Watching her mother bustling around like a spinning top, Qin San Niang sighed. She never imagined moving would be so troublesome! Now, she finally understood what it meant to have a broken home that was worth a fortune!
"Mother, do we really need to prepare so much?" Qin San Niang couldn't help but question.
Liu did not stop her busy pace. No matter how old the child was, to the elderly, he was still a curious baby.
"Of course, this is a big deal for us to settle down in Shiligou. Besides, the brick and tile house will last for generations and will be our children's ancestral home! We can't leave out anything we need, and we can't be lazy about it!"
Ancestral home? It's not impossible if the eldest children move away from Shiligou after they grow up. However, this thought can only be kept to herself. Qin Sanniang had no choice but to accept her fate and get busy with the work. In her heart, she was thinking about the children's future development. Not to mention the children, even she herself might have to go to the county town or the prefecture town in the future!
However, Liu's idea was clearly supported by most people. Even if Liao Hongying's family had a promising prospect who might soar to great heights in the future, it couldn't dampen her excitement.
"Third Aunt, Auntie is right, this is a big deal. If you have something to do, go ahead and do it, we'll take care of it!" Wu Chunhua and Liao Hongying had gotten up early in the morning, and now they were beaming with joy! This was a momentous occasion, and they certainly didn't find it troublesome!
"We still need to buy quite a few things, right? Why don't I go to the county to buy them?" Although Qin San Niang wanted to help, the other women clearly felt that she was getting in the way. Going out to buy things was fine, since she could drive anyway.
Hearing her say that, the women nodded in agreement! That was a really good idea!
"Alright, then go buy some incense, candles, and paper money, as well as fruit, and if you can find any, buy some too." Liu muttered to herself, "Qingshan went into the mountains early this morning to see if he could catch any meat, but if we're having a feast, we'll need quite a bit of meat and vegetables. Why don't you go buy a few chickens and a few pounds of meat?"
Liu had already done the math in her mind. It wasn't harvest season yet, and rice prices were too high, so buying now wasn't worthwhile! They had rice, millet, and sorghum at home, and making a mixed grain porridge as their staple food was already quite an achievement!
"Third Sister, if you go to the county, please also buy some bowls, chopsticks, and earthenware pots for us. You can buy whatever chickens and ducks you like. Anyway, we'll be holding a banquet together, and we'll contribute money." Liao Hongying thought for a moment. In addition to the banquet, her family also needed to make separate offerings to their ancestors, so incense, candles, and paper money also needed to be prepared.
"Okay, I'll buy more incense, candles, and paper money, and three sets of bowls, chopsticks, and earthenware jars as well. I'll buy the rest as I see fit. If there's anything else I need, I'll go get it later."
Qin San Niang turned to the backyard to fetch the horse, and suddenly remembered the matter of buying an ox. For farmers, oxen can not only plow the fields, but most importantly, they are not flashy and are more hardworking.
The horse in Wu Chunhua's family had long been replaced by a bull by Fatty! At the time, a horse cost around twenty taels of silver, while a fully grown bull cost at most thirteen to fourteen taels. After some deliberation, the mother and daughter finally chose a young, immature bull, spending a total of eleven taels of silver. This way, they made a net profit of eight or nine taels! Wu Chunhua was overjoyed for several days!
"Sister Chunhua, where did you exchange your cow?" Qin Sanniang asked, as she didn't know much about the places in He County where livestock were bought and sold.
"Third Sister wants to get a new ox? She should have done it a long time ago; oxen are much more useful!" Liu agreed. She always believed that oxen were the farmer's best partners! Horses were far too precious, requiring a lot of feed, except for their speed. She much preferred the reliable old ox!
“It’s in Nanshi, just past Willow Street! Wait a minute, I’ll go call Fatty and have her come with you!” After saying that, Wu Chunhua went to the backyard to call Fatty.
Liao Hongying had long wanted to replace the carriage, but her husband said to keep it for now, as horses were faster and a carriage would be more cost-effective for him to take the imperial examinations in the future.
So, Fatty and Qin Sanniang went straight to the South Market Livestock Trading Center. Upon entering, a pungent smell of animal manure assaulted their nostrils—it was awful!
The two quickly found the cattle shop where they had sold cattle before. As soon as the fat girl was seen, the cattle shopkeeper recognized her immediately, which shows that the fat girl was very recognizable!
"Oh dear, girls, what are you doing here again?" Seeing a horse being led behind them, she immediately widened her eyes and asked, "Are you here to sell horses again?"
This is really strange! The chubby girl isn't dressed very well, but her family is quite wealthy. She managed to sell two horses in such a short time! The last horse sold well, which made her a small profit.
"Yes, Uncle, I'm here to sell a horse too. What do you think of this horse my aunt has? She always takes good care of it!" Fatty quickly started promoting it, surprised that the shopkeeper remembered her.
The shopkeeper examined the horse carefully. He thought the horse had a good coat and good teeth. He nodded and said that he could offer the same price for this horse. He also said that if the shopkeeper bought cattle from him at the same time, he would give them a discount.
Nowadays, military horses are all branded and registered, but the horses that Qin Sanniang and her group stole were obtained from fake bandits. It is estimated that the officials did not brand these horses' hooves with special marks in order to avoid any complications. Otherwise, if they were discovered, they would be beheaded.
Finally, Qin San Niang chose a bull, spent thirteen taels of silver, and put the bull on the carriage shaft, turning the horse-drawn carriage into an ox-drawn carriage. In fact, the ox-drawn carriage was very stable.
For convenience, the two left their oxcart at the charity hall.
Guo Er and the others were very enthusiastic when they saw her coming. However, when Fatty saw him, she suddenly widened her eyes and looked like she was about to fight a great enemy. Wasn't this the same group of thugs who smashed the stall before?
Guo Er was in a very difficult situation and sought help from Qin San Niang.
"Don't be afraid, Fatty. Your Brother Guo has changed his ways and is doing legitimate business now!" Qin San Niang said jokingly.
Knowing that her name was Fatty, Guo Er quickly grinned and tried his best to appear harmless.
Unfortunately, the initial impression was too bad. Although she knew that Aunt San Niang would not lie to her, Fatty was still wary!
Qin San Niang could only comfort her, saying that Guo Er and the others had really reformed and were now working for a great philanthropist, running a charity hall and helping the poor.
Guo Er nodded repeatedly. They respected the chubby girl, Qin San Niang, very much, after all, she was their master's person.
Needless to say, Gou Dan'er and the others fawned over him, offering to help lead the ox! But Fatty was still a little worried, following closely behind Gou Dan'er, for that was thirteen taels of silver!
Seeing her like this, Qin San Niang didn't stop her. Above the main gate of the charity hall, a plaque had already been hung, bearing the three large characters "Puji Hall"—it was quite impressive!
"Master, I've recently promoted a few people from the charity to manage things. Yu Niang, who is literate, will temporarily be our teacher, teaching the children to read. I've also arranged for a few cooks; I'll give you the list later!"
Unexpectedly, the employer arrived so quickly. Guo Er hadn't prepared the list yet, since he was illiterate and the task of writing the list had to be handed over to someone else!
“You’ve done a good job! These are the rules and regulations I’ve drafted. Go back and discuss them. If there’s anything you want to add, we can discuss it further. Also, regardless of whether they are literate, if there are any other people in the hall who have mastered other skills, such as carpentry, martial arts, etc., they can all be put to use! If a master is willing to take on apprentices, and the apprentices are willing to take care of their master in his old age and see him off in his final days, then that’s perfect!”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com