Chapter 102: Cozy
After the initial commotion died down,
everyone’s attention was focused on the stone mill in the back of the truck.
It looked exactly like the familiar ones from their memories.
And the craftsmanship was exquisite; it was quite beautiful.
This Uncle Jialiang’s skill was truly remarkable. He was clearly a master stonemason.
Li You was also very fond of the stone mill and said, "Uncle Jialiang, this mill you’ve made is truly beautiful!"
Liu Jialiang smiled. "I’m glad you like it. Let’s get it down."
"Alright!"
"We’ll help too," Liu Xu, Wei Ping, and the others all chimed in.
This stone mill was a bit larger than the one they had borrowed from Liu Jialiang’s house last time, and naturally, it was also heavier. The upper millstone alone was estimated to weigh around 165 pounds.
But there were plenty of people there. With everyone pitching in, they easily carried both the upper and lower millstones to the front of the shop.
In addition, Liu Jialiang had also specially crafted a beautiful and exquisite base for the mill.
With the base, the stone mill could be placed directly on top of it.
As for where to put the stone mill, Li You had already planned it out.
So, with everyone working together, the mill was placed right in the spot Li You had designated.
From now on, this place had a stone mill.
The crowd gathered around the stone mill, admiring it with great fondness.
Wei Ping’s two children were especially excited.
To them, this was a very novel object.
"Let me give it a few pushes and see how it feels," Wei Ping said.
After speaking, he gripped the push handle with both hands. It took a great deal of effort before he was able to move the millstone.
"This new mill is a bit tough to push! Boss, would you mind getting some water to pour on it? The water will act as a lubricant, so it should be easier to push after it’s wet," Wei Ping said, pausing.
Li You smiled and nodded. "It will indeed be easier to push after wetting it with some water."
He then went to a nearby faucet, filled a bucket with water, and poured it over the stone mill.
When Wei Ping pushed again, it was indeed much easier.
"Dad, we want to push too," said Wei Ping’s two children.
But it was obvious the two of them couldn’t move it on their own.
So, Wei Ping had his children push it with him.
The father and his two children pushed the millstone, making it turn with a low RUMBLE.
The two little ones were incredibly excited.
Unfortunately, the soybeans couldn’t be put directly into the mill; they needed to be soaked for several hours first.
Otherwise, Wei Ping said he would have gone to town to buy some soybeans to grind.
It would feel more authentic with soybeans.
The others felt it was a shame as well.
Li You laughed. "How about next week? If you all come back next week and want to try pushing the mill, I’ll soak the soybeans for you in advance."
Hearing this, the eyes of Wei Ping, Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and everyone else lit up.
That was a fantastic idea!
Wei Ping laughed heartily. "Great! In that case, Boss, it’s a deal."
Liu Xu, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’Er, and the others all agreed.
Even Zhou Yang and his four friends said excitedly, "We want to come too. Boss, we’ll be back next weekend as well."
The five of them remembered clearly that an older man had told them Xia Xiaoyue once visited and, along with the boss and many others, had used a stone mill to grind soybeans and make tofu.
Now that they had a chance to experience grinding soybeans with a stone mill for themselves, they were definitely going to seize the opportunity.
Li You smiled. "Of course! You’re all very welcome to come back."
"Thank you, Boss."
The five of them were full of anticipation.
At this point, Wei Ping and his two children stopped.
Liu Xu then walked up and said, "I’ll give this empty mill a push today, too."
With that, he gripped the handle with both hands and began to push.
As he pushed, he added, "It really does take some effort."
After Liu Xu, more people came forward to try their hand.
Including Zhou Yang and his four friends.
It seemed that even though they were only grinding air, everyone was still in high spirits.
Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Li You was very happy.
’My decision to have a stone mill placed here was definitely the right one.’
Liu Jialiang, however, was quite surprised. ’I didn’t expect these customers to be so interested in pushing a mill. What a curious thing.’
After watching for a while, he said to Li You, "Xiaoyou, I’m going to head back now."
Li You said, "Uncle Jialiang, I’m heading back to the village tonight as well. You, your wife, and my grandparents should all come to my house for dinner. I’ll invite Uncle Zhong and Aunt Chen, too."
’I’ll go back to the village tonight, which is perfect. I can bring some pickling brine from home tomorrow.’
’The pickling jar I bought earlier is almost done soaking, so I can officially start making pickles.’
’In my region, this style of pickle is known as ’sour vegetables’.’
And the brine was simply the liquid from his family’s old pickling jar.
He could just ladle some out to use.
This way, not only would he not have to start a new brine from scratch, but the results would also be much better.
’How could a freshly made brine ever compare to the one from the family’s old pickling jar?’
Liu Jialiang wanted to tell Li You not to go to such trouble, but he held his tongue. Instead, he laughed heartily and said, "Well, alright then! Looks like we’re in for a treat tonight."
Li You smiled. "Then be sure to come over a bit early this evening."
"Alright."
Then, Liu Jialiang bid farewell to the customers. "You all have fun now. I’m heading back."
"Okay! Take care, Uncle Jialiang," the customers replied.
At the same time, they all felt a strange sense of envy that Liu Jialiang lived in the same village as Li You.
They had all heard what Li You said earlier.
’They wanted to get a free meal at Li You’s house too!’
’Just the thought of it was amazing!’
After the lively time by the stone mill, the group returned to the bonfire.
They continued roasting and eating bamboo grubs.
There were still a few left.
By the time they slowly finished them off, it was already three in the afternoon.
Liu Xu suggested they all head into the canyon to see if they could spot the wild Red-crowned Cranes.
Everyone quickly agreed.
No one had forgotten about the wild Red-crowned Cranes, and they were all eager to go have a look.
Zhou Yang and his four friends were, of course, all for it.
"Boss, you probably won’t have any other customers for a while. Why don’t you come with us?" the group invited Li You to join them.
Li You was more than happy to go with them. Besides, it was true that no other customers were likely to arrive at this time.
So, Li You locked up the shop and headed toward the canyon with everyone.
The group walked slowly.
They chatted and laughed as they walked, enjoying the beautiful scenery, listening to the birdsong, and smelling the fragrant flowers. It was incredibly pleasant.
Everyone wished that every weekend from now on could be this pleasant.
Slowly, the group reached the bottom of the valley.
There were no Red-crowned Cranes in sight.
But that was alright; they just continued walking along the valley floor.
The scenery at the bottom of the valley was also quite beautiful.
The group lingered by a deep pool and splashed around in the shallows. They turned over rocks and caught a few crabs.
Although they never saw a single sign of the Red-crowned Cranes, not one person felt disappointed.
Including Zhou Yang and his four friends.
Being together with so many people was so lively, yet so relaxing.
Whether or not they could photograph the wild Red-crowned Cranes was no longer important.
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