Dashan looked at Zhou, "This?" He seemed undecided.
"Just take it if Chunxiao tells you to. She's right. Brothers should settle accounts clearly. We still have a long way to go."
After hearing what Zhou said, the two happily put away the money. "I'm so dizzy from making this much money. It's like a dream."
Chunxiao handed another 106 coins to Zhou, "Mother, this change is for you. It's my filial piety to you."
Zhou was delighted, "Me too?"
"Whoever sees it gets a share." Chunxiao put away his three taels of silver.
While Zhou was cooking, the three of them discussed the charcoal issue while drying their clothes. "You don't have any stock at home right now. How are we going to deliver the goods?"
"I can probably ship about 40 kilograms this afternoon. I'll finish delivering tomorrow's shipment first. But I'm afraid I won't be able to deliver tomorrow."
"We're both here, and we know where we are. There's no need for you to go. 40 kilograms is a piece of cake. Even if it rains heavily, you can still keep yourself dry with a straw raincoat. The main thing is the remaining 100-plus kilograms. Can you burn them all in one day tomorrow?"
Chun Xiao looked around the room and said, "If it doesn't work out, I can move the table in the main room and build two kilns in this room. I can clean it up when it's not in use."
"Okay, since you have a plan in mind, I feel at ease."
"Who will go tomorrow?"
Yan Dashan looked at Yan Dahe and said, "I'd better let me go. I'll be back soon. But I can't calculate how much the money will be. What if I give too little?"
"When he quotes the weight, remember this: our charcoal kiln weighs about 40 to 50 catties, and the silver is 2, 4, or 3 taels, maybe a little less. Anyway, it's around this amount, so a little less won't make much difference, so let's not make a fuss."
"Okay, now I understand."
"Brother, please sit for a while after you finish your meal. The charcoal is almost ready. You can cover it and carry it back. You can leave from home tomorrow. You don't have to come so far."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
When Zhou's meal was ready, the clothes of several people were almost dry. The two brothers looked at the dumpling soup in the bowl and said, "We are here to improve our food here at Chunxiao."
"How can this be considered an improvement in food? When things get more convenient, I'll buy more meat and keep it at home. That's when you can come over to eat. That's considered an improvement in food." Chunxiao looked at Zhou and said, "Mom, don't sell the eggs anymore. Sell them all to me. Otherwise, when my nephews and nieces come over, I won't have anything to serve them."
"Okay, as long as you pay, I'll sell them all to you." Zhou laughed. "This kid, it seems he's thinking about the eggs at home."
After they finished their meal, Zhou began to pack up their purchases. "Did you buy this fine cotton cloth? Half a bolt of this fine cotton cloth is equivalent to a bolt of coarse cotton cloth."
"Mom, I'm running low on clothes, so I want to make two sets of underwear. I'll make two for you, too."
"Then what is this half piece of red cloth used for?"
"It's not good for the three girls in the family to dress as dull as us. Red looks better."
"This cotton should be enough."
"Here are ten pounds, a total of 20 pounds of cotton. There are 12 people in my family. Each person should take two pounds. We need to buy a few more pounds. Tomorrow, my eldest brother will go to town and bring back another 10 pounds of cotton. That should be enough."
"Okay, I'll bring it back to you tomorrow."
"Second brother, my eldest brother will be carrying charcoal later. Please take the 10 kilograms of cotton I bought today back and share some with my two sisters-in-law. Also take this red cloth back and say it's for making clothes for the girls."
"Okay, you bought so much and it wasn't for yourself. I told you to only give me two taels and you didn't listen."
"Let's not talk about this anymore. What I said is what it is."
They roasted the fire for a while, Chunxiao made two bags of charcoal, packed them up, and asked Dashan and Dahe to take the things and leave.
After the two brothers left, Zhou started cutting cloth to make clothes with scissors, while Chunxiao walked around the house a few times.
"What are you doing?"
"Mom, there's something I forgot to tell you. Today we went to deliver charcoal, and we received another order for 200 kilograms. The full order is due the day after tomorrow. We only have 40 kilograms of charcoal at home, which leaves 160 kilograms. I need to find a way to build a kiln. I'm looking for a place. This time we need to build eight mounds."
When Zhou heard that they had to build eight earthen mounds, she also helped to look around the house and said, "Where is the space for you to build one?"
"That straw shed should be able to accommodate three if it's tight, and we can also accommodate three in the main room. We should be able to accommodate two in the utility room. Okay, let's do it that way, but we have to stagger the time, otherwise I won't be able to keep an eye on it. Mother, I want to move the table in the main room to the bedroom."
Zhou helped her move the table back into the house.
Chunxiao first built three mounds in the straw shed. After they had burned for about an hour, she started to build three more in the main hall. She thought, "Whatever damage there is to the ground? It's just dirt, so it can be smoothed out later." Finally, an hour later, she built two more mounds in the utility room. She spent the entire afternoon fiddling with these eight mounds, while Zhou was absorbed in making clothes in the room.
When Zhou came out to cook that afternoon, Chunxiao was sealing the earthen mounds in the straw shed. It took her almost half an hour, watching the fire and sealing each mound one by one. Finally, the outside was clear. She breathed a sigh of relief. After washing her hands with the rainwater she'd collected, she returned to the house.
For dinner, Zhou made vegetable pancakes and drank soup all day, worried that Chunxiao wouldn't be hungry from working. She made pancakes quickly, quickly finishing five or six. Now that she had two pots on the stove, she could fry the pancakes in one while the water in the other was boiling. Having two pots was always convenient.
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