Chapter 72 Harvesting Vegetables
"I need to take a look first. If it's similar to what you have in your house, then I'll definitely buy it." Song Yushu didn't expect that other people had also grown it. She had originally thought about growing some vegetables in the winter, but she thought it would be too much work, so she didn't. She was lucky to be able to buy it now.
The other households were not as well-off as the Wang family, and they didn't grow many vegetables in their houses, but they were all growing well, and Song Yushu harvested them all.
After Xiong Erni brought the money over, she settled their bill for the food on the spot.
Vegetable prices are high in winter, and the Wang family's daughter-in-law made ten taels of silver just from selling vegetables, while the others also earned two or three taels of silver each.
This is much better than the villagers who only earned a few dozen coins after selling a lot of cabbages. The women with kang beds at home began to enthusiastically ask the young wives about the process of growing vegetables, while those without kang beds were also planning to grit their teeth and borrow money to build one for their homes.
These households suddenly became the most watched families in the village. They didn't hold back much, since as long as they were careful, someone could grow the vegetables even if they didn't tell them. So they simply told them the points to pay attention to when growing vegetables, which would also do them a favor.
The village head was overjoyed to see such a scene. It seemed that not only would no one freeze to death in the village this year, but the villagers would also make a fortune.
"Pah! You shameless little bitch, you've only been married for a short time and you already dare to give me attitude!" Xu Shi left the Wang family's house, cursing all the way, carrying the basket containing two cabbages.
"Never mind her. You've only been married into the family for a short time, so you probably don't know yet. This Xu woman got her comeuppance for being greedy for money! She broke her contract with Madam Wei for the money, but in the blink of an eye, Taixing Restaurant got a better source of goods and found ways to find fault with her, forcing her to return the money. She didn't get anything in return!"
"Wei Yuan and Wei Xiaohu aren't even married yet! It's all her fault! Now she's brought over two cabbages and is acting all high and mighty. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were begging her to teach you how to grow vegetables!"
The women revealed all the despicable things Xu had done, and Wang's wife understood the situation and resolved to stay away from Xu from now on.
"Mother! Can't you just shut up for a second!" Wei Xiaohu felt extremely disgusted when he heard Xu Shi start cursing at Wang's wife as soon as she returned.
"What do you mean? I'm your mother, and you still want to side with outsiders. Did that vixen seduce you? I knew she wasn't a decent person, all she does is pretend all day long, bah!" Xu Shi, feeling disliked, became even more rude.
"Enough! Can you shut up? She just married into the village and you're already trying to smear her! You're just jealous because she's making money!"
Wei Xiaohu felt that Xu Shi, who was defaming people's reputations, was really outrageous. If that Wang family's daughter-in-law was incapable of earning money, then her mother's act of slandering people was no different from murder.
"How could you treat me like this! You didn't mention a word about the humiliation I suffered at the Wang family's house, but you defended her the moment I said a few words to her! I'm your own mother! I raised you two brothers with my own hands, and now one of you has grown up and doesn't even come home, while the other is helping outsiders against your own mother! God! I wish I were dead! You're all heartless bastards!"
Xu Shi collapsed to the ground and began to wail, repeating the same two sentences over and over. Wei Xiaohu felt sorry for her. They could have lived a better life. There had been families who wanted to arrange marriages with them before, but now that was all gone.
The girl who was interested in the eldest brother was rejected because his mother wanted to renege on the dowry. The eldest brother had saved up all the money over the years, but she had all the money in her hands. Even though he knelt outside the house all night, he couldn't get a single copper coin from his mother. The girl's family then married her off to the town. The eldest brother was heartbroken and left home.
Families who intended to be engaged to him backed out after learning about his mother's character. He didn't blame the family for making that decision, after all, they only wanted their daughter to have a good life. If she really married him, she would definitely be mistreated.
After crying and wailing for a long time, seeing that Wei Xiaohu didn't make a sound, she got up on her own, cursing and swearing as she went back into the house.
Song Yushu had a very fruitful trip. He not only brought back a cartload of Chinese cabbage, but also several baskets of fresh vegetables that he couldn't usually eat in winter. That evening, he cooked for his family to enjoy the fresh produce.
“These are for Master Xue and the others,” said Mother Wei, as she picked out some of the better ones and packed them into the food box.
Xue Huai'an politely accepted the food brought by Wei's mother. He had only been here for a few days, but he felt that he had eaten a little too much. Today, he even felt that his belt was a bit tight.
"Master Xue, please eat more. It's been so hard for you to spend time teaching Chengyu these past few days. We don't have much fresh food here in the dead of winter, but we were lucky enough to get some fresh vegetables today. Remember to eat them while they're hot!" Mother Wei warmly placed the food from the food box onto the table.
"The food at the restaurant has been very good these past few days, and Chengyu is a well-behaved child, so there's no need to be so polite," Xue Huai'an said. He was a little unaccustomed to Wei's mother's enthusiasm. He originally wanted to eat less, but he was afraid that if Wei's mother saw the leftovers, she would think that he didn't like the food here. He was in a dilemma.
After Wei's mother left, Xue Huai'an was shocked to realize that he had been thinking about wasting food because he cared about appearances. This was not a thought that a teacher should have.
After reflecting on his actions, he stopped wasting food and instead took a walk around the house to aid digestion after finishing his meal.
The father and daughter stayed at the farmhouse for twelve days. They originally decided to go back the next day because the snow outside was getting heavier, but before they left, Wei's mother asked them to stay for another day.
Song Yushu also felt it was a stroke of luck, as Wei's father happened to arrive at that moment to deliver two deer and a roe deer.
Therefore, on their last night, Xue Huai'an and Xue Qingyao stayed and had a meal of roasted venison before leaving.
Two days after the snow stopped, some guests arrived, and the remaining venison was quickly consumed, along with the vegetables that had been purchased at a high price.
Seeing that the vegetables grown in winter were indeed popular, Song Yushu went back to the village and signed an agreement with the villagers, promising to buy the vegetables at the agreed price as long as the quality was good.
Thanks to these fresh vegetables, more people came to Song Yushu's restaurant, and some wealthy families even sent their servants to fetch vegetables.
"Boss Wei! Give us a mutton hot pot!" People who don't usually like to go out in winter are now coming over to order a hot pot to change things up.
Song Yushu sliced the mutton, added a plate of vegetables and some unused condiments, and had it delivered.
The soup base in front of the guests was just boiling. As soon as the ingredients were served, the guests would pick up a plate of mutton, dip it into the fragrant soup, and put it in their mouths. They would finish the plate of mutton when they were sweating profusely. Then it would be the turn of the plate of neatly cut vegetables.
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