Chapter 96

Aside from Gu Ran and Uncle Wu, no one else saw the river. Pei Liu and Li Ji also looked over in confusion. Uncle Yang even asked directly, "Where is the river on this island?"

"After that, just go through the forest in front and go further, and you will see a river."

"It must have been the river water diverted from the north and washed onto the island."

"That's easy." Gu Ran thought about it and immediately came up with an idea: "The river isn't far from that rocky area, right? Let's pick some large, flat rocks and move them to the riverside. Then, we can leave a gap in the river channel corresponding to the current position of the jumping stones. We can place a few more jumping stones there and put a sturdy large board on top, or put a few boards together. Isn't that enough?"

“That’s a solution.”

"I'll go back tomorrow to see how it's done."

When he heard Gu Ran say that they might need to find a maid to cook for the people who were building the house, Uncle Yang asked, "So, is the cook's skill good?"

"It can't be too bad, right? Otherwise, what if you guys can't eat the food I cook?"

Hearing Uncle Yang's question, Gu Ran probably thought that Uncle Wu San had also asked Uncle Yang to be the bricklayer for the house construction, so he asked directly.

"My wife is an excellent cook, and I have two maids who can also help with the cooking. Second Lady Gu, why don't you hire our wife to cook for us?"

"Aunt Yang?"

"That's your aunt!"

Uncle Yang urged, "We're almost renting all your land out to you. We also managed to grow your rice beautifully the other day. We Yangs don't cheat. If your aunt can do it, she's definitely going to do it."

"Since Uncle Yang said so, I will decide on Aunt first."

"Oh!" Uncle Yang rubbed his hands with joy.

The work of building houses on the island is paid forty cents a day, and the cook who is responsible for cooking is paid fifty cents. If it takes a month to build the houses, the total cost is almost three taels of silver.

For ordinary farmers, it is a huge income.

The Yang family only has 20 mu of land, which is mostly cultivated by Uncle Yang and Aunt Yang themselves. However, with convenient farm tools, they can make do. Moreover, during the busy farming season and harvest time, not only will people in the village help, but the eldest daughter's father-in-law's family will also come to help, and they also hire helpers.

Uncle Yang and Aunt Yang are both experienced farmers and are good at tending rice fields, so they were so bold as to plant Gu Ran's two acres of land and then contracted another five acres.

So the family had enough food to eat, but if they wanted to eat well and dress nicely, the money they earned from selling rice throughout the year was far from enough.

Now, he heard that the wife of the Gu family wanted to hire someone to build a house, and because it was on Dunzi Island, the price offered was particularly high. Naturally, Uncle Yang had to seize the opportunity.

Not to mention anything else, there are two daughters in the family!

My second daughter is already of marriageable age, so we have to save up some dowry for her quickly!

After discussing the matter of building the house with Uncle Wu San, Gu Ran also felt sleepy. Since there were many people coming today and out of consideration for their wife's family, they didn't have to keep watch, so Gu Ran went to rest with peace of mind.

Unlike her, Pei Liu and Li Ji, not only did they have to sleep outdoors many times after arriving in Xiaxi Village, but they also had to sleep outdoors many times during their exile.

Uncle Wu San and Uncle Yang, who were of similar age, rarely did they do what they did now. They cooked by the fire and spent the night on a deserted island with miasma, so they were a little excited and a little excited. So they were not sleepy at all, and they chatted quietly beside the campfire.

Beside the campfire, in the half-cut forest, a dark shadow slowly emerged. Its old eyes stared at the campfire for a long time, then shifted its gaze to look at the cave before reluctantly shrinking back and disappearing into the darkness.

The next morning, Uncle Wu and Uncle Yang stayed in the valley to continue cultivating the land because they slept late the previous night and got up late today. Gu Ran, Pei Liu and Li Ji crossed the jungle to the other side of the river, intending to see how to build the stone bridge.

Soon, they arrived at the river. When they jumped over the stone bridge upstream, they scared away many migratory birds that came to drink water.

The three men looked at the stone bridge and gestured for a long time, and finally decided that the stone bridge to be paved must be at least sixty inches (or two meters) wide to accommodate a donkey cart or a cart.

It's easy once the width is determined. The remaining effort is to move stones of suitable sizes from the rocky ground, pile them up higher, and widen them next to the original jumping bridge.

