Li Feng understood the hint. He remained silent for a moment, then thanked Lu Yang.
Leaving the shop, Li Feng went to get some oil, salt, and condiments to restock before heading home.
In the village, Lu Liu was tidying up the small shop.
The carpenter had delivered the table, which consisted of wooden planks and legs. They were carried into the shop flat and assembled for him, then placed in the right position.
It was made according to Li Feng’s specifications, with a simple design featuring shelves and small drawers for convenient storage of goods and money.
The square table in the middle wasn’t made yet, but Li Feng knew how to make it. He’d find time to do it after he finished his work in the next few days.
Lu Liu didn’t have much silver, so the carpenter went to Chen Guizhi to get the money, while he reorganized the goods.
While sweeping near the wine jars, Lu Liu remembered he needed to make a ladle for pouring wine and oil, so he ran out and told his mother about it.
The carpenter hadn’t left yet, so he didn’t tell the carpenter first; he told Chen Guizhi instead. Chen Guizhi listened, glanced at him, agreed, and then mentioned it to the carpenter.
Once that was settled, Lu Liu didn’t linger there and returned to the small shop to continue working.
Shun Ge brought over a bucket of water and wiped down the tables inside and out.
This was their family’s small shop. He was as energetic as Lu Liu, working nonstop while chatting with Lu Liu the whole time.
“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, will our family sell hair ribbons and sewing supplies in the future? Will we sell cosmetics? I noticed that when people go to the county seat, they all like to look at those things.”
Lu Liu hadn’t been to the county town many times, but the last time she went to the market with Yao Fulang, she knew he liked to look at them.
He said, “Just because they like to look doesn’t mean they’ll buy. We should stick to practical items. Sell food and drink.”
Shun Ge heard this, thought about it carefully, and realized he was right. He laughed and said, “Hmm, you’re right, older sister. You’re so good at business. I’m no good at it. If I were in charge, I’d decorate the shop all flashy and fancy! But it wouldn’t make any money!”
Lu Liu didn’t expect to be praised for being good at business. She laughed like a little fool and swept the floor even more enthusiastically.
After sweeping, she helped Shun Ge wipe the tables.
Li Feng said he wanted to get two more large jars to store rice and flour.
The area below the mountain was prone to dampness, and storing things on wooden boards like this made them susceptible to moisture and pests.
With the large jars, cleaning would be more convenient, just like other large jars—they could be wiped down to remove dust.
The wine jars at home could be taken to the wine shop for recycling, earning two coins per jar.
Most people didn’t recycle them and kept them for their own use. They used them to make pickles or store other things.
Lu Liu looked at the number of empty jars and wanted to discuss with his family about getting large jars of wine next time.
The wine shop had 50-jin jars of wine. These jars were large and would be perfect for storing rice and flour. It would save them from having to buy jars.
Li Feng didn’t come home for lunch today, so after tidying up the small shop, Lu Liu took Shun Ge to make lunch.
There was tofu, bamboo shoots, wild mushrooms, and some lamb at home.
Recently, everyone had been taking turns drinking wine, but today things had calmed down, and everyone wanted to eat something light.
Lu Liu stir-fried the tofu with vegetables, then stir-fried the bamboo shoots, and made soup with the mountain mushrooms. Three people, two dishes, and one soup. She didn’t make any pickles, and the pickled radishes were finished. There was another jar in the new village, but they had already split up, so she didn’t want to go to the new village to get pickled radishes and be laughed at.
Lu Liu really liked it and gave Chen Guizhi a subtle hint.
He didn’t realize that his words were as good as a direct request.
Teaching him how to make pickled radishes, she would do it right away, unable to wait even a moment longer.
Shun Ge laughed, “Wipe your drool; it’s about to drip into the bowl!”
Lu Liu was startled, thinking he really was drooling, and hurriedly raised his hand to wipe it. But there was nothing there.
He laughed awkwardly and continued to stare longingly at Chen Guizhi.
Chen Guizhi agreed: “You two should find some time this afternoon to wash and slice more radishes.”
Lu Liu smiled.
