Chapter 25 Chapter 25-Three in One found a job, rented a cow to turn the land...
There were three butcher shops in the market. He went to the first two butcher shops but they said the owners were not there and the only people working in the shops were assistants.
Pei Ying went to the third house.
There were many people going to the morning market at this time, and there was a long queue in front of the meat stall. There was only one woman at the third meat stall. She was cutting meat and weighing it before selling it, and she would chop big bones with an axe from time to time.
Pei Ying didn't bother the others as they were busy. He watched as the pork on the stall was sold out. Those waiting in line who hadn't gotten any meat kept asking, "Is it sold out? Is there any more meat?"
The woman replied loudly, "Also, you can buy it. The meat is in the backyard, please wait a moment."
After saying that, she turned around and left the stall and went into the house behind her. Soon, her voice calling for people could be heard from inside the house.
"Haruko! Move the meat! Haruko?"
When no one answered, the woman cursed, "Lazy donkey, you shit and piss so much, where have you been?"
After the scolding subsided, she came out holding a pig leg. Pei Ying took advantage of the opportunity to ask, "Sister, do you need a butcher here?"
The woman looked up at him and asked, "How many years have you been butchering pigs?"
Pei Ying replied, "Six years."
"Six years?" The woman was a little skeptical and asked, "Can one person knock down a whole one?"
Pei Ying nodded slightly: "Okay."
The woman threw the pork leg onto the butcher's stall. The customers in the queue ahead of her were already urging them to come in. She looked at Pei Ying and said, "Go inside and head straight to the backyard. Bring out the meat."
Pei Ying didn't say much and quickly went in to move the meat.
After bringing out several large pieces of meat, he was not idle either. He picked up the knife on the stall and cut wherever the people in the queue wanted, exactly according to the weight. The woman looked at him with some surprise, and then asked Pei Ying to cut the meat and she collected the money and sold it.
When Lin Chuntao arrived, Pei Ying was chopping bones with an axe at the meat stall. It seemed that he had found a job.
Since everyone was busy, she didn't go up to disturb them and just waited on the side.
The butcher shop was doing very good business, and the meat was sold out before she had to wait long. Pei Ying went back into the house to bring out more meat, and she watched them sell the meat of nearly three pigs.
There was no one in front of the stall. The woman turned around and looked at Pei Ying and said, "You work very efficiently. Where is your home?"
"Twin Village."
"I hear your accent doesn't sound like you're from here. Do you have a household registration?"
"Yes," Pei Ying said, holding out the household registration card. The woman glanced at it and said, "It takes more than half an hour to walk from Shuangzi Village to the county town. We start slaughtering pigs at the end of Yinshi every day at the latest, and no later than that. If you're worried about not being able to make it in time, you can stay at the butcher's shop. Some of the guys do that too."
Pei Ying shook his head: "Don't worry, boss, I will be here on time."
The woman nodded and said, "We have to slaughter more than ten pigs every day in our shop. There are three butchers in the shop, including you. The salary for slaughtering a pig is thirty cents. If you are too busy, you can go to the restaurant to deliver meat to a big restaurant for five cents. You can also sell meat at the stall for five cents. You can pay it daily or save it up for a month. Is there any problem?"
"When can we go home every day?" Pei Ying asked.
"Usually we can leave around noon."
Pei Ying nodded and replied, "That's no problem."
The woman looked at him and said, "My last name is He Lan. You can call me Shopkeeper He. What's your name?"
"Pei Ying."
Helan nodded and said, "I won't pay you today. You'll start work on time tomorrow. Are you in a hurry to go back? If not, I'll introduce you to the shop assistants later. You can start work directly tomorrow morning."
"No rush." Pei Ying finished speaking, and two meat delivery guys came back with baskets on their backs. Shopkeeper He waved at them and said, "Come here, both of you. Let me introduce you to our new butcher, Pei Ying."
The two guys looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, one thin and one fat, and their eyes and eyebrows looked quite similar.
Helan looked at Pei Ying and said, "These are Ah Si and Liu Zi, brothers."
Pei Ying nodded slightly, "My name is Pei Ying."
The two brothers nodded, and Helan said, "Ah Si and Liu Zi usually deliver the meat." She turned to look at the chubby Ah Si and said, "Take a look at the stall. I'll take Pei Ying over there to meet some people."
Ah Si responded, handed the backpack to Liuzi and took it into the house, then sat down next to the stall.
Pei Ying saw Lin Chuntao early on, but she didn't come over. Helan wanted to take him to recognize her. Lin Chuntao waved at him, and Pei Ying curled the corners of his lips.
After Pei Ying left, Lin Chuntao went to the stall and cut a pound of front leg meat. The front leg meat was lean and not fat. The guy sold it to her at the price of lean meat. One pound was a few cents cheaper than the fat meat she bought a few days ago.
