During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

On such a cold day, moving from a woodshed to a warm room with a heated kang bed, it would be strange if the "noble person" wasn't moved!

I certainly won't hesitate to give them gold, silver, or estates in return!

Of course, despite her scheming, Ye Qingqing genuinely wanted Ye Dazhuang to have a warmer and more comfortable place to stay so he could have a good winter's rest.

Although my family lived in an adobe house, at least it could keep us from the wind and rain, and we could heat the earthen bed, making the whole family warm and cozy.

How can you leave a stranger to freeze in a drafty woodshed?

When we Chinese treat our guests, we value warmth and hospitality!

The sun was setting in the west, and all the bricks and tiles had been unloaded and piled high in the yard, like a small mountain.

Ye Qingqing paid the deliveryman the remaining few taels of silver, and then discussed it with Ye Dali.

"Brother, tonight find a few families with strong laborers, hire a few more people, and build the woodshed tomorrow."

Ye Dali nodded quickly.

"Sure! Nowadays, everyone is staying home all winter, so it's easy to find people to help."

"Those who come to work will be provided with two meals a day, lunch and dinner, including stewed cabbage and pork, and plenty of steamed buns."

Ye Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "In addition, the wages will be calculated according to the town's rates. There's only one thing: you have to do the work quickly and well, otherwise I won't do it!"

Ye Dali chuckled憨厚ly, "Don't worry, I'll definitely get it right!"

"Stewed pork with cabbage again, and plenty of steamed buns, plus full wages!"

Li Chunyan pouted and said, "Where can you find a master like this? Nobody would be willing to put in the hard work!"

If anyone doesn't work properly, don't even mention you, Er Ya Tou, I won't let them off the hook!

We finally managed to buy about a hundred pounds of pork, thinking it would last us most of the winter, but now we're going to use up quite a bit of it.

It would be a lie to say I don't feel sorry for you!

But thinking about it, once the woodshed is built, Ye Dazhuang might stay there for who knows how long before leaving. After all, the house is still his own.

She wasn't so petty after that.

With a solemn expression on his strong, resolute face, Ye Dazhuang stood up and said,

"Uncle, elder brother and sister-in-law, thank you for the expense."

As he spoke, he glanced at Ye Qingqing and gave a slight smile. "Thank you."

Ye Qingqing responded with a faint smile.

"Hey, we're all family, no need to be so polite!"

Li Chunyan said warmly, "Brother Dazhuang, ever since you came, you've been going hunting in the mountains with Erya. You've definitely contributed to the improvement in our family's life!"

Ye Dali smiled憨厚ly.

"Yes, Brother Dazhuang, it's just like home here."

"We're building the woodshed these days, Dazhuang, you can share a bed with me tonight."

Ye Youliang took a puff of his pipe and said with a smile, "Dali, add more firewood tonight and make the kang (heated brick bed) warmer."

"Yes. Thank you, Uncle."

Ye Dazhuang nodded.

"Big Brother Zhuang, we're all family."

Ye Cuicui followed behind her father, blushing as she whispered, "Once the woodshed is finished and we put new quilts and mattresses on it, it'll be so warm!"

Ye Dazhuang turned his head slightly and said, "Thank you, Third Sister."

The moment their eyes met, Ye Cuicui's face flushed red, her eyes widening like a startled rabbit. She quickly lowered her head, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her clothes as she mumbled something like a mosquito's buzz.

"Thank you, thank you for nothing..."

Oh dear, why is her heart pounding like a headless fly, it just won't stop?

It's so embarrassing! Every time Brother Dazhuang talks to her, she gets shy!

Big Zhuang must be laughing at her to death inside!

Look at my second sister, she never blushes or feels embarrassed when she talks to Brother Dazhuang.

I wish she were like my second sister...

"Father, before it snows, I want to go up the mountain again tomorrow. Maybe we can catch something."

Ye Qingqing thought for a moment and said, "Otherwise, when the heavy snow closes the mountain, we'll just have to stay at home."

Ye Youliang's eyes widened.

"We have plenty of rice, noodles, and meat at home, and it's not far from snowing, so why are you going up the mountain?"

What if you get cold? Besides, the wild boars, wolves, and bears in the mountains are starving. The time before hibernation is when they are most ferocious. What if you run into them?

"Stay home and behave yourself!"

"Just go take a look, whatever. We need to feed everyone while we build our woodshed. If we happen to run into a wild boar, we won't have to go to town to buy meat!"

Ye Qingqing smiled coquettishly and said, "Oh, Dad, don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing."

Ye Youliang took a breath, "..."

He's cherished his daughter like the apple of his eye for fifteen years, how could he not worry about her!

I was worried that my daughter was too focused on getting married and wouldn't be ambitious, but now she's so ambitious that I'm even more worried than before!

Ye Dazhuang said calmly, "Uncle, don't worry, I will protect Qingqing."

……

That evening, Ye Dali and Li Chunyan went to several houses to find workers.

When people hear that they will be provided with meals and wages, who wouldn't want to go?

It was agreed upon that very night, and we'll go to work first thing tomorrow morning.

Actually, the Ye family was well-liked in the village. When they wanted to build a house, everyone was willing to lend a hand.

Plus, his family has made a fortune, who wouldn't want to share in their good luck?

The next morning, Ye Qingqing was awakened by the lively sounds of a market in the courtyard.

"Brother Dali, why didn't you call me when you were building your woodshed? We practically grew up together, peeing and playing in the mud!"

"Dali, don't let your age fool you, I used to build houses for people in town!"

"Dali's wife, you didn't even tell your aunt about this good thing? Your aunt doesn't know how to build a house, or even how to cook a meal!"

"Yes, yes, Chunyan, so many people need to eat. We women are just sitting around doing nothing, so it'll be good for us to help you prepare the food!"

……

Li Chunyan couldn't hide her smugness as she busily told this person and that person.

"Auntie, it's so kind of you to come and help. How could I manage all this by myself?"

"That's right! When it comes to work, with so many people to eat, how can we manage without your help, aunties and grandmas..."

"My second daughter said that helping out is still work, and she should be paid the same as someone who actually does the work..."

……

Holy crap!

It's just a small woodshed being built, but it sounds like the whole village has come?

Ye Qingqing raised her hand and pinched the space between her eyebrows to slowly clear her mind.

Let's first look at today's divination slips to see if there's anything worth going up the mountain for.

She focused her mind and summoned the divination sticks...

"Clang..."

The shimmering divination sticks appeared before my eyes, and after a few shakes, golden characters appeared:

[Zhongji: On a hillside in the hills, there is a wild boar's den in the bushes. There are two large and three small boars. You may be able to hunt them, but be careful as the wild boars are fierce and can attack people.]

[Xiao Ji: Frozen mushrooms are growing in abundance in the birch forest on the north slope of Qiushan. You can collect them for a small profit.]

[Extremely ominous: Bears are known to roam the North Peak; provoking them could be fatal.]

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!

Two adults and three children! We're rich!

Also, we need to dig up frozen mushrooms. If I remember correctly, chicken stew with mushrooms is a famous dish in northern China!