Just a slight breeze can make it tremble.
In the evening, Zhu Ping'an stood in the desolate and remote yard, looking at the two dilapidated thatched houses that were trembling in the wind, unable to utter a word. It was really desolate and could not shelter him from the wind and sun.
"It's all my fault that you and your three mothers have been implicated." The father lying on the stretcher said self-reproachfully with a dejected look on his face.
Upon hearing this, mother Chen gently hit Zhu's father, with a smile on her face, "What are you talking about? We can be considered a blessing in disguise. Let me tell you, Zhu Shouyi, I have wanted to split the family business for a long time! If you hadn't injured your leg, I would have set off a string of firecrackers to celebrate today."
"I think this is great. It's very close to the river. I'll go catch two fish and make soup later." The eldest brother Zhu Pingchuan also stood up at this time, with an optimistic smile on his face.
"Okay, okay, this time I can eat fish meat when stewing the fish soup." Zhu Ping'an seemed to be infected by the optimism of his mother Chen and his elder brother. At this moment, he was also very happy like a child.
Listening to his wife and children's words, Zhu's father rarely smiled.
"Why are you grinning like an idiot? The doctor said your leg is not broken. Dachuan will catch some fish later. You should drink more fish soup so that you can get better soon and work hard for us three mothers!"
Although Chen's words were harsh, they made Zhu's father feel sweet inside.
Being close to the river, it is much easier to clean the yard. The family sweeps the yard and sprinkles water to remove dust before it gets completely dark...
The thatched hut was so comfortable at night. After dinner, Zhu Ping'an and his family lay in the thatched hut, looking forward to a better life in the future.
Mother Chen was talking excitedly about her belongings in a low voice, and the family listened quietly. "I saved more than three taels of silver in private money, and Zhuer's New Year's money is nearly one tael of silver. Zhuer and Dachuan got 120 coins for the first time they sold honeysuckle, and the two silver coins that the noble lady gave to Zhuer also weighed more than one tael. The honeysuckle that Dachuan picked last time sold for more than 270 coins, and my purse sold for 130 coins. You, a rotten piece of wood, also brought back hundreds of coins from your two trips to the town, and the bad guy compensated me with one tael of silver. Oh, by the way, I also made more than one tael of silver from making scraps of cloth for others... Tomorrow we will ask someone to help clean up this yard..."
The family still has about 9 taels of silver left, which is a huge sum of money for a farmer. Fortunately, Zhu Ping'an has helped the family generate a lot of income during this time he has been here, otherwise the family would have been struggling.
The next day, Chen didn't have to call for help, as someone came to help.
The third uncle and the third aunt, as well as the lazy and unruly fourth uncle, came too. Of course, the crow-mouthed fourth aunt was also there, and several of my father's good brothers also came to help. Not only did they come to help, but they also took things, food, clothes, and daily necessities. Even the fourth aunt secretly gave Chen more than a hundred yuan.
What happened in the Zhu family could not be hidden from everyone's eyes. Everyone knew the ins and outs of the matter and knew the tricks involved. The people in Xiahe Village all sympathized with Zhu Ping'an's family.
"I'm not saying anything bad about you, second sister-in-law, but why are you looking for someone else when you have so many of us? You might as well spend that money to buy some food for second brother to nourish his body." Little Fourth Aunt was still the same. She couldn't stop talking. She put straw into the stirred mud and chattered non-stop.
first
For the first time, Zhu Ping'an felt that the crow-mouthed Fourth Aunt was so cute.
With the help of many people, Zhu Ping'an's thatched house has been transformed. The adobe walls of the thatched house have been reinforced, and the thatch has been rebuilt. You can no longer see the baby's breath. The yard has also been rebuilt, and a mud wall as high as a person surrounds the yard, ensuring safety.
Thanks to these people, Zhu Ping'an's family only spent a little more than ten thousand taels of silver to clean up the yard, fill in some household items, and decorate this small home.
At noon, the head of the village also came and said that the village elders had decided to allocate the five acres of wasteland surrounding Zhu Ping'an's five acres of dry land to Zhu Ping'an's family. As long as they reclaimed the land in time, they could get a land deed according to the above policy.
Two acres of paddy fields, five acres of dry fields, and five acres of wasteland may seem like a lot, but in fact, based on the productivity of the Ming Dynasty, there was not much output. The output of five acres of dry fields was not as much as that of two acres of paddy fields, not to mention five acres of wasteland.
But no matter what, with these fields, Zhu Ping'an's family no longer has to worry about going hungry.