Lin Chuntao took down the small bamboo basket, asked Ah Si for a lotus leaf to pad it, put the meat into the bamboo basket, and then chased after Pei Ying and the others.
When he arrived at the stall, Pei Ying realized that the two meat stalls also belonged to the He family.
Helan explained that there were many people queuing up to buy meat every day, and they were all crowded in one place, which affected the neighbors, so they set up two stalls separately. The pigs were slaughtered in the backyard, and the meat was moved to the other two stalls after it was divided.
Pei Ying, the stall worker, had just met the two butchers, and this was their first meeting. Before Helan could introduce them, one of them looked up at Pei Ying and stood up in surprise. "You...you're not the one who pulled the horse at the market entrance that day?"
Helan raised his eyebrows slightly, "Do you know each other?"
Liu Dayong waved his hand and said, "Boss, this is the man who saved Xiao Lingdang and Xiao Hulu at the market entrance two days ago."
Liu Dayong came up and shook Pei Ying's hand. "Thank you so much for saving my little gourd. If you hadn't stopped the horse in time, that brat would have been in trouble! Thank you so much!"
Pei Ying then realized that one of the children at the market entrance that day was from the butcher's family.
Helan smiled upon hearing this, "So, you are my daughter's savior. It's fate."
"It's just a small favor." Pei Ying said.
Helan looked at Liu Dayong and introduced him: "I found a new pig butcher, Pei Ying, who will help you and Lao Zhao to butcher pigs from now on."
Liu Dayong held Pei Ying's hand and said enthusiastically, "Brother Pei, if you need any help, just let me know."
Pei Ying smiled and said, "I'm new here, so please take care of me, big brother."
"It's just a small matter. My name is Liu Dayong. You can call me Brother Yong or Brother Liu. This is Zhao Guang."
Zhao Guang slowly stood up, looked at Pei Ying and said, "Just call me Old Zhao."
Pei Ying nodded slightly, but called out "Brother Zhao".
Because they are selling fresh meat and it is summer, they have to kill and sell it on the same day.
The wages had been decided long ago, how much to pay for slaughtering a pig. Zhao Guang thought that if only he and Zhang Dayong were to do the slaughter, they would get more wages, but Helan felt that they did not have enough people, and if there were one or two more people, the process would be faster and the meat could be delivered to each household earlier.
Otherwise, the sun had already come out, and the guys were still running on the road carrying the meat, and some people in the restaurant would have complained that the delivery was late.
Zhao Guang was originally unhappy that someone else came to share his wages, but it happened to be Pei Ying who came.
He and Zhang Dayong saw Pei Ying rescue the children. Zhang Dayong was busy teaching the children a lesson at the time and left without having time to find Pei Ying to thank him.
Now we work together, it can be considered as fate. After thinking about it, I let go of the unhappiness in my heart.
After meeting everyone, it was time for lunch and Liu Dayong and the others were preparing to go home for lunch.
"Brother Pei, come with me to my house for dinner."
Liu Dayong greeted him warmly, but Pei Ying smiled and declined, "I'm not going today. My wife is waiting for me over there, and my sister is at home. We have to go back first."
Hearing his words, several people looked over together and saw Lin Chuntao standing opposite with a backpack on her back.
Lin Chuntao met their eyes, smiled and nodded.
"That's fine, there's still a long way to go."
*
Pei Ying was in a good mood after finding a job.
He came over and wanted to take the backpack that Lin Chuntao was carrying. Lin Chuntao said, "It's a bit heavy. You have to help me take it down first."
Pei Ying went to pick up the backpack and asked, "Did you go buy food?"
"No, it's corn seeds." Lin Chuntao said.
Pei Ying estimated the weight of the bag, which seemed to be around 40 kilograms. He was puzzled, "Why did you buy so much? Is it expensive?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head. "It's not expensive. We don't have anything planted on our twelve acres of land. I'm thinking of planting everything I can."
Although Pei Ying was a poor man, he had little experience in farming and didn't know much about how to take care of crops. He could only listen to Lin Chuntao's arrangements.
After putting on the backpack and picking up the small bamboo basket, Lin Chuntao asked him, "Have you decided on the work?"
"It's settled. 30 wen for slaughtering a pig, plus extra money for delivering the meat and watching the stall. You can take the wages daily or save them up over a month." Pei Ying told Lin Chuntao everything in one breath. Lin Chuntao asked, "How many pigs can you slaughter in a day?"
Pei Ying said, "I took a rough look and there should be at least three."
Lin Chuntao nodded. "That's good. I thought wages were calculated on a daily or monthly basis."
"Yes, but most of the time it's calculated based on the number of pigs slaughtered. I wonder if this owner has someone who specifically supplies pigs. If there's no dedicated pig supplier, then sometimes there are no pigs to slaughter, and the butcher will naturally be idle."
"That's right."
After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, Pei Ying asked her, "Are you hungry?"