Gu Ran brought Pei Liu and Li Ji to the rocky area. It was the first time for them to explore this end of the island. They saw several hills on the other side of the rocky area and took a few more glances. Then they began to use hoes to loosen the rocks embedded in the soil or stacked up. After a while, they carried them to the river in bamboo baskets and used them to build a bridge.

Gu Ran was also busy on the side, but while they were concentrating on the stones, he quietly put a lot of large rocks suitable for building the bridge deck into the space grid.

How many times would it take for them to move the goods back and forth like this, and how long would it take?

So when she finished talking to Uncle Wu San about building the bridge last night, she had already tidied up the space in her own space.

Number three can be used, and number ten can also be used.

She used the space grid to place the stones on the space grid. When she returned to the river, she pretended that the rocks were found in the small forest by the river. By the way, she would look for other rocks that could be used.

So Gu Ran deliberately kept a distance from the other two people, and then collected all the large rocks he saw, especially the large bluestones suitable for paving bridges.

When Pei Liu and Li Ji filled their bamboo baskets with stones and carried them to the river, Gu Ran followed slowly behind. After passing through the forest, he saw them pouring out the stones. Then he said, "It's too slow for you to move them like this. Since there are so many stones over there, I guess there are some in this forest too. I'll go and see. If there are, can't we just use the stones from this forest?"

Pei Liucai poured out a few stones from the bamboo basket, watched Gu Ran walk into the woods downstream, glanced at Li Ji, and said nothing.

Yes, you don’t need a lot of stones to build a bridge. If there are piles of rocks in this forest, they will be enough. Why go far away?

Looking at Li Ji's expression, he had the same look.

After the two men piled less than ten stones by the river, they looked at each other and quickly followed the figure in the distance in front of them.

Gu Ran entered the forest downstream and looked around for a place to quickly pile up the large stones he had collected in his space. Finally, he saw a pile of rocks, walked over quickly, and took out all the stones.

"Second mother?"

"Second Lady Gu?"

"I'm here!" Gu Ran shouted in response to Pei Liu and Li Ji's calls. Then, pretending to have just discovered the pile of rocks, he shouted, "Come here quickly. I found a lot of rocks here."

Pei Liu and Li Ji followed the sound and walked in.

"Look, isn't it, isn't it?"

Pei Liu and Li Ji took a look and found that it was indeed the case.

"They're all big rocks, perfect for paving a bridge, right?" Gu Ran asked. "What kind of good luck am I? I found them right away."

Pei Liu looked at the smug Gu Ran and smiled faintly.

So the three of them did not return to the rocky place, but moved the stones directly from there to the river.

After returning, Gu Ran stayed by the river and was responsible for piling up the stones in the river to serve as pillars for laying wooden boards.

They used hoes to probe the river and found that it was not deep, only about one meter, so they just needed to bring a few more stones over and pile them up to support the water.

After going back and forth a few times, the originally small jumping stone bridge gradually became wider.

After being busy for a while, Gu Ran felt hungry. It seemed that it was time to eat some dry food. However, Pei Liu and Li Ji had not returned yet, so it was not convenient for him to eat alone. So Gu Ran took out a piece of dried meat from his backpack and started chewing it.

Fill your stomach first, and then have dinner together after they come back.

As Gu Ran was thinking this while chewing the dried meat, he heard a strange sound of "tap, tap".

I pricked up my ears and listened carefully. I heard it correctly. It didn't sound like the call of a bird. It could be...

Gu Ran looked in the direction of the sound and was surprised.

She saw a ragged old man walking out of the woods a little upstream from the Tiaoshi Bridge. Her first reaction was that she had seen a ghost.

Because his hair was disheveled, with all white hair flying in the air, his body was pitch black, his body was slightly hunched, and in his right hand he was holding a black stick, or a crutch.

The eyes that looked at her were also pale and full of death.

Gu Ran's scalp tingled.

Oh no, he is... maybe he is the madman who once hurt Liu Niang?

"you……"

Before Gu Ran could say anything, the madman's stick banged on the ground faster and faster, and he was running towards her.

"Second mother!"

Downstream, Pei Liu, who had just carried the rock out with Li Ji, threw down the stone, shouted loudly, took out the sickle on his waist and threw it at the madman.

