BXBX NOVEL Chapter 25
Li Qing wiped the tears from his face. “Sister, you’ve suffered.” With that, he put down the book basket and went out to chop wood with his machete.
“Zhaodi’s father, let’s go to the forest to dig up fertile soil. Yu’er said that that stuff is good for farming.” After saying that, Li Mei went out to pick up the wicker basket and walked towards the forest behind the mountain with Liu Changmin.
Li Yu said to Zhaodi, “Cousin, knead the noodles and wait for us to cook them.”
“Got it, Cousin.” Zhaodi nodded and scooped up the noodles.
When they reached the forest, Li Mei pointed at the soft and fat soil. “Yu’er, do you think this soil is really useful?”
“It’s useful. Let’s dig this up and go home.” Li Yu picked up the hoe and started digging. With a light scoop, she could see the grayish-black rotten soil below. Li Yu dug it up and piled it up. Liu Changmin and Li Mei dug for a while and used the hoe to pour it into the basket and carry it back to the wasteland.
The three of them dug one by one. They were busy until the sun set and a few large piles of fertile soil were piled on the wasteland.
Seeing that the sun had set, Li Yu said to Li Mei, “Aunt, after you finish picking these, you and Uncle can come home for dinner. I’ll go back and cook noodles.”
“Sigh! You can go back first!” After Li Mei agreed, she dug into the pot and poured the fertile soil into the basket. Li Yu took the hoe home, washed her hands, and went to the kitchen to get a few big bowls to put the ingredients.
Zhaodi placed the washed cabbage leaves on the stove. Li Yu asked her to call Laidii and Li Qing back for dinner.
Li Yu rolled the noodles into dough, cut them carefully, shook the noodles loose, and placed them in the pot. When they were half-cooked, she put the vegetable leaves in and cooked them with the noodles. Then, he scooped them into a bowl and scooped a spoonful of the chili rabbit meat sauce she had made in the afternoon into the bowl.
Laidi and Li Qing were sweating as they ate a bowl of noodles. As they ate, they praised Li Yu. “Sister, the noodles with meat sauce are too delicious. It’s spicy and delicious.”
After the two of them finished eating, Zhaodi asked Li Yu, “Cousin, are you planning to make this sauce to sell? I see that you have included rabbit meat, peanuts, and sesame seeds. Can these expensive things make money?”
Li Yu calculated for a moment. “50 catties of chili, 25 copper coins, six rabbits, 500 copper coins, and more expensive vegetable seed oil,” After Li Yu estimated, “These things probably cost a tael of silver in total. If you can fill 70 to 80 jars like this and sell each jar for 30 copper coins, you will have a profit of more than a tael of silver. Do you think we can make it?”
Everyone’s eyes lit up when they heard that. Li Mei said happily, “Of course we can do it with double the profits. Let’s pack a dozen cans and bring them to town tomorrow to see how much we can sell them for.” Li Mei got up and planned to wash the cans.
Li Yu hurriedly called out to her, “Aunt, after the jar is washed, you have to heat it with salt water again. It’ll be troublesome if people get diarrhea after eating it.”
“Okay, whatever you say.” Li Mei went to the well to get water and wash the jars.
Li Yu hurriedly boiled a basin of salt water. The sisters brought the washed jar over and washed it with salt water. Then, they poured it into the frame.
The next morning, Li Yu woke up and saw that Li Mei had already gotten up to make breakfast.
Li Yu went to the place where the noose was placed in the forest and picked up four dead hares and two live gray rabbits.
Li Yu touched the dead rabbit and found that it was still warm. She placed the rabbit in the space and changed the position of the rope. Then, she carried the two live rabbits back and gave them to Laidi.
Li Yu instructed Laidi, “Remember that rabbits can’t eat wild grass with dew. They like to eat milk grass and lettuce leaves.”
“Cousin, I’ll remember.” Lidi happily carried the rabbit and went to look for Liu Changmin to weave a cage.
After the meal, Li Yu began to pack the meat sauce into the backpack. Li Qing came over and said to Li Yu, “Sister, Sir said that he wants to rest for five days after five days. He wants us to come back for the Zhongyuan Festival and help his family harvest grains.”
“Okay.” Li Yu handed a can of spicy meat sauce to Li Qing. “Bring a can of meat sauce to your teacher and thank him for his guidance.”
“Thank you, Sister.” Li Qing took the meat paste and carried it towards the school. Li Yu and Li Mei carried the meat paste to town.
When Li Qing arrived at the entrance of the school, he saw the handsome gentleman and his smiling fox-like servant, Ruyi, standing at the door to send off the two guests.
Li Qing stepped forward and bowed. “Good morning, sir.”
Zhou Jia looked at Li Qing and smiled. “Hurry up and go in! You have to take the test for the things you learned yesterday.”
“Yes, sir.” Li Qing bowed and handed over the hot mince. “My sister made this minced meat sauce, sir. She said to thank you for your guidance.”
Zhou Jia thought that Li Qing’s sister was also like the women in the village who were infatuated with him. She was probably thinking of giving him something through her brother. He reached out to take the meat sauce and handed it to Ruyi. “Okay, thank your sister for me.”
He turned around and walked towards the classroom. After Ruyi returned to the house with the meat sauce, he handed it to the festive-looking Ji Xiang. “Ji Xiang, I heard that this meat sauce is very delicious. I’ll give it to you.”
“I happen to be hungry.” Ji Xiang carried the meat sauce to the kitchen. He uncovered the steamer and took a steamed bun to break it open. When he pulled out the wooden stopper from the jar, he smelled a strong spicy fragrance.
Ji Xiang took a spoon and scooped up a spoonful. She smeared it on the steamed bun and took a bite. It was numb and spicy. He chewed until the meat inside was fragrant and spicy. He muttered to himself, “This Ruyi has lied to me so many times. Why did he change this time?”
Li Yu and Li Mei arrived in town. Liu Changmin brought the two of them to the place where livestock was sold. Liu Changmin looked at several places and finally spent eleven taels of silver to buy a strong yellow ox.
The broker brought a few people to register before Liu Changmin paid the money and led the cows to the place where they sold wooden tools.
Li Yu looked at the yellow ox and asked in confusion, “Uncle, I saw that the cows in front were quite tall and the price was cheaper. Why did you choose this one?”
Liu Changmin pointed at the bull horn and said with a smile, “Look at the protruding part here. It’s the growth ring of a cow. One ring represents one year in terms of age. If you want to buy a cow, you have to buy the young one. You also have to have to check for good teeth, a wide back, and thick and smooth fur on your limbs. According to these, you can see that this cow has all these. It doesn’t matter if the price is higher.”
Li Yu was enlightened when she heard that. She didn’t know that buying a cow required so much knowledge.
When they arrived at the place where the cart was sold, Liu Changmin chose a cart that had been painted with tung oil. The seller boasted that he had no problem selling this cart made of alder wood for decades.
Li Mei pointed at the mixing bucket in the wood shop and said to Li Yu, “Yu’er, we’re going to cut the grains soon. Let’s buy a mixing bucket to use at home.”
Li Yu walked into a shop and saw the mixing bucket and Wind Grain Machine inside. She felt that they were not much different from the ones used in her previous life in the countryside. She felt that a transmigrator must have created these things.
Li Yu simply bought the mixing bucket and the Wind Grain Machine. The shop assistant helped to carry them to the handcart. The few of them secured the cart and went to the incense and paper money shop to buy the sacrificial items. Then, they went to the market to buy some onions, ginger, garlic, and some vegetables. They left the town and walked towards the official road.