Chapter 84
"These are the materials that merchants brought from Suzhou. Take a look at them. Summer is coming soon, so it's a good time to make some new clothes."
After Zhang Shiyue came back at night, the family had dinner and Zhang Fangyuan took out the cloth he brought back for the family to choose from.
In the hot summer, common people wear light and thin clothes. Rich people wear silk, satin and brocade, while ordinary people cannot afford such expensive clothes, so they can only wear linen and coarse cloth.
There is a saying: "Those who are dressed in silk and satin are not silkworm breeders." Often, those who dress luxuriously are not the ones who work hard in the fields to raise silkworms and produce silk.
Zhang Fangyuan brought home all kinds of silks, satins, and gauze this time, but these precious fabrics were divided into good and bad ones. The good ones were called cooked goods by merchants and people, and the inferior ones were called raw goods.
He took more than a dozen horses this time. Even if he made good friends with Song Yong and got a favorable price, it was impossible for him to get familiar goods. He would have to earn dozens of taels for those dozen horses. Even if you can afford it, there is no need to buy it. As Xu He said, rural villagers don't need to wear such expensive clothes.
The light fabrics I got back this morning are enough to keep me cool and comfortable in the summer.
Although it was raw goods, the family, who came from a poor family, couldn't put down the cloth with its exquisite patterns and workmanship. Zhang Shiyue had only seen the wealthy families in the city wearing clothes made of such beautiful cloth.
Xiao'e was also gently stroking the smooth gauze. As a girl, she loves beauty when she grows up. How could she not like such good material?
Zhang Fangyuan said: "There is a lot of material. One piece of material can be used to make two garments. Each person can choose three or four pieces of material."
"By the way, the two dark ones are fine, you don't have to choose, they are all mine."
Xu He laughed: "You can choose the fabrics for yourself now." It's much less troublesome than before.
"Boss Song introduced it to me. He said that merchants in Suzhou all like to wear this kind of material. When he heard that I wanted cloth, he sent it to me specially." Zhang Fangyuan looked at several people standing in front of the table looking at the table full of material. It was good to have servants at home. Originally, they should have washed dishes and cleaned the house and the yard, but now someone has done it.
He stood up and walked over: "Anyone you like?"
"How can I not like such good materials?" Zhang Shiyue said, "Second Aunt is old, so one piece is enough for two summer clothes. He'er, pick a few more pieces to make clothes."
"Second aunt, why are you so polite? Since Ayuan bought so many, it means we can make more clothes." Xu He saw that all the patterns were good, and he couldn't tell which one was better, so he directly picked three pieces for Zhang Shiyue: "Women love beauty, make a few more pieces."
"Xiao'e, you choose."
The little girl nodded and took the three brightest colored ones. One reason was that they looked good and the young girl really liked them. The other reason was that her cousin's wife wouldn't wear such bright colors, so they were hers.
After returning to my hometown, time passed quickly, and a year has gone by in the blink of an eye. When I first came home, I was still a thin, small and timid girl. Now I can read and write, eat and drink well, and my body has recovered. I am at the age when I grow the fastest, and I am becoming more and more beautiful.
Although she is still two years away from coming of age, people have already started asking Xu He and Zhang Shiyue about her. As the saying goes, if a daughter is in one family, hundreds of families will want her.
"There's so much material. I'll ask Xiaomao to come over tomorrow to take a look and give him a piece to make two new clothes."
Zhang Fangyuan smiled and said, "Xiao'e and Xiaomao are the best of friends. She never forgets him."
Zhang Shiyue also said, "Then I'll take one for my fourth brother's wife, too."
"It's up to you." Zhang Fangyuan looked at Xu He. There were five horses left on the table besides his two horses. "What about you? Do you have any plans to give away?"
Xu He said: "Leave one for Rui Jin and Rui Li."
"If I use this horse to make clothes for the two little ones, each of them can take two pieces."
"The clothes I prepared before were all unique. Now that I have good material, I can make two sets of identical clothes for the two children. It looks nice."
Zhang Fangyuan nodded. The two chubby little guys looked more eye-catching and adorable in the same clothes.
"Since I won't be staying at the teahouse anymore, let Ruijin and Ruili sleep in my room at night, and you two can breathe a sigh of relief." Zhang Shiyue said, "Wenzi is close to my room anyway, so I can bring him to take care of the child."
