Chapter 144: Wan Jinshu regains his strength and the Wan family buys land
The family had a simple lunch, and then Mrs. Wan asked Boss Wan to call Wan Jinshu and Wan Xingmo.
"Go and call your elder brother Jinshu and Mo'er. Your elder sister-in-law said she also wanted to buy an acre of wasteland to cultivate before the New Year. Their family has few laborers and cannot cultivate so much wasteland, so they only bought one acre. I thought we should buy it together with our land, so that she can help out when the time comes."
Boss Wan listened respectfully and went to the next room.
Zhao made a pot of porridge at noon today, but she added too much water, so it was overcooked and a little watery. The family members each drank two bowls to warm themselves up. Just as Zhao put away the dishes and chopsticks, she heard Boss Wan's voice coming in from outside the fence gate.
"Brother Jinshu, are you home?"
"Mo'er, it looks like your Uncle Wan. Go open the door and take a look. Maybe there's something wrong."
Zhao quickly asked Wan Xingmo to open the door, and Wan Xingmo stood up when he heard the voice.
Soon, Boss Wan was welcomed in by Wan Xingmo.
"Sister-in-law, Brother Jinshu, have you just finished lunch?"
Boss Wan felt that he had come at the wrong time and smiled foolishly to ease the awkwardness.
Zhao smiled gently and said, "It's okay, please take a seat."
"Sister-in-law, I won't sit down anymore. My mother asked me to call Brother Jinshu and Mo'er to buy some land. Didn't you say you wanted to buy an acre of wasteland before the New Year? The weather is getting warmer soon. If we buy the land now, it will be just in time for spring ploughing and won't delay the autumn harvest."
When Zhao heard that this was a big deal, she knew that although their family did not buy much, they also ate little. In addition, she had asked Wan Xingmo to find out that there was an embroidery workshop in the town that accepted embroidery work and the price was not cheap. It seemed that they were trading with foreign countries, so their family might have a greater chance of making a living by embroidery work in the future.
Zhao quickly responded, "Well, Mo'er, just go with your Uncle Wan to have a look. I'll give you some money, and you can just buy it at your Grandma Wan's house."
After Zhao finished speaking, she went to the east room and quickly took out five taels of silver and gave it to Wan Xingmo. She didn't know how much it cost to buy an acre of land in the countryside, so it was always a good idea to have some extra money.
Wan Xingmo took the silver and put it in his pocket, ready to go with Boss Wan.
Wan Jinshu, who had been silent at this time, suddenly spoke.
"Mo'er, I'll go too. Let's go together."
After saying this, Wan Jinshu stood up and walked outside.
Both Zhao and Wan Xingmo were stunned for a moment, then Zhao showed a comfortable smile on her face and winked at Wan Xingmo.
Wan Xingmo nodded, and strode out behind Boss Wan who had already chased out.
Zhao leaned against the door frame and watched Wan Jinshu's back disappear behind the fence, her eyes moistening.
Ever since Wan Jinshu broke his arm, he has become much more taciturn. When he arrived at the border, he was even more reluctant to go out and stayed at home all day.
Now that she is finally willing to go out for a walk, Zhao feels that she has hope in life again.
Zhao went from being a noble lady in the capital to a noblewoman in the capital and then to an exiled prisoner. In fact, she was the one who suffered the biggest psychological gap, but she gritted her teeth and endured it for the sake of her children. No one could understand her inner bitterness, sadness and helplessness. When she arrived at the border, her partner became silent and no one responded to her words.
After Wan Jinshu's mentality improved, Zhao suddenly felt that life was just like this. As long as you survive, you should live tenaciously. Who knows what surprises God will give you in the future? God can make you fail or prosper.
Wan Jinshu dared to look back only after he walked out of the yard. He had figured it out during this time that he was the head of the family and only had a broken arm.
There are so many people on the battlefield who have lost their lives defending the country and they are not afraid. He is a general, but now he is just breaking an arm and is like a woman, hiding at home and not going out. He allows a woman to show up in public every day. He is simply not a human being.
Today, he took this opportunity to silently tell his family that he would still be the pillar of the family in the future.
