Chapter 74
She didn't care how Gu Chen muttered and cursed outside, nor did she care how Old Lady Gu slapped her thigh and cried. She was not Gu Daniu. If Gu Daniu ignored Gu Chen's crying, the villagers would inevitably ask about it.
But if Gu Xinxin ignored her, Grandma Gu didn't dare to go too far, for fear that Gu Xinxin would not even give her any delicious food in the future.
Corn porridge is corn porridge, it is much better than before when I was not full.
Gu Xinxin carefully removed the part of the sugarcane where the seedlings had sprouted, and then started to grow the seedlings. She needed to let the seedlings grow bigger, and then rolled the cut sugarcane in wood ash - this was to make the wound heal faster and prevent insects from biting it.
There are more than 500 seedlings in total.
The rest either did not sprout or had already rotted.
The Gu family has little land, only two acres, and these five hundred seedlings - not even one acre of land.
She asked her eldest cousin to help plant the seedlings, and the rest of the land was used to plant wheat.
With the help of Gu Daniu, the task of reclaiming the wasteland was quickly completed. The weather had turned cold after the autumn harvest and there was not much work to do in the fields. Now that they could make some money by reclaiming the wasteland, the people in the village were very happy.
Even if you only earn a few hundred copper coins, at the end of the year, buying some malt sugar for the children, a few pounds of meat for the family, and a set of clothes for your wife, wouldn't it be nice to celebrate the New Year happily? No one complains about the lack of money. You have a place to work, you are close to home, and you even have a meal provided. This is already a good thing.
Gu Xinxin was watching the production of spicy noodles in the workshop when Wang Daya pulled her over and said, "Your stepmother has been saying bad things about you in the village these past few days."
Unfortunately, Wang Daya's mother happened to be nearby. She saw it and said something to Wang Daya.
Gu Xinxin was curious: "What did you say about me?"
"They say you're stingy. You've made so much money, your family has enough to reclaim land, and yet you only feed her and your grandmother corn porridge all day long." Wang Daya said that corn porridge is not tasty and makes your throat sore. Of course, it's very filling and drought-resistant, so it's considered a very good crop.
Gu Xinxin's mouth twitched, and Wang Daya continued, "Just let your stepmother drink it alone. Your grandma...you should let her eat something good. Otherwise, the villagers will talk about you and it will be difficult for you to get married in the future."
Gu Xinxin looked at Wang Daya and asked, "Are you engaged?"
Wang Daya shook her head: "It hasn't been decided yet. The matchmaker came to my house, but my mother didn't agree. She wanted to keep me for two more years."
Gu Xinxin pursed her lips. She guessed that Wang Daya's mother was reluctant to let her work, which paid several hundred copper coins a month. Wang Daya was getting married, and Gu Xinxin definitely didn't want her daughter-in-law to work.
But she didn't say anything. She just smiled and said, "That's good too. Staying for two more years will make your body stronger, and it will be easier to give birth when the time comes."
Wang Daya blushed immediately: "Why are you talking like the older generation? Besides, aren't you ashamed..."
She paused and asked, "Whose name is written on the few acres of land your family reclaimed?"
"Xiangrong's." Gu Xinxin smiled. Initially, Gu Daniu wanted to write his own name, but Gu Xinxin refused. Later, she gave Gu Daniu three taels of silver, which she considered buying peace of mind. After all, three taels of silver was not enough to buy land. Then, Gu Daniu took a step back and registered the entire thirty acres of land under Gu Xiangrong's name.
This matter has not been made public yet, and Gu, Chen and others don’t know about it yet.
Wang Daya said, "What a pity..." It was clearly Gu Xinxin who earned the money, and she was the one who spent money to hire people to open up the wasteland.
Gu Xinxin waved her hand: "It's okay. Isn't the purpose of making money to spend it? Besides, when I was dying, it was Xiang Rong who sent me to the county clinic. This can be considered a life-saving favor."
It's a life-saving favor, a few acres of land is nothing.
It's a pity that there are no women in this era, otherwise, she would set this as her goal? After all, this is a feudal society. If she doesn't find something to do, she might be oppressed and depressed one day.
Marriage is not free, money is not free, and movement is not free. In this era, nothing is friendly to women.
Gu Xinxin just thought about it in her heart. If she said it, others would just think she was crazy.
Wang Daya chatted for a few words and then hurried back to work. Seeing that the spicy noodles were cooked very well, Gu Xinxin went home again. She learned accounting very well, and Accountant Li thought she was ready to become a master. Now the main teaching focus is on Gu Qiuhe.
When Gu Xinxin is free, she can come and listen. If she is not free, she can go and do her own thing. If she doesn’t understand something, she can come back and ask.
She is more capable of studying independently, but Gu Qiuhe is not.
As soon as Gu Chen saw her come back, she hurried to the kitchen. The door of Old Lady Gu's room was closed, with only the window open. She was sitting under the window. When she saw Gu Xinxin, she closed her eyes and began to mutter, "People are no longer welcomed when they get old..."
Gu Xinxin ignored her and followed Gu Chen to the kitchen. After a moment, she wrinkled her nose and said, "Where's the meat stew? Did you cook for yourself?"
