Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12053

"Uncle and Aunt are having a barbecue, that's a great idea! Barbecue is really delicious. In the summer, it goes well with a bowl of watermelon juice, and in the cold, it goes well with a bowl of hot tea. I could eat five pounds of barbecue!" Luo Fengtang was helping Yang Ruoqing prune the winter plum blossoms in the small garden in the backyard. When he heard Yang Ruoqing say that Xu Yuanming left early because he couldn't wait to prepare for the barbecue, Luo Fengtang couldn't help but speak up.

Although Yang Ruoqing, Yang Huamei, and Xu Yuanming all said yesterday when they were discussing this money-making idea that they would not let a fourth person know about it before the business stall was set up.

Even to the Tan family and Old Yang, Yang Huamei would not utter a single word.

However, for Yang Ruoqing, sharing this matter with Luo Fengtang was not considered a violation of the rules.

In Yang Ruoqing's view, she and Luo Fengtang were completely one, and there were almost no secrets between them, so this matter could be discussed.

Besides, what kind of person is Luo Fengtang? If you tell him something, it's guaranteed to stay in his ears and won't come out of his mouth like other people do.

Unexpectedly, the barbecue whetted Luo Fengtang's appetite.

Yang Ruoqing smiled and glanced at him beside her, "Great! When Auntie and the others set up their barbecue stall, let's go support their business. I'll order five pounds of skewers for you, so you can eat your fill!"

"That's great! I'm looking forward to it!" Luo Fengtang laughed.

Yang Ruoqing raised an eyebrow. "What's so difficult about five pounds of barbecue? If you get me a barbecue grill, I can make it for you in the next few days. However, to help my aunt and the others keep it a secret, I can't make it."

There is competition in the business world. Yang Ruoqing passed on the idea of ​​barbecue to Yang Huamei and the others, so she must not let others, especially the second roommate, know about it before their business officially opens.

What if Xiu Hong and Sixi change their minds at the last minute? Wouldn't that mean they're stealing their aunt's business?
“I understand,” Luo Fengtang patted Yang Ruoqing on the shoulder. “Once your aunt’s barbecue business picks up, we’ll just go to their stall and support their business.”

Yang Ruoqing nodded happily, "With Uncle's enthusiasm, the barbecue stall may be set up as early as after the Lantern Festival, or at the latest by the end of the first lunar month."

"As for the braised dishes, they might be ready even sooner. We'll be in for a treat then."

Okay, Yang Ruoqing has come clean. One of the reasons she encouraged Xu Yuanming and Yang Huamei to go barbecue is because she herself is a glutton and can't resist barbecue!
Making a barbecue at home requires preparing a lot of things, which is a bit of a hassle.

The Luo family has a teppanyaki grill. I've had teppanyaki twice in their backyard, but you have to prepare a lot of things beforehand.

After all that preparation, all for just a few skewers on the plate, I was exhausted and my appetite was greatly reduced!

"By the way, Qing'er, speaking of your uncle and his family running a barbecue stall, I actually have a question," Luo Fengtang said.

He had wanted to ask this question last night, but Yang Ruoqing fell asleep right after talking about barbecue...

"What's your question?" Yang Ruoqing also had a question about Luo Fengtang's question.

Luo Fengtang said, "As far as I know, barbecuing definitely requires using charcoal to slowly roast food. So, where are they planning to get this charcoal?"

"We can't just buy everything from outside, can we? If we do, the good smokeless charcoal is too expensive, and it's not cost-effective to add it to the cost."

"If the charcoal is of very poor quality, I'm afraid that the roasting process would be unbearable for both the customers and their eyes and noses!"

Hearing Luo Fengtang's question, Yang Ruoqing showed a kind smile like a teacher.

What a thoughtful student! They've even learned to think proactively and find the gaps/knowledge points the teacher didn't cover.

"Speaking of this, we didn't actually discuss it in that much depth yesterday," Yang Ruoqing said truthfully.

"I only provided the idea of ​​a barbecue. As for the fuel issue, they'll have to figure that out themselves. They can use the same fuel as they used for roast duck. I believe Uncle Xu Yuanming can come up with a solution."

"Where did they get the charcoal for roasting ducks before? Do you know?" Luo Fengtang asked again.

"Huh?" Yang Ruoqing's big eyes rolled around, and the 'teacher's' eyes were also filled with confusion.

