Chapter 117: Worry-Free Ascension

  Today, Zhong Gensheng instructed Da Bao to sell the goods and bring back some tea. So when Da Bao returned, each of them had a lot of things on their backs, including small tables, small chairs, unused dipping sauce, tomorrow's bean curd, tea leaves, and... ten kilograms of white flour.

  In the evening, when entertaining guests, you can't just use plain congee, it's really not enough. Besides, Li Zheng has helped a lot, and there will be many occasions in the future where he'll need to help again, so it's not worth being stingy about this small amount of money.

  The tea is not very good, similar to the kind villagers drink, it's very cheap, twenty cents a pound, it's the most ordinary and worst tea, but the villagers don't care about these things, it's still okay for entertaining guests.

  Dabao put down his things and handed out money to Er Gouzi and the others, then reminded them a few times before sending them off.

  Shen Sisi watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh, it seemed that Da Bao had really gone down the wrong path.

  Dabao then brought over the account book and the remaining money, saying: "Tuniu, I spent some money buying things, it's all recorded in the account book, take a look..."

  Shen Sisi glanced at it and saw that the account was written very clearly, so she smiled and said: "Very good..."

  She counted the amount of money again, and when it matched, she nodded and said: "Keep the account book well, I'll keep the money, and remember to do it this way in the future..."

  "Uh-huh." Dabao smiled and responded, his nervous heart calming down a bit, then went to wash the pot.

  After lunch, Wang Tufu arrived and left Dabao and Sibao at home. Zhonggensheng put down his bowl, washed his hands, picked up the teapot, brewed some coarse tea, brought a few sea bowls, and went to the roadside with Shen Sisi to wait.

  The county government officials arrived very slowly, riding in an oxcart. Two bailiffs came, and Zhong Gensheng hurried to greet them, pouring tea for them and smiling: "You must have had a hard journey, just some rough tea, don't be offended..."

  The yamen runner saw that the bowl was still relatively clean, so he smiled and took it over to drink. He said: "Where is the head of the household? Call him over, we'll go directly to the wasteland, measure it, and then return to the yamen... there's a lot to do..."

  "Father, I'll go call them, you all go ahead to the ground first..."

  Shen Sisi finished speaking and then turned around and ran away.

  Zhong Gen Sheng pulled out a string of cash from his bosom and handed it to the yamen runner, saying with a smile: "I hope you two won't despise me. My family is really poor, this is just a small token of my appreciation. It's really troublesome to have you come all the way here, I'm truly sorry. At home, there's nothing good to entertain you with, only these coarse teas..."

  The two yamen runners exchanged a glance, smiled in understanding, and didn't expect that this poor villager, who looked shabby and tattered, would be so generous. The mood of the two improved greatly, and they followed Zhong Gensheng, leading the ox cart to the desolate land in the west.

  They arrived quickly, and the official stayed there for a while. Then Shen Sisi and Li Zheng came, greeted each other, and began to measure the boundary of the land. The boundary was located on the mountain side. After the official received the silver, he intentionally let out some extra inches towards the mountain, then inserted the boundary marker. Zhong Gensheng collected the money for the marker, and the two men happily got into their carriage and left.

  Anyway, the villagers on the mountain won't buy it either. They occupy some places and there's nothing serious about it. Shen Sisi and Zhong Gensheng are clear about this in their hearts, which is where the money comes into play.

  Shen Sisi couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion, thinking that money could make ghosts grind mills, and 35 taels of silver for such a large piece of land was really extremely cheap...

  Inside, he is also calculating in his heart, but he remains silent, as if he hasn't seen or heard anything.

  Zhong Gensheng looked at the place that would soon be his home, feeling extremely joyful and a little reluctant to leave. Seeing this, Li Zheng bid farewell and left first, and Zhong Gensheng naturally reminded him to bring his family over for dinner in the evening before watching him go.

  Shen Sisi finally smiled with relief and said, "Dad, our house will start from here and extend to there. The front yard is a bit smaller, so it's better to plant some fruit trees... In the back yard, I want to dig a big pond, open up a vegetable garden, and plant an orchard. We'll also build a cowshed. Dad, after our family business grows bigger, we must definitely build a cowshed for the calves to live in. If one is not enough, we can put two in."

  "Great, great...” Zhong Gensheng looked at the land and his heart was also filled with longing. He said: "Little girl, Dad will definitely build you the most beautiful house. You and Xiaohua will each have a room of your own, so you won't be crowded together anymore, okay?"

  "Uh-huh." Shen Sisi chuckled and said, "Dad, we should also build a large kitchen in the front yard. In the future, we can cook braised meat dishes here, and when we eat, we can sit under the trees in the courtyard. Oh, and we need to dig a well too. Next to the kitchen, let's build a big granary. Inside the granary, we can dig a cellar, so we can store lots of grain in the future. The cellar can be used for storing vegetables, so even in winter, we won't have to worry about what to eat..."

  Zhong Gensheng listened with joy in his eyes and said: "...... Tuniu, Dad will listen to you. Whatever you say is what it is."

  Shen Sisi smiled and said, "We still have to make a lot of furniture at home, get rid of all the old furniture, and put it in the old house. Later, we can sell it or rent it out. Dad, what do you think?"

