Hmm, I have to say, this is a truly wonderful misunderstanding!
To maintain order, Master Lv and others stood high up on the roof, and as soon as Master Lv declared, "Toss the beam towards the east, and the morning sun fills the hall with red," workers at his side began the "beam-tossing" with bags filled with candies, peanuts, copper coins, and stead buns.
People below were in high spirits, scrambling for peanuts and copper coins that fell to the ground. Stead buns and candies were wrapped in paper and tied up tightly, so there was no need to worry about them getting dirty.
The items used for "beam-tossing" were just ordinary things, not worth much money. The Mo Family had prepared a lot of them, all in baskets. As these baskets of goodies were scattered, almost everyone’s pockets were filled with a good amount.
Seeing the Mo Family’s grand generosity, the villagers were in awe. Although the items were not valuable, their quantity was overwhelming, especially the copper coins; quite a lot were tossed, and all these items put together were worth dozens of taels of silver, enough for them to build a house of bricks and tiles.
Though they were extrely envious, it was just envy, for they hadn’t forgotten the fate that had befallen Wang Dali and his three n!
Now they had figured out the Mo Family’s way of doing things -- as long as nobody took the initiative to cause trouble, the Mo Family was really good and had never done anything to wrong the people in the village. Plus, they would think of the villagers for any good opportunity. Simply achieving that was enough.
After Master Lv finished the final verse, "Toss the beam towards the north, and bins of white rice will be filled year after year," the "beam-tossing" ca to an end.
The upcoming "Master craftsman" banquet didn’t involve the villagers. They ca forward one after another, congratulating Mo Qingze before happily leaving with their pockets full of copper coins and peanuts.
The so-called "Master craftsman" was a luxurious feast prepared by the host to reward the workers who had worked hard on building their house.
The Mo Family truly appreciated everyone who helped with the construction, including Master Lv’s team and the villagers who had been helpers. All these people were to be invited.
Before the "Master craftsman" could start, Mo Qingze led a few people to borrow tables and chairs from the village. There were over eighty people involved in the construction, and while they usually ate from large bowls of food brought to the tables, with everyone grabbing a bowl and sitting wherever they could on stones or planks, today’s was a properly arranged banquet, which couldn’t be done in the sa way.
More than eighty people required nine sets of tables and chairs. The Mo Family had only two sets at the construction site and had to borrow another seven sets. Knowing that the Mo Family was hosting a "Master craftsman," the villagers readily lent their tables and chairs. So who had good relations even brought the tables and chairs over themselves.
This ti, Mo Yan personally took to the kitchen to prepare the feast for the "Master craftsman" with the help of several cooks. After being busy all afternoon, she finally managed to get all the dishes ready.
With delicious dishes like honey-glazed pork, spicy rabbit at, sauce-flavored deer at, five-spice chicken, among the twelve main courses, and including the rare ga — such a banquet was not only unique in Liu Yang Village but might not even be possible for well-off families in the city.
Except for pork and chicken, the deer at, lamb, rabbit, and others were all hunted by Little Flower and Dabai in the mountains.
Every ti Little Flower brought back ga, it would playfully seek praise from Mo Yan and demanded promises of delicious treats before being satisfied and continuing to bring more ho. Watching this, Mo Yan felt an itch in her hand, wanting to give it a good smack.
The "Master craftsman" banquet was enjoyed by all, with so many rich and hearty dishes all wiped clean, and as everyone left, they drunkenly called Little Flower a "good dog."
Little Flower, a majestic Snow Wolf, was always being called a dog. Especially now that it understood human language, it disliked being compared to a dog even more. After baring its teeth and issuing a threatening display at those people, it ran off in frustration.
With the beam placed atop the Mo Family house, what remained was the finishing touches. Compared to bricklaying, this was much more relaxed and didn’t require as many helpers.
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