Chapter 27 Chapter 27 We All Believe in You
Their family didn't celebrate the Little New Year. Too many things had happened during this period, and the preparations for the New Year were very hasty. After all the time had passed, they remembered that the 21st was Huo Xiaobao's birthday.
If they hadn't made some money before the New Year and the money they got from the Huo family's land sale and division, their family might not even be able to have a decent New Year's Eve dinner.
On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Huo Xing and Miao Ying took Huo Xiaobao to the town to buy New Year's goods. Although their family did not have much money, it was the New Year after all, so they still had to have a sense of ritual.
The town next door is similar to their original town, and Huo Xing is very familiar with it because he used to sell the prey in the town after hunting. This place is much farther away from the county town than before, so if nothing unexpected happens, their food, clothing, housing and transportation will all be solved in this town.
Huo Xiaobao seldom went to town because he was still a child and certainly could not walk such a long distance. However, his grandmother and Li Hongying had no way to carry him from home to town, so when Huo Xiaobao was four years old, the most lively place he had been to was the big market in the neighboring village.
Huo Xiaobao was wearing a new set of clothes. The new clothes fit him perfectly. His grandmother and Li Hongying's craftsmanship was impeccable. However, Huo Xiaobao seemed to be bound by his hands and feet. He didn't even dare to take big steps.
Grandma shook her head and laughed, "This is what children do when they wear new clothes."
Miao Ying and Huo Xing took Huo Xiaobao out to buy New Year's goods, while Li Hongying and her grandmother were cleaning the house. They heard that the village teacher would write Spring Festival couplets at the entrance of the village, so they decided to go and take a look.
Huo Xiaobao was very excited along the way, even walking faster than the two adults. Miao Ying asked him to slow down, saying that he would not be able to walk anymore soon, so he slowed down, held Miao Ying's hand, and looked around.
By the second half, Huo Xiaobao could no longer walk, so Huo Xing picked him up and let him sit on his shoulders. Huo Xiaobao held his head, not daring to move.
"So tall, so tall." Huo Xiaobao hugged him and smiled happily.
Miao Ying walked behind them, also smiling. He didn't have as good luck as Huo Xiaobao when he was a child. If he were still as young as Huo Xiaobao now, he would also ride on Huo Xing's shoulders and breathe the air above.
Huo Xing seemed to have eyes on the back of his head: "You want it too?"
Miao Ying quickly shook his head and quickened his pace to catch up with them.
The town was not as prosperous as the county town, but it was still too busy for Huo Xiaobao to handle. As it was the end of the year, everyone came to buy New Year's goods and there were many people on the street. Huo Xing did not put Huo Xiaobao down. He held Huo Xiaobao's feet with one hand and Miao Ying's wrist with the other. There were too many people on the street and he was afraid that they would get separated.
There are actually not many things to buy, just some candied melons, dried fruits and the like. After all, we already have most of the dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner at home.
The villagers of Rongshu Village were very warm and welcoming. Knowing that they had just moved in and were short of food, they gave them a lot of food. Li Hongying thanked them from the bottom of her heart.
Last night they were still planning the dishes for the New Year's Eve dinner in a very ceremonial manner. Miao Ying stipulated that everyone must say one dish they want to eat, and they are not allowed to say anything.
Grandmother's request was the simplest. She wanted a dish of radish meatballs, the same ones that Miao Ying had made before. Miao Ying held her chin and thought that she could fry the meatballs when there were rapeseeds. She also wanted to add some tofu and minced meat to the radish meatballs for this year's New Year's Eve dinner, so that they would have an oily taste.
Huo Xiaobao said he wanted to eat egg custard.
Li Hongying hesitated for a while and said that it was okay to make dumplings with bread.
Finally it was Huo Xing's turn. Huo Xing wanted to say that he could answer any of them, but several pairs of eyes in the room were staring at him. His mind went blank and he finally remembered the first dish that Miao Ying cooked after coming to his house, the fish.
Miao Ying clasped his hands together and said, "May there be abundance every year. Now we have the menu for our New Year's Eve dinner."
Then several eyes fell on him again, and Huo Xing rarely took the initiative to speak: "What about you?"
Miao Ying chuckled, liking the feeling of being thought of by his family: "I have my own plans."
A shop selling sugar melons was crowded with people. Miao Ying looked at the crowd and asked Huo Xing and Huo Xiaobao to wait in a place with fewer people. Relying on his flexible body, he easily got to the front of the shop.
Huo Xiaobao on the side clapped his hands and said that his brother was so awesome.
This store does the best business during the Chinese New Year, so at this time, the sugar melons they sell are all packaged, and you only need to pay for a package.
The price was not too expensive, Miao Ying bought a pack and squeezed out of the crowd.
Huo Xing and Huo Xiaobao had been standing by the roadside waiting for him. After buying the candy, they had nothing else to buy, so they followed the crowd to the place where food was sold in the town.
There weren't many people here. Miao Ying was concerned about the injury on Huo Xing's arm, so he took Huo Xiaobao down from his shoulder.
The whole street was filled with fragrance. Huo Xiaobao looked at the haystacks passing by and swallowed his saliva. Miao Ying took out three copper coins and bought him a string.
As we walked along, we found that there were not many kinds of food sold on the roadside, all of which were meat buns, meat patties, wontons, noodles and the like. Miao Ying wanted to make countless snacks to make money, but he was stuck at the first step: no oil!