Li Ji also ran.

The sickle came through the air and was about to hit the madman, but the madman dodged it with a flick of his body.

But this also prevented him from getting close to Gu Ran. Pei Liu and Li Ji arrived one after another. Seeing that he failed, the madman picked up the stick that was originally tapping the ground and hit Pei Liu.

Pei Liu was unable to dodge and was hit hard by the stick. He staggered and almost fell. Fortunately, Li Ji arrived later and picked up a hoe beside him and hit the madman with it.

The madman actually escaped.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Pei Liu quickly broke off a tree trunk from the side and joined the melee.

Two men faced off against a madman, but the madman was able to handle the fierce attacks from the left and right with ease. After a few rounds, Pei Liu saw an opening and knocked the stick out of the madman's hand. The madman had no support, but he used his palms to make a powerful move. He punched the two men in the chest, knocking them both flying, and then rushed to Gu Ran in one step.

"Second mother!"

Pei Liu fell to the ground, his fear shattered. He jumped up from the ground and rushed towards the madman with a loud shout.

Gu Ran was originally frightened and stood there. After seeing Pei Liu and Li Ji stop the madman, he should have gradually calmed down. However, seeing that two people with extraordinary skills attacked at the same time, they were still no match for a madman.

There was a breeze blowing by the river, and it was early winter, but it was no match for the chill brought by seeing Pei Liu and Li Ji both defeated.

When the cold wind blew up and almost cut her skin, Gu Ran, who was still in incredible shock, had no time to react - even if she had time to react, she would not dare to hide in the workshop. After all, three pairs of eyes were watching her in public.

Originally, when he saw that madman rushing towards him, he should have run away immediately.

Of course you have to escape when facing an opponent you can't stop or defeat.

Helplessly, his body froze, his legs feeling as if they were rooted to the ground.

So Gu Ran, with the idea of ​​fighting to the death, took out a dagger from the workshop and stabbed the madman whose momentum was as heavy as a mountain.

But she also failed.

Gu Ran closed her eyes and did not feel the severe pain from being killed, but she heard the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. She looked at Pei Liuniang who was rushing towards her, turned her head slowly with suspicion, and was stunned again.

Pei Liu was also stunned, and Li Ji, who had just struggled to get up, was also shocked and did not move.

In the silent air, apart from the sound of gurgling water, there was the sound of something chewing.

The old madman was squatting on the ground, holding the dried meat that had fallen to the ground when Gu Ran was frightened.

It turned out that he rushed towards her not to attack anyone, but just for the dried meat in her hand?

Seeing the madman chewing the dried meat with great difficulty, or perhaps, it would be more appropriate to say that he was grinding it with his teeth, the three of them looked at each other and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This madman doesn't seem to have any hostility towards them?

It’s better if there is none.

Who is he and why is he on Dunzi Island?

Seeing that the madman had been chewing for a long time but hadn't worn off much of the meat - probably because he was old and his teeth were not good, Gu Ran took out a relatively soft but cold steamed bun from his backpack and tentatively handed it to him: "Crazy... no, Crazy Grandpa?"

The madman just squatted on the ground and rubbed the dried meat.

Gu Ran had no choice but to touch his face gently with the steamed bun. The madman seemed to be frightened and jumped away. He was very wary and looked back. He finally caught a glimpse of the steamed bun in Gu Ran's hand, then he snatched it away and started eating it in big mouthfuls.

Gu Ran finally felt relieved. She stepped aside and walked over to Pei Liu. Li Ji also stood up and walked over to them. "Who is this?"

"That's why I hired you here for a hundred cents." Gu Ran said to the old madman.

"I was injured by him at the beginning." Pei Liu also said.

"You've fought him before?" Li Ji tried to stretch his injured arm, surprised. "Alone?"

But he only now realized that the Sixth Lady of the Pei Family, whom he had previously thought to be delicate, actually possessed great martial arts skills. Although he had not asked much in order to save people just now, he now had many doubts in his heart.

Pei Liu nodded.

Only now did he realize that even he and Li Ji together could not defeat the old madman, and he became even more wary of this man.

"Grandpa, who are you? Where are you from?" Gu Ran had been keeping an eye on the old madman. Seeing him finish the steamed bun in a few bites, he took out another one and handed it to him while asking.

