Chronicle of Farming in Muxianfu

Chapter 30

Xiao An sneaked a glance at the study door, then winked at Xiao Ning who was opposite, and licked his chapped lips.Xiao Ning was bought into the mansion together with him, and they worked together on errands together. After getting along for so long, how could he not understand his small movements, and knew that he was going to have a cup of tea, but Xiao Ning still shook his head fiercely, The Hou Mansion has strict rules, if Xiao An went to drink tea, and the Hou Lord suddenly came out after discussing the matter, then they would definitely not be able to escape the family law.

Seeing that Xiao Ning disagreed, Xiao An had no choice but to continue guarding the door listlessly.Just as he was complaining in his heart, the door of the study room finally opened.The Marquis, who was dressed in an azure brocade gown with eight clusters of flowers, walked out first, followed by several Mr. Qingke.

Lord Hou gave a salute to Mr. Zhang, who is the oldest in the Hou Mansion, "Sir, I will entrust this matter to you, and I hope you will worry about it."

Of course, Mr. Zhang did not dare to accept his gift, so he quickly helped him up, "Master Hou, you are serious. This is my duty. Please rest assured, Lord Hou. I will leave immediately, and you will wait for the news at the mansion."

"Well, I'll just wait for the good news from Mr. Xiao. Xiao Da, make arrangements immediately, prepare the carriage and food for Mr., and then go to the cashier to pay 1000 taels of silver for money."

"Yes, Master Hou." Xiao Da bowed to accept the order, turned around and asked Mr. Zhang to go out together.

Standing in the yard, Master Hou looked at the willow tree protruding in from outside the yard, and heaved a long sigh.This tree was planted by the husband and wife with their five-year-old Heng'er when Yuxi was alive. Because his mother was strict, Heng'er was not allowed to come to the study to play with him.Heng'er was crying and fussing, so Yuxi coaxed him to plant a tree outside the study yard, and when the tree grew up, he would grow up too, so he could come to the study every day to help his father with work and share his worries.It seems that the scene of laughter at that time is still vivid in my memory, but now, Yuxi is gone, and Heng Er has also left here for seven years.Maybe, it's time to call him back. The Marquis's position and the family business will still be left to him. When he meets Yuxi in Huangquan one day, he won't be afraid of her complaints.

"Come on!"

After finishing the business, Xiao Dalian, who was waiting quietly at the door with his head bowed, hurriedly stepped forward, bowed and said, "Your Majesty has something to tell you!"

"Xiao Da, pick someone who is smart and face-to-face in the camp, and bring him to my study at night, I have something to arrange."

"Yes, my lord."

...

Of course, Mu Ai is unaware of these things.She was standing on the earth bag next to the homestead at the moment, because the helpers had all gone up the mountain to cut wood together, so the construction site was a bit empty, which was suitable for her and Mr. Zhou to look down on the entire foundation.She had only used geothermal heating before, and lived in an earth kang, so she knew the general structure. Now that it is really going to be implemented, there are really many problems. Fortunately, Mr. Zhou is a professional. As long as she can tell the general situation, he can do it. With the masters under his command, they did everything perfectly and perfectly.This made Mu Ai more confident. In the future, she will build another country house that she has always hoped for. Although there is no concrete and cement here, but wood is everywhere. A pure wooden two-story villa will definitely be beautiful and comfortable. Of course, this is at least two years later.

Just after we separated from Mr. Zhou, I saw Qiao Niang in a blue dress floating towards her like a cloud of green clouds from a distance. The hot weather and the busy schedule made her face more rosy, compared to the first time. When we meet, we will be much healthier.Mu Ai smiled lightly, rejoicing that her decision was very correct.

At first, she planned to find masters in the city, and helpers in several surrounding villages. As a result, the villagers heard that the daily wage of [-] Wen was twice as expensive as the market, and they did not have to leave home. They all want to work and earn some money for their families.

This time, Mu Ai not only paid for the repair of the ancestral hall in the village, but also there is a tradition in the village, whoever builds a house, every family has to help, and the host's family provides two meals.Now they seem too greedy and unkind for wanting wages.So everyone went to the village head and the clan elders and asked them to give them an idea. Of course, the village head and the clan elders couldn't bear to talk about it with Mu Ai.

