Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Ox Cart.
Benguli,
Feng and Zhu were at the valley entrance, looking eagerly in the direction they had come from, their hearts filled with excitement.
A group of half-grown children followed. Buying an ox cart was a rare thing in the whole village. No one didn't like the hustle and bustle.
If it weren't for the busy spring plowing in the fields, the adults would have to stand in rows and squeeze in to watch.
As the sun was setting, Cui Guangyao knocked down a large area of dogtail grass by the road with his stick. He said:
"Why haven't you come back yet? I'm afraid you didn't have enough money to buy it!"
Ji Feng said, "You're buying an oxcart like buying a cabbage. Of course you have to choose carefully. I heard from my sister that we have to register the oxcart, which is very complicated. Maybe we're stuck at the county court."
Cui Si curled his lips and said, "Nonsense! I've only heard of household registration, but I've never heard of ox carts being registered."
Since they went to Ji's house to fetch water during the dry season, Liao no longer stopped them from playing with the Ji sisters, but Liao herself avoided Ji Xu more and more.
"That's right, nonsense!"
"Oh! She's like a pestle, and her words are full of water!"
"Nonsense!"
Other children joined in the fun.
Ji Feng said, "I'll tear your mouths off. Just wait and see! My sister's words are more true than gold."
Ji Huhai saw the children gathered together, and he also carried Jin, who was plowing the fields, on his back and sneaked over to watch the fun, saying:
"Humph, my family already has an ox cart!"
Cui Guangyao said, "Stop bragging. It's not yours at all. It belongs to the wealthy Qiao family in the county."
Ji Huhai said: "In my home, it is my home!"
Everyone was too lazy to pay attention to him. Someone started shouting first:
"Here it comes! Here it comes! It's an oxcart!"
I saw Ji Xu pulling a tall ox cart. The ox had shiny fur and was strong and sturdy. The wheels were squeaking and it soon came to the front.
A group of children cheered and rushed forward.
"Sister! This ox cart is really worth buying! You are so awesome!"
Ji Feng said with a smile on his face, his words full of excitement.
The purchase of the ox and cart cost a total of nine thousand coins. From now on, he no longer had to push the cart for long distances. With a new big addition to his family, Ji Xu was very happy.
She knew how to ride a horse in her previous life and had some basic knowledge of driving cattle. In the county, she asked a cattle expert for some guidance, and she learned the tricks of tightening and loosening the reins, and was able to drive a cart.
Although this cart is not a covered lacquered wooden carriage, it is made of solid poplar wood. There is a curved yoke at the front of the shaft, with two shafts tied at both ends, and the middle is put on the back of the ox. You can drive the cart forward by sitting in the front and pulling the ox rope. The open-air carriage at the back is cheaper for transporting goods.
Unless a wealthy family pays attention to travel etiquette, they will not buy a carriage. This one is enough for ordinary people to use in daily life.
She had cleaned the wheelbarrow she had used before and had just returned it to the kiln on the way. She also bought two jars of spring wine to thank Wang Dianji.
The cart was currently only carrying empty barrels, planks, and the like, so there was still plenty of room. Ji Xu smiled and said,
"Come, get on and go back together."
With one pull, Feng and Zhu came up immediately.
"I want to sit too! I want to sit too!"
"I want one too! Don't squeeze me!"
The remaining children had never ridden in an oxcart before. The older ones climbed up quickly by grabbing onto the cart, while the younger ones spread their hands and feet and said to Ji Xuyang:
"Sister Xu, I want to ride one too! The oxcart is so majestic!"
I saw Ji Feng rushing over here and grabbing someone from that place.
"Go away, go away. This is a new car we just bought. Look at how dirty your hands and feet are. You have to pay for it."
For a moment, he couldn't frighten them anymore, so he said:
"Sister, please move the car quickly and don't let these little brats mess around."
Ji Xu laughed and said, "It's not easy to walk with them. Let them get on and sit for this part of the way. But they have to hold on tight."
"good!"
