Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1243 The New House Opens for Business

Shi Jia carried the baskets at the front, followed closely by Wang Tieshan carrying his little nephew and his sister. They passed through houses and arrived at a brand-new stone-paved road.

The stone-paved road is three meters wide. Looking up, at the end of the stone-paved road are three tiled houses in a row, with a wall more than one meter high enclosing the houses.

After walking along the stone path, which was only a dozen meters long, Shi Jia arrived at the courtyard gate. He put down the carrying pole, unfastened the wooden bolt, and pushed the gate open with all his might.

With a creak, the not-so-spacious courtyard and three large tiled houses came into view.

Suddenly, tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. Shi Jia quickly wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "This is our new home!"

"Wow! It's so big and beautiful!" Wang Tiehua rushed in excitedly and circled around the yard.

The courtyard ground was exceptionally level. Two meters outward from the eaves, and the area leading to the courtyard gate, were paved with bluestone slabs.

The bluestone slabs used for paving the ground and roads were all sourced locally, specifically from the rocky ground beneath their house. There used to be quite a few bluestones there, but Shi Jia used them all for paving the ground.

"I'm glad you like it." Shi Jia was also very happy. She put the basket under the eaves and toured the new house with her younger siblings.

Even the bewildered little one stared wide-eyed, clapping and cheering.

Three tiled houses were built side by side, each about 20 square meters. The outermost one, on the left, was the bedroom, where Shi Jia, Wang Tiehua, and the little guy lived. The middle house was divided into two parts: the front was the main hall, and the inner side had a small room of about 10 square meters, which served as Wang Tieshan's bedroom.

The far right is the kitchen, which is also divided into sections. Inside is a storage room, which will be convenient for Shi Jia to store grain in the future. Outside is the stove, and opposite the stove are simple cabinets, a sink rack, a water tank, and other items.

The kitchen has another door that leads directly to the yard. Shi Jia plans to build a shed in the yard in a few days that connects to the kitchen, so that they can cool off and eat there in the summer.

Behind the house, next to the kitchen, Shi Jia specially had two small rooms carved out of the hillside to be built, which could be used as an outhouse and a woodshed.

Leaving the courtyard gate, there is a downward staircase, about four meters high. Going down the staircase, there is a rocky beach of about a hundred square meters. At this point, against the wall of the house, three simple houses have been built, which can be used to raise livestock and store firewood.

Down the rocky beach, there's another staircase leading to a pool. The stream flows down from the mountain, into the pool, and then continues downstream to join a nearby river.

From now on, Shi Jia and his group can fetch water directly from here without having to go to the village's ancient well, which will greatly save them time.

After touring the house, the family felt a sense of security, thinking, "We'll live here from now on."

"Yes, sister-in-law, I will work hard to farm and support you," Wang Tieshan said earnestly.

"And me, I can also plant rice seedlings, grow vegetables, and raise chickens!" Wang Tiehua listed her skills.

"Okay, let's work together!" Shi Jia let herself sink into this bittersweet emotion. "Then you guys go pack your things now, and sister-in-law, go cook!"

"Sister-in-law, let me help you start the fire!" Wang Tiehua said.

"Sister-in-law, I'm going to fetch water!" Wang Tieshan said, picking up the wooden bucket and heading out of the kitchen door.

Shi Jia smiled, placed the little guy on the floor of the main room and let him stay there by himself. Then she picked up a basket and went into the kitchen.

I took out the wild vegetables I picked yesterday and the pork I bought specially from the basket, went into the kitchen, and started steaming the rice first.

I bought the steamer in the city yesterday. Besides the steamer, I also bought a lot of other things, such as an iron pot, a kitchen knife, a wooden basin, bowls and chopsticks, a quilt, fabric, etc., and spent all my money.

Although she was penniless, she was content. And with the mountains behind her, she refused to believe she couldn't support her family!

Shi Jia then took out a few more sweet potatoes, peeled them, cut them into chunks, and put them into a large earthenware bowl for later use.

After briefly rinsing the cutting board, Shi Jia picked up the marbled pork belly and began slicing it. This piece of pork belly wasn't small; if eaten sparingly, it could last for several days. But Shi Jia gritted her teeth and finished cutting it all!
"Sister-in-law! So much meat!" Wang Tiehua, who was tending the fire, was taken aback when she saw it.

"Yes, today is our first day in the new house, let's eat well!" Shi Jia said, cutting the food even more skillfully.

Wang Tiehua cheered, but immediately hesitated, "Sister-in-law, should we save some for tomorrow?"

Shi Jia took a moment to look up at her and saw that her clear black and white eyes were filled with reluctance. She couldn't help but smile and said, "Don't worry, after we finish eating, your sister-in-law will go up the mountain to find something to eat. You won't go hungry!"

Thinking of the abundant resources in these mountains, Wang Tiehua immediately nodded, "Okay!" They went up the mountain the day after arriving in Dashan Village. And, incredibly, they found a 50-year-old ginseng!
It was because of this ginseng that they were able to build such a beautiful house.

With hope in her heart, Wang Tiehua stopped hesitating and began to eagerly anticipate the midday feast.

Li Yunniang has an exceptional talent for cooking, which allows Shi Jia to almost fully utilize his culinary skills. With such superb skills, the dishes he makes are so delicious that the Wang siblings would practically swallow their tongues in admiration.

Just thinking about it made Wang Tiehua choke on his own saliva several times.

"What's wrong?" Shi Jia asked, puzzled. Why was the little girl coughing so much?
"Waaah, sister-in-law, I can't control myself when I think about your cooking." Wang Tiehua's face turned red, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Pfft!" Shi Jia couldn't help but laugh. "Isn't that an exaggeration?"

Wang Tiehua shook his head vigorously.

"Okay, turn the heat down." Shi Jia put a few pieces of fatty meat into the pot to render the oil. As the sizzling sound rang out, the fatty meat in the pot turned golden brown. At this moment, he added minced ginger and garlic, and with a "sizzle," a rich aroma spread.

Shi Jia quickly stir-fried for a couple of seconds, then added the chopped pork belly, a little salt, and stir-fried until the meat turned golden brown. Then she added the sweet potato chunks, stir-fried for a couple of seconds, and added water to simmer.

By this time, the rice had already emitted a rich and fragrant aroma, mixed with the scent of meat, making the two people in the kitchen and the uncle and nephew in the main room salivate.

"Gurgle~ gurgle~" The rhythmic symphony rose and fell, and after the initial embarrassment, the group burst into laughter.

As the pot bubbled and released an even richer aroma, Shi Jia lifted the lid and used a wooden spatula to check the firmness of the sweet potatoes. "They're ready to be taken out of the pot!"

Wang Tiehua immediately placed the large earthenware basin next to the stove, saying, "Here you go, sister-in-law!"

Shi Jia used a spatula to scoop out the food bit by bit. "Alright, take it to the main room!"

"Mmm!" Wang Tiehua's eyes were already glued to the braised pork belly and sweet potato.

Shi Jia continued working, first cleaning the iron pot, then adding a ladle of water, bringing it to a boil over high heat, and blanching the wild vegetables. After cleaning the iron pot again, she added the reserved fatty pork, stir-fried it until the oil was rendered, added minced garlic to sauté until fragrant, and then added the wild vegetables to stir-fry.

Soon after, the stir-fried wild vegetables were ready.

“Woohoo, delicious!”

"Ow~"