Chapter 143 Who said it’s hard to find silver in the soil?
Xu Wenxiu subconsciously looked at Sang Zhixia, wanting her to persuade him, but the old man said, "I know where he's going, and it's all in good condition. He can go if he wants to. It won't be a problem."
"But...but if Yu'er leaves, all the heavy work at home will fall on his uncle and Xia Xia."
Xu Wenxiu smiled bitterly and hesitated, "The family has bought a lot of farmland, and with the arrival of spring, the work is getting unstoppable. If he leaves now, wouldn't it be too difficult for his uncle and Xia Xia?"
The sisters-in-law could help in the fields, but most of the time, they had to do embroidery at home, otherwise they would not be able to deliver the promised goods to the embroidery shop, which would mean that their source of money would be cut off.
No matter from which angle you look at it, it is not a good idea for Xu Yu to go out at this time.
Xu Wenxiu wanted to persuade him again, but Sang Zhixia swallowed the food in her mouth and said, "Mother-in-law, it's okay."
"Why is he detained at home?"
"But……"
"There's a lot of work to do in the fields, but can't we hire people? I asked around a few days ago, and if it's not the busy farming season, hiring people to help out in the fields is only five cents a day. It's something we can afford."
Xu Wenxiu opened her mouth, hesitant to speak, but the old man made the final decision: "Xia girl is right. We can handle the family affairs ourselves. Why would we detain him at home for no reason?"
"That's settled, no need to say more."
With the old man's final decision, Xu Yu's departure date was set for the next day.
The old lady, who remained silent throughout the whole process, swept her unclear gaze across Xu Yu's face, and a flash of gloom passed in her eyes.
Xu Wenxiu was really worried. She pulled Xu Yu aside and gave him instructions. Even when her mouth was dry, she still whispered a reminder: "You're not going out this time and there's no one to watch you. Don't act like you did a few years ago. Do you understand?"
"You are a married man now, and your wife is still at home doing her best for you. You can't go out and hang out with those unworthy people, nor can you flirt with other women and make Xia Xia unhappy. Remember?"
It’s not her fault that she doesn’t trust her son. The main reason is that she has been in the inner house for many years and her channels for obtaining information are really limited.
Xu Yu looked very presentable after getting married, but what if he went out and was dazzled by the flowers and plants, and fell back into his old habits from many years ago?
Xu Wenxiu thought of his notorious reputation for dissolute behavior and felt a pang of discontent. She couldn't help but complain, "You're such a jerk, kid! Your father is a man of self-discipline and respect for the rites. He never does anything that would offend others."
"You're such a good person! You're so young, yet you're covered in dirt. Flowers everywhere are throwing their powder all over you, and you're grabbing everything that's dirty and smelly into your hands."
"Xia Xia is a good child, and I haven't done anything wrong to you. Don't forget the Xu family's rules. If you break any taboos, don't blame me for punishing you!"
The Xu family rules stipulate that a man cannot take a concubine if he is not yet 40 and has no children.
Therefore, even though Uncle Xu, who was a playboy, only had one wife at home, he did not dare to mention the nonsense of divorcing her even after such a mess.
If this rule was broken by Xu Yu, Xu Wenxiu would not be able to face her husband even after her death!
Xu Yu hadn't expected her to think this far. He was stunned for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Mom, who do you think I am?"
Xu Wenxiu glared: "Weren't you like this before you got married?"
Fortunately, he married a good woman and was able to keep his family under control.
The more Xu Wenxiu thought about it, the more she felt sorry for Sang Zhixia. Unable to bear it any longer, she twisted Xu Yu's arm.
"Okay, go have a good talk with Xia Xia. Remember what I said, don't make her angry, or I'll expose your skin!"
Xu Yu repeatedly begged for mercy and promised that he would never do anything wrong. After barely gaining Xu Wenxiu's trust, he was about to leave. When he reached the door, he suddenly turned around and said, "Mom, please help me look after Zhizhi while I'm not home."
"Nonsense? She's my daughter-in-law. Can I let her suffer?"
Xu Yu chuckled softly and walked out.
In the west shed, Sang Zhixia had waited for too long and fell asleep.
