A reunion dinner was had, and everyone ate until their stomachs were round, especially Lu Yu, who was so full he couldn't even take a breath between hiccups.
The kitchen chores were handled by Tian Guihua, Liu Shi, and a few others.
The kitchen was never idle during the New Year, and the work was tiring all day long. Bai Sheng rewarded everyone who worked in the kitchen with ten taels of silver.
Holding the heavy silver, Tian Guihua and Liu Shi truly wished they could stay in the kitchen for the rest of their lives.
They hadn't seen much sun in months, so their skin had become much fairer. Coupled with good food and good sleep, they both looked plump and radiant, with their appearance greatly enhanced.
Also helping in the kitchen were Grandma Zhong and Qian Zhaodi (now renamed Qian Cuiwan). Like the others, they each received ten taels of silver.
Qian Zhaodi usually worked at the ready-made clothing shop and hadn't worn patched clothes for a long time. After several months of good living, her body started to grow, and she had changed a lot, looking more like a delicate young girl.
If they went out, most people would mistake her for a personal maid to a young lady from a wealthy family, no longer a farm girl digging for food in the sandy soil.
Grandma Zhong often teased her, saying that Zhaodi could marry a steward of a wealthy family in the future, and good days awaited her.
Qian Zhaodi smiled shyly on the surface, but in her heart, she felt Grandma Zhong underestimated her. A steward of a wealthy family was still a servant, wasn't he? She would never marry a servant in this life.
She had compared herself carefully. Among the young girls who usually came to work at Hongshu Slope, there wasn't a single one as pretty as her.
Currently, only Madam and Lu Hua were slightly more attractive than her. With her outstanding appearance, she naturally should marry a master, not a servant.
Hearing Grandma Zhong say that, Tian Guihua and Liu Shi both smiled and said that Zhaodi would definitely have that fortune and they were just waiting to eat at Zhaodi's wedding banquet.
Yang Shi, however, glanced lightly at Zhaodi and smiled without speaking.
The women quickly washed all the pots, bowls, and pans and began preparing the dumplings for the evening meal. With the filling ready, a group of old and young women gathered around the table, chatting and laughing as they wrapped dumplings.
Three women make a lot of noise, and seven or eight women are even more lively.
Among the many young girls and women, there was a slightly discordant little man – Lu Yu.
He drooled as he learned to wrap dumplings with his little hands. It had to be said, the little fellow indeed had a talent for cooking and learned quickly.
However, fearing his small hands couldn't pinch the dumpling wrappers tightly, Tian Guihua repeatedly instructed him to pinch them firmly, or the dumplings would break their skins when cooked and wouldn't taste good.
Lu Yu then grunted and squeezed the dumpling wrappers, his expression looking a bit determined.
The women also did not forget to tease Lu Yu, saying how lucky whoever his wife would be in the future. Few men were willing to enter the kitchen, but Lu Yu was.
Ma San, who was squatting to peel onions and had tears streaming down his face, raised his head and said, "Wife, I am a man, and I'm entering the kitchen. Aren't you very happy?"
The women exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
Liu Shi threw the towel in her hand at Ma San and chided, "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't you see what an occasion this is!"
Ma San chuckled, "Aren't I following the example of the elder?"
Everyone burst into laughter again. Speaking of the elder, Ma San's actions today were not even worth mentioning.
In the afternoon, after digesting their food, the men engaged in a game of Cuju in the open space outside.
The competition was proposed by Lu Yun. He had lost badly last time when he played Cuju with Prince Yu, and this time he wanted to make Prince Yu sweat profusely.
The teams were decided by drawing lots, with each group having the same number of players, a combination of adults and children.
Due to the generous prize money set for this Cuju match, the participating players were particularly enthusiastic, and the competition was exceptionally fierce.
All the residents of Hongshu Slope came out to watch, and the cheers and shouts of encouragement rose in waves, making the scene very lively.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye were too lazy to join the excitement. The two walked hand in hand, with Baoyu trailing closely behind them. Since there was no dog at home, Bai Sheng treated Baoyu as a dog. Except for not barking, Baoyu performed all the duties of a dog.
With everyone's attention drawn to the Cuju match, Bai Sheng had the opportunity to secretly water all the saplings with spirit spring water while they were walking.
The two walked and stopped. After Bai Sheng finished watering, Lu Ye bent down and covered the watered spots with a thin layer of sand to prevent them from being discovered.
Due to the dry desert, these saplings needed to be watered daily before they grew tall, and it was best to use spirit spring water.
Of course, in addition to spirit spring water, ordinary well water irrigation was also essential. Lu Ye assigned more than a dozen bandits to be responsible for watering. They couldn't miss a day, and these dozen people were supervised by Qian Chuotuo's father and Xiao Chibao's grandfather.
Although Bai Sheng only needed to move her hand and a stream of water would emerge from the small red flower in her palm, it was still a long way to water so many trees in the windbreak forest, which was quite strenuous. Lu Ye planned to find a way to hand over the task of watering with spirit spring water to someone else.
And this person must be someone they could trust, as water was too precious in the desert, and it would be a loss for the saplings if it were intercepted by someone.
Bai Sheng felt it would be best to ask Hengheng about this matter. Perhaps Hengheng knew of a better method. After all, it was the space administrator, and spirit spring water was also a part of the space.
After watering the trees in the orchard, the two returned to their room, locked the door, and entered the space together.
Hengheng still had a toothpaste-like attribute, requiring Bai Sheng to squeeze it hard to extract some spatial functions.
It said the matter was very easy to handle. When Wu Po had chosen the Gu Kings for them before, hadn't Bai Sheng gathered many snakes, insects, rats, and ants into the space?
Now, it was time for them to repay Bai Sheng.
As long as they found some small animals that could swim in water, released them from the space, and then Bai Sheng willed it, water could come out through their mouths.
Their mouths were like faucets in the real world.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye were overjoyed and decided to try it out that night.
However, during watering, Lu Ye would still need to bring the mini Heng and personally guard these small animals outside, otherwise, if they encountered danger, they might not be able to return to the space at all.
Moreover, Hengheng could direct these small animals on how to operate.
In the evening, while everyone was playing cards, Lu Ye quietly took the mini Heng and rode Black Wind to water the windbreak forest.
Upon arriving at the windbreak forest, the mini Heng said to Bai Sheng in its mind, "Master, we can begin." Bai Sheng then released dense crowds of toads, snakes, and crabs with a thought.
Seeing the crabs, Hengheng threw them back into the space. These crabs, what were they doing here causing trouble? With their almost non-existent mouths, where would water come out from?
After receiving the order, these crawling creatures scurried towards the trees, with one creature responsible for each tree. Once ready, Bai Sheng willed it, and all the small animals opened their mouths, spraying streams of water towards the roots of the trees.
Lu Ye was astonished to witness this scene.