Chapter 129 Mall Storage Function

After seeing off the village head.

Cheng Zhao was in charge of collecting and washing the dishes. These tasks were performed in shifts. Today was his turn. He squatted beside the wooden basin, washed all the dishes, then rinsed them again, took them into the kitchen, stacked them neatly, and covered them with a dustpan to prevent mice from crawling around in the middle of the night.

"Oh dear, how could we let Cheng Tongsheng do such rough work..."

A woman walked in from the courtyard gate, snatched the bowl from Cheng Zhao's hand without saying a word, and helped him take it into the kitchen.

Although Cheng Zhao was an adult man, he had been studying all his life and was not very strong. He was no match for the woman.

"Big Tree Mother, what brings you here?"

Cheng Wanwan came out of the house, snatched the bowl from the woman's hand, and put it in Cheng Zhao's arms. Cheng Zhao quickly took the bowl and went back into the house.

The woman smiled and said, "Cheng Tongsheng is such a good boy. These hands can write and wash dishes. If any family produces such a talent, their ancestors' graves are truly blessed."

Cheng Wanwan said, "We're not young masters from wealthy families, but we should still do what we can to help."

Dashu Niang's eyes fell on Zhao Ergou who walked in.

As dusk settled, Zhao Dashan, Zhao Ergou, and Zhao Sanniu went to the other end of the village to fetch soil. A pile of soil, half a person's height, had already been stacked in the corner of the yard. They planned to dedicate all their time and energy to making adobe bricks after the autumn harvest.

"Is Dashan's mother planning to build a house?" Dashu's mother asked, "It's time to build a new house. Ergou and Sanniu are growing up. They're getting married in the next two years, and there won't be enough space for two more people..."

Cheng Wanwan understood that Dashu's mother was trying to find out about Ergou and Sanniu's marriage. She remembered that Dashu seemed to have a sister named Cuihua, who was about fourteen or fifteen years old. It was because of this name that she remembered the girl. She was very hardworking, but had a simple and rough appearance. It was obvious that she was not the type that Ergou liked.

She considered and said, "Ergou is still young, and Sanniu is even younger. There's no rush."

"How can we not be anxious?" Big Tree Mother slapped her thigh. "Ergou is already sixteen, and even Shagen is married. Ergou needs to catch up quickly. My daughter Cuihua, Big Mountain Mother, you've met her. She's incredibly quick and efficient. Otherwise, let her try dating Ergou..."

"Auntie, I don't want to get married right now," Zhao Ergou said while busy with his work. "Let's talk about it after the New Year."

Dashu's mother was very anxious.

After the New Year, when Cheng Zhao passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, Dashan Niang's status will rise, and her daughter would be marrying up if she marries Ergou.

But Ergou was unwilling to get married, and Dashan's mother looked like she had let it go. As an outsider, she really couldn't say anything more.

After Dashu Niang left, Cheng Wanwan called Zhao Ergou over and said, "When you want to get married, I'll arrange a blind date for you. If you fall in love with a girl, tell me and I'll help you find one."

Zhao Ergou nodded in agreement.

After a busy night, the four boys washed up and went to bed.

Cheng Wanwan sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought. Through the crack in the door, she saw Cheng Zhao sitting at the table in the main room, reading a book. There was probably only half a candle left in Cheng Zhao's trunk. He lit the candle, read for a while by its light, then blew it out. In the darkness, he silently recited the passage he had just read. After memorizing it, he lit the candle again, repeating this process many times...

In those days, there was no electricity. The most common things were candles and oil lamps. Candles were something that only the rich and scholars could afford, and a single candle cost one or two hundred coins. Oil lamps used animal oil, and in those days, every household was short of oil. If there was oil, it was naturally used for cooking. At night, when everyone was asleep, even if there was something to do, they would basically do it in the dark or by moonlight.

Cheng Wanwan walked out of the inner room.

Cheng Zhao looked up and asked, "Did I disturb Second Aunt's sleep?"

Cheng Wanwan said softly, "When I was cleaning the pheasants during the day, I rendered some pheasant oil. I'll make you an oil lamp."