Zhang Fangyuan has become accustomed to the child sleeping with him and his wife at night. He can see the two little ones when he opens his eyes at night. He would feel uneasy if he went to sleep with his second aunt for a while.
But before he opened his mouth, he glanced at Xu He beside him, and changed his words: "Second Aunt loves these two little guys the most, so I'll send them to Second Aunt's room to have a good sleep."
Xiao'e was happy to hear that: "Then I will sleep in my mother's room tonight, so I can hug Ruijin and Ruili."
"have to."
The two little ones were pushed from the main house into Zhang Shiyue's house. Although that end was not as big as their main house, it was wider than the house at the other end of the old house, so it didn't feel cramped even with the crib in place.
After changing rooms, the two kids were a little curious. They were saying "oh and oh" and I didn't know what they were saying. They opened their eyes and looked at the furnishings above their heads. The roofs were the same and they couldn't make out anything.
Ruili probably thought it was quite comfortable to be pushed in the crib and rocking inside, so he was a little dissatisfied when it suddenly stopped and spit out bubbles of saliva.
Zhang Fangyuan was afraid that Xu He would be reluctant to part with the child, so he took him out of the house after sending the baby to him.
"Will it disturb Second Aunt?"
"No, the two little ones don't make much noise at night, and Wenzi is here to help take care of them, so it won't be a problem." Zhang Fangyuan stretched out and said, "Let's go to bed."
"All right."
Xu He followed the man back to the bedroom a little absent-mindedly. Just as he entered the room, a hand passed by his waist and closed the door. When it was withdrawn, it circled his waist and picked him up.
In the blink of an eye, he had grown very tall. Xu He was startled and looked down at the man with thick eyebrows and big eyes who was looking at him with his chin raised.
Zhang Fangyuan's evil intentions were obvious, so there was no need to say more. There was also a tacit understanding between the couple.
"Aren't you sleepy?"
Xu He looked down at people, no magician could perform as well as he could.
"I woke up as soon as I entered the house."
Zhang Fangyuan was trying to find an excuse to get out, but he felt the legs around his waist tightening around him. His brows twitched slightly, and the hands that were loosely hugging his shoulders suddenly tightened. Xu He suddenly tilted his head and moved closer to him.
He really didn't expect it to be like this. He held the person tightly and walked quickly to the bed, but he got entangled in a path and couldn't see the way clearly. He kicked the stool that had just been moved away, and they both fell onto the bed.
Xu He hissed, but was covered before he could scream in pain.
The next day, when I woke up, it was already bright.
Xu He moved his aching body and found that he was still held by a pair of strong hands. He turned over and saw Zhang Fangyuan's clear eyes looking at him.
"Are you awake?" Xu He rubbed his eyes and saw the light coming through the window. The sun had already risen outside. He suddenly became more awake: "Why didn't you call me so late!"
Xu He pulled back the quilt and was about to get up, but Zhang Fangyuan stretched out his arm and pulled him back into his arms: "Why are you getting up so early? Go sleep in a little longer."
"Stop it. Getting up so late is a joke."
Zhang Fangyuan laughed. He naturally knew what Xu He was talking about when he said that others were joking. "Second Auntie got up a long time ago and took Wu Zi to the tea shed to get familiar with it. She laughed when you were still asleep. Why are you still thinking about it now?"
Xu He kicked Zhang Fangyuan, knowing that he shouldn't have indulged him yesterday.
"Are you thirsty? I'll pour you some water."
Having drunk a lot last night, he waved his hand and lay back on the bed. He felt sore all over and a little lazy.
He gave up on himself a little: "Then I'll sleep a little longer. If you don't go out today, you can take care of the child."
"Okay." Zhang Fangyuan laughed. He lifted a corner of the quilt and got off the bed. "Just take a good rest. I'll take care of the child today."
Zhang Fangyuan got up and went to the kitchen to ask Wenzi to bring some breakfast to the room for Xu He to eat later. He took the two kids and went out for a walk. The weather is warm nowadays. It is neither hot nor cold in the morning. It is good to take the children for a walk outside to let off some steam.
"How about it, is there anyone going to the village chief to sign up today?"
Zhang Fangyuan met his fourth uncle on the road.