The crazy old man seemed not to understand what Gu Ran said. He snatched the steamed bun again, but didn't say a word. After asking several more times, the old crazy man still didn't say a word. But because Gu Ran gave him food, he just stretched out his hand to her for more food after eating.

Gu Ran looked at his messy white hair and the wrinkles on his face, and was afraid that he might be senile.

"Did he end up on this deserted island of Dunzi Island because of an accident?"

"It could be that he's old and has lost his mind, so his family just threw him on the island to fend for himself."

Gu Ran stood aside with the other two, watching the old madman eat his steamed buns again, and commented: "He is so old and confused now, but he can still maintain such skills. He must have been an even more remarkable figure in his youth."

"So, what should we do?"

Pei Liu and Li Ji looked at Gu Ran together.

In the past, Dunzi Island was a deserted island, and anyone who came in was easy to deal with. But now Dunzi Island belongs to Gu Er Niang, so how to deal with this person naturally depends on her.

Gu Ran also scratched his head, feeling very embarrassed.

"I don't know where I can drive him to, even if I chase him away!"

"If he was thrown onto this island, his family probably wouldn't want to find him anymore."

"So, just like before, if he doesn't harm us, we can just sit back and do nothing?"

But Gu Ran and others decided to sit back and watch, but the old madman pestered them and waited by the side to watch them pile up the stones for the bridge piers. When they walked towards the valley, he picked up a stick, took one deep step and one shallow step, and followed them back to the cave.

Uncle Wu San and Uncle Yang were shocked to see them going to the other side of the river. There were three of them when they left, but four of them came back.

"Then, who is that?"

"Why are you on the island?"

Thinking that Uncle Wu San and Uncle Yang were both natives of Minzhou, they were probably familiar with the affairs of Dunzi Island. So after explaining where this man came from, I also asked them if they knew anything about this old man. As a result, Uncle Wu San and Uncle Yang both shook their heads.

"No. We've never heard of anyone living on this Dunzi Island."

"Exactly. Who would be so wicked as to abandon their own grandparents to a deserted island? The spit from everyone in the surrounding area would drown them."

So, before Pei Liu, no one knew that there was this old madman on Dunzi Island?

"Pei Liuniang, you said he was discovered last year?" Li Ji asked.

Pei Liu was embarrassed by his own embarrassment, and then nodded silently.

"Last year? He's been alive on such a dangerous island for a year?"

Uncle Wu was amazed, and Uncle Yang was also amazed.

One year, living alone for one year on an island surrounded by desolate mountains and wilderness and with the constant danger of miasma?

He looks as old as tree bark. How old is he?

It’s not easy!

"I see more than that."

After all, he had been an official and knew how to judge people and was very observant. Judging from the old madman's tattered animal skin, the ragged, dirty and black strips of cloth underneath, and the degree of deterioration of his skin exposed to the outside world, Li Ji believed that this man had been thrown on the island for at least a few years.

several years.

Fortunately, this is in the southern Fujian Province, where the climate is not too cold even in winter. If it were in the northern forest, I would have frozen to death long ago.

"If he survived on the island by himself, what would he eat?"

"Fruits, fish, pheasants and rabbits!" Although there are not many big animals on Dunzi Island, small animals are common, otherwise they would not have been able to catch pheasants or rabbits the last time they came.

Gu Ran looked at the animal skins on the old madman's body and said, "Maybe he was still conscious when he was stranded on this island, so he took off the animal skins to make clothes for himself!"

And with the old madman's skills, he is not afraid of not being able to deal with big or small mountain beasts on the island.

"That's not a big deal. If I were stranded on a deserted island, I'd be dead in less than five days!"

That night the great old madman stayed by the bonfire they had built. When they were eating, he would take the food without hesitation. When he was full, he would not make a fuss but would sit quietly with his legs crossed, hugging a tree stick, with his eyes, which he could not open, always looking towards the fire.

Before going into the cave to rest, Gu Ran glanced at the old madman a few times. Seeing that he was still like an old tree stump, motionless, he couldn't help but sigh.

As he lay down on the thick quilt, he couldn't help but ask Pei Liuniang, who had almost shrunk into the corner, "Tell me, who was he originally?"

