bookcurios Chapter 137 The goal is to save money and store food
Chapter 137 The goal is to save money and store food
The family members were all patting their stomachs at the end of the meal, which made Cheng Yue feel sad and wanted to laugh.
This is because you have been poor for a long time, and you are not used to spending money on food and drink even if you have it.
Cheng Yue said: "Dad, Mom, we are not short of money at home now, you should eat and drink as you please, don't treat yourself badly.
"Xiaojun is studying hard, and Xiaofeng is still growing, so at least he can have meat and eggs for every meal."
What did the two kids do just now? They wanted to bury their faces in the bowls and eat.
No one understands the word nutrition, so Cheng Yue could only say this.
Cheng Feng chuckled, "If it weren't for my aunt, our family would still only be able to eat coarse noodles. Now we can eat white flour cakes, and we are already very satisfied."
In the past, we could only eat grains that irritated our throats or watery brown rice. Now, we can eat white flour cakes, steamed buns, and white rice every two days. This is considered a good life.
Cheng Jun lowered his head in guilt, "If I hadn't studied, my family wouldn't be so poor..."
My grandparents made more money from selling pork than most other families. If they hadn't spent all the money on him, my family wouldn't have to suffer so much.
Wu groaned and said, "What are you talking about, kid? If your family wasn't so poor, you would have been hired a teacher a long time ago. It's your family that has delayed you."
If they were not so incompetent, the eldest grandson would have been successful long ago.
But now, life is getting better and better. There are some things I can think about. Not to mention Cheng Jun's studies, I can even arrange the marriages of my two grandsons.
Cheng Jun already felt guilty, and now after hearing what Wu said, he felt even worse. He was moved and distressed.
Everyone in the family revolves around him, and he owes his family a lot.
Cheng Yue spoke up at the right time, "Xiao Jun, we as a family don't talk about these things. Now everyone is paying for you, and you will be the support of the whole family in the future. This is mutual, so you don't have to feel indebted.
Even if we don’t talk about this, my family just wants you to do better. You have a talent for studying, so you should take this path. We are willing to make the sacrifice.”
After Cheng Yue's words, Cheng Jun no longer felt guilty. He suddenly realized what was the point of feeling guilty?
Instead of feeling guilty about your family’s efforts, you should study hard, strive to be good, and work hard to provide a shelter for your family!
"Aunt, I understand!"
There is no need to say anything else, and there is no need to make any promises now. He just needs to wait until he has the ability to achieve it and then do it.
Cheng Feng smiled foolishly and said, "Brother, don't think too much. It's okay even if you can't pass the exam. You can still go home. We two brothers can farm together, and it's also good to help in the shop!"
Studying was really too difficult. He would feel sleepy after just a few glances anyway. It would be more relaxing to look at the wheat in the fields. He didn't want to put too much pressure on his elder brother.
Cheng Jun smiled and agreed: "Okay!"
The others just smiled and said nothing. They naturally hoped that Cheng Jun could pass the imperial examination, but it didn't matter if he failed.
Just like Cheng Feng said, it's good to grow crops or open a shop. As long as the family is together and healthy, it's the best.
The family was talking and soon it was getting dark. Cheng's father and Mrs. Wu asked them to go home.
Before leaving, Wu thought of something else, "My girl, Mr. Chen San is really our benefactor. We have to go and thank him for the shop. How should we prepare the thank-you gift?"
A piece of information is worth so much money. People can choose not to tell them, but since they have told them, they have to repay the favor.
But they really don't understand the idea of gift-giving. Usually, the most the villagers give each other is a few eggs or a few copper coins.
Mr. Chen San is a man of status, and it would be unacceptable to send the wrong thing.
"I've already thought of a thank-you gift, don't worry."
Thank you Mr. Chen San, that is, thank you Madam Chen. Ordinary things are meaningless. It is better to make some food as a thank you gift.
It just so happened that she was about to open a pastry shop soon, and before that she wanted to try making pastries, so she made one for Mrs. Chen with all her heart.
Cheng Yue expressed her idea, and Wu and the others thought it was great, but they couldn't help with this matter. Liu insisted on leaving two taels of silver, saying it was a token of her own kindness.
It costs money to buy materials!
Cheng Yue did not refuse. She had to accept the money as a token of appreciation.
The family had nothing else to say, so they waved goodbye and left.
Cheng Yue originally wanted to send it there by ox cart, but no one agreed. And it wasn't on the way, so if they took the ox cart away, they wouldn't have time to send it back.
Chen An and his two daughters cleared away the dishes and the family went to bed early.
The next morning, just as Cheng Yue and his friends set up breakfast, a group of people came to the door.
It was none other than the family who had agreed to help them harvest wheat and farm the land.
After several days of rushing to harvest, there was only a little finishing work left in their respective homes, which was left to the women and children. The remaining strong laborers all came to Cheng Yue's house.
The visitors included Liu Chunlai, Zhang Dashan and his brothers, brothers and sisters from Aunt Zhou's family, Heidan from Aunt Li's family, Li Tieniu and Zhao Changxi.
There were three men that Cheng Yue was not familiar with. After they left, Chen An introduced them one by one.
In short, none of the people I usually get along well with were left out.
Zhao Shuanzi and Zhao Zhuzi also wanted to come, but Zhao Xiangxiu and her daughter were taking care of the chickens and ducks, and all the farm work depended on the two brothers, so they really couldn't leave.
The other one was Zhao Datou, who came up to say hello and said he would help with other things after Zhao Luoguo got better.
In addition to taking care of his father, Zhao Datou also has to work in the fields. He probably needs help with his family's land, let alone helping Cheng Yue.
Since there were so many people and they were all young and strong, the remaining wheat was harvested in less than half a day.
In the afternoon, everyone started helping to turn the soil. It took another day to plant all the corn seeds.
Cheng Yue was amazed by the speed.
After the farm work was finished, Cheng Yue paid the wages. It was all agreed upon at the beginning, and everyone happily went back to farm their own fields after receiving the money.
The wheat has been harvested, but has not yet been husked, and the villagers are queuing up to wait for the wheat to be threshed.
Cheng Yue couldn't wait. After she finished her busy work for the past two days, she would try making pastries. She couldn't waste all her time working in the fields.
So she found a few acquaintances to help her grind the wheat. It was just a matter of paying them some wages, and Cheng Yue could save herself the trouble by having others pay her. In one word, perfect!
After the wheat harvest, it is time to pay taxes. After paying 30% of the taxes, only 2,000 kilograms of grain are left.
Cheng Yue couldn't help but sigh. The grain production in ancient times was already low, and after paying all the taxes, it was no wonder that some people starved to death.
However, the head of the village said that he was very content even with this, after all, there were no exorbitant taxes. Otherwise, if he was born in a chaotic time, it would be really hard!
It is better to be a dog in prosperous times than a man in troubled times. Everyone understands this truth.
Cheng Yue couldn't help but feel fortunate. Even though she was wearing it, she was still very lucky. Her next focus would be to do business steadily and save money and store food!
In case the world becomes chaotic one day, survival may become a problem.