Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 62 - 60 Auspicious Ground-Breaking

Chapter 62: Chapter 60: Auspicious Ground-Breaking

Chapter 62 -60: Auspicious Ground-Breaking

Today is the first day of construction for Xiao’er’s new house.

Shen Chengyao and Mrs.

Liu got up early to prepare offerings for the ritual.

Yesterday, Shen Chengyao bought a large rooster, and now he’s in the courtyard plucking its feathers.

Mrs.

Liu is boiling sweet dumplings in the kitchen.

The dumplings were made by Jingrui and Jinghao, filled with peanuts and sesame seeds.

All three men in the family love dumplings, so they had requested plenty to be made.

Therefore, Mrs.

Liu made a large potful, planning to share some with the main family and Uncle Shen’s family from the fourth branch.

Xiao’er helped prepare a dish of vegetarian food and then made longevity buns.

The filling for these buns was made from sugar, cooked flour, and pomelo soaked in lard, which was mixed to create a very sweet filling.

She shaped the buns like peaches, and after they were prepared, she took out a pitaya and cut it open.

She scooped out a piece of fruit and spread a little red on the buns, creating a beautiful peach-shaped bun with a white base and a rosy hue.

The day before yesterday, as she was leaving, Xiao’er secretly placed nine apples, nine tangerines, three pitayas, and a pomelo in her basket.

These fruits were for the ritual.

The pitaya she just took out was one she retrieved from her space that day.

Xiao’er steamed only a dozen dumplings.

She put nine of them on a plate for the ritual.

The two brothers were eager to try these unusual peach-like buns.

“You can’t eat these.

There are still three in the pot.”

Mrs.

Liu put the remaining three in a bowl, “I knew you guys would want to eat them when I saw how appealing they looked.

Each one of you siblings takes one.”

“Mother is the best!” Jinghao raced over and grabbed two, handed one to Jingrui and one to Xiao’er, then he started eating his own.

As he ate, he mumbled appreciatively, “Mmm, so sweet, so sweet!”

“Mother, are all the things ready?” Xiao’er glanced at the sky outside.

It was now around seven in the morning, and her family had been up preparing since just past four.

“Almost there, boiling lotus seed and lily sugar water and stewing a pig’s head.

It will be done soon.”

“Let’s pack the cooked dishes into the food boxes and load them onto the ox cart.

It’s almost time.

We need to get to the field as soon as possible.”

Mrs.

Liu glanced at the sky and began to pack the sacrificial items into food boxes swiftly.

Shen Chengyao put the stewed pig’s head into a plate, poured the sugar water into a big bowl, put them into two separate food boxes, and carried them out to the ox cart.

“Father, go invite grandfather to join us, please.” Today was an auspicious day for the construction of their house, and it was only right and proper to invite Old Mr.

Shen to be present.

“I’m on it.” Shen Chengyao agreed and headed towards the main house.

He had mentioned this to Mr.

Shen last night, who had agreed to it.

As Shen Chengyao approached the main house, Mr.

Shen was already dressed and ready, “Father, shall we depart?”

Mr.

Shen smiled and replied, “Absolutely, I was just about to head out.”

Shen Chengyao then asked Mrs.

Shen, who was sitting on the kang bed, “Mother, would you like to come as well?”

Mrs.

Shen barely lifted her eyelids and retorted, “What for?

They’re not building the house for me.”

Stung, Shen Chengyao found himself temporarily speechless.

Old Mr.

Shen glared at his wife and said, “What’s wrong with you so early in the morning?

Ignore her; let’s get going.

We don’t want to miss the auspicious timing.”

With a sheepish smile, Shen Chengyao said, “Well then, mother, we’ll make a move first.”

Mrs.

Shen merely grunted.

Shen Chengyao, ready to assist Mr.

Shen, started to lead him outside.

However, Mr.

Shen brushed off his hand, stating firmly, “I’m not so old as to need help walking.

Let’s go.”

The two men left the courtyard.

Mrs.

Liu had already loaded all the items onto the ox cart.

The family boarded the cart and headed toward the entrance of the village.

At the vacant land by the entrance to the village, the foreman, named Liang, and a dozen workers were already waiting.

Other people had begun preparing the rest of the vacant land as well.

Foreman Liang, seeing Shen Chengyao’s family, hurriedly came forward to greet Mr.

Shen and then said to Shen Chengyao, “Quickly, the auspicious time is upon us.

Once it’s done, we can start work.”

Shen Chengyao nodded in agreement, then moved the square table from the bullock cart, placing it in the middle of the wasteland where they planned to build the house, facing the most auspicious direction for the day.

Mrs.