"It's a little late, but I bought some meat. Let's go back and cook." As she spoke, she lifted the lotus leaf in the bamboo basket, and saw a piece of scarlet meat in front of her. "To celebrate that you found a job." And also to celebrate that she had exchanged for corn seeds.
Pei Ying looked at Lin Chuntao's smiling face. She had pretty facial features, but due to her circumstances, she was too thin, with a pointed chin and her hair was a little yellow. But her eyes were bright and it made him happy to look at her.
A strange feeling arose in his heart, which he couldn't explain.
When the two returned home, the three sisters were squatting outside the yard with their heads down, like branches and leaves wilted by the scorching sun.
Lin Chuntao thought that they should have been waiting for her and Pei Ying here a long time ago, but they kept waiting until now.
Normally, he would have returned home early, but today Pei Ying was looking for a job, so he came back late.
She forgot to tell them, and the little girl had never worked in the city, so she didn't know these things.
"We're back."
As soon as Lin Chuntao finished speaking, she saw the three sisters suddenly look up at her at the same time. The uniform movement made Lin Chuntao laugh.
"Why are you all squatting outside? Is the rice steamed? I'm hungry." Lin Chuntao said.
Lin Chunxing stood up and said, "I've already steamed the rice twice... Why are you guys so late today?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Your brother-in-law won't be able to find a job that quickly. I forgot to tell you guys, are you hungry?"
"I'm hungry. My second sister said she'd wait for you to come back."
"Next time, if we come back late, just cook it and eat it first. You don't have to wait for us."
Lin Chunxing felt that it was not good. Lin Chuntao, who went out to earn money, had not eaten yet, but they who stayed at home had eaten first?
But when Lin Chuntao said that, she did not refute it, but just took the small bamboo basket from Lin Chuntao's hand. Lin Chuntao said, "I bought a piece of meat and will cook it later. Let's think about how to eat it."
When Lin Duoer heard the word "meat", her eyes widened and she quickly ran to Lin Chunxing, reaching out to lift the lotus leaf. Lin Chunxing held her hand, looked around to make sure there was no one around, and then let her lift it up to take a look.
After reading it, she looked at Lin Chunxing happily: "Second sister, it's lean meat!"
Lin Chunhe was also curious, so she leaned over to take a look and asked Lin Duoer with a smile, "Do you want fat or lean meat?"
"Both."
"Little greedy cat." Lin Chunhe said.
Lin Duoer pouted and retorted, "Don't you want to eat?"
Lin Chunhe smiled and said, "Of course I do. That's why I'm a greedy cat too."
The sisters went into the yard while talking. Pei Ying carried the backpack into the house and put it there, then came out to scoop water for washing hands. Lin Chunxing put the bamboo basket on the table and then lit the fire to prepare cooking. Lin Chuntao heard the movement in the next room and turned to look at the piglet.
The piglet was lying on a piece of dead leaves, and the slightest movement would make a rustling sound. There was a pile of pig grass in front of it, and the little piglet was eating it bite by bite.
There is not enough food these days, and people are reluctant to feed pigs with food. Pigs that eat only grass grow very slowly and are not fat enough. It is considered good if they can weigh about 200 kilograms in a year.
The two chickens were still inside, pecking at the leaves on the pig grass nearby.
The chickens have to be free-range, but they still need to be allowed to get used to their new home, otherwise if they are let out, they will run back to Lao Lin's house and never come back.
She took a look and smelled the smoke from the burning firewood before going over.
Lin Duoer stood beside the basket, looking at the corn seeds. When she saw Lin Chuntao coming back, she asked, "Sister, are you buying this corn to eat?"
"No, those are corn seeds. We may need to plow the soil in the next few days and then start planting corn."
When these words came out, Lin Duoer opened her mouth wide.
"Can we still plant now? Other people's corn vines are already so tall, so our corn won't grow as fast as theirs."
Lin Chuntao laughed: "What does it matter? Other people's corn ripens earlier, and ours ripens later."
Lin Chunxing was also a little surprised. Yesterday, Lin Chuntao told her that they would plant buckwheat during the autumn harvest, so why did they suddenly want to plant corn?
Moreover, it is impossible to grow corn now. Every year, some corn will not germinate. Everyone will plant more corn seeds, but in the end the seedlings will come out and grow big, but they will not produce buds, and in the end, only one corn stalk will be harvested.
"Sister, should we plant corn on all our land?"
Lin Chuntao nodded and said, "Leave a small piece for growing vegetables, and plant corn on the rest."
Lin Chunxing pursed her lips, her expression somewhat complicated.
"Can we still grow buckwheat later?"
"Yes, we can plant it. The corn can be harvested by October at the latest. After that, we can plant buckwheat."
Lin Chuntao's words were very certain, but Lin Chunxing felt uneasy. However, since Lin Chuntao said that the crops could be planted and harvested, she would listen to Lin Chuntao.
