Pig Killer

Chapter 163

Huang Yuanji sat on the warm bed and said with emotion, "If my family hadn't made money this year, I would have had to repair the palace." His dark eyes were devoid of light as he said, "Some villagers who wanted to avoid corvée labor were directly arrested by the officials."

"Is this forced labor?" Shen Hui'e looked at him in surprise. How could this be like conscription?

"I don't know why it happened." Huang Yuanji frowned and said, "Anyway, if you dare to hide, the police will catch you. The others all behaved themselves after seeing this." He guessed, "Everyone knows how hard it is for the common people, so it's normal for them to want to hide."

"It's so nice to be at home!" Huang Zhaoye pouted, "especially this year." He looked at Second Aunt with sparkling eyes and said, "It would be great if it could be like this every year."

"Not likely." Huang Yuanji looked at the gloomy sky outside the straw curtain and said, "We have to rely on the weather for our livelihood. We have to depend on God's mood. Otherwise, if there is drought or flood, life will be difficult."

"Is it going to rain?" Li Nu said, looking at the sky.

"Look at the weather, it's hard to predict." Shen Hui'e looked at them with clear eyes and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore, let's study quickly!"

"Big Chong's mother, Big Chong's mother." Huang's mother walked into the yard carrying a bag of grain.

Shen Hui'e quickly got off the bed, walked over in her straw sandals, took the sack from her hand and said, "Why are you here?"

"Come in, come in and talk, it's cold outside." Shen Hui'e said while carrying a sack, "What did you bring?"

"Corn!" Huang's mother said with a smile when she heard it.

"I don't lack food." Shen Hui'e looked at her gently and said, "There are many people at home, so you can keep it for yourself!"

"What about Dang Yuanji and the others' rations?" Huang's mother knew that she would refuse, and she had already found an excuse.

"Uh..." Shen Hui'e really couldn't refuse, so she stopped being pretentious and said, "Come in and sit down."

"No, I'm still busy at home!" Huang's mother clapped her hands and said with a smile.

"Grandma." Huang Yuanji and the others all came out.

"Learn well from your second aunt." Huang's mother looked at them lovingly and said.

"Yeah!" The children nodded in unison.

"I'm leaving now. I'm afraid it's going to rain today." Huang's mother said, looking at the gloomy sky.

"Then I won't keep you here. I'll send you off." Shen Hui'e looked at her gently and said.

"No, no, it's very cold outside." Huang's mother said.

If the Chinese people insist on giving it to us, who can refuse?

"The business of this tofu shop has been greatly affected!" Shen Hui'e asked with concern as they walked.

"Alas..." Huang's mother sighed, "It can be said that it is gone. I am just short of closing the shop."

"No more soybeans?" Shen Hui'e asked her with a frown.

"If they don't come to exchange it, I won't dare to grind tofu. This soybean rice is a life-saving rice." Huang's mother said while looking at her with her black eyes.

"What about your life?" Shen Hui'e said worriedly with a frown.

"I'll close my tofu shop for now. People are in a panic now. Let's see how the situation develops." Huang's mother looked at her gently and said, "Maybe things will be better next year. Save the food and eat sparingly." She looked at her seriously and said, "You can't eat and drink too much either."

"I know, I know." Shen Hui'e smiled and asked with concern, "Is your family short of money?"

"Haha..." Huang's mother said happily, "Now our family is not short of money." She smiled and said, "The tofu shop makes a lot of money, but the boss's ceiling business is the biggest business." Then she lowered her voice and said, "We can buy grain even if the price goes up."

Shen Hui'e secretly complained about this wealthy man, fearing that there would be no demand for the grain and no food to buy.

Let’s take this matter one step at a time and see how it goes!

"If you have something to say, just speak up!" Huang's mother looked at her with her black eyes and said, "Don't be polite with us!"

"Just get through these three months." Shen Hui'e looked at her with her clear eyes and said, "Next year is also fine, when spring comes and flowers bloom, we can go to the forest to look for it."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Huang's mother looked at her with a smile and said, "Wild vegetable dumplings! It's not like we haven't eaten them before. At most, they are the same as before! We won't starve to death." She struggled and said, "But I really don't want to live that life."

"I understand, I understand." Shen Hui'e looked at her with her deep and penetrating black eyes and said, "It's difficult to go from extravagance to frugality."

"The sky is getting cloudy, I'm afraid it's going to rain, I'm leaving." Huang's mother waved her hand and looked at them and said, "You guys go back!"

"Grandma, please wait a minute. I'll get an umbrella." The tiger turned around and ran home. When he came back, he had an oil-paper umbrella.

"Let Yuanji and the others bring it back tomorrow." Shen Hui'e looked at her gently and said.

"I'm leaving." Huang's mother left with the butter paper umbrella.

Shen Hui'e and the others watched Huang's mother leave before turning around and going home.

&*&

After seeing off Cheng Donglai and the other laborers, the people who stayed behind had to live their lives as usual.

It's time to harvest the radishes and cabbages, otherwise they will be covered in snow and frozen.

After the autumn rain, Shen Hui'e and her family brought home all the radishes and cabbages in the fields, not even throwing away the cabbage stalks.