"I haven't actually asked that question before, but I do know that their roast duck tastes pretty good. It has a fruity aroma and is more fragrant than other roast ducks on the street."

Otherwise, Xu Yuanming, who entered the roast duck business later, would not have been able to surpass the competition and defeat the other roast duck shops, becoming one of the only three remaining roast duck shops in Qingshui Town.

The other two businesses survived because one owned the shop and didn't need to pay rent, so selling roast duck wasn't a problem and they didn't have to worry about the competition.

The other shop didn't have a storefront; instead, they would push a small cart around the street every afternoon, selling roast duck, salted duck, poached chicken, beggar's chicken, and other similar items.

Xu Yuanming and Yang Huamei's roast duck shop had the highest costs among them because it rented a storefront in Washi.

However, it has the best taste and the highest customer traffic, so that's the current situation in the roast duck market in Qingshui Town.

"The reason why your sister's aunt's roast duck shop can retain customers is not only because of its high quality and low price, but also because of its best taste." When Luo Fengtang saw that Yang Ruoqing's side had crashed, he reversed roles and patiently explained the reasons to Yang Ruoqing.

"The taste is composed of two aspects: the duck itself and the ratio of seasonings used by the cook."

"The second aspect comes from the choice of fuel and the temperature of the fire."

"Your uncle and his family use fruitwood charcoal in their roast duck oven, so the roasted duck meat has a hint of fruit fragrance and is oily but not greasy."

"Fruitwood charcoal is undoubtedly the best choice for grilling food. However, it is quite expensive outside. In our Wanghai County area, the price of fruitwood charcoal is very attractive."

Luo Fengtang learned these things partly from his own experience, and partly from conversations with Xu Yuanming where the latter mentioned some of them, which is why he remembered them.

"That's why, unless it's the twelfth lunar month, a festival, or a special day like market day, they usually prepare enough charcoal for two roast ducks. They stop working once they've sold out or not, because they need to control costs."

“Nowadays, if you're doing barbecue, you definitely need to use more charcoal. Whether a customer buys one skewer or ten, they need to light a fire. That’s why I’m asking this question: where does the charcoal for barbecue come from?”

Yang Ruoqing was completely stunned.

Oh no, the roles of teacher and student have been completely reversed. She's a fake teacher, stumped by her student's question. "The charcoal from before must have been bought, but this... this is really unclear." Yang Ruoqing shook her head. "Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore, I can't figure it out."

Luo Fengtang said, "Qing'er, there's a deputy general in my army whose family has relatives in the charcoal business. If your sister, aunt, and uncle ever come to you for help again, you can tell me, and I'll introduce you to some connections..."

Yang Ruoqing's eyes lit up. Holding a plum blossom branch in one hand, she stood on tiptoe and gave Luo Fengtang a big kiss on the lips as he was speaking.

This unexpected happiness disrupted Luo Fengtang's thoughts, causing his adrenaline to surge dramatically.

Who would have thought that such a casual favor could bring me such immense happiness?

Just as Yang Ruoqing was about to retreat after her 'sweet sneak attack,' Luo Fengtang grabbed her lower back and pulled her back into his arms.

He bent down, returning her his passion tenfold; their happiness would multiply and multiply again...

……

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, amidst the sound of firecrackers, the renovation of the east room of the old house and the construction of the stove officially began.

The craftsmen were the three Li brothers.

Before they arrived, each branch of the Yang family sent a male representative to the east room to hold a family meeting with Old Yang's wife, Tan. They basically finalized every detail of the project, the wages for the three Li brothers, the source of materials for the renovation, the size of the stove, what furniture needed to be made, and even where the three Li brothers would eat their two meals a day while they were working.

Although the three Li brothers repeatedly emphasized that they did not want wages, Old Yang's style of doing things meant that he would never let others work for him for free.

The old man and woman knew that if they really didn't give them the money, the fourth couple would probably have a lot of complaints.

At the same time, it also makes it seem like our side is too small-minded.

So Old Yang offered the three Li brothers a flat rate of 4 taels of silver for the entire job, including building the stove, making tables and chairs, renovating the roof tiles, repairing the doors and windows with wood, and even iron pots and hanging pots.

This does not include the cost of food.

Each day, the three brothers' two meals were delivered by different branches of the Yang family in turns, and they ate whatever their own family ate.

