After busy for half a day,
It was almost dark.
It was only because spring was nearing summer, and the days were long, otherwise it would have gotten dark long ago.
Cai Shi and Xi Shi were also very nimble.
Even with the stove here, they used it proficiently, and dinner was ready early.
There was a severe cold snap this year.
Not even a hint of summer could be felt, so it was still a bit chilly.
The two of them also made hot stew and flatbreads for staple.
The bread was very soft.
Everyone ate it with the stew, which was warm. After a few flatbreads and two large bowls of stew, their bodies were warm, and they felt no cold at all.
Eating something warm also helped prevent illness.
Everyone was very satisfied.
Moreover, they had prepared both spicy and non-spicy options, but everyone preferred the spicy pot, which was cooked to a delicious aroma with the leftover hot pot base.
It was numbing and spicy.
Very invigorating.
And it went very well with the flatbread.
The children and those who couldn't eat spicy food had the non-spicy clear broth stew.
It was called clear broth stew.
But it was still stewed with preserved bones and plenty of ginger.
To drive away the cold and remove the fishy smell.
It was also very fragrant.
Thus, it fully satisfied everyone, and it was another delicious meal.
The large kitchen was in the backyard.
But there was a small kitchen in the front and middle courtyards, where the Cheng and Jin families solved their cooking needs. Although there were only two stoves, it was enough.
The backyard had four large stoves and one small stove, which was quite suitable for the people of Shan Ao Village. They ate separately, so cooking was faster. Although there were occasional disputes over who cooked first, Gao Da Shan was now their leader.
He was equivalent to the village chief.
Whenever there was a conflict, he would step in to resolve it, and everyone was willing to listen to him.
But overall.
Shan Ao Village had many people and was mixed, so their conflicts were naturally more numerous.
Therefore, arguments were unavoidable.
It was only later, when they were reprimanded by patrolling yamen runners, that they learned about the curfew after the night watch.
Loud noises were also forbidden during curfew.
The villagers of Shan Ao Village were startled by the yamen runners, and the place fell silent.
Gao Da Shan repeatedly apologized on behalf of his villagers before seeing off the yamen runners.
Fortunately, the officers were not difficult.
They said they would forgive them for being new to the city, but there would be consequences next time.
If they violated the rules,
Minor offenses would result in fines and caning, while severe offenses could lead to expulsion from Quezhou City.
Everyone was naturally scared.
Gao Da Shan repeatedly gave his assurance.
After seeing the yamen runners out, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling weak.
He looked displeasedly at the villagers.
The other villagers smiled sheepishly and quietly promised not to argue again.
Gao Da Shan then nodded and waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse.
Seeing everyone calmly and orderly continue with their tasks,
He felt relieved.
But he didn't rest.
Instead, he went to the middle and front courtyards to inform the Cheng and Jin families about the post-curfew precautions, asking them to pay attention to the night watchmen from now on.
Since they had just moved in today, many things were not yet organized, and everyone was immersed in tidying up, so they hadn't paid attention to the outside.
After Gao Da Shan's reminder,
The entire courtyard fell quiet. Now they could notice the street outside.
Indeed, at regular intervals, the sound of the night watch could be heard.
Everyone then understood.
From now on, when the night watch started after dark, it meant the curfew had begun.
They had to keep their voices down.
The large courtyard, with its three entrances and three exits, immediately became quiet. Everyone lowered their voices and movements, and only then did they realize that the surroundings had already fallen silent.
Only the occasional dog barks, the sound of patrolling yamen runners' footsteps and the clanging of their swords, and the crying of children at intervals could be heard.
The Cheng family convoy.
Cai Shi and Xi Shi, with the children, wiped the bowls and chopsticks clean and arranged them one by one.
Their voices were kept very low.
Looking at the beautiful and neat wooden cabinets, which even had hollowed shelves,
It amazed them.
Such cabinets were perfect for placing bowls and chopsticks.
They could also drain water.
It made them feel quite emotional.
"These wealthy families are so different from us. Their lives are like those of immortals. In the past, when our dining table broke, we would ponder for a long time whether to make a new one or just use something to prop it up for a few more years. Here, they use such fine wood to make cabinets for these bowls and plates..."
Xi Shi felt her eyes had been opened.
Cai Shi agreed.
The two worked quietly, and the children were tired after a day of toiling.
Cai Shi saw them looking listless and yawning, having lost interest even in chatting. She said, "If you're tired, go to sleep. We'll finish this work shortly."