"Okay then." If they wanted to plant, they had to hurry. The later they waited, the worse it would be. She asked Lin Chuntao, "Then let's go to the village after dinner to hire someone. We have to dig the ground first."
When Lin Chuntao heard the word "dig the land" and thought of the twelve acres, she was petrified on the spot. She swallowed and said, "It's too late to dig the land. We need cows."
Lin Chunxing frowned, and Pei Ying asked, "Are there any cows in this village?"
"No," Lin Chunxing said, "In our village, almost everyone uses people to pull the plow or dig. Only the village chief's family has rented an ox, but it seems to be quite expensive."
This made Lin Chuntao a little upset. She forgot that in ancient times, cattle were an important productive force and were scarce.
"It's okay, let's eat first, and then we can go to Muramasa's house and ask."
After saying that, Lin Chuntao quickly took the meat out to wash it, then cut it into squares and put it into a bowl. She also put three slices of dried ginger into the bowl and scooped some water into it to soak it.
Ever since she started washing and cutting the meat, Lin Duoer has been hanging around her.
"Sister, how do I cook this meat?"
Seeing Lin Duoer staring at the meat in the bowl, Lin Chuntao said, "Potato stewed with meat, go get me some potatoes."
After hearing what was said, Lin Duoer ran to bring some potatoes to Lin Chuntao.
Without a peeler, Lin Chuntao felt like she didn't even know how to peel potatoes, so she used a sickle and spent a long time trying to get them clean.
I took a look at the meat soaking in the bowl. Some blood had seeped out, and the ginger slices had also lost their flavor.
She poured out the blood and rinsed it clean, then heated the pan, put the ginger slices and meat into the pan and stir-fried them until they turned yellow. Lin Chuntao looked at the oil in the pan and found it was a bit too much. She took a bowl and poured out some of it, cut the potatoes into pieces and put them in and continued to stir-fry them. Then she added water to the pan, and the water level just covered the meat and potatoes.
Seeing Lin Chuntao taking the straw cover from the steamer and covering it, Lin Chunhe looked up at her and asked, "Sister, is this okay?"
"Well, after it boils, remove some firewood and cook on low heat until it's soft and sticky. Add some salt and you can eat it."
While the meat was stewing, Lin Chuntao got up, grabbed a handful of green peppers, washed them, broke them into sections and put them into the bowl.
In fact, it would be more delicious if you add some dried chilies and some Sichuan peppercorns to the stewed potatoes, but unfortunately they didn’t have any dried chilies or Sichuan peppercorns, so they had to make do with what they had.
The firewood burned very vigorously, the water in the pot soon boiled, and steam began to rise from the straw cover. Lin Chuntao lifted it up and took a look, turned it over with a bamboo shovel, then covered the straw cover, squatted down and pulled out two pieces of firewood, and the fire immediately became much smaller.
Although it was stewed over low heat, the aroma came out soon. Several people kept swallowing their saliva as they smelled the rich aroma. Lin Duoer was very anxious and kept pursing her lips.
"Sister, can you add more firewood to make it cook faster?"
"cannot."
Lin Chuntao decisively refused. She said, "It will dry up quickly over a high fire. We need to simmer it slowly over a low fire."
Potatoes are high in starch, and after being slow-cooked until soft, they will melt into the soup and coat the meat.
The soup disappears quickly when stewed over high heat, and in the end only dry meat and potatoes are left, which is not very tasty.
"It smells so good, how long will it take before I can eat it?"
Lin Chuntao brought the prepared green peppers over, opened the lid and took a look. The soup had begun to thicken.
"It's almost done." She poured the green peppers into the pot, then went to get the salt shaker and added the right amount of salt. "You can eat it once the green peppers are cooked. Go get some bowls and chopsticks to serve the rice."
Seeing that there was half a pot of stewed potatoes with meat, and that there was not enough pot, Lin Chuntao did not stir-fry the vegetables. Besides, everyone was craving meat and would not want to eat vegetables.
After waiting for them to rush back with their meals, Pei Yingcai got up and brought Lin Chuntao's meal over as well.
The green peppers were cooked, and Lin Chuntao pulled out the two pieces of firewood at the bottom of the pot. The gurgling sound in the pot gradually dissipated.
Lin Chuntao scooped a shovel of soup into the bowl. The soup covered the rice, and the potatoes and meat also emitted a fragrant aroma.
"This soup with rice is delicious. Would you like some?" Lin Chuntao asked.
"want!"
"I want one too!"
Lin Duoer and Lin Chunhe handed over the bowl as they spoke.
After Lin Chuntao served them both, Lin Chunxing and Pei Ying also scooped two spoonfuls and poured them into their own bowls.
