After fleeing famine, I have thousands of acres of fertile land

Chapter 359 Beef

Shopkeeper Zhang thought for a while, but decided not to take the risk and offered the same price as last year.

Ye Fang did not discuss it with the head of the village and directly rejected the price.

Ye Qing has already given him a guarantee. She will buy the unsold peppercorns in the village at the price given by Manager Zhang.

Seeing Ye Fang's firm attitude, Shopkeeper Zhang did not dare to challenge him and increased the price by ten cents per pound.

Ye Fang did not agree directly, but asked Manager Zhang to stay in the village first while he discussed the matter with the villagers.

Ye Fang did not let Manager Zhang wait too long and agreed to his price early the next morning.

Shopkeeper Zhang was worried that he would not be able to buy peppercorns this year and did not sleep well the night before. When he heard Ye Fang's reply, he quickly asked people to buy peppercorns.

Ye Fang had a list in his hand, which contained the number of peppercorns owned by the nearby residents.

He first asked those from other villages to send their items over, and helped them sell them first, and then sold the items to those in the village who were in urgent need of money.

The rest was left for Ye Qing. These people trusted Ye Qing very much and were not worried about the peppercorns getting smashed.

Ye Lao Da's family did not join in the fun, and Li at home began to worry about her children who were going to take exams.

Shen and Wei were even more anxious. They were prone to having wild thoughts at home, so they would go to Ye’s house with needlework to chat during the day. It was lively with more people around, and the day would pass faster.

As the exam date draws closer, the atmosphere in the village becomes increasingly tense.

The Ye family's ancestral hall is open. Families with children going to take exams will come and burn a stick of incense in the morning and ask the ancestors to bless their children with all the best.

Ye Qing was also nervous for her brothers, but since they were far away, she could only cheer them on in her heart.

Ye Qing has been staying at home with Li these days. Li has not been sleeping well at night and has no energy during the day.

Boss Ye was worried about her, so he asked his family to stay at home with Li.

Ye Qing was raised by Li and has a deep relationship with Li.

Ye Erlang cooked different kinds of food for Li at home and did not go to the dock. The shop had been almost cleaned up and he was just waiting to hire someone to open it.

Ye Erlang stays at home and never leaves home, but his hands are always busy.

Looking at the pumpkins piled up like mountains at home, I prepared to make pumpkin pie for my family.

Ye Erlang's pumpkin pie was very complicated, so Li was asked to help.

Ye Qing helped peel the pumpkin, and Li sat beside him and cut the peeled pumpkin into pieces.

"Erlang, what should we do after peeling the skin?" Li asked Ye Erlang who was cleaning the steamer nearby.

Ye Erlang looked back and said, "Grandma, I'll wash the skin after peeling it, and then steam it before using it."

Zheng Qin was also helping. She took some roasted sesame seeds and crushed them with a stone mortar.

Zheng Qin is also a good cook. After getting married, she would occasionally go to the shop to help out. She can make some pastries.

"Grandma, pumpkin is a bit sweet to begin with, so let's not add sugar. Dad doesn't allow you and grandpa to eat too much sugar." Zheng Qin coaxed Li.

Since their family conditions have improved, the old couple have been craving for sweets more and more.

Now that Boss Ye has restricted the amount of sugar the two can eat, the old couple are trying to find ways to eat more.

It was not easy for Li to add some sugar in front of her granddaughter-in-law, so she had to think of another way.

"Then add some honey. Honey is good for the body." Li went into the house and took out the honey they brought back from the mountains last time.

I also made a bowl for each of the people at home.

Ye Qing took the bowl and drank happily from it.

She is still young and has a well-proportioned body, so she is not worried about getting fat at all.

There are not many fat people in the village because everyone is very busy. Now that they eat well, the villagers have a healthy beauty.

Ye Erlang agreed to Li's request and put some honey in the pumpkin cakes later.

Ye Erlang put the washed pumpkin into the pot and steamed it.

Ye Qing went to cut some leeks, and then mixed them with some flour to make leek dumplings.

I haven’t eaten pie for a long time, and I’m a little craving for it.

Li took Zheng Qin and Ye Qing to sort the leeks, throwing away the soil at the roots and some yellow leaves.

The three of them sat on the bench, chatting about village affairs, while their hands were busy.

~Boom boom boom~

"Who is it?" Ye Qing put down the leeks in his hand and went to open the door.

"Brother Guizi, why are you here? Where is my third uncle?" Ye Qing panicked. Their feud with the Su family had not been resolved yet, and they had been investigating the Su family recently.

Guizi saw Ye Qing's expression change and knew that she had misunderstood.

"Qingya, a cow fell to its death in the nearby village. We've reported it to the government and are selling it at the dock. Uncle San saw that the meat was fresh, so he asked me to send a few pounds home."

Ye Qing asked Guizi to come in, and seeing that he was sweating all over, he went to pour him some water.

Li also saw Guizi and said, "Good boy, look how hot it is. Come and sit down. This is your second sister-in-law."

Guizi quickly greeted them, "Grandma, Second Sister-in-law, I'm here to help Third Uncle deliver something. Can you tell me where to put the meat?"

Zheng Qin stood up and took the meat. "It's beef. I haven't eaten this for a long time."

Zheng Qin sent the meat to the kitchen and asked Ye Erlang to see how to cook it.

The pumpkin in the pot was steamed. Ye Erlang heard voices outside, so he put the meat in a basin to soak and came out to talk to Guizi.

"Guizi is here. Did Uncle San save any meat? He gave us such a big piece. Do you have anything else to eat?"

"My third uncle kept some for me, and he also gave me a piece. This is for my grandparents." Guizi was worried that they would not keep the meat, so she quickly told them the situation.

Li went to the room to get food for Guizi. Ever since Erlang came back to live with them, there had never been a shortage of pastries in the house.

Guizi took the cake from Li and said with a smile, "Grandma, I'm not a child anymore, you don't need to give me food."

Li gave him a few more pieces before sitting down to talk.

"You are still children before you get married. You can be polite at your grandmother's house. Eat your fill and then go back."

Guizi didn't stay too long as there was still a lot of work waiting for him at the dock.

After Guizi left, Ye Qing washed the leeks and put them in a basket to dry.

Ye Erlang washed the beef and came out to ask everyone's opinions.

"This piece of beef weighs almost four pounds. How are you going to eat it?"

"Cut off one pound of meat and save it for cooking. Chop the rest into stuffing and make meat patties." Li made the decision immediately. There were many people in the family, so they could all have meat patties.

Ye Erlang looked at the sky. It was still early and there was still time to make meat patties.

Ye Erlang went to chop the meat, while Ye Qing took out the steamed pumpkin from the pot and mashed it.

Zhou walked in from outside and was a little surprised when she heard the cheerful sound of chopping meat.

"When did Erlang buy the meat?" Zhou went to wash her hands first.

"Mom, my third uncle had it delivered. There happened to be a beef seller at the dock." Zheng Qin helped explain.

Zhou came over and took a look at the beef. "It's quite fresh. Beef is so expensive. It must have cost the third brother a lot of money."

"We only meet a few times a year, but he's thinking about us." Mrs. Li is happy that her son is filial.

When Zhou heard that they were going to make meat patties, she asked her son to kill a chicken, cook a few more dishes today, and invite the third son's family to come over to eat.

Zhou went to chop the stuffing while Ye Erlang went to kill the chicken. The family had raised a little rooster this year and now was the right time to eat it.

Zheng Qin sat a little far away because she couldn't stand the smell of beef.