Chapter 107

Shuiqing was already calculating how many more fat rabbits she needed to buy and raise.

But before that, she planned to catch a fat rabbit to add to tonight’s dinner.

Today was supposed to be a housewarming celebration, and they had prepared plenty of meat. However, the village folks and Bai Ziqian’s family were very different, and using the food meant for the villagers to entertain them felt inadequate.

There were eleven people in total, and except for the youngest, Fan Hu, who didn’t eat much, the other children ate as much as adults.

So, there couldn’t be too few dishes for dinner.

She instructed Ling Ran, who had just entered the courtyard, “Ling Ran, go catch a male rabbit and an old hen, clean them up for our dinner.”

Ling Ran, who usually handled tasks like slaughtering chickens and ducks, had become quite proficient at it after helping out for over half a year. He agreed and immediately turned around to catch the rabbit and hen.

“Yan Qiu, check if there’s any fermented rice ready. Bring a bowl up, we’ll make goji berry fermented rice balls for dinner.”

She had noticed that among the ingredients Li Huyu brought for the fish maw stew, there were not only longan, red dates, and codonopsis, but also goji berries. This would be a good pretext to use them.

“Xing Hui, go to the vegetable garden and cut some chives, dig up some potatoes, and see if there are any other fresh vegetables, bring back a few kinds.”

Yan Qiu and Xing Hui from the winery obediently responded and quickly set about their tasks.

Seeing they were preparing for dinner, Li Huyu’s face lit up with anticipation.

Shuiqing saw through her and asked, “Want to join in?”

Li Huyu, restraining her eagerness, shook her hand and declined, “No, no, I might mess up the food.”

Her cooking was clean and hygienic… but not tasty.

This wasn’t her home where, if she messed up the food, the cook could still save the meal, ensuring the family wouldn’t go hungry. Here, if she ruined the food, everyone would have nothing to eat for dinner.

Still, she really wanted to cook, so she suggested, “How about I help you with the prep?”

Shuiqing had no objection: “Sure.”

Li Huyu’s eyes sparkled with joy, eager to roll up her sleeves and get to work.

Qian’er had said that Shuiqing’s cooking was always delicious, and she wanted to learn a few dishes to showcase her skills when she returned home!

So, the two happily headed into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Fan Jin and Bai Man Shan did not enter the house but strolled along the path towards the edge of Shanshui Village, discussing national affairs.

Not far away, Aunt Zhang’s family was building a new house.

Their conversation shifted from the effects of the recent rebellion to the unusually cold winter this year.

“Second Brother Fan! You have guests?” Zhang Jinniu, wearing tattered winter clothes, was enthusiastically digging the foundation when he saw the two and greeted them warmly.

Yinniu and Tieniu were making adobe bricks from the soil Jinniu dug up. Hearing the greeting, they put down their work and respectfully addressed Fan Jin, “Second Brother Fan, is there something you need help with?”

It was unusual for Fan Jin to come down to this part of the village unless there was something important. Seeing him with a friend, they wondered if he needed assistance.

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask us!”

Fan Jin had been casually walking with Bai Man Shan and had unknowingly ended up here. Hearing their words, he suddenly remembered he did have something to discuss with them.

He immediately asked, “Jinniu, Yinniu, are you still making charcoal to sell this year?”

“Yes, but Mother said that with spring plowing next year, we might not have time to make adobe bricks and build the house. So, we’re focusing on building the house first and will start making charcoal in the twelfth lunar month;

By then, it will be close to the New Year, and we should be able to sell it easily in Niutou Town. If we can sell it quickly, it will save us a lot of time.” Jinniu wiped the sweat off his forehead and replied with a grin.

In just the past two or three months, they had earned more rice following Second Brother Fan than from their entire harvest!

Some of the rice was exchanged for coarse grains, so now everyone could eat their fill at every meal. If, as the old village head predicted, there was a big flood next year, the new house they were building would be useful for storing the extra rice!

Thinking about the new house and the rice, Jinniu and the others felt even more grateful to Fan Jin and Shuiqing.

Originally, they had planned to sell the rice to buy tiles, but thanks to Shuiqing’s generosity in allowing the three brothers to help with the work, they had earned a total of one tael and two qian of silver. Along with nearly two taels of silver they had already saved, their mother said they could not only build three large earthen houses but also use tiles for the slanted roof of the kitchen.

Fan Jin smiled and said to them, “Your sister-in-law mentioned that it’s cold this year, and we need charcoal for brewing wine. It’s a hassle to buy it from outside and transport it back, and it’s inconvenient for you to sell it. So, we thought we’d buy it directly from you.”

Jinniu, hearing this, quickly responded, “The wood doesn’t cost anything, it’s just a matter of burning an extra kiln. Second Brother Fan, you’ve helped us so much, how can we charge you for it!”

“That’s right, we don’t have to transport it far, we’re close by. It’s just a bit more labor, no need for money. Second Brother, you go back and tell sister-in-law, we’ll burn the charcoal and deliver it to your house!” Yinniu’s head shook vigorously in agreement.

Charging for a bit of charcoal would be ungrateful!

Fan Jin understood their goodwill, but he also knew that burning charcoal was truly hard work, not as easy as they made it sound. Besides, he wanted a mutually beneficial arrangement, not to take advantage of them. So, he explained softly, “We need a lot of charcoal. If you start burning it, we’ll take all the kilns you produce. We’ll pay the same price as outside. If you think we’re buying a lot, you can give us a discount or a bit extra, but we absolutely must pay for it.”

Jinniu and the others could tell that Fan Jin was firm despite his gentle tone. After a moment, Jinniu, the eldest, made up his mind and said, “Alright, we won’t have to go to Niutou Town to sell it, saving us a lot of time. We’ll definitely offer a better price than in Niutou Town!”

But he knew their mother would probably scold them for this decision.

Yin Niu hesitated and asked, “Second Brother, we can burn a batch of charcoal every three to five days, producing two or three kilns at a time. Won’t that be too much?”

If they didn’t use it all, by next winter it would be old charcoal. They could always burn new charcoal next winter.

Fan Jin didn’t hide anything and directly explained, “We need it not just for keeping warm while brewing wine this year, but also to prepare for the rainy season next summer. It’s best if we don’t need it, but if the rainy season is long, the wood and grass will be damp, and there will be no dry wood to cook with. You should prepare extra if you have the time.”

Right now, Yan Qiu and Xing Hui were busy brewing wine, unable to spare time for chopping firewood; Shuiqing and Da Hu each had their tasks; he and Da He had to go to the city every day to deliver rice wine, only returning at noon and spending the afternoons with Ling Ran gathering firewood. They had already prepared a storage room full of firewood, but it was still not enough!

Charcoal burns longer and takes up less space, making it ideal for storage.

Jinniu and the others were speechless for a moment before reluctantly nodding in agreement.