Chapter 58 Chapter 58 Stone Mill
When Fan Xin started a private school, Kang He and Fan Jing gave him a red envelope containing two strings of cash.
There was no wedding banquet, but relatives still gave money and gifts, making the house lively.
When the private school opened, it accepted six students, but originally there were only three.
Kang He and Fan Xin said that the shops outside should offer some discounts and promotions during the first three and seven days after opening to attract people to do business inside.
Although private schools are places for teaching and educating people, they are not places where grain is released to the victims of disasters. In the end, they are still a business that takes money from people.
When it comes to money, everyone wants patronage.
In this way, we can give some benefits and tell others that for those who send their children to private schools within this year, the tuition fees for the first quarter will be reduced by 10%.
Schools outside also charge tuition fees on a quarterly basis. An ordinary private school charges three hundred copper coins a quarter, while schools in the city charge one or two hundred copper coins more.
Fan Xin's private school has made it clear that its emphasis is on teaching literacy, so the tuition is lower than the market price, only 210 copper coins per season, which is 30% cheaper than outside.
If we were to give a little more profit, the renovation fee would be a bit too low, and my family was hesitant and reluctant to agree.
Kang He calculated the accounts with them and found that if they only accepted three students, the tuition fee for one quarter would be 630 coins, which was not even as much as the monthly salary of a cashier in a shop.
When their private school was first established, the most important thing was to build a good reputation and attract more children to study there.
If there are too few students, you will only gain a reputation and will not make much money.
No matter how virtuous and respected a teacher is, he still has to eat and live, and his business must be well run.
First, we can recruit one more student and get one more tuition fee.
Besides, the discount is only in the first quarter, and the original price will be restored thereafter.
After thinking about it, the family felt that no one was as good at managing business as Kanghe, so they agreed to do as he pleased.
After some discussion, they decided to set the price of 180 coins as the maintenance fee for the first quarter.
Unexpectedly, the plan was settled this way, and three more families actually sent their children here.
There are six students in total, so we can earn more than one string of money in a quarter, which is much more than the two hundred and ten copper coins from three students.
Moreover, now is the busy season for autumn harvest. During the autumn harvest, when there is slack time, farmers will have more money and can take in more children.
When the private school was first opened, the sound of reading could be heard every day in a room cleaned up by the Fan family. The villagers were curious and went to see the fun.
At first, Fan Xin saw that there were always people peeking in from outside the window. His face turned red and he stuttered when reading. He was shy, which made everyone laugh and they loved to tease him.
Seeing this, Kang He felt that it would not work. If the villagers laughed at him, they would lose respect for a teacher. How could they send their children to study then?
When classes were not in session, he dragged Fan Xin to the city to set up a stall with him to sell radish vermicelli, and taught him how to shout at the top of his voice.
Before Kang He went to the city, he asked Chen to take people out to do business. After four or five days of this training, Fan Xin's fair skin became much darker and his face became thicker.
He could finally hold his head high in the classroom and was no longer afraid of the villagers watching him teach from outside.
Fan Shoushan and Zhang Jingui were very worried about their son at first, so they decided to go to Yangkanghe and avoid bringing shame to the city.
Kang He didn't say anything else and told Fan Xin to make his own decision. Fortunately, everyone knew that it was for his own good, so he didn't hide after all.
Later, seeing that he could really cure the disease, Fan Shoushan and Zhang Jingui stopped talking. They respected Kang He even more and listened to him in everything.
Kang He took advantage of this opportunity and advised Zhen Er and Qiao Er to attend Fan Xin's private school when they had time and learn a few words.
Fan Xin had no objection. He had studied in the city and had seen wealthy families hiring teachers to teach their young ladies and sons. There was nothing wrong with his own sister learning to read. The worst that could happen was to put up a screen between the classrooms.
Fan Shoushan and Zhang Jingui were from the countryside. Although they felt that the girl and boy were unworthy of studying, since Kang He had asked for it, they had no choice but to thank him. There was no reason for them to refuse.
Yan Zhen'er and Qiao'er came over to read with the teacher, so the two unfilial girls bought some paper and pen.
Seeing Kang He considerate of the two girls like this, Chen Sanfang felt indescribably grateful.