Mr. Zhu had a good physique and was a big, strong man. The injury he sustained this time looked bloody and scary, but it was actually just a superficial injury. Mr. Zhu only lay in bed for seven or eight days before he was able to get out of bed and walk.
Ten days later, Zhu's father was back to normal, as strong as a bull, which brought more laughter and joy to Zhu Ping'an's family.
There are so many fields in the family, especially the five acres of wasteland must be reclaimed in time, otherwise if the time is missed, the land deed cannot be obtained.
Zhu's father was in good health, Zhu Pingchuan was just a half-grown child, and although his mother Chen was a bit aggressive, she didn't have much strength. As for Zhu Ping'an, forget it, as he was not even as tall as his thigh.
The family discussed it and decided to buy a working ox. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty by Zhu Yuanzhang, a decree prohibiting the killing of working oxen for meat was issued, prohibiting the slaughter of working oxen for meat, and even punishing the death of working oxen, so the price of working oxen is not expensive now. The Zhu family spent less than three strings of money to buy a tall and strong black ox.
With the help of this big black bull, the Zhu family's five acres of wasteland were reclaimed in time, and the village head also helped to process the land deed in time.
Zhu's father and older brother would go into the mountains every now and then to catch rabbits and pheasants to supplement the family income. His mother, Chen, would mend purses day and night to make money. After attending elementary school, Zhu Ping'an felt that he should also contribute.
Just after finishing the plowing, the big black bull was left idle. In order to make full use of the big black bull and to fill in the income for his family, Zhu Pingan thought about it for several days and finally came up with a good idea.
"Will it work?" Mother Chen was very skeptical.
"It's unfortunate, but it doesn't matter. I'll give it a try." Zhu's father agreed to Zhu Ping'an's idea.
So, a few days later, the new thing spread all over the village. Of course, the fact that it spread so quickly was closely related to Zhu Ping'an giving 20 coins to 20 children to spread the news in all the villages.
Anyway, a few days later, Zhu's father drove a bullock cart on the road. The bullock cart was very strange, much longer and wider than ordinary bullock carts, with two rows of seats. This was a newly built wooden bullock cart by Zhu's father, made from trees cut from the mountains without spending any money. There was a bell hanging on the neck of the big black bull, and the bell rang when it moved, and the sound could be heard from far away.
"Shouyi, does it really only cost a penny to carry this ox cart to the town?" An elderly lady asked as the news had already been received by the people in the surrounding villages and it was still unconfirmed.
"Others only give one cent, but you have taken care of me since I was a child, so I dare not take your money." Zhu's father said with a smile.
"You little rascal, do you look down on me? I can still afford a penny. Your ox cart makes things convenient for us. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to get to town with my old arms and legs." The old lady got on the ox cart while scolding and laughing.
That's right, Zhu Ping'an transplanted the idea of modern buses into this era. It takes more than half an hour to get from the village to the town, and one hour is two hours, which can make people tired like a dog. If people can take a ox cart, which is much faster, more comfortable and labor-saving, and only costs a penny, they are still willing to pay for it.
After Zhu's father drove away on the ox cart, his mother Chen stood anxiously outside the door waiting. She remained anxious until Zhu's father came back in the evening.
Zhu's father drove the ox cart into the house and pulled Chen into the room like a thief.
"Oh, my sons are here!" Mother Chen blushed and spat at Zhu's father, thinking that Zhu's father was going to do something shameful.
Zhu's father also blushed, shook his head repeatedly, and pulled Chen into the room.
As soon as he entered the room, Zhu's father began to untie his belt.
Chen's face turned even redder when she saw this. She pinched Zhu's waist in anger and said angrily, "You bastard, I know you've been hurt and you've been feeling depressed. Tonight, I'll do what you want..."
When Chen said this, she suddenly stopped talking and then raised her voice, "Zhu Shouyi, you didn't go robbing, did you?!"
Zhu's father untied his belt because his arms were full of copper coins and the purse inside his sleeve was already full.
Father Zhu dumped all the copper coins on the bed and looked at Chen with excitement. "How could I rob people? This is what I earned from recruiting people in the town today!"
"Really?" Chen's eyes lit up with excitement.
Father Zhu nodded vigorously. "Today is the big market in town, so there are more people. I also made a few more trips. If it were any other day, I probably wouldn't have made so many trips."
Chen's eyes were full of gold flying around, and she began to count excitedly. It took her a long time to finish counting, and there were a total of 237 coins.
Transportation, especially monopoly transportation, is of course essential to making money. As the initiator, Zhu Pingan was not surprised by this.