1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 199 Choosing a date to start building construction
Liang Ziqiang couldn't bear to eat the several kinds of fish he caught today, such as black bass and six-line fish, so he sold them all.

I picked a few small yellow croakers and toothfish, which are relatively cheap and nutritious, and brought them back to cook.

Chen Xiangbei was cutting the fish skillfully, and she suddenly recalled the time when Liang Ziqiang sent small yellow croaker to her home.

She pursed her lips, as if recalling the taste of her mother's cooking of small yellow croaker, and said to Liang Ziqiang with a smile:
"In the past, you sent small yellow croakers to my house, and my mother stewed them with white tofu. The tofu and the fish were both more tender than the other, and they were delicious. Unfortunately, we don't have tofu at home now..."

Now that she has the yellow croaker, she actually wants to eat tofu again. It is said that pregnant women become greedy, and it seems to be true.

There is a tofu maker in the village. Would you like to go and have a look? If it is made in the morning, it must have been sold out on the street; if it is newly made in the afternoon, there may be some left in the house in the evening.

Just as I was thinking about it, I heard a vendor's voice coming from the path in front of the door: "Tofu, fried tofu, white tofu, fresh tofu made this afternoon!"

Liang Ziqiang was convinced on the spot and said to Chen Xiangbei: "Wife, you are so lucky, there is no one else like you!"

The tofu seller's surname is Ding Dong. He usually sells the tofu he makes on the streets of the town. Sometimes he also sells it in his own village, but the villagers' consumption capacity is limited, so he doesn't sell it often.

Chen Xiangbei glanced at him with her almond-shaped eyes: "Isn't that also a treat for you? Go quickly!"

Liang Ziqiang ran to the road and stopped Ding Dong. He looked at the water tofu and could tell by the smell that it didn't look like the leftover tofu that hadn't been sold out that morning. It was still relatively fresh:

"Give me two pieces of tofu!"

Chen Xiangbei was busy for a while, preparing two dishes, one was small yellow croaker with water tofu, and the other was a handful of stir-fried Chinese mustard greens.

The small yellow croaker was cooked to everyone's satisfaction. Chen Xiangbei loved it, and Liang Ziqiang thought it tasted good, almost exactly the same as the one her mother-in-law cooked at her parents' home.

Chen Xiangbei has basically inherited her mother-in-law's good cooking skills.

The only drawback is that the tofu just out of the pot cannot cool down immediately. Liang Ziqiang burned his lips when he took the first bite.

"Slow down, are you afraid that I can't finish it all by myself?" She watched from the side, feeling angry and amused, "You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, don't you know?"

Liang Ziqiang blew twice and sighed:

"Midnight tofu is the best. It is the perfect temperature, delicious, and not too hot!"

Chen Xiangbei was very confused:
"Who gets up in the middle of the night to make tofu for you? What's the right temperature?"

"If you don't know, just think about it slowly. You know which part of your body is the most tender and softest?" Liang Ziqiang said, and couldn't help but glance at his wife.

Chen Xiangbei really didn't understand what "eating tofu" meant until she saw his wandering eyes glancing at her. Now she understood. She was so angry that she put down her chopsticks and secretly pinched him:
"Let's eat. I'll see if you dare to speak so frivolously again!"

Liang Ziqiang didn't shy away: "Who is not serious? You have already taken advantage of me!"

"You? It's almost like dried tofu..." Chen Xiangbei turned his hand and slandered.

Liang Ziqiang usually kept his word on this kind of thing. That night, he naturally retaliated fiercely, with the soft tofu that was not too hot...

The next day, the wind and waves rose again and Liang Ziqiang was unable to go out to sea. At the same time, he remembered that today was the day Lin Baixian had agreed to leave for his cousin in the city.

Father Lin didn't drink today. When he saw Liang Ziqiang coming, he moved a stool over for him to sit on.

Lin's mother kept stuffing things into Lin Baixian's big cloth bag. Actually, he didn't have much to bring at home, so all he stuffed in were dried fish, dried sweet potatoes, and the like.

Normally, she scolded Lin Baixian very harshly, but now that he was really going on a long journey, Lin's mother wanted to stuff all the things she could bring from home into his bag.

When sending Lin Baixian to the village entrance, Lin's father and mother turned their heads away, and it seemed that they were wiping their eyes. Lin Baixian's younger brother sent him to the village entrance and then hurried to school.