There was a loud response from the back, and it was you who pulled me up and helped me get up.
Ji Feng had no choice but to give up. Seeing that there were many people in the car, he asked about something and said:
"Sister, have you got the oxcart registration done?"
Ji Xu took it out of his cloth bag and gave it to her. She held it and fumbled around.
The name list was a wooden tablet with an official seal on it. On it was a string of Chinese characters written in black ink:
"One ox to pull the cart, black, left-behind, three years old, seven feet nine inches long."
Because they were illiterate, Ji Xu read it to them. Ji Zhu pointed out each word and mimicked it, saying:
"Sister, is this cow three years old? It's even younger than Xiaozhu! It's only as big as Mianmian."
Ji Feng said, "Look carefully, the ox cart is well-known. Who is it that Donggua used as the pestle? What nonsense is that?"
Seeing this, the other children shut up and Cui Si stopped arguing. She rode in an ox cart. She was older and didn't show it on her face, but she was very happy in her heart.
A child asked, "Sister Xu, what does 'left beheading' mean?"
Ji Xu said, "There's a small notch on its left ear that serves as a marker."
When the cows are still calves, the herders will mark them by cutting small cuts on their ears, or cutting the hair on their abdomens, or cutting off their horns. These characteristics will be recorded in the ox cart name register.
"Black bull" is also a description of appearance, referring to a yellow cow with yellow hair and black lips. As for "seven feet and nine inches", it is the size of the cow measured by the county officials.
"Come and have a look! Miss Xu has a new baby!"
In the fields, someone saw from afar an ox cart passing Fengzipo, and the news spread around.
People on both sides of the ridge kept shouting, asking Ji Xu how much he spent and where he bought it. They said that the cow looked strong and was an excellent power ox.
Some of them waved and said playfully, "Come here, my lady, come to my fields. I can plow a few acres of land."
Ji Xu smiled and responded one by one: "Your sons are very capable, why do you need a cow like me?"
They all laughed with their heads tilted back.
"No wonder they were talking about building a cowshed, but in the blink of an eye, they bought an oxcart! My dear daughter, wipe your nose quickly. Is this oxcart comfortable to sit in?"
A woman saw her little daughter sitting on the ox cart to enjoy the breeze, and she smiled and pointed at others, then asked in a loud voice.
The little girl clung to the side of the cart, facing the fields, and was filled with joy at being in an oxcart for the first time. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and said:
"It's so comfortable! Mother, when will our family buy an ox cart?"
The woman waved her hand and said with a smile, "Your father-in-law should go make a lot of money!"
Wang Li, who was planting rice in the field, saw the ox cart and ignored Wang Mazi's shouts. He washed his hands with water from the canal and ran towards the ox cart barefoot.
"Come on and I'll beat you up. You just got off the ground and your legs are covered in mud!"
When Ji Feng saw him approaching, he immediately shouted.
Wang Li jumped onto the back of the car, his feet dangling in the air, grinning as he looked back and said,
"Is it all right if I sit like this?"
Ji Feng had just given up and let him go. Not long after, he heard a child exclaim:
“Cow dung!”
Ji Feng hurriedly pushed people aside to look, saying:
"Sister, please stop. I've shoveled a lot of fertile soil."
But the Lin family's wife was quick-witted and quick-handed. She shoveled the field with a big shovel and went to her own field.
Hearing the noise in the distance, Feng Fuzhen stood up and patted his aching back.
Last year, they lost a lot of money selling grain, and the family had just paid the tuition to her uncle after the New Year. Her mother became even more frugal and even stopped hiring workers to plant rice. Instead, she hired all the family members and relatives to help.
In the words of Aunt Xu, "We'll be tired for three to five days, but after that, we won't need you kids to irrigate the water and catch insects."
Now, seeing Ji Xu hiring people to tamp the courtyard wall and buying an ox cart, and seeing others chatting and laughing with her, she was stealing all the limelight from the Feng family. She felt uncomfortable and said:
"It's just an ox cart. It's so rare. It seems everyone has one."
