The children were immediately stumped, mainly because they didn't know how to come up with names, and besides, Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong sounded pretty good!
He Jiuniang thought for a moment, then said, "Black and red are their characteristics, so we can keep them and just add one more word after them."
The children immediately frowned and racked their brains, trying to figure out what to call it.
"I've got it! They run as fast as the wind. How's the wind, Mom?"
The dog looked at He Jiuniang with a smile, hoping to gain her approval.
"Black Wind..."
He Jiuniang thought for a moment and thought it was a good idea, so she said, "Then the black horse will be called Black Wind, and the red horse is a girl, so you should give it a gentler name."
"It's a girl!"
Little Tiger scratched his head. "No wonder it's red. It looks really good."
"Sister Lotus has a lovely name, how about we call her Red Flower?"
Lei Zi once again made a startling remark, and He Jiu Niang's face scrunched up. This child... how should I put it? He's... well, you know!
So she guided the children, saying, "That's a good question. Tell me, what kinds of flowers do you know?"
Lei Zi was the first to speak up: "Wildflowers, wildflowers!"
He Jiuniang: ...
To avoid damaging her child's self-confidence, He Jiuniang smiled and said, "That's right, that's right! Anything else?"
The dog raised its hand: "I know! Chrysanthemum!"
On the way to Jingzhou, He Jiuniang took the dog to pee and saw a clump of wild chrysanthemums. He Jiuniang then taught him some knowledge about flowers, and she was very pleased that he still remembered it.
"Cockscomb flower!"
Youya also raised her hand.
"Osmanthus fragrans!"
Even Ting, who is usually quiet, couldn't help but speak up.
He Jiuniang nodded with a smile: "You're all right. Do you know any other flowers?"
Lei Zi, not to be outdone, shouted: "Cauliflower!"
He Jiuniang's smile froze instantly. This child is really something!
She has given up struggling, thank you!
At this moment, Old Man Lu also came out. Hearing their discussion, he couldn't help but join in: "I went out to escort goods a while ago and I know that noble people really like orchids and peonies. You can see a lot of orchids on the mountain, and there are many varieties. But I have never seen peonies. I only know that they are flowers that symbolize wealth and are very precious!"
"Wow!" The children's eyes widened. "Peony, what a beautiful name!"
Youya then said, "Third Sister-in-law, how about we name her Ma'er Mudan?"
Red Peony.
It sounds a bit like the name of a top courtesan in a brothel, but it does sound quite nice, at least it's easier to match and easier to pronounce than the ones mentioned before.
He Jiuniang nodded and smiled, "Sure, then we'll call it Red Peony from now on, or you can call it Peony if you want!"
The children then gathered around the two horses, cheering and celebrating their cool and catchy names.
Seeing his children laughing so happily, Old Man Lu was in a good mood as well. He took the initiative to lead out the two horses and waved his hand, saying, "Come on, Grandpa will take you to graze the horses!"
A group of children ran off with Old Man Lu. He Jiu Niang smiled and went into the house to help everyone tidy up.
The Yu family members were talking: "Mother, we live here now, but we still don't have any land. The men are building houses, and we women can't help. I'm thinking of going to the nearby mountains first thing tomorrow morning to see if we can clear out a few plots of land. We still need to grow our own food."
Qin, Lu Guilan, and Shen immediately said, "Sister-in-law, we'll go with you!"
He Jiuniang stood at the door, feeling somewhat embarrassed; she certainly didn't want to go.
To ease the awkwardness, she said, "We can also take a look at the nearby barren mountains, but we still need to ask if any family in the village wants to sell their land. We can buy some to farm, otherwise, relying solely on that little bit of barren land on the mountains will definitely not be enough to support our whole family."
Everyone nodded, but then their faces fell. Lu Guilan said, "No normal family would be willing to sell their land, especially since there is so little farmland in Anping Village. Each family probably doesn't have much land. Even if we are willing to buy, they might not be willing to sell!"
“There will always be people willing to sell, such as those families with few members but a lot of land. Just ask around, I’ll take care of this.”
He Jiuniang patted her chest and assured them that although she had already asked the village chief to inquire, they couldn't just do nothing themselves. They had to find out the prices of land on the market first so as not to be cheated.
"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you, Third Sister-in-law!"
The sisters-in-law chatted and laughed, when Madam Sun reminded them, "Be careful not to get scammed."
She wasn't worried about anyone else, but she couldn't stop worrying about He Jiuniang, that big grudge who, relying on her money, didn't consider the price at all.
He Jiuniang found it amusing and nodded repeatedly, "I understand, don't worry!"
The family quickly tidied up the thatched hut to ensure they would sleep more comfortably that night. Yu was going to kill the chickens and fish to make soup so they would have something to eat that evening. As for Qin and the others, they wanted to go up the mountain to dig up wild vegetables so they could make soup for lunch later.
Sun doesn't need to worry about these things; everyone will find things to do on their own initiative.
He Jiuniang also wanted to go up the mountain to take a look. Everyone says that you live off the land, so she had to go and investigate the situation in the mountains to see what kind of business she could make. Otherwise, if they just relied on farming, when would this whole family ever get rich?
Just as they were about to go out, Lu Lao Er and a group of men returned. They had been sent by Lu Lao Tou to buy stones to build the foundation, but they came back empty-handed.
"What happened? Didn't you go to buy stones? Why did you come back empty-handed?"
Lu Lao Er sighed: "They're too expensive. The larger ones cost thirty coins a piece, and the smaller ones cost more than ten coins a piece. Broken ones cost ten coins a cartload. I don't think it's worth it, so I came back to ask everyone's opinion. Otherwise, we can just go up the mountain to quarry stones ourselves!"
This price is outrageously expensive. In the past, thirty coins could have bought at least five large stones.
Sun asked, "How could this be?"
"They say there are many refugees coming to Jingzhou to seek refuge, and the prices of all kinds of things have gone up, so the price of stones has also gone up."
"This is ridiculous! It's one thing for grain prices to rise, but why are stone sellers getting involved?"
Sun was so angry that she kept breathing heavily. Lu Guilan was worried that the old lady would get too upset, so she quickly patted her chest to help her catch her breath.
Lu Lao Er nodded: "That's what I was thinking too. Several of the older brothers in the village said there are a lot of rocks on the mountain, so why don't we go and mine them ourselves? It'll be a bit of a hassle, but it will save us a lot of money."
Qin said, "But wouldn't it be dangerous to mine it ourselves? That rock is huge, what if we get hurt..."
As she spoke, she held Lu Lao Er's hand with some concern, her eyes filled with worry.
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