"Whatever he was originally, he's a madman now."

Since it was certain that the old madman posed no threat to them and there would be no trouble if they did not provoke him, Pei Liu instantly lost interest. Moreover, the thought of him appearing today with a ferocious look and thinking that he had attacked her made him secretly unhappy.

Fortunately, the old madman had no ill intentions at the time.

But, what if the person today is not the old madman, and is really trying to kill or chop Gu Er Niang? If he cannot stop him in time, will Gu Er Niang be in trouble?

Pei Liu glanced at Gu Ran, feeling heavy in his heart.

It turns out that I am so incompetent that I can't even protect people from a mere madman.

"That's right. No matter how powerful you were before, when you get old, you'll just be old and will still become confused and brainless."

Gu Ran, not knowing what Pei Liu was thinking at the moment, sighed, remembering that when he left in his second life, his father was already an old man in his fifties or sixties.

I wonder how they are doing now?

Starting from the third day, the group devoted themselves to digging tree stumps, weeding, and filling holes.

The old madman did not leave afterwards. He just stood there while watching them work. When he got tired of standing, he squatted, and when he got tired of squatting, he sat down. He only came over when it was time for dinner or when the bonfire was lit, and asked for food and drink.

Everyone thought that he really wouldn't do anything excessive and was just stupid, so they didn't take it seriously.

In this way, after two days, they had indeed cleared six acres of land in one go.

There are three acres in front of the valley and three acres behind the valley.

Orange fields are different from cultivated land. They need to be plowed and loosened, and the weeds and trees on them need to be removed. All that is left is to wait for the weather to get colder to freeze the soil and allow it to grow. Then, when you want to transplant the orange trees next year, you can dig holes and apply base fertilizer.

Because they finished the work ahead of time, Pei Liu and Li Ji dug a rabbit hole and caught four rabbits. So the night before leaving Dunzi Island, they planned to roast the rabbit meat.

Unlike Gu Ran and Pei Liu who had the freedom to eat meat, Uncle Wu San, Uncle Yang, and even Li Ji could not eat meat often. So while they were happily eating meat, Gu Ran and Pei Liu, on the other hand, mostly drank hot soup and ate steamed buns, secretly planning to eat something better after returning to the cottage.

As for the old madman "Robinson Crusoe" from the Great Sheng Dynasty who was stranded on a deserted island, he could not even raise his head because of the food he had to eat.

Gu Ran guessed that he probably hadn't eaten cooked meat for a long time.

On the fifth day, when they were packing up their necessary luggage and preparing to leave the island, Gu Ran saw that the old madman was still sitting there staring at them blankly.

In this state, the old man's only remaining active consciousness, apart from subconsciously using his martial arts to protect himself, is eating.

Thinking that this person may have been trapped on a deserted island for many years, and had to endure the hardships all year round, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.

They were probably the first people the old madman had met in all these years.

When they are around, he can still get free food and drinks, and even get some firewood, but what happens after they leave?

This old madman had to stay alone, accompanied by the wind, sleeping in the open air and feeling lonely and helpless.

After putting his few belongings into the bamboo basket, Gu Ran saw that others were still sorting, so he took out his personal belongings from the basket, and handed the remaining dry food and his own quilt to the old madman: "Here you go."

The old madman looked at her, confused.

"This one is for sleeping, and this one is for food." Gu Ran said, then took out a flint, picked up some dead leaves on the ground, piled them in front of the old madman, lit them, and then extinguished them: "Like this, light a fire, burn firewood, and keep warm." Then he stuffed the flint into his hand.

The old madman tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, as if he still didn't quite understand what it meant, but he subconsciously grabbed the flint.

"Second Mother, let's go."

Pei Liu and others carried bamboo baskets on their backs, held hoes and other farm tools in their hands, and called Gu Ran to set off.

When Pei Liu saw Gu Erniang gave her bamboo basket and quilt to the old madman, he couldn't help but frown.

A madman like this with an unstable temperament could hurt others if he is not careful, and it would be fine if he dies. Why should she be so nice to him?

"Hey, I'm coming."

Seeing that Li Ji was in the front, Uncle Wu and Uncle Yang followed, Pei Liu was waiting for her while walking. Gu Ran quickly reached into the bamboo basket, moved out a lot of food from the space, and then covered it with a quilt. Then she quickly caught up with Pei Liu.

