"Oh, it smells so good!"
The little ones had just gone next door to do the homework that Teacher had assigned with Tie Dan, and as soon as they came back, they were hit by a wafting aroma.
"Grumble..." This was followed by two rumbling sounds from their bellies.
The two little ones simultaneously covered their small stomachs, their little faces flushing slightly, seemingly a bit embarrassed.
Seeing their expressions, the young couple couldn't help but laugh, and they plated the skewered meat and roasted chicken that had just finished cooking, and also brought out the baked buns from the kitchen.
Worried that just eating the buns would be boring and the meat might be too heavy, Luo Ge had also prepared a cool shredded potato salad, and set everything out.
"You've come back just in time, the meat has just finished roasting, so hurry up and wash your hands and come have a meal."
"Okay."
After washing their hands, the whole family began eating without hesitation.
Gu Jinchen was the fastest, putting a chicken wing, a chicken leg, and a few skewers of roasted pork belly in front of Luo Ge first.
After confirming that Luo Ge had enough to eat, he then started picking up his chopsticks.
The two little ones blinked their eyes and exchanged an amused smile.
Seeing their aunt-like smiles, Luo Ge felt a bit embarrassed.
She got them two skewers of roasted pork belly: "Hurry and eat."
The remaining chicken wing and leg, Gu Jinchen didn't touch, leaving them for the two little ones.
"Wow!"
The whole family unanimously started with the roasted pork belly.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they took the first bite, they were amazed.
"The roasted meat is so delicious!"
The younger child didn't hesitate to speed up their eating, even pausing to exclaim in praise.
"It's so fragrant!"
The older child also nodded in agreement, and Gu Jinchen didn't say anything, but his speed had clearly increased, indicating that he also very much enjoyed it.
Luo Ge also felt that the roasted meat was incredibly delicious. The butcher had found them village-raised pigs, all raised on pig feed. Not the industrially-raised ones, with that classic 'taste of meat' that the elders often spoke of.
It was truly delicious! Much better than what they had eaten in modern times.
And the pure charcoal-roasted meat was even more fragrant.
The roasted chicken wings were also quite good, the free-range chickens they had foraged in the wild had firm meat, and the wild honey had sealed in the flavors, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.
Truly delicious! The seasoning was just right.
Wrapping the baked buns with the shredded potatoes, it had its own unique flavor.
Having a cup of wild honey lemon water after the meal was just heavenly.
("Quack quack", the little ones are eating BBQ, if you're feeling hungry, you might as well order a portion too ~(˵¯͒〰¯͒˵)")
"Remember to rinse your mouth after your bath before going to bed, otherwise you'll get cavities."
After the meal, Luo Ge was walking in the courtyard to aid digestion, and saw the two little ones go to the partitioned-off bathroom to take a bath, so she reminded them not to forget.
"Okay! Big brother will make sure Little Brother rinses his mouth."
Little Brother: "????"
"Little Brother will also keep an eye on Big Brother!"
Cavities, they definitely didn't want to end up like Elder Brother Tie Dan and lose their teeth.
"Mmm, keep an eye on each other."
Gu Jinchen sat down next to her, gently massaging her stomach to aid digestion, and handed her the honey lemon water.
"It's cooled down, drink up."
"Okay."
After Luo Ge finished drinking, Gu Jinchen poured himself a cup from the same cup.
Having eaten quite a lot, he also needed to aid his digestion.
Simple and easy, another day has passed.
..............
The next day, the geomancer they had invited arrived as scheduled, brought by the village chief.
The geomancer checked the feng shui of the house foundation and confirmed that the orientation facing south with the courtyard layout was suitable.
In a spot not too far from the kitchen, it would be a good place to dig a well.
After confirming these details, the young couple felt reassured.
They also picked an auspicious date, starting construction on the first of September, which was still about three to four days away.
This should give them enough preparation time, and in the meantime, they could also gather the necessary lumber.
As for the dried fruit orders from Shopkeeper Li, they had all been fulfilled.
The dried peaches had also been fully delivered, with over a thousand catties of peaches being sent over every day for the past half a month.
Only the last three days had a bit less, around 500 catties each time.
Looking at the account book, they calculated that Shopkeeper Li had sent a total of 15,500 catties of peaches.
Every hundred catties of fresh peaches could produce 25 catties of dried fruit, so a thousand catties of fresh fruit would yield 250 catties of dried fruit.
Ten thousand catties of fresh peaches could produce 2,500 catties of dried fruit.
They had shipped out a total of 3,875 catties of dried fruit, at 270 copper coins per catty, earning them a total of 1,046 taels of silver.
The labor cost had already been calculated into the payment from Shopkeeper Li, so this was their pure profit.
Shopkeeper Li had also settled the silver payment with them.
"Dried peaches still earn more money." Luo Ge smiled as she put away the box of silver.
With this, they now had over two thousand taels in their savings.
Looking at the savings in their space, Luo Ge felt a sense of contentment, this was the joy of earning money.
"Indeed."
Every hundred catties of peaches could produce 15 more catties of dried fruit than a hundred catties of plums, earning them more than double the silver.
"Oh right, should we just have someone custom-make the furniture for our new home? You might be too busy to do it yourself."
Previously he had said he would make the furniture himself, but now he felt that might not work out.
With all the other things to take care of, and the furniture on top of that, he was worried it would be too tiring for him.
And she couldn't really help much with that either.
"Alright, we can have someone custom-make the wardrobes and such, but I'll make the bed myself, I've already prepared the lumber for that."
Their marital bed, he'd rather make that himself.
Thinking about it, his ears turned slightly red.
"Okay, that works." Luo Ge didn't notice anything, and simply nodded in agreement upon hearing his suggestion.
"Do you know of any good carpenters we could use?"
Suddenly changing plans, she didn't have a suitable craftsman in mind yet.
"Auntie Ma's family would be good, her husband and son both know carpentry."
Whenever someone in the village needed furniture made, they would go to their family.
Although Gu Jinchen was skilled with wood, he only relied on hunting for a living and didn't take on these kinds of orders.
Auntie Ma's family had learned their carpentry skills from the same master as the Gu family, and their work was very fine and durable.
"Then let's go visit Auntie Ma's family later?"
With the new house, they'd need to replace all the doors, windows, bed, cabinets, tables, and chairs.
The furniture in the old house had been used for a long time, and the bed they were currently sleeping on would creak constantly, afraid that too much movement would make it fall apart.
The kids' furniture was about the same.
The tables and chairs were also old, they had just been constantly repairing and continuing to use them.
It would be best to just get everything new.
Getting all this furniture ready would take a lot of time, so it's better to go talk to them early, so they have time to prepare the materials.
The wood needed for furniture is more particular than the wood needed for house construction.
For building a house, as long as it's sturdy enough, it can be used, but for furniture, it needs to be more refined.
"Okay, tomorrow I'll go up the mountain with them to find the lumber, you need to take care of yourself at home, be careful."
The lumber needed for the house construction was quite a lot, so he figured he'd be busy for a couple of days, and the two little ones would also be going to the school.
With her being pregnant, he really felt uneasy leaving her alone at home.
"Haha, don't worry, I'm already a grown woman, I can take care of myself."
Hearing him talk as if she was still a child, Luo Ge found it both amusing and exasperating.
"Besides, it's not like you'll be gone for days on end up the mountain."
Just for a short while.
"Mm." Hearing her words, Gu Jinchen simply ruffled her hair without further comment.
"If you come across any honey, I'll bring some back for you."
Glancing at the jar of honey, he mentioned it.
"Okay, whether you get any or not is fine, this jar should last us for quite a while."
"Mm."
