Chapter 460: Chapter 461: Yang Lichun and Her Daughter Return
"Also, I remember you mentioned that a portion of the shrimp in shrimp paste should be pickled and fermented. We could ask the villagers to start collecting shrimp from the small beaches now. We can prepare some things, find people, and buy all the ingredients we need before May. This way, we won’t be so rushed by then."
"Yeah, you’re right!" Yang Chuxia agreed, placing the peeled broad beans into the bowl. "But we probably don’t need to hire full-time workers since we don’t have a lot of land, and things like drunken crab are quite seasonal. It’s not like we’ll be busy all year round."
"Let’s just find people from the village then. We’ll find reliable individuals and ask them to set aside time every year for this. This way, we won’t have to worry about it in the future," Ye Zi’an added.
"Right, we’ll plan that later," Yang Chuxia continued as she peeled another broad bean. "But there’s another thing we have to do first. My place is too small right now; it’s impossible to work together. I’m thinking of building a few more rooms nearby and making a courtyard, connected to my current house. Then we can have separate rooms for making drunken crab, drunken shrimp, and bean paste."
"We definitely need that. Otherwise, there won’t be enough pots to cook everything."
"Yeah, later on, I’ll go to Uncle Old Gen and ask him to find people to build the rooms. We’ll ask him to find a few extra hands to get them built quickly. After that, we’ll go to the village and let the aunts know. Then we’ll tell Grandpa Tang to inform each household that those who are free should go to the beaches and collect some shrimp and crabs. I heard that there are quite a few unclaimed small beaches nearby. There’s even more in other villages. If they don’t mind the hard work, they can go further to collect."
The two of them chatted and planned everything they needed to do for the next month or two while they were peeling beans.
"Are the broad beans ready yet?" Ms.Wang’s voice called out.
"Yes, they’re ready!" Yang Chuxia replied.
"Hurry up and bring them here. I’ll finish up, and you can go deliver food to your father," Ms.Wang ordered loudly.
"Alright."
It took only a short while for Ms.Wang to finish cooking. Yang Chuxia filled a large bowl with rice and scooped two more bowls of dishes, putting them into the food container.
Ye Zi’an didn’t accompany her because he wanted to discuss the house-building plans with Uncle Old Gen. He also intended to rebuild his own house.
Although his third uncle had offered to help build his house, Ye Zi’an knew it wouldn’t be right to rely entirely on him.
While Ye Zi’an and Uncle Old Gen talked about the details of the house building, such as how many people to hire, what materials to use, what style to make, and how big to build, Yang Chuxia made her way to the wasteland near Li’s Village with the food container.
On her way there, she initially wanted to take a shortcut but found it difficult to traverse, so she chose to take the main road instead. The main road passed the small bridge in Li’s Village, which reminded her of Old Lady Hua and Ms.Lv of Hua Family under the bridge.
Yang Chuxia wondered how Ms.Lv was doing and whether she had been beaten to death by her husband. She also thought about little Ms.Hua Junior and her child.
"Mom, hurry up. You’re so slow." As she pondered, a familiar voice reached her ears.
Yang Chuxia looked up and saw Yang Lichun and Ms.Ye. What were they doing here?
They had also brought large and small bags with them. What were they up to? Were they thinking of coming back?
"Oh, isn’t this Lu Lichun? Long time no see." Yang Chuxia’s cold voice startled the mother and daughter who were walking together.
Yang Lichun and Ms.Ye’s faces turned sour as they saw Yang Chuxia before they even reached the entrance of the village, and they began to feel uneasy.