Chapter 98 Taking advantage of everything

Chapter 98 Taking advantage of everything

Picking up a steamed bun and taking a bite, I was surprised to find that it actually contained quite a bit of wheat flour, making it much softer and more delicate than the ones they usually ate.

"Aunt Chen, are there only two steamed buns for you?"

Aunt Chen shook her head, "There will be two more when you get the soup later."

The villager who asked the question was satisfied. Four of them! He was sure he would have enough to eat.

What Aunt Chen didn't say was that Xie Wanniang had actually prepared five for each person, but they all felt that four would be enough.

Of course, only Aunt Chen and Wang Xiaozhi dared to say this openly; no one else would risk offending others by speaking out just to save food for Xie Wanniang and the others.

With a good lunch, everyone worked even harder in the afternoon, because they were all looking forward to the delicious dinner.

As expected, Xie Wanniang prepared a meat dish for dinner that evening. She added a lot of chopped pork neck, ribs, and back ribs to the dried green bean strips from last autumn and stewed them together. The aroma wafted over the courtyard wall, making everyone who smelled it swallow their saliva once again.

In addition to the green bean and pork rib stew, Xie Wanniang also prepared a large pot of wood ear and egg drop soup.

And because most people would take some home after dinner, Xie Wanniang increased the number of steamed buns from four to five, so that they could take one more bun home to help the elderly and children in their families.

The villagers, laborers, and apprentices praised Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang, who were the owners, highly. Even the three craftsmen, who were relatively well-off, became more dedicated to their work because of their openness and kindness.

Over the next twenty days, Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang's new house was completed one after another. The villagers who came to help them with the work were so grateful for the two meals they provided that they were both affordable and delicious that even though they were exhausted, they couldn't bear to leave halfway through.

As for those villagers who didn't come on the first day, but came on the second, third, or even later days to help out because of the good food they provided, without exception, they were all dismissed by Jiang Yuan and his group with the excuse that "there are already enough people, and if there are any more, there won't be any room to move."

Next, it's time to demolish and rebuild Hao Yu's house. Before that, Jiang Yuan and the others have to move all their belongings to Jiang Yuan's house, which has been aired out for a while.

The move didn't require the help of craftsmen and laborers, and it also required choosing an auspicious day to hold a small-scale feast. So after Xie Wan's family home was completed, the craftsmen, laborers, and villagers all had two days of free time.

It wasn't until Hao Yu and the others had moved with the help of Chen Zhao's family that everyone came back to help Hao Yu demolish the old house and rebuild the new one.

What's rather absurd is that, because Hao Yu's old house didn't have any of the unpleasant signs of disrepair, such as leaks or drafts, some people in the village actually set their sights on his mud bricks and timber.

Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan watched as the craftsmen, laborers, and villagers demolished the house. The Wang family, who loved to take advantage of others, shamelessly showed up uninvited, planning to take the timber that had not yet shown any signs of decay after Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan demolished the old house.

They had already discussed it privately. If Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan didn't object to them moving the timber, they would take the mud bricks from Hao Yu's house as well. If Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan jumped out and stopped them from moving the timber, they would pick out the coarse and good timber first, and then sneak back at night to steal the remaining inferior timber and mud bricks.

In short, they definitely have to take advantage of this.

It should be noted that they were not particularly discerning; they were simply interested in the materials from Hao Yu's abandoned old house.

The reason why they didn't steal the bricks, tiles, and timber that Jiang Yuan had ordered, but instead took the opportunity to "pick up" the "unused scraps" from Hao Yu's family, was because Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan had been taking turns guarding that wasteland day and night with bows and arrows ever since the first batch of bricks and tiles arrived.

They were greedy for cheap prices, but they also valued their lives. Since they couldn't steal the brand-new building materials, they turned their attention to the building materials of Hao Yu's old house.

These old building materials, which had been used for more than ten years, were certainly not worth much money. But it was precisely because they were not worth much money that the family felt they had a chance to pick them up without spending a penny.

Hao Yu was speechless. These things were indeed worthless, but that didn't mean he couldn't reuse them.

He called Chen Zhao and others and told them to keep a close eye on the Wang family, who were always looking for cheap things. "Even if it's just thatch or clods of earth, don't let them take it."

If it were a poor family with decent character, he wouldn't mind giving away all the old house building materials for free.

But this family not only likes to steal things from other people's homes, they also like to make unreasonable accusations against others.

If they encounter any misfortune after taking these things, such as injuring their foot while moving wood, they might come over and make a scene, demanding money from you because the stolen items belong to your family.

Although Hao Yu has many ways to deal with them and would never actually let them extort money from his family, it would still affect his mood and waste his time.

Rather than doing that, he might as well nip the problem in the bud.

Wang Da Niang's family, who had been keeping a close eye on Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan, quickly realized from his and Chen Zhao's behavior that he did not welcome them.

Stared at by a dozen strong young men, no matter how unwilling they were, they had no choice but to obediently leave Hao Yu's house because of the circumstances.

Leaving aside how they cursed and complained about Hao Yu's stinginess on their way home, let's just talk about the craftsmen, laborers, and villagers who had already demolished the old house.

At Hao Yu's instruction, they sorted and piled the old house building materials in a corner of Hao Yu's yard.

After being crushed, mud bricks can be used as foundation filler or composted with thatch, straw, etc. to improve the soil.

The wooden structures, such as beams, purlins, rafters, and door and window frames, have been used for more than ten years, and Hao Yu does not want to reuse them, so he plans to use them directly as firewood.

The blue bricks used to cover the front of the main house can be used to build walls, pave floors, or construct chicken coops, pig pens, or livestock sheds.

In short, nothing will be wasted.

They were tearing down Hao Yu's house, while Xie Wanniang was in Jiang Yuan's new house, preparing lunch for everyone with Wang Xiaozhi and others.

While working, Wang Xiaozhi complained to Xie Wanniang in a low voice, "My uncle and aunt come to my house every day to block me, insisting that I help them mediate with A Yuan. I'm so annoyed by them."