Goldfield
Chapter 220: The Solution

Yu Hai carried the mud and walked over to the brick wall. He turned his head and said with a smile, “Dad, don't worry! Everything is ready and hanging in the well in the backyard! Xiaocao had been preparing the duck osmanthus since yesterday. It'll be ready this afternoon. ”

Liu Shuanzhu licked her lips and made a voracious look, saying, “We are lucky! Osmanthus duck is a famous delicacy in Zhenxiu Restaurant. Even if you are in line to buy it, you may not even be able to get it. It's also very expensive! In our village, how many people can afford to spend more than ten taels on a duck? With Xiaocao's blessings, we can also enjoy the care of the rich. Xiaocao's cooking skills were as good as Zhenxiu Restaurant's cook. ”

This time, Xiaocao brought a bowl of sweet green bean soup. After hearing their conversation, he smiled sweetly and said, “Uncle Shuanzhu, thank you for your praise. The niece was so happy to hear it! However, we must be humble in order not to be viewed as arrogant by outsiders if they hear us. For the sake of your praise, I will have to show off my skills tomorrow so that Uncle Shuanzhu will anticipate the next meal after finishing the first meal. ”

Liu Shuanzhu smiled brightly and said, “No, it won't work! If you support my appetite that way, I'll have no reason to come to your house for dinner after your house is built. At that time, it will be very difficult to eat your aunt's pork food ah! ”

Shuanzhu's wife, who had come to see if she could help, heard her husband's words. He immediately put on a teapot posture, pointed at Liu Shuanzhu, and stuttered, “Liu Shuanzhu, are you saying my cooking is like pork food? Then don't eat next time! ”

Liu Shuanzhu shrunk his neck, approached his wife, and gently asked in a low voice, “Wife, why are you here?”

“Why can't I come here? If I don't come, how can I know you're insulting me behind my back? ” Shuanzhu's wife glances at her husband. Seeing that he was being flattering and apologizing politely, he said, “Recently, our father's appetite wasn't very good because of summer, and he wanted to eat century eggs. Was it true that the Xiaocao family had century and biandan eggs sent from the Zhou Family factory? I wanted to buy some for our father and increase his appetite. ”

Shuanzhu's wife was talking about Liu Shuanzhu's father, who was sick a few days ago. He got a little better, but it was still difficult for him to eat. It was rare for him to crave something, and the living conditions of his family were better now, so Shuanzhu's wife came to bring her money.

“Honey, you are so good! It is a blessing of three lifetimes for me, Liu Shuanzhu, to be able to marry you! ” Liu Shuanzhu's wife is a very nice person. He treated his in-laws as if they were his real parents, so Liu Shuanzhu's parents praised their daughter-in-law's piety wherever they went.

When Shuanzhu's wife heard this, she smiled and said, “My parents died early, so I can't treat them well. My father-in-law and mother-in-law treated me as if I were their biological daughter, so if I didn't treat them as my parents, would I still be human? ”

Although the ancients placed great importance on filial piety, there are still cases of mistreatment of in-laws by their daughters-in-law. There were not many daughter-in-laws like the Liu Family, who were very familiar with their in-laws.

Shuanzhu's wife bought ten centuries' worth of eggs from Xiaocao at a market price. Xiaocao did not plan to take the money, but Shuanzhu's wife insisted, and said that if Xiaocao did not take the money then he would not take the eggs!

Speaking of the Zhou Family's century eggs, their demand definitely exceeded the supply. Stores that sell century eggs in the city have long queues every day, and they should also limit the number of purchases. Although century egg factories were also opened in prefectural cities and capitals, supplies were still not enough for the capital and the prefectural city. In the entire Dongshan Village, the Xiaocao family was the only one who did not lack century eggs. Other people also do not have time to queue or are unwilling to buy them; after all, century eggs are much more expensive than duck or chicken eggs.

Thanks to Yu Hai's popularity and the fact that the two meals served each day were dishes that even the rich couldn't buy at Zhenxiu Restaurant, there was a steady stream of people coming in endlessly to help. Naturally, the progress of home building was much faster than expected!

“With the beam on the roof, there will be food inside the house. If the roof has no beams, then even pets will not prosper. ” When building a house, installing the beam is as grand as the wedding ceremony. On this day, almost all the villagers of Dongshan village came to celebrate.

The selection of the main beam for the roof is very important. First, when choosing wood, it should be hard and durable. It is also important that the selected tree has the same thickness from top to bottom, and is perfectly straight. Even if the tree was only slightly bent, it would not be usable at all. Ever since Yu Hai decided to build a house, he had started walking around the dense forest of the Western Mountains and picked out many trees to make blocks.

The highly respected village chief presided over the beam installation ceremony. First, Yu Hai and his family gave offerings, lit incense sticks, and prayed that the installation of the beams be done safely and smoothly. On the main beam, there are good luck sayings like ‘May the household thrive and prosper’. Eight Diagrams are also drawn on several beams to pray for the well-being and safety of the family.

Installation of the beams is a very important event. Friends and relatives who came to congratulate them all received gifts such as steamed bakpaos, meat bakpaos, and pastries. After installing the beam, the steamed bakpao and the meat bakpao will be thrown away by the people standing on the roof, called ‘Flower Scattering on Top of Beam’. The villagers present would then hastily take this bread. When taking bread, someone commented, “Only the Yu Family would use white flour steamed bread and meat sandwich for their beam installation ceremony.”

