Chapter 121 Hot Pot

  Inside, a wooden barrel was installed for flushing water, and it came with a water scoop. Even the tile worker said that this was the cleanest toilet they had ever seen. It should be said that this brick-built toilet was not considered a thatched toilet at all. Everyone was envious, and the cost of building it was naturally staggering. They could calculate how much silver would be spent on such things, and every time they thought about it, they were shocked. Especially in the front yard, the entire courtyard wall was made of green bricks, with a large wooden door that was very beautiful and painted red. In the backyard, there was a pigpen and a cowshed, both built with green bricks, leaving everyone stunned...

  The wooden doors and windows were installed in the house, the windows were pasted, and curtains were nailed up. This was what Shen Sisi had copied from modern times. Rich families had bead curtains, but poor families didn't bother with such things. However, Shen Sisi still used blue cloth to make curtains. Basically, except for furniture, this home was now taking shape.

  Shen Sisi looked at the white wall and couldn't help but laugh. At first, she had insisted on painting it white despite everyone's objections. Now it looked really bright and beautiful. Although white was considered an unlucky color here, Shen Sisi didn't care about that. Zhong Gensheng naturally listened to her, and although others were jealous in their hearts, they couldn't help but think that the whitewashed wall was indeed brighter than the muddy one. It was a wonder how Tuni had thought of it.

  She stepped on the green bricks, looking at the extremely low threshold, she laughed happily, thinking that the threshold was also more particular here. However, Shen Sisi had done a good job with the drainage system, so she was afraid of making it too high, easy to trip over, and besides, it wasn't needed to block water, but rather got in the way. The threshold was still insisted on by Zhong Gensheng, so she left just a little bit as a token gesture. Otherwise, she really wanted to make it flat, which would be more convenient for entering and exiting. Anyway, she had to respect the meaning of this place a bit, after all, the threshold represented the entrance of a home.

  The heating in the house is also very good, all buried under the blue bricks. In winter, as long as a fire is lit in the kitchen, the hot air can slowly reach the room through the pipes, and it's quite warm.

  "Father, after moving in the furniture, we can move in..."

  "Just burn some mugwort leaves, it's supposed to drive out the damp and evil air..." Zhong Gensheng smiled: "It's a custom, I'll come and do it this afternoon..."

  "Right, Dad, let's get a few fruit tree saplings and plant them in the empty space in the front yard first. Even if they're idle, it's still better than being completely idle. We can use half of it to rest and chat, and the other half will make the front yard look even more spacious..." Shen Sisi said with a soft smile.

  "Don't worry, I've got it in mind...” Zhong Gen hastily replied, “There are many fruit tree saplings on the back mountain. When I go to pick some mugwort and dry grass, I'll dig up a few more and bring them back. It's something that can be done within one or two hours..."

  "Dad, is the carpenter's work done?! Now that it's getting cold, we need to hurry up and move into the new house. We also need to go into town to buy some more grain to prepare for winter, or else we'll run out of food at home. How are we going to get through the winter then?!" said Shen Sisi.

  "It's almost done, we can move in the day after tomorrow. I'll pick a date and move the furniture in first, then we can move in too. What do you think?" Zhong Gensheng smiled: "But we still need to entertain guests, this is one thing that can't be skipped when moving into a new house..."

  "It's all right as long as Dad agrees," Shen Sisi became excited, and she couldn't wait to move into the new house.

  Zhong Gensheng had been busy with the new house for over a month, and now that it was completed, he was extremely delighted. In the afternoon, he hastily went up the mountain, burning mugwort in every room to drive out dampness and evil spirits. He also pruned the fruit tree saplings in the front yard, wrapping them tightly with branches and dry grass to prevent them from freezing to death. After finishing everything, he finally left the new house, locking the red wooden gate of the courtyard. Zhong Gensheng felt deeply satisfied, having even bought a large iron lock specifically for this purpose in town. From afar, it looked truly magnificent, and in this mountainous and watery countryside, it was indeed perfect.

  In his heart, this house is no different from those in the city. If two stone lions are added, a plaque can be hung with the words "Zhong Fu". Unfortunately, there is no meritorious name in the family, which is absolutely against the rules. It's just possible to think wildly about it.

  Back home, the house was bustling with activity. Today, they were going to cook a meal for six tile workers and two carpenters, and also settle their wages. Zhong Gensheng saw that he couldn't help much, so he went out to buy wine.

  The home was filled with joy, and He Axiu smiled softly: "I see that the almanac says tomorrow is a good day to move into the new house. Tuni, how about moving tomorrow? This house is really beautiful, I truly love it! I never thought I'd be able to live in a house with green bricks and glazed tiles in my lifetime... I'm content for this life..."

  "Tomorrow is absolutely settled..." Shen Sisi smiled and said: "Dad said the carpenter will finish it soon, we'll move in what's already done tomorrow afternoon, and leave one or two things that aren't finished yet, it doesn't matter, we can move them later. In the afternoon, we'll tidy up at home and then move in..."