This is what it means for children to be sensible.
No matter what they were doing, they always wanted to help and were hard to drive away.
Their mothers were also heartbroken.
Cheng Xiao Tian saw this and wanted to persist, shaking his head and saying, "I'm not tired!"
The other little sprouts nodded in agreement.
In reality, they were already swaying precariously.
They would fall asleep any moment.
Xi Shi was worried when she saw this. She quickly said to Cheng Xiao Tian, "We're tired just looking at you. Xiao Tian, listen to Auntie and take your younger siblings to sleep. Your mother and I will finish the work soon and then go to sleep too!"
They had to be busy with cooking and other things today, so only one room was tidied up. They planned to stay there with the children for the night. As for the men, they could rough it out and sleep in another room first.
It didn't matter if it was dirty.
Anyway, they weren't particularly eager to clean themselves, so they could live in filth.
Cheng Xiao Tian listened to this, then looked at his mother. Seeing Cai Shi nod at him and tell him to go quickly, he then pulled his younger siblings up like pulling radishes and led a team of little sprouts to the room allocated to them.
The children also obeyed him.
They treated him as their leader.
They did whatever he told them to do.
Although Cheng Xiao Tian was not old, he was very meticulous. Having often followed Cheng Hao and Su Miao Miao, he was even more attentive. After taking the younger siblings to the room, he knew to remind them to take off their outer coats and helped his brothers take off their shoes.
Naturally, he also knew to separate the boys and girls.
Fortunately, there were two beds in the room.
One large and one small.
These were places where the former masters had servants to attend to them closely at night, and they were arranged for the personal servants to sleep in. Now, they were convenient for them.
Xi Shi's two sons, the elder son Shi Tou and the younger son Bao Er, were both young.
Cheng Xiao Tian even returned to the small kitchen to get hot water and wipe the faces and feet of the two younger brothers.
He originally wanted to ask his own sister to wipe her own face and feet, and also help Xiao Niu Niu, but the two girls had already fallen asleep soundly.
He had no choice but to return for help from his mother and aunt.
Cai Shi and Xi Shi were both indulgent towards this child, being very soft-hearted.
Xi Shi coaxed him, saying, "It's okay. Auntie will wipe Xiao Niu Niu and my little girl's faces later. Good boy, thank you for taking care of my three children like your own younger siblings. You've been a great help these days!"
All the way.
Her three children would be looked after by him and Cheng Xiao Hua when they went out, which was a great help to Xi Shi and saved her a lot of worry.
She was naturally grateful.
Cheng Xiao Tian shook his head, saying it was nothing, and that he was the elder brother, so it was his duty!
After returning,
He still had to check if his younger siblings' quilts were properly covered.
Once he confirmed everything was done,
He got onto the bed shared by Cheng Shi Tou and Cheng Bao Er. The three boys slept there perfectly. The other bed was for their mothers and sisters.
Cheng Xiao Tian also got under the covers. After a busy day, he could finally rest.
He fell asleep obediently.
Cai Shi and Xi Shi, after finishing their current tasks, went to get a basin of hot water to quickly wash the two girls, then went to the bathhouse to tidy themselves up, change into clean clothes, and then prepared to go to sleep.
As for Cheng Kai Chun and Cheng Feng Tai, they were resigned to the children having the clean room to sleep in, thinking of their precious son.
Although the other room was not dirty, it had not been wiped with hot water, so they naturally felt a little uncomfortable. In the past, these two grown men would not have been so particular; any place to lie down and sleep would suffice.
But with a direct comparison, they naturally felt something was not right.
However, they didn't dwell on it for too long.
After eating their fill and drinking, they talked for a short while before falling asleep like logs.
Cai Shi and Xi Shi had already done so much work while they were sleeping.
Fortunately, they could now rest with peace of mind.
And they didn't have to smell the stench of the men.
Speaking of which, the two of them also whispered a few gossipy remarks, mainly feeling frustrated. Other people's husbands could be so clean, but these two were so indifferent that they could go ten days or half a month without changing their clothes.
Cai Shi had even grumbled that her husband used to be more particular, but once he started being lazy, he became lazier and lazier. Xi Shi directly said that her husband could endure a month without changing his clothes in winter, it was only because the weather was cold and there was no smell.
As they talked, they eventually brought up Cheng Hao and praised him.
They said they had never seen a more outstanding young man than him, and lamented that education really made a difference.