That’s great, he wanted to make more pickled radishes!
The courtyard was bustling in the afternoon. Yao Fulang often invited people over to play, and Chen Guizhi was also a person with a wide circle of friends. With the two of them there, the courtyard was always full of people.
The weather was nice these past two days, so it was perfect for sitting in the courtyard.
The square table still needed to be made sooner rather than later; otherwise, if the weather turned bad one day, there wouldn’t be enough space for everyone to sit.
Lu Liu washed two large baskets of radishes and chopped them with Shun Ge.
In the afternoon, Li Feng returned home to find the courtyard packed with people, the noise making his ears ache.
He had trouble entering the courtyard, having to maneuver his mule left and right.
The place was crowded, and it was immediately apparent that his cart was too big. Upon closer inspection, the cart was new, with no damaged wooden boards.
Everyone asked around and found out that Lu Liu’s brother had replaced it for him, and they all said that his brother was a good person.
They had all heard that Lu Liu and his brother looked very similar, as if they had been carved from the same mold. When talking about their close relationship, they would comment on how identical they were and ask Li Feng, “Da Feng, wouldn’t you mistake them for each other?”
Li Feng regretted that he couldn’t kick each of them.
When Li Feng returned, Lu Liu could temporarily put down the radish, wipe his hands, and come to greet him.
The courtyard was full of people, and it wasn’t even mealtime yet, but he still came to greet him. Even someone as thick-skinned as Li Feng felt embarrassed, saying he didn’t need help, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face.
Lu Liu didn’t think it was a big deal and helped unload the goods from the car.
They were all jars, large and heavy, so Li Feng didn’t need him to carry them. There was a small jar of mountain mushroom and pork mince sauce, which he was told to take and try: “Your brother asked me to bring this for you.”
Lu Liu was delighted and hugged the jar, sniffing it.
The jar was sealed with a wooden stopper, and only a faint fragrance could be detected from the outside.
The breeze had cooled it down, and the jar felt cold to the touch.
He took it to the inner room and put it away, then went to the kitchen to fetch water, telling Li Feng to wash his face and hands with hot water.
This was also normal. Previously, when Li Feng came home, Lu Liu would always take care of him like this, making him feel very comfortable.
In the eyes of others, it was all just teasing. Yao Fulang even said, “You’re too good to him, let him fetch the water himself!”
Lu Liu didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Da Feng worked hard outside, and he was at home, so there was no rush to do anything. When the man came home, he would help out with everything.
It wasn’t tiring, and he liked to fuss over Li Feng.
He didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, but he still blushed at the teasing.
Li Feng turned around and closed the front door, blocking the view of the people in the courtyard, but their voices grew even louder.
He looked at Li Feng and smiled傻呵呵笑: “Mother taught me how to make pickled radishes. I washed a lot of radishes with Shun Ge. There’s not much left at home. This winter, we’ll finally finish eating all the radishes!”
He held Lu Liu’s hand in the water and asked him what vegetables he wanted to eat.
Lu Liu often ate chives and green beans. Chives grew in bunches and were convenient and practical. Green beans were the same; they grew in abundance, and any leftovers were made into pickled green beans.
He also ate eggplant, but eggplant absorbed oil, and he didn’t like to cook it. It didn’t taste good most of the time, so after a while, he didn’t like to eat it anymore.
In the spring, he would also plant some melons, which could be eaten in the summer.
Li Feng agreed, “Okay, I’ll plant them all for you.”
Lu Liu also knew how to plant vegetables; he had helped at home.
“I’ll plant them with you!”
Li Feng remembered that he had been worried about the outhouse, so he teased him, saying, “Are you going to carry manure?”
Lu Liu wrinkled his nose, already smelling the odor, and didn’t like it.
He said to Li Feng, “I can’t carry it, but I used to go out and pick up dung balls. Have you ever done that?”
Li Feng hadn’t picked them up, but he had experience stealing manure at night.
Lu Liu was stunned: “What?”
He knew that people stole manure. His family often had conflicts with others over manure, which was one of the few things his family would argue about.
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