Song Sanniang's Journey to Wealth

After waking up, Song Laoer and his family picked up their winnowing baskets and went to their own fields to pick straw mushrooms. When they got to the fields, they saw

Some straw mushrooms have already grown out of the wet straw, white and little by little.

The larger ones are like small umbrellas, grayish white, and as thick as a thumb.

The smaller ones are like tadpoles, only as small as a little finger.

Some people picked the ones with their heads sticking out of the straw, and some turned over the straw and picked from inside. For a moment, it was like a treasure hunt.

From time to time, you can hear the four and five women screaming when they encounter small insects.

Several people worked together and quickly picked out all the straw mushrooms from the straw, filling up half a winnowing basket. Then they went home.

On the way, Song Ersao and the villagers bought some vegetables and took them home.

When we got home, we removed the straw that stuck to the mushrooms and cleaned them.

Song Ersao and Song Laoer caught all the chickens and ducks to be slaughtered and started to kill them.

Song Sanniang helped to boil water, while Si Niang, Wu Niang and Qin Haoxi were waiting there to clean up the place that was dirty from killing chickens and ducks, and Qin Haodong went to fetch water again.

While everyone was busy, Niu Laosan and his family arrived, carrying a basket of eggs.

When Niu Zhuangzhuang saw Qin Haoxi, he happily went up to him and wanted to play with him, while Niu Qianqian followed behind him and planned to play with Si Niang and Wu Niang.

Niu Laosan and Niu San's aunt joined Song Laoer and his wife in killing chickens and ducks.

Maybe Song Dazhuang's family lived nearby and heard the noise, so his whole family came to help.

Sister Cuihua had saved up some eggs these days, and she brought them to Song Dazhuang's house. Song Dazhuang also brought a piece of kudzu root as thick as his arm.

This kudzu vine and pork bone soup is delicious. The kudzu vine tastes powdery and glutinous, and is also very tasty.

For a moment, the room was as lively as a wedding banquet, with all kinds of noises rang out in the room.

The sound of women's chattering and laughter, the men's rough voices, and the children's childish laughter.

"Oh, you guys came so early, it's so lively." Uncle Liu walked in with a jar of wine in his hand.

Uncle Liu followed behind with a big bag of cakes.

Behind Grandpa Liu and Grandma Liu were my aunt, my second aunt, and the children.

My eldest aunt, my second aunt, and Liu Zezheng brought two tables and dishes over.

"Brother, Brother, you are back." Mrs. Song shouted in surprise.

"I'm back now. I've been to several villages talking to the villagers about collecting cassava flour. I'll have to go there on the next trip to get it."

"Don't worry, we have enough on hand. Besides, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, we will open a store in the capital. The store needs to be renovated, so it won't open so soon." Song Lao Er laughed and said,

"We've only been away for a few days, and you've already opened a store in the capital. That's really impressive."

Uncle Liu came home today and was surprised to learn that his wife had earned dozens of taels of silver by helping his sister's family make mooncakes. He didn't expect that his sister's family would open a shop in the capital so soon.

"If you need help, just ask. We have a lot of people at home." Uncle Liu put the cakes on the table and said,

Grandfather and Grandma Liu also heard these words and were happy for their daughter. She had finally made it through and could even help her parents' family. The couple were both delighted.

A group of people set the table, put the dishes in the kitchen, and ran home to get a stool.

Song Dazhuang's house was closer, so Sister Cuihua instructed Song Ming and others to go home and get some stools, and everyone was busy.

The clan leader and the fourth uncle also came together, none of them came empty-handed.

The clan leader brought an old hen, and Song Datong and Song Dazhi took the bowls and chopsticks for the three of them.

The fourth uncle took a big carp, and his two sons took bowls and chopsticks for the whole family.

This is how it is in the countryside. If there are not enough bowls and chopsticks, you can bring your own.

As soon as a few big men entered the yard, the yard suddenly became cramped.

My aunt and her friends moved the table outside the door and placed it there. It seemed that three tables were not enough, so they went to Cuihua's house and moved another one in.

In the countryside, every household uses an octagonal table for dining, and they also use benches at home, which can seat many people.

Sometimes when people in the village have a wedding, every household would pool together tables, chairs, benches, bowls and chopsticks, and then return them after the meal.

The children were all having a blast, it felt like they were at a wedding. The four women had already taken out all the toys, and a large group of children were playing at the door.

The kitchen was already crowded with people, so the men didn't go in to help. They just sat together and chatted.

For example, Uncle Liu and Song Dazhuang simply didn't sit at the table, but just sat casually under the eaves.

Then Song Lao Er, as the host, also went over to entertain the guests and served tea and snacks.

Song Laoer talked about his family's plan to build a house, and everyone discussed how to arrange it.

"My family plans to open a store in the city after the Mid-Autumn Festival. All of us will go there, and there will be no one to look after the new house.

This is what I planned. I asked my eldest brother to be the supervisor.

Fourth uncle, your family is an expert. How to build a house and what materials to choose, I will trouble you for all these.

Village chief, you measured the land with me. It's such a large place, so we can't have too few people.

I'd like to trouble your family to find someone to help build it. For example, the clan leader's family and Da Zhuang's family must be invited.

As for who else we need to invite, please discuss this with the village chief and fourth uncle.

As for the third brother, I plan to ask you to go to the city to help me. And eldest brother and second brother, you will help me transport the materials to the city when the time comes. My eldest and second sisters-in-law will cook for everyone.

I invited everyone here without telling you in advance, and I don’t know if you have the time.”

After Song Laoer's call, everyone had something to do. It was not long after the autumn harvest, and no one had any work.

The fourth uncle was the most senior, so he spoke first without being asked.

"I'm an old hand at this. If you build a new house, I'll help you build it even if I don't charge you for the sake of my brother.

Don't worry, just tell me what kind of house you want to build, and I, an old man, will lead the team myself."

"Dad, you just need to sit on a stool and watch us work every day. Don't come in person."

When the fourth uncle's eldest son heard what his grandfather said, he panicked. His grandfather was already very old and was just waiting for the day of his funeral.

Don’t let anything go wrong with the construction of the house, or else your second son’s house will become unlucky.

Everyone tried their best to persuade him, and the old man finally stopped talking.

So the village chief discussed with the fourth uncle's family who to look for.

They first asked the clan leader's family which people they planned to hire to do the job. There was nothing much to ask about Song Dazhuang's family, as he was the only one who could do the job.

After everyone had carefully selected the candidates, Song Lao Er talked to everyone about what kind of house they wanted to build.

The men here are talking excitedly,

The women were also busy in the kitchen, slaughtering chickens, ducks and fish, washing and cutting vegetables, and making various side dishes. The chopping board made a thumping sound, and everyone was chatting about all kinds of gossip, laughing from time to time.

The clay pot on the stove was emitting steam, and braised pig's trotters with soybeans were stewing inside, emitting bursts of fragrance.

Outside the door, a group of children, both big and small, gathered together, some were playing pot-throwing, some were flying kites, some were playing cuju, and some were wearing masks and doing all kinds of funny things. Everyone was having a great time.