This vegetable is for our own consumption and not for sale, so we don’t grow much and it can be harvested in five or six days.

This vegetable is easy to harvest, but it is heavy when carried home. It doesn't look big, but it holds the weight.

Take it home and expose it to the sun.

"The radishes are growing really well this year." The raccoon said as he bit into a piece of raw radish. "They are spicy, crispy, and juicy. They are really delicious."

"Be careful not to eat too much, as it might be hard to digest." Shen Hui'e said as she watched her eating radish slices.

"I ate too much and I farted." Da Chong said in a muffled voice while pinching his nose.

"A fart is a gas in your stomach. It's not up to you whether to let it out or not. No matter how beautiful she is, if you hear a fart, just cover your nose. Just let it go quietly. You can't hold it in if it makes you uncomfortable. But if you learn a unique skill, you can knock the boss out with one fart." Shen Hui'e teased when she heard it.

"Haha..." Everyone laughed.

"What are you laughing at? I really can't hold back my fart." The raccoon slave said seriously, and then asked worriedly, "Can we still make steamed radish stuffed buns? We've basically handed over all the wheat, this one is delicious."

"Let's steam corn flour buns." Shen Hui'e said with a smile.

"Is there enough corn? We can't eat meat to our heart's content now. We have to rely on grain for support." The cat slave looked at her worriedly and said.

"Enough!" Shen Hui'e smiled and said worriedly, "There are too many radishes. Let's roll the skin thinner and put more stuffing in it."

"This saves face!" said the raccoon, looking at her with sparkling eyes.

"Let's make some dumplings." Shen Hui'e said to them with eyes as bright as spring.

Shen Hui'e prepared the stuffing and kneaded the dough, "Wash your hands and come over to help."

Huang Yuanji blinked and looked at Da Chong and the others who had washed their hands and were standing around the chopping board on the bed. "Do we want to help too?"

"Why don't you want to?" The big tiger looked up at him and said.

"No, no, we are men! This is what women should do." Huang Yuanji muttered softly.

"The chefs in this restaurant are all men, so nothing is supposed to be done as it should be." The big tiger looked at him cleverly with his black eyes.

"I've learned it, but I don't mean for you to do it." The raccoon looked at him with watery eyes and said, "You're all alone, so you won't be eaten alive!"

"I'm at home every day, how could I be alone?" Huang Yuanji blinked his black eyes and looked at them and said, "Mother always prepares meals."

Shen Hui'e looked at him with her deep and penetrating eyes and said, "Your father's business is getting bigger and bigger, and he's running around everywhere. If you miss the opportunity to enter the city, you'll be in the middle of nowhere and hungry!"

"Hunting and roasting the prey!" Huang Yuanji said without thinking.

"If you don't learn this, how can you do it?" The big insect looked at him with a smile and said, "If you don't do it yourself, Qing will starve!"

Huang Yuanji tilted his head and thought for a while, then stammered, "This... can this be the same?"

"How is this different?" The big insect looked at him with innocent eyes and said, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. If you want to travel around, you will starve if you can't cook!"

"You want to travel around." Huang Yuanji looked at him in surprise.

"Why are you making such a fuss? Don't you want to go out and see the world when you grow up?" The big tiger looked at him with stars in his eyes and said, "Like my father, travel around."

Huang Yuanji was stunned by what he said, scratched his head and said, "I'll go wash my hands too." He called Jiuguan and said, "Let's go wash our hands."

After they washed their hands and came back, Huang Yuanji was at a loss again, "We don't know how to do it!"

"You know how to knead dough, right? You can knead it any way you want." The big insect looked at them and said with a smile, "Just knead it until it's smooth."

Successfully kidnapped the children to help in the kitchen.

"There are so many people, so we can eat it faster." Shen Hui'e looked at them with a smile on her face and said, "Otherwise we have to wait a little longer." She smiled and said, "Don't you want to eat it earlier?"

"I do!" Huang Yuanji nodded vigorously.

"That's it." Shen Hui'e said as she looked at them with a smile.

There is strength in numbers. It won’t take long to wrap it up. Wake it up and put it in the steamer.

When the lid of the cage was opened, there was no difference between the buns except for the yellow spots.

"Try it." Shen Hui'e put the buns into their stoneware bowls.

"It's still not as good as the one steamed with white flour." Li Nu said after taking a bite of the dough.

"Of course flour is the best." The big tiger howled... took a bite of the stuffing and puffed on its lips.

"Be careful about the heat." Shen Hui'e looked at them with amusement and said.

"The filling remains the same." The big insect looked at them with its clear, bright black eyes.

"Of course." Shen Hui'e shook her head and laughed, "The filling is still the same as before."

"Delicious, delicious." Huang Yuanji said with his mouth full of oil.

After the outermost layer of the cabbage stalks were dried, they were moved into the kitchen to prevent them from freezing.

&*&

Winter really came overnight.

It snowed, and the sky and the earth were covered in white overnight.

"The snow came a little early this year." Shen Hui'e's eyes like black jade moved gently.

"Fortunately, we moved the kitchen into the house early, otherwise we would have been freezing tonight." The raccoon slave looked at her with a smile in his black grape-like eyes and said, "This fire bed is really good. I didn't feel cold at all, and my whole body was warm when I slept."