Chapter 39: Toss
Xia Daohua has a casual mind and a casual temperament, but she is still very quick in catching pheasants and rabbits.
Of the prey brought back this time, Jiang kept a hare for the children, gave a pheasant to the old couple as a gift, and stewed the fattest marmot with radishes and potatoes into a big pot, and gave a bowl of meat to each room.
As for the other items, Xia Youtian took them to the town to sell them.
Xia Youtian was not as open in front of strangers as he was in front of Jiang, and he was not the eloquent one, but he had a simple and honest face, which made people feel a sense of trust for no reason.
The price he quoted was not expensive. It was a slight increase on the price he had heard Lao Lu and Hu the butcher mention before.
The result was unexpectedly smooth.
Two marmots were sold for 1 tael and 6 qian of silver. Two pheasants were sold for 1 tael and 8 qian of silver. Four hares were sold for 4 taels and 8 qian of silver. The mushrooms were all large and good quality, and they were sold for 200 qian.
After this trip, I actually earned a total of eight taels and four cents of silver!
Xia Youtian didn't even dare to stay in the town and ran all the way back home with an empty stomach.
When he handed the silver in his arms to Jiang, the silver and copper coins were still warm from his body temperature and sweat stains!
Jiang counted the silver and copper coins carefully, counting them two or three times.
Jiang put the silver in a separate pile, and when she had collected a hundred coins, she strung them together with a thin hemp rope, and when she had collected ten strings, she put them in another pile.
Finally, he put the silver and the whole string of copper coins into the money box that contained the silver he got when the family was divided, and hid it safely deep in the clothes box.
Jiang put the remaining four hundred coins into a daily pocket money box and sighed with satisfaction.
Xia Youtian and the Jiang couple exchanged glances and decided to keep the fact that they had sold the game for a high price a secret and not tell anyone else.
Even the children cannot be told.
After all, the child is still young, and he might be tricked into telling lies.
The couple smiled foolishly at each other for a while. The money they earned from this sale was almost as much as the money they got from the family division. It really seemed unreal!
Think about it again, why is Lao Lu, a famous drunkard in the village, always drunk all day long?
Isn't it just relying on his hunting skills?
When he was short of money, he would go into the mountains and hunt some game, which he could then sell for wine.
Hunting is really profitable!
Xia Youtian couldn't help but feel a little moved, thinking that hunting was better than farming:
“My lady, what do you say that I should go into the mountains more often to look for prey?
It doesn't make sense that Daohua and Lihua could bring back so many wild animals. I, a grown man, can't catch up with these two little girls!"
Jiang frowned and thought for a while, then shook her head in objection:
“Going into the mountains to hunt is not guaranteed, you have to rely on luck.
Sometimes you might wander around for a day and not catch anything; sometimes you might run into wild boars, wolves, black bears, tigers... It's not like farming, as long as you work hard and work hard, you will definitely get some harvest."
"That's true. Unless it's a year when God wants to take us away, the harvest from the fields can at least guarantee that the whole family will have food to eat."
"This kind of wonderful thing won't always happen. You should just focus on farming!
Later I picked up the embroidery work again, and when I had free time I would make some small things like handkerchiefs, purses, headbands, shoe uppers, etc., and sell them in the embroidery workshop in town.
Lihua's craft is almost complete. I can also learn rice flower and water chestnut flower.
By then, the three of us will be at home, buying some good cloth and embroidery thread, sitting peacefully on the kang, and embroidering some large items like kang screens, which can be sold for a lot of silver!
Isn't this safer than hunting? "
Xia Youtian disagreed:
“Although embroidery is safer than hunting, it is still too laborious and I don’t think it’s a good idea.
It would be better for me to pay more attention when I go into the mountains to chop firewood. If I can get fresh game, it would be better to sell it.
Anyway, we are not greedy. If we have it, we have it. If we don’t have it, we don’t have it.
As long as you don't go deep into the forest, you probably won't run into any ferocious beasts."
Jiang was very happy to hear this, and she became even more determined to do more embroidery work to supplement the family income.
…
Xia Daohua's hair finally grew back. After two or three months, not only did the wound on her scalp heal well, but even the scar became much smaller. Now it was hidden by her long hair and could no longer be seen.
But the people around her gradually noticed the changes in Xia Daohua.
But as long as I consider the head injury she suffered, I feel that she is lucky to have survived. Even if her temperament has changed a little, and she has become more forgetful of people and things, it is not a big problem.
Later, Xia Daohua took the opportunity to catch some prey while digging wild vegetables with Lihua and collecting firewood with Wulang.
Every time Xia Daohua came back from hunting, Jiang would first give some to the old couple as a gift, then give some to each family to try, and the rest would be eaten by herself or sold.
However, even so, the family gradually saved some money. The box that Jiang used to store the money was already more than half full, including silver and copper coins.
The fourth family smiled more and more. After March 3rd, they were already discussing sending Wulang to a private school.
However, Goro himself disagreed.
Of course Wulang wanted to go to school, but he felt that now was not the right time.
If I really went to a private school, I'm afraid the whole family would think that the fourth branch had secretly hidden some private money before the family split up.
Xia Daohua did not agree with this concern, but Jiang and Xia Youtian took it to heart.
Therefore, Goro's plan to go to school was temporarily postponed until this fall.
Although it was also somewhat eye-catching, after a year of frugality and just selling grain, it was not so unacceptable to send the child to the village school to get an education and learn a few words.
After that, it seemed very natural for the family to arrange to borrow some money from the old couple or other relatives and friends to support Wulang's study for a few years.
At the same time, Xia Youtian's wicker baskets, bamboo baskets, and Jiang's embroidery were also started.
After collecting dozens of them, I would go to the market.
Wicker baskets and bamboo baskets are both serious tools that can be used at home and on the farm. A wicker basket can be sold for eight copper coins, while a bamboo basket can be sold for fifteen copper coins. This is because the material of the latter is not easy to obtain and the craftsmanship required is more sophisticated.
It’s a pity that the demand for this kind of thing is not that great and not many people buy it.
Jiang's embroidery, on the other hand, had no trouble finding sales. Even if she couldn't sell them at her own stall, the embroidery workshop would be happy to buy them.
Even though the sales were slow and the income was not high, the couple still enjoyed it. They worked hard to farm, raise chickens and pigs, and tinker with these odds and ends.
(End of this chapter)
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