"Grandmother, what a fool! How much does it cost to hire two servants? Look at how dirty my clothes are, and my hands and feet are swollen."
I was tired and angry, and I complained so much that my eyes turned red.
"Tired? Go sit down and rest for a while. There aren't many acres of land left. I can finish it by myself."
Bao Yu heard her angry words and said.
The woman beside her saw Feng Fuzhen sitting on the edge of the field, pulling at the grass roots, and said:
"Aunt Xu, your family has nearly a hundred acres of farmland. Why don't you hire someone to help this year? Look how tired your Fuzhen is."
Old Lady Xu was just coming to the fields to deliver some afternoon snacks. Seeing the bustle on the ridge, she was looking gloomy. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said,
"What's tiring about that? When I was a girl, I picked lotus and mulberry leaves, went up the mountain to collect firewood, and when I came back I had to plant two acres of land. I didn't feel tired. She just had an easy life. She deserves to suffer a little."
He didn't mention the family's frugality at all and invited all the relatives to come and eat and drink.
The meat was minced and the spring chives were stewed. Life was not easy at all, yet he still said this. Feng Fuzhen became even more angry and complained:
"Grandmother said before that Xu Nu couldn't go past our house. But now they're ramming the walls and building a cattle stable, hiring more than a dozen people, and even buying an ox cart. They're so majestic, how could they not go past us..."
Only after Xu pulled his face down and gouged out his eyes did his voice become lower.
The neighboring farms also invited relatives to come and help. They gathered on the ridges to eat and chatted without hesitation:
"I think the Xu family is on the rise. They're building a house, digging a well, tamping down the walls, and even buying a cow. That tofu shop is a really good business. They're almost catching up with the Feng family."
"Yes, that tofu shop has only been open for a short time, and they even have ox carts. But the Feng family has become poorer and poorer, and it seems that they don't even hire us to work."
Hearing this, Aunt Xu's face darkened, but the stranger still asked the loud speaker:
"Aunt Xu, it's a coincidence that your third son is still unmarried. I think marrying him off to a Xu girl wouldn't be a waste of his life."
Xu's smile disappeared, and she said in a serious tone:
"What nonsense are you talking about? My Sanlang is the only scholar in Benguli. He should marry a daughter of a wealthy family, not a merchant."
"She's not a city resident, but she's a registered citizen like us, and she can make money. What's wrong with that?" the woman muttered.
"A girl who hangs around in the market and seeks profit is no different from those city dwellers. Such a person must not enter my house." said Aunt Xu.
Bao Yu wanted to refute something, but Feng Er grabbed his sleeve and he lowered his head to eat. He shook his head and complained to Feng Er:
"All the money in the family was spent on Sanlang, including tuition, inkstone, and writing brushes. He needed good clothes and good things for his studies.
He does nothing all year round, except for last year when he dabbled in the busy farming season, and even then his mother still complained that he was tired. He was always asked to study at home during the spring ploughing season, and he hasn't been recommended for any official position. When will this end?
Feng Erzhi pulled her and signaled her to shut up, otherwise if Xu heard it, she would be scolded again.
In Xu's opinion, Feng San has the potential to be an official. His current study of scriptures and recitation of texts are all preparations for his recommendation for an official position in the future. If one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit. Therefore, Xu is kind to others and pays special attention to reputation.
"Ji Hu Hai!"
All I heard was Jin's loud shout, and she rolled up her sleeves and pulled a little bastard off the ox cart.
It turned out that Ji Huhai had taken advantage of the chaos to sneak up here, just because it was fun with so many people, so he sat happily at the back, imitating Cui Guangyao's shaking head.
Unexpectedly, he was caught by Jin and taken home by the ears, crying all the way.
"Hey... why are you pulling me? I was just playing with Brother Guangyao, not talking to Erfeng, Xiaozhu and the others..."
"Ouch, it hurts so much. I clearly didn't talk to them." Ji Huhai cried out in pain.
