PFC Chapter 155 Preparing for the Cold Winter
Chapter 155 Preparing for the Cold Winter
Seeing Huanxi's tactlessness, Lu Yuanke frowned and cursed her inwardly for being ungrateful. But he still said with a fake smile, "I heard that Sister Huanxi's cooking skills are excellent. I wonder if I can have the honor of trying her cooking skills?"
If his grandfather hadn't forced him to come over and get acquainted with this peasant woman, he would never have had anything to do with this country woman.
Zhao Huanxi saw the contempt in the man's eyes and wondered if he was crazy. He was trying to get close to him even though he was familiar with him. However, this man was the eldest grandson of the clan leader, so he couldn't offend him directly.
With the same fake smile, he replied, "Cousin Lu, what a coincidence! I recently injured my hand and can't cook. Please come back later. I have something to do, so I'll go home first. See you later."
She smiled apologetically and raised her injured right hand to show that she was not lying.
Xu Qingzhao took over the conversation and said, "Cousin Lu, Huanhuan's hand is seriously injured. I'm going home to change her dressing. We'll leave first."
After saying that, he waved the whip, and the carriage raised a cloud of dust, choking Lu Yuanke.
After the car drove away, Lu Yuanke looked towards Zhao Huanxi's house with resentment. Xu Qingzhao was just a poor hunter, how could he compare to himself? He himself had the reputation of a Tongsheng.
You still want to snatch people from me now? No way.
Looking at Xu Qingzhao's expensive clothes, how could a poor hunter afford them? It must have been the peasant woman who paid for them. And if I could take over the carriage and the house, and pass the imperial examinations to become a scholar, juren, or jinshi, I could divorce the peasant woman and have any woman I wanted.
Thinking of this, his eyes were full of greed, as if all of Zhao Huanxi's property was in his pocket.
At the Zhao family, after unloading the goods, Zhao Huanxi called out a few children and gave them several crabapple bell-shaped hairpins of various styles that he had bought in the town.
Even Meixiang got a share. The little girls hurriedly put them on their hair after receiving them, shaking them so hard that the bells jingled.
Meixiang (Jinglan) ran to Zhao Huanxi, bowed, and said with a smile, "My niece Meixiang thanks you for the gift. I will study hard and live up to your expectations."
Seeing Meixiang acting like a grown-up, Zhao Huanxi smiled, praised her, and let her go. This girl had changed a lot. A month ago, she was still quiet and gentle, but now she seemed to have a lot more tenacity.
"Madam, can you take me to see the medicinal fields I'm responsible for?" Su Yun lowered her head and spoke from the side.
Zhao Huanxi forgot that Su Yun had not been settled yet, so he brought her to everyone to introduce her to them, and finally went to the medicine field.
"There are very few medicinal herbs here at the moment. Once the garden over there is built, you'll have a lot more to take care of. And I remember you'll take care of the orchids over there."
Huanxi pointed at the orchids under the eaves, and Suyun's jaw dropped. Such precious orchids, displayed here like wild vegetables, were simply... a waste of natural resources.
She noticed the resentful aura coming from Su Yun and said a little embarrassedly, "It's not because you don't know how to take care of it that you want to find a professional."
Su Yun was captivated by the variety of orchids: Wenshan, Ziyun, Guiyu, Dendrobium, and even some she didn't recognize. Any pot of these would be coveted by the wealthy.
Su Yun turned around and said, "Madam, please leave them to me. I will take good care of these treasures."
"By the way, Suyun, do you want to build a greenhouse for the winter? I'm afraid it's too cold here and these flowers can't survive."
Su Yun thought for a moment and said, "We can build a greenhouse and cover the windows with oil paper to let in light."
Zhao Huanxi recalled the kangs of his past life in Northeast China and wondered if they existed here. So he discussed this with Su Yun. They learned that there were kangs, fire walls, and even floor kangs similar to floor heating.
Zhao Huanxi was startled. The fact that there were so many ways to keep warm meant that they could be used in winter. This also meant that the winter was very, very cold.
How could she endure the winter without any of that in her house? It didn't matter to her, but what about the children and the guests?
So he told Suyun some trivial matters and rushed to the foundation of the new house.
The construction team over there was working in an orderly manner. When they saw the owner coming, the foreman started to greet them.
"Mrs. Zhao, the foundation is almost finished today."
The foreman's surname was Cui, and Zhao Huanxi called him Foreman Cui.
"Foreman Cui, I have something I want to ask you."
"Madam, please feel free to speak."
"It's cold here in the winter. I didn't add any heating equipment when I renovated the house. Now, while there's still time, I want to add some. I wonder if a kang (fire wall) or a floor kang (fire wall) would be better?"
Foreman Cui pondered for a moment. He had taken on this kind of work before, but it usually involved very few people and required a small house. This house was so large that adding a kang would be unsightly. Adding a fire wall would also significantly increase the cost.
As for the kang, it is the most suitable if it is only used in the main house and guest rooms. After all, it is beautiful.
So he told Huanxi his idea. Seeing that it was possible, he discussed feasible solutions with Foreman Cui, and finally they decided on the floor kang.
Because there are many houses, the total cost including labor and materials is one hundred taels of silver.
Zhao Huanxi felt a sudden shock in his heart. One hundred taels... A few months ago, it seemed like an astronomical figure to him, but now he could still come up with it if he could bear it.
So he promised to pay after the construction was completed. After all, it had to be inspected. What if the construction was not good and the foreman just ran away with the money?
Foreman Cui had no choice but to write a contract and get both parties to sign it before they agreed.
When Zhao Huanxi returned home and looked through his money box, he found that he had paid three hundred taels for repairing the house and buying the land for farming.
There were about eighty-six taels left at that time.
Up to now, there are only more than fifty taels of scattered flowers left... It seems that I have to go to the town to sell orchids again.
But this time there is no need to act, and he can go directly to the eldest master of the grain store, Mr. Chen, Chen Yunrui.
He happily returned to the backyard and pulled out a tiny ginseng from the ground, as nimbly as pulling out a radish.
I took it to the kitchen and gave it to Chunliu, asking her to make some pigeon soup or something. I also asked her to make more to nourish them.
Chunliu and Xiahe nodded in agreement. After spending the day with Madam, they realized that although Madam is a very hard-working person, she is quite open-minded if you work hard.
She and Xia He hadn't been out in the street for two or three years. Although the town was small, they still had a great time strolling around. They even had wontons at the street corner. Although the taste wasn't great, it gave them a sense of the bustle of the street. That was enough.
Even Xia He was humming a little tune by the stove. She looked much more energetic and was fantasizing about when she would go to town next time.
Zhao Huanxi took out the gift she had brought for Yu Yan. The children had finished school by then and were having fun playing with Xu Jinchu. She saw that Yu Yan's door was open.
Zhao Huanxi knocked on the door and walked into Yu Yan's room, saying with a smile, "I brought you something good."
Yu Yan looked up and said, "Oh? Let me see?"