My delicate husband

After a week of hard work, the well was finally dug.

Li the well carpenter covered the well mouth with a stone slab and said to Lan An with a smile, "Wait for the water to settle this afternoon, and it will be ready for use tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Uncle Li."

"You're welcome. I really like your braised pork. It goes well with wine. When you make it, send me a portion."

"Okay, I'll make it tomorrow or the day after tomorrow and send you a copy then."

"Okay, I'll go back then. If you have any problems with the well, just ask Brother Guo to come to my house and find me."

"it is good."

Lan An paid the balance and gave an extra 20 cents as a reward. Li Jingjiang did not refuse and accepted it readily.

Carpenter Li delivered all the lunch boxes yesterday. Lan An took a look and thought they were pretty good, so he paid for them readily. He asked Guo Ge'er to take the plates into the kitchen, boil a large pot of hot water, and wash them clean.

Lan An did not plan to use willow trees to make chopsticks. He planned to use bamboo. There were a lot of bamboos on the back mountain, so Lan An went to cut down a large one. He has been making chopsticks in the yard for the past two days.

"Anger, these chopsticks are pretty good, but they take a lot of effort to polish."

"It's my fault. I forgot to order it."

"It's okay, save some money."

Everyone in the village knows that Lan'an is going to do business. In recent days, many aunts have come to Lan'an's house to chat. Most of them have a good relationship with Lan'an's family. They like the braised meat that Lan'an sent. Since they have nothing to do at home recently, they come to help Lan'an. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to finish making these chopsticks.

"The market opens tomorrow. When will you sell this lunch?"

"Auntie Wang, the day after tomorrow. We still have some materials to prepare."

"Do you want radish and cabbage? I have plenty at home."

"Sister Fang (Li Daren's wife), you are so polite. We have enough at home."

"Your lunch boxes won't be selling for long, right? Aren't you still asking us to work? The vegetables in your yard aren't enough."

"I'll need to tell you later."

"Okay, you're welcome."

The people that Aunt Wang asked to help Lan An were all capable young wives from Lianhua Village, including Sister Fang, Sister Lan, Aunt Ju, and Sister Mei. They were all good at work. Of course, Aunt Wang would also help Lan An when she had time.

Lan An was generous with his money, paying him twenty cents a day, and he only had to work for two or three hours. Lan An was not the kind of person who would endure hardship without any effort. It would be much easier if someone helped him, and there was no need for him to do it alone. After all, he still had a lot of work to do, and he still needed to grow taller.

"Ang'er, spring plowing is only two months away, and we can't come here for the spring plowing."

"Yeah, it's okay. I also want to plant the crops during the spring plowing."

"You have quite a lot of land, three acres. You'll be busy for a while."

If the aunts hadn't mentioned spring plowing, Lan An would have forgotten that he was going to farm. It seemed that he really had to buy a cow. It just so happened that he had to go to the county town to sell lunch boxes every day, so it wasn't good to keep renting the cow from Uncle Zhang's house.

The chopsticks are ready and the aunts have all gone home. Lan An returned to the room. He still had a lot of things to discuss with Zhang Xiaomo. Obviously, he could make the decision, but he just loved this feeling. It was a very happy thing to have someone willing to listen to you talk about trivial household chores.

"Brother Xiaomo, stop reading and let's discuss something."

"An'an, tell me."

Lan An loves talking to Zhang Xiaomo. Every time they chat, Zhang Xiaomo is always patient and looks into Lan An's eyes gently without being perfunctory. This is something Lan An has never experienced before.

"Brother Xiaomo, does your family have three acres of land?"

"Yes, An An, besides the fields, our family also has land. In the box where I keep my books, there is a small box with the deeds to the house, the fields, and the land in it."

"Brother Xiaomo, tell me everything. Aren't you afraid that I'll run away with the money?"

"Will An An escape?"

"No, Brother Xiaomo, I will make a lot of money and build you a big house. We will buy a lot of land and become the landlord."

"Okay, I'll listen to An An."

"Hehe, Brother Xiaomo, let's buy a cow. It will be more convenient for farming."

"Uh-huh, An An, can you drive a bull?"

“Does this need to be verified?”

"An An, you're being naughty again. Do you know how to farm? Farming is hard work, and there's no one at home who can help you. How about we rent out the land?"

"No, I already said I want to be a landlord. I can learn even if I don't know how. Brother Xiaomo, I can do it. Believe me."

"I've always believed in An An, and I think you've worked so hard."

"With you, I never feel tired."

"I want Guoge to sleep in my previous room. His room is too small and stuffy."

"Okay, I'll listen to An An."

"When I make enough money, I'll replace our beds. I'll replace the beds in all three rooms. I also want to order a wardrobe and a dressing table for Guo. Boys his age love beauty the most."

"Yeah, you can make the arrangements, but don't buy so much for Guo Ge'er. He's just a naughty monkey, so just take care of him casually. There's no need to be too elaborate."

"Are you jealous?"

"An An knows and still asks me, how mean."

"I have to get up early tomorrow and go to the market. I'll book a stall and buy some ingredients. I'll start selling boxed lunches the day after tomorrow."

"An An, don't be too tired."

"I'm not tired, Brother Xiaomo. I won't be tired as long as you accompany me."

"You, idiot."

The two chatted for a while. Zhang Xiaomo felt a little sleepy, but he still cheered up to chat with Lan An. He knew that he probably didn't have much time left, so he wanted to spend more time with Lan An. He didn't want Lan An to work so hard for him at all. This would make him feel more like a burden and even more unwilling to live. But he couldn't bear to let her go. People are so greedy.

