You are my golden finger

After arranging matters at various construction sites and the weather getting hotter, Lin Xijin began to focus on ice making and iced beverage business.

He taught the method of making ice to the people sent by Murong Xu, and divided the 18 girls who had been bought and had learned how to make various iced drinks into three groups. Eight of them followed the transport team to Kyoto, six to the provincial capital, and four to the county. They were then asked to go to various stores to make and sell ice.

On April 12, the "Lin's Ice Drinks" stores in the county and the prefecture were officially opened, selling ice bricks for cooling off, various ice drinks and pastries. Since the ice bricks were relatively cheap and the various ice drinks were freshly made, cooling off and quenching thirst, they attracted many customers and became very popular.

The opening in Kyoto was delayed for a few days. The girls arrived in Kyoto on April 14 and the store officially opened on April 16. There are many wealthy people in Kyoto, so the prices are relatively high. The daily income is more than the sum of the previous two stores.

"Jin'er, except for the dormitories at the cement factory, the factory building is almost built. Can you spare some time to go and take a look tomorrow? The craftsmen are waiting for you to get the equipment." In the evening, Uncle Jian'an came to deliver the message from the craftsmen.

"Thank you, uncle. I'll take some time to go and take a look tomorrow."

In order to avoid the scorching summer sun, Lin Xijin got up early, watched Jia Jia and others doing morning exercises, and then set off on horseback.

It wasn't long before we reached the valley. Since the entrance and exit were blasted open by detonators, the road construction was progressing very quickly and this section of the road was almost completed.

The cement factory was indeed as Uncle Jianan said. The factory shed was built relatively quickly because only load-bearing walls and pillars were built. The floor tiles were already being laid. The dormitory had more walls to build, so the progress was slower.

After Lin Xijin finished the inspection, he gave a few more instructions and told the site manager Zhang Hongyi to go to the outskirts of the county to get the equipment tomorrow.

After giving the instructions, he drove from the exit to the yard in the suburbs of the county. The route did not require a detour and was indeed much closer. Lin Xijin brought out some of the oldest equipment such as stone mills and iron forging furnaces, and also brought out some greening saplings before heading to the construction site of the county medical college.

In addition to hiring craftsmen and Sun Lingyun's 200 people, they also hired nearly 300 square meters of laborers to carry bricks and stones, so the entire construction site was very busy and the progress was very fast. The people brought by Sun Lingyun were very capable and managed the entire construction site in an orderly manner.

"Captain Sun, thank you for your hard work!" Lin Xijin sincerely thanked him!

"You are too polite, my lord. This is what we should do." Captain Sun replied seriously.

"The Dragon Boat Festival is coming in a few days, and I'll reward everyone then!"

"Sun Lingyun would like to thank you in advance."

As soon as the Dragon Boat Festival was mentioned, the village head and the clan leader came to our house that night.

"Jin'er, the Dragon Boat Festival is coming in a few days. How do you think our village should celebrate it?" the head of the village asked first.

"Uncle, uncle, I've been a bit busy lately and haven't thought about this issue yet. Feel free to tell me what plans you two have." Lin Xijin said humbly.

"Everyone is busy. I see that everyone is not short of money now, so why not just buy some fish and shrimp, kill a few big pigs and a batch of ducks, and give each family a few pounds, and celebrate the festival happily." The patriarch suggested.

"That's a great idea. When the time comes, all construction sites in the county will have a day off with wages, so that everyone can have a reunion dinner with their families. Then it will be the uncles and uncles who have been working so hard on these things."

"It's not hard, we have nothing to do. You are the one who is busy with things outside, and you are the one who has worked hard!" The two men spoke to her sincerely without any airs of being elders.

The two men agreed on the matter and then said goodbye.

"Sister, it's the Dragon Boat Festival. Shall we make rice dumplings at home?" The two little girls, Jia Jia and Xin Lan, came up quickly.

"Zongzi! An An wants to eat some." An An is over four years old and can speak fluently.

"Okay. Let's make rice dumplings so everyone can eat!" Lin Xijin picked up An An and pinched his chubby face.

"How many rice dumplings does An An want to eat?" Lin Xijin teased him.

"One, two... seven, eight..." An An was counting on his little fingers. This kid didn't have much concept of numbers and was not afraid of his stomach bursting.

Everyone burst into laughter, and the whole hall was filled with a happy atmosphere.

Lin Xijin immediately asked the housekeeper to arrange to make rice dumplings two days in advance, and to go to the farm to fish, kill chickens, ducks, and pigs one day in advance. The soldiers at each construction site and the craftsmen who did not go home for the festival should be included, and every ten people should be at one table. Each table should be equipped with a fish, a chicken, a duck, five catties of meat, ten rice dumplings, and a jar of ten catties of wine. Various side dishes should also be prepared. They must be delivered to each construction site on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival.

The day before the Dragon Boat Festival, all construction sites finished work one hour earlier, and immediately distributed wages including the wages for the Dragon Boat Festival, and announced that the Dragon Boat Festival would be a day off with wages. After receiving their wages, everyone packed up their things and went home to celebrate the festival with great enthusiasm.

The craftsmen and soldiers who were unable to return home due to the long journey were told that the princess would deliver a festival gift to the construction site early the next morning. They were no longer sad, but waited with hope.

Xihui, Xinfeng, Xingcheng and Xiaowen also came back from Muyuan Village that night. Xihui and Xinfeng enthusiastically told Lin Xijin about the progress of movable type seal carving. It was said that a batch of models had been made and fired successfully, and more attempts were being made now.

The two followed the teacher to make the characters and learn carving from the seal carving master, and gained a lot. Lin Xijin looked at the two young boys who were full of energy and felt very comforted.

Ye Jinlin, Chuntao, Xingyuan and Xingwu also returned to the village to celebrate the festival. Xingwen was in Kyoto, and perhaps because the journey was too long, he did not come back.

Early in the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, the villagers gathered in Zhangshu to distribute the festival gifts in the village. Lin Xijin asked Xihui and Xinfeng to deal with them. Several horse-drawn carriages in the family were dispatched at the same time, loaded with rice dumplings and rice wine, and went to the farm to load meat and vegetables and send them to various construction sites.

Lin Xijin discussed the arrangements for lunch and dinner with the cooks at home. They would prepare a rich lunch and use a self-service method, so that everyone could take what they wanted. In the evening, they would set up a table for dinner and have a lively gathering.

The dinner was particularly rich, with braised pork, sweet and sour spare ribs, boiled beef, braised fish, roast duck, fried chicken... there were twelve dishes on each table, and the wine included white wine, red wine, orange juice, and grape juice. The watermelon, cantaloupe, and grapes were also ripe, and everyone was eating and drinking in the courtyard in a lively atmosphere.

Lin Xijin also gave red envelopes to the children and the old ladies, and paid an extra month's wages to the servants in the house. Everyone was grinning from ear to ear, with all eight teeth showing.