The villagers who were working in the fields saw this and pointed and talked.
Jin was embarrassed and hit Ji Huhai twice, saying:
"When did I tell you not to talk to them? There were so many people on that oxcart, and if you got squeezed and fell, you'd scream in pain. Why don't you just go home?"
Ji Huhai knew that he couldn't talk to the second wife, but he felt that he hadn't said anything, and now he was being beaten, so he started crying and said:
"You just told me not to talk to the second wife, you said!"
When he started crying, everyone looked over, and Jin pulled him and walked faster.
Ji Xu drove the carriage, watched the farce, and said:
"If I had known earlier, I would have chased him away from the beginning, so I wouldn't have had to deal with these two beatings."
Ji Feng raised his chin and said, "Who told him to sit here for fun? It's his own fault for getting beaten up. He deserves it!"
As he was talking, the car pulled into the yard. The newly reinforced wall made it difficult to see outside, which made Ji Xu uncomfortable. He walked around it and installed the newly bought iron lock on the gate.
Ji Feng jumped out of the car and started yelling at people.
"You've had a good ride, it's time to have some fun. Let's go home quickly. Do you want to wait for your mother to come and beat you like Ji Huhai did?"
Fang was reluctant to leave, chattering:
"Your ox cart is so comfortable."
"It made me yawn."
"This ox is really strong. Even a group of us can pull it."
Speaking of cattle, Ji Feng went to carry the basket and said to Ji Xu excitedly:
"Sister, I want to find some foxtail grass and alfalfa to feed the cows before the sun goes down!"
Ji Zhu was stroking the yellow ox's fur, praising its docility. Upon hearing this, she turned her head and said:
"Xiaozhu is going too!"
While Ji Xu was unloading the yoke and shaft of the cart, he warned:
“Don’t go far.”
Feng and Zhu agreed and ran out. The remaining children also left one after another. Some followed them to look for foxtail grass, and some went home.
Ji Xu led the cow into the cowshed, fed it bean dregs and gave it water, and then he closed the door and bolted it.
As for the cart, after the things were unloaded, they were pulled into the firewood shed next door and tidied up. The yard became empty and tidy again. From time to time, the sound of cows mooing and hens clucking could be heard behind the house.
Ji Xu took a look and saw four eggs inside, each as big as a fist. He picked them out and put them in a pottery jar in the west room. There were already more than ten eggs in it. They were all eggs he had picked up recently and saved because he didn't eat them.
Now the family has five hu of flour, six hu of rice, a jar of pickled mustard greens from mid-winter, two hams, five jin of bacon and pork ribs, a can of fresh eggs, and two bags of preserved radishes from last year, such as preserved water melon, preserved mushrooms, preserved radishes, preserved turnips, and preserved cabbage...
There are also two plots of fresh vegetables behind the house, which can be picked and eaten whenever you want. It is very convenient. On weekdays, you only need to bring back some fresh meat, fish and crabs from the city.
Today she bought two spare ribs. She had soybean paste, malt, spices and dried mushrooms at home, which was just right for making a dish of braised spare ribs.
I saw her chop the ribs into pieces and blanch them in water, stir-fry ingredients like cinnamon until fragrant, put in the ribs, appropriate amount of salt bean paste and malt glutinous rice, and some soaked and thinly sliced dried mushrooms, and pour in water.
Cook over low heat until the ribs are soft and easy to remove from the bones, then sprinkle some green peppers cut with a rolling knife, some cabbage and tofu skin on them, and the soup in the pot will bubbling.
The fragrance drifted outside. Feng and Zhu didn't even have time to pick the food with a basket. They ran to the kitchen, sniffed deeply, and their stomachs started to growl.
Ji Xu smiled and said, "Wash your hands and have dinner."
"good!"
The two of them hurriedly did as they were told, some setting the bowls and some putting the chopsticks down, coordinating with each other in perfect harmony.
He was so busy eating that he didn't even have time to talk. His mouth was full of deliciousness.
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