After walking a distance, Gu Ran couldn't help but look back. Seeing that the old madman was still sitting beside the cave, motionless, he couldn't help but feel sad: "Uncle Wu San?"

"Why?"

"When you come to the island to build a house in the future, if you see this old lunatic, please give him some food."

"Okay, if he's still around, we'll just split it up!"

"Whose family is truly so ungrateful as to throw someone onto the island? If I knew who it was, I'd definitely curse them to death."

The group walked away. Behind them, the old madman who was sitting next to the cave watched their figures getting smaller and smaller. He fumbled to his feet by grabbing a tree stick, chased them for a few steps, and then slowly retreated.

He turned around to look at the quilt on the bamboo basket, slowly reached out, grabbed it, threw away the stick, wrapped himself in the quilt, and looked at the bamboo basket again, only to find that it was full of food.

The old man's eyes trembled slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed across his face. The man who had never spoken before made two humming sounds, then slowly squatted down, looking at the other end of the valley with trembling lips.

There was no one on the other side of the valley.

On the shore of Dunzi Island, when Gu Ran and others got on the small boat rowed by Liu the boatman, they took the opportunity to ask Liu the boatman to ferry people back and forth between Dunzi Island and Donglin Township in the future. Liu the boatman listened and readily agreed.

"Don't worry, Gu Erniang. I used to fish on the riverbank below the ferry. Now that it's fishing season, I come here to ferry people and earn a few bucks. If you want to hire me, I'll definitely be there anytime." Liu the boatman said with a smile, "Just find me at the ferry. I'll be there anytime for you."

Gu Ran paid a deposit for the boat in advance, which was considered to be a relatively fixed ferry for those who came to the island to build houses.

After returning to Xiaxi Village, Gu Ran gave money and handed over all matters to Uncle Wu San.

After the winter harvest, Uncle Wu San was studying the blueprints, ordering tiles and other materials, and recruiting people in the village who were willing to build houses on Dunzi Island.

With the diligent work of Wu Sanbo, the master builder and person in charge, it took about a month to build a big house for Gu Ran on Dunzi Island before December when the weather had completely cooled down. They even built a road from the ferry entrance to the other side of the valley that was wide enough for donkey carts to pass through.

This is a later story.

Now, Gu Ran handed over the task of building the house to Uncle Wu San, and then asked Pei Liu to go to the island to act as a supervisor.

"I?"

"That's right, Uncle Wu is working for us. One of you and I must follow him to the island to follow the progress."

"And you?"

"I have other things to do, don't I?"

Anything else?

Seeing Pei Liu looking at her with suspicion, Gu Ran raised her fingers and said to Pei Liu, "First, I have to ask Master Huang to make two more windmills to prevent the island from being plagued by miasma next spring. Secondly, I have to find someone to buy orange trees. Otherwise, by next spring, I'll have the land and the house built, but I won't be able to buy orange trees. Wouldn't that be a waste? Then, I have to go to the capital and visit the He family's grass jelly shop. I have to ask for last month's money, and then I have to send them the dried grass jelly and konjac, right? Finally, the weather is getting cold, and Daju's family will be back. Someone will need to take care of our grandchildren, right?"

Pei Liu thought about it and agreed.

Moreover, there was that old madman on Dunzi Island. It would be best for Gu Erniang not to go there again to avoid the chance of being accidentally hurt by the old madman. He weighed this in his mind and heard her say, "You are my partner, so you are one of us. I don't trust others either, so I have to leave it to you."

When he heard that she and he were "one of us", he smiled and there was no way he would refuse.

"Did you find someone to buy you an orange tree?"

"I found it. When I went to the He family shop, I stopped by Fusheng Trading Company. They are a traveling merchant and also deal in oranges. They have connections, so I plan to ask Manager Xu to buy me an orange tree."

The third boss of Fusheng Trading Company went back to the capital to celebrate the New Year. The one who stayed in Jianzhou Prefecture to manage the company was Manager Xu.

Gu Ran had done business with Xu San many times and was familiar with Manager Xu, but business was business alone. Gu Ran had not come to the provincial capital many times and had never been to Fusheng Trading Company.

