Chapter 71 The First Mule Cart [VIP]

The fifth day of the New Year.

Shops in the city opened one after another, sweeping the dust and welcoming customers.

Inside the Huangji Supply and Marketing Cooperative, three women wearing flowered cloths on their heads were wiping the shop inside and out with rags in their hands, making it spotless.

Huang Dongsheng and Tian Baolai carried the vegetables they had collected from the countryside into the shop and started stocking the goods.

"Mom, you and your aunts still have to go to the City God Temple to burn incense. Go quickly. My cousin and I are here." Huang Dongsheng placed the ingredients on the shelf one by one, and took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket and handed them over to his mother and aunts, asking them to add some money for the incense.

Miao took off the flowered cloth on her head and waved her hand to refuse: "Mother brought some money. You can take this money and treat Baolai to something nice later, okay?"

The oxcarts at the city gate haven't started doing business yet today.

The two kids had to get up early in the morning, pick up hundreds of kilograms of food from home and send them to the cooperating restaurants, and then run to the village to collect goods from the vendors.

I'm afraid I'm exhausted from all this.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll treat my cousin to some yokan after I'm done with my work." Huang Dongsheng not only wanted to treat his cousin to a good meal, but also wanted to go to the market with him to see how mules and cattle were being sold.

The three families had agreed that everyone would contribute money to buy the first car.

Huang Xing, Huang Mei and Miao packed up and followed the crowd with baskets to the City God Temple to burn incense.

First, I wish my family will be healthy and free from disasters; second, I wish my family business will be prosperous; third, I wish all my children’s wishes will come true.

Chen Yao and Yang Jizong have to accompany Goudan to the quarry to pick someone up today.

Because of the death of Village Chief Zhao, Huang Xing felt uneasy about the two of them going to the quarry, and she knelt in front of the Bodhisattva and muttered to herself.

She asked for too much, not only for her daughter, but also for the children in the village who came to the city to find work today, and for the mother and son of the Zhao family who had returned to the village late to seek justice for their father.

Here, Huang Dongsheng gave two pieces of tofu to the clerk next door, asking him to help look after the shop, and then took Tian Baolai to the restaurant to eat yokan.

As soon as they sat down, the waiter brought them two scones.

"Sir, please break the steamed bun into pieces the size of soybeans and put them in a bowl. I will add cooked meat and mutton soup for you later." After saying that, he also brought a small dish of pickled garlic.

After the waiter left, Tian Baolai broke his steamed bun and whispered, "Cousin, we can just have two meat buns. Why did we come to the store to eat?"

What a waste of time.

Huang Dongsheng glanced at the diners around him and whispered, "Brother, the shop owner who sells yokan must be familiar with the livestock seller. Let's ask him after we finish eating and see if he can recommend a good seller for us."

Tian Baolai paused while breaking the steamed bun, and immediately gave his cousin a thumbs-up, praising him, "You're really smart."

After the two men tore the steamed bun, the waiter asked about their taste and then brought the yokan to the table.

A mouthful of yokan soup goes in the stomach, the clear soup is delicious, the meat is tender and fragrant, and the diced steamed buns are soaked in the rich mutton soup without any smell of mutton.

The two of them ate till the end, still not satisfied. Huang Dongsheng asked the waiter to bring two more bowls. When they felt a little greasy at the end, they picked up a piece of pickled garlic and put it in their mouths to relieve the greasiness.

After eating and drinking, Huang Dongsheng rushed to pay the money. Unfortunately, he didn't get any useful information from the shopkeeper, so the two of them had to go to the market to ask.

This question about the price shocked the two of them.

An old yellow ox was priced at eight taels of silver, plus an additional five hundred coins for the cart; a mule, which could plow the fields and pull goods, was more expensive than an ox and cost ten taels of silver.

The two brothers talked a lot, but the people selling the livestock refused to give in. There was nothing they could do. This was a big deal, so they had to go back and discuss it with their family first.

At the same time, inside the quarry tent.

Zheng Fu looked at the three people kneeling in front of him. When he learned their purpose, he became furious. He clenched his fists and refused to let them go.

"Lord Zheng, are you going to disobey the emperor's will?" Although Yang Jizong was kneeling, there was no respect in his eyes.

Zheng Fu was so angry that his face flushed red. He didn't dare to answer yes, but only asked, "What can you do to me?"

Chen Yao was about to stand up and retort, but Yang Jizong held her back. He then slowly spoke, "Coach Xing is worried about not having the chance to return to the capital with merit. What do you think if he knew?"

"You dare to threaten me? Believe it or not, I will not let you go out today." Zheng Fu immediately drew out the sword of his personal guard and put it on his neck.

Yang Jizong was not afraid at all: "Master Zheng, why not give it a try? People have been killed one after another in the quarry, and the emperor is worried about finding a reason to take action against you big families."

Five taels of silver can only bring back three people from the quarry.

Chen Goudan held his father's hand gently, not daring to use force. He kept crying all the way and turned around and spat at the tent.

This guy named Zheng is simply not a human being. He tortured his father and two uncles to the point that they were unrecognizable.

Chen Youfu and his two brothers told everyone that Zhao Liangshun died because Zheng Fuqiang dragged him to be the scapegoat.

That night, a convict took the opportunity of delivering charcoal to kill Zheng Fu.

Chen Youfu didn’t say it, but everyone knew it.

He kowtowed and cried in front of a group of old people, telling them about the many grievances in his heart.

With these elders around,

From this day on, Wanhe Township was no longer a deserted village overgrown with weeds.

The three people who returned learned from the elders that they had to plant cassava.