Zhen'er and Qiao'er were overjoyed to have the opportunity to study.
This was something I never dared to imagine before, but I never thought that one day I would be able to encounter such a good thing.
The two girls cherished this opportunity very much. No matter whether it was cold or hot, they would not sleep in. They would finish their housework early and then go to learn calligraphy.
Especially Zhen'er, she is getting older and is already sixteen years old this year. She knows that she will have to get married in two years. She wants to learn more words before getting married, which will be useful in the future.
The affairs of the private school came to an end.
In early October, the autumn harvest came to an end.
The harvest at home was good this year. We produced eight stone of grain from four acres of land.
We have money on hand, and after paying 30% of the grain production, we can keep the remaining grain for our own consumption. It has been well dried in the autumn and there has been little rain, so there is no need to worry about it getting infested with insects if we store it for a short time.
Father Fan thought for a while, took a stone of grain and added five loads of fertilizer, packed up some snacks that he had prepared at home, and went to order a stone mill from Ma the stonemason in the next village.
Most of the food at home was rice, but husking the grains into rice was not an easy task. Originally, he and Chen would go to the public stone mill in the threshing ground to grind 20 to 30 kilograms of rice for a while, which would take most of the day.
Sometimes I am too busy working in the fields to grind the rice and set it aside, so I have to pound it by hand. Pounding by hand is even more tiring. There are many people in the family, and it takes one or two hours to pound enough rice for one meal. My arms are so tired that I can't even lift them.
Compared to hand mortar, stone mill is definitely faster.
This thing is like a well. There is a public one at the other end of the threshing ground, but it is not like a well. Drawing water from it takes at least a quarter of an hour at the slowest. But grinding rice takes half a day, so you have to arrange the time for it.
Whose house you go to today, whose house you will go to tomorrow. It’s not like there is no rice in your rice jar. You can’t just take the grain to the mill and have it ground whenever you want.
Sometimes the Zhang family said they would go to mill rice on a certain day, but when the day came, the unreasonable Li family would take someone else's place, and the two families would start arguing, and it would often be very lively.
When Chen Yushun first took office, he went to mediate. Who is in charge here?
In the past, when the Fan family went to the threshing ground to grind rice, they would specifically have people watch them and take up space, just because they thought the Fan family was easy to bully.
Father Fan is an honest man and never curses. He is just anxious. The two sentences he said in rebuttal kept rolling around in his mouth like stir-fried dishes but never came out of the pot.
Every time, Chen Sanfang would put his hands on his hips and curse at others, and would be angry for several days after returning home.
Father Fan advised people that when life got better, they would build their own mill at home, and then they wouldn't have to worry about anyone taking their place.
Chen Sanfang looked at his family, who were so poor that they could not eat meat for ten days or half a month, and had to make a stone mill. He didn't know when his life would end, and he felt even more sad.
After hearing what Father Fan said, the family was also happy to get one. When Ma the stonemason said the millstone was ready, Kang He went to Xu Yang's house to borrow a cart, hitched it to a donkey, and pulled the stone millstone back home.
The Fan family's house was not next to the village main road, so the car could not go directly into the yard. The stone mill was left on the road, so the whole family went out and carried the stone mill, which weighed nearly 300 kilograms, back to the yard.
Everyone was so tired that they were sweating, but they were still strong-willed. They quickly got some new rice out, put the millstone on the donkey, tried it out, and it really worked.
It would be much easier if there were animals at home to pull the millstone, and it would be much more convenient than the previous time when Father Fan and Mrs. Chen had to pull the millstone alone.
It rained a little that day and the weather turned a little cooler.
Kang He sorted out the autumn clothes that had been stored in boxes in the house, preparing to wash and dry them so that they could be worn again after it rained a few more times and the weather turned cooler.
The clothes from the summer months were also being packed up and slowly put away into boxes.
Chen Sanfang came back from the city. Fortunately, he brought an umbrella with him when he went out, otherwise he would still have to be exposed to the rain.
Although the weather was bad, she was very happy. She told Kanghe that Mr. Zou from the candle shop came to the stall in person and bought two pounds of konjac vermicelli and gave four pairs of good candles, saying that he wanted to ask Kanghe to go to the shop.
