Wu Huiniang was truly curious. "Mother, can this really be used to make snacks?" Cheng Loanloan glanced at the basket. Two catties of Physalis fruit could yield half a catty of jelly seeds. In total, she could probably get about five catties from this batch.
She paused her movements. "Soak these peeled seeds in cooled boiled water for a while."
Wu Huiniang immediately got up to boil water and let it cool, then placed the seeds into a small bowl of water to soak.
These seeds needed to be soaked in water for a long time to make them easier to work with later. Cheng Loanloan put away the jelly seeds and stood up to prepare lunch for her sons. After lunch, they still had to go up the mountain to continue digging the ditch.
While she was busy with her work, she heard Zhao Sidan shout from behind, "Big Red, why are you bullying Second Yellow!"
Zhao Sidan hurriedly ran over and lifted the large rooster that was on top of Second Yellow. The big rooster immediately squawked angrily.
Cheng Loanloan: "..."
Well done, you've personally ruined the chance for those eggs to turn into chicks.
She left her work and went out to rescue Big Red the rooster, then said seriously, "Sidan, don't you want chicks?"
Zhao Sidan blinked and nodded. "Grandma said having a rooster is enough, but Big Red always bullies Second Yellow. Mother, let's just kill Big Red and make soup..."
He couldn't control his drooling.
The big rooster quickly flew away with a powerful flap of its wings.
Cheng Loanloan was completely defeated.
She bought the rooster for it to hatch eggs. If it was just for eating, why would she spend eighty *wen*? Such a large sum of money. No, it was one hundred and sixty *wen*.
She said gently, "Big Red isn't bullying the hen. It wants to be friends with the hen. For example, your second brother and third brother often bully you, but you don't get beaten to death. On the contrary, your relationship with your second and third brothers is very good, isn't it?"
Zhao Sidan tilted his head in compromise. "Alright, it seems that way. So I won't interfere anymore, okay?"
Cheng Loanloan nodded. "Children don't need to worry about this. Just wait for the chicks to hatch later..."
As soon as she looked up, she saw four children standing at the courtyard gate. The four children, about seven or eight years old, were pacing back and forth, not daring to enter.
Auntie Zhao had a bad reputation for mistreating her own children, so these children were afraid of being beaten if they went in to ask for eggs.
Cheng Loanloan said, "Sidan, go to the chicken coop and see how many eggs there are."
This was Zhao Sidan's favorite job. He immediately ran to the chicken coop to check, then exclaimed in surprise, "Mother, there are four more eggs today!"
Cheng Loanloan handed the four eggs to the four children standing in front. "Hold them carefully. Don't drop them, or they'll break."
The four children smiled happily and said, "Thank you, Auntie Zhao."
Cheng Loanloan's mood also brightened. Children were the purest creatures in the world; being with them brought no pressure at all.
Wu Huiniang was kneading dough, then rolling out dumpling wrappers to prepare for making dumplings.
Last night, Sidan had dug up quite a few shepherd's purse plants, so today the family would eat shepherd's purse dumplings.
It was just a pity there was no pork. If some pork were added with the shepherd's purse, that would truly be delicious.
Cheng Loanloan's desire to earn money grew stronger and stronger. Ice jelly had to be made quickly. This was an item that could make money outside. With the silver earned, she could buy whatever she wanted, and no one could say anything.
In the afternoon, the village chief led a group of people up the mountain.
Aside from the laborers, the women in the village also went up the mountain to help. Since there weren't many tools for digging ditches, they would first scout for large rocks and then use the method from last night to blast them apart.
Even the children were enthusiastic, some gathering firewood, others carrying water, which significantly sped up the work.
Cheng Luanluan saw Zhang Dagang among the children. He was the child who had tried to snatch Si Dan's rabbit, and he was also the son of Zhang Wulai.
Zhang Wulai was the laziest person in the village, the only one who hadn't participated in digging the ditches. It was unexpected that his son would proactively come to help.