The next morning, Chunxiao followed Yan Dahe's ox cart to town. Yan Bingfa and Dashan went to collect the goods, while Zhou, Zhang, Shuwen, and Dongsheng went to the fields.
The ox cart was much faster than walking. Five loaded barrels were placed on the cart, covered with a straw mat, and tied to the cart body with hemp ropes.
This was Chunxiao's first time delivering goods. "Second brother, have you ever met anyone from our village on your way to deliver goods?"
"I didn't see any when I left, but I often see them when I come back. Many people in the village now know that our family is doing business with outsiders, and we don't deliberately hide it."
"Is this ox cart easy to drive?"
"It will get easier after a few tries. I'm already proficient at it now. I'll go back and teach you when I have time."
"I think we should prepare more buckets and basins. They'll be used everywhere."
"Just make do with it for now. The kitchen is so small, there's no room for anything."
So we have to rebuild the house.
The two of them arrived in the town, and Dahe drove the cattle directly to the backyard of the restaurant. A servant had been waiting there for a long time. He unloaded the cattle, weighed them, and gave them money. His movements were smooth and flowing, and Chunxiao stood by and watched.
After Dashan put the money into the cloth bag at his waist, the two drove the ox cart to the grain store. Now that they had an ox cart, Chunxiao didn't hesitate and bought 100 kilograms of rice and 100 kilograms of fine noodles. The family used about 3 kilograms of rice and grain a day, which could last for two months.
After buying the food, she went to the porcelain shop and bought ten porcelain bowls and a pair of chopsticks. Finally, she went to the lock shop and bought two more locks. Seeing him buy a lock, Dahe bought one himself. "I rarely locked the house I lived in before, but now I feel safer with a lock." There was a lot of money in that house now. Even though I had my children watching over the house, it was still safer to have a lock on it when I was working outside.
Chunxiao asked him to drive the ox cart to the dim sum shop. Last time she bought those dim sum, she gave them all away without even eating a few bites. It was such a pity. She went in and bought a few more packs of dim sum that she found delicious last time. Seeing her buy, Dahe also bought two packs. Then the two of them drove the ox cart home.
When I got home, Yan Bingfa had just returned and the table and stools were already set up in the yard.
Together they carried the food into the house, lamenting once again that there was so little room in the house.
The three of them put their things away and immediately drove the cattle back to the fields. Soon Zhou came back. Chunxiao suggested that they steam buns for lunch, with some stir-fried meat and pickles. Zhou thought it would be convenient to give the buns to the workers, so she agreed.
The two were kneading dough in the yard when they heard someone calling at the gate. Chunxiao looked up and found it was Fang, so she smiled and let her in.
"Aunt Fang, please find a stool and sit down. My hands are covered in flour."
"You guys go about your business. I'm just missing your mom. She always stays here and never comes home. There's no one to talk to. I just came over to sit for a bit. It's far from here, and it takes me ages to walk." She looked into the yard. "I heard you guys dug a well here, but I haven't seen it yet. I came here today to take a look." She put down her basket and walked towards the well. "Your place smells so good. I can smell it from so far away."
"My eldest daughter-in-law is cooking meat in the kitchen. How can it not smell good? Just watch for yourself. I won't greet you."
"I don't need your help. Just go about your business." She stood by the well and turned the lever. "It will be much more convenient to get water from now on. How much does it cost to dig a well?"
"Nine taels. I fought for almost ten days."
"Tsk tsk, that's really expensive! It's almost as expensive as two mu of land." She came over from the well and sat down next to them. "I heard your family secretly bought ten mu of land. We used to be together often, but you hid it very well. If I hadn't gone to the fields recently, I wouldn't have known about it."
"You saw our husband digging a new plot of land." Zhou smiled.
"What do you mean I saw it? Everyone in the village knows it. They also say that you have the money to buy land but you ask Dongsheng and Wangfu to work for you for free, saying that they are stupid. Anyway, the villagers are saying all kinds of things about you now."
"You're just bored." Zhou cursed angrily, "I bought those lands not long after Chunxiao came back years ago. Most of them belong to Chunxiao. What's their business if I hire people to do free labor? They just don't care about what they do."
Fang looked at her and laughed, "Last time you said that if I wanted to eat those delicious eggs, you would make them for me. You must keep your word. I brought 10 eggs today."
While Zhou was eating the noodles in the basin, she looked at her basket and called Tian to the kitchen. Tian quickly opened the door and came out. When she saw Fang, she called her Aunt Fang and asked her mother what was the matter.
"Wash the eggs in your Aunt Fang's basket and braise them together." Thinking that braising would take time, "Pack 10 braised eggs for your Aunt Fang."
Tian took her basket as she was told, and soon brought back 10 braised eggs. Seeing that everything was fine, she went back to the kitchen and closed the door.
Fang grinned, "The fragrance from the stove door is undeniable. You've made a fortune here, no wonder everyone in your family is so busy. I came here today for another matter. Spring plowing is coming up soon, and we have six acres of land. If your ox is free, could you lend it to us? We'll pay the same price as others, don't worry."
"What are you talking about? We've been applying base fertilizer these past two days and have already plowed the fields deeply. When the time comes, we just need to plow the fields shallowly and sow the seeds. We won't need the oxen later. You can take them away after we're done. Forget about the money. Just feed our oxen."
"Okay, okay, as long as you say that, I won't be polite with you. This is the main reason I came here today. Then you guys go ahead and I'll go back."
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