Fruit trees were planted on both hilltops, but they were scattered very scatteredly. Apparently, at the beginning, some fruit saplings were obtained and planted in order to keep the hilltops from being empty and unused.
In addition to fruit trees, there are many original trees.
The hawthorns are past the time of picking and have become overripe.
Some of them were overripe and rotten, which is a pity.
Song Qiu asked everyone to pick hawthorns first, picking those they could want, and letting the ones they couldn't want to rot in the ground.
There are a total of twenty or thirty hawthorn trees on the two hillsides, all planted together, making them easy to pick.
There wasn't much I could ask for, so after picking them all, I could only put them in one basket. They looked like they were all crooked melons and cracked dates, which didn't look very good.
Fortunately, it is not used to make candied haws or jam. Who can tell whether it looks good or not.
The hawthorns have been picked and it’s almost time.
Song Qiu picked some fairly ripe oranges, grapefruits and pears with sharp pears.
They picked a basketful of the same stuff and carried it down the mountain from Wang Guizhuang and loaded it onto a mule cart.
Song Qiu left some of the rice, flour, grain and oil he bought in the town for Zhuangzi. As for accommodation, Zhuangzi has beds and bedding, so there is no need to worry.
Song Qiu explained some matters to Lin Desheng, then left him the key to Zhuangzi, and then he and Zhang Lihua drove a mule cart, left Zhuangzi, and went back.
With the fruit in hand, Song Qiu planned to make jam right away.
Taking advantage of the fact that there were no guests in the afternoon, the Wangs all helped in the kitchen, washing the hawthorns, peeling the oranges, peeling the grapefruits, and peeling the pears.
Hawthorn is the fastest. After washing it, Song Qiu put it into the pot and boiled it for a long time to release as much water as possible until it was soft.
Then peel and remove the seeds of the soft boiled hawthorn, mash it into a puree, then pour the boiled hawthorn soup into the hawthorn puree and mix, put it in a pot and bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat, stirring as it cooks to avoid sticking.
The pot is burnt.
When it was almost done, Song Qiu took out the sugar jar, added sugar to the pot, mixed well, and then cooked over low heat, still stirring while cooking.
Seeing the constant stirring, Zhang Lihua was afraid that Song Qiu's arms would be sore, so she took the shovel and helped stir it up.
After the pot boils, continue to cook for more than a quarter of an hour.
At this time, the hawthorn sauce has been boiled until it is thick, put it into a clay pot while it is hot, and seal it for storage after cooling.
The same was true for grapefruits, oranges and pears later. Wang and others took a look at it and made several kinds of jam one by one without Song Qiu getting started.
Song Qiu looked at the pile of orange peels and didn't let them go, making orange peel jam.
This is different from jam. Wash the orange peels and soak them in water for a day before making.
When cooking, pour away the water, take out the orange peel, scrape off the white part inside the peel, and then chop it into small pieces.
Put the chopped orange peel into the pot, add water and bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for two hours.
When the orange peel can be crushed by hand, take out all the orange peel, mash it, pass it through a basket, and make it into a sauce.
Put the orange peel and the soup in which the orange peel is boiled into the pot, add sugar, stir and simmer for an hour.
Several kinds of jam were made, and after cooling, Song Qiu divided some of them into two portions, and asked Du Chuanfu to make a trip to deliver them to the Shen family and the Fan family, and buy some small jars back.
As soon as the jam was made, Song Qiu went to Mrs. Zhao and ordered a lot of goat milk, which she squeezed and took out every day. Because she needed a lot, she couldn't get it for nothing, and she had agreed to pay for it.
Mrs. Zhao, however, refused to ask for more, so she only needed five cents a day.
In this way, Song Qiu gave the method of making double-skinned milk to Li and made it every day. Some of the customers liked sweets, so they recommended it and sold a lot every day.
When I encounter unsold ones, I eat them at home and don’t waste them.
Even Mrs. Yang must order two portions every day. She likes it, and her little niece also likes it very much.
But they couldn't eat for a few more days, and they were about to have confinement. By then, it was time for them to leave.
The next day, it was time to pay wages. The inn paid wages for the second time, so it had been two months since it had been open. It really flew by and it went by very quickly.
Just like last time, Song Qiu held the money box in his hand and distributed the wages one by one, starting with Yuan Hua and his wife and ending with the old Yuan family.
Everyone got their wages and smiled.
Yuan Hua, in particular, was even happier.
Because Song Qiu gave them a wage increase!
It increased from 600 Wen a month to 700 Wen!
Song Qiu also had some considerations for this, because the tea shed was really hard work, and he had to pick up customers early every day, with almost no stops, and he was not free until the time of application.
I have made a lot of money in a month, so my salary should be increased, and since I am my cousin, not an outsider, I should get an increase.
This is the second time that Yuan Hua and his wife went home with their wages, and they also received an extra two hundred cash. During the Chinese New Year, they can still get their wages twice, and this year they will be able to live a richer year!
Yesterday, the family was still discussing whether to kill a New Year pig this year. After feeding and cooking it for a year, they would not sell it whole this year. Instead, they would kill it at home and sell half of the meat.
This is a day that I really look forward to!
The Tao family only joined the inn on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, and it was not yet time for them to pay wages. However, in order to make it easier to pay wages next time, Song Qiu simply paid them ten days of wages first, so that next time, they can work with Yuan
Hua and others should send it together to avoid having to divide it twice every month.
Tao Zheng's salary was the same as Du Chuanfuding's, one tael of silver a month.
Li's salary is the same as Wang's, seven hundred coins a month.
Both Tao Dongping brothers earn 800 cents each. As for Tao Xiuer, because she is young and is only responsible for lighting fires, her salary is lower, 400 cents a month.
They all received half a month's wages, and the Tao family felt a stronger sense of belonging.
I just hope that I will no longer have to wander around in the future, and can always work with the girl, and be stable for the rest of my life.
Although the salary was not as good as that of their previous master's house, it was a fulfilling place with no overt and covert struggles. They lived a solid life and slept peacefully every day. They didn't have to worry or look at their faces, and they were very happy.
After paying her wages, Song Qiu still accepted the wages that Zhang Lihua and Aling had saved with her, put them aside alone, and made a small note in her mind to distinguish them clearly.
After dinner, under the not-so-bright moonlight, Du Chuanfu, who was worried, took him on his way back to the village, up the gentle slope, and entered his house.
From running a rice dumpling business at home, to running a tea stall, opening an inn, opening a workshop, adding more than ten people, buying so much land, and setting up a farm, everything passed by in a blink of an eye.
It only lasted half a year.
Old Yuan was deeply moved by such a big change.
Look, they still owed money to others half a year ago, and even after emptying the family's money jar, they couldn't squeeze out a few cents.
Nowadays, one month's salary is several taels of silver.
Lao Yuan had not been at the inn for a long time. He knew that business was good every day, but he didn't know how much money he made.
Seeing that so much wages had been paid out today, I thought about it and bought land and people. I was afraid that the money here in Song Qiu would not be able to circulate, so I took out my money jar.