Construction will officially begin on the eighth day of the first lunar month. If the weather is favorable, it can be completed in ten days. After drying for another ten days or so, it will be ready to be lit and the stove opened at the earliest by the end of the first lunar month or at the latest by the Dragon Head Raising Festival in the second lunar month.

Old Yang and Mrs. Tan were overjoyed and eagerly awaited the arrival of all this.

The three Li brothers were also very happy, because there was no farm work to be done in the fields during the first month of the lunar year, so they were just sitting around doing nothing.

The three brothers got together and discussed it. They had plenty of timber, soil, and stones in Mianniu Mountain, and they had plenty of strength.

The only things they had to pay for were roof tiles and a few iron pots and pans.

All these things combined, at best, would only amount to one or two taels of silver.

So, if we sit down and do this job, we'll earn a pure profit of 3 taels of silver. The three brothers will each earn 1 tael of silver, which is quite considerable for the first month of the lunar year. It's like a great start to the year.

Moreover, during the ten days or so of working there, the three brothers could come to Changping Village on an empty stomach in the morning, and eat lunch and dinner in Changping Village, which saved the family about ten days' worth of food. It couldn't be better!
As for Yang Huaming and Liu Shi of the fourth branch, they were very satisfied with the generosity of Old Yang and Tan Shi.

This satisfaction was not only kept in their hearts, but also written all over their faces. So much so that Liu herself ignored the fact that Tan had embarrassed her on New Year's Eve, and called her "Mother" loudly and clearly!

Yang Huaming even patted his chest and guaranteed that when the work started, he would come over to help out whenever he had free time, working as a laborer for free and not taking any money from Old Yang.

"Go to hell, you bastard! You dare ask your old man for money? I'll beat you to death!" Old Yang laughed angrily and kicked Yang Huaming's butt.

Of course, he couldn't hit him. Although Old Harden's body was still strong, Middle Harden's agility was clearly superior to Old Harden's. You have to admit that age matters.

Those who are not convinced and force themselves to do high-intensity exercise in their 40s are more likely to die prematurely.

Time flies, and the Lantern Festival is here in the blink of an eye.

Luo the blacksmith finally returned from Zhoujia Village. He had spent seven or eight days with Luo Da'e, which was a long time. But in Luo the blacksmith's eyes, the days spent with his sister were over in no time. It was too fast!
"I think Da'e is in a bad situation!" This was the first thing Luo the blacksmith said to his family after returning home.

When the old man said those words, Wang Cuilian and Yang Ruoqing were both stunned in the main room. The two women looked at each other.

Then, Yang Ruoqing turned her gaze to Luo Fengtang. Today, Luo Fengtang personally went to Zhoujia Village to bring Luo the blacksmith back for the Lantern Festival. Luo Fengtang should know about Luo Da'e's situation.

Meeting Yang Ruoqing's questioning, or rather, her seeking-verification gaze, Luo Fengtang remained calm and gave a barely perceptible nod.

Yang Ruoqing frowned secretly. What exactly did Luo the blacksmith mean by "something's not good"? Could it be that the virus in her body had spread on a large scale, and other parts of her body had also developed symptoms?

After all, the disease that Luo Da'e suffered from was an incurable chronic illness.

At this moment, Wang Cuilian directly asked Luo the blacksmith, "What's wrong with Da'e? Tell me already, you're driving me crazy by only giving half a story!"

The blacksmith Luo looked gloomy and unwell, clearly having been very worried about Luo Da'e during his time at the Zhou family's house.

“These past few days, Da’e has clearly had a poor appetite. She can only drink some soup and water, and she can’t swallow any solid food.”

"Can't swallow it? But last time she came to our house to pay her respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I saw that she ate quite well, just a little slowly..." Wang Cuilian said.

Luo the blacksmith glanced at her. "The first day of the Lunar New Year? That's 14 days ago!"

Wang Cuilian was speechless and could only look at Luo the blacksmith with worried eyes, listening to him continue.

Luo the blacksmith sighed and continued, "Now when she eats, it's like she's swallowing razor blades, tears streaming down her face. But if she doesn't eat, she can't take it anymore. She gets so hungry that her vision goes black and she feels dizzy. In the two days since I came back, she hasn't had the strength to walk around in the yard. She can only put a mattress on the rocking chair, and when the sun is out, she asks Xiao Huan and the others to move the rocking chair into the yard so she can lie there and bask in the sun for a while... I think Da'e isn't going to stay long."