Liu also began to arrange the offerings one by one, including chicken, fish, pig’s head, sweet rice balls, longevity buns, lily sugar water, apples, tangerines, pomelo and vegetarian food, ten items in total, signifying a perfect life for those who will live in this house.

Mrs.

Liu lit joss sticks and poured tea and wine for the ritual, first praying in the middle of the house, then moving the square table to the four corners of the house for the same.

After praying for the foundation of the house, she also prayed for the two hills nearby.

Foreman Liang dug a shovel of mud in the ground, declaring, “Let the good work begin!”

Shen Chengyao set off the firecrackers, marking the end of the ritual.

The construction workers had to be provided with meals.

Mrs.

Liu, unable to handle the tasks alone for these ten plus people, asked Mrs.

Lu and Xu Wenhui to help out, doing three meals a day for fifteen coins.

Xu Wenhui was very pleased to be asked to help, and kept expressing her gratitude.

Mrs.

Liu knew she lived a hard life all by herself and wanted to help a little.

Mrs.

Lu voluntarily came to help without asking for a wage, but Mrs.

Liu knew that her husband’s family, like most, had more places to spend money than to earn, and now that her family was well-off due to the pearls and ginseng, she wouldn’t short her pay.

Whenever there were big events in the village, many people would come to see the excitement, let alone now that the wasteland was being reclaimed.

As such, nearly every family had come en masse to commence cultivation.

This led to Mr.

Shen being surrounded by many people, all of whom were admiring the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren.

Everyone was vying to compliment him, resulting in Mr.

Shen constantly smiling.

Recently, Mrs.

Li was going around flaunting that Shen Chengzong had followed her brother to the south to do some business and when he returned, they would also build a big house.

After the groundbreaking, Shen Chengyao prepared to go to the town to buy vegetables on a bullock cart, and Xiao’er was going along.

She had many vegetables in her space.

It was the right time to take them out and eat them, so she also wanted to come along and then find a chance to bring out the vegetables.

“Dad, you go ahead to buy meat, I’ll look for some good vegetables here.

Once you finish buying, come to this street and find me,” said Xiao’er.

“Alright.

Take care of yourself.”

“Yes, I will.”

It hadn’t been long since their family split, and the vegetables from their vegetable garden were certainly not enough to feed so many people.

Xiao’er took a look at the vegetables on the market and then found a deserted alley, where she took out two baskets of mustard and spinach from her space, as well as a sack of radishes, half a sack of chestnuts, and caught two pheasants.

There were a lot of pheasants in her space now.

She put the radishes and chestnuts in the basket, then dragged the two baskets of vegetables out of the alley and waited for Shen Chengyao on the road side.

Shen Chengyao soon came back.

Apart from the meat, he also bought some rice, flour, and cooking condiments like soya sauce and salt.

Seeing the fresh vegetables Xiao’er bought, he praised her, “I didn’t expect that such fresh vegetables could be found now.

How much is it per pound?”

“Two coins.

These two baskets of vegetables are the best in the whole street.

They were originally sold for three coins per pound, but since I took all of them, the old man gave me a discount.

I also bought two pheasants.”

“Xiao’er is really capable.

Just right, all the good meat was sold out today.

I could only buy five pounds of meat, which along with the two pheasants will be just enough.” Shen Chengyao loaded the vegetables on the bullock cart and hurried back to the village, as they still had to wash the vegetables and cook them when they got back.

Any further delays would cause the workers to miss their meal time.

Returning to the village, Mrs.

Liu, Mrs.

Lu, and Xu Wenhui took the ingredients to the stream to wash them.

In the meantime, Shen Chengyao went to set up temporary stoves.

He just used bricks to build three of them, then went to cut several bamboo poles, made several bamboo racks, and used a long bench to hold them up to serve as a desk and dining table.

After lunch was prepared, Mrs.

Liu scooped a large bowl of food for Jingrui to take to Mr.

Shen and Mrs.

Shen.

Their family made plentiful food for the house building.

There was a large pot of rice, a large pot of corn buns, and two types of meat dishes: stir-fried chicken with chestnuts, pork slices stewed with radish, Mapo tofu, as well as mustard soup.

The hearty meal made the ten plus workers praise the Shen family for their generosity.

Not only did they pay generously, but they also ensured the meals were sufficient.

They had never eaten so much greasy, meaty food before, and it tasted absolutely delicious.

One look at the empty pots without a single grain of rice or drop of soup left said it all.

After everyone finished eating, they went back to digging the foundation.

Shen Chengyao suggested they rest, but they declined.

With such a generous employer, they were determined to work even harder.

These were all honest and kind-hearted people who knew the principle of empathy in treating others.