"Hey, let's go back and make some more things for these two kids."
Uncle Niu left muttering to himself, and Li Huan led the strong men to start digging the foundation. Everyone quickly found the job they were best at and started working enthusiastically.
With a smile on her face, Li's mother led a group of aunts to build a few simple stoves. The fire in the stove was used to boil water in the morning and cook at night, and the firewood was always brightly lit.
Li Le even brought a group of children to help her collect firewood at the foot of the mountain. One bundle of firewood was exchanged for two fruit candies. Her second sister-in-law gave her a big bag of fruit candies, so much so that all her teeth fell out.
Cheng Qiao also rides a bicycle to travel between the county town and Xiangyang Village. Every time he does, he brings back ingredients that everyone likes to eat, from chicken, duck, fish to rice and flour.
But Cheng Qiao was not stupid. He mixed millet and black flour into rice and white flour in a ratio of one to two, or even one to three, so everyone was eating a mixture of two parts of flour.
No one would doubt why Cheng Qiao took out so many things. In the eyes of the villagers, Cheng Qiao was now a fat sheep. Taking advantage of this opportunity to eat a little more would be considered a bargain.
"Sister-in-law, you are really enjoying your life in your old age. Cheng Zhiqing hasn't even married yet, but you are still spending money lavishly. You have to control your spending."
"Why should I manage my son? I can't manage my daughter-in-law, so how can I manage her?"
Mother Li curled her lips. Anyone who asked her to control her daughter-in-law was a bad person. She didn't grow up drinking her own milk, nor did she eat her own food. Why should she control her
"You can't just ignore it. Cheng Zhiqing has so much money on him, and he just spent it like that. Don't you feel bad about it?"
"Why should I feel bad? It's not my money. Cheng Qiao can marry my Huan'er, so my family is still marrying up. Oh, your food is about to burn, turn it over quickly."
"oh oh… "
Aunt Li is Li Huan's distant aunt. They don't usually interact with each other, but of course she would take advantage of it. When she heard that the dish was burnt, she quickly picked up the spatula and spatula a few times.
By the time she put the vegetables into a large bowl and wanted to brainwash Li's mother, Li's mother was already washing the vegetables with Aunt Wang. She could only pick up a pair of chopsticks resentfully and take a few bites first.
Three days later, Li Huan's new house had been built, covering an entire acre of land. There was a firewood shed, kitchen, tool shed, and a large chicken coop in the front yard.
A pigpen was built in the backyard. It seemed that Li Huan wanted to raise mission pigs at home. As long as he raised mission pigs, he could also raise one for himself.
The vegetable field next to it has not been cultivated yet. In a few days, the Li family will naturally plant some drought-resistant vegetables. By then, there will be cabbage and radishes in the winter, which can be pickled and eaten as a meal.
The house is the common two-room, four-room, or even six-room house in rural areas, with a living room in the middle and rooms on both sides. The rich build more rooms on both sides, while the poor build fewer.
This time, Li Huan built a two-in-one house, with a room on each side of the living room. However, Li Huan has also made preparations for expansion. He wants to see how many children he can have and then expand. Otherwise, it would not be good to have empty houses with no one living in them.
Everything is ready, now all that’s left is to raise the beam. This requires choosing an auspicious day. Fortunately, the day after tomorrow is an auspicious day. They went to invite the village chief Chen Aidang to preside over the beam-raising ceremony.
Everyone is looking forward to this day. In this poor era, raising the beam is a big event. Both adults and children can fill their stomachs on this day.
Li Huan, Shouhou and others carried the main beam covered with red paper into the front hall of the new house, while Li's mother placed pig, fish, chicken, goose, eggs and tofu on the table, but omitted any offerings such as incense and candles.
Several men, including bricklayers and carpenters, gathered around the table, talking nicely and toasting each other. This was the beam sacrifice ceremony. After the beam sacrifice was over, several craftsmen carried the main beam onto the roof.
When the beam was being raised, firecrackers blasted and Chen Weidang came over in his best clothes. He was going to sing the song for raising the beam and shout loudly: "Raising the beam, good luck and good fortune!"
Cheng Qiao nervously watched them put up the beams, as this was the most important foundation for whether they would live a stable life in the future.
Seeing them lift the main beam up steadily without any deviation or tilt, I felt relieved.
After everyone had placed the main beam steadily, Li Huan moved a red cloth bag filled with red dates, peanuts, rice, wheat, and evergreen to the roof and placed it in the middle of the beam, symbolizing "blessings, wealth, longevity, happiness, and everlasting prosperity."
Next comes the favorite ceremony of all villagers, throwing the beam.
Chen Weidang stood on the beam, looking at the crowds of people below, and couldn't help but secretly thought that the second-rate guy had spent a lot of money this time. Look at what's in the basket, it's all real good stuff:
He put his hand into the basket and began to shout loudly: "Throw the beam to the east, the sun will rise in the east and the house will be full of red; throw the beam to the west, the unicorn will deliver a child and it will be a double happiness; throw the beam to the south, your descendants will be top scholars for generations; throw the beam to the north, the rice will be abundant every year."
In an instant, the four directions of east, south, west and north became a sea of joy. At first, the children picked up candies and steamed buns with laughter. When someone picked up one-cent, two-cent and five-cent coins, the scene reached a climax.
The village women swarmed over, their eyes fixed on every child's hand. If a child picked up money, the money would be snatched away.
The children whose money was robbed were extremely anxious, and so were their parents and grandparents. The men who had originally just watched the children and women making a fuss could no longer sit still and joined the ranks of those who were robbing money.
As soon as Li Huan saw that something was wrong, he quickly took a small basket from Cheng Qiao's hand and ran out. In the basket were a hundred one-cent coins that Cheng Qiao had exchanged for just this kind of thing.
"The second-rate guy is throwing money around, chase him."
People with sharp eyes saw Li Huan throwing money into the air while running outside. The silver coins sparkled in the sun, attracting most people.
"Oh my god, the second-rate guy really got rich. This much money must be worth several dollars."
"Why do you care about him? The wife he married is Cheng Qiao, an educated youth who has a lot of money."
"That's right, hurry up and grab it, even if you grab a penny more, it's good."
When Chen Weidang saw that most of the villagers had chased Li Huan out, he finally calmed down. This was too crazy. He would definitely criticize this second-rate guy after the beam-raising ceremony was over.
After the beams are thrown, everyone moves out of the new house to let the sun dry the beams, which is called "drying the beams".
At this time, everyone went home to get their bowls, because the host had to cook to entertain the craftsmen, helpers, relatives and friends, and also distribute red envelopes.
Chen Weidang was the first one to get the red envelope. He squeezed it lightly and realized that there was a big black ten-dollar note inside. He shook his head slightly. This kid really knows how to behave.