After some polite refusals, Lu Chuan finally accepted the 1,000 taels of silver.
After delivering the gifts, Aunt Zhang asked Lu Chuan and Xu Han to take the gifts back with them, since they lived far away and she wouldn't visit their home.
Aunt Zhang said, "Knowing you would come before the New Year, I prepared everything in advance. Since you came today, I'll just take it back with you."
Because they still had to go to Manxianglou, they didn't stay at the clinic for a meal. After exchanging pleasantries, Aunt Zhang knew that the two were in a hurry and didn't want to insist that they stay.
After buying the necessary plaster and other items, Lu Chuan took Xu Han to Manxianglou again.
When they arrived at Manxianglou, the old man who sold water chestnuts was already there, waiting for the two of them in the backyard!
Lu Chuan and Xu Han entered directly through the front door. Manager Li, upon seeing them, quickly welcomed them inside and said...
“An old man just came over to deliver water chestnuts, saying that you wanted them. I knew you would be here soon. Please sit down and have a cup of tea to rest. My father will be here shortly.”
"Let's go to the backyard and weigh the water chestnuts first, then we'll come back for tea later. Manager Li, you go ahead with your work," Lu Chuan said.
The two went to the backyard to weigh the item and paid the money. At that moment, Uncle Li arrived.
She also brought gifts for Lu Chuan and his companion. Xu Han gave the gifts to Uncle Li, chatted for a few minutes, and then said she had to leave.
"Uncle Li, we'll head back now. The weather looks bad; it would be troublesome if it snowed heavily," Lu Chuan said.
"Are you in such a hurry? Have lunch before you go back! It won't make a difference if you wait a little longer," Uncle Li advised.
"No need, we're all family here, there's no need for such formalities. We'll head back early today, and I'll come see you again another day when I have more time."
After saying goodbye to Uncle Li and Manager Li, the two headed straight for the city gate. Seeing that the sky was getting darker and darker, they decided it was best to hurry home.
"This trip was really risky. It would be troublesome if it snowed," Xu Han said as she walked.
"It's alright, it won't rain heavily for a while, it won't delay our journey home."
"Besides, the weather wasn't this bad when we came yesterday! If the weather were like today, we definitely wouldn't have come out. It looks like the heavy snow won't start before dark; it'll probably be at least past midnight!" Lu Chuan said.
"Oh! I thought it was about to end! Seeing how rushed you were, I thought I wouldn't make it home in time!"
"If I had stayed there for dinner, I might have had a few drinks and wasted time. I might not have been able to come back today! That's why I didn't stay for dinner."
"Okay! It's too cold, let's go back quickly!"
After arriving home, Lu Chuan went to feed the livestock, while Xu Han first tidied up the things in the yard and then went outside to fetch more firewood. The kitchen was also piled up with firewood so that there would be enough to burn if it snowed.
They also wrapped the firewood outside tightly with straw mats. Judging from the temperature, it must be snowing, not raining. If it's snowing, just cover it with straw mats so the snow won't wet the firewood inside. When the snow melts, remove the straw mats in advance so the firewood underneath will still be dry.
After everything was ready, Xu Han took out dinner from her spatial storage. After dinner, the two of them sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and began to calculate their income for the past year.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, there will be no further expenses or income before the Lunar New Year.
Xu Han took out all the silver and gold, which were sparkling and incredibly exciting. Especially the gold; she was so rich!
After nearly a year of hard work, the two of them saved up the supplies needed for the disaster year. Not only did they not spend all their savings, but they also made a lot of money!
At the beginning, the family only had 215 taels of silver, but now it has more than 7,800 taels of silver. It has to be said that this ginseng is really valuable.
If it weren't for the money from selling ginseng, the two of them wouldn't be living such a good life; they'd probably still be scavenging for food deep in the mountains!
However, selling ginseng is also very risky. Fortunately, Uncle Zhang helped us. But we can't sell ginseng in large quantities anymore, or people will be eyeing us.
As Lu Chuan counted the money, he said, "We definitely have enough money at home now! We've also stockpiled a lot of grain. Even after deducting the amount we eat this year, we still have several kilograms left. This is enough for us to eat until the end of the disaster year, and we'll be quite well-off. We won't have to be frugal with our food."
“Yes! We have enough cotton and cloth, but we can buy some more. We also have enough medicine. We might be a little short on vegetables and fruits, but we have enough meat,” Xu Han added.
“Vegetables are fine; we can plant them again next spring and summer. Water is very important though,” Lu Chuan said, frowning with concern.
"The water in the space is enough for our daily drinking, but it's definitely not enough for everyday use, so we can only rely on the water in the reservoir."
However, the water in the reservoir certainly won't last long; by the second half of the following year, the water supply will be very tight." Xu Han's face was also full of worry.
"Is there any space left inside to store some water?" Lu Chuan asked Xu Han.
"Sure, if we keep the stuff at home, we can also store some water. How about we store ice instead? The drought weather is very hot, and having ice will make things much better. We can also use the melted water, so it's a win-win situation."
"Alright, it's getting cold now, and ice can be frozen, so let's stock up on some ice!" Lu Chuan said as he put away the silver.
Having decided what to do next, the two stopped talking, put the silver away, washed up, and went to rest.
If it doesn't snow tomorrow, Lu Chuan will have to keep digging!
Xu Han also had many things to finish: stocking up on ice, cooking, making clothes, and dealing with lotus roots!
A whole host of things were waiting for them to handle! There was simply no time to think about anything else.
On the way back today, Lu Chuan told Xu Han about the Xu family's situation, including how the Xu family's youngest son had one leg completely crippled.
Because Grandma Xu's eldest grandson went to the gambling den again and had his finger chopped off, and in addition, a lot of the family's land was sold off, the family is now living in chaos every day.
The old lady of the Xu family has now simply given up and allowed her family members to run wild. The Xu family members have become like rats in the street, hated by everyone.
Xu Han was completely unmoved by these words and didn't take them to heart at all. She had so many things to do at home! She didn't have time to care about their family!
I've lost all interest in watching the spectacle; I'd rather just live my own life! That's better than anything else.
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