On this day, after going to the He family to make grass jelly, settling the revenue for October and getting the share, Gu Ran found the Fusheng Trading Company in the provincial capital for the first time.

The Xu family's business was located in the commercial center of the provincial capital. It was a large shop with two rooms in a row. The two rooms on the left were combined into one room for receiving goods, while the two rooms on the right were also used as a shop for selling goods shipped from the north.

Behind the four shops are warehouses, which makes it extremely convenient for receiving or storing goods.

It was almost mid-November, and the business of the shop that received the goods was a little bleak, but the business of the shop that sold the goods was quite brisk.

Gu Ran went straight into the store where he received the goods. Just as he was about to ask the clerk inside to find Manager Xu, he saw Manager Xu standing behind the counter, watching another cashier working with an abacus.

"Hello, Manager Xu!"

As soon as Gu Ran called out, Manager Xu looked over. Seeing that it was the second mother of the Gu family, he smiled and hurriedly came forward, very attentively.

How can I not be diligent?

The lady of the Gu family and her husband have done big business. As the only supplier of key goods, they naturally have to be treated well and praised.

"Mrs. Gu, are you coming to our company in person to buy or sell something?"

"Buying things."

"Oh, so you're interested in the things in our store? Let me take a look, maybe I can give you a discount?"

"That's great, but unfortunately, the things I want to buy are not sold at Fusheng Commercial Bank."

"Then I dare to ask, Aunt Gu, if the thing you want to buy is not available in the store, then what are you buying?"

When Manager Xu heard that Gu Ran wanted to use his channels to buy orange trees, he was stunned: "Second Lady Gu, what are you planning?"

Gu Ran nodded and continued: "Plant orange trees."

"Well, you want to plant orange trees. Do you have any land?"

"have."

"Can you plant?"

"meeting."

"Then why do you want to buy it from us, Fusheng?"

"Manager Xu, you're also aware of the incident at the Liu and Zhu family orange orchards in Donglin Township this year, right? I'm planning to plant my own orange trees next year and would like to buy mature trees, but I'm not planning on buying them from the orange orchards in Jianzhou."

Manager Xu nodded.

Yes, I heard that the yellow tip disease is very serious. Last year, the oranges infected with the disease were probably transported to Jianzhou Prefecture to be sold without the Liu family's knowledge.

I’m afraid that because of this, people who buy oranges will unknowingly bring the cause of the disease to various towns and villages.

To ensure that you do not buy a diseased tree, it is wise not to buy orange trees in Jianzhou.

"You merchants go to the harbor to collect goods, so you must know a lot of people from all over the country, right? I'm planning to buy orange trees from Guangdong. Manager Xu, could you find someone to help me buy some from Guangdong?"

"I might need to look for it first and ask around. I can't guarantee I'll be able to buy it."

"Manager Xu, you'd better buy them for me." Gu Ran smiled. "Not to mention Jianzhou, even the big orange growers in other parts of Minzhou have regular customers if they sell their oranges in bulk. When Xu San comes back, if you still want to buy oranges next year and sell them to the north to make money, you'll have to make a few more trips before you can convince farmers in other states to sell you oranges. But if you can buy the batch of orange trees I want, then next year when I grow oranges, I can sell the abundant harvest to your Fusheng Trading Company first."

"That's right, that's right, Madam Gu, you're right." Manager Xu was obviously moved. "When do you plan to ask for it?"

"The best time to transplant crops is in early spring, after harvesting in February," Gu Ran said, adding, "but no later than the end of March. Otherwise, if I don't take good care of the oranges, the fruiting period will be pushed back, which will also affect your transportation back to the north."

"So, how much do you need?"

"Three hundred mature trees and one hundred seedlings." Gu Ran added, "If Manager Xu wants better tangerines, he can also control the quality at the source. He can ask someone to buy one hundred early-ripening trees and two handfuls of late-ripening trees. The fruit they produce..."

"I can taste them myself. If I think the tangerines are delicious, I'll buy them from mature trees." Manager Xu said he understood. "That way, I won't have to worry about the tangerines I buy from you not tasting good. Now is the perfect time for all kinds of citrus to mature and ripen, so I'll taste them now and make a reservation later."

Gu Ran smiled and nodded: "Manager Xu is indeed a sensible person."

Manager Xu also smiled and said, "Since it's something that everyone is happy about, I'll take this deal."