The soft and glutinous potatoes were imbued with the aroma of meat, and the meat pieces were coated with potato flour, giving it an excellent taste. Pei Ying originally thought it would be greasy, but Lin Chuntao added green peppers, which helped to relieve the greasiness and had a hint of spiciness. The more he ate, the more he wanted to eat, which whetted his appetite.
Plus, the chatty Lin Duoer was sighing while eating.
"Delicious, sister, these are the best potatoes I've ever eaten!!"
Lin Chunhe still had food in her mouth and said vaguely, "The meat is not tasty?"
Lin Duoer giggled: "It's also the most delicious meat I've ever eaten!"
Lin Chunxing didn't say much, she just focused on eating, not even noticing that the corners of her mouth were stained with soup.
Lin Chuntao thought the meat might be a bit smelly, and was glad that she bought dried ginger that day. She originally wanted to make a bowl of ginger soup to drink because she was afraid of catching a cold, but she forgot to make the ginger soup and stewed the meat instead.
The soup mixed with the rice made it more fragrant, and everyone had a full stomach after this meal.
He was too lazy to clean up after putting down his dishes, and just rested for a while before moving.
The sisters were squatting outside washing dishes. Lin Chunxing suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to ask Pei Ying if she had found a job.
She leaned over to Lin Chuntao and whispered, "Has my brother-in-law found a job?"
"I've found the butcher. I'll be going to the city to work tomorrow morning."
As Lin Chuntao spoke, the sharp-eared Lin Duoer looked in surprise at Pei Ying, who was washing the pot in the corner, and asked excitedly, "Brother-in-law, are you going to slaughter the pig tomorrow?"
Pei Ying looked at her delighted expression and replied softly, "Yes, I'll go there tomorrow morning."
"Does that mean we can have meat every meal?"
Pei Ying smiled when he heard this. It reminded him of when he was a child, he always hung around the meat stall. After hanging around for a long time, his master saw that he had nowhere to go, so he directly ordered him to do some work.
He was extremely happy at that time. Working in a butcher's shop, he must have meat to eat every day.
But the fact is not so. The master loves wine but not meat. He often buys wine that costs one tael of silver per catty from expensive wineries, but he has to sell the leftover pig tails from the meat stall at a low price and exchange them for silver.
Before he could speak, Lin Chuntao started talking about Lin Duoer.
"You think your brother-in-law owns the butcher shop? You have to pay for meat! If you want to eat meat every day, you might as well cut more grass for the pigs, raise our little piglet, and kill it for a feast during the New Year."
Lin Duoer chuckled, looking silly.
Pei Ying thought about today's stewed meat, then looked at the little girl Lin Duoer and said with a smile, "I'll try to bring back as much meat as possible."
Lin Chuntao glanced at Pei Ying and smiled helplessly.
Pei Ying still remembers how he craved meat when he was a child.
He worked in a butcher shop for several years, and later learned how to butcher pigs. He could butcher pigs and sell meat by himself every day. Only then would the old man tell him that he wanted to eat meat and let him cook it himself.
He was not very good at cooking. He just sliced the meat, stir-fried it and added some salt. He didn't know what was wrong. The meat he fried was dry and tough. The old man took a bite and it seemed like he had chewed it for a long time but couldn't chew it enough. After spitting it out, he cursed and said that even dogs wouldn't eat the meat if he cooked it like that.
How could he possibly do that? As long as it was meat, he could eat it and survive, and even if he couldn't chew it, he'd swallow it whole, as long as it satisfied him.
He had smelled the aroma of meat in the restaurant, which tasted very different from what he cooked, but the price was high and the quantity was small. The old man didn't give him much money, so even if he had some, he wouldn't be willing to go to the restaurant for a meal.
Today, after eating the potato stewed with meat made by Lin Chuntao, he realized that although he could be full, whether it tasted good or not would make him feel different after eating it.
He actually still had some money in his hands, which he had saved up over the years, thinking that one day he would marry a wife and live with her.
But by accident he came to Yizhou, and married Lin Chuntao without any betrothal gifts or wedding banquet.
Although Lin Chuntao seemed not to care about these things, he still had to take care of them in the future.
After cleaning up the dishes, Lin Chuntao couldn't sit still anymore and had to quickly finish the corn planting.
Not only did she need to hire someone to grow crops, but how would she rent a cow? How much would it cost? She had to find out right away, just in case she didn't have enough money to pay for the cow.
It's May now, and the weather is getting hotter day by day, so the sooner the corn is planted, the better.
"I'm going to Muramasa's house. Do you want to come with me?"
Lin Duoer and the others had just eaten too much, and their stomachs were still bloated, so they were a little too lazy to move.
Pei Ying said, "I'll go with you."
"That's fine." Lin Chuntao said, looking at Lin Chunxing: "Take good care of things at home."
Lin Chunxing nodded and replied, "Yes."
At this time, the gate of Muramasa's house was closed. The neighbor next door saw Lin Chuntao and the others and said with a smile: "Chuntao, are you looking for Grandpa? They just left and went to the fields."
