Chapter 257 Taming
The fourth brother nodded, "I think it's a good idea."
He now feels that his mother's idea is better than his own. He should rest at home for a while and learn a trade in a few days.
The best option is to work as a waiter at the largest inn in Zhuanglang County. Over time, you'll naturally learn something.
Following the land deed given to her by Lord Xie, Song Chunxue found the thirty acres of land.
When they arrived at the location, they found that ten acres of the land had already been planted with wheat, while the remaining twenty acres were left uncultivated.
"Lord Xie is so thoughtful. He not only gave me the land deed but also planted wheat. He must be worried that Mother won't have any wheat to eat. Where can you find such a good man? You couldn't find one even with a lantern. I think we should..."
The fourth brother ran a few steps forward, turned to Song Chunxue and said, "Why don't you offer yourself to me, Mother?"
Song Chunxue bent down, picked up a clod of dirt, and threw it away. "You still dare to talk back? You've gone too far! How dare you make fun of your mother? I bet you two brothers are like dogs climbing on the roof if you don't discipline them for three days straight. Where do you think you're going to run?"
“Hey, you can’t hit me,” the fourth brother dodged to the side. “Hahaha, Mom, I’m telling the truth.”
"Jiang Yejun, you stop right there!" Song Chunxue grabbed another large piece and threw it out. "Shut up."
"Aww... Mother!"
Song Chunxue stood there, coughing.
Okay, you hit it again.
The fourth son clutched his forehead and cried out, "Mom, I'm your own son! Could you please be a little gentler? Have you forgotten how strong you are... Waaah, I really didn't check the almanac before I left home today... It's all swollen!"
...
In the evening, when Sanwa returned from school, he saw a large bruise on Lao Si's forehead as soon as he entered the door. It was a little smaller than an egg and contained bruising.
"Fourth brother, where have you been gallivanting off to? Who beat you up?"
Sanwa put down his book bag. "Come on, I'll take you to fight back. This is too much! How can we be bullied even when we're at our own doorstep?"
The fourth brother was peeling potatoes, and he looked up listlessly, saying, "Mother did this."
"..."
Sanwa's lips opened and closed, and finally he bent over and laughed out loud.
"Hahaha, serves you right. Who told you to upset your mother? You'd better behave yourself from now on. I don't tolerate anyone these days."
Song Chunxue came out of the kitchen. "Sanwa is right. Don't make me angry in the future. Otherwise, I don't know how powerful I am right now. I could break your leg if I just throw a stick at you."
The fourth child put down the potato he was holding and couldn't help but complain to the third child, "Mom gave me a big bump on the back of my head. I think now, apart from you, we're all treated like wild children by Mom. How am I going to sleep tonight?"
Sanwa patted the back of his head, biting his lip to suppress a laugh, "You hit a little too hard. Be careful next time, and don't upset your mother. She's very strong now."
"Well, I'm going back to my room to put the books away."
The fourth brother looked up at the sky and cried out, "I want to go home."
Song Chunxue came out from the backyard. "Go back, I won't stop you. By the way, we're going back to pay respects to your father's grave for Qingming Festival. If you don't go, I... I'll give you another bag."
"..." The fourth brother stood up angrily, "Go start the fire yourself."
Song Chunxue couldn't help but laugh, but that wasn't her intention.
Who wants the fourth brother to test her?
When she went to bed that night, she applied an ice towel to her fourth son's face, and only then did a smile appear on his face.
Before long, he was inquiring about how Song Chunxue and Mei Yang met.
The next day, Song Chunxue planned to plant the remaining twenty acres of land with licorice.
The problem is, it might be difficult to find that many licorice seeds.
Licorice grows in grain fields, especially wheat fields. People usually pull it out as a weed because it has a very strong reproductive ability, but it mostly reproduces through its rhizomes.
However, it is clearly unrealistic to plant licorice seedlings all over those twenty acres of land.
Even if you plant ten acres, you'll still need a lot of licorice seeds.
Song Chunxue decided to take her fourth son to the street to inquire about the market and find out which medicinal herbs would be suitable.
You wouldn't believe it until you asked; it turns out that all of them are more expensive than grain.
However, there is a drawback: the price of grain is stable, while the price of medicinal herbs fluctuates.
She also bought licorice seeds, a full fifty pounds, and plans to plant as much as she can. She also intends to plant some angelica and rhubarb, and some goji berries.
Goji berries and astragalus are perennial plants, so she needs to sort them out properly.
The fourth brother followed behind her, carrying a heavy load of medicinal seeds, his suffering unspeakable.
Didn't they say he was supposed to rest for a few days? How come he can't have a single day off and still has to do hard labor?
Unexpectedly, after returning home and hearing his mother's plan, he was completely baffled.
“Now that you’re back, I won’t spend money to hire someone to do the farming for me. Herb seeds are so expensive, I don’t trust others to help me. So, fourth brother, come with me to the fields to plant herbs.”
The fourth brother was very resistant but dared not say it directly.
"It hasn't rained lately, the ground is too dry. Should we wait for it to rain before planting?"
Song Chunxue knew what he was thinking, but she didn't intend to expose him.
"We'll have to plant them sooner or later anyway. They'll sprout when it rains. We're not planting much. We'll plant ten acres first, and then we'll plant the remaining ten acres with buckwheat when buckwheat cattle are flying around everywhere. I heard that this year's buckwheat harvest will be good."
The fourth brother was extremely unwilling, "Why plant so many? I..."
"Ten copper coins a day, or two more if it's too hard."
The fourth brother immediately perked up, "Come on, I'll help you plant them!"
Song Chunxue turned around expressionlessly to feed the livestock, thinking that the fourth brother, who had learned his lesson, was different; she had thought he would bargain.
Ten copper coins make you so happy; those who have stumbled before are more easily satisfied.
After lunch, Song Chunxue washed the dishes and came out of the kitchen. Just as she was about to go back to her room for a nap, she heard someone knocking on the door.
It was the Nan family, husband and wife, who apologized several times.
They said that on the first day, they were so busy seeing off Lord Xie that they forgot about the agreement.
They hadn't had time to visit yesterday, but when they learned that the shopkeepers had waited for them, they brought homemade crispy pork lard cakes to apologize.
They were very satisfied with the 550 copper coins a month and came with the written contract.
The fourth son carefully checked it over and said to Song Chunxue, "Mother, there's no problem. You can sign and put your fingerprint on it."
"However, didn't you say it was six hundred coins yesterday? How come it's five hundred and fifty coins?"
The Nan couple panicked instantly, fearing they would raise the price.
“It was something we discussed before. Yesterday's statement was just for convenience; he doesn't really intend to take over our shop.” Song Chunxue picked up a calligraphy brush. “Should we sign here?”
The fourth son watched from the side, praising his mother's pen-holding posture and the words written on the paper.
"It feels like an eternity when we haven't seen each other for a day! Mother has really learned to write, and she writes quite well. I remember you couldn't write your name before..."
After being glared at by Song Chunxue, the fourth brother quickly shut up.
"Uncle Nan, Auntie, please have some tea and try my mother's buckwheat buns." The fourth brother greeted the guests with a smile. "My mother's buckwheat buns are so soft and sweet, and they don't stick to your teeth at all."
“We tried it last time. Your mother’s rice cakes are sweet, sweeter than any I’ve had elsewhere. Her skills are truly excellent.”
The man from the Nan family asked with a smile, "Oh, by the way, I heard that Sister-in-law Jiang is acquainted with Mei Yang. I wonder if she could waive the tribute fee for this shop?"
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