Chapter 22: Collect peppercorns! Seek benefits for everyone!
After Qin Zhizhi finished breakfast, she was "driven" to Qin's house by Gu's mother, who took over the task of washing the dishes.
Gu Jingshu and Gu Jingyao also went with Qin Zhizhi. The children usually liked to play together, and now because of Qin Zhizhi, they liked to stay together even more.
When they arrived at the Qin family's house, Qin Zhizhi's eldest and second uncles had already arrived. Seeing Qin Zhizhi, they greeted her happily. "Zhizhi is here."
"Uncle, Second Master, why did you come so early? It will take time for them to pick the fruits." Qin Zhizhi looked at the active people and smiled helplessly.
"Zhizhi has been paid, so how can we be lazy? Let's clean up the site and adjust the scale first. When someone comes to deliver it, we will start working."
Qin Zhizhi's uncle is usually serious, but he loves Qin Zhizhi very much. Now Qin Zhizhi not only pays him wages, but also tells him about his father's dream.
Qin Zhizhi's uncle now loves Qin Zhizhi the most in the whole family.
"Big brother is right. I will definitely help you keep a close eye on it later. No matter who it is, if they don't pick it cleanly, I won't accept it."
"Thank you for your hard work, Master and Second Master." Qin Zhizhi was amused by the two.
Qin Zhizhi entered the yard. Except for Mrs. Qin, no one else was at home.
Uncle San went to the river, her father and uncle went to the restaurant in town to deliver fish, and Auntie's parents' home was far away, so she didn't come back last night.
Her mother and third aunt had breakfast early in the morning and went to the back mountain to pick peppercorns.
Qin Zhizhi understood the personalities of her mother and third aunt, so she specifically told Mrs. Qin that the peppercorns picked by her mother and third aunt must be weighed and paid for, otherwise she would not take them.
"Zhizhi, we are all family, there is no need to count." Mrs. Qin was the first to disagree.
"Grandma, the money from selling fish belongs to the public, and you can treat the money from these peppercorns as private money for each family, okay? If your granddaughter can really be exchanged for silver, then you should agree, otherwise Zhizhi will be angry."
Qin Zhizhi acted coquettishly to Qin Pozi, and finally Qin Pozi had no choice but to agree.
"You are just a simple-minded person."
"Grandma is the best. This is the result of their hard work and they deserve it. Grandma, please help me supervise it."
Qin Zhizhi was still worried and pestered Qin Po for a while. In this family, Qin Po's words were the most effective. As long as Qin Po agreed, her mother and aunt would not dare to disobey.
"Okay, okay, grandma will listen to you!" Qin Zhizhi knew that the matter was settled and smiled even more happily.
The grandfather and grandson went to the place where they kept miscellaneous items and brought out a few bamboo mats, which were woven by Uncle Qin San and were perfect for drying peppercorns.
The two of them had just cleaned the yard and laid out the bamboo mat when they heard the voice of their aunt-in-law at the door.
When Mrs. Qin and Qin Zhizhi came out of the yard together, they saw the two men who came with their aunt-in-law greeting several grandfathers.
"Mom, I'm back. I arrived a little late yesterday, and I was afraid that my elder brother and the others would make the wrong choice. So I took them to pick some fruits today before coming back."
Li smiled and explained why she came back this morning.
"Hello, Auntie, hello, Zhizhi!"
"Hello, my in-laws! Hello, Zhizhi!"
Li's father and elder brother quickly greeted Qin Po and Qin Zhizhi.
"Hello, Grandpa, hello, Uncle Li!" Qin Zhizhi knew these two people, they had been to the Qin family.
"Come in and have some water. Have you had breakfast? Auntie will make some for you." Mrs. Qin didn't know whether they had had breakfast.
"Mom, we've eaten. This morning we picked some peppercorns and sent them over. My dad and big brother brought them to Zhizhi to see."
The Li family still can't believe that something that no one wants can be exchanged for money.
