Li Xiu hummed an unknown little song and crossed the bridge. The flowing water under the bridge was clear. Occasionally, a few fish swam by. The riverside was completely dyed with a layer of green. In the distance, there were endless wheat fields, exuding vitality. At that moment, Li Xiu pulled out a few thatched needles, peeled off the green clothes outside, revealing the white tender flower spikes inside, and then threw them into his mouth to chew them.

The thaw needle is actually the flower bud that has just grown from thatch. It is commonly known as Gu Di, and it is also called the thaw thread. Li Xiu’s hometown in his previous life was even more straightforward and called it a big stick. This thing is a bit fragrant and sweet when chewed, and it is very chewy, like chewing gum, which makes people unable to stop. When Li Xiu was a child, he could see groups of children picking big sticks in the fields by the river every spring.

Chewing the stick in his mouth, he couldn't help but revel in some memories of Li Xiu's childhood in his previous life. Although his living conditions were not very good at that time, it was many times better than ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty. At least Li Xiu didn't have to worry about being hungry when he was a child, and he could use electric lights at night. Even when he was in elementary school, he could already watch TV at home. In this era, ordinary people were reluctant to light oil lamps at night.

I was thinking about the past life, but my feet kept walking towards Mr. Liu. When I arrived at the entrance of the village, the big stick in my mouth was chewed out of taste, so I spit it out and changed it to chew it. When I came to Mr. Liu, I heard people shouting about pigs in his yard from a distance, and there were a few sheep crying in it, which was like a horse market selling animals.

At that moment, Li Xiu stepped forward to Mr. Liu, and saw that the entire yard was filled with people. Almost all the five families in the entire village were here. There were three sheep tied under the tree to the west of the yard, and a few children were teasing them with green grass in their hands. A simple fence was tied to the east. Two big black pigs were lying in the fence, shaking their tails leisurely. There were more than a dozen pigs running around in the fence, making cheerful cry from time to time, which attracted more people to watch.

"Uncle Liu, why do you buy so many animals?" Li Xiu found Boss Liu in the crowd and asked strangely. Yesterday he asked Boss Liu to buy a sheep and a pig, because today is the day for the completion of the new yard. Such a happy day naturally needs to celebrate, so he asked Boss Liu to buy two sheep and a pig, but he didn't expect that he had bought so many.

"Master, you don't know that these pigs and sheep are not only yours, but also Dayan's son is going to get married. The day is set for the day after tomorrow, so I simply bought them together, and they gave them a lot of cheaper." Boss Liu said happily at this time. Liu Dayan is his brother and his nephew is going to get married. Naturally, he, the uncle, is also very happy. Speaking of which, if his two sons had not died in battle, he might even have a grandson now.

"Isn't the eldest son of Uncle Big-eyed Family only sixteen? Is it too early to get married at such a young age?" Li Xiu couldn't help but say in surprise when he heard this, "Liu, it's probably still in junior high school in the future. Is it really good to get married so early?"

"It's not young anymore. If my family hadn't been poor before, that kid would have married last year. Now it's just a little while now, so Da Yan started to arrange marriage for his son. I went with him some time ago to ask about the marriage, and I would do it the day after tomorrow. I can have a child as soon as possible even if I get married early!" Boss Liu answered with a look of course. In this era, it is so common that 150% of the 160% of the 1960s.

Li Xiu was not good at expressing different opinions on this kind of thing, so he immediately changed the topic and said, "Uncle Liu, since the pigs and sheep are ready, then you will take them to the new yard in a while and ask Uncle Big-eyed to help slaughter them. Everyone in the village will go together. Let's celebrate!"

"Well, everyone in the village knows it, just wait for your words from the master!" Boss Liu said excitedly when he heard this. During this period, Li Xiu's family built a house. Although they were busy with the fields, they would go to the construction site to help whenever they had time. The men did some hard work, and the women and children helped cook, which really helped a lot.

After Li Xiu finished speaking, he was about to leave. After all, there were many things on the construction site that he needed to arrange. However, when he swept the pig in the pigpen in his eyes, he asked curiously again: "Uncle Liu, are you going to raise so many pigs by yourself?"

"How can I do it? There are only a few people in my family. Niangniang and Niang Niang can't raise so many pigs at all. These were bought together by the whole farm. After a while, each family divided the number of pigs to raise. In the past, the oil and salt at home had to come out of the pigs before the New Year. Now I don't have to worry about money. When it's time to raise it, the whole family can have a fat New Year!" Boss Liu almost laughed out loud. Since his life got better, he felt like he was having the New Year every day, and he felt indescribable satisfaction.

