After agreeing on the first matter, Jiang Yue's expression turned serious as she told the two that she was going to Huichuntang to sell medicine that day and, incidentally, to discuss a deal with Manager Zhao.
Medicinal herb cultivation!
The village chief remained silent for a long time after hearing this. In all his years, he had never heard of anyone growing medicinal herbs.
This thing is completely different from growing grains!
Grandpa Wu was also a little suspicious. His third son's wife had mentioned planting medicinal herbs. If he were asked to give up growing grains and start growing this unfamiliar stuff, he wouldn't dare!
"Mr. Jiang, how confident are you about this medicinal herb cultivation?"
The village chief wasn't old-fashioned. Although he couldn't guarantee he would help, he wanted to learn more and be more certain before spreading the message.
"About 70-80%, but my family doesn't have land. Otherwise, I could plant it first, and you would know when the harvest is in."
Jiang Yue replied that she was conservatively confident that Huichuntang would buy any number of plants she grew!
This is a sure-fire deal, but unfortunately she can't provide any strong evidence to prove it.
Upon hearing this, Old Master Wu recalled, "Yes, back then, my third son's wife made a scene about dividing the family property, wanting only money and not the land..."
"How about this, Jiang? The clan has three acres of land. I'll lend it to you for three months. If you can prove within those three months that you can successfully cultivate a batch of medicinal herbs, I'll have a way to help you encourage other villagers to voluntarily cultivate medicinal herbs and then sell them to you. What do you think?"
The village chief racked his brains and came up with this idea.
The clan owned three mu of land, which was cultivated by a family in the village who had no descendants. Not long ago, the family died, and the clan paid for a coffin, bought funeral clothes, and buried him.
According to clan rules, his land was given to the clan.
This land is above average quality; you can get a good harvest no matter what you plant.
Since no one in the village immediately offered to buy it, they decided to let Jiang's family try it out first.
“I can’t take advantage of the clan. How about this: after three months, I will sell the medicinal herbs grown on these three acres of land and give half of the proceeds to the clan!”
Jiang Yue had no intention of taking advantage of others and offered to share the payment.
This pleased the village chief greatly; it made his efforts to help the Jiang family, despite the pressure from his clansmen, worthwhile.
After both matters were settled, the meal came to an end.
After the meal, Jiang Yue arranged for Da Niu and Er Gou to each take one of the two elders home safely.
Of course, the remaining wine was divided into two portions, one for each of the two elders to take home and enjoy at their leisure.
That night, Jiang Yue slept in the same bed with her daughter. Cao'er was clearly very happy and couldn't stop asking:
"Mom, when are we moving back to Grandpa and Grandma's house?"
"We'll move in once your grandparents give us their reply."
"Hey, go to sleep now, we're going to dig for wild vegetables with Mom tomorrow."
"Okay, Mom."
........
Over here, when Grandpa Wu returned home, he reeked of alcohol. Old Mrs. Zhou complained while muttering to herself:
"Look how happy you are. You drank a few cups of cat pee and you can't even walk steadily. It's a good thing Er Gou took you home."
"Hehehe, I was in a good mood today and had a few extra drinks with Yongfa~"
Grandpa Wu sat on the edge of the bed soaking his feet, feeling extremely comfortable.
"Tell me, what tricks has the third son's wife up to this time?"
Seeing that her third son's wife had invited both the village chief and her husband, Old Zhou knew that they must be discussing something important.
“Nothing can be hidden from your eyes. The third son’s wife mentioned two things. One is building a house and asking Yongfa to help find people to do the work and supervise the construction. The other is that I made the decision and agreed that we would take care of the beams, cabinets, beds, tables and chairs for the new house.”
Grandpa Wu patiently explained to his wife that he agreed not only because Jiang had improved, but more importantly, for the sake of Da Niu and Er Gou's marriage prospects next year...
Old Mrs. Zhou understood this immediately and didn't press the matter further. She nodded, agreeing that it was the right thing to do.
"There's another matter. The third son's wife wants to grow medicinal herbs. After hearing this, Yongfa lent her three mu of land in the clan to grow them for three months. If they succeed, the clan will take half of the harvest."
As Grandpa Wu was talking, the water got cold, and he felt sleepy. He didn't want to soak his feet anymore, so he lifted his feet and started wiping the water droplets off.
"Growing medicinal herbs? She knows how to do that?"
Old Mrs. Zhou was taken aback when she heard this, not expecting that her third son's wife would have this skill.
"Whether it's true or not, I'm thinking of jumping on the bandwagon and giving it a try. Listen to me, we'll clear out a plot of land for ourselves, and then we'll ask my third son's wife for some seeds. If it really grows successfully, we'll benefit from her good fortune too!"
"But what if we fail to plant it? Wouldn't the land have been left barren for three months?"
"You old woman, long hair but short brains, don't you understand that fortune favors the bold?"
"Okay, okay, you're so smart~"
"By the way, my third son's wife is building a house, and they need to tear down their current house and rebuild the foundation. As her parents-in-law, we can't just let them sleep on the streets. I've decided to have them move back in for a while."
"Then tomorrow I'll get my eldest son's wife and my second son's wife to tidy up the room~"
"Yes, the third son's wife said she'll be providing food during this time; she won't take it from us for nothing. Tell the eldest son's family and the second son's family not to overthink it..."
"I know."
Before going to bed, the elderly couple discussed the matter for a while, but in the end, Mr. Wu fell asleep first and temporarily gave up.
This gave Old Zhou something to think about. She hadn't missed the fact that her third son's wife had recently made a fortune from honeysuckle and was living the high life.
Da Niu and Er Gou are about to get married, and Da Shi and Xiao Niu will be getting married soon too.
Alas, all year round, relying solely on the crops from the land, we can barely make ends meet.
If you want to save more money to find spouses for your children, you need to find some ways to make money!
Or perhaps she should sound out her third son's wife again; if she seems receptive, then she'll...
The old house was only so big, and the old couple didn't keep their voices down as they talked. The eldest Zhou and the youngest Zhou gathered in the main hall, lit oil lamps, and stayed up all night to make new clothes.
The two women vaguely caught what their parents-in-law said.
"Sister-in-law, you said your third sister-in-law is building a new house, does that mean she's really going to arrange marriages for Da Niu and Er Gou?"
As Xiao Zhou spoke, she threaded a needle with her fingers at an extremely fast pace.
She wasn't particularly jealous of her third brother's wife, but rather, she was thinking about Da Niu and Er Gou, who were a year younger than her daughter. Her third brother's wife was already thinking about arranging marriages for her sons, while she, as their mother, hadn't even saved enough for her daughter's dowry yet…
"How could this be false? Speaking of which, I'm reminded of my son, Da Shi. He's a year older than Da Niu and Er Gou. Sigh, it's time to discuss Da Shi's marriage with my parents..."
The eldest Zhou said with some melancholy that over the years, she and her husband had saved some money, but it was far from enough to rebuild a house.
I wonder if the girl's family will have any complaints about this when I propose marriage to Da Shi...
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