The next day, Fan Jing was going out to slaughter a pig, so he went out with someone else.
When Mr. Zou saw Kang He coming, he steamed a pot of good tea, brought a plate of glutinous rice with osmanthus and lotus root, and another plate of salty fried crispy beans, and asked Kang He to eat.
"You're so polite. If you have anything to say, Mr. Zou, just tell me. We're old friends."
"I won't hide it from you. The medicinal candles you and I made last time were so well-liked by the nobleman that he sent people to ask for them again and again, and even wanted to buy some to give to others.
Although I told you this item is rare and precious, but you really want it, I have no choice but to come and find you."
Kang He guessed that he came to find him for this matter. He was busy with the autumn harvest recently and was also worried about setting up a private school in the eldest house. However, he still squeezed out some time at night to make some medicinal candles and set them aside.
I originally wanted to sell it again before the weather gets cold. This mugwort candle is most effective in the summer months. In the cold months, only those who have coughs or back and leg pains will use it.
It is better for Mr. Zou to ask for it himself than to have it given to him by others.
"I feel relieved to hear that the medicinal candle has a place to go. Even though I sold such a valuable item, I would feel bad if it ended up in my husband's hands."
Kang He said, "This thing is really hard to come by, and I can't get it right away."
"Please think of a way with me. As long as I can get it, I will definitely do you a favor."
Kang He pretended to be embarrassed for a few more times, and after Zou Fulang's repeated requests, he finally agreed and said that he would send it to him in a few days.
Mr. Zou was very happy and said he wanted as much as he could get.
When he returned, Kang He collected the candles stored in the house, lit some, and used the remaining three pounds of beeswax to make thirty-two pairs of candles in total.
As his technique became more and more skilled, he damaged less beeswax, and with less waste, he was able to produce more finished products.
When Fan Jing came back, he saw someone twiddling candles and asked him, "Mr. Zou, did you ask for candles again?"
"Things are easy to sell, and since he got something good, he's still thinking about it."
Kang He put down the candle and walked up to Fan Jing: "Are you tired today?"
Fan Jing shook his head.
Kang He raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his forehead, and took out two packets of snacks from the table: "Mr. Zou treated me to some sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice cakes, and they tasted delicious. I brought one back for you too, come and try some."
When you open it, you can smell a sweet taste.
Kang He actually felt that it was a bit too sweet, but he guessed that Fan Jing would like it. These better cakes are not easy to buy outside.
He praised it while eating, and when he left, Mr. Zou really packed two packets for him.
Fan Jing sniffed it and indeed liked it: "Let's eat it later. I'm going to take a shower."
He was so smelly that he couldn't eat.
There were not many people holding the pig at the family's house where the pig was slaughtered today, but the pig was very strong. He was afraid that if he couldn't hold it down, it would make Tangjia Village laugh again, so he went into the pen to help drag the pig out. His clean clothes were stained with the smell of pig, and some pig blood got on his body when the pig was slaughtered.
At noon, I served cabbage stewed with pig's blood to entertain guests, and there was no other meat dish.
When he left, not to mention sending the meat, he was even stingy with the money for slaughtering the pig for Hu Dasan, and still wanted to lower the price.
Hu Dasan was so angry that he cursed all the way back.
Kang He laughed and said, "If you go out too much, you're bound to meet all kinds of people. Let's just do our own things well and avoid being talked about."
"Go take a bath. I see there's hot water in the pot. Do you want me to scrub your back?"
Fan Jing ignored Kang He and went to fetch water for a bath.
While taking a shower, he also applied soap nuts to his hair and rinsed it. Then he returned to the room and ate osmanthus lotus root powder cake while Kanghe wiped his hair.
Kang He smelled the fresh scent of soapberries on Fan Jing and thought it was very pleasant.
I didn't have any good ideas in my mind, so I coaxed her into bed.
It was broad daylight and they were at home, so Fan Jing was reluctant to do so.
"Dad and Mom are out in the fields, and Zhen'er and Qiao'er are studying with Brother Daxin. We're the only ones at home. What are you afraid of?"
"Now that we've done it, we can sleep peacefully tonight. We'll go up the mountain early tomorrow morning."
Fan Jing asked him, "What are you doing up the mountain?"
