The village head said, “Now that the crops have been planted, it’s not yet time to hoe the fields. Everyone in the village has some free time, so we can finish building it in a few days.
“A bamboo house can’t be lived in immediately after it’s built. It needs to be left in the sun to dry first.
“How about this? Don’t wait any longer. I’ll go back to the village now and call some people over. Everyone can work together and get it done.”
Xiao An thought about it and agreed. “Then I’ll trouble you, Uncle.”
“We live in the same village. There’s no need to talk about trouble.”
After saying that, the village head turned around and went down the mountain to find people.
Knowing that others would be helping her build the house and that she would need to provide them with lunch, Xiao An hurriedly took some white flour out of her space.
She also took out the wild vegetables and mushrooms she had gathered a few days ago and put them into a basket, placing it opposite the bed in the bamboo house.
The jar of lard was placed beside the basket.
Fine salt did not exist in this era, so she could only use coarse salt.
After preparing everything, Xiao An continued skinning the badger.
Before she could finish, Wang Dashan and Wang Dashi brothers came up with a handcart, followed by Zhu Cui.
Knowing that Xiao An had scallions, Zhu Cui brought a large handful with her.
When Zhu Cui came up and saw so many rabbits, she immediately cursed angrily.
“Those good-for-nothing things! First that beast Lin Feng ruined your melon seedlings, and now these pests are coming to destroy them too. Are they trying to keep you from living?”
Xiao An smiled. “It’s fine, Auntie. Anyone who dares to ruin my crops will either compensate me with money or pay with their life.”
Zhu Cui was delighted when she heard this.
“That’s right! If those things don’t have money, then they can pay with their lives.”
She took the skinned badger from Xiao An, washed it clean under the spring, placed it on the chopping board, and began gutting it.
She removed the layer of fat from inside the badger. She planned to render it into oil later. Badger oil was very effective for treating burns and scalds.
After removing the fat, she chopped the badger into pieces. With every chop, she muttered,
“Let’s see you ruin the crops again—”
The village head soon arrived as well, bringing an elderly man with him.
He carried two baskets filled with various tools.
The old man was over sixty years old. His hair and beard were completely white, and he was thin and wiry. His name was Zhao Guangxing, and he was the best person in the area when it came to building walls and stacking structures. No one within a hundred li could match his craftsmanship.
Wang Dashan had learned his skills from the old man.
Xiao An hurriedly stood up.
“Grandpa Zhao, thank you for coming to help.”
Zhao Guangxing waved his hand.
“Girl, we’re all farmers. Helping each other out is nothing. Don’t take it to heart.”
Xiao An nodded.
“Alright, then I won’t be polite with you.”
The brothers Wang Dashan and Wang Dashi pushed the handcart around collecting stones. Both were strong and hardworking, and they quickly filled one cart after another.
The village head went to dig up yellow earth, carrying two baskets at a time with a shoulder pole.
Zhao Guangxing took a rake and gathered a large amount of dried grass. He carefully picked out the dry branches and fresh weeds, leaving only the dried grass.
Within an hour, he had gathered a huge pile.
The old man put down the rake, picked up an old kitchen knife, and began chopping the dried grass into pieces on a wooden board.
A straw chopper would have been much more convenient and faster, but unfortunately, no one in the village owned one. They could only use this slow and clumsy method.
After Zhu Cui finished chopping the badger, she chopped up a rabbit as well. Once she finished with the rabbit, she began cleaning the mushrooms.
Xiao An started preparing the dough, only to realize that she had forgotten to bring yeast.
There wasn’t enough time. Without yeast, the dough wouldn’t rise.
Eventually, Xiao An found an opportunity to secretly take some yeast from her space and added it to the dough.
Then she squatted outside the bamboo house and continued skinning rabbits.
After Zhu Cui finished cleaning the mushrooms, she carried the iron pot outside, scrubbed it clean, and lit the stove.
Once the pot had dried, Zhu Cui dumped a basin of meat into it.
It contained one rabbit and one badger, both of which were quite plump.
Fortunately, the pot was large enough, and the firewood was sturdy. Before long, the blood had been cooked out.
Zhu Cui picked up the chopped scallions from the chopping board and was about to put them into the pot when Xiao An quickly stopped her.