Boss Wan didn't understand the mentality of this family. He was a farmer, and for a farmer being able to stay alive was the best thing, everything else was bullshit.
Old Mrs. Wan was already waiting at the door with her family. When Wan Jinshu and his son Wan Xingmo came out, they saw everyone in the Wan family was there.
Wan Jinshu felt a little embarrassed. It was just buying a piece of land, so why did the whole family have to get involved?
That’s because General Wan, who is high and mighty, doesn’t understand that land is life for the common people, and they can only survive with land.
Land is to the people as soldiers are to the general; without soldiers the war cannot be won.
Wan Jinshu just felt strange in his heart but didn't ask. He just said hello to Old Lady Wan and didn't say anything else. Instead, he walked in front side by side with Boss Wan.
When they arrived at the village chief's house, the new village chief Jinniu was already waiting at the door.
"Village chief, are we going now?" Boss Wan walked forward and greeted him with a smile.
Taurus nodded, "Yes, the weather is good today, and it's not particularly cold now. It would be cold and painful if we go later, so let's go now."
The Wan family followed Jinniu to the wasteland within the Shizi Village.
As they walked, Jinniu introduced the conditions of the fields in Shizi Village to Wan Lao Da and Wan Jinshu.
"There are 113 households in Shizi Village, with more than 1,500 mu of farmland and countless wastelands. However, the land is barren and the wind and sand are too strong, so the annual grain output is extremely low. When the harvest season comes, the villagers have no food to eat. In addition, there are no mountains within a radius of thousands of miles, so we have to rely on digging for food in the soil."
After listening to this, Boss Wan and Wan Jinshu gained a deeper understanding of the lives of the people here and felt more at ease.
As the saying goes, live by the mountain when you live by the mountain. The Yangliu Village where Wan Lao Da used to live is backed by a mountain. He understands the value of this saying best.
Their family's good life depends on the game they hunt in the mountains. In the spring, they pick wild vegetables in the mountains and dry them, which can be kept for the whole year. In the autumn, they can pick wild fruits and chestnuts in the mountains. These are all gifts from the mountains.
Now that I have arrived at the border, all I see are gullies and no grass. Only in spring does a hint of green appear, and at this time the grass is still buried in the soil by wind and sand, so everything is bare and there are very few trees.
However, the land where Shizi Village is located is generally flat, making it easier to cultivate the land than in other villages.
As the group of people were talking, they came to the place where they were going to reclaim land.
Jinniu pointed to the endless wasteland in front of him and said to Wan Laodao: "This is the wasteland of our village. You can't see the end at a glance. You can choose the one you want. I will mark the boundary for your family."
Boss Wan looked down at the yellow soil under his feet, squatted down and pinched it, but there was no moisture in it, and it fell apart when he pinched it. How could he grow crops like this? Would the crops survive if he planted them?
Old Mrs. Wan walked forward and took a look, with a trace of worry on her face. Their family now has more than a dozen people, mostly men, and a few teenage boys. Even if they eat sparingly, they would need at least one pound of food for the day.
Looking at the barrenness of the land now, it is difficult to produce 200 kilograms of grain per acre. Moreover, after paying taxes, they can only get less than 100 kilograms of grain. Excluding the grain seeds, how much food will be left for them?
Their whole family can only cultivate 20 acres of land at most, but now it is not far from the spring plowing season, and they cannot cultivate 20 acres of land at all.
Boss Wan sighed, stood up and asked Mrs. Wan.
"Mom, which piece of land do you think we should buy? Even if the harvest is small, we can still meet this year's food needs by planting more."
Old Lady Wan looked at Jinniu and said, "Village Chief, you are an elder here. Can you help our family to decide which piece of land is suitable?"
Jinniu smiled and said, "Aunt, it's not that I don't want to discuss it with you, it's just that we don't have any fertile land here. In fact, all the land here is similar, the fertility of the land is the same, it doesn't matter what you plant."
Mrs. Wan Er carried little Fubao to Old Lady Wan and took a look.
When Grandma Wan saw her little granddaughter, she was delighted and quickly took little Fubao over.
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