Seeing Boss Liu's satisfied look, Li Xiu couldn't help laughing, then chatted for a few more words before leaving the place and returning home. He took some oil, salt and other seasonings that had been prepared before and was about to go to the construction site. It is estimated that the craftsmen there should have finished the last bit of work and waited for the pigs and sheep to put them into the pot.

However, just as Li Xiu had just walked out of the house and saw the peach trees that had already started falling flowers in front of the door, he suddenly thought that Hong Fu Nu came to ask her that day. She said that someone who could make Li Jing obedient was coming to Chang'an. Li Xiu asked who that person was several times, but Hong Fu Nu was unwilling to say more. He knew it when he said that, and Li Xiu was also helpless about this.

He came to the new yard with a large bag of seasonings. He saw that the gray-haired manager Qiao was taking craftsmen to lay stones in front of the door. In order to facilitate travel in rainy and snowy days, Li Xiu decided to harden all the road in the yard and in front of the door. Although there was no cement, there were too many pebbles in the river. So trucks of pebbles were transported to the ground and spread to the small bridge by the river. Now there is no paving at all in front of the door.

"Manager Qiao, are you all ready?" Li Xiu asked loudly with a smile. He had already greeted Manager Qiao yesterday.

"You're ready, just on the open space on the east side of the yard, the stove is built and the fire is rising, and I'm waiting for you to come!" Manager Qiao said with a smile. It's also an unwritten rule to invite craftsmen to have a meal after the new yard is completed. However, this meal cannot be eaten in the yard, because after the yard is completed, the owner will decide when to make a fire.

"Okay, the pigs and sheep will arrive soon. Then we will slaughter and eat it now!" Li Xiu also raised the seasoning in his hand and said.

Then he went into the yard to take a look and saw that the main road surfaces in the yard were all hardened with pebbles. These pebbles were not just poured on the stones, but they had to dig out a pavement first, pour a layer of stones and then pour a layer of clay, and then lay the stones after they were solid. Only after three layers were paved in a row, the gravel road would be considered complete, so that the pavement would not sink in the future.

The entire new yard is divided into three yards, the outermost layer is where guests and servants live, and the kitchen is also here. The second yard is where the maids live, and the last yard is where Li Xiu and his family live. Not only is there a bedroom and study, but there is also a small garden. Unfortunately, it is still empty now, and it will become more beautiful until the flowers and plants are planted in the future.

After walking around the yard, Li Xiu left the yard with satisfaction. At this time, Boss Liu and the people in the village also drove pigs and sheep, followed by a group of children running and teasing the animals in front of them. Sometimes they poked the animals' butts with branches, which made the adults scold them, but they didn't care at all and were still happy.

At that moment, Li Xiu led Liu and the others to the open space in the east. The fire on the open space was burning strong and the water in the pot was boiling. Seeing this, Liu Dayan immediately directed everyone to help kill pigs and sheep, and then piece of washed meat was thrown into the pot. At this time, people's stomachs were short of oil and water, so this completion banquet was also very affordable, except for meat.

Pork is a cheap meat, but that is only relative to the nobles. For ordinary people, the most common ones are still pork. As for the two sheep, they are specially bought for craftsmen like Manager Qiao, which is also a kind of respect for craftsmen.

When slaughtering pigs, Li Xiu still stood beside him and watched. When pieces of pork were removed and thrown into the pot, Li Xiu saw that the meat was still more thin and less fat, or almost all of them were lean meat. Only in some special parts could some white fat stripes be seen.

There is nothing to do about this. After all, in this era, pig farming is actually similar to raising sheep. Children at home drive the pigs outside to eat grass. When they come back, they cut a basket of pig grass for feeding at night. As for the leftovers, there is no leftovers at all, because there is not enough meals, so it is impossible to leave them.

The nutrition cannot keep up, and the pigs are not castrated, so they are very active by nature and cannot be trapped, which also makes the pigs fat, almost like wild boars, and even the pork tastes similar to wild boars. The fibers of lean meat are very thick and strong, and it is very difficult to eat when they are not good at teeth.

Among the busy crowd, Li Xiu saw the eunuch Zhou Sanliang again. He still looked as humble as before. When he saw someone, he nodded and looked flattering. When he saw work, he rushed to work. However, because of his special identity, he was disliked no matter where he went, and he was not allowed to touch anything he could eat. A few ignorant children also laughed around him and kept laughing. It seemed that not only the craftsmen knew about his physical defects, but also the tenants in the Li family village knew about it.

Zhou Sanliang pleased him in the crowd for a long time, but no one was willing to ask him to help. In the end, he had to squat by the stove silently burn the fire. The firelight reflected on his pale face, looking indescribable loneliness.

...
Chapter completed!