Chapter 389 is also busy
When a cow is added to the family, it is necessary to build a cowshed.
Old Zhou walked around the two courtyards for a long time and finally chose the thatched hut where Zhou Silang and his friends had temporarily lived, which was now a room for storing miscellaneous items.
He asked his sons to clean up the things inside, use fire to dry out the moisture, and then bring in a lot of straw to spread it out, making it clean and warm. The cowshed was then ready.
This is better than the cowshed that Zhou Hu hired someone to build for his family.
Old Zhou walked around the cow with a smug look on his face, then gently stroked it and said, "It's cold now, so it's warm inside and you won't get sick. When summer comes, I'll have some guys drive away mosquitoes for you, and I'll make sure you can sleep well inside."
Old Zhou said to it affectionately, "So you must eat well and work hard."
When Old Zhou walked out of the Zhou family again, his face was calm, with a hint of pride.
The villagers listened attentively all night but heard no sound of Old Zhou's family beating the child, so they had to give up watching the show. When they saw Old Zhou again the next day, they asked about the cow on credit.
"Uncle Jin, from what Zhou Hu said, you guys got a great deal from the county government."
Old Zhou said, "Pah!" and said, "You think it's a great bargain, so why don't you take advantage of it? Do you think thirty-six cents a year in interest is so easy to come by?"
The villagers chuckled and asked quietly, "Did your family really leave the cow behind?"
Old Zhou couldn't help but roll his eyes and said, "If I don't keep it, can the government return it to me? This is government property."
That’s true.
"Then how long do you plan to keep this on credit? The interest for this month is quite high."
"The head of the village didn't say you can't borrow money for a day or two. Just pay it back directly. Think of it as a big new addition to your family. At least you haven't lost any interest, right?"
"Manbao is really something. Why didn't you discuss such an important matter with you adults?"
"Didn't he go with her on Tuesday? It's not a decision that a child like Manbao can make, right?"
Old Zhou was disgusted by their noise and said, "My family's Manbao said that we can get this cow on credit without any loss."
"Why not lose money?"
"How should I know? I can't read or understand that long string of arithmetic," Old Zhou said confidently, "At least I don't lose money."
"Then you won't pay back the money you owed me?"
"Bullshit, that's the government's money, how dare I not pay it back?" Old Zhou said, "But I don't have any money right now. If you can lend me some, that would be great. If not, I'll have to wait until next year."
Everyone was silent for a moment, and then they all started talking about poverty. "Yes, last year was not easy for everyone. Not many families had extra food, let alone extra money."
Old Zhou had anticipated this a long time ago. He had a vague feeling that his family's current savings might not be ranked third in Qili Village, but it was definitely in the top ten.
Even he didn't dare to take out the money to buy the cow, let alone ask other people to lend him money to pay off his debts.
It's not a matter of life and death.
Everyone had their fill of the conversation and knew what they wanted to know, so they said goodbye and went home.
Manbao was passing by on his way back from school and saw them dispersing. He couldn't help but say to the families he had a good relationship with, "While there are so many people hesitating, why don't you go to the county government office and buy a cow on credit?"
Those who were instigated: ...They are not stupid.
Manbao watched them leave with regret. Old Zhou took her home and said, "Don't talk nonsense. What if they buy cattle on credit and can't pay them back later?"
"ah?"
"Forget it," Old Zhou said without explaining too much to his daughter. He changed the subject and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to plant Ligustrum lucidum on the mountain before the New Year? Have you prepared the seeds and everything?"
"Don't you think it's too much work and there's no guarantee it'll survive, so you won't let us plant it?"
"Back then, we were so busy with farm work that we had no time to dig holes and plant Ligustrum lucidum. But now we have cows, don't we?" Old Zhou said, "Go, call your brothers and go into the mountains to get the branches from that tree. I heard that you just need to stick them in there and they'll do the job."
Manbao said: "It's cuttings. I asked people and they said basically all of them can survive."
"As long as you can survive, go ahead."
Manbao ran out to find his brothers.
Zhou Dalang and his friends are busy making compost. This morning, their father said that since they have a cow, they should spend more time tending to the acres of land. In this way, in order to have enough fertilizer, they have to make another compost pile.
Zhou Dalang felt that the branches on the mountain were about to be ripped off by them.
So when Zhou Dalang and the others heard Manbao's words, they felt that it was just as they expected. Even Zhou Sanlang, who was always diligent, couldn't help but sit down on the ground, looked up at the sky, and sighed, "I always feel that buying a cow is not very labor-saving."
Four, five, six nodded repeatedly and squatted on the ground.
Although he didn't want to move, Zhou Dalang still led his two younger brothers up the mountain to dig a hole the next day.
In the view of Zhou Dalang and others, Ligustrum lucidum itself is a wild tree, so there is certainly no need to clear the mountain to plant it.
Even if they wanted to let it go, Old Zhou would not allow them to waste their energy.
So they just found a piece of land with relatively thick and soft soil on Zhou Dalang's mountain behind the house, cut or dug up the nearby thorns, dug a hole, and cleared the weeds around the hole.
Then insert the Ligustrum lucidum branch that I picked back yesterday evening and pour some water.
Manbao just threw a handful of farm manure on them. There was no other way, she didn't have any of the nutrient solutions that Dr. D mentioned.
Anyway, that is the liquid that promotes germination, so she is not in a hurry to promote it and just let it germinate slowly.
It took Zhou Dalang three days to dig about thirty holes on the mountain and plant the Ligustrum lucidum branches that had been cut into thirty-two sections.
It's not that they are slow, but because there are so many trees and weeds on the mountain. Even if they just dig a hole and clear the tree roots and weeds around the hole, it will take a long time.
The biting cold wave came to an end, and a spring breeze blew all night. The next day, Manbao took off his cotton clothes and went to school with his small school box on his back. However, before noon, a spring rain started to fall outside.
Manbao looked outside and said, "It's time to sow the rice seeds."
Meanwhile, Madam Qian was also watching the spring rain. She turned around and told Madam Qian, "Get all the rakes out. Go check the fields this afternoon. It's almost time to sow the rice seeds."
Old Zhou also said, "The eldest brother and I will go to the fields. You take the eldest brother's family and pick out the seeds. We should also pick out the bean seeds. After the rice seeds are sown, the beans should be planted as well."
Qian agreed.
Old Zhou took out his pipe but didn't smoke. He looked at Zhou Dalang and said, "Let's go and take a look at the wheat fields."
That’s summer grain!
(End of this chapter)
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