"Go to sleep."

"An'an, good night."

After Zhang Xiaomo fell asleep, Lan An sat at the desk thinking about how to deal with the upcoming spring plowing.

Lan Euan thought for a moment but had no idea, so he could only go to the warehouse at home to see if there were any farm tools.

In the warehouse, farm tools are neatly placed together, and you can see how much the owner takes care of them.

There were sickles, hoes, and rectangular objects woven from vitex, though I didn't recognize the blue eucalyptus. There were also baskets, backpacks, and so on.

There was nothing used for plowing the land, so he thought of using a hoe to dig it. Lan An thought of the Quyuan pear, but he didn't know how to make it.

Lan An thought about it and decided to wait and see. If it doesn’t work out, he can go to the county town to find a long-term worker. Any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem. The most worrying thing is not having money, so he has to hurry up and make money.

The market will open tomorrow. The second wave of rice in the space has been harvested and a new wave has been planted. The peppers in the space will mature in a week. A lot of cabbage has been harvested and there is no need to plant them in the short term. Lan Euan thought it would be better to plant radishes and lotus roots.

Now he had thirty taels of silver in his hand. Except for ten taels that he couldn't use, he still had twenty taels left, which should be enough to buy a cow. Lan An didn't plan to buy one now, after all, he had already paid Uncle Zhang for a month's rent for the ox cart.

"Brother Guo, from now on you will live in my previous room, and your room will be used to store miscellaneous items."

"Okay, Ange, are we moving today?"

"We're moving today, so we just have time."

The two of them spent half an hour tidying up the room. Guo Ge'er was still happy. He liked An Ge'er's room. It was more spacious and brighter than his room, and the bed was much bigger. He didn't have to worry about falling to the ground in the middle of the night.

Lan'an made egg fried rice tonight and also stir-fried some greens. There was some braised pork left at home, so it was just enough for one meal. Lan'an would make it again tomorrow. Of course, the main reason was that Lan'an wanted to eat egg fried rice. He hadn't eaten it for a long time. When he was punished before, his eldest brother made it for him. Although it tasted terrible and he could eat the egg shells, he still liked it.

Early the next morning, Lan An got up early, packed up and planned to go to the county town to buy ingredients. Guo Ge'er stayed at home to take care of Zhang Xiaomo. Lan An would not stay in the county town for too long. He would come back after buying things. His main task this time was to buy a stall.

The county town was very lively. Today was the first day of business and there were crowds of people. Lan An waited for a long time in the market. There were many vendors looking for the city officials to rent stalls. Fortunately, Lan An lined up early, but he didn't have many stalls left. Lan An chose a more expensive one, but because the price was too high, no one rented it.

Lan'an paid a one-month deposit of 450 wen. If he wanted to renew the lease, he would rent it to Lan'an in advance. Even if Lan'an did not come this month, the stall would not be given to anyone else. After signing the documents and pressing the fingerprints, the matter was considered settled and quite formal.

"Anger, this is quite expensive, 450 wen a month."

"Uncle Zhang, this stall is great and spacious."

"If you think it's okay, then let's go to the market."

"Okay, let's go to the grocery store later."

Lan An bought two large bones, ten pounds of pig offal, a pig's head, and two pounds of pork, spending a little over 100 coins. He then went to the grocery store and bought 10 pounds of brown rice and 10 pounds of brown noodles for 100 coins. Uncle Zhang was accompanying him, so Lan An was not in a position to buy too many things. He planned to wait until he finished selling his lunch boxes tomorrow before going shopping.

As soon as Lan Euan returned home, the aunts arrived.

"Ang'er, aren't you supposed to wash something? What did you buy? Why does it smell so bad?"

Lan An took out the pig head and offal that he had bought, and everyone looked at them with some disgust.

"Anger, we don't eat this. It smells too bad."

"Don't worry, it will definitely be delicious."

Lan Euan taught the aunts how to clean it. Fortunately, there was a well at home, otherwise it would be really inconvenient. Seeing the pig offal, Lan Euan first put wood ash to rinse it, and then put flour, coarse salt, and cooking wine to rub it. Everyone felt it was a bit wasteful, but they still cleaned it very carefully.

After all the ingredients are cleaned, blanch the blue eucalyptus with ginger slices and white wine to remove the fishy smell, and then stew it in the brine.

"Anger, did you make the braised meat for us this way before? No wonder it tastes so good. It's so complicated to make."

"That's what I was saying. They're both radishes, but yours tastes like meat."

Lan Euan just smiled and said nothing.

"Aren't you selling it today?"

"Sister-in-law Lan, it starts tomorrow."

"Okay, we'll go back after we're done."

Lan'an was busy the whole morning, and Guo Ge'er was not idle either, running around. Zhang Xiaomo felt sorry for him, but fortunately the villagers were more sensible and no one gossiped. Well, as long as you don't steal or rob, no one will say anything no matter how you fill your stomach.

"Brother Xiaomo, Lanmo Boxed Lunch will open tomorrow."

"An An, thank you for your hard work."

"Brother Xiaomo, wait until I make money to buy you beautiful clothes. I saw a lot of new clothes when I was shopping in the county today."

"An An, there's no need to work so hard."

"Brother Xiaomo, you are unhappy."

"An An, I just feel sorry for you."

"If you feel bad, just hug me more."