Li Laosi didn't want the old men to be tired, so he was about to refuse, but Li Laotai spoke up first.
"Alright, I'll have to trouble you old brothers from now on."
Ever since they signed that farming contract, the old men have been eating with the Li family.
It has to be said that with six more people in the family, the workload in the kitchen has increased considerably.
Fortunately, the old men weren't picky and didn't have any complaints; as long as it was cooked and hot, it was fine.
Therefore, the Li family didn't find it too troublesome, but the old men were still a little uneasy.
Each person only drinks one bowl of porridge and eats one flatbread per meal. They are content with eating until they are mostly full, as they do not want to take advantage of the Li family.
Now that they have work, they can help the Li family. From now on, they'll probably be able to eat their fill again.
Sure enough, when Grandma Li handed the mule over to them, the old men were overjoyed.
Once the children had had their fill, they led the mule back home.
Li Lao Er and his brothers made some arrangements and re-nailed the pigsty on one side of the Zhao family's gate, so that it would be the mule's territory from now on.
For an entire day, people were constantly coming and going in front of the Li and Zhao families' doors.
Everyone in the village, young and old, came to see it, and naturally they were envious.
Such a fine mule can't be bought for less than twenty taels of silver.
And that nearly new cart and plow, together they'd cost at least twenty-five taels.
The Li family's life is already so prosperous, even before the spring planting season has begun.
When some people envy you, others will naturally be jealous, and when they gossip in private, they can't help but say a few sour things.
"The Li family really knows how to show off. They only have a few acres of land, and they've already bought livestock. It cost over twenty taels of silver. I don't know when they'll ever earn that back. They'll probably be working for nothing for two years, and all they'll have left is a mule."
As luck would have it, the village chief overheard this and scolded him.
"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand! What do you know!"
He took the opportunity to tell the Li family about how he had contracted out all six of Old Zhao's fields together.
"Even if the Li family has a lot of laborers, thirty acres of land is not a small amount. Buying livestock will save the family some effort! Besides, the fourth son is a镖师 (bodyguard/escort), his wife is skilled in cooking, the second son is a tutor, and the third son is good at masonry."
The Li family earns money easily; they're not short of twenty taels. Instead of gossiping, you should think about learning a trade so you won't be envious of their lives!
The villagers blushed as they were scolded, and after thinking for a moment, they retorted defiantly.
"The Li family only provided enough food for twenty mu of land; they really got a good deal."
The village chief glared at him. "Trying to take advantage? Should I go and mediate? You've already gotten this benefit."
The villagers immediately shrank back.
Twenty mu of land, well said, one mu of land can yield at least two ounces of income a year.
Actually, there have been too many natural disasters in recent years, and it's good enough if we can only make a living from our annual output.
Moreover, Old Zhao and the others are getting old. What if they get sick or suffer misfortune in the future? Should we take care of them or not?
Whether you gain an advantage or suffer a loss is hard to say.
The village chief sneered and waved his pipe.
“You all know perfectly well what's going on, but you just have to say it out loud. I'm warning you, our village is just starting to get better. If you dare to ruin this good fortune with your foul mouths, don't blame me for being ruthless and kicking you out!”
"No, no."
Everyone lowered their heads and made promises.
They really had a good time talking. Thinking about it, the arrival of the Li family in the village does seem to have made things much more lively.
Even people from other villages wouldn't frown or go out of their way when they saw them; instead, they would greet them proactively.
Ask Li Laosi's wife if she's a good cook, and ask if Li's little granddaughter is truly blessed; I heard whoever holds her wins money...
Regardless of how noisy the village was, the Li family continued to live their lives as usual.
March is almost here, and Jiayin has finally learned to crawl.
Not in that frog-like manner, but properly on all fours, crawling very fast.
Now, the large kang (heated brick bed) in the house has become her domain.
Tao Hongying brought in white rice porridge and salted duck eggs, and saw that her daughter's face was flushed from exhaustion.
