"Today I have a big announcement to make, something that concerns your purses, so listen carefully."
Upon hearing anything related to money, the villagers became even more attentive, and everyone perked up their ears.
“Mulberry trees were found at the foot of Cang’er Mountain, and they are now laden with mulberries. Now every household can take a basket to pick mulberries and sell them in the county. But I have a few points to note, which I will post on this tree in a moment. Everyone come and take a look.”
"Any household that doesn't follow my instructions will have their right to sell mulberries revoked. Xiaohe, write down all the details you need to pay attention to, and I'll announce them to everyone later."
Zhao Xiaohe held the paper and pen he had borrowed from He Tiantian's house in a very serious manner, and crawled on the ground to write earnestly.
"Hey, village head, you know perfectly well that not a single person in our village can read, so why bother posting any notices? You could have just said it once."
"That's right, it's such a waste of time."
Zhao Tingzhang was so angry that his mustache twitched. "Shut up! I had Xiaohe write down all the details to tell you how serious this is. If anyone doesn't comply, don't blame me for turning against you."
Zhao Tingzhang's words made everyone realize the seriousness of the matter.
“But village head, isn’t Cang’er Mountain supposed to be very dangerous? Nobody from our village goes there.”
"Isn't that the mulberry that poisoned Zhao Ming's kid a few years ago? I still remember that you can't eat that fruit! It can kill you."
Gradually, people in the crowd began to raise questions.
At this moment, Zhao Ming also stepped forward with his son, and asked with some worry, "Yes, Chief, my son was almost poisoned to death that year. If he hadn't survived by sheer luck, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
No one in the village understood why the village headman was ordering them to pick fruit and sell it in the county town, especially given the numerous rules and regulations they had to follow.
Zhao Tingzhang snorted coldly, "Zhao Ming, your Zhao Shuzi ate too much fruit back then, without even washing it. No wonder he got diarrhea."
"Since I say so, it proves that the fruit is edible. If you believe me, go and pick the fruit yourselves. You can keep whatever price you make. The more capable you are, the more you should do." Zhao Tingzhang continued for a few more minutes, then told Zhao Dahai to prepare baskets so that his family could go pick mulberries early the next morning.
He Tiantian and Sister-in-law Yulan sold goods for two days in a row and made some money. So they decided to rest for a day before making further plans.
The work in the fields will be basically finished in one day, so we can't expect Sister Liu to come and cook for them again.
Besides, isn't the head of the village busy picking and selling mulberries right now?
The next day, He Tiantian stayed home and took the time to water the tomato and cucumber seedlings behind the house. Watering is essential for vegetables to grow well.
The tomato and cucumber seedlings in the vegetable garden are growing very well, and some even have flower buds.
Yulan's sister-in-law was busy in the house, stewing the meat and vegetables she had bought in the county the day before.
The entire Changfeng Village was quiet at the moment, because almost everyone in the village had gone to Cang'er Mountain to pick mulberries. Even old people like Granny Wang had gone.
The mulberry tree is connected to He Tiantian's bean seedling field. The four children have been so busy all morning that they haven't had time to weed.
Because there were so many people, they were afraid that some villagers might accidentally trample on the bean seedlings.
Some children, especially those who like to play with Zhao Ergou, are the most annoying. They deliberately walk through their bean sprout patch, saying that it's the shortest route.
This infuriated Zhao Denglong and Zhao Wanzi, who wished they could go up and fight them.
Moreover, Zhao Erhua and Zhao Xiaocao also came, but the two were being watched over by the adults. In front of so many people, they didn't dare to cause trouble.
A while ago, Liu was thinking about starting a small business, but a few days later the head of the pavilion announced that she would be selling mulberries.
She was very concerned about this matter, and woke up Big Dog and Little Dog before dawn.
The three of them carried a total of three baskets. Zhao Dagou and Liu Shi were extremely serious about this matter, while Zhao Ergou looked drowsy and lost in thought.
Liu punched Zhao Ergou in dissatisfaction, "You act like you're going to die whenever I ask you to work. What were you doing last night? Didn't you sleep?"
Zhao Ergou was woken up by Liu Shi's punch, and nodded with a mournful face, "Mother, I will work hard."
When we arrived at the foot of Cang'er Mountain, many villagers had already arrived.
Liu saw Sun picking mulberries with a basket in her hand from afar, so she quickly ran up to Sun and greeted her, "Why are you here so early? Have you tried these? Are they good?"
Mrs. Sun nodded quickly, "It's delicious. I just ate a few. They're sweet."
Liu picked a few and tasted them; they were indeed delicious. She immediately felt confident about selling mulberries in the county town.
The two picked fruit under a tree, chatting as they did so.
Liu glanced at Sun's belly and asked, "What's wrong? Is there any movement in your belly yet?"
Sun nodded sadly. Although pregnancy is a joyous occasion, she didn't know why she couldn't feel happy at all this time.
"Oh dear, I just got back not long ago and didn't even know about this. You... you can't tell at all, it's been several months." Madam Liu seemed quite happy.
"It's been four months already, sigh... If it's another girl, we definitely can't afford to raise her. My mother-in-law even said that if it's a girl, she'll throw her into the mountains to be fed to the wolves." Although Sun Shi couldn't bear it, she had no other choice.
With so many mouths to feed at home, the first thing we do every day is eat.
Da Hong is gone, and Xiao Lü and Xiao Lan are almost of marriageable age.
The old women in the family have already started looking for suitable husbands for Xiao Lü and Xiao Lan, wishing they could marry them off as soon as they reach a certain age.
Madam Sun also felt that it was truly impossible for the family to be without a son. Otherwise, once her daughters were all married, wouldn't she be left without any children by her side?
“I think this baby looks like a boy. Do you feel anything is different about this baby compared to the previous ones?” Liu picked a few mulberries and carefully placed them in the basket.
With this reminder, Mrs. Sun really started to think back seriously.
"Hmm... now that you mention it, this pregnancy has really been tough for me. I didn't feel anything when I was four, and I only found out after four months. This time, I started vomiting terribly when I was two months pregnant," Ms. Sun recalled.
Liu's eyes lit up. "That's definitely a boy. I was like that when I was pregnant with Da Gou and Er Gou. I was so nauseous I couldn't eat anything."
"real?"
"How could it be fake!"
The villagers were busy picking mulberries, while Zhao, the village head, was patrolling back and forth to prevent careless people from damaging the mulberry trees while picking the fruit.
Maruko's mother said that this tree must not be destroyed, as it will be of great use in the future!
After picking the mulberries, they had to rush to the county to sell them, but there were too many people for the oxcart to carry. In the end, seven or eight women squeezed in.
Some people who couldn't go themselves entrusted these women to help them sell the goods, while others with good stamina walked to the county on their own.
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