He turned his head to look at Huo Xing, and tiptoed to whisper in his ear: "When my rapeseed is ripe next year, we can also set up a stall here. The food I make is more delicious than what they make."
Huo Xing nodded: "Okay."
They went to the cloth shop again, and Miao Ying found that the handkerchiefs he had painted in the county town over there also appeared here, which made it impossible for him to make a fortune from this again.
There were a lot of people in the cloth shop, and Miao Ying and her friends didn't seem to be really here to buy cloth, so no one greeted them. After looking around, Miao Ying finally bought some wool yarn. There was a lot of needlework at home, and these things would be used up quickly. There would be nothing to do after the New Year, so she had to find something for them to do.
After buying the yarn, Miao Ying saw the bookstore in front of him and looked at Huo Xing: "Can I go buy some paper and pen?"
After planting the rapeseeds after the New Year, he also had to prepare for oil pressing, and he had to prepare a lot of tools. Although it would take at least a year for the rapeseeds to mature, it was not certain whether all these preparations could be completed in a year. Fortunately, before he traveled through time, he loved to watch a food program that recorded some ancient methods of oil pressing. He could still remember some of them now, and the rest he had to figure out on his own.
Huo Xing naturally agreed to his request. Miao Ying went in to ask and found out that paper and pens were so expensive. No wonder many families couldn't afford to go to school.
In the end, Miao Ying didn't buy paper and pen. The remaining money in his family was not enough for him to buy such luxurious things. He decided to go home and draw on the wooden board with charcoal. After all, he had to settle down after the new year, and it would be better to buy some land. Otherwise, it would be difficult to have seeds but no land.
"Huo Xing, we still have to buy land at the beginning of the new year." On the way back, Huo Xing carried the things they bought, a bag of sugar melons, some dried fruits, and Huo Xiaobao still had the string of candied haws in his hand. He only ate one on the way and said he would give it to his mother and grandmother when he got home.
Miao Ying took Huo Xiaobao by the hand and discussed things with Huo Xing. Now they were the ones who made the decisions in this family.
Huo Xing nodded. In fact, he had asked about this before the New Year. The land in Rongshu Village was not as good as that in Nankouba Village, so the price was not that expensive. The land in more remote locations was even cheaper, but even if it was cheaper, it was still a bit unaffordable for their family's current situation.
"The land here costs five taels per mu. The location is not very good and the terrain is not very flat." Huo Xing said, "If we want to buy it, we can barely afford two mu."
Two acres are not enough. They have to pay taxes after settling here, and the output of one acre is not enough, not to mention that Miao Ying will need to use the land to grow vegetable seeds later.
It’s still about money. Money is needed everywhere. Without money, you can’t move forward.
Huo Xing saw his frown, and the feeling of powerlessness surged in his heart again: "Don't worry, I will make money."
Miao Ying patted his arm and said, "It's okay. Let's find a way together. At worst, we can go back to my parents' house and borrow money."
Huo Xing choked again, wanting to change Miao Ying's habit of always going back to her parents' house to borrow money: "Big brother hasn't gotten married yet..."
Miao Yingxiao laughed: "He has to be less fat before he can get married."
Miao Dong is different from Miao Dahai. Miao Dahai is strong and has real muscles on his body, but Miao Dong is not like that. He gained weight because he was greedy and ate too much. He has to train his body to be like Miao Dahai or Huo Xing in order to marry a wife.
"No need to go back to your parents' home to borrow money." Huo Xing said again.
Miao Ying nodded perfunctorily: "I understand."
After returning home, Huo Xiaobao couldn't wait to share the candied haws with his grandmother and Li Hongying. They each ate one. Finally, Huo Xiaobao let Miao Ying and Huo Xing eat one each. There were four candied haws left in the last string.
He wanted to collect them and share them with his friends, but Miao Ying ignored him. He watched him finish his meal and then run out with the candied haws. Fortunately, there were still four left, otherwise he wouldn't know how to divide them.
After Huo Xiaobao changed his clothes and went out, they talked for a while at the dinner table, still talking about plans for the coming year.
"There are still fifteen or sixteen taels of silver left in the family. Five taels are reserved for us to apply for household registration, and the remaining ten taels are still used to buy land."
Grandmother nodded: "Yes, buy land, you must buy land." She was still bothered by Huo San selling the land. Land was the root of farmers like them. Only with land could they really have hope.
Li Hongying didn't say anything, but she obviously agreed. Needlework can only earn a few cents, but only with land can one have food to eat.
"Also, let's buy two acres of land. I want to use one acre to grow my own crops." Miao Ying stated his request hesitantly. "I might hear some gossip, but I hope you can trust me."
As soon as these words came out, Li Hongying and her grandmother's eyes showed more worry: "What's wrong?"
Miao Ying shook his head. "Some people might say I'm not doing my job properly." He smiled bitterly. "I don't care about that, but I hope you can trust me."
In just over a month, Grandma and Li Hongying had already changed their views on Miao Ying. Although they had doubts about what he said, they still chose to believe him.
Grandmother and Li Hongying nodded: "We all believe you."
Miao Ying smiled and said, "Thank you, mother. Thank you, grandmother."
Huo Xing also turned his head to look at him. Miao Ying's smile remained unchanged as he said to Huo Xing, "Of course, thank you too."
A faint smile appeared on Huo Xing's expressionless face.
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