She couldn't help but laugh and said, "This child is so energetic. He was even more mischievous than Jiaxi and Jia'an were when they were little."
When Grandma Li looks at her granddaughter, she automatically applies a dozen layers of filters, seeing only the best in her granddaughter.
"It's good that you have energy; our Fu Niu'er is healthy."
Helpless, Tao Hongying tapped her rice bowl at her daughter.
Jiayin quickly crawled over, grabbed the food bag, and stuffed it into the old lady's hand.
The old lady laughed heartily and quickly helped tie it in front of her.
Jiayin then took the spoon and added a bowl of white rice porridge and half a salted egg yolk.
Before she even started eating, her mouth was already watering.
I'm so excited to finally eat salted egg yolk! What should I do?
Last year, we arranged for family members to collect duck and goose eggs, and we started eating them during the Chinese New Year.
But she was too small to reach it.
Now that she's almost eight months pregnant, her diet has become much more varied.
Although the little hands are still not very obedient, they often spill things everywhere.
But she still insisted on eating by herself, practicing and practicing again, all in order to be able to eat independently as soon as possible!
To eat more, to grow up quickly...
The days passed faster and faster as we looked forward to the good news.
Just as Jiayin first clung to the windowsill and shakily stood up, spring plowing began.
Apart from Grandma Li cooking at home with her granddaughter, the entire family went to the fields.
Jiaren College also gave students a spring planting break, and Jiayi rushed back from outside.
In this way, the Li family now has eight able-bodied men.
Jiaxi and Jia'an can be counted together as one.
The newly bought mule was named Daqing. It was harnessed to a plow and worked from dawn till dusk, turning over the soil.
Therefore, in addition to hay, the Li family also feeds their child beans every day.
Uncle Zhao and his group were responsible for delivering water and food to the fields, as well as turning over the vegetable plots of both families, making ridges, and planting vegetable seeds.
In short, no one, young or old, was idle.
Jiayin felt sorry for her family members but couldn't help them, so she took things out of the small courtyard every day.
Today a piece of pork, tomorrow a pile of chicken and duck eggs.
The day after tomorrow, there will be a pile of fresh radishes and cabbages, and even two hens will be thrown out.
Of course, the most numerous animals were rabbits, because the rabbit couple in the courtyard were incredibly prolific!
They can't even supply enough cabbage and radishes to feed their whole family.
Good news can only help them realize the value of their rabbit lives...
Grandma Li was used to it; she accepted whatever her granddaughter offered and did whatever she was given without any reluctance.
Spring planting and autumn harvest are usually the most tiring times.
Even the poorest families have to eat several meals of dry food.
If you don't have enough to eat or eat well, how can you have the energy to work?
As a result, the Li family's dinner table was more lavish than ever before.
Almost every day there's a pot of braised rabbit meat, and occasionally a stew of chicken and mushrooms.
Scrambled eggs and steamed egg custard are practically indispensable every day.
The Li family, young and old, ate with grease dripping from their mouths, while Uncle Zhao and his neighbors were trembling with fear.
Do we have enough food stored at home? Will our whole family starve to death after spring planting?
But the Li family was afraid that they wouldn't feel comfortable eating, so they always sent a lot of food, and they wouldn't take the leftovers back!
As the weather gets hotter, food left overnight spoils easily. So, the old men have no choice but to eat it in silence.
The village chief was thinking of his old friends, and as soon as he finished his work at home, he rushed over to see them.
As it turned out, the old guys didn't look tired at all; in fact, they had all gained weight...
Looking at the breakfast table, each person had a large bowl of millet porridge, a salted duck egg with oozing oil, and a large plate of flatbread.
He couldn't help but drool, and took half of the duck egg to satisfy his craving...
Besides cooking, Grandma Li also tidied up the house and took care of other logistical matters.
When she had free time, she would walk around the village, asking for seeds everywhere.
Chinese cabbage, radish, green beans, cowpeas, mustard greens, purple eggplant, pumpkin—basically, anything with seeds.
Then, I took it home and gave it to my granddaughter.
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