  "Ah... " Ah He smiled with excitement, saying: "I love the four large stoves and one small stove in that big kitchen, it's really luxurious. In this village, which family can have such a kitchen? It's as big as someone else's house! Just look at the four chimneys, all puffing out smoke together, how magnificent!"

  Niu Xiaohua also smiled and said, "Tuniu, I like the hot pot you made. I don't know how you came up with it. In winter, put charcoal fire underneath, put the pot on top to simmer while eating, the dishes won't get cold, it's really a good thing..."

  Shen Sisi smiled and said: "I made four, leaving two at home, the remaining two, one for Niu Shu to take back and use, and one for Li Zheng's family..."

  Niu Xiaohua looked at her with emotion and said: "Thanks to you for thinking of my dad, Tuniu, you're really good..."

  "Don't be polite, we're family, it's just a small favor, I did it conveniently. The iron pot isn't worth much money, but it's still a bit hot when using it, remind Uncle Niu to be careful..."

  That hot pot is made of iron, with a round bucket shape at the bottom that has ventilation holes, and charcoal fire can be placed inside. The outside of the iron is wrapped in aluminum, which can slightly isolate some heat. On top is an iron pot, which doesn't cost much money.

  "Got it, I'll tell my dad..." Niu Xiaohua said with a smile.

  "Let Da Bao go," Shen thought lightly and smiled, "What can he do by running around?!"

  Niu Xiaohua's face turned red at once, and she refused to make another sound, only silently chopping vegetables with her head down.

  She thought to herself, but still held back a smile. She called Da Bao over and explained the rules of hot pot to him clearly, as well as the things to pay attention to. Only then did she laugh and say: "One is sent to Uncle Niu's hands, one is sent to Li Zheng's hands, and they're all told to come for dinner tonight? Now that our house is built, how can we not have them two...?"

  "Got it......" Da Bao grabbed the hot pot and ran away in a flash.

  Niu Xiaohua heard the voice in the courtyard, pursed her lips and blushed, her heart racing with excitement.

  A nearly thirteen-year-old girl, already at an age of knowing things, and besides knowing that the one outside is her future husband, and meeting every day, how can she not be shy, so she didn't speak up.

  Shen Sisi sized up the hot pot, she developed this thing, and it also made her earn a sum of money, mainly because the blacksmith wanted to use this thing to make a batch for sale in his store. Shen Sisi would not give it to him for free, so she naturally took the money, although it was only twenty taels, but for her, it was still pretty good. Besides, she wasn't even the one who invented this thing, and even if she didn't sell it, others could see it and imitate it, so she let the blacksmith buy it and make a batch to take the lead.

  This thing doesn't have much technical content, and now she can get twenty taels, she's already very satisfied. She happily washed the two pots clean, then took out a few burnt wood coals from under the stove, threw them into an iron bucket, put down the pot, and then poured in the pig miscellaneous tofu soup, filling up two large pots. Now it's slowly simmering, and eating hot at night is just right. It's cold today, and dishes are easy to get cold, so naturally hot ones taste good. Moreover, there's a fire pot, if other stir-fried dishes get cold, they can be warmed up again in it. Besides, she also cooked a lot of base ingredients for later use. If the bottom is burnt, it can be added back into the soup base.

  She went into the kitchen to continue cooking, making two large tables full of dishes. Because it was cold, it wasn't suitable to set up in the courtyard, so they were all placed inside the main room. When eight people arrived, they smelled a strong aroma and their stomachs growled with hunger. This meal was even better than what they had eaten at noon.

  Niu Laogen and Li Zheng also entered the door, both of them carrying a jug of wine in their hands. When they came to eat, they always ate well, but it was embarrassing to come empty-handed.

  When the meal was served, a group of people looked at the bubbling hot pot in amazement and said: "This is really something good, how did you think of it, it's wonderful..."

  Niu Laogen and Li Zheng exchanged a glance, smiled, they both knew this was from Tuniu.

  "Hurry up and sit down...". Zhong Gensheng laughed: "We'll have one table, the children and the women will have another, come on, sit down and eat..."

  One table sat ten people, another table was He Axiu with her family eating and chatting, listening to them drinking wine, everyone was flattering Zhong Gensheng again and again. Zhong Gensheng was happy and naturally drank a lot of wine, but these people were all down-to-earth and didn't intentionally make things difficult for him. Next came the exciting hot pot meal, eating until their tongues were about to fall off, saying: "This is really delicious, this pot is great, I have to go home and buy one..."

  Zhong Gensheng smiled and said, "You can buy it at Wang Tie's blacksmith shop on Shichang Street in the city. This pot is good for eating in winter, it won't get cold, and it doesn't waste charcoal fire, very convenient..."

  "Yes," everyone echoed in agreement.

  After eating more than half, everyone's speed slowed down. Zhong Gensheng said in a low voice: "Later I will settle the wages for you all. Our family wants to dig a big pond in the backyard, I don't know if you have time recently. I want to take advantage of the weather not being too cold to dig it out, and tomorrow is a good day to raise fish..."

  Everyone hastily nodded and said: "Yes, yes, yes......"