"Good boy, come and let grandpa hold you." Zhang Shicheng looked at the two children in Zhang Fangyuan's arms, took Ruili over, and teased the child with a pouty mouth: "He went, and some people went there early in the morning. They wanted to be the first to sign up and get the hundred dollars. As a result, two families came at the same time. Now my son is arguing at the village chief's house about who will be the first. The argument couldn't be settled, so I filled in my name and went back on my own."
"He Ge'er was originally worried that the villagers would not be willing to do it, but I said that with the village chief here, they would definitely be able to take care of the people."
Zhang Shicheng said: "Everyone wants to make some money and live a better life. Seeing you live a good life, they are jealous. However, you lack courage and have a weak foundation. You dare not do anything easily and lose money."
"I'll go take a look at the village chief."
Zhang Shicheng was just about to return Ruili to his father, but the little boy seemed to know that his uncle was leaving. He suddenly leaned his head against Zhang Shicheng's neck, looking very obedient.
“This child.”
Zhang Shicheng was reluctant to let go, so he returned with Zhang Fangyuan holding the child.
The village chief's house was bustling with activity, and the two families who arrived first were still staring at each other, neither willing to give in. It is no wonder that the villagers are unwilling to give in. One hundred coins is one hundred Wen. Even a strong man has to work for two full days to get this much money. Now they want to plant mulberry trees and dig fish ponds. With this money, they can buy a lot of mulberry seedlings and fish seedlings.
"I can't even persuade him, so how can I manage this?"
The village chief wrote down the names of those who registered later, but the two families who came earlier refused to leave. He was also very worried because his wives would definitely not be willing to pay so much money.
Zhang Fangyuan looked through the booklet and found that there were about ten households that had signed up. The eldest and fourth uncles of the Zhang family had signed up, and the Chen family had also signed up. That was all for the first day, and he was quite happy: "It's okay, everyone responded so enthusiastically, I'll pay the other ten cents."
The village chief's eyes lit up: "Really?"
Zhang Fangyuan said, "There is no more money left. It is not easy to save private money."
The village chief laughed and said, "Come on, you just know how to brag. Who will take care of your money?"
…
"There are still many families in the village who have signed up. There are only two days left before the registration deadline mentioned by the village chief. I have discussed with your father and there is a paddy field that can be used as a fish pond." Liu Xianglan went to the fields that day to find Xu Shaochun to discuss: "I went to your younger brother's house to ask, and Zhang Fangyuan has already asked and negotiated with the merchants who sell saplings on the hilltop. When the time comes, we will bring back the mulberry trees and plant them soon."
The village has been very busy these days with the mulberry tree and fish pond matters, and everyone knows about it.
When Xu Shaochun got the news, he was tempted to do it. Yesterday, when he went to the village school to deliver food to Fei Lian, he saw that the two children of the Zhang family were dressed so beautifully. After some indirect inquiry, he found out that the cloth was brought back by Zhang Fangyuan, a merchant from Suzhou. He was very envious.
Looking at the teenage Xiao E, who was fair and clean, and dressed beautifully and smartly, she suddenly remembered the happy days when she was a girl, and her heart was filled with sadness for a moment.
Now she is so exhausted that she dare not think that she can live such a glamorous life again, but she also wants her children to have a better life in the future. She wants to find a good family with more abundant financial resources so that her children can have a better starting point. She wants them to take this opportunity to find a way to make money with everyone. However, before she could open her mouth, Fei Lian talked about this matter.
At home, Fei Lian blamed the villagers for not working hard on the fields, and for thinking of crooked ways to make a fortune. They said that they would suffer losses if they did not work hard on the fields. She was confused by all the nonsense and historical allusions, but she could understand that Fei Lian looked down on those businesses that relied on business, so she dared not mention this matter.
"Forget it. A-Lian refuses to do so. Life at home has been much better since the opening of the school, so he won't bother with these things. Anyway, the village chief didn't say that every family must follow suit."
Compared to when Fei Lian was still studying in the city, the family's situation has indeed been much better. Now that Fei Lian is teaching at home, her mother-in-law prepares a meal of meat every two days, and there is plenty of oil and water every day. She is in better shape than last year.
Now, they not only have the tuition and fees of the students in the academy, but also the 2,000 wen per month from Fei Lian. They are already an upper-class family in the village. Although they are not as wealthy as Xu He's family, they are well fed and warmly clothed.
But... she touched her belly and felt a little sorry for the child, unlike the Zhang family's pair of children whose father prepared a big house for them when they were born.
