Thinking this, Bai Xiaoyue couldn't wait any longer. Her father busied himself asking people to buy materials.
Bai Xiaoyue knew nothing about the business. She gave the money to her father and then washed her hands of the responsibility, preparing meals with her daughter and mother.
The meal was very simple: lots and lots of steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water, and a large pot of cabbage cooked with a little bit of fatty meat.
It was the off-season for farming, and many people came to help. They didn't ask for wages, only three meals a day.
The neighbor aunties even came to help prepare the meal. This kind of simple and honest rural hospitality warmed Bai Xiaoyue's heart and moved her deeply.
In just over ten days, a new house was built.
I have to give credit to the old craftsman who built the house in the village. After many communications, the toilet and ditch were built to Bai Xiaoyue's liking!
Pour a bucket of water into the squat toilet, and with a whoosh, the water flows into the outhouse. The small latrine is dismantled, and a large stone slab is placed over it, making everything neat, tidy, and clean.
The day it was completed, the onlookers were very surprised. They thought a latrine could be built like this!
Several people surrounded the old craftsman, asking questions, intending to build one at home as well.
Mr. and Mrs. Bai planted vegetables around the front and back yards.
She paved the path with small flagstones so that she wouldn't have to walk in mud on rainy days.
The elderly couple brought over grain and firewood. After tending to the well, they even added a cover for Xiao Changle.
Look at how Bai's parents do everything for their daughter and consider everything for her sake.
They would be devastated if they knew their daughter was gone.
The cabinets, boxes, tables, and stools that Bai Xiaoyue needed were all made by an old carpenter in the village, and Bai's father arranged for them to be brought back for her.
The iron pot was a hassle; it took Bai's father getting a certificate from the village before he could buy it.
After buying everything and drying the kang (heated brick bed), Bai Xiaoyue also asked her father to find some old newspapers.
The newspaper was pasted on the wall in the mother and daughter's bedroom, and the room suddenly felt much brighter.
On the day of the move, Bai Xiaoyue bought some basic seasonings such as oil, sugar, salt, and soy sauce. She also bought two jin of pork belly for 1.5 yuan.
She planned to cook braised pork and invite Mr. and Mrs. Bai, as well as Chang Le's grandparents, to have a meal together.
Since it was a housewarming party, Bai Xiaoyue didn't ask her mother for help and cut the pork belly herself and soaked it to remove the blood.
Heat oil and sugar in a wok to caramelize the sugar. Once it turns caramel color, add the pork belly, stir-fry evenly, add water, and simmer.
After simmering for an hour and a half, add potatoes and seasonings, place cornbread on the side of the pot, and simmer for another half hour before serving.
In addition, I cooked a pot of rice, stir-fried eggs with chives, and stewed a large pot of cabbage in a clay pot.
Such a meal was considered quite lavish in this era.
Ye's parents and Bai's parents kept muttering about how wasteful it was. However, the food was completely devoured, not even a drop of soup was left.
Bai Xiaoyue also ate very well; it was the first time she had rice here.
Paired with the savory-sweet, fatty yet not greasy braised pork, she ate a big bowl and now doesn't want to do anything but take a nap.
But that's impossible; we need to clean the kitchen and tidy up the new house.
After dinner, Bai Xiaoyue lay on the kang table doing accounts, picking up an old notebook that her younger brother had used on one side, reminding herself to stock up on more school supplies.
After careful calculation, I found that building the house, buying things, and purchasing the yard cost a total of 150 yuan, leaving me with 330 yuan.
Today, Ye's mother gave her 10 yuan, and Bai's mother secretly gave her another 10 yuan. Now she has a total of 350 yuan.
She planned to wait for Bai Wen'an to return so they could go to the county town together and see if they could buy some more things.
After Bai Xiaoyue finished tidying up, she boiled a large pot of water, put Xiao Changle in the wooden tub, and gave her a good bath.
Little Chang Le was soaking in the hot water, so excited that she splashed water everywhere.
After tidying up Chang Le, I took a nice shower in the newly built toilet.
She lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), her thoughts swirling, recalling the 32 days she had spent in this unfamiliar era, when she finally had a roof over her head.
Bai Xiaoyue finally had her own house, although it was just a few thatched huts.
She was still very happy! Holding her daughter, she drifted off to sleep contentedly under the moonlight.
Bai Xiaoyue was excited to have her own home. She would add things to the house from time to time and liked to tidy up, even arranging the firewood in the woodshed neatly.
One day, while tidying up at home, Xiao Chang Le accidentally tripped and fell, crying her heart out, and nothing could soothe her.
She remembered how her grandmother used to comfort her when she was little, and gently tapped the stone slab on the ground with a stick:
“You’re so naughty, you hurt my little Chang Le, I’ll hit you, I’ll hit you.”
"You're bad, really bad," Xiao Chang Le repeated.
Seeing his mother knocking, he jumped down and started knocking too.
With tears still on her little face, she laughed and banged on the floor. She kept running around, thoroughly enjoying herself.
Bang bang, bang bang... thud thud
Huh, there are two different sounds. Bai Xiaoyue went to Chang Le's location and knocked. After carefully distinguishing them, she realized that they were indeed wrong.
They tapped on the stone slabs in each room and discovered that another room had a different feature.
When we checked the foundation, the cornerstones and the stone slabs inside the house were all in good condition, so we didn't touch them.
There's a problem now; the stone slabs have been grouted, and I can't pry them open by myself. Ugh, this is so frustrating…
Just as she was at her wit's end, Bai Wen'an's voice came from outside the door, "Sister, sister!"
"I'm here." When I opened the door, I saw that Bai Wenan looked like he had just returned, with a fine layer of sweat on his forehead.
"Sister, your house is really well built, especially the toilet." As soon as he entered the house, Bai Wen'an looked around and exclaimed when he saw the toilet.
"Xiao An, I have something to tell you." Bai Xiaoyue then told her about discovering something wrong under the stone slab.
However, she only mentioned one place and didn't mention the other, wanting to see what was downstairs in the room before making any plans.
The siblings discussed it and decided not to tell the adults yet, but to wait and see. Bai Wen'an ran home, and seeing that his parents were not home, he went to get the steel rod.
After Chang Le fell asleep, the siblings began to work.
Bai Xiaoyue covered her mouth and nose with a scarf, and gave one to Bai Wen'an as well, telling him to cover his mouth and nose as well.
In my past life, I watched a lot of movies and was afraid of things like poisonous gas.
However, I wouldn't feel at ease living here without opening it and taking a look, so I had no choice but to take the risk.
First, I scraped the dirt out of the cracks around the stone slab, then pried it open little by little, creating a small gap. After waiting for a while, nothing seemed amiss.
The siblings then found a long wooden stick to place on the stone slab, pried it open, and found a small cellar.
There were several bags inside. The space wasn't very big; it was about 80 centimeters long and wide, and about one meter deep.
The two looked at each other, and finally Bai Wen'an went down to carry the bag back up, with two layers of oilcloth underneath.
The bag was full of grains, including wheat, corn, sorghum, and some soybeans.
Each bag contained only a small amount of grain, totaling a few dozen kilograms, less than a hundred kilograms.
It's probably a consequence of fleeing famine; they're hiding some food in case of emergency.
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