“Honey, we bought this shop in the county town. What do you think we could do with the other shop besides a grain store? How about opening a restaurant?” Niu Dadao said.

The two shops that Niu Da bought were originally owned by Jia Dafu in the county town. Shops in the county town are very expensive, costing 150 taels of silver per shop, not including decoration. Niu Da didn't have enough money to buy the shops, so he borrowed about 100 taels of silver from the old clan chief, Niu Xiaocao, and the Tan family to take over the two shops.

Chen Yu asked, "Open a restaurant?"

Although Chen Yu had been poor for over twenty years, before she got married, she had done some business with her sister-in-law Cai, but it was all about selling cloth at stalls; she had never opened a shop.

"Would anyone eat here? Everyone eats at home, right? Who would have the spare money to eat out?" Shen Yu said incredulously. She used to sell cloth in a small town in Xiangzhou, and she had never seen many people eating in the town's restaurants.

"How will we know if we don't try? Besides, people in the county town are different from us. How can people not eat when they're away from home? We have the skill to cook delicious meals. Before, we stayed at home to take care of our families, and now my younger sister helps out at home." "Why don't we go out and try our luck!"

Niu Dadao.

Holding Xiao Fubao in her arms and holding Niu Baolan's hand, Niu Xiaomei smiled and said, "Yes, sister-in-law, I'll take care of things at home, so you can rest assured and go to the county town with your brother to try your luck."

Shen Yu frowned and said, "But, Ke'er, Qiao'er, Baolan and Fubao are all so young. Can my little sister take care of all four of them by herself?"

Niu Dadao: "We can just find someone else to take care of him."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Yu said, "I don't think we need to look for anyone else. Let's just ask Aunt Xiang. Aunt Xiang has taken care of five children, and none of them have ever been sick. She must be quite skilled at taking care of children."

Xiang Jinlan enjoys taking care of children.

Xiang Jinlan had experience raising five children. She was a remarried woman. Before her marriage, she had her younger brother with her. After her marriage, she had two sons with her first husband, Zheng Naizi, who was an alcoholic and abusive. Xiang Jinlan ran away with her two sons.

After her ex-husband remarried, Xiang Jinlan remarried to Niushan Village. Niu Shou treated her and her two children very well. Even though he had two sons and a daughter, he treated Xiang Jinlan and her stepson very well.

But good people don't live long.

Niu Shou died at a young age.

None of the five children died despite the lack of money for medical treatment, which shows that the Xiang family has some skills.

The eldest son, Zheng Si, is twenty-three years old this year, and no matchmaker has yet come to propose marriage, which makes Xiang Shi very anxious.

My second son is twenty-two this year.

The third son, Niu Xiangguo, is seventeen years old, past the age of going to school.

The fourth one is a girl, and Niu Chang'an is fifteen years old.

The fifth brother, Niu Ping'an, is thirteen years old this year. Because his family is poor, apart from Zheng Si, who went to school for four years and knows a few characters, the rest of the brothers are illiterate.

Therefore, Xiang Jinlan was anxious.

Zheng Si was literate and worked as a waiter in a shop, announcing the dishes. His family sold straw sandals, which cost two coins for three pairs. They were fashionable in the summer and made some money, but in the winter, they were practically broke.

Even if she sold herself into a large mansion, many mansions wouldn't buy people, so Xiang Jinlan seized the opportunity to take care of the child and earn five hundred coins.

She also loves children.

Niu Cuihua and Niu Er help with the chores around the house whenever they have time.

The old ox in the Niu family hasn't even eaten grass these past few days. Niu Da wants his good friend, who has been with him since childhood, to enjoy his final year in peace and comfort.

Niu Da squatted down and touched the old ox's horns, saying with tears in his eyes, "I used to ride on your back when I was a child. You've been with me for almost as long as I've grown up. It's been almost thirty years in the blink of an eye."

Little Fu Bao didn't understand why his father was crying, but not wanting to see him sad, he wiped away Niu Da's tears with his chubby little hands:

"Dad...Dad, no, no, Niu Niu...Mom, there's a daddy." She wanted to say that burying the cow would protect her father, but her pronunciation was inaccurate.

Little Fu Bao also touched the dying old ox.

Then they chose a place, and said, "Father, buy some vomit three" to bury it on the back mountain.

When a draft ox dies of old age, even if the owner is reluctant, they will report to the government to slaughter the ox for the sake of their livelihood. Beef is very expensive, almost ten times the price of meat.

He often heard that some cows shed tears when they are slaughtered, and that old cows can sense the pain of being slaughtered.

Now that Niu Da no longer needs to worry about making a living, and he is not greedy for the one or two hundred taels of silver, he dug a pit in the back mountain and waits for the old ox to die so that he can be buried.

He originally intended to bury him on the spot.

Little Fu Bao said in a clear, crisp voice, "Daddy, vomit three."

Niu Cuihua said, "Father, Xiao Fubao probably wants to bury the old ox in the back mountain. I think that makes sense. We'll be raising calves in this cowshed in the future, and it wouldn't be good to disturb the old ox."

This suggestion was like a revelation to Niu Da: "But the ox is so heavy, how can we lift it up?"

"Big brother, we can ask someone for help! Ask the mute big brother for help!" Niu Xiaomei said.

The old ox is dead.

Behind Niushan Village, there is a place on the mountain where the Niu family's ancestral graves are located. There is a relatively remote and abandoned area within the ancestral graves, which is covered with thorns and piled with many rocks.

Since ancestors and cattle cannot be buried together, the two brothers, Niu Da and Niu Er, cleaned up the thorny area.

Niu Da moved all the rocks aside, and the two brothers dug a hole there. Suddenly, Niu Da stopped, bent down, and said, "Second brother, look, what is this?"

"Brother, this looks like a box." Niu Er dug through the ash, and Niu Da dug a few more times. Sure enough, it was a box, about a foot long and ten centimeters high.

The box wasn't buried very deep; it was obviously knocked down by falling rocks. Niu Da and Niu Er carefully opened the box, and the two were stunned for a moment.

Niu Er said, "Brother, here's the silver!"

Niu Dadao: "Let's take the shortcut home first." The shortcut leading to Niu Da's house was full of thorns, so Niu Da and Niu Er initially came by the main road.

The two brothers carried the treasure chest home. Shen was weaving at home when she stopped what she was doing and came up to them, saying, "What happened? Why are your clothes all torn? How did you get such a big chest?"

Shen Yu pointed at the treasure chest and asked.

Niu Er opened the treasure chest.

Niu Xiaomei exclaimed in surprise, "Big brother, second brother, what's going on?" Niu Er quickly covered Niu Xiaomei's mouth and said, "Fourth sister, keep your voice down!"

Niu Dadao: "This is what we dug up from the place where we were going to bury the old ox! I'll go get some people to lift the old ox onto the cart first. After everyone leaves, you, Xiaomei, and Cuihua can count it at home."

Shen Yu quickly looked outside and saw that the gate to the courtyard was closed. Then she hid the treasure chest under the bed.

Niu Da, Niu Er, Shen Shi, Niu Cuihua, and Niu the Mute, together first lifted the old ox onto Niu Da's cart.

The three men pulled the old ox up the mountain and buried it.

When they were setting the mound down, a few loose rocks fell down, and Niu Da led the group back about twenty meters.

"Boom!"

The rock has collapsed.