https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-41-Worth-a-Day-of-Hard-Labor-for-a-Tasty-Meal/12849145/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-43-The-Brick-and-Tile-Factory-Pays-Wages/12849147/
Chapter 42: Becoming a Wealthy Household, It Should Be Within Reach
Chapter 42: Becoming a Wealthy Household, It Should Be Within Reach
Time flew by, and soon it was the fourteenth of July.
Deng YunGui and Deng YunTai returned from Beihai the day before the festival. However, they didn’t stay home to celebrate. After leaving the payment for the last shipment of goods with Deng Shirong, they immediately loaded another full truck and headed back to Beihai.
Clearly, their previous trip to Beihai had successfully opened up the market, and the prices seemed to be quite favorable.
Deng Shirong wasn’t surprised at all. In his past life, he and Deng YunGui had not only run to Beihai but also to places like Zhanjiang, Lianjiang, and Maoming in Guangdong, expanding their market significantly. In the early years of running the pottery factory, they never had to worry about selling their products, and they made a substantial amount of money. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so wealthy to pay all the communal fees in advance.
In China, the fourteenth of July is generally celebrated as a festival by people in the south, while the fifteenth is celebrated by those in the north.
Among the provinces that celebrate the fourteenth of July, Guangxi is the most enthusiastic.
In Guangxi, many places don’t just celebrate on the fourteenth; they treat the ten days before and after as an important festival, hence the saying "the fourteenth of July is like a big New Year."
Because people in Guangxi eat ducks on the fourteenth of July, friends from other provinces often joke that no duck can leave Guangxi alive on that day.
Although Shuangwang didn’t have the saying "the fourteenth of July is like a big New Year," the festival was still taken very seriously.
Of course, in this era, most rural people were quite poor, so it was impossible for every household to slaughter a duck like they would in the future. Even in the whole village, only a few families could afford to slaughter a duck for the festival.
However, the festival couldn’t be treated like any other day, with just some pickled vegetables for a meal. So, at some point, it became a tradition in Bangjie Village to make guaihe (a type of rice cake) on the fourteenth of July.
For people in this era, eating guaihe was a huge treat.
Women, whether in this era or in the future, were always the most enthusiastic about making such delicacies. Last night, Deng YunZhen had gotten up in the middle of the night to soak the rice. Early in the morning, she and her sister, Deng YunZhu, brought the soaked rice and the basins to the stone mill in front of the ancestral hall to grind the rice paste.
Since almost every household in Naye Village was grinding rice paste to steam guaihe today, even though Deng YunZhen and her sister arrived early, it still took them nearly two hours to get the rice paste ground. Most of the time was spent waiting in line.
Seeing them bring back the rice paste, Deng Shirong couldn’t help but shake his head. "Why do you have to make guaihe today? You could have done it any other time. You spent half the day queuing. You might as well have bought a duck and slaughtered it!"
Deng YunZhen put down the rice paste and smiled. "Dad, it’s different. Making guaihe today is part of the festival atmosphere."
Deng Shirong said, "As long as you don’t mind the trouble."
Deng YunZhen wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. "It’s not a bother. Dad, you’re such a good cook. Could you help us make the filling?"
Deng Shirong replied, "I already did. It’s on the kitchen stove."
Deng YunZhu exclaimed, "Great! Sister, let’s go back and start steaming. I’ll tend the fire. Once the guaihe is ready, we can offer it to the ancestors and then eat."
Deng YunZhen smiled. "Okay, let’s go. I haven’t had guaihe in a long time. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."
The sisters eagerly carried the ground rice paste back to the kitchen and started steaming the layered rice cakes.
...
An hour later.
Deng Shirong and his six children sat around the table, enjoying the layered rice cakes.
Each cake was about three to four centimeters thick, steamed in thin layers. You could peel off each layer as you ate, which made it a fun and delicious treat. If you preferred, you could bite into the top layer with the filling or even dip it in a sauce.
In short, it was a very unique and delightful snack.
Deng Yunzhen and her siblings, who hadn't had layered rice cakes in a long time, were thoroughly satisfied, their faces beaming with joy.
...
After the 14th of July, the next day, the young and strong men of the village came to help with the work.
On the 16th of July, the construction of Deng Shirong's new house officially began with the digging of the foundation.
Since they were building a traditional brick and tile house rather than a multi-story building, the foundation didn't need to be very deep. For the row of five houses, they only needed to dig to a depth of sixty centimeters. However, the house closest to the river required a foundation two meters deep.
Additionally, under Deng Shirong's guidance, they dug a septic tank behind the house near the river.
Deng Shirong was so enthusiastic about building the new house not only because he wanted to get his eldest son married but also because he wanted to build an indoor bathroom. He had had enough of the daily ordeal of using the outdoor latrine by the lake, which felt like a trip to the gallows every time. It was truly unbearable!
For the foundation digging, in addition to the dozen or so young and strong men from the village, Deng Shirong's two brothers-in-law and his sister's husband brought their able-bodied sons to help.
With over twenty people working together, all skilled laborers, the foundation digging progressed at a rapid pace.
On the day the construction of Deng Shirong's new house began, Deng Yunzhi and Deng YunTai returned from selling the second load of goods from the pottery factory in Beihai.
...
At the pottery factory.
Deng Yunzhi recounted his experience selling the goods in Beihai in detail to Deng Shirong, concluding excitedly, "Uncle Jiushu, the demand there is huge. We won't have to worry about finding a market for our goods anytime soon."
Deng Shirong nodded and said, "Then we should focus on supplying the Beihai market. Once it's saturated, we can expand to other markets, like Zhanjiang, Lianjiang, and Maoming in Guangdong. Our pottery should have a good market there."
Deng Yunzhi nodded eagerly, rubbing his hands together. "With a steady market, it'll be hard for us not to get rich!"
Seeing his confident and elated expression, Deng Shirong didn't want to dampen his spirits and agreed, "Yes, becoming a ten-thousand-yuan household is definitely within reach."
Being a ten-thousand-yuan household was still a very prestigious achievement. Deng Yunzhi's eyes nearly squinted shut with delight as he said, "Uncle Jiushu, the workers have been looking forward to their paychecks. Let's do the math and see how much profit we made from this batch of goods."
Deng Shirong nodded, and the two owners of the pottery factory started calculating the profits in their temporary office.
The workers, watching from a distance, all had hopeful looks in their eyes. Each knew how much they were due to be paid, and if they received their wages today, they would definitely treat themselves to a better meal tonight.
After all, every single one of them had never earned so much money in their lives.
(End of Chapter)
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