"Didn't my old grandson say that he would treat everyone and their boss to dinner tonight?
We all rely on others to give us a place to stay when we are away from home, and we also get wages.
In order for us to earn more money to support our family, and also for the brick and tile factory to have a prosperous business, I will give them a whole month of prosperity tonight. Even if it is just a scrap, we have to scrape together twelve dishes.
"
"Twelve courses?"
Ren Siyue was so surprised that she was speechless. They only prepared four dishes on such a festive day during the Chinese New Year. To treat others to a meal, so many people have to prepare twelve dishes. Is this a banquet?
Others were equally shocked. There was still enough time to prepare the dishes. Where did the ingredients come from to prepare twelve dishes?
"Sister Zhao, where did we get the twelve dishes? Will we not be able to prepare them?"
Ren Siyue looked at Zhao Ya'er with a worried look.
"Don't worry, aren't we growing vegetables in front of the house? We can stir-fry, stir-fry, and cold salad, that's enough."
Zhao Yaer smiled, already planning what to cook.
The slaughtered chicken was stewed into soup, and radish was added to it.
The duck meat was made into stir-fried fish, the bigger ones were made into braised fish from the river, and the smaller ones had their internal organs removed and wrapped in egg and flour for dry frying.
Zhao Yaer washed the bacon she brought from home and stir-fried it with wild onions.
Their conditions were limited and they could only prepare four meat dishes and the remaining eight dishes, four cold dishes and four hot dishes.
After the four meat dishes were cooked, the women's admiration for Zhao Ya'er increased even more.
She is always calm in times of crisis and can cook a dish in a different way.
For example, with eggplant, she made a dish of mashed garlic eggplant, stir-fried spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and then changed the method to stir-fry eggplant, potatoes, and peppers. The taste was also very different.
A group of women were very busy, and some of them made their own specialty, cornmeal pancakes.
After this trip, twelve dishes were enough.
After Li Jingming finished his instructions, he had no intention of leaving the brick and tile factory in a hurry. He strolled over to Li Xiaojun, who was working hard with his head down.
Li Xiaojun was wearing a worn-out straw hat and working shirtless.
The sun was fierce, and his bronzed skin looked dark and dark under the sun, and the fine beads of sweat shone on his strong and tight muscles.
Li Jingming stared at it for a long time before Li Xiaojun noticed Li Jingming's presence.
"Brother Li."
Li Xiaojun paused, grabbed the towel around his neck and wiped the beads of sweat that had gathered on his chin.
"Let's take a break and work on it."
Li Jingming said, took out a cigarette and handed one to Li Xiaojun, and lit one himself.
"It's okay, I'm not tired. This is much easier than growing crops."
Li Jingming smiled, took a puff of cigarette, and said lightly.
"Jingcheng said you want to go to the county furniture factory?"
"Yes, I don't want to plant crops anymore, I want to work with you."
Since being dealt with by Li Jingming last time, Li Xiaojun's monthly salary has dropped to seventy or eighty yuan.
He and his old mother are now dependent on each other. He can't make any money all year round by planting some crops, and the food harvest is not much. He might as well go to the city to work, and he will earn several hundred a year.
After the old mother returns to the West, he can talk alone.
"Isn't it a good time for you to stay here? If you really want to go to the county with me, what will your mother do? She is old now, so it may not be convenient for her to be at home alone."
"Don't worry about this, I will make time to come back a few times every month.
In the past, I was a bastard and ignorant, and I made a lot of noise and my whole family was in pieces.
Thanks to you for teaching me a lesson last time and giving me a chance to be a new person, I really want to follow you."
Li Xiaojun spoke sincerely, and Li Jingming smiled, feeling very pleased with Li Xiaojun's real change.
A man is in his thirties, and this guy will have a bright future.
The reason why Li Jingming came to test is that as long as he still doesn't want to leave hidden dangers for himself in terms of employees, who wouldn't want to hire an honest and kind person?
Thinking of the last time his wife jumped into a river to save someone, Li Xiaojun rushed over to ask his wife. Come to think of it, he had really changed.
After everything was arranged, Li Jingming slowly planned to leave.
Sun Jian had long been paying attention to Li Jingming's every move. Seeing that Li Jingming was about to leave, he strode towards Li Jingming's back to catch up.
"Brother Li, please wait a moment."
Sun Jian had a good physique and had been training frequently in the army. He could run two to three hundred meters quickly without even taking a breath.
"What do you want to say? Don't worry."
"Brother Li, if you don't mind, let your sister-in-law come here for dinner tonight. I have already made arrangements for my wife, and I plan to treat you and everyone to dinner tonight.
Seven or eight of us are leaving tomorrow, so I want to get together with everyone before leaving. Brother Li, you must come with your sister-in-law."
Li Jingming didn't expect Sun Jian to be so thoughtful. Thinking about it, it was true. Although the county seat is not far from here, he is really busy and doesn't know when he can meet.
"Okay, I'll bring your sister-in-law over this afternoon."
Yang Lina was busy making scented tea. Time passed quickly when she got busy, and two or three hours had passed before she knew it.
Yang Lina placed the dried scented teas one by one in a dustpan and waited for them to cool before bottling them.
She lit another fire in the oven, and when the fire reached a certain level, she had to continue baking.
The oven was not very big and could only dry up to fifty or sixty flowers at a time, so she had to take her time.
When Li Jingming came back, he saw his daughter-in-law sitting under the eaves, holding a tong in her hand and carefully placing the scented tea one by one in the dustpan.
He smiled, picked a white cucumber, and washed it under the faucet.
Yang Lina heard the sound of water flowing and then knew that Li Jingming was back.
"You take a break and eat a cucumber, I'll help you make it."
As Li Jingming spoke, he put the cucumber to his wife's mouth, took the tongs, and worked like her.
Cucumbers are sweet, delicious and full of umami.
Yang Lina lamented that such delicious cucumbers can only be eaten in this era.
"This cucumber is so sweet, you should try it too."
Yang Lina took a bite herself, then handed the cucumber to Li Jingming's mouth, and Li Jingming took a bite.
"There's no need to cook tonight. Sun Jian and the others are having a dinner at the brick and tile factory and invite you over."
"Well, I originally wanted to eat it with cold vegetables at night. There are so many cucumbers, tomatoes, and green vegetables. It's a pity to keep them like this."
Yang Lina muttered, feeling a little heavy.
There are more than a dozen chickens in the backyard, so thinking about it, it’s quite a lot to take away.
Yang Lina gnawed on the cucumber and glanced at everything in the yard reluctantly, as if she felt that this slow and comfortable life could make her feel at ease.
"I can't bear to let you go either, so I decided to take you back to live here on weekends to escape the heat of the summer and take care of our vegetable garden and rose flowers."
Li Jingming smiled lovingly and raised his hand to touch the top of his wife's head.