Chapter 389 Making money is secondary
That night, Cheng Yuanyuan, Cheng Wanwan, and two other girls squeezed into a large bed, which was originally the size of a kang (a heated brick bed). Ten people could lie down sideways, but now that there were four of them, it wasn't crowded at all.
Sanmao shared a room with Sidan. The two were about the same age and quickly became acquainted.
However, Cheng Wanwan still decided to expand the yard again, as the number of permanent residents in the house was increasing and living in such a crowded place was too uncomfortable and lacked privacy.
Before dawn, she heard rustling sounds, and Cheng Yuanyuan, who was beside her, got up with two little maids.
She yawned and said, "Big sister, let's sleep a little longer, it's still early."
"You keep sleeping, don't worry about us."
Cheng Yuanyuan helped tuck the blankets in and then took her two daughters out.
Liu Erya couldn't help but say, "Auntie's bed is so comfortable, and the quilt is so soft and fragrant. I've never slept so comfortably before."
Liu Daya nodded in agreement: "The pillow is so comfortable, I wonder what it's made of."
"Your second aunt is good to you, so you should all remember that well," Cheng Yuanyuan said in a low voice. "The most basic rule is that you can't be lazy when you're working."
The two girls nodded repeatedly.
As they walked into the courtyard, Zhao Sanniu and Zhao Sidan had just gotten up to practice martial arts, while Sanmao carried a basket out to cut grass.
Cheng Yuanyuan quickly grabbed a wooden basin to wash all the family's clothes, while Liu Daya and Liu Erya prepared to tidy up the yard.
"Auntie, don't bother!" Wei Hongying rushed out and snatched the wooden basin away. "These chores are Hongyan and my job. We two can do them. Auntie, Daya, Erya, you are guests. Come in and sleep for a while. If you're worried about disturbing Auntie, you can sleep in our room."
Unable to compete with her, Cheng Yuanyuan had no choice but to go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Daya and Erya found their own work to do: they let the chickens and ducks out of the backyard to roam freely, then cleaned up their droppings and piled them in the compost pit.
Breakfast was ready when it was just getting light.
Cheng Wanwan smelled the aroma, stretched, and sat up. She looked out the window and saw that all the children were up, but she was still lying in bed. She seemed to have become the laziest person in the family.
Actually, it's only about 6:30 in the morning now. Getting up at 6:30 every day is really early, but compared to the ancients, it seems a bit lazy.
Breakfast was made by Cheng Yuanyuan and Wei Hongying together, while Wei Hongyan took care of the child. After the child fell asleep, she helped set the breakfast on the table.
"I saw shepherd's purse and pork cracklings in the kitchen, so I made some dumplings," Cheng Yuanyuan said with a smile. "Eating only dumplings is a bit dry, so I also made a mushroom soup. If you're still not full, I'll go make some flatbreads."
"That's enough, that's enough." Cheng Wanwan sat down. "Big sister, you should eat quickly. We still have important things to do after you finish eating."
After Cheng Yuanyuan sat down, Daya, Erya, and Sanmao followed suit, each holding a bowl and quietly eating dumplings. The three of them would occasionally close their eyes, looking completely content.
Wu Xiaochui, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but sigh. When he first came to Aunt Zhao's house, it seemed to be the same. The happiest moments in the first few days were mealtimes. Now, he had actually gotten used to it. If he went back to the Wu family in the future, he wondered if he could still adapt to simple meals.
Why should he adapt to simple meals? He learned skills from his aunt, he can read and do accounting. Even if his aunt doesn't want him anymore, he can find a way to make money in the future. He should improve his parents' living standards. He can't be eating and drinking well here every day while his parents eat salted vegetables and cornbread every meal.
By the time breakfast was finished, it was already broad daylight.
The spring air carries the scent of fresh grass. Walking along the country lanes, you feel completely refreshed and comfortable, bathed in the fresh air.
