My village can't be like this

Chapter 642: Sheepfold

Early the next morning, Zhang An and his family got up early.

After a while, the second aunt and the third aunt came over.

Although Zhang An's family only built a sheep pen this time, the sheep pen was quite large, even bigger than many people's houses.

It takes a whole day just to dig the foundation, and it requires a lot of people.

So as family members, Zhang An’s two aunts would definitely come over to help Wang Fang cook.

When the second and third aunts came, they went straight into the kitchen without saying anything and prepared breakfast with Wang Fang.

It's just past six in the morning, and other people will come to help soon, so breakfast must be prepared.

Because of this, Wang Fang went to the town yesterday and bought more than ten kilograms of rice noodles just for use this morning.

The three sisters-in-law worked together in the kitchen. Soon the rice was soaked and the臊子 toppings were ready. They were just waiting to be cooked when someone arrived.

Around seven o'clock, the villagers who were invited yesterday began to carry their tools over.

After a while, a large group of people gathered in the yard, such as Zhang Laosan, Huang Ming, Zhou Yang and his father, Zhang Ping and Zhang Jianwen, Lin Youde and so on.

They were all people who were close to Zhang An's family on weekdays. They just heard Zhang Jianguo say it yesterday and they all agreed directly.

Of course, there are also the uncles and aunts of Zhang An’s family.

There are already more than a dozen people in this circle alone, and that’s because Zhang An’s family didn’t hire a large number of people, otherwise there would be even more.

"Come on, come on, everyone, come and eat it while it's hot."

Seeing people coming, Second Aunt came out from the kitchen with large square plates, carrying bowls of rice topped with sauce.

"Okay, stop talking, come eat and get back to work. If you want to brag, you'll have plenty of time after work."

Seeing this, Zhang Jianwen immediately stood up and shouted to everyone.

It wasn't that he wanted to take over, nor did it have anything to do with his status as village chief, but because he had the highest seniority among this group of people.

When the others heard him shouting, they all stood up and came over to get their bowls.

Then, bursts of slurping sounds of noodles were heard in the yard, mainly because there were too many people.

By the time we finished breakfast, it was almost eight o'clock. This was the time everyone had been waiting for.

Although this time they were only building a sheep pen rather than a new house, it was still necessary to wait for an auspicious time to conduct the groundbreaking ceremony. It was just that this groundbreaking ceremony was just for show and was not as formal as building a house.

The person who helped with the groundbreaking ceremony was naturally Zhang Jianwen. At eight o'clock, he carried the big rooster prepared by Zhang An's family for sacrifice.

As the chicken blood dripped onto the ground, Zhang Jianwen began to pray.

Because it is a stable, all the words spoken are prayers for the prosperity of the livestock.

After finishing all this, offering three incense sticks and burning nine pages of yellow paper, the ground-breaking ceremony was completed, and everyone started to break the ground with pickaxes and hoes.

At this point, the big rooster used for the ground-breaking sacrifice has completed its mission.

Wang Fang came over and carried it to the backyard. A pot of boiling water had already been prepared for it in the kitchen.

And in the open space, although it was still early spring in March, the temperature was still very suitable.

But as the hoes and pickaxes were raised high and then dropped, everyone's bodies began to heat up, and one by one they began to take off their shirts and continued to work with their bare chests.

Although the sheep pen only needs to be covered with one layer and the foundation does not need to be dug too deep, everyone still dug very seriously.

"I'll put the tea here. If you want some, just pour it yourself. I won't serve you any more."

After a while, Wang Fang came over with a pot of brewed tea and cups.

"Of course not. Auntie, please go to the kitchen and get busy. There are so many of us. Whether we can have dinner later depends on you."

As Zhang Laosan lifted up a handful of mud, he talked to Wang Fang with a laugh.

"Don't worry, it's almost the same as this one."

Wang Fang also replied with a smile, and then went back to work on the dishes that would be put into the pot soon.

Afterwards, every once in a while, Zhang An would come over and pour everyone a cup of tea and pass out a cigarette.

Although he doesn't smoke himself, this thing is indispensable when he asks someone to do something for him.

The cigarettes that Zhang An took out were sent by Chen Ze and his friends along with drinks during festivals. They were all rare and good cigarettes.

