Chapter 204 A new carriage appeared in the house

The villagers, having heard the news, came and surrounded the carriage.

"Zhao Youcai, why are you driving the carriage?"

"When did you learn to drive a horse-drawn carriage? How come you're so good at it?"

"Whose carriage is this? Why did you drive all the way to our village alone?"

The villagers surrounded Zhao Youcai, asking him all sorts of questions.

Sun rushed over with brisk steps: "My God, Zhao Youcai, how are you so amazing? You can even drive a horse-drawn carriage now!"

Her man is really successful!

Zhao Youcai nimbly jumped down from the carriage, cleared his throat, and said with a hint of smugness, "This carriage is a new one my sister-in-law's family bought. I was responsible for driving it back. Driving a carriage is actually very simple; I learned it in no time..."

He was the first person in Dahe Village to learn how to drive a horse-drawn carriage!

He originally wanted to show off a bit.

But the people who had just been surrounding him suddenly ran over and surrounded Cheng Wanwan.

"Grandma, you're amazing! You just built a house and you can still afford a horse-drawn carriage!"

"My goodness! This is a horse-drawn carriage, something only rich people can afford! Someone in our Dahe Village actually bought a horse-drawn carriage!"

"Last time, the magistrate rewarded him with one hundred taels of silver. I heard that Zhao Ergou's business has been doing quite well lately, so he can definitely afford to buy a carriage!"

Everyone was envious, but it was just envy; they weren't jealous at all.

They weren't as capable as Aunt Shan, as good at making money as Aunt Shan, or as good at teaching children as Aunt Shan...

Cheng Wanwan was surprised that Manager Yang bought her a carriage so quickly. She went up and took a closer look. The horse was very spirited and energetic, and it was indeed a fine young horse. The carriage was not just any ordinary carriage; it had soft cushioned seats and should be much more comfortable than an oxcart.

Zhao Dashan, suppressing his excitement, stepped forward and said, "Mother, from now on, I'll take care of feeding this horse. I promise I won't let it go hungry!"

Zhao Sidan protested, "Big brother, you should focus on farming, leave the horse feeding to me!"

"Isn't this a complete waste of money?" Old Mrs. Zhao's heartbroken voice rang out. "You think you're all that now that you've made a little money? You actually bought a horse-drawn carriage! That's something only wealthy gentlemen can afford. What's the point of us villagers showing off like that! We should have just bought an oxcart. Oxen can plow the fields and pull carts; it's much better than a horse-drawn carriage..."

Old Zhao pulled her aside: "The family has already separated, so you should say less."

"I've already been very restrained!"

Old Mrs. Zhao glared at her husband. In the past, she would call her a little whore and a spendthrift woman... Now that her eldest daughter-in-law is capable, she doesn't dare to scold her too harshly... but it is still necessary to give her a naughty talking-to from time to time.

Old Zhao pushed the old lady aside, rubbed his hands together, and said, "Well, it's getting late. Do you still need the carriage?"

Cheng Wanwan ignored Old Mrs. Zhao's voice and asked with a smile, "Dad, what do you want?"

Old Zhao was quite embarrassed. He had lived for so many years and had never officially ridden in a carriage before. He thought it was no big deal to hitch a ride in his eldest daughter-in-law's carriage.

He said dryly, "I mainly want to check if there's anything wrong with the carriage, whether the carriage and shafts need repair..."

Cheng Wanwan chuckled. Sure enough, throughout history, no matter what age a man is, there is no man who doesn't like cars.

She nodded: "Then I'll trouble you to check carefully, Father. I'll go and get back to work now."

She turned and went into the kitchen, really not wanting to be watched by others anymore.

As soon as she left, Old Man Zhao jumped into the car. His nimble figure made it hard to believe he was a sixty-year-old man.

Zhao Youcai quickly went over: "Dad, let me teach you how to drive the carriage. This hand holds the reins, and this hand holds the whip. Different commands combined with different actions will keep the horse under control..."

"drive--!"

Before Zhao Youcai could finish speaking, Old Man Zhao shouted, and the carriage drove off.

"Dad, why are you in such a hurry? Be careful, don't drive into the ditch..."

Zhao Youcai was terrified. The old man was getting on in years, and if he fell off the carriage, he might lose half his life.

He followed the carriage with a heavy heart, thinking it might go out of control. He was even prepared to pounce on it. Unexpectedly, the carriage drove smoothly all the way, circled around Dahe Village, and finally stopped steadily in front of Cheng Wanwan's house.

Old Zhao got off the carriage with a satisfied expression.

Zhao Youcai's eyes widened: "Dad, did you used to drive a horse-drawn carriage? How do you know how?"

Someone taught him, and he studied diligently for most of the day, but he still couldn't match the old man's skill...

"Does this even need to be learned? You can learn it just by looking at it once." Old Zhao stroked his short beard. "When our family has money..."

"Don't even think about it!" Old Mrs. Zhao said mercilessly. "When you have money, send the children to school. As for buying a carriage, wait until the next life!"

Zhao Youcai was greatly discouraged. He looked at Zhao Dashan, who was eager to try, and said, "Dashan, why don't you go up and give it a try?"

Zhao Dashan had been eagerly waiting for this moment. As the eldest son in the family, he had the responsibility and obligation to be the first to learn how to drive a horse-drawn carriage!

He sat down, imitating Old Man Zhao, and shouted loudly, and the brown horse galloped away.

He pulled hard on the reins to control the speed of the carriage. Although he held a whip in his other hand, he couldn't bear to strike it. This was his own horse, and he had to take good care of it.

Zhao Dashan used the reins to steer the cart, making a circle around the village before finally stopping in front of his house.

Zhao Youcai: "..."

I suddenly felt so stupid and a failure; it even took me longer than others to learn how to ride a horse-drawn carriage.

Just as everyone was talking excitedly about the horse-drawn carriage, an oxcart swayed along and stopped in front of the house.

Everyone turned to look, and saw that the oxcart was piled high with goods, like a small mountain. Everyone's attention instantly shifted from the horse-drawn carriage to the oxcart.

"Ergou, your business is getting bigger and bigger!"

"Is the fabric business so easy to do? How much money can you make?"

"Ergou is really becoming more and more successful. I remember when he was little, he loved to cry and his snot would run for a long time..."

Zhao Ergou: "..."

Can we please not bring up embarrassing things from our childhood?

He changed the subject, saying, "These coarse cloths cost two copper coins each. If any of you ladies or aunties want to buy some cloth, you can come to me. I won't make money off you..."

After the autumn harvest, many villagers went to town to buy cloth to make clothes, but not every household did. Because they were busy in the fields, a small number of people couldn't find the time to go to town, so they kept putting it off. Today, they bought from Zhao Ergou. About ten households came to buy, each with twenty or thirty feet of cloth. They sold six or seven bolts, which was like losing a penny from nine oxen.

Zhao Ergou is selling cloth here, and Cao Yingying is helping him collect the money.

Zhao Da stood to one side, feeling extremely uneasy. Just then, he saw Cheng Wanwan come out. He walked over, and the honest, unassuming man hesitated for a long time before finally managing to utter a complete sentence: "Sister-in-law, you've bought a horse-drawn carriage. Does that mean you won't need my oxcart anymore? There are still more than ten days left this month. I'll refund you the remaining fare..."

His family was poor, and he had a sick relative. They relied entirely on this oxcart to supplement their income. He had made a lot of money with Cheng Wanwan recently. These past two days, he had been doing business with Zhao Ergou, where he was responsible for moving goods. Zhao Ergou had given him a lot of extra money for his hard work, and he was extremely grateful, but he didn't know how to express it in words.