Yu Hai happily laughed at the lively scene before him, because it meant that the more people, the more money they would make.

The relatives of the Yu Family and the Liu Family were busy greeting the guests who had come to celebrate. The women went to the kitchen to help with the cooking. The Yu Family had prepared over a dozen tables for the banquet throughout the day. Everyone who comes today can sit at the table, both old and young, male or female, and even if they do not bring gifts. The beam installation ceremony was originally intended to be a festive and lucky event, to express the yearning for a better life.

Years later, the villagers of Dongshan Village were still talking happily about the all-day party of the Yu Family. Even the Yu Family did not expect that the main chef of Zhenxiu Restaurant, Chef Head Wang, who was one of the best chefs in the Great Ming Dynasty, would come and offer to cook himself for them.

The head of the Zhou Family's second branch, the fifteen-year-old Third Young Master Zhou, had not only come personally to congratulate him, but he had also brought two carts full of food. Among them were fifty roasted chickens, fifty duck osmanthus, and countless century eggs.

When the people who came to give their congratulations smelled a pleasant aroma, they could not help but gulp their saliva a few times. Some young people were so impatient that they kept scratching their ears and cheeks, and ran through the crowd like monkeys. They were only speechless when the adults in their family kicked their asses and threatened to send them home to eat the rest of the steamed bread if they did not behave properly.

There were no more luxurious and delicious all-day banquets in Dongshan Village. In the next decade, the Yu Family's all-day banquet almost became a legend and was widely known by later generations.

Do you know how much a table dish costs at Zhenxiu Restaurant? With roasted chicken and duck osmanthus, the price of one table is at least a hundred taels. Fifty tables at the banquet meant at least five thousand taels !! The villagers of Dongshan Village sat on a mat and dizzyly looked at the delicious food. They feel as if they are in a dream and do not move the chopsticks for a long time.

Old Yu sat at the main table next to the village chief, who was nervous because Zhou Zixu, the future head of the Zhou Family, was also present! Also present were Yu Hai's in-laws —— Xiaocao's maternal grandfather and maternal uncle. Yu Hai and Fang Zizhen also sat at the table as the hosts. From time to time, they go to another table to toast to guests and make sure they eat well. Fang Zizhen provided the wine, all of which were obtained from the prefectural city. The villagers of Dongshan Village would happily drink a mouthful of bad wine, so when faced with a good quality wine that was worth several dozen taels, they got drunk even before sipping the wine.

The villagers of Dongshan Village had never eaten such a delicious meal before. How they wish they could chew all the roasted duck bones and swallow them. Even a vegetable stir-fry is better than meat. As expected of a famous chef! The sumptuous food was all wiped clean, and even the onions and ginger on the plate were picked and eaten. Not because there was not enough food prepared, but everyone was holding their bloated stomach and crying. It is very difficult to eat such delicious food for the second time in this life. If they don't make room in their stomachs to eat, they'll regret it later !!

There were ten tables prepared for the banquet throughout the day. A total of five rounds of food are served, from noon to sunset.

After the installation of the beams, the house will be finished soon. For the sake of the beauty of the house, Xiaocao asked a special craftsman to make an inverted cornice. The craftsman was specifically requested from the mountain manor Prince Jing, but he did not get it for free. Lady Fang sent Princess Empress Jing a pot containing the camellia flowers of Eighteen Scholars.

Lady Fang's maid, Linglong, had knowledge of flowers. Xiaocao took her to their secret headquarters and replanted many precious flowers and plants. Just with the orchid that Lady Fang liked, there were already three or four types that only she had heard of but had never seen. However, they are all famous species that are hard to find!

As soon as Madam Fang was in a good mood, her appetite got better and her portion size increased. While Xiaocao was happy for his godmother, he did not forget to tell her not to overdo it, to avoid the difficulty where the child would become too big! Lady Fang was thirty-five years old. In this era, she was an old woman with pearls on her stomach! If the child is too big, it will be difficult to give birth. In this era, with the level of medical care and no cesarean section, facing a difficult delivery would be very close to death! Fang Zizhen listened to what his goddaughter said, and became nervous. He tightly controlled his wife's portion sizes, and often took a close look at her personally. Ay, that's very worrying! He would be worried if his wife did not have appetite, but he also had to worry about her overeating!

The days passed quietly. With the help of heaven, there is not much rain this summer. Just before the autumn harvest, the five-room brick house and the tile roof of the Yu Family were finally finished!

The high walls were built with stones and were completely sturdy, so there was no fear of wild animals on the mountain descending. The old residence of the Yu Family was too close to the Western Mountains. Old Yu said that when he was a child, ferocious beasts often went down the mountain. A hungry wolf had jumped into their home and bit the sleeping Second Uncle to death. The whole family was awakened by screams of pain. When he came out with the club, his second uncle had already been bitten to the point of being unrecognizable and died soon after. When they first separated from the main family, Yu Hai was worried about the safety of his family! Looking at the tall stone walls, those wild animals would not be able to jump into their homes unless they had wings!