"Aunt, do you know which direction they are going?"
The woman replied, "In the back hill, his family is planting potatoes and he's plowing the soil."
"If you run faster you should be able to catch up."
"Okay, thank you, auntie."
Lin Chuntao pulled Pei Ying along and said, "Let's hurry up and catch up with Grandpa and the others."
She moved subconsciously, as if she was pulling her sisters, but Pei Ying felt extremely uncomfortable being pulled forward by her. He thought it was a good thing that all the villagers had gone to the fields and no one saw it.
Lin Chuntao pulled him around an intersection. The path in the village was narrow and it was impossible for them to walk side by side, so she let go of his hand.
Pei Ying followed her quietly, and the two of them trotted out of the village before they saw the large group of Kamimura Masaru's family.
Lin Cunzheng and Sun were walking in front, and the two boys who had carried straw for them that day were walking at the back. They were the first to notice her and Pei Ying.
Then he said to the adult in front: "Mom, that Chuntao sister seems to be chasing us."
Hearing her son's words, Chen Dongniang looked back and saw that Lin Chuntao and the others seemed to be running after them. She then said to Sun, "Mom, Chuntao and his wife are behind us. I wonder if they have something to ask you and Dad."
Chen Dongniang's voice was so loud that Lin Cunzheng and Sun stopped, and the whole family also stood where they were.
Seeing Lin Chuntao approaching, Sun asked loudly, "Chuntao, what are you doing?"
Lin Chuntao ran out of breath, and after taking a breath, she said, "I came to find you and Grandpa."
As she spoke, she had already walked up to him.
Seeing her happy expression, Sun Shi thought it was nothing serious, so she said with a smile, "What's the matter, kid, that's so urgent?"
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I came here because I heard from the aunt next door that I could catch up with you. There's no rush."
"We'll talk as we walk."
Sun patted her back to calm her down. After Lin Chuntao calmed down, she said, "I remember your family rented an ox for farming. I'd like to know how much it cost. Is it expensive? And how long can I rent it for?"
When Sun heard about renting cattle, he was very surprised.
"Do you want to plow the fields? Why did you think of renting oxen?"
Lin Chuntao said truthfully, "I bought some seeds and wanted to plant the land I was allocated a few days ago, but digging the ground is too slow. I want to quickly turn the land over and plant the crops."
"Oh, girl, it's too late to plant now. It won't grow. It's a waste of seeds."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I want to try planting some. Every bit of harvest is good. If we don't plant a single grain, then by the end of the year we really won't have any food at all."
She spoke firmly, and Lincunzheng said, "You can rent a cow in the county town, or in the village headman's village. Official cows require the village headman to go to the county to act as a guarantor, but those in the village don't. I can take you directly to the village headman. Official cows are rented on an annual basis, and the rent is around three to four stone of rice. We have little land, so renting official cows is not cost-effective. The price of private cows in the village will increase during the busy farming season. It should be slightly cheaper now. You can rent them for a short period of time or a day. You should go and ask."
"But you're just starting to farm now, and you don't even know if you'll be able to rent the cattle by the time the autumn harvest comes."
Lin Cunzheng added, "The best fields yield less than two dan of millet per mu, and only a little over one dan of rice from pounding. If the harvest isn't very good, there's not even a dan at all. That cow has been working for nothing all year."
Chuntao also let out a cold hiss when asked about the rent of three to four stone of rice.
If you really calculate it, about one or two taels of silver would be enough, but unfortunately, the current grain production is low. To cultivate ten acres of land, more than one-third of the cattle rent will be deducted. Fortunately, there is no need to pay land rent. If you have to pay land rent, cattle rent and some taxes, what will you eat after working hard all year round?
"What do you want to plant?" Sun asked curiously.
Lin Chuntao replied, "Grow corn."
Muramasa's sons and daughters-in-law were listening to the conversation between Lin Chuntao and the old man from behind. When they heard Lin Chuntao talking about planting corn, they couldn't help but hiss in unison.
The voice was a bit loud. Lin Chuntao looked back and saw that several uncles, aunts and sisters looked embarrassed.
Chen Dongniang then said, "Chuntao, instead of growing corn, you might as well wait until after the autumn harvest to grow some buckwheat. The yield won't be much different, and growing buckwheat is easier."
Lin Chuntao pursed her lips helplessly, looked at Chen Dongniang and said, "Aunt, I've bought all the corn seeds."
"The seed seller told me it was a new variety and it wasn't too late to plant it this season. He said the yield would be good, so I bought it."
Upon hearing this, the entire Muramasa family fell silent, looking as if Lin Chuntao had been deceived.
Lin Cunzheng looked at Pei Ying and asked, "Xiao Pei, what do you think of the seeds?"
