Today, everyone in the village knows that Old Zhou bought a cow. The oxcart attracted a lot of attention as soon as it entered the village. When they found out that it was Zhao Guihua who bought it, they were in an uproar.
That evening, Zhou Laosan and Zhang Cui, who hadn't left the house for a long time, came to visit again with their parents. Zhou Laosan had lost his nose and was covering his face with a handkerchief. It was quite a pity for him; despite his disfigurement, he was still determined to take advantage of his elder brother's family.
"Brother, where did you get the money to buy a cow? This cow is worth at least fifteen taels of silver, even at the cheapest price. How come we didn't know you became so rich?" Zhou Laosan was extremely jealous.
Zhou Laoda and Zhao Guihua had anticipated this situation, so they weren't flustered at all.
Zhao Guihua lifted her eyelids expressionlessly and said coldly, "This money includes the money my family saved from selling herbs, and half of it was lent to me by my sister and brother-in-law. It didn't cost you any money, so what's it to you?"
Zhou Laosan didn't believe it. "Your brother-in-law is riddled with illnesses. I heard he's been bedridden and can't move. If he had money, how could he be so sick?"
“When you’re fleeing from disaster, you have money but nowhere to spend it. You’ve been through disaster before, don’t you know what the situation is like?” Old Zhou said impatiently. “Besides, we’ve already separated our families and live our own lives. Whether my family buys cattle or not is none of your business.”
Upon hearing this, Old Man Zhou immediately became enraged. He jumped up and shouted, "I'm your father! How can this have nothing to do with us? You bought the ox and you dare not let me use it? You're going to take this ox to my house for half a month, and then return it after you've finished plowing the land!"
“This cow doesn’t just belong to our family; it also belongs to my sister and brother-in-law. You can only take it if they agree,” Zhao Guihua said with a stern face.
Zhao Guizhi, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "I won't lend it. If you want to use the ox, you have to pay to rent it. Otherwise, I'll go to the yamen and accuse you of stealing the ox, and then you'll all be arrested and thrown in jail."
"You, you..." Old Zhou clutched his chest in anger, looking like he was about to faint.
"I'll pay half the price for this cow. I can lend it to you if I want, but if I don't, lying in front of me won't help." Zhao Guizhi wasn't buying Zhou Laotou's act. This old guy was probably just acting; he was shouting with great vigor a moment ago, and now he's supposed to be unconscious?
Zhou Laoda quickly helped Zhou Laotou and put him on Zhou Laosan's lap, saying, "Dad is probably tired. You and your wife should help him back home."
Zhang Cuixu was traumatized by the loss of her arm, and she didn't say a word when she came today, just stood there in a daze.
Finally, Zhou Laoda ignored their reactions, pushed them out the door, and slammed the gate shut. He pretended not to hear Zhou Laosan's antics outside.
Let him make a scene; he'll leave on his own when he's had enough.
After buying the ox, the five brothers asked the village elders for advice on how to plow the land. Of course, they didn't ask them to teach them for free; Zhao Gui paid them two hundred coins.
The two hundred coins were calculated based on the wages given by Master Song. Zhao Guihua was eager to turn the land over, so she was willing to pay more. Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu learned how to plow the land in half a day.
Zhou Dafu, Zhou Sanfu, and Zhou Wufu took a whole day to learn. The three of them were not as strong as Erfu and Sifu, and they only learned the general process. However, the land they plowed was not properly tilled and the soil was turned too shallowly.
So it mainly depends on the second and fourth blessings.
The Zhou family had only six mu of land in total, which they plowed in two days. So they started looking for a place to reclaim wasteland. The land they had originally chosen for reclamation had been taken by Master Song to build a house, so they had to go elsewhere. In the end, they decided to reclaim wasteland at the foot of the mountain.
Wasteland is not suitable for growing grains because the soil is not fertile enough, but it is suitable for growing sweet potatoes. Knowing that Zhao Guihua was going to clear wasteland to grow sweet potatoes, the village chief's wife, Zhao Xiu, also brought her children to clear the wasteland.
The adults were clearing land on one side, while Xingxing, Ruru, Chunchun, and Dongsheng were all there. The four little ones squatted in the grass not far away, digging for earthworms with wooden shovels.
Ruru is a little afraid of these soft, wriggling worms. Every time she digs for earthworms, she keeps a straight face and doesn't dare to breathe. Xingxing, on the other hand, is very bold. She seems to not know what fear is. Not only does she like to dig for earthworms, she also dares to grab them with her bare hands.
Today, she asked her mother to bring ten little yellow ducks as well. She and Chun Chun dug for earthworms for a while, then she stood up and walked to the other side. "I'm going to feed the ducks here. Chun Chun, you and Dong Sheng don't need to come over here to dig. My ducklings want to eat the earthworms here."
"Okay, we won't come and take it from you." Chun Chun smiled good-naturedly, and Dong Sheng nodded obediently to indicate that he wouldn't come and cause trouble.
So the star dug up an earthworm, and the little yellow ducks rushed over to eat it. The star dug up another one, and the little yellow ducks rushed over to eat it again.
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