skills are usually passed down from generation to generation, so it is common for sons to inherit their fathers' business.
The carpenter's surname was Zhu. Old Zhu said with a smile, "It was raining heavily today. I came here as soon as the rain stopped, for fear of being delayed on the road."
Jiang Yanqing also smiled and welcomed him in, "Uncle Zhu, I was wondering if you would come today. It's really unfortunate that it rains today."
Then he led the person to the door of the cleaned room and pointed inside, "Uncle Zhu, this is inside. There is a row of medicine cabinets against the wall. Thank you for your hard work."
Lao Zhu waved his hand and said, "Hey, what's the hardship? It's not the first time we've dealt with each other."
As he spoke, he called on his apprentice and son to bring in the tools and wood. Fang Mingxiao also came forward to help. Jiang Yanqing went into the house and came out with a pot of cold tea after a while.
It was placed on the table outside the room, telling them to drink it when they were thirsty later.
It would take a long time to build the cabinets, as they would definitely have to stay here for lunch today. Fang Mingxiao followed to help, and Jiang Yanqing went into the kitchen and started cooking.
With so many people, all of them strong laborers, it was unknown how much rice they would eat, and there was no container large enough to cook rice at home. Jiang Yanqing had already thought about it and decided to steam more buns.
After kneading a large bowl of dough and setting it aside to rise, Jiang Yanqing took out two cabbages and a large piece of pork belly from the corner of the wall and soaked a handful of sweet potato vermicelli.
The main dish for lunch is pork, cabbage and vermicelli stew. Wash the cabbage and tear it into large pieces. Wash the pork belly and cut it into slices. Cut the green onions into small sections and slice the ginger.
Heat a cold pan without adding any oil. Add the pork belly slices and continue stir-frying until the oil is slightly charred. Add the scallions and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Then add light soy sauce and dark soy sauce and stir-fry until the pork slices are colored.
Add the cabbage and stir-fry until it is soft. Add enough water to cover the cabbage and star anise, and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
After the water boils, spread the softened vermicelli on the surface of the cabbage, cover and simmer all the ingredients on low heat. Finally, add a little salt to season, simmer on high heat until the sauce thickens and then serve.
Also serve with cold cucumber salad. Crush the cucumber, add minced garlic, salt and chicken essence to season. Pour oil into the pan and heat it until it smokes. Pour it on with a sizzling sound, and a garlic aroma will come out instantly.
I cut another plate of red sausage as a cold dish, and the noise outside was already in full swing.
It was almost noon when the aroma of steamed buns wafted into the yard. The stomachs of the people working were rumbling. Jiang Yanqing finally arrived at the door and called out, "Uncle Zhu, come and eat."
Old Zhu in the room responded, and Jiang Yanqing went back to the room to take the steamed buns out of the pot and put them on the table. Fang Mingxiao also said, "Uncle Zhu, comrades, let's go eat together."
Old Zhu and the other two then came out, washed their hands, and walked back into the house. Old Zhu exclaimed, "Comrade Jiang's cooking smells so good! I can hardly suppress my cravings."
Fang Mingxiao also followed behind and joked, "Haha, then Uncle Zhu, please eat more later."
On the table was a large pot of pork stewed with cabbage, topped with a layer of meat, crisp cucumbers, and a plate of red sausage. The two young men following behind couldn't help swallowing.
Jiang Yanqing waved her hand and said, "Hurry up and sit down, everyone. Today we have plenty of steamed buns and vegetables. Eat as much as you want."
As Old Zhu sat down, he joked, "Comrade Jiang, we are all rough and tumble people. If you say that, we won't be polite."
Jiang Yanqing distributed bowls and chopsticks to everyone while responding, "Uncle Zhu, just eat, but it's not for free. I'm still hoping you and these two comrades can quickly get the cabinet out for me, haha..."
Jiang Yanqing's witty words immediately made everyone in the room burst into laughter. After dinner, Jiang Yanqing wanted to let Lao Zhu and others take a nap in another guest room.
But Lao Zhu said that he had already arrived late in the morning and had wasted time eating, so he had to hurry up and finish the work.
He also said that after eating a lot of delicious food, shouldn’t he work even harder for Jiang Yanqing?
I don't know if it was because they had a good lunch, but they worked even harder in the afternoon. When it was time for dinner, Lao Zhu came with his son and apprentice to say goodbye, saying that there was still a small part left and they could finish the work in the morning.
Jiang Yanqing went to take a look and found that the model of the medicine cabinet had been finalized, with only the grids in the upper half left to be completed. The edges and corners were also polished very smoothly, which showed how attentively Lao Zhu and his team put into their work.
After politely sending Old Zhu and the other two away, Jiang Yanqing and Fang Mingxiao returned to their room. Fang Mingxiao sat on the sofa, sighed, and said pitifully, "Qingqing, I'm exhausted today."
Jiang Yanqing looked over and saw Fang Mingxiao sitting listlessly on the sofa. Thinking about how he had been busy all afternoon, doing all the heavy work of handling wood, Jiang Yanqing sighed helplessly, walked behind Fang Mingxiao, put her hands on his shoulders, and began to knead them.
"You deserve it because you acted so arrogantly."
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