"I promised Mr. Zou that I'd get him the medicinal candles someday. Giving them to him right away when he asks for them would be cheap. Let's go up the mountain and see if the old beekeeper has left. If not, we'll buy him some honeycombs to store."
As Kang He spoke, he pulled the person to the bed.
Fan Jing had to give the food to others out of gratitude.
Kang He kissed someone and felt some sweetness on his lips, which was a unique taste.
As the two were struggling on the bed, they heard a creaking sound outside.
"This konjac is growing really well, big and round. We taught you how to grow it big and plump the first year we planted it. It's even better than the ones we dug in the mountains. In the winter, we'll have konjac tofu to sell."
Chen's voice came from the yard.
"My farming skills are nothing to brag about."
Father Fan said proudly, "Hurry up and take them home when the weather is good and store them. Now they are ripe. There is a lot of rain in late autumn and winter, and they will easily go bad if buried in the ground."
"Well, ask Sanlang and Dajing to go to the fields and help. A few hands will finish it in half a day. It won't take much effort."
Kang He and Fan Jingda heard the voices outside from inside the house and immediately didn't dare to move.
Fan Jing pushed Kang He and signaled him to stop.
“They don’t know we are…”
"Did Dajing come with Sanlang's family? The water in the pot has been scooped out, and there are clothes in the basin outside."
Chen Sanfang walked around the kitchen, said a few words, and went straight to the room where the two were locked up.
He knocked on the door: "Dajing, Sanlang, are you guys in the house?"
Fan Jing held his breath and quickly reached out to cover Kang He's mouth.
Kang He looked at the man with a flushed face and could feel his nervousness very clearly and delicately.
He was very obedient and didn't make any sound, but in the silence, he raised his waist with ill intentions.
Fan Jing's hand covering Kang He's mouth trembled and almost lost its strength. He glared at him fiercely.
Seeing that the man was about to get angry, Kang He quickly nodded obediently.
"Hey, where did these two go? They looked like they were back, but why aren't they at home?"
Chen knocked on the door for a while, but seeing no response, she didn't push it open.
She did not enter or leave their room at will. If she really wanted to push the door, it was bolted and she could not open it. But she knew that the two of them were in the room.
"Maybe they went to play with their eldest brother. The two children are busy working all day, either busy with this or that. It would be nice to give them some time to relax."
Father Fan came into the room and quickly poured wine. "Please cook dinner so that Sanlang doesn't have to cook it again when he comes back."
Chen Sanfang cursed: "You know how to send people around. You not only talk, but you also eat."
"I'm here to help you light the fire. You know how to curse as soon as you open your mouth. What a powerful person you are."
Kang He and Fan Jing heaved a sigh of relief when they heard the noise outside, and finished the job quietly before leaving.
From time to time, the bed would make noises. Father Fan would ask in the kitchen, "When did we feed the pigs today? Why are they noisily making noises in the pen?"
When the two of them finished their business, it was already late outside.
Fan Jing put on his clothes and went to unbolt the door. Kang He hurriedly called out to him in a low voice: "If you leave here, your parents will catch you!"
Kang He put on his pants, opened the window and pointed outside.
Fan Jingmo walked over and climbed out of the window. The two of them went to the backyard, climbed out of the courtyard wall, and walked around before entering through the gate.
"Where have you two been? You're just looking at Dajing's dirty clothes and pretending he hasn't come home yet."
Chen saw the two people coming in from the kitchen window and asked happily.
Kang He laughed dryly and said, "We went to Xu Yang's place to play for a while, and he invited us to have a drink."
Chen said, "Your father said you two went out to play."
Fan Jing said nothing, went straight to the well and drew some water.
Ever since the family built a well and a stone mill, Fan Jing no longer chopped wood when he didn't want to talk to anyone like before.
Kang He came forward and said, "Today we both got a taste of what it's like to steal."
Fan Jing glanced at him and didn't want to pay any attention to him.
The next day, the two of them took some things and went up the mountain before dawn. When they arrived at Zhang Shili's place, he was not at home.
Kang He and Fan Jing went directly to the beekeeping place.
It is really better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. The two men saw the old man and his wife tidying up the shed they lived in, and three mules were tied to a tree at one end.