Because Zhang An and his son didn't smoke, they stayed there.

Seeing Zhang An take out this kind of cigarette, everyone took it, lit it and put it in their mouths.

Although everyone's living conditions have changed greatly and economic conditions are getting better and better, they are reluctant to spend more money to buy expensive cigarettes. With that money, they might as well buy two more pounds of meat, which will be enough for the whole family to have two happy meals.

"Okay, Xiao An, give it to them. I can't draw yours, so I'd better draw my own."

Not everyone likes to smoke cigarettes, but Zhang Jianwen is an exception. Every time Zhang An handed him a cigarette, he refused without hesitation.

Then when everyone was smoking, he would take out the cigarette package made of a plastic bag that he carried with him, take out the tobacco leaves that had already been cut into pieces, tear them into pieces and roll them into a cigarette, and finally insert them into his small pipe. After taking two puffs, a satisfied expression would appear on his face.

"Village chief, you must be enjoying smoking this cigarette."

Huang Ming was right next to him. He watched Zhang Jianwen exhale the thick green smoke and leaned over to ask.

Hearing this, Zhang Jianwen showed a very complacent look on his face. He had always grown his own tobacco leaves, and had been doing so for decades.

"Of course. Even though mine doesn't cost any money, it's more exciting to smoke than yours that cost ten or twenty yuan a pack. How about you try one, too?"

Seeing that Huang Ming was interested, Zhang Jianwen took out a cigarette pack and handed it to Huang Ming, as if letting him try it out.

"Forget it, forget it. I'm still young. I can't afford such good cigarettes as Village Chief."

If it were any other elderly person in the village, they would definitely take it without hesitation and roll it up for themselves.

But Huang Ming couldn't do that. He immediately shook his head and refused.

It's not that he looks down on this leaf tobacco. None of the young people in the village have such an idea, because everyone has elders in their family who smoke this.

The reason why he didn't want it was that he didn't dare to smoke, because the tobacco was too strong, much stronger than the cigarettes in the box. People who were not used to smoking would definitely suffocate themselves if they suddenly took a few puffs.

"Hahaha, don't be afraid, Damingzi. I'm sure you won't pass out after just one puff like before."

Hearing this, Zhou Yang laughed at Huang Ming nearby.

This is because when they were still young, out of curiosity, someone secretly smoked the tobacco leaves of the elderly at home. This person was Huang Ming. At that time, he was only eleven or twelve years old and did not know how to smoke. He smoked very quickly, so just one puff made him faint and sleep for a whole day and night.

This matter really made Mr. Huang and his wife worried. Later, they learned from several of their friends that he fainted from smoking, and they felt relieved.

From then on, Huang Ming also treated Ye Zi as a formidable enemy.

"No, no, I am not good enough to enjoy this."

No matter how people joked, Huang Ming's head kept shaking like a wave valley.

"Go away, you don't know how to enjoy yourself."

In response, Zhang Jianwen just rolled his eyes and said with great disgust.

What he said was absolutely true. You know, in the whole village, the one who grew the best tobacco was Zhang Jianwen.

Whenever the old men in the village sat together, there were many people who asked him for tobacco.

The main reason is that after so many years, he has already selected his favorite tobacco variety, and by constantly saving seeds, he ensures that he grows the best tobacco leaves every year.

After planting, not only are they frequently watered with manure, but they are also fertilized with oil residues, and are taken very good care of.

And the tobacco leaves from the fields did not go in vain. Every year, they harvested top-quality tobacco. Not only could they smoke it themselves, but they could also sell some to supplement their family income. If you really calculate it, they have saved a lot of money over the years.

After smoking, drinking tea and taking a break, everyone didn't waste even a minute and immediately picked up their pickaxes and started working.

Because the place is too big and a lot needs to be dug, after half a day, we have only dug out a rough outline about ten centimeters deep.

In fact, at the beginning, Zhang An wanted to call for an excavator to dig the foundation, after all, Li Hongbin’s men were working on the other side of the river.

However, due to the large circle blocking the way, even the smallest excavator at Li Hongbin's side could not go directly around the yard, so they had to dig manually.

But it was okay because there were so many people involved, so by the time of lunch, nearly half of the wood had been dug out.