Next to her was the bag she had packed for Xu Yu.
Xu Yu walked over quietly, opened it and took a look. He found several silver notes worth one hundred taels among the folded thin or thick clothes.
Five hundred taels.
This was not much for the prince who used to spend money like water, but it was indeed a lot for Sang Zhixia's small treasury which only had outflows and no inflows.
Xu Yu smiled silently, took out the banknotes and the Dongzhu that Sang Zhixia had given him before, put them together with the jade buckle that he never took off, and put them into a small box along with an envelope.
He put the small box under the cabinet that Sang Zhixia rarely touched, and didn't put anything on himself.
Sang Zhixia's eyes trembled when she heard the rustling noise. She rubbed her eyes and said vaguely, "Are you back?"
"Uh-huh."
Xu Yu quickly put away his things, walked over and pushed Sang Zhixia, who was about to sit up, back into the quilt. He then used his hands to hold the person who was trying to break free tightly through the quilt.
He tilted his head and gently kissed Sang Zhixia's earlobe, saying softly, "Be good, go to sleep."
Sang Zhixia vaguely remembered that she hadn't said anything else, but before she could think clearly, sleepiness came over her and her eyelids drooped heavily.
Xu Yu's hand gently patted her back through the quilt, and when he saw that she had fallen asleep again like coaxing a child, he lowered his head and placed a kiss on her forehead as soft as a drop of water.
"Zhizhi..."
My branches...
Sang Zhixia tossed and turned for many days, and slept soundly last night.
When she got up, the bag she had packed for Xu Yu was gone.
She stared at the room, which seemed to be operating normally but inexplicably felt emptier, for a full moment before she realized belatedly that Xu Yu had left.
This person doesn't seem to be a big deal when he's at home, but he even starts to cause trouble when it's time to go to bed, which is quite annoying. He talks a lot and does a lot of restless and clingy things, clinging to you like an octopus.
But when I suddenly went out, I saw that everything was empty.
Sang Zhixia couldn't figure out where the emptiness and confusion in her heart came from. She jumped up and put on her clothes, then she remembered that no one had given her hot water to wash today.
Since Xu Yu was not at home, no one would take care of her trivial matters.
She had to do it herself before Xu Yu came back.
Sang Zhixia stood there in silence for a while, rubbed her face hard, opened the door and the cold wind blew in her face, and she instantly became much more awake.
Perhaps in order not to affect her mood, no one in the family mentioned Xu Yu. Even the little ones were careful to avoid mentioning him, for fear of saying something wrong and making her unhappy.
But their worries were obviously unnecessary.
Sang Zhixia was in a daze for two days at first, but then she was faced with endless work and she couldn't spare any time to think about anything else.
Uncle Xu stood on the ridge, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Seeing Sang Zhixia coming over after giving instructions to someone, he sighed, "Niece-in-law, this time our family has really made a big scene."
"Look around and ask around. In the villages within this hundred or eighty miles, is there any farmer's family like ours who hired dozens of extra people just to farm the land and even rented three cows for the plough?"
Sang Zhixia smiled but said nothing.
Uncle Xu smacked his lips in surprise: "Is it really worthwhile to hire such old people to open up the wasteland?"
A little to the west of Luobei Village, there are large tracts of ownerless wasteland that have been left empty and turned into wilderness, with years of messy trees and overgrown weeds crisscrossing the land.
Perhaps the village chief saw that the Xu family was too enthusiastic about farming, so he simply gave an extra suggestion: if you don’t mind the trouble, then go and reclaim the land!
There are plenty of wastelands. To reclaim the wasteland, one only needs to go to the government to sign a deed and pay a tax of one or two taels of silver per acre. The reclaimed wasteland will become the Xu family's land in the future.
Reclaiming new land is a troublesome thing. Not only does it take time, but it also costs a lot of money. Not many people are willing to take the effort.
But Sang Zhixia is willing.
What's wrong with the location?
So what if it's troublesome?
The large piece of wasteland over there has been cleaned up, covering an area of no less than a hundred acres. She wants to clean it all up at once to lay the foundation for next year's granary.
Who says it’s hard to find silver in the soil?
As long as you dig well, anything is possible.
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