She paused and said, "Next time I'll just deduct your money. Otherwise, if you just stay at this stove, what can't you eat?"
Gu Chen quickly apologized and said, "I didn't eat it. I just wanted to taste the saltiness."
Gu Xinxin snorted. How could a chef starve to death? That's the truth. He just sat by the stove, tasting the saltiness, taking a bite here and a bite there. There was no need to eat another meal at all.
She said to Gu Chen: "Tell your two nephews to behave themselves and stop trying to get close to me. Do you think I don't know what they're thinking? If you get close to me again, I won't be polite."
As he was talking, Gu Daniu came back: "Xinxin, bring me ten taels of silver."
Gu Xinxin came out of the kitchen: "What do you want the money for?"
"Go to the county government office to register. I've measured the land with the village chief today. It's thirty acres in total. I need to register at the government office and pay them a fee." Gu Daniu explained. Gu Xinxin guessed that it would cost about three or four taels of silver. But if Gu Daniu asked, she would give him money: "Don't spend it recklessly, drink less, and, as I told you before, no gambling."
Gambling ruined the whole family.
Although she wished Gu Daniu's legs were broken and his fingers cut off, the gamblers didn't care whether Gu Daniu and Gu Xinxin were close. If Gu Daniu signed a document, they might be able to take Gu Xinxin away. Therefore, it was still necessary to warn in advance.
Gu Daniu frowned: "You are just a little kid, worrying about nothing. If I were to gamble... could I wait until today?"
You never know. Before, he had no money and was only thinking about making money to support his family. Now that he has money in his hands, he would think about playing a few rounds, and then he got addicted to it.
Isn’t this the case for many gamblers?
Before playing, I always felt that I could control myself, but once I got addicted, I was only focused on making money and getting my money back, so how could I think of stopping?
Gu Xinxin went to get some silver for Gu Daniu, who turned and walked out: "If you don't come back for lunch, please have dinner in the county town and leave the door open for dinner."
Gu Chen chased after him and asked, "Did you come back to buy three feet of cloth? I want the pink one to make a new dress for Qiu He. She's grown taller and can't wear her old clothes anymore."
Gu Daniu said impatiently: "You can go to town to buy it. I'm here to do some serious business, not to have fun in the county town."
Besides, it’s cheaper in town.
Gu Chen watched him walk away and slapped her thigh in anger: "It's just a matter of two steps!"
Turning around and seeing Gu Xinxin, he hesitated for a moment, then walked over: "Xinxin, how about we go to town this afternoon? Look at Qiuhe's clothes... The weather is getting cold, don't you want to buy some new clothes too?"
If Gu Xinxin wants to go, then she should pay for it, right?
Gu Xinxin paused and nodded: "Okay, let's go together after dinner. Everyone in the family will have a share."
Mrs. Gu immediately leaned against the window and asked, "I must have it, right? I've been wearing that dress for more than ten years."
Gu Xinxin nodded: "Yes, two sets of autumn clothes for each person, and a cotton-padded jacket. Mr. Li, don't rush to leave after lunch. It's a good opportunity to buy your clothes today as well."
As we agreed before, there will be clothes for all seasons.
Mr. Li pondered for a moment and asked, "I still have clothes to wear. How about the money for buying clothes..."
Before Mr. Li could finish, Gu Xinxin said with a smile, "I was negligent. Besides, it would be difficult for Mr. Li to go with us women when we go shopping for clothes. How about this? I'll give the money to Mr. Li. When he's free later, it would be more convenient for him to go shopping on his own. What do you think?"
It's embarrassing to make others say that, so it's better to do something good.
Mr. Li's momentary discomfort immediately disappeared, and his expression relaxed a little: "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Miss Gu."
Gu Xinxin waved her hand, went into the house to get the silver, and gave him two taels: "Please trouble Mr. Li to go there yourself."
Because they needed to buy clothes, they had lunch earlier today. After lunch, they drove the oxcart to town, first sending Mr. Li home, and then the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren went to the cloth shop.
As soon as he entered the door, Gu Xinxin said, "This indigo blue color needs four sets of autumn wear and two sets of cotton-padded jackets."
Indigo is stain-resistant and best suited for boys: "Also, it should be roomy inside, as boys grow faster."
The shopkeeper quickly asked, "How tall are you?"
Gu Xinxin gestured: "One is as tall as me, and the other is a head shorter than me." Gu Xiangrong is the same height as Gu Xinxin. Although he is four years younger than Gu Xinxin, boys of this age are tall and thin.
Then there's the cotton jacket, which should also be made slightly longer, but not too wide, as that would let the wind in. A cotton jacket is considered a set with cotton trousers, and cotton is quite expensive, so making a whole set would cost half a tael of silver.
As for Gu Daniu, just buy the black one. He goes up and down the mountain anyway, so he needs to wear something that is more resistant to dirt.
After the men had finished choosing, it was time for the women to choose their own. Gu Xinxin waved her hand, "Each of you can look around. Each person's clothes should be priced at one or two taels of silver. If they are too expensive, buy two less. If they are too cheap, buy one more. Anyway, I won't leave any extra for you, and I won't make up for any less."
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