  "......uh-huh." Zhong Gensheng's eyebrows and eyes were all smiling.

  He bent down and hugged his little daughter, kissing her and saying: "Good baby, Dad will take you home, and from now on our family will have a new house to live in."

  Shen Sisi was amused by him and chuckled, saying: "Dad, now that the farm work is idle, we should build a house as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the ground freezes, it won't be easy to start construction. We also need to buy back blue bricks, there's a lot of trouble..."

  Zhong Gen Sheng smiled and said, "Tomorrow morning, Dad will go to collect the pigs, and in the afternoon, he'll go to the village to find a few craftsmen to talk about it. Don't worry, there's not much work now, they're all idle at home, just invite them and they'll come..."

  "Remember to find a reliable one and tell them clearly, our family will provide lunch at noon, 40 cents a day, with tea supply, and lunch is guaranteed... Shen Sisi knew that 40 cents a day was already considered high, most of the village were 30 cents, and those in better conditions were 35 cents, but they didn't even guarantee lunch, and this money would be delayed for one or two years before being paid. She smiled again: "Our family doesn't owe wages either, as soon as the work is finished, we'll settle immediately, tell them not to wait until after the New Year, I think they will have energy to start working and won't delay the progress, most importantly, our family needs to move into the new house before winter..."

  "Alright, Dad has it all figured out, don't worry......" Zhong Gensheng chuckled and hugged his daughter as they headed back home. Wang Tufu smiled when he saw him return, "I heard your family bought some land?"

  "Yes..." Zhong Gensheng smiled and said: "It's just a piece of wasteland, preparing to build a house on it. There are many people in the family, it's too small..."

  Wang Tufu smiled and didn't ask further, just saying: "Congratulations, from now on your family's days will get better and better."

  He's lucky to get this daily pig slaughtering business, it's not bad at all. One catty of meat a day, thirty cents a day, and in a year, it adds up to a considerable amount. Only someone like the Zhong family can afford to slaughter pigs every day. In the past, how could he have gotten such a good opportunity? So Butcher Wang cherishes this chance and doesn't want to offend them, so he won't ask too much. He also knows that there's another butcher in the village, but they didn't invite him, it seems like there's some conflict, otherwise why would they go out of their way to find him?

  Zhong Gensheng smiled but didn't speak, walked to the well and drew some water to take a sip, saying: "......Then I'll borrow your auspicious words."

  Wang Tufu continued to cut the pork, Shen Sisi had already taken the pig's blood into the kitchen and made a blood cake, wrapped some in oil paper and handed it to Wang Tufu, saying: "Uncle Wang, take this for your kids to eat..."

  The butcher Wang hastily took it over, sniffed the smell and said: "Little girl, when there are good fruits at home, I'll bring some for you to taste..."

  "Then thank you, Uncle Wang, for now."

  Wang Tudou smiled foolishly, accepted the things from others although they were what he had been craving for, but always felt that he owed something to others. He thought about the fruits at home and decided to bring some over, or let his wife pickle some and bring a few jars over. After all, he wanted to do long-term business with them, how could he bear to take things from others without giving anything in return?

  Wang Tufu finished slaughtering the pig, divided up the pork and left. Dabao skillfully started braising the meat, Shen Sisi had nothing to do, so she strolled around the courtyard for a while before going to watch He Ashow and Niu Xiaohua mend shoes.

  When the braised pork was done, and all the dried goods were out of the pot, He Ashu put down his shoes and said: "Xiaohua, you continue to do this, I'll go to the backyard to pick some vegetables, it's time to prepare dinner..."

  Having said that, he hastily left.

  He Qiu showed that she was indeed a skilled farmer, quickly picking and cleaning the vegetables by the well, washing them, and then Shen Sisi ran over saying: "Mother, I'll cook..."

  Niu Laogen had bought wine and entered the courtyard, seeing them mother and daughter, he smiled and said: "Let Tuni do it, she cooks well..."

  "Alright, I'll continue making shoes and let Da Bao cook for you..."

  "Alright." Shensisi said and went into the kitchen, Si Ba helped her put away the dishes and then went out to chop firewood. Nowadays, they use a lot of firewood at home every day, so he has to prepare more, otherwise it won't be enough. After drying it well, it's good to split it open and store it in the house. If you don't prepare well, when the rainy days come, there will be no firewood to use.

  The old cow said, "I'll go up the mountain to take a stroll and see if I can run into some wild chickens or rabbits..." After speaking, he took his bow and went up the mountain.

  "Hei Ah Xiu hastily said: 'Don't go too deep, it's getting late and the forest is not safe...'"

  "I'll be back soon..." Niu Laogen walked away with his head down, thinking about Tu Niang cooking, so many dishes to cook, it would take at least an hour or more. If he encountered small game in the forest, he would catch some and bring them back for Niu Laogen and Li Zheng to each take some home, and they could also taste the freshness. Last time's wild chicken meat was very delicious, Tu Niang liked it very much. Only last time's prey was all given away, leaving only one wild chicken. Zhong Gensheng naturally doted on his daughter and wanted her to eat more. Who made Shen Sisi so thin?