"I don't want to quarrel with my mother-in-law anymore. If I get hurt, it will be a loss for the child."
Liu Xianglan's eyes were as wide as a cow's: "You are pregnant? When did it happen? Why didn't you come back to tell me?"
"I just found out about it these past two days, and I haven't had time to go home yet."
Liu Xianglan nodded, holding Xu Shaochun's waist and looking at her from left to right. The baby was too young to show, so she couldn't tell what was going on. "That's fine, that's fine. If we don't do this for the village, we can take on fewer things. It's better to take good care of the baby."
"I told you to hug the two little ones from the Zhang family more often, so that you would have a good luck with having children. Look, it's happening now." Liu Xianglan couldn't help but feel happy, and she also said superstitiously, "Hug Ruijin more often, and you might even give birth to a son."
Liu Xianglan couldn't keep things secret, especially such good news. Xu He knew about it within two days. Xu He prepared a basket of eggs and caught two old hens from the old house. Knowing that his second sister loved beauty, he packed up a piece of good material that Zhang Fangyuan had bought before and had not yet made into clothes and gave it to Xu Shaochun as a congratulations.
When he was pregnant, Xu Shaochun also came to visit and gave him eggs. Although he came to borrow money, Xu He still gave him the gift of courtesy. Now that they have settled down and are living a peaceful life, he will not keep harping on the past.
Soon the registration deadline came. Zhang Fangyuan, the village chief and the landowner in their village calculated how many households wanted to open fish ponds to raise fish, and how many households wanted to grow vegetables, plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms. The village chief was responsible for going out to handle the formalities, and Zhang Fangyuan used his connections to buy fish seedlings and mulberry seedlings. The landowner had a lot of land on hand and was good at planting, so he stayed in the village to guide the villagers in tidying up the land.
Buying things from merchants is easy. It's just a matter of bargaining for price. Zhang Fangyuan has been doing business for so long, and he started out as a street hawker. He has become very proficient in this matter.
The real problem is that after he has negotiated the price, each household has to buy seedlings according to the amount of land they are willing to offer, and paying the money is the most annoying thing.
Now I understand why the imperial court would fall ill after returning from their tax collection mission to the village every year. It was not an act. Today they would cry to the house because they had no money, and tomorrow they would go to another house and have a big quarrel.
It took a whole month to collect all the money, and Zhang Fangyuan just waited until all the money was paid before going to get the seedlings back.
This year has been very busy.
There was almost no idle person in the whole village. Naturally, except for those who did not sign up to watch the fun, the rest were busy digging fish ponds and planting mulberry trees.
The villagers started planting trees and throwing fish fry into the fish pond, while Zhang Fangyuan immediately recruited people to build a guest house next to the tea shed.
The villagers spent money and Zhang Fangyuan also invested a lot. It can be said that the two lines of interests were entangled into one. If it prospers, both ends will prosper, and if it declines, both ends will decline.
In the spring of the following year, more than ten fish ponds appeared in Jijiu Village, and mulberry trees were planted on the wide ridges beside the ponds. The green mulberry trees surrounding the ponds created a unique scene. In addition, several large mulberry fields were planted on the newly reclaimed wasteland in the border areas. These fields were opened by Zhang Fangyuan.
Few villagers were willing to reclaim wasteland, so he had to take the lead, and then several households followed suit.
The soil of these newly reclaimed lands was poor, and fruits and vegetables could not grow strong. So Zhang Fangyuan simply planted mulberry trees. In order to fertilize these barren lands, he piled up and fermented the large pile of chicken and duck manure at home and piled it in the fruit field to use as fertilizer.
Almost a year has passed, and the soil quality has obviously improved. The fields that originally only grew hard-rooted foxtail grass are now growing gooseberry in the cabbage fields.
When I bought the mulberry trees, I didn't buy too small seedlings, so the price was much higher than mulberry seeds and seedlings. However, it takes two to three years for too small mulberry seedlings to bear fruit, while if you buy large seedlings, it will take at most two years. In other words, by next year, the ones that grow fast and well will be able to bear fruit.
This summer, villagers in families where mulberry trees are growing well are already preparing to buy silkworms and pick leaves to raise.
