Chapter 42: Celebration Feast 1/3

In the village of Miaoqian Village, when a family is building a house, typically, the ones putting in the most effort are their own family members.

But the Li family was different.

Although Li Qingzhi’s health had improved somewhat, he was still very thin and lacked strength.

As a result, nobody asked Li Qingzhi to work, and nobody dared to let him work either.

With his physical condition… even lifting slightly heavy objects might strain his back.

So, although it was Li Qingzhi’s family building the house, he had a particularly relaxed time, not doing anything, and being pampered by his mother-in-law every day.

In another household, the laborers would definitely be discontented and would say a few words, but nobody complained about Li Qingzhi; after all, the food at the Li family was too good.

Not only did those who worked at the Li family get plenty of white rice to eat, but they also got meat!

Building a house was not easy, but for those accustomed to physical labor, it wasn’t much, especially since they could rest when tired, without anyone pressuring them.

The laborers came to the Li family every day to build the house, working enthusiastically. The speed at which they built the rammed earth walls was very fast, and within a few days, the walls were already up.

Jin Xiaoye had prepared various wooden materials needed for roofing. She had calculated precisely how many rafters and beams their house would need, and she had prepared everything meticulously.

Experienced craftsmen guided everyone in roofing the house and laying the roof tiles.

In many houses in Miaoqian Village, they didn’t use roof tiles; instead, they would cover the beams with woven bamboo mats and then cover them with woven straw on the outside to serve as the roof.

These roofs would deteriorate over time and need renovation, but due to their low cost, many households still used them.

At first, Jin Xiaoye also wanted to build this type of roof, but because Li Qingzhi brought back fifty taels of silver… she gritted her teeth and bought many roof tiles instead.

After finishing the house, they would need to build the hearth, install the doors and windows, and Jin Xiaoye also bought a dining table, a writing desk, a wooden chair, a bed, and a wardrobe.

Li Qingzhi felt that there were still many things missing in the house, but Jin Xiaoye was stingy with money and didn’t want to buy more.

Li Qingzhi didn’t insist either; they indeed hadn’t reached the point where they could squander money. By the time the Li family’s house was completed, the weather had cooled considerably, and it coincided with a very important festival for the people of Daqi, the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Li Qingzhi and his family planned to invite relatives for a meal the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival, to celebrate their relocation. This meal was known in Miaoqian Village as the “Celebration Feast”.

On the day of the treat, early in the morning, Li Qingzhi took Li Laogen, Zhao Laosan, as well as Zhao Xiaodou, Li Damao, and Li Ermao, and went to the county town—they were going to buy ingredients to entertain the guests.

Usually, Jin Xiaoye would be responsible for this, but she had some small business to attend to in the morning and couldn’t spare the time. Moreover, Zhao Laosan volunteered to help, so Li Qingzhi and the others went to buy the goods.

At the break of dawn, they set off from Miaoqian Village and arrived at Chongcheng County.

Li Damao and Li Ermao had followed Li Qingzhi to the county town many times before, so going to the county town wasn’t a novelty for them anymore. However, it was Zhao Xiaodou’s first time visiting the county town.

When Zhao Laosan married into the Zhao family, the Zhao family had accumulated a lot of debt due to Zhao Laosan’s wife’s previous husband falling ill. Over the years, Zhao Laosan and his wife had been working hard to repay the debt, so their family life wasn’t particularly good.

In any case, they didn’t have the leisure to take their child to the county town for fun.

Although Zhao Laosan loved Zhao Xiaodou very much, Zhao Xiaodou had already quietly grown up when he wasn’t paying attention.

He had rarely communicated with Zhao Xiaodou before, and Zhao Xiaodou wouldn’t actively approach him either. Recently, he had been taking Zhao Xiaodou to the Li family every day, talking to him on the way back and forth, which made Zhao Xiaodou speak more in front of him.

On the way, Zhao Laosan instructed Zhao Xiaodou, “Xiaodou, make sure to take care of your brothers, and don’t wander around when we get to the county town…”

Li Qingzhi chuckled and interrupted Zhao Laosan, “Uncle San, Xiaodou is very obedient. He will take good care of his brothers without being told.”

Zhao Laosan always wanted Zhao Xiaodou to be obedient and well-behaved. He noticed that Zhao Xiaodou became excessively obedient after being reminded too much.

Zhao Laosan chuckled without saying anything, and Li Qingzhi smiled and told the children about various things they saw along the way, mentioning some things about the county town.

Among the three children, Li Ermao asked the most questions, Li Damao occasionally asked questions, but Zhao Xiaodou just listened attentively.

After arriving in the county town, Zhao Xiaodou became even more constrained, giving the impression that he didn’t even dare to set foot on the stone-paved streets.

But it wasn’t just Zhao Xiaodou; Li Laogen and Zhao Laosan were also like this.

When farmers from the countryside came to the county town, many of them had similar reactions.

Li Qingzhi didn’t say anything and led them forward.

They first went to the Ding family.

The two cottages of the Li family had been under construction for twenty days. During this time, Li Qingzhi had taken time to write Ding Xi’s autobiography, and by now, he had written a hundred thousand words. His purpose in coming this time was to hand over the manuscript to Ding Xi.

When they arrived at the entrance of the Ding family’s residence, Li Qingzhi informed the gatekeeper, who went to report. Soon, a middle-aged man with a big belly came out and said, “Mr. Li, I’m sorry, but my master is not at home right now.”

This middle-aged man was Ding Xi’s steward. Li Qingzhi had seen him once before. Learning that Ding Xi wasn’t present, Li Qingzhi handed the manuscript to him.

The steward of Ding Xi accepted the manuscript and invited Li Qingzhi inside for tea.

Li Qingzhi said he had other matters to attend to and didn’t go in. He smiled and bid farewell to the steward as he left.

When Li Qingzhi went to knock on the door of the Ding family, Li Laogen and Zhao Laosan didn’t dare to follow. Li Qingzhi asked them to wait nearby and said he would find them after he finished his business.

Seeing Li Qingzhi return, Li Laogen immediately asked, “Ah Qing, was that Mr. Zhu just now? The Zhu family’s house is really big!”

Li Qingzhi replied, “This is the Ding family. The person just now was the steward of the Ding family.”

Li Laogen took a sharp breath of cold air. “Even a steward is so imposing!”

Zhao Laosan nodded repeatedly, feeling that the steward looked like a wealthy master.

Li Qingzhi smiled and led them to the butcher shop in the county town.

When they went shopping, they mainly bought meat and bean products. As for vegetables, poultry, and eggs, they could buy them in the village.

Li Qingzhi directly asked for a piece of pork belly. This kind of pork belly, with ribs attached, was called “striped meat” by the locals. A piece of pork belly was roughly a square piece with all the ribs from one side of the pig.

After Li Qingzhi finished buying, Zhao Laosan put the meat into the basket on his back and then followed Li Qingzhi to buy bean products.

From tofu to dried tofu and even vegetarian chicken, Li Qingzhi bought some of each. As for salted fish, kelp, and dried bamboo shoots, which could be kept for a long time, Jin Xiaoye had bought them a few days ago and stored them at home.