Chapter 361 Extra Chapter: Song Erniang (Part 3)
The brother-in-law of the sergeant guarding the city gate was a 25-year-old young man named Long Hanshi. His brother-in-law was right; his name matched his character perfectly. Although his surname was grand, his given name perfectly reflected his personality—he was too honest.
To Song Erniang's surprise, this Long Hanshi really did settle down outside Suzhou.
The small courtyard and ten acres of farmland he bought happened to be located in the same village where Song Erniang lived, and the two of them lived not far apart.
After the two became more familiar with each other, Song Erniang also learned why Long Hanshi had suddenly come to Suzhou.
Long Hanshi was from Huzhou, Zhejiang. His family was actually quite well-off, but some things happened that led to the death of his parents and the loss of their family property to their clansmen.
In the end, Long Hanshi received one hundred taels of silver, and his usual farm tools and an ox were driven out of his former home.
When his sister, who had married far away to Suzhou, found out, Long Hanshi had already packed his things and left his former home.
Finally, the kid went to Hangzhou first, but felt that it wasn't suitable for him, so he went back to Nanjing.
When his sister found out, she was horrified. This kid was just too honest. If she hadn't kept an eye on him, who knows how many times he would have been fooled!
So, the older sister sent a message to Long Hanshi, telling him to come to Suzhou to make a living, since at least he would be by her side and she could help him out a little.
Long Hanshi originally didn't want to trouble his sister, but his brother-in-law also told him in the letter to come to Suzhou, saying that at least his sister would feel more at ease in Suzhou.
After much deliberation, Long Hanshi realized he missed his sister, so he eagerly headed back to Suzhou.
After arriving in Suzhou, Long Hanshi followed his sister's advice and bought a small courtyard on the estate. He settled the cow that he had raised from a calf in Huzhou, and also bought ten acres of land. He spent all one hundred taels of silver and even borrowed some from his sister and brother-in-law.
He focused solely on farming. After taking good care of the land, he would chop firewood and look for odd jobs, never letting himself be idle.
He's really too honest; he'll happily go to anyone who asks him for a favor.
Over time, Long Hanshi and Song Erniang became acquainted.
Long Hanshi learned from his sister that Song Erniang was also a woman with a tragic fate. She had a bad life and married a troublesome family. After her husband died, she was immediately kicked out.
This is practically the same fate as mine!
When Long Hanshi learned that Song Erniang was selling wontons by herself, he thought that they were all from the same village and were all suffering people, so he should lend a hand if he could!
So, whenever he went to chop firewood, he would always secretly bring some with him for Song Erniang.
He would secretly put the firewood in Song Erniang's yard behind everyone's back.
At first, Song Erniang was puzzled as to why there was so much firewood in the yard after she went out to sell wontons, and why it was all neatly piled up in the corner.
Song Erniang even wondered if some rat or weasel spirit had come to life on the estate...
Terrified, Song Erniang was even prepared to find someone who could see through this matter...
Finally, one day, Song Erniang saw Long Hanshi throwing firewood into the yard...
Song Erniang was a little speechless. Well, everyone in the village knew that Long Hanshi was an honest man.
"You... if you finish the work in the fields, go to the mountains and clear some land. The government doesn't care about the land cleared there. You can grow some vegetables or something, and once they're grown, you can take them outside the city to sell. People in the city love to eat them," Song Erniang whispered to Long Hanshi.
Upon hearing this, Long Hanshi also felt that it made sense.
We've harvested enough grain in the fields to feed ourselves; it's time to grow some vegetables to earn some money for oil and salt.
He immediately grabbed a hoe and went back to the mountain to clear land and plant vegetables.
As time went by, Long Hanshi felt that he was doing quite well in this small village, without too many troubles.
Song Erniang also felt that she was living a pretty good life. Not only were her wontons selling more and more, but now she could also sell other fried cakes, glutinous rice cakes, and fried dough twists.
I don't earn much, but it's definitely enough for me!
In addition, the people in the village are all honest and kind, and everyone gets along very well.
After some time, the vegetables that Long Hanshi planted grew well and were ready to be sold. He actually listened to Song Erniang's advice, harvested the vegetables, and went to sell them outside Suzhou City.
He searched for a long time but couldn't find a suitable place.
Song Erniang couldn't stand it anymore and waved to Long Hanshi.
"Sell here! There's still some space next to my stall, you can sell here!"
Long Hanshi immediately picked up the vegetables he had grown and went to sell them next to Song Erniang's stall.
He only knows one trick for selling vegetables: he just stares at people as they pass by without saying a word.
After seeing this, Song Erniang sighed and had no choice but to help him hawk his wontons while she was selling them.
"Auntie, you're here to buy vegetables! Look over here, these are homegrown, so fresh and delicious!"
"Brother, you're out buying groceries! Sister-in-law, you're so lucky to have taken care of all the grocery shopping. Look over here, these are freshly picked vegetables this morning!"
With Song Erniang's help, Long Hanshi finally sold out all his vegetables.
He happily counted the copper coins in his money bag; these were all the money he earned from growing vegetables…
If the vegetables can be sold, we should thank Song Erniang properly!
"Song Erniang, let me go back and chop some more firewood for you!" Long Hanshi said.
"Okay! Thank you so much!" Song Erniang replied with a smile while wrapping wontons.
“Why don’t you stop renting out your land to others? I can help you farm it. It won’t take much effort, and you can get more grain every year,” Long Hanshi said again.
After thinking about it, Song Erniang agreed.
“Fine! You can cultivate the land! But I will still give you the grain I owe you; I can't let you farm for nothing.” Song Erniang insisted on her principles.
Long Hanshi initially wanted to refuse, but then he thought about it...
"Okay! I'll help you with the farming! Whenever you want to close up shop, I'll help you close up shop!"
"No need! I have a meeting to attend to!" Song Erniang refused with a smile.
Long Hanshi didn't mind at all; he would bring all the vegetables he harvested from the field to sell next to Song Erniang's wonton stall.
Everyone knows that Long is honest and simple, but even honest people can be stubborn.
Long Hanshi had learned his lesson, and now he only listens to his sister and brother-in-law, as well as Song Erniang.
As for the others... he just chuckled a couple of times in a simple and honest manner, and then went about his business.
...
Long Hanshi once again secretly threw firewood into Song Erniang's yard. When he got home, the first thing he saw was his sister.
"Sister, what brings you here!"
"I've come to see you. How have you been lately?" Sister Long asked.
"fine!"
"Did you help Song Erniang chop firewood today?" Sister Long asked with a smile.
Even the most honest and simple-minded Long Hanshi could sense that there was something else going on in his sister's words.
"Sis, what do you want to ask? I'm not smart, so don't beat around the bush!"
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