"By the way, if it's convenient for Manager Xu, please help me buy some oranges."

"Aren't there a lot of tangerines on the market in Minzhou right now?"

"Would you like to try the tangerines grown in Guangdong?" Gu Ran smiled. "I love eating tangerines the most. I also use them to make jam and canned goods. I plan to buy more."

"That's fine. We have to go anyway. By the way, how much do you want to buy?"

"Two hundred pounds."

"Okay, I'll make a note of that."

Only after getting Manager Xu's promise did Gu Ran feel relieved.

Even in winter, the waterways and seaports in the south do not stop sailing unless the government requires a holiday. The Minzhou port is very convenient for traveling to Guangdong.

The nearest places can be reached in one or two days, and the farthest places only take three or four days.

For those who have a boat, it is just a matter of a few days' journey, so it will soon be known whether Manager Xu can accomplish this task.

While waiting for news from Manager Xu, the little boy from the Lin family, who was born with great difficulty by Mrs. Lin, was also one month old.

This is the first grandchild of Village Chief Wu.

Lin Dalang and Lin Dasao have been married for two years, but they have not yet given birth to a child. However, they are busy running the rice store in the county town, so when outsiders ask about this, they say there is no rush.

Now the Lin family has their only grandson, who was not easy to come by. It is said that Aunt Xia tried every possible means to save this premature baby in this month.

Now that his life is safe and he has finally lived to full term, the Lin family is very happy. Although it is not convenient to bring the grandson out to meet people, they still arranged a full-month banquet and invited everyone in the village to have a drink.

The people in the village naturally gave enough face and came to the Lin family to have fun.

Gu Ran and Pei Liu also came to the Lin family with generous gifts. They saw that Lin Dalang and his wife had also returned from the county town, and the people from the Wu family were also there, and they were busy entertaining the guests!

After greeting Village Chief Wu, Gu Ran went to the side room to meet Mrs. Lin Er.

The weather was cold, and the windows in the room were sealed tightly. There was charcoal burning, and as soon as you entered, you could feel the warmth in the whole room.

Because Aunt Xia had instructed not to let anyone in casually, there were very few people in the side room. Anyone who wanted to come in to see Mrs. Lin Er or the young master had to come in separately, and the only guest at the moment was Gu Ran.

Originally, he wanted to ask Pei Liuniang to come along, but for some reason Pei Liu was unwilling, and Gu Ran didn't want to force her.

Mrs. Lin Er looked much better today than when she gave birth. She was holding the little boy she had finally gotten, smiling, and her words and behavior were much gentler. Gu Ran guessed that this was probably what others called the so-called maternal radiance. However, as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, Gu Ran knew that this was still the Mrs. Lin Er she knew, no different.

"Second Mother, you're here. Look, I have a son."

Mrs. Lin happily showed the baby, which she was holding carefully in her arms, to Gu Ran.

"Yes, it was not easy. Congratulations!"

Gu Ran didn't dare to touch the delicate newborn. He just took a quick look at it. Although the baby still looked like a small ball, sleeping quietly with eyes closed, his face was rosy, so he guessed that there was no big problem.

"That's right. At that time, I thought I was going to die!" Mrs. Lin was also scared. "I heard people say that giving birth is scary, but it turns out it is so scary." Mrs. Lin said, and then laughed, "Luckily, I have my mother-in-law and Aunt Xia. Otherwise, I would have died."

"Bah, who is dead? Aren't you still alive and well? Don't say such unlucky words in the future." Gu Ran glared at her.

"Okay!" Mrs. Lin hugged her son and looked at Gu Ran and smiled.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Mrs. Lin Er, Gu Ran went out, fearing that the mother and son might be tired. He saw that there were quite a few people sitting at the banquet in the courtyard, and they were all noisy and lively.

Village Chief Wu was originally greeting guests. When he saw Gu Ran, he turned around and walked up to her: "I've finished talking to Afang."

Gu Ran nodded, "You're in good spirits."

"After you get through this, things will get much better." Village Chief Wu said, looking at the noisy crowd and beckoning Gu Ran to the main hall. "That's perfect. I have something I want to discuss with you."

Gu Ran couldn't help but be stunned.

What could Village Chief Wu have to discuss with me?