While they were eating, the cement, sand and bricks that Zhang An's uncle had helped to order were delivered.

The spacious yard of the past was finally put to use.

By around three o'clock in the afternoon, everyone had already dug the foundation.

But the work is not yet finished, because the foundation-laying work has just begun.

Cartloads of cement mortar were poured into the excavated foundation, and then stones were used to build up the foundation until it was level with the ground. The work was considered complete.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Zhang An's sheepfold is bigger than my house."

Looking at the freshly-baked basic cavity frame, Zhang Laosan couldn't help but sigh.

The houses of ordinary people in the village, not counting the courtyards, are only about two mu in size, but Zhang An's sheepfold occupies a full three mu of land, which is quite large.

"Why don't you tell Zhang An that you can trade your house for his sheepfold? He will definitely do it."

After hearing what he said, Huang Ming immediately took the role of military advisor.

"If that's the case, I'll be taking advantage of Zhang An."

Zhang Laosan was only inspired when he saw the place where Zhang An's family built their sheep pen.

In fact, although their house only occupies two mu of land, if you count the front yard, back yard and vegetable garden, it is at least one acre in area.

After work, dinner is served on time.

Dinner is more substantial than lunch.

With the comparison of lunch, I made a lot of main dishes in the evening and served them directly in bowls.

Everyone was not polite. They came over to help, on the one hand to give face to Zhang An's family, and on the other hand to have a meal. After all, Zhang An's family's food was famous in the village.

In the past, when Zhang An's family hired people to do work, someone said that they didn't want any money, as long as they had a meal.

Although it was a joke, it also indirectly shows that the food in their house is really good.

The next day, the foundation was laid, hardened, and the materials were ready. Zhang Jianjun brought a few people who worked with him to build the wall.

Zhang An didn't know any stonemasonry skills, so even though he had a lot of strength, he could only work as a handyman, helping to transport bricks, mix the mortar, and then push them inside with a cart.

"Hey, Zhang An, what are you doing here? Why haven't I heard you tell me about it?"

In the afternoon, Chen Ze brought Cheng Peng and his group over and asked in confusion when he saw the building materials piled up in the yard.

"The number of sheep in our family is increasing, and the original sheep pen is almost full, so we quickly built a new sheep pen before the next batch of lambs are born."

This matter was decided the day before yesterday. Zhang An remembered that although Chen Ze came the day before yesterday, he didn't seem to have told him about it, so he explained it again.

"To be honest, you can't eat that many sheep just for your own consumption. There will definitely be more and more of them. You might as well just sell some of them."

From the few sheep Zhang An bought at the beginning to such a large sheep pen today, Chen Ze can be said to have witnessed it with his own eyes.

"Well, what you said makes sense. In the future, whenever there are festivals or holidays, I will kill a few and sell the mutton."

Zhang An also felt that what Chen Ze said made some sense. He could no longer be like a Pi Xiu that could only go in but not out.

There are so many sheep nowadays, and if they only rely on their own food, the number of sheep will not only not decrease, but will increase instead.

Therefore, killing one or two sheep regularly to sell for meat can help regulate the number of sheep in the herd.

And with the group of tenants in Dongli Yard, they have no trouble selling their mutton.

"Why, Zhang An's sheep, is it the one we ate the day before yesterday?"

Hearing the conversation between the two, Cheng Peng next to them couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, it's theirs. In the whole village, they're the only ones who raise sheep. Besides the delicious black goat we ate that day, they also have a kind of wild goat that doesn't have much odor."

Seeing Cheng Peng asking about it, Chen Ze habitually helped Zhang An promote the product.

"I've decided. When I leave, I'm going to take one of these delicious sheep back home for my family to try. I'll also get the smellless wild goat that Aze mentioned."

If there was one word that could describe the impression the mutton that night left on him, it would be: delicious.

Although he thought Zhang An’s skill in roasting lamb was indeed good, many things could not be concealed by artificial processing.

"Hahaha, it seems that Brother Cheng Peng has become a big customer of our family now that he's here. I have to entertain him well then."

Zhang An didn't expect that after Cheng Peng came, he not only bought wine from him, but also wanted to buy a sheep. It seemed that it was not just one. He really came to give money to their family.

(End of this chapter)