The next day, Li Haochen woke up at 6 AM. There were many things to prepare for the banquet.
This was the perfect time to go to the wet market for fresh produce.
He didn't wake the other two up to join him. The market was dirty and chaotic, not suitable for them.
Arriving at the market, he saw a scene of bustling activity.
A vegetable vendor nearby was trimming the leaves off her lettuce. She then sliced off a thin layer from the bottom of the head, making it look fresher. Afterwards, she dunked them into a water bucket. After their "bath," they certainly looked good, verdant and fresh.
Besides looking good, they were also quite substantial. A head of lettuce could gain ten to twenty grams of water.
Looking at the seven or eight crates of vegetables piled up like small mountains, he thought this was a profitable business.
"Boss, how much for this lettuce?"
"Four and a half yuan. Four yuan for you, market price. Look how fresh it is, just picked."
Li Haochen picked up a head and examined it. It was decent, but there was a lot of water. In just this short time, more than ten drops had already fallen.
He grabbed a handful and lightly shook it twice on the ground, draining a significant amount of water. The vendor's face turned a little unnatural.
Besides lettuce, Li Haochen also got a head of cauliflower and some snow peas.
These snow peas were truly expensive, costing ten yuan a jin. These three vegetables alone cost over thirty yuan, more expensive than pork.
After paying, he went to another stall to buy some celery, cilantro, and scallions. He also bought some carrots, water chestnuts, and straw mushrooms to stir-fry with the snow peas.
The chickens and geese sold at the market weren't tasty, so he didn't buy any. He would get a couple from the village chief later; they had plenty.
He also bought quite a bit of pork, pork bones, and lamb ribs.
There were also Muscovy ducks for sale. Judging by their feather color, they were definitely raised on corn. Since he encountered them, he wouldn't miss the chance; he had to get one.
The price was still quite high at 20 yuan a jin. This one duck cost 230 yuan, but it would be excellent for stewing.
Besides these items for the meal, he also bought all the necessary seasonings.
As he left, he was laden with bags and packages. Especially the large Muscovy duck in the feed bag he carried. It kept quacking and occasionally darted at Li Haochen's legs, shedding quite a bit of its down.
Feeling unhappy, it even gave Little Aimma a bit of its yellow droppings.
Upon returning to the new house, Murong Yanran and the others were already busy with other tasks. Li Haochen took a rope and tied the Muscovy duck to a yellow plum tree not far away.
Perhaps the environment was a bit unfamiliar, as the duck became timid, huddled under the tree, shivered a couple of times, and then added some fertilizer to the tree.
After putting down the vegetables, Li Haochen ate two large steamed buns and then picked up the rope and chopping knife.
"Where are you going?" Murong Yanran asked curiously.
"Going up the mountain to chop firewood, hehe!"
"Be careful."
Li Haochen waved his hand, got on Little Aimma, and headed towards the back mountain.
Li Haochen had also built a large wood-fired stove in the new house. It was quite impressive, with two large iron pots and two smaller ones behind them, suitable for placing thermal pots to boil water and steam vegetables. When cooking, the excess heat could boil the water, without wasting wood, making it very convenient.
It had been very dry recently, so there was plenty of dry firewood to pick up at the foot of the mountain. However, these were small pieces, suitable for stir-frying but not for stewing soup. For stewing soup, one needed large, long-burning logs.
Walking up from the foot of the mountain, he saw two old pine trees that were half dead on the mountainside. However, they were quite high, and the area below was steep. Climbing up to chop them might be dangerous.
Li Haochen took out the rope he had for binding and cut a piece of acacia tree about the thickness of an egg. He cut it into a forty-centimeter length, carving a small groove around the middle. He placed the rope in the groove and tied a slipknot, pulling it tight.
He tested it; it was very strong.
Holding the end of the rope in his left hand and wrapping it around his palm a few times, he held one end of the stick in his right hand, looking at the dry pine branch about seven to eight meters high. He assumed a javelin-throwing posture.
"Go~"
The stick spiraled through the air like a propeller, carrying the rope all the way up.
Li Haochen's accuracy was excellent; the stick directly hooked onto the front end of the pine branch.
He pulled hard on the rope, stepping back. Perhaps the pine branch was recently dead, as it had considerable resilience and bent like a bow without breaking.
Li Haochen had to increase his force.
"Crack~"
After about ten seconds, a crisp cracking sound was heard. The entire large section of dry pine branch was dragged down, hitting the ground with a loud thud, breaking into several pieces.
Li Haochen took out his chopping knife and cut the dry wood into sections of fifty to sixty centimeters.
Chopping wood was indeed physical labor. In just this short time, he was already drenched in sweat.
After chopping the main trunk, he didn't neglect the scattered branches. He bundled them together, stepped on them to compress, pulled the rope forcefully a few times, tied a knot, and carried it down the mountain on his back. It was quite heavy, weighing dozens of jin.
When he reached the foot of the mountain, he entered a bamboo forest. When he emerged, he had a large bag of bamboo bark. This was a great material for starting fires.
"Mom, move aside a bit."
"Oh my, hurry, hurry, put it down. Look how tired you are. Why did you bring so much back?"
Li Haochen put down the large bundle of firewood on his shoulder and wiped his forehead with his arm. "We're making a lot of dishes tonight, and the gas stove won't be enough. Plus, we need to stew soup, and large logs are essential."
"Have a drink of water and rest."
Murong Yanran brought him a cup of warm water and used a dry towel to wipe his face.
"See if there's anything we can do to help. Don't take it all on yourself."
Li Haochen took another sip of water and checked the time. It was getting late, and he needed to hurry. So, he said to Xie Baolian and the other woman, "Mom, you two boil a large pot of hot water first. We'll need it later to prepare the chickens and geese. Also, pick the vegetables and get some ginger, scallions, and garlic ready. I'll go to the village chief's house to get the chickens and geese."
Having arranged it in advance, when he arrived, Village Chief Huang Haiyuan had already tied up the chickens and geese in large feed bags.
"Haochen, what are you doing with all these chickens and geese?"
"Uncle Yuan, I have guests coming over today, so I want to personally cook a couple of dishes. Come over for a drink tonight."
"Oh, I see. Wait a moment!" Huang Haiyuan ran into the chicken coop behind the house and came out with a chicken weighing five to six jin.
"One chicken isn't enough. Take this one with you. It's a gift, don't refuse it, or I'll get angry!"
Li Haochen certainly didn't want to take advantage of him; raising a chicken wasn't easy. He put down 1,000 yuan and carried them back.
When he returned, the two women were still poring over the stove, but not a single spark or drop of boiling water was in sight.
It seemed he had to do it himself again.
Once the fire was going, the two women became excited. It was a lively scene.
Checking the time, it was noon. He was a bit hungry, but there was no time to cook. He reheated the steamed buns from the morning and had them with milk for lunch.
After waiting for about ten minutes, the water was ready. Li Haochen walked out, carried the Muscovy duck into the kitchen, and said, "You two go out first. Don't watch me slaughter livestock."