She went to the kitchen and took a small bowl, then bought animal fat from the mall, and put a cotton thread into the oil bowl. The oil lamp was then made.

Modern oil lamps use kerosene, which produces less smoke and is brighter. Animal oil lamps are the oldest form of lighting. They produce some smoke, which smells unpleasant, and the light is unstable, so the wick needs to be adjusted from time to time.

Even so, Cheng Zhao was already very satisfied. His dark eyes flickered with fire: "Thank you, Second Aunt."

"Don't watch for too long, go to bed early."

Cheng Wanwan patted his shoulder and walked into her room.

The three children on the bed were already sleeping like piglets, snoring one after another, and even thunder couldn't wake them up.

She gently opened the cabinet door, and found nearly two hundred taels of silver inside, including the remaining silver from selling ginseng and the silver rewarded by the county magistrate. When all these silvers were put together, they were a bit dazzling even at night.

The money earned through the mall was not to be seen in public, but now that it is visible, I am afraid that thieves will target it.

Cheng Wanwan sighed deeply. If only the mall had a storage space. She could hide the books under the bed, the silver and milk bottles in the cabinet, and all sorts of other things that shouldn't exist in this era...

[Ding!]

The in-game store's storage function is now available. A storage locker can be obtained for 1000 taels of silver.

Cheng Wanwan’s eyes widened.

She immediately brought up the void panel and saw the storage cabinet. It was a square cabinet. Although it was not big, it was enough to store some personal belongings.

However, it actually costs one thousand and two taels of silver!

She worked so hard in the ice jelly industry for so long, but only earned more than 30 taels of silver.

Cheng Wanwan was lying on the bed, her mind full of thoughts on how to make quick money. She soon came up with a feasible idea. Before she fell asleep, she heard Xiao Hei's whimpering outside.

She immediately got up from the bed and walked out.

Xiao Hei was running around in the yard. Outside the yard were four wild wolves eating food in a wooden basin.

Cheng Wanwan walked out, picked up Xiao Hei, and said softly, "Xiao Hei, why don't you let your mother stay."

She had a huge amount of money at home, and she was really afraid that someone would break in in the middle of the night. Even though there were electric wires on the wall and Sanniu had a long knife, she was still afraid.

If there was a wolf in the yard, it could give warnings and attack, and she could sleep until dawn.

The four wolves had done a great job catching the bandits last time, so no one in the village would be so foolish as to bother the wild wolves...

Xiao Hei jumped with excitement.

Cheng Wanwan opened the gate and let Xiao Hei out.

The four wolves surrounded Xiao Hei and licked him continuously until Xiao Hei was wet all over.

Then she saw the wolves howling and communicating with each other. In the end, the one left was not a female wolf, but a little male wolf. Cheng Wanwan guessed that this should be Xiao Hei's brother, who was about one year old and very lively, running around in the yard.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

"Caw caw caw!"

The chickens, ducks and geese in the yard were making restless noises.

Cheng Wanwan silently decided to give the chickens and ducks a snack tomorrow. In order to protect the family's money, she had to let them down temporarily.

It was just dawn.

Zhao Sidan found that there was a new companion in his home. He was not afraid of tigers or wolves, so he bravely touched the wolf's head.

He grinned and said, "You have a white spot on your forehead, so I'll just call you Small, okay?"

The wolf didn't understand human language and didn't object.

"Hehe, from now on you're called Xiaodian, and you're the older brother of Dahei and Xiaohei!" Zhao Sidan nodded with great satisfaction. "Xiaodian, take your little brothers to play in the backyard. The chickens and ducks won't dare to come out if you stay here."

The three little guys rushed to the backyard to play.

The chickens and ducks that had been shivering in the yard all night finally came out of their nests. After looking around and seeing that there were no wolves, they dared to look for food.

The sky gradually brightened and a busy day began.

This is the last batch of ice jelly at Cheng Wanwan’s house. After it is finished today and the goods are delivered tomorrow, this business will be discontinued this year.

As soon as she opened the gate to the yard, she saw Zhang Wulai's wife walking to the door with a little girl.