Chapter 84 Let’s Go and Have a Look
Manbao became curious. Although she had never planted anything before, she had seen her brothers and sisters-in-law plant things many times. She knew that planting things was just about digging a hole and throwing the seeds in.
I never knew there were so many ways to deal with it.
Out of curiosity, Manbao spent his points to buy several books about planting from the Encyclopedia. Keke didn't expect to have such an unexpected gain, and was very happy. He also suggested to Manbao: "Host, you can ask your brothers to find the leftover seeds that were torn off before. As long as they are not rotten, they should be able to be used as seeds."
Manbao happily agreed.
Yams are not so easy to find. Apart from the twenty or so rhizomes and seeds that Zhou Erlang and his friends dug from the ground, Zhou Erlang did not find any more yams in the mountains.
Therefore, Manbao and the others attached great importance to the remaining tubers and seeds. Although she still wanted to eat yam, she resisted the urge.
Seeing her daughter drooling over a yam, Qian thought for a moment and said to little Qian, "Tell Erlang to go to the market tomorrow to buy a piece of meat. The third son will be serving soon, so he should have some nourishment. Everyone has been tired during this period."
Xiao Qian agreed.
The Bai family's house had been under construction for more than 20 days, and now had taken shape. However, Liu was very strict and even wanted carvings on some of the pillars. Special craftsmen were invited to do the work, so the pace was slower.
But being slow also has its advantages, because their wages are paid on a daily basis.
Zhou Dalang and Zhou Silang earned sixty cents a day.
Wages are settled every ten days, and so far they have received 1,200 coins.
Zhou Dalang only paid 60% of his money, but Zhou Silang handed over all of it to pay off his gambling debts.
Zhou Silang felt that he could make money much faster by working than by reclaiming wasteland, so he even rebelled against Manbao. He believed that reclaiming wasteland was useless, so he wanted to leave the land alone again.
In the end, she was ruthlessly suppressed by Manbao who had already planned it. Of course, she couldn't suppress her fourth brother, so she borrowed her father's power.
When Old Zhou heard that Old Fourth was doing things without paying attention to the details, he glared at him and said, "How long can you do this job? As soon as Old Lady Bai's house is completed, you must prepare the land for me."
Zhou Silang said weakly: "It's freezing cold..."
"It's freezing cold, and your third brother is still serving in the army. Can't you go out to the fields?"
Zhou Silang lowered his head and surrendered.
Manbao made faces at him with pride, and Zhou Silang felt that he was not clearing the land for himself, but for Manbao.
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang laughed secretly and drank two more bowls of water happily.
It was Manbao who came up with the idea of growing yam, and the two of them were the ones who took action. They had already looked forward to a good harvest next year.
If the fourth brother doesn't continue to reclaim the land, then the two brothers will have to do it themselves.
However, this money-making plan is ultimately for next year , and only after the autumn harvest next year. The group of children still feel that their candy business cannot be left behind. Zhou Wulang now goes to the county town every other day, and he has become a major sugar supplier for the Fu family.
Of course, he named it himself.
Because even if he went to the county town the next day, he only sold a hundred candies. After the initial novelty, the children of the Fu family and their relatives' children could not eat so many candies.
But Zhou Wulang was still somewhat proud to be the exclusive candy supplier to the county magistrate's family, so he gave himself this title.
Although they could only earn a hundred coins every other day, and the hundred coins had to be shared among the three siblings, they had accumulated a lot of money after a month.
Manbao was also responsible for the task of "buying candy" and had more money than his two older brothers.
But she spends a lot, buying some meat or a chicken every now and then.
Yes, she insisted on buying meat for her family, under the pretext of nourishing her mother's body.
Sometimes he would give money to Zhou Wulang and ask him to buy the chickens when he went to the county town; sometimes he would go to the village chief’s house and Zhou Hu’s house to stare at their chickens.
Then, as she watched, someone sold the chicken to her.
So she couldn't save any money and basically spent whatever she had.
The Zhou family has become accustomed to her behavior of buying meat every now and then, and they also know that they are secretly making money. Although they don't know what they do specifically to make money, they don't look like they are doing anything bad.
In addition, the Zhou family thought that all the money Manbao earned was exchanged for meat, so they turned a blind eye and let them have fun.
As a result, the Zhou family's living standards have improved a lot. Before, they might not be able to eat meat once a month or two, but now they can eat meat every three or two days.
Not only did the children's faces become more rosy, but Qian also looked more energetic.
Also because the benefits were obvious, and considering that some family members had gone out to work or to the mountains to chop wood recently, Qian was willing to use the public money to buy meat once.
After eating the meat, Zhou Sanlang packed his bag and went to serve.
This year, because Manbao had given advance notice, families in the village who were going to serve in the military made preparations earlier. Like the Zhou family, many families took care of the male soldiers before they went out to serve.
Everyone walked together carrying their bags, and it was quite spectacular.
Manbao and his friends were squatting in the bushes, watching them go away, and then they emerged from the bushes, "So Baimaquan Town is in that direction."
Bai Erlang looked down on her, "You don't even know Baimaguan Town, you're so stupid."
Manbao looked at him and asked, "Have you been to Baimaquan Town?"
Bai Jilang said proudly, "Of course, I often follow my father to collect rent."
Manbao: "Do you know the way?"
Bai Jilang shouted , "Of course I know him. I've been there several times."
"Then take us there."
Bai Erlang asked, "What are you doing in Baimaguan Town?"
Manbao: "We're going to see what it's like to serve in the army."
Bai Shanbao nodded, "We need to record it."
Bai Jilang was confused, "Why are you remembering this?"
Manbao and Bai Shanbao looked down on Bai Erlang's intelligence. They looked at him and sighed, "You won't understand even if I tell you. But we should still talk to you. The teacher said that there is no discrimination in education."
Bai Jilang: Don't think he can't hear that this is a bad thing.
Manbao and Bai Shanbao pulled Bai Erlang aside to tell him their plan. Manbao felt that the county magistrate was not .
But Mr. Zhuang said that this is a common phenomenon and not just in their county.
There were even some counties where the county magistrate was more strict or the county government was poorer, so there was not even a little dry food, and the workers had to rely on bringing their own food.
It is difficult to change this situation.
But Manbao still asked what methods ordinary people would use to change a certain phenomenon. Mr. Zhuang said that they could only become officials, work hard to become high-ranking officials, and then put forward their own political views.
Or, write famous articles and let knowledgeable people in the court read your articles, so that they can resonate with them and work hard to bring about change.
Being an official is too far away, and Manbao doesn't want to consider it, so she and Bai Shanbao discuss and decide to write an article.
But to write an article they had to know how the Laoding served, so they had to go and take a look.