Without saying a word, Chen Youfu took his two brothers with him to join Shen Qingshan and others in cutting wood in the mountains and rebuilding their home.

Time flies and it’s the Lantern Festival.

Yang Wenying's 100-year-old longevity picture was embroidered early and was sent to the traction building in Baihe Town by Tian Baolai and his son and Huang Songbai.

Now she has taken on a new embroidery job, which is a small screen. The wages are as much as ten taels. With this money, she can lay good tiles on the roof of the Shen family.

The snow had melted in the past few days, and snow water was seeping inside and outside the house. There was a cold wind everywhere. At night, she and A Yao hugged each other, but their hands and feet were frozen.

"Brother, are there many students coming to school today?" Yang Wenying sat in the corridor, embroidering while watching the chickens at home.

Yang Jizong pushed open the gate, put down the books in his hands and returned to the house. He first scooped some water from the yard to wash his hands, then moved a low stool to sit next to his sister and help her reel the silk thread: "Half of it is not here."

"It's already pretty good. A-Yao and I thought it would be good if we could get one-third. Have we given the harvested soybeans to our aunts?" After all, everyone has to earn money to live.

The young people in Xiahe Village have all found jobs in the city. Some work as porters at the docks, and some do odd jobs in restaurants. No matter what industry they are in, they have gained a foothold in the city with the skills they have learned.

Yang Wenying didn't hear her brother's answer. When she looked up, she found that her brother was looking outside frequently.

"Brother, are you thinking about Ayao?"

Yang Jizong nodded, and he felt a little regretful about telling Chen Yao that it would be cheaper to buy mules and cattle in Huayan Town.

Although there is abundant water and grass there, the journey is really long. I have been away from home for two days and have not returned yet.

"Brother, don't worry. Uncle Shen is with A Yao, so they will definitely be back today." To dispel her brother's concerns, Yang Wenying changed the subject and asked quietly, "Can Zhao Xiaofu really pass the exam this year?"

"He can." Yang Jizong was very sure.

On the sixth day of the first lunar month, Zhao Xiaofu was freed from slavery and returned to the village with his mother. He buried Zhao Liangshun on the mountain.

The new village head also returned with the mother and son.

The newly appointed village head's surname is Xue. According to Zhao Xiaofu, he is the second manager of the Cui Mansion. As for his name, the villagers did not dare to ask, because the family of Village Head Xue was very domineering.

First, they occupied the Zhao family's house and drove Zhao Xiaofu and his mother to live in a collapsed thatched house at the end of the village. Then they gathered the villagers and beat them up in the drying yard; they even wanted to demolish the school built in the drying yard.

The reason is that these lands belong to his family and no one is allowed to occupy them.

Anything else would be fine, but this school is the only hope left for the villagers. To demolish the school is to destroy their hope. How can anyone agree to that?

This immediately aroused public indignation. Fortunately, Shen Yao took out the land deed in time. The land of the school was wasteland, and she had asked Liu Gongcha to buy it before the New Year. This matter was also done when Zhao Liangshun was still alive.

It was because of this incident that the Shen family was targeted by Village Chief Xue.

Yang Jizong originally wanted to accompany Chen Yao and his daughter to Huayan Town to buy mules and cattle, but the man surnamed Xue refused to give him a guide.

So, he had no choice but to stay at home.

As it was getting dark, Yang Jizong finally welcomed Chen Yao back to the village entrance. As the mule cart carrying the father and daughter entered the village, the villagers immediately surrounded them.

Not to mention that the kids in Luodunzi had never seen a mule, even the villagers had never seen one. But seeing that the animal was tall and strong, they were extremely happy.

"Sister Ayao's family has a mule cart, they have a mule cart!" The children cheered and ran around on the country road to tell each other, fearing that the villagers didn't know.

"Qingshan, how much silver did your mule cart cost? This mule is so handsome." The villagers were about to reach out for the mule.

Shen Qingshan quickly jumped off the mule cart, fearing that the villagers' enthusiasm would scare the mule and cause his daughter on the cart to fall off.

So he pulled the reins with one hand, blocked the villagers with the other, and turned around to tell his daughter to get down.

Chen Yao had already been helped down from the mule cart by Yang Jizong and was walking towards home. "Dad, let's go home first."

After Shen Qingshan sighed, he was surrounded by villagers and answered their questions.

The mule cart cost a total of eight taels of silver, and the seller also gave them a cart of fodder.

Shen Qingshan also told the villagers that not only mules were cheaper than in Qingfeng Town, but also pigs, cattle and sheep.

In the spring, if any of the villagers want to catch piglets or lambs to raise, he will help bring them back.

This made everyone quite excited, after all, every family would be able to make money.

"Qingshan, how much is this piglet?"

"Three hundred wen. If you buy more, the price can be negotiated." Shen Qingshan led the mule back home.

Luo Dunzi, who was running happily around the mule, was caught by the uncles and aunts in the village, who asked the little boy to calculate for them how much money they could make if they raised a pig.

When Chen Yao returned home, she could still hear exclamations coming from the country road.

As soon as the mule entered the yard, it was placed in a simple wooden shed that had been built long ago, and its fodder was piled in the rooms of Yang Jizong and Shen Yao.

Looking at the increasingly cramped wing, Chen Yao looked towards her father and said, "Dad, let's rebuild our home after the spring."

"I'll do as you say. Dad will continue to cut wood tomorrow." Shen Qingshan came close to his daughter and pleaded in a low voice, asking her not to complain to his wife.

This was his first time driving a mule cart. Unexpectedly, he accidentally drove the cart into a ditch in the field, and his daughter fell off the cart. Fortunately, his daughter was fine, but he felt guilty.