Pei Ying actually didn't understand, but he had seen the corn seeds that Lin Chuntao bought. They were golden in color, had long buds, and looked plump and round on top. They looked really good.
"I see, Grandpa, the seeds Chuntao bought look plump and big."
Why did Lin Cunzheng feel a little bit unconvinced? He looked at Pei Ying suspiciously, wondering if Pei Ying didn't know much about farming either.
With a deep sigh, he realized that he was too young after all. Lin Cunzheng said, "Even if you want to plant, you lack manure. How are you going to get it?"
Lin Chuntao had a plan. Every household was saving manure, and she couldn't afford to buy it. Farmers valued farming the most, and manure was very important to them, so they couldn't sell it to her. Now she could only burn some weeds, branches, and dead leaves on the ground. The ash from the burnt grass could be turned into the soil when plowing the land, which could also provide some elements such as calcium, potassium, and scales to prevent insects and inhibit bacteria.
She explained the method of burning wood ash, and Lin Cunzheng nodded slightly: "That's fine, it's better than nothing."
"By the way, Grandpa, can the plows and cows be rented together?" Lin Chuntao asked.
Lin Cunzheng looked at her with a deep look in his eyes, as if he felt that this child didn't know how expensive food and daily necessities were.
If you plant crops after the season, you don't know whether you can get a harvest. You have already spent money on seeds and have to rent cows. Instead of saving money, you have to rent a plow?
"You don't need a plow. I have one at home. You don't need to rent one. Just come and use it when the time comes."
Lin Chuntao nodded slightly, "Okay, thank you, Grandpa."
She felt a little embarrassed because she would have to hire someone and use their tools when planting.
From what she said, has she decided to plant it?
He said in a deep voice, "If you decide to plant, the weeds in the field are too deep and will trip the plow. You have to cut them first. You don't have to remove them after you cut them. Just throw them in the field and they will rot when the soil is covered by the plow."
"And the ash you need, burn some on each plot of land."
"Let's see when we can plant. I'll take you to the village head to rent some cattle. If we have twelve acres of land, renting them for seven or eight days should be enough."
After listening to Muramasa's words, Lin Chuntao nodded and asked the last question.
"Grandpa, do I need a deposit? How much is it? Is the rent payable in cash?" she asked in a series of questions. Lin Cunzheng said, "You can deposit farm tools and plows. If you don't have those, you should deposit the rent."
"It's okay. Go back and think about it. In the evening, I'll take you to the village head's house to ask."
Lin Chuntao hurriedly thanked him and then went back to work.
As they left, the adults sighed, "Chun Tao is such a brave girl."
Chen Dongniang said, "I heard she's already bought the seeds. They're pretty impressive. They've made so much money in just a few days."
Sun smiled when she heard what her eldest daughter-in-law said.
Lin Chuntao planned to divide the work with Lin Chunxing and the others, with some people going to cut weeds and some people collecting dead grass, dead leaves and dry firewood to burn in the fields.
Now they are short of tools. There is only one sickle at home, and they need to borrow at least two more. The main people doing the work are her, Chun Xing and Pei Ying.
Lin Chuntao did not go home directly. She took Pei Ying to Aunt Guizhi's house. Aunt Guizhi was sitting in the yard eating lunch alone with a bowl in her hand.
Seeing Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying coming, she stood up and asked them to sit down with a smile.
"Aunt, why are you eating so late?"
Aunt Guizhi smiled and said, "I went to the county town to sell vegetables this morning and just came back."
"How is it? Are they sold out?" Lin Chuntao asked curiously.
"The vegetables were sold out early. I brought some winnowing baskets and dustpans with me, but I came back late after selling them."
After hearing what Aunt Guizhi said, Lin Chuntao breathed a sigh of relief.
Aunt Guizhi's mother-in-law came out of the house and smiled when she saw Lin Chuntao. She brought two stools for her and Pei Ying to sit on.
After they sat down, Aunt Guizhi said to the old lady, "Mother, make two cups of honey water for Chuntao and the others."
Chun Tao quickly refused: "No, no, Sixth Grandma, please don't make it. We just finished eating and are too full to drink."
The old lady stood at the door and said, "It's just some water. It won't take up any space in your stomach. Drink some."
"No, no, no, Sixth Grandma, please don't make me any more. I won't be polite if I want to drink. I really can't drink it."
Seeing that she refused so decisively, the old lady came out of the house.
"If you're thirsty later, just tell me and I'll make you another one."
Lin Chuntao responded, and Aunt Guizhi finished her meal quickly. She told her about the bamboo basket vegetables she sold in the morning. She said that she had to get up early and spend more time to divide them, but she made a lot more money than before. She also thanked her for her idea.
Lin Chuntao laughed and said, "There's no need to thank me. I didn't do anything."
Aunt Guizhi glared at her, remembering that she had met the three Chens on the way there and complained to Lin Chuntao for a while. She asked, "Did Chen Hehua and her mother go with you to the mountains to pick mushrooms this morning?"
