Chapter 49 Saving Money Through Skill
Hao Yu thought for a moment and said, "That works too, since we can climb over the wall to get in and out anyway."
Under normal circumstances, marriage cannot be forced. They pretended to be away from home for a few days, and the villagers realized that Hao Yu would not change his mind, so most of them naturally gave up trying to persuade him.
As for the very few who refuse to give up, their numbers are small, making them easy to deal with.
Having made up their minds, Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan put the matter out of their minds.
They had dinner with Xie Wanniang and Xiao Yang, and then went back to their usual routines.
On the contrary, Wang Xiaozhi and Chen Zhao, starting from the day after Jiang Yuan entrusted them with the task, devoted themselves to finding out which girl met Hao Yu's requirements.
Wang Xiaozhi entrusted her two children to her mother-in-law.
Her mother-in-law and her mother were good friends. After she married into the family, although her mother-in-law pretended to treat them equally, she actually always showed her special favor.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that Wang Xiaozhi is far more filial than her sisters-in-law.
Jiang Yuan asked the couple to do something, and Wang Xiaozhi not only didn't hide it from her mother-in-law, but she also privately inquired with her mother-in-law whether the old lady knew anyone who met the requirements.
Her mother-in-law was a kind and honest person and would never deliberately try to harm Hao Yu for personal gain, so Wang Xiaozhi was eager for her mother-in-law to recommend a suitable candidate to her.
Unfortunately, her mother-in-law was just an ordinary old woman from the countryside. Her relatives and friends were all from the same circle as her, and the girls in their families would all get married before they turned twenty.
Wang Xiaozhi was very disappointed, but she remained full of energy.
As for her sisters-in-law who had harbored feelings for her, they didn't go to Hao Yu's house to block the door, but they all went to find Wang Xiaozhi.
They weren't stupid. Jiang Yuan had come over with these things, which meant he needed Wang Xiaozhi to do something for him. And now, news had suddenly spread in the village that Hao Yu was planning to get married. Why would they go to such lengths to do something so close by?
Wang Xiaozhi didn't mind Hao Yu marrying into her sisters-in-law's families, but the problem was that her sisters-in-law had made the same mistake as the rest of the village.
When they couldn't find a suitable candidate among their relatives, their first reaction wasn't to give up, but to try to persuade Hao Yu to relax the requirements through her.
Wang Xiaozhi was speechless, but she couldn't bring herself to retort with harsh words out of consideration for their relationship.
Fortunately, she still had her parents-in-law alive, and both of them were very understanding.
"Alright, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What does it matter to Hao Yu if you think younger women are better?" Old Master Chen tapped his pipe. "When people choose wives, they don't just pick the ones they find pleasing to the eye. Do you expect them to listen to your opinions?"
Grandma Chen also said, "Xiao Zhi is just someone who runs errands. People ask her to find someone like this, and she's supposed to say, 'I think this one is no good, and that one is better'? There's no such thing as someone who helps others like that."
Grandpa Chen made the final decision: "If you find someone suitable, then talk to Xiaozhi. If not, then shut up as soon as possible."
Unlike the cheerful and always smiling Mrs. Chen, Mr. Chen was stern and rarely smiled. Apart from Mrs. Chen, no one in the Chen family was afraid of him.
Since he had said that, Wang Xiaozhi's sisters-in-law dared not continue to pester her.
Wang Xiaozhi was able to escape easily. She packed her things and left Mingfu Village with Chen Zhao early the next morning.
They first went to Baihe Town, the closest town to Mingfu Village, to inquire about suitable girls in the town and several nearby villages.
After inquiring in Baihe Town, Wang Xiaozhi and Chen Zhao went to Tang County and three other towns that were relatively close to Baihe Town.
To their surprise, there were actually quite a few girls over twenty years old around them who had delayed their marriages for various reasons.
Wang Xiaozhi was illiterate, and Chen Zhao could read, but not many words. After working for more than twenty days, the result of their labor, which they finally handed over to Jiang Yuan, was a booklet with many typos and various abstract patterns.
Incidentally, the couple also dutifully brought over the remaining five qian of silver and more than twenty copper coins.
After Wang Xiaozhi opened the money bag and poured the money onto the table, Jiang Yuan was so angry at the couple that he laughed.
The small change he gave to Wang Xiaozhi was only about eight qian (a unit of weight), and the couple, braving the cold wind for more than twenty days, actually managed to give him more than half of it back.
He knew without even thinking that the couple must have been eating dry steamed buns every day to get by.
Jiang Yuan didn't say much. He snatched the small coarse cloth money bag from Wang Xiaozhi and stuffed all the loose silver and copper coins scattered on the table back into it. "You saved this money yourselves through your own efforts. Take it home and spend it slowly."
Xie Wanniang, who had cooked them eggs and brown sugar water, couldn't help but burst out laughing when she heard this.
Hao Yu smiled and said, "A Yuan is right. You've worked so hard for so many days. As your uncle, I can't just let you eat dry steamed buns every day, can I?"
After deducting the cost of round-trip transportation and the one-cent entrance fee per person to the county town, the two men would have no choice but to make do with steamed buns to avoid going hungry. This made him feel quite sorry for them.
Wang Xiaozhi and Chen Zhao were too embarrassed to accept the money. Chen Zhao smiled and replied to Hao Yu, "Uncle, white steamed buns are delicious. Xiaozhi and I usually can't even get to eat them."
Hao Yu patted him on the shoulder, "Then you can use all this money to buy some good food. The New Year is just around the corner. Even if you adults don't eat, the kids will still need to eat."
Seeing the two of them shake their heads and wave their hands, Hao Yu earnestly advised, "Listen to your uncle, take it. The world is at peace now, and the school will definitely reopen. If you don't find a way to save money now, how will you send your Chen Fang to school when he gets a little older?"
When it came to sending their child to school, Chen Zhao and Wang Xiaozhi immediately lost their will to refuse.
Although their family doesn't eat very well, mostly consisting of semi-solid food and vegetables, at least they never go hungry or have to drink cold water to fill their stomachs.
But they weren't wealthy enough to send all the boys in their family to a private school.
His older brother's two sons, the older one is almost old enough to start school, but his father has never once mentioned sending the eldest grandson to school in town.
Chen Zhao knew that his father didn't not want to, but was worried that once this precedent was set, his other grandchildren would also make a fuss about sending their children to school when they reached a certain age.
If the family were wealthy, Mr. Chen wouldn't care, but the problem is that the Chen family can't afford to send more than two children to school.
With a large population, regardless of the size of the matter, the concern is not about scarcity but about inequality. This is why Old Master Chen decided to divide the family property among his sons after the New Year.
After the family splits up, how each family lives is their own business. They can't blame their elderly father, nor will they develop grudges against each other because of fighting for interests.
As for the elderly couple, they are still able to move around, so neither of their sons wants to live with them.
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