"Okay, you can do whatever you want, I won't interfere."
Just as he was talking, Li Yue came in from outside, holding a plate in his hand.
"Mom, try the mung bean cake that was just baked. Brother is back, are you tired?"
"It's okay. Did Tangtang make it by herself?"
"Yes, the new house in the west of the village has an oven. I recently learned how to make pastries from Grandma Ma."
The conversation between the two was very orderly, and Cheng Xue was satisfied. Li Yue was older than Pang Yao and Li Tian, so his receptive ability and learning ability were much stronger. Seeing that she "couldn't eat enough", Ma opened a small stove and taught her how to make cakes. "Brother Xin, try it too. Your sister is very experienced in making pastries. She put osmanthus honey in it and it's very fragrant."
Yan Yixin reached out to take it, took a bite and nodded.
"It's soft, glutinous and sweet but not too spicy. The ones made by Tangtang are better than those bought at Fucheng Pastry Shop."
"Brother, please don't praise me. You still know how much I weigh."
"I'm not complimenting you, I'm telling the truth." Yan Yixin put down the mung bean cake in his hand and picked up another piece.
At this moment, Cheng Xue felt that she was superfluous and very bright.
Seeing the two children flirting with each other, she reluctantly ate a piece of mung bean cake and stopped eating. It wasn't that she didn't like it, but it was too greasy and a bit overwhelming.
Yuniang came in from outside with an envelope in her hand.
I thought it was written by Li Hui, but I didn't expect it to be Zhou Fei's daughter-in-law, Lian Shi. The letter told her that she had given birth to a daughter over there, weighing five and a half pounds, on April 13th.
I calculated that I wouldn't be able to make it in time for Xi San, but I definitely had to go there. I just finished my work at home and sent Yan Yixin back to Tengfei Academy.
"Let Li Zhong have time to find Master Gong, and just ask for the car the day after tomorrow."
"Madam, let Li Zhong go with you. There are eldest ladies in the workshop, Grandma Shuanzi and the others, who are enough." Yuniang suggested.
Cheng Xue did not refuse, nodded and took out a piece of silver from the box and handed it to Li Yue.
"Go to Jinxiang Pavilion in the town to buy a gold lock and a small gold bracelet. Ask your brother to accompany you and bring white peony root with you."
"Okay." Li Yue agreed and went out.
Yan Yixin saluted, picked up two pieces of mung bean cake, and followed.
Yuniang said "ouch" and reminded:
"Young Master Biao, I'm afraid he didn't have lunch, so he must be hungry."
Cheng Xue nodded and waved her hand carelessly——
"Don't worry about him. There is a lot of food in the town and he won't be hungry. Call Bai Zhi over and let's make something for them together."
There is certainly no shortage of blankets and blankets in the Zhou family, but it is her intention to give them what is due.
As for the hungry Yan Yixin, he is now in the stage of drinking enough water, so there is no need to pay attention to it. What's more, Li Yue will not let him starve, I am afraid the little girl has noticed it long ago...
……
The next day was sunny and cloudless, and the beam-raising ceremony in the west of the village went smoothly.
We didn't find any outsiders, just Master Wu and the others, plus Cheng Xue's family and Yu Zhao's family. Dong Bin is a special case, he came here to "steal art".
The yard is almost finished, and all that's left is the carpenter's work on building cabinets. We have enough people to complete it in another seven or eight days.
The pond in the backyard has already been filled with water, and the pond is full of water chestnuts. If they can be harvested in August, I will really want to eat them.
It's a bit cold standing in the pavilion, but the view is wide and the mood is comfortable. Not far away, Li Tian and others are digging soil, and Trini is also following them.
"When my sister-in-law comes back from Fucheng, Yu Chang's marriage will be finalized."
Cheng Xue nodded, held her arm and said:
"Yes, Brother Han has grown up in a flash. Where is Yu Zhao?"
"I went to the forest farm and said there was still work to be done."
Yu Zhao is now an indispensable person in the forest farm. Xiao Feng trusts him very much and leaves most of the work to him.
"How's that girl like? How's her family background?"
"He is a very good person, and his family background is also clean. My parents' family cannot be said to be very rich, but it is still good compared to my family before. We have 80 acres of land." Wang replied.
"That's considered a match." Cheng Xue joked with a smile, "Where's the house? Has it been built?"
"Not yet, but we have already started. According to Yu Zhao, our family plans to build seven tile-roofed houses this time, spanning the courtyard from east to west, so that they can be completed in one step."
The house has been bought. Yu Huai is very bold this time and plans to change the house he lives in now into growing vegetables and move his family to a new house.
"Tangtang and I are not at home, so you should worry more about Tiantian and Sidan."
"It's okay, sister-in-law, I'm at home. Yingjie likes to play with the little sister, and every day he opens his eyes and calls out to find the little sister." Wang laughed as she spoke, looking at Li Tian without blinking.
When he discovered that his son with black hands was about to wipe the young lady's face, he quickly said "Hey" and prepared to remind him, but was stopped by Cheng Xue.
The two of them stood in the pavilion and watched Yu Yingjie getting dirtier and dirtier. In the end, Li Huai was not happy, and Li Tian just smiled and shook his head and handed his handkerchief to his cousin.
They are both daughters of the Li family, but their personalities are completely different. I can’t say that Li Yue is not good, but compared to the carefree and smiling Li Tian, they are quite inferior.
"Let's go and walk around in front. There are Ma's and Angelica here, don't worry."
Mrs. Wang responded and followed, pointing to the four open spaces circled in the yard and asked:
"Sister-in-law, are you going to grow vegetables there?"
"Instead of growing vegetables, we grow fruit trees and mountain grapes." Cheng Xue explained with a smile.
When Mrs. Wang heard the word "fruit tree", her eyes suddenly lit up. The two pigs caught in March are growing well. If some fruit trees can be planted in the backyard, the children will have snacks in the summer.
"How many fruit trees did my sister-in-law order? What are they? Can you spare some?"
"Nothing, just plums, cherries, and apricots. We don't have many fruit classes in Liaodong. If you want to plant them, just take two. I'll order a lot. I plan to plant cherries outside the fence in the west of the village."
She is preparing for the future of the workshop and laying the foundation for the Li family's future shop.
The dry goods shop here sells preserved apricots and preserved plums, but no cans. She plans to can the apricots, plums, and cherries in the future and save them for sale in the winter.
Liaodong wild cherries, despite their small size, are a bit sour, but they taste really good after being steamed with sugar. I remember that when I was a kid, there was no refrigerator at home, so my grandpa used cans and bottles to make it. Now that I think about it, I miss it, the sour and sweet taste.
Really delicious.
This is a relatively long-term matter, and it will not be implemented until the next year at least.
When I walked to the front yard, I saw Dong Bin helping the carpenter. Since he started working as a carpenter here, he has taken leave at the forest farm. It can be seen that he really likes carpenters, and the skills he has learned are lasting. In the future
If you don’t want to go to the forest farm, you can just do the work at home and you can support your family.
"How's Wu Bin? Have you met?"
"Master Liu, you are so good, I can't use the editing knife well."
"This is why practice makes perfect." Master Liu smiled and continued to teach him, "If you hang out with us for three to five years, you will definitely be able to become an apprentice."
Cheng Xue saw it clearly. When Dong Bin heard this, his eyes gleamed with anticipation. It is estimated that it won't be long before the young man has to go to the mountains to resign.
Now that the war situation in southern Xinjiang has stabilized, there will be no more conscription in the short term...