Liang Ziqiang helped him carry some things and continued walking forward for a while.

Before leaving, Lin Baixian suddenly remembered something, stopped, took out a piece of paper from his bag and handed it to Liang Ziqiang:
"By the way, Aqiang, this is the number my cousin left me. You can reach him by calling this landline. I have memorized this number by heart. Take it. If there is anything important at home, you can find my cousin and ask him to tell me!" Nowadays, when a person goes far away, it is basically like a kite with a broken string. It is really difficult to contact him. After all, there are no mobile phones, and communication is basically still at the stage of letters.

Or else the news would be passed around through acquaintances, and a piece of news would have to be passed between several people, and sometimes it would take several days for it to reach the ears of the intended recipient.

Liang Ziqiang took the piece of paper and asked, "Do your parents and your brother know this number?"

"I know. I copied them all for them." Lin Baixian nodded.

"Don't worry, I'll call you if anything happens."

Liang Ziqiang hit him after he finished speaking:
"Damn, you act like you're not going to be out for long. Remember, those groupers on the island might be back soon, waiting for us to go fishing together!"

Thinking of the happy days when they went fishing for grouper on Wuming Island, Lin Baixian's bitter face finally smiled:

"Great, there are still several really valuable grouper species that haven't shown up yet, maybe we can catch them in the future!"

After sending Lin Baixian off and returning from the village entrance, Liang Ziqiang did not go home directly, but went to Lin Quansheng's home.

"Uncle Quan, are you at home?"

"A Qiang, you're here? Come, I've selected two good days for you, suitable for starting foundation construction!" Lin Quansheng pulled him to sit at the table.

Liang Ziqiang came here today to ask about an auspicious day to start construction. Last time when he was looking at land in Juzipo, he had already agreed to ask Lin Quansheng to help choose an auspicious day.

"Which two days?" Liang Ziqiang asked as he sat down.

"One is November 11, which is the 23th day of the th lunar month, which is also the Minor Snow..."

"Can we start construction on the day of Xiaoxue?" Liang Ziqiang thought that the Xiaoxue solar term was not suitable for starting construction.

"It has nothing to do with the solar terms. It's different every year. This year's Xiaoxue is a good day, suitable for breaking ground, praying, building a house, installing doors, repairing, laying foundations, setting incense, starting fires, training cattle and horses, breaking ground, putting up beams, and erecting pillars. I calculated that it's suitable for your horoscopes. It would be best if you choose this day to start breaking ground and laying the foundation!"

"The 23rd, isn't that just a few days away? I'm afraid it's a bit tight. We haven't started hiring yet, and it will take time to find a brick and tile factory." Liang Ziqiang said after a brief calculation.

"Then you can look at another day, November 11, the 27rd day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, the fourth day after the light snow. This day is also suitable for breaking ground and laying the foundation, and it does not conflict with your horoscopes!" Lin Quansheng suggested.

Liang Ziqiang thought about it and felt that there was still quite some time before November 11, so it was enough time to make preparations.

Lin Quansheng continued to analyze, "Last time you said you wanted to build four rooms, right? It depends on how many people you hire. If there are not enough people, it may take two months to complete the construction. But if you hire enough people, more than 11 days will be enough. In this way, if the construction starts on November 27, it will be almost finished after New Year's Day. You can tidy up and choose an auspicious day to move in, so that you can move into the new house in time for the New Year!"

"Okay, let's choose November 11th for now. Uncle Quan, you know more about what to expect on the day of construction. Can you tell me more?"

It’s not that Liang Ziqiang is superstitious. There are always some customs involved in such a big thing as building a house, and they should be followed.

Lin Quansheng also explained to him the corresponding ritual requirements.

Liang Ziqiang remembered everything, and before leaving, he gave Lin Quansheng some money to set a date.

Lin Quansheng always clearly marked the price in this regard, believing that each time he checked the date, it was equivalent to a day's work for others. In the village, small workers were paid two yuan, and big workers were paid three yuan, so Lin Quansheng charged the big worker, three yuan.

After returning home, Liang Ziqiang put some money in his pocket and started going to the brick factories and tile kilns in the next town to look for bricks and tiles.

This year's New Year's Eve will be February 1984, 2, and there are only a little more than two months left until the Chinese New Year.

In order to move into the new house and celebrate the New Year on schedule, many things must be done quickly...

Burst

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(End of this chapter)