CHAPTER 174: CHAPTER 174: KEEP THE COMMOTION DOWN

After fishing, they went to find a lot of branches and leaves nearby and prepared to roast meat by the river.

A stove built of stones was set up, with a clay pot placed on it. They forgot to bring oil, so they couldn’t make fish soup and could only boil water.

Jiang Hu cut a piece of bamboo and made a few simple cups from the bamboo joints to drink water.

Soon, a dog’s barking came from afar, and Xiaomi immediately jumped up. It’s Xiao Hei!

Not only Xiao Hei, but also Xiao Mi and Jiang Yu were there.

Jiang Yu was carrying two fish and a limp snake in his hands.

The fish were caught from home and could be grilled for Liu Ze to eat. The snake was caught when Xiao Hei was on the mountain and could be grilled together to eat.

They strung the marinated wild chicken and fish on branches, lit a fire, and directly grilled them over it.

Jiang Hu had roasted field mice for Xiao Hei and Xiao Mi quite often over the past two years, so he was quite experienced. Grilling wild chicken and fish was easy for him.

Liu Ze ate two grilled fish, two rice balls he brought at noon, and drank a little hot water, feeling very full.

The rest of the food was consumed by the others, even the snake with its neck bitten off couldn’t escape the fate of being grilled.

When the whole family happily went home, they picked up Big Water Buffalo on the way, and the night had already fallen.

Some read books, some fed the pigs, while others had to prepare the vegetables for the next day.

"Brother Jiang, why don’t I help you deliver the vegetables starting tomorrow? On the last day of each month, you can settle the Silver Coin."

Xiaoxue helped hold the oil lamp while Qixi and Jiang Hu were sorting the vegetables.

At first, Jiang Hu didn’t quite react, paused for a moment, and asked, "What’s wrong? It’s almost winter, aren’t you cold?"

Qixi replied, "It’s not really about the cold. I just think there’s a lot of work at home, and Sister-in-law feels embarrassed to ask me to help. I might as well deliver vegetables every day, so you can do more at home."

There’s not too much or too little work at home, but because Jiang Hu has to spend two or three hours every morning, over the years, quite a bit of time has been delayed.

As a result, it always feels like the household chores can’t be finished, and there’s very little free time.

Jiang Hu hesitated for a moment but didn’t oppose: "Alright then, I appreciate your hard work."

After finishing with the vegetables, Erniang had already fed the pigs and the ducks and geese, and the water for washing had been heated.

With the weather gradually cooling, even the speed of bathing had increased. After a bath, lying in bed felt quite comfortable.

Usually tired from work, one would fall asleep almost immediately, but today they rested the whole day, so now lying in bed, surprisingly, it was a bit hard to fall asleep.

The night wasn’t so hot, and the old couple cuddled, not feeling sticky. After all, the children had their own rooms, so there was no worry about being seen.

However, now the children were probably still awake. Even though Jiang Hu had thoughts, he held back and first told Erniang about Qixi delivering vegetables.

Erniang turned slightly, facing him as she leaned into his arms.

Besides initially blushing a bit, over the past two years, she had gradually gotten used to being close to her husband.

"I was just thinking of telling you about this. Even though Qixi is here to take care of Xiao Ze, he works hard every day without complaint. I was thinking, let’s give him some wages every month as a gesture of our appreciation."

Jiang Hu thought for a moment: "You’re thoughtful, indeed. I overlooked this. How about we give him two hundred copper coins each month?"

Two hundred copper coins aren’t much, but it’s still reasonable.

After all, Qixi is a servant of the Liu family. Staying with the Jiang family, he also receives the Liu family’s Silver, so if they give too much, it might not be appropriate.

Besides, Qixi eats and drinks at the Jiang house without getting shortchanged, and he eats to his fill. With the Jiang family’s meals, if sold to a restaurant, it wouldn’t be cheap.

Erniang also thought of this: "I think that’s fine, two hundred it is. When he returns from delivering vegetables tomorrow, you can give it to him."

Jiang Hu: "No problem."

Saying this, Jiang Hu’s hands and feet started to become a bit restless: "Erniang, the kids are all asleep now..."

Even though they were asleep, they didn’t dare to make much noise, as the kids were not that young anymore. It would indeed be awkward if they heard anything.

At times like this, Jiang Hu sincerely hoped that the new house could be completed soon, and they could move in soon.

Early the next morning, the couple got up early and made breakfast together, one rolling out noodles, the other frying eggs.

While Jiang Yu and Qixi were washing up, Erniang quickly boiled the noodles. Homemade noodles with fried eggs and a few vegetable leaves made for a warm and satisfying breakfast.

When Jiang Yu found out that Qixi would be taking him to school, he was surprised for a moment but didn’t say much, as it didn’t matter who took him.

Jiang Hu naturally didn’t forget to tell them to take Liu Hai along.

As it was still early, Jiang Hu and Erniang went back to bed for another half-hour nap before getting up again to feed the pigs and chickens.

The young ducks and geese had grown a bit, and all had survived. They could soon play in the water.

Jiang Hu put the pig feed on to cook, then went to retrieve the bamboo poles left on the mountain yesterday. Only the bases had been carried back, as the bamboo was too tall to transplant whole.

Erniang fed the chickens, ducks, and geese and then started cooking the handmade noodles. Jiang Hu returned on the first trip, called the children to have breakfast, and the pig feed was ready.

"Erniang, you go cut some pig grass first. I will make two fences to enclose a section of the water channel for the young ducks and geese to swim."

"Alright," Erniang said, putting on a basket, "Xiaoxue, you watch the younger siblings at home. The dew is heavy in the fields, come with Dad later."

Xiaoxue nodded obediently: "Okay, Mother, you go ahead."

Liu Ze naturally stayed at home, first teaching Xiaoxue and the others to read for a while. Then, everyone went about their tasks.

Today, Xiaoxue was going to the river to do laundry, and Liu Ze followed. Xiaomi and Tiedan wanted to go too, but Jiang Hu stopped them.

These two were too young, particularly Tiedan. Without an adult watching them, it was not safe for them to go by the river together.

Jiang Hu moved quickly. In less than half an hour, he had woven two decent fences to block the water channel, preventing the young ducks and geese from straying too far.

Since they were upstream of the river, doing laundry or washing sweet potatoes was fine, but raising ducks and geese might not be considerate towards the families downstream who wash clothes.

Jiang Hu found a thin bamboo pole, tied two strips of rag at the top, and led the curious Xiaomi and Tiedan to herd the young ducks and geese out.

"Tiedan, Xiaomi, in the future, taking care of the ducks and geese will be your responsibility. You should guide them like this to the water channel."

When the young geese strayed, Jiang Hu waved the long bamboo pole beside them, and they returned to the right path.

Upon hearing they had a task, Tiedan was immediately excited, feeling as if he had grown up suddenly, and agreed repeatedly.