Lin Chuntao raised her eyebrows when she heard this, "How did Auntie know?"
"I met them on my way to the city, and they were furious."
Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "She came to my house earlier and asked me to take my two sisters to pick mushrooms. If we found any, we could take them to the city to sell them. I refused her. It was dark at night and it was in the mountains. It's a good thing nothing happened. If something did happen, I can't take the responsibility."
"That's right." Aunt Guizhi said.
Lin Chuntao continued, "Pei Ying and I set out before dawn this morning, but Fourth Auntie arrived even earlier, waiting for me at the village entrance with her sisters. So, I had no objection to going into the mountains with her, so we went together."
"Who would have thought that after we entered the mountain, she blamed me for not bringing a torch and not being able to see the road clearly, so she kept following me and didn't even look for mushrooms."
"Later, I found some mushrooms, and she reached out to pick them. How could you do that? We had a little argument."
Listening to Lin Chuntao's words, Aunt Guizhi thought about what Chen had said. Lin Chuntao was very domineering with Pei Ying. She even blocked her way and didn't let her pick mushrooms. What she said was outrageous.
She was also busy going into the city at that time, otherwise I would have talked to her for a while.
Now, after hearing what Lin Chuntao said, she frowned even more.
"She's so shameless! You should stay out of her way. She can't stand what others have. My field is next to hers. One year we planted pumpkins, but hers was shaded and didn't produce any. So she came to my field and took a few away, saying her pumpkins were growing in my field."
Lin Chuntao couldn't help laughing out loud even though she pursed her lips.
Aunt Guizhi looked at her and smiled, then shook her head helplessly.
"She probably saw you picking mushrooms and selling them, so she wanted to pick some and sell them too."
Lin Chuntao said, "The mountain is there, and it doesn't belong to my family. Anyone can pick mushrooms and sell them, but I will definitely not let others pick the mushrooms I dig out. Let her think whatever she wants."
"That's right." Aunt Guizhi said, then asked, "Are you going into the mountains later?"
Lin Chuntao shook her head. "No, I'm so lost in conversation that I forget what's important. I came here to ask if you could lend me two sickles. I bought some seeds today and I need to go cut the weeds in the field."
"What to plant? Is it too late to plant now?"
Lin Chuntao said helplessly, "I thought I'd give it a try. Any harvest is good, otherwise we won't have any food this year."
Aunt Guizhi also understood their situation and said, "If you want to plant it, you have to do it quickly. Do you need my help?"
"No, no, we just need farm tools. We are borrowing from everywhere."
Aunt Guizhi said, "It's okay. We have plenty of sickles at home. Your uncle needs a piece of bamboo to make a sickle. I'll go get you one. Are two enough?"
"That's enough, thank you, auntie."
"Don't be so polite. We are all villagers. You help me and I help you."
She took out two sickles and two hoes and said, "You can use these as well. Just return them to me after you finish planting."
Looking at the farm tools in Aunt Guizhi's hands, Lin Chuntao was deeply moved.
Farm tools are as precious to the villagers as the rented cows. A hoe can be used by three generations at home, and they are carefully maintained. They don't like to borrow them. In fact, the same goes for sickles. They really need them urgently and have no choice but to ask to borrow them.
Last time, she gave them a small bamboo basket, and this time she offered to lend them a hoe. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Thank you, auntie. I will use it carefully."
As she said this, she took the hoe and started working. She didn't stay any longer and called Pei Ying to get ready to leave.
When everyone reached the door, Aunt Guizhi asked, "Have you decided on the planting date?"
"If you want to hire someone, tell me. I'll go and plant it for you in two days."
Lin Chuntao replied, "It's not confirmed yet, Auntie. I'll come find you when it's confirmed."
After returning home, Lin Chuntao arranged for Chunxing to go with her to cut the weeds in the field.
They didn't have enough firewood to burn the ash, so they had to chop some. Undried fir and pine branches were the easiest to burn. Pei Ying went to chop them and burned them. It happened that there were a few fir trees behind the house that provided shade, so he could trim their branches at the same time.
She assigned Lin Chunhe and Lin Duoer to drag the branches that Pei Ying had cut down, and they dragged them to the field.
After everyone got their work, they started to get busy.
When she and Lin Chunxing arrived at the field, the people working in the surrounding fields had finished their work and were taking a break.
Seeing them squatting in the field cutting the weeds, he frowned, "Chun Tao, are you cutting grass for pigs? The grass in the field is too old."
Lin Chuntao raised her eyes and replied, "No, Auntie, let's cut these weeds and get ready to plant some crops."
As soon as these words were spoken, before the woman who asked the question could reply, the man not far away from her exclaimed.
"What? Planting crops? Aren't you afraid of not getting any harvest if you plant them now?"
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