In the end, Qiaoniang’s child started to learn to read and write with her father-in-law. She wanted to earn some pen and ink money for her child, so she plucked up the courage to come to Mu Ai and asked her man to work on the construction site as a help, but could she do it in the kitchen? For these things, just take fifty Wen a day.

Mu Ai was very surprised, and only after asking patiently did she know what the villagers thought.Sighing slightly in my heart, I took the initiative to find the village head and clan elders, saying that I was worried about the work of other villagers, but I still believed that the people in my village could do their best, so I decided to hire all the men in the village as helpers. Wen, and the women in the family are considered to be helpers, helping to cook some food or deliver water to the construction site.

This decision immediately won the gratitude of the whole village. Both men and women worked extra hard, and in less than half a month, the foundation that should have taken 20 days to lay was completed.Mr. Zhou is also very satisfied with the quality after careful inspection.Mu Ai saw that all the laborers in the village were working on the construction site, and the rest of the family were old people and children, who could only eat dry biscuits, and asked the women to send some vegetables back at mealtimes every day. The children also ran to help wash the dishes, chopsticks, pick vegetables and chop firewood, and they were also very enthusiastic.In this way, Mu Ai's construction of a house has become a worldwide movement in Lijia Village without knowing it...

Qiao Niang ran to Mu Ai, took a few breaths, then raised her head and said, "Ma'am, go back and have a look, the steamed buns have been steamed, everyone is waiting for you to try it first."

Maybe it was because of Mu Ai's wages, or because of the huge project of the house. I don't know who took the lead. In a few days, except for the old people who were too senior, other villagers began to call Mrs. Mu Ai.Mu Ai changed them several times, but everyone agreed in person, and she still called it that way afterwards, so she let them do it. After all, the family must buy servants in the future, and as a widow, she also needs to be called madam.

Mu Ai saw that she was panting quickly, so she nodded with a smile, "Don't worry, Qiao Niang, you should catch your breath first, the steamed buns are too hot just out of the pan, and you won't be able to eat them for a while, it won't take a while. of."

At this time, Mu Ai was wearing a stone blue men's suit, her hair was tied up, and she was taller than ordinary women, so she looked even more delicate and handsome. This smile made Qiao Niang blush slightly, thinking to herself, Mrs. Xian put on a man The clothes, how come they look better than the men in the village!
Qiao Niang wiped the sweat off her face, and replied, "I'm so happy, ma'am, you don't know the smell of the steamed buns when they come out of the pan, they are so delicious. Ma'am is smart, how many years have we eaten them?" Why didn’t you know that you can still eat it steamed like this.”

"I saw this in the south as well. Knowing that the sisters-in-law are ingenious, I thought about steaming some steamed buns. Alright, let's go back." Mu Ai covered up how to steam steamed buns with a few words past.

The two of them walked along the way, chatted and went into the yard after a while, Mu Ai turned her head and saw Shuan Shuan squatting in the corner, staring blankly at the people in the yard.Her heart fluttered, since she came back from the city last time, she has been busy with the affairs of the house, and occasionally saw Shuan Shuan once in a while, and she didn't have time to hug her and talk like before.Now it seems that she has neglected something.The young daughters-in-law in the yard saw Mu Ai coming in, and greeted them early. One said, "Madam is back." The other said, "Madam, how about this steamed bun?"

Mu Ai had no choice but to smile and entered the stove together with the others, a large steamer on the wooden table was filled with white and fat steamed buns, each one was so white and round.Muai washed her hands, took out one and squeezed it, it was very soft and fluffy.I broke off a piece and put it in my mouth. It tasted good, and there was a slight alkaline smell in the noodle fragrance. This is a purely handmade steamed bun, which is much more delicious than the modern ones with washing powder added.

"You all have to try it too, it tastes good." Mu Ai nodded in satisfaction, took a few and handed them out, and everyone broke off a small half and ate them, praising the taste again and again.

Mu Ai picked up a steamed bun, tested the weight, and said, "Qiao Niang, according to the amount of four or five per person, steam some more, and then use a large pot to boil more bone soup, put some vegetables Go in, wait for the woodcutter who went up the mountain to come back, and have dinner."

(End of this chapter)