Xi Shi suddenly remembered something and said in a low voice, "That can't be said for sure. We have scholars in our village too, and their arrogance is so high, they look down on everyone! Not to mention us women, they look down on men too, and even their classmates!"
Cai Shi then agreed, "That's true, it depends on the person."
As they spoke,
When they mentioned Cheng Hao, they couldn't help but talk about Su Miao Miao, and they praised her again.
They said she was capable.
And her mind was much more delicate than her outward personality, and she was very kind to people.
Then they said this pair was well-matched!
In any case, looking at them together, everything felt pleasing and comfortable.
The two of them whispered in the night, and before they knew it, they had fallen asleep.
Cheng Xiao Tian, half asleep and half awake, also felt reassured by these scattered whispers. There was no happier moment than this. The important people were by his side, safe and sound, well-fed and warm, very content.
He also fell into a deep sleep accompanied by the sound of their hushed conversations.
As for Cheng Hao and Su Miao Miao, who were mentioned by Cai Shi and Xi Shi, after the two women had fallen asleep, these two were still awake, pondering how to make money.
"I think this is also good. The idea of setting up a stall mentioned earlier is also very good. Our people can process things in the courtyard and sell them outside. Anyway, we have enough manpower. For the stalls, we only need a few agile and numerate people, like Jia Wang and Lai Fu, who are good at accounting..."
Su Miao Miao said this while lying in the warm quilt, her voice very low.
Cheng Hao also agreed with her ideas.
But he had his own discoveries.
He replied, "Indeed, all the methods you mentioned are quite good, but the most important thing is to keep an eye on the people. We were busy on the road before and couldn't pay much attention. Although most of the people in our convoy work hard and diligently, I have still found a few who are slacking off and being lazy."
Su Miao Miao was naturally not foolish and had also noticed certain guards who only stayed by the Cheng family's master's side and rarely participated in other miscellaneous tasks.
Even Li Da Tou and Wang Da Ming often helped with other chores.
There were also Cheng Kai Chun and Cheng Feng Tai. Although they also helped with work, they were sometimes not as diligent and were indeed slacking off.
Every few days, Cheng Kai Chun would drag Cheng Feng Tai to a corner to slack off for a while.
In any case, their attitude was not correct!
Cheng Hao and Su Miao Miao planned to deal with these people who wanted to be lazy and not contribute.
As for those few guards, the Cheng family master was so eager for them that it was difficult to move them. Anyway, his cheap father was happy to pay, so they wouldn't be touched for now. But Cheng Kai Chun and Cheng Feng Tai were very wrong in this regard, setting a bad example.
Thinking back.
Cheng Feng Tai used to work very hard. Recently, he had become close to Cheng Kai Chun.
It was truly a case of proximity to vermilion leading to being stained red, and proximity to ink leading to being stained black.
He had also started to slack off, which was truly unbearable.
They were all people in the convoy.
Cheng Hao and Su Miao Miao could distinguish clearly; there was no reason for someone to be lazy while others worked hard. To enjoy the fruits of others' labor was unacceptable!
As for those few guards, there was nothing that could be done. After all, the Cheng family master was watching them, and they only needed to stay by his side. They had long been accustomed to laziness.
Naturally, they were unwilling to do miscellaneous chores like Li Da Tou and Wang Da Ming.
But considering that the Cheng family master was willing to pay a large sum of silver, it could be considered compensation.
However, Cheng Kai Chun and Cheng Feng Tai had no other abilities or capital to give back to the convoy, and if they didn't work, it would be truly unacceptable.
Others would also notice.
It would be easy to corrupt such a good atmosphere, and they definitely needed to be dealt with.
Cheng Hao and Su Miao Miao had already set their sights on these two. The young couple was also extremely skilled at nipping potential problems in the bud.
Therefore, before the atmosphere began to deteriorate, they had to cut off the source of these two.
As for Cheng Kai Chun and Cheng Feng Tai, they were naturally unaware of these matters and were still fast asleep, completely oblivious that their good days were numbered!
Cheng Hao and Su Miao Miao, unable to sleep, brainstormed several profitable strategies together. After all, their money was not much, and money was always a universal pass wherever one went. They naturally needed it, so they had to earn more money within a limited time!
Later, no matter what they wanted to do, it would be convenient. After all, they couldn't always take out the rooms in their space. It was most important to keep the food and drinks for themselves. They could only take them out when absolutely necessary and under very safe conditions, otherwise, these things were their strongest backup, and they must be careful to avoid exposure, and never let a third person know!