Cheng Wanwan led Cheng Yuanyuan along the ridge of the field and pointed to a large plot of land in the distance, saying, "That's a cotton field, about 130 mu. The crops are growing quite well, and they're already as tall as a hand. Here, about four or five mu are planted with fruit trees and melon vines. They're planted rather sparsely, so there will be room to plant new varieties in the future. The 50 or 60 mu of land here will be the future flower nursery."
Fifty or sixty acres may not sound like much, but standing on the edge of the field, it looks like a huge piece of land. Fortunately, this is fertile land bestowed by the imperial court, so there is no need to cultivate it. Otherwise, it would take a long time to hire people to cultivate it.
“Flowers are delicate things, I think we should fence this area off.” Cheng Yuanyuan pointed to the side, “Leave only one path at the entrance, which will prevent children from running in and also prevent the newly sprouted buds from being eaten by chicks and ducklings.”
Cheng Wanwan nodded, picked up a twig, and started drawing on the ground: "Build a wall, then build an entrance, and build several wide paths in the flowerbed for easy viewing. Also, we need to build a few pavilions for resting, and plant some vines around the pavilions..."
Besides using this flower garden as raw material for skincare products, she also wants to use it for decoration. When the flowers bloom, she imagines sitting in the pavilion with a few close friends, drinking tea and admiring the flowers – it sounds so pleasant.
In life, making money is secondary; the most important thing is to learn how to enjoy life.
“I think I understand what you mean.” Cheng Yuanyuan nodded. “This plot is for peach trees, this plot is for jasmine, and this area is for aloe vera. This area will be left empty for now, and we’ll make plans for it later. Now, we should prepare peach cuttings and jasmine seeds.”
Cheng Wanwan had prepared these two items last night. Fortunately, the storeroom at home was big enough and had enough stuff, so no one would suspect anything if she suddenly took something out... Of course, the most important thing was that Er Gou wasn't home, otherwise, he would definitely have noticed something.
After the land use was planned, the two sisters went home. When they walked into the yard, they saw Daya and Erya reading with Zhao Sidan. They were reading the flower planting manual. Sidan read it once, and the two girls read it once, until they memorized it.
Cheng Wanwan patted the two girls' heads. She liked diligent and studious children, and she didn't mind giving them a helping hand.
She went inside and took out jasmine seeds from the storeroom, as well as several large baskets of peach branches. The peach branches were cut at an angle and were about 20 centimeters long. The peach branches she bought from the mall had already been processed and could be directly planted in the field, fertilized, and watered.
This is a flowering peach, which doesn't bear peaches. The flowers are red and beautiful. It's very easy to grow, but a little more complicated to care for.
"Da Ya, Er Ya, come with me to the fields."
Cheng Yuanyuan couldn't wait to get to work. Since she had come to Wanwan's house, she couldn't just eat and drink for free. She had to work so that she could stay in peace.
Da Ya and Er Ya quickly learned a couple more phrases from Si Dan, then each of them picked up a basket and went down to the fields to plant flowers.
As soon as the mother and her two daughters left, the village head hurriedly came in: "Aunt Dashan, the market houses are all built and the ground is paved. This morning, your father-in-law came to ask me about renting a shop. I'm completely clueless. Do you have any ideas?"
Cheng Wanwan put down what she was doing and nodded, saying, "Let's go, let's go to the market first."
The market was built not far from Coal Hill, but some distance from the center of the village. It had an entrance and an exit. The road between the two rows of opposing blue brick and tile houses was very wide, so even if you set up a stall on the roadside, it would not affect the movement of pedestrians.
“All the second floors will be used as inns, and the village will hire people to manage them,” Cheng Wanwan said. “The twenty shops on the ground floor can be rented out. The first people to rent the shops will definitely be villagers from our village. If the price is too high, no one can afford it. We can lower the price at the beginning. The main thing is to get the place bustling with people first…”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