Zhang Fangyuan heard from an old farmer that the silkworm feces could be fed to fish, and the mulberry trees themselves were planted next to the fish pond and would be fertilized by the fish pond. This would be a great way to expand the yield. The villagers discovered the advantages of this in the second year of planting trees. The mulberry trees planted in this way did grow faster than usual.
"The guesthouses along the official road were still being built last spring, and we missed the tourists from the city. Now that summer has arrived, the watermelons in Tangjiaba are ripe, and the Guanyin Temple is celebrating the Bodhisattva's birthday, so we must take this opportunity to attract the first wave of customers."
Zhang Fangyuan returned home sweating profusely. It was really too hot this year.
Xu He took a piece of ice out of the cellar and cut a watermelon: "Cool down a bit."
Zhang Fangyuan took a bite of the melon hidden in the cellar. It was sweet and relieved the heat. He ate most of it before asking, "Where are Ruijin and Ruili? Are they still taking a nap?"
Xu He said, "He's asleep in the room. Eat the watermelon quickly. Don't let the child see it, or he'll make a fuss. He ate too much ice watermelon yesterday and his stomach is uncomfortable."
Zhang Fangyuan laughed. He cut the melon yesterday and gave each of the two children a small piece. Maybe the melons from Tangjiaba were really sweet this year. Ruili finished the melon in a few bites and looked at his brother. Ruijin took a bite and gave the rest of the melon to the younger brother. As a result, he ate too much and had a stomachache at night. He cried and refused to sleep. He asked a doctor to prescribe some medicine and he felt better after taking it.
Naturally, he was so naughty that he couldn't escape his father's beating. He would run to him crying and stumbling at night to complain.
"Well, I can't eat anymore. Let Wenzi take it and put it away. I'll go see the child."
Zhang Fangyuan had just entered the room when he saw that the person on the crib had stopped sleeping peacefully for some time. A fat, round, short boy was standing there. His two chubby hands were tightly grasping the railings of the crib. He stretched out his fat, white, steamed bun-like feet and gently stepped on the soft face of the little boy who was sleeping next to him.
The child was too young and felt very comfortable having his face stepped on, so he forgot his original intention. One foot seemed not enough, so he wanted to step on it with the other foot as well. As a result, his left foot tripped over his right foot and he fell on the little boy.
Zhang Fangyuan rushed over and picked up Fatty Winter Melon. He took another look at Ruijin who was sleeping peacefully and breathed a sigh of relief.
He slapped the naughty boy on the butt and whispered, "How can you step on your brother's face with your foot? This is wrong."
Ruili was hit on the chin by his brother, and he was in so much pain that he was about to cry. But when he heard his father say this, he forgot about the pain: "Mosquito, there's a mosquito on my brother's face! Hit it!"
Zhang Fangyuan laughed: "You can just use your hands to hit a mosquito, not your feet. That's wrong. Do you understand?"
Ruili nodded: "Well, if daddy says no, then no."
“But eat a big watermelon!”
Zhang Fangyuan helplessly tapped the tip of the little guy's nose: "Why are you so greedy? Didn't your daddy give you lunch at noon?"
Of course I ate it, including sweet dumplings, but I didn’t eat the big watermelon. Children can remain silent, but they cannot lie. He pursed his lips and did not answer pitifully.
Zhang Fangyuan pinched his chubby face and said, "When your brother wakes up, Daddy will take you and your brother to play at the tea shed, okay?"
"good!"
When he heard that he could go out to play, the little guy's face immediately lit up. He temporarily forgot about the big watermelon and happily twisted around on his father's body like a caterpillar.
Ruijin just woke up from his dream. He moved his arms as thin as white radish, but couldn't touch his brother who was always sleeping with his legs spread out. He almost cried, thinking that his brother was also taken away by the big black bear.
Just now in his dream, he dreamed that a huge bun suddenly fell on him from the sky. It was soft and fragrant, but it didn’t smell like a bun. It smelled like a carp. He opened his mouth and wanted to take a bite, but unfortunately, before he could bite the bun, it was taken away by a big black bear.
"Brother!" Hearing the soft and tender voice, he quickly stuck his butt out and climbed up from the bed. Looking at Ruili being held by Zhang Fangyuan, his tears were held back. He stretched out his arms to his father from a distance: "Hold me."
Ruijin would only ask to be held when he saw his father, because only his father could hold a round, short winter melon on one side and a solid, big winter melon on the other. If it was his little father, it would be a bit difficult.
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