Chapter 296 Buying a Cow is Also an Investment
Mrs. Wu’s two daughters are Xiulan and Xiuhe.
The older sister is six years old and the younger sister is four years old. They are both lively and love to talk and laugh. It is obvious that their mother has raised them very well.
Gu Xixi bent down to catch the two jumping little birds and said with a smile, "Run slower, be careful not to fall!"
The little girls held Xixi on both sides and chattered non-stop.
"Lan'er has finished writing all the words Aunt Xixi asked her to write!"
"Aunt Xixi, look at He'er's new hair ornaments! Mommy made a few for you, too!"
"Auntie Xixi, our cow is back, and it's so big!"
"Auntie Xixi, can the cow understand what we say?"
…
Gu Xixi smiled and responded to one question here and another there. She was overwhelmed. It was really a sweet burden.
Until Madam Wu came to the rescue, "Okay, okay, you two little devils, please make way. The boss hasn't even seen the oxen yet, he's only looking at you two."
Gu Xixi smiled and said, "It's okay. Seeing them both so carefree makes me happy."
She took out two paper bags from her bag and handed them to the two little sisters.
I just bought some from the city, including maltose, crispy candies, and fruit rock candies, one portion for each person, without any bias.
"You two go eat some candy first. I'll go back and see how you two are doing with your homework."
The two little ones thanked him, took the candy, and ran away happily.
"Hey!" Mrs. Wu reached out to stop her daughter, feeling a bit helpless. "These two kids! I really spoiled them so much that they have no manners."
She turned to Gu Xixi and said, "They have enough food and warm clothes on the farm, and the boss teaches them to read and write. This is a good life that we could not have imagined in the past."
"Boss, please don't spend any more money to bring them snacks in the future."
Gu Xixi walked forward and said with a smile, "It's okay. Since Lan'er He'er called me aunt, I just bought some snacks. They are not worth much. Don't be polite to me."
Madam Wu lowered her head, looking moved, and secretly swore in her heart that she would do her best to work well so as not to let down such a good boss.
At the beginning, Gu Xixi hired Mrs. Wu mainly to take care of the greenhouse, watering the crops inside on a daily basis and regularly changing the charcoal stove for heating.
The fruits have been harvested since early winter, and the last crop was harvested two days ago. Chen Dafu and his wife also came to the farm to prepare for spring sowing.
Logically speaking, Mrs. Wu's work has been completed, and the farm is not short of manpower now.
But Gu Xixi still allowed the three of them to live here and had no intention of driving them away.
So Wu Niangzi plucked up her courage and took the initiative to tell Gu Xixi that she was strong and could do farm work. She also wanted to subcontract the land in the farm like Chen Dafu.
At that time, when Mrs. Wu said she wanted to claim three acres of land, Gu Xixi was still very surprised.
Because the workers she hired in Huachidu Village only had three to four acres of land each, and that was work for middle-aged men.
Madam Wu smiled and said, "It's just a hard labor job. Don't worry, sir. Although I'm a woman, my strength is no less than a man's!"
Mrs. Wu's confident smile infected Gu Xixi and made her admire this woman even more.
Abandoned by her husband's family, she had to raise two young daughters alone, but she was able to be self-reliant and survive on her own.
For a woman like this, Gu Xixi also wanted to do something for her.
So I thought of the win-win solution of buying oxen.
When Mrs. Wu heard this, she was very happy and increased the land she claimed from three acres to four acres.
For her, this was the first time she didn't rely on men and had her own foundation. She just wanted to work harder and earn more.
Planning for my own future and for my two daughters.
Seeing Gu Xixi coming over, Chen Dafu smiled and opened the cow's mouth to show her, "Boss, look at these teeth. They are in their prime. As long as they are well cared for and used normally, they can last at least ten years!"
Although Gu Xixi didn't know much about animal husbandry, she still came closer to take a look out of support.
"Really? In that case, I got a good deal by spending four kan on it."
"What? Four strings of money?" Chen Dafu exclaimed.
Mrs. Tao and Mrs. Wu also widened their eyes in disbelief.
During the Daye Dynasty, one thousand copper coins were equal to one Guan.
Oxen were the most valuable tools in ancient agricultural society. The imperial court did not allow the slaughter of oxen without reason, and the sale of oxen could be done through a contract signed by the government and payment could be made in installments.
At the beginning, Mu Nanzhao killed a mad cow in the village to protect Gu Xixi, and then he had to report it to the county government.
At present, the price of a working ox in the northwest ranges from six to seven strings of coins.
So the four thousand Wen that Gu Xixi spent was not a small amount, but it was still surprising that the price was so low.
Gu Xixi then explained, "I was lucky this time. A lady named Zhao helped introduce the seller to me."
"This cow was originally a cowboy born two years ago in the seller's hometown."
"It was sent to the northwest by water from the south with the same batch of mules and horses. It's the only one, and I didn't expect to make a lot of money from it."
"My price was right and I could pay it all at once, so they sold it to me."
Madam Wu exclaimed in admiration, "The boss is amazing, with such luck, vision, and courage."
"It's not worthwhile to buy this cow. Even if I don't need it, I can sell it right away. The profit will be huge."
Mrs. Tao asked with a smile, "The lady Zhao that the boss is talking about, isn't she the matchmaker Zhao?"
"It's her." Gu Xixi turned her head and looked, "Aunt knows her too?"
Tao and Chen Dafu looked at each other and smiled, saying, "More than knowing her, she was the one who arranged the marriage for my eldest daughter."
Gu Xixi smiled with interest, "Oh? That's really a coincidence."
“She has been matchmaking since she was young,” Tao said.
"Over the years, most of the marriages I have facilitated have received good reviews, so I have made many close friends."
"In our area, if there is any lady with the surname Zhao who is popular and well-connected, she is the only one."
Chen Dafu took great care of this working ox. While talking to the ox, he led it to live in the newly built cowshed.
Tao looked at her husband's back and sighed with a smile, "He loved these big animals when he was young, but it's a pity that he couldn't afford them."
"The boss bought him a cow to look after, but it fulfilled his wish."
Gu Xixi chuckled, "It can be seen that Uncle Chen is very happy."
Spring sowing was about to begin, and Mrs. Wu and Mrs. Tao had to go and sift the wheat seeds, so Gu Xixi walked towards the cottage alone.
In her spare time, she would teach Xiulan and Xiuhe to read.
I originally thought of sending the two little girls to the Kamimura School in Huachidu Village, but there was no place for them to stay, and it was obviously impossible for them to go to school over such a long distance.
Mrs. Wu had never thought of letting her daughters go to school.
But it's not her fault. First of all, few girls in the countryside are literate, and going to school is even more unrealistic.
Secondly, she was already exhausted from trying to survive and had no energy to think about anything else.
So Gu Xixi did not mention the matter of school to Mrs. Wu, but just did her best and took time to teach the children to read and write.
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