"Dad, are you leaving?"
Kang He shouted and walked over.
"Brother Kang?"
Dad put down his work and went to meet him.
"I discussed it with my wife and decided to take advantage of the good weather and set off before the twelfth lunar month to reach the warmer Linyang County to spend the winter."
Kang He nodded: "That's good. The weather is hot and flowers can bloom even in winter."
Dad asked the two of them why they wanted to come here and what was the matter. Kanghe explained the purpose of their visit.
"I do have honeycomb, but I want it."
Dad felt that Kang He was a reliable guy after doing business with him last time, so he felt relieved.
"I harvested a lot of autumn honey. Although I don't have any comb honey now, I still have a lot of pure honey. After I leave this time, I don't know if I can harvest it again."
They usually sell as they go, but if they find a good buyer and can sell dozens of kilograms at once, it is much better than selling them individually.
Kang He smiled and said, "I didn't intend to ask for honey. Dad wants to sell it to me, but is there a good price?"
"If you ask for more, I'll give you an extra ten cents on top of the last price."
"Okay, just because Dad said that, I'll take 20 kilograms."
Kang He said, "But you have to give me beeswax."
"I'll give it to you. This stuff isn't worth much if you sell it outside. I collected over twenty pounds when I filtered it earlier, and the honeycomb you want weighs over ten pounds too. It's inconvenient for me to carry so much stuff, so take it if you like."
When Kang He heard that there were so many, he was delighted. He negotiated the price with his father. He asked for twenty cents per pound of beeswax and said he would give it to him as a gift.
Kang He readily agreed. Twenty kilograms of honey cost four strings of cash, and twenty-five kilograms of beeswax cost five hundred cash, for a total of five strings of cash, three hundred cash.
This time the two of them came up with the intention of shopping, and they brought enough money with them, which they gave to their father.
Kang He and Fan Jing had previously earned four strings of cash from reselling honey, and ten strings of cash from selling medicinal candles. Adding this to their previous surplus, they made some extra money here and there.
After deducting the red envelopes given to Hu Dasan and Fan Xin, as well as the expenses for this purchase, he still had about twenty strings of cash in his hand.
After waiting for another two or three days, Kanghe finally delivered the candle to Mr. Zou.
Mr. Zou looked at the thirty-two pairs of candles and liked them more and more. The box was not filled with candles, but with pure silver.
"I knew you were capable and would definitely be able to get it for me. These past few days, I've been waiting for you, unable to eat or sleep."
Kang He said, "It's good to have my husband wait, but I've been running around a lot these past few days. I've been in the queue a lot and been treated coldly by others because of this."
When Zou saw Zhu, everything was easy to talk about. He said, "When it comes to making money, you have to endure some grievances. Even though I sit in the shop every day, I still have to endure the humiliation of customers."
"I know you've worked hard, and I won't let you work in vain this time. You name the price, and I'll give it to you."
Kang He smiled when he heard this.
But he didn't climb up the pole. Instead, he waved his hand and said, "Mr. Zou trusts me, so he asked me to fetch the candle again. If I were to take advantage of the candle and start shaking it, wouldn't that ruin our relationship?"
"Just keep the price we paid last time. If you find anything good in the future, just think of me, your brother, and that's all I need."
"How can this be so embarrassing."
Mr. Zou was surprised when he heard Kang He's words.
Kang He said, "We are doing business sincerely, and we won't talk nonsense. Without Mr. Zou's connections, these candles are just a bunch of wormwood-smelling lighting objects."
Mr. Zou thought to himself that Kang He was really not like those short-sighted common people out there.
He had asked for it in the same way before. If it were someone else, they would have raised the price. It was rare that he was so kind and was still willing to stick to the old price. He was deeply touched and felt that this person was a good friend.
This time, Kang He obtained 32 pairs of medicinal candles and earned another 16 strings of cash.
Mr. Zou gave him four pots of lamp oil, eight pairs of good candles, and two copper lotus candlesticks.
He called Kang He a good brother and told him that if he had any problems in the future, he could come to his bunk to find him.
Kang He was really not polite. He asked Zou Fulang to introduce him to an acquaintance's ironworks, where he went to get a new set of pig-killing knives.
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