She then picked up the spatula, scooped some lard into the bottom of the pot, and let it melt.
Zhu Cui felt a little distressed.
“Xiao An, the pot is already full of meat. There’s no need to add oil. We have to be careful with our supplies.”
She was speaking honestly. When living in poverty, one couldn’t afford to waste anything. Otherwise, there would be even less food and clothing.
Xiao An smiled.
“We’re doing hard physical work today. Let’s eat something delicious. I don’t usually cook like this.”
She then told Zhu Cui to add the scallions.
Xiao An stirred the meat with the spatula, and the sizzling sound filled the air. The delicious aroma quickly spread in every direction.
Xiao An tended the fire while Zhu Cui went to steam the buns.
“Xiao An, didn’t you just knead this dough? It’s only been a little over half an hour, and it has already risen!”
Xiao An replied, “A few days ago, when I steamed the buns, I saved a piece of dough as a starter. And the weather is warm, so it rose quickly.”
Zhu Cui had no idea that Xiao An had secretly added something called yeast.
There was no kneading board, so they could only knead the dough in a large basin, shaping each piece into a bun.
Xiao An made up her mind. There were simply too many things this household needed. From now on, she would make sure they had everything they needed.
When the rabbit meat was almost done, they added another basin of mushrooms.
After about half an hour, the stewed rabbit meat was ready.
The aroma made everyone’s stomachs rumble.
“It smells so good.”
Zhu Cui smiled as she washed the pot, placed a steaming rack inside, and began steaming the buns.
By lunchtime, the Wang brothers had brought back several carts of stones, more than enough for the construction.
The village head had also carried up many loads of earth. He mixed the chopped dried grass that Zhao Guangxing had prepared into the soil, making a large pile of mud.
It was time for lunch.
There was no dining table, so the basin of stewed rabbit and mushrooms was placed on a large stone.
Everyone gathered around the stone, sitting on smaller rocks as they began to eat.
White-flour steamed buns!
Other than Xiao An, these people hadn’t eaten white-flour buns for two or three years.
Wang Dashan and Wang Dashi were young, strong, and had healthy appetites. Each of them ate eight large buns, each about the size of a small bowl.
The village head and Zhao Guangxing also ate quite a lot.
They hadn’t even eaten such a meal during the New Year.
After finishing their meal, nobody rested. They immediately began digging deep trenches in the ground, setting the bamboo poles upright, and building stone walls around them both inside and outside.
It was exhausting work.
Xiao An said to Zhu Cui, “Auntie, please wash the pots and bowls. I’m going to town.”
Zhu Cui hurriedly stopped her.
“Are you going to buy things again? Xiao An, just eat whatever we have at home. Don’t buy anything.
“I told you, when you’re living your life, you have to be careful with your money. You can’t keep wasting it like this.”
Xiao An took Zhu Cui’s hand.
“Auntie, just look at the work everyone is doing. How can we do it without strength?
“I know you’re worried that I’ll spend all my money and end up struggling later. Don’t worry. I have my own plans.”
After saying that, she carried a large basket on her back, went down the mountain, and headed straight for town.
Xiao An bought thirty pounds of rice. She still had another thirty pounds in her space from her previous trip to the county town, and she hadn’t eaten much of it.
With this additional thirty pounds, they would have enough to eat while building the house.
She also bought ten pounds of pork, several Chinese cabbages, thirty pounds of potatoes, and ten pounds of glass noodles.
By the time she returned to the bamboo house carrying everything, Zhu Cui had already finished rendering the badger fat and had stored the oil in a small clay jar.
The three rabbits had also been chopped into pieces and washed clean.
Seeing how many things Xiao An had bought, Zhu Cui still felt distressed about the money and nagged her for quite a while.
Xiao An smiled.
“Auntie, tonight we’ll make rabbit meat stewed with potatoes. We should stew all three rabbits. The weather is warm now, so they’ll spoil if we don’t cook them.”
Zhu Cui nodded.
“That’s true. If we don’t cook them right away, they might go bad.”
Her eyes fell on the ten pounds of pork in the basin.
“You bought so much meat. Aren’t you afraid it’ll spoil?”