"Grandfather, Uncle Li, put down the backpack first and let Zhizhi take a look."
The two of them carefully put down their backpacks and filled two baskets with fruits in just one morning, which shows how hardworking the Li family is.
Qin Zhizhi took a serious look and said with a smile, "This is it. It's picked very cleanly. Uncle, Second Uncle, let's open the shop."
Qin Zhizhi's joke made everyone laugh, and the atmosphere suddenly became better.
When the eldest and second uncles heard Qin Zhizhi calling them, they hurried to help weigh the peppercorns. There were twenty pounds of peppercorns in two backpacks, and each pound cost three cents, for a total of sixty cents.
Old Man Qin deftly counted out sixty coins and handed them to Old Man Li. "Here's the money, Old Man Li. You picked the peppercorns so cleanly, it saved us a lot of trouble."
Old man Li and his eldest son were both stunned. They earned sixty cents in this morning. It was too incredible.
"Grandpa, Uncle Li, are there a lot of peppercorns there?" Qin Zhizhi wanted to know the situation.
"Niece Zhizhi, we have a lot." Uncle Li replied.
"In this case, you won't have to come and deliver the fruits tomorrow. Running back and forth will waste time. You can pick them and dry them directly after you get home. In a few days, I'll have my uncle take the ox cart to transport them."
Qin Zhizhi felt that it was too troublesome to deliver it every day, so it would be better to wait until it was dried before delivering it once.
"Okay, how dry do you want it to be?" Old man Li asked worriedly, fearing that he would mess up Qin Zhizhi's business.
"Grandpa, it's okay if you dry it like this." Qin Zhizhi grabbed a few dried peppercorns and handed them to Old Man Li.
Old man Li took it carefully, squeezed one open with force, and had a general idea in his mind.
"Don't worry, Zhizhi. There are many people at home, so you don't have to go and pull it. I'll send someone to deliver it once it's dried."
The Li family is large, and the dried peppercorns don't need to be weighed, so they deliver them themselves to avoid their son-in-law running away.
"That's fine, but you can't put it on the ground to dry!" Qin Zhizhi specifically instructed.
"Don't worry, Zhizhi. I guarantee it will be dried thoroughly." Old man Li knew that they were going to be eaten, so he paid special attention to it. The backpacks for carrying the peppercorns this morning were all newly woven.
"Thank you, Grandpa and Uncle Li, for your help. Dried peppercorns are fifteen cents per pound." Qin Zhizhi was afraid that her aunt had not told the family, so she specifically told Old Man Li.
The two were very shocked. One look at their expressions and Qin Zhizhi knew that her aunt-in-law had not said anything.
Old man Li and his son didn't stay at Qin's house for too long. They were in a hurry to go back to pick peppercorns.
After seeing off her father and eldest brother, Li discovered that her second and third brother's wives were not at home.
"Mom, where are my brother-in-law and sister-in-law?"
"They couldn't sit still, so after breakfast they went to the mountains to pick peppercorns."
"Then mother, I'll go and take a look too." Li found a backpack from the yard and prepared to go up the mountain to look for her sister-in-law.
"Go ahead. The cook at home will be here soon. Pick them carefully. Zhizhi said that the ones you pick should be weighed the same as everyone else's."
"Mom, how can that be possible? We don't want it."
"In this matter, neither you nor I have any say. Zhizhi insisted, and Mom has already agreed on your behalf. Moreover, the money this time does not need to be turned over to the government, it will be considered your own."
This time it was Li's turn to be surprised. Her niece and mother-in-law were so nice.
"Thank you, mother."
"Why thank me? It was Zhizhi who distributed the money to you. Hurry up and go. Your second and third sister-in-law don't know yet. Go to the mountain and tell them."
"I know, mother. The daughter-in-law is gone."
"Go ahead, be careful."
Li went to the back mountain with a basket on her back, her steps brisk. She felt that life was getting better and better.
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