Chapter 472: Chapter 245: Buying Cattle_1
"Manman," Lian Shouxin called out to stop her, "you shouldn’t always trouble your grandpa." Lian Shouxin felt like he already owed his in-laws a lot of favors and was afraid that Manman, being young and naïve, might say something that would put others in a difficult position.
Manman pouted and glared at Lian Shouxin.
"I’m just discussing it with dad and mom first. If it’s not suitable, then we won’t tell grandpa about it," Manman said.
"With your personality, our Manman is indeed sensible. Manman, say whatever you want to," Lady Zhang said.
"Mom, look at the large piece of land we bought. Besides using it for a vegetable garden and for future house building, there’s still some empty land left. It’s not quite suitable for planting vegetables or crops. I was thinking, why don’t we also plant a couple of fruit trees?" Manman was not at all influenced by Lian Shouxin and cheerfully continued.
"Plant fruit trees!" Lady Zhang’s eyes lit up.
"I was also thinking about planting some trees," Lian Shouxin said. The piece of land they had bought, as Manman had mentioned, was not entirely suitable for planting vegetables and crops. Lian Shouxin also planned to plant trees. However, he was thinking of planting common species like willows and poplars seen around Thirty Mile Camp.
Planting trees could provide shade, beautify the environment, and the branches could be used as firewood. When the trees matured, they could also be cut down to sell as timber.
The value of fruit trees was, of course, much higher.
Back when Lady Zhang was at her parents’ home, she had also helped maintain an orchard. She grew up accustomed to a variety of fruits, but after marrying into Thirty Mile Camp, where there were no fruit trees, she could only buy fruits if she wanted to eat them. The Lian Family lived very frugally; where would they have extra money to buy fruits? It was only each year that Zhang Qingshan and Lady Li sent some fruits. Lady Zhang loved eating fruits, but as the daughter-in-law of another family, this preference could not be indulged. The fruits sent by Zhang Qingshan each year were never hoarded; she handed them to Lady Zhou for distribution.
As could be imagined, in the end, Lady Zhang got very little, and she could only taste them.
Now that they had started their own household, if she could plant some fruit trees, she would be able to live like she did before she was married, at her own home! Thinking of this prospect made Lady Zhang smile from the bottom of her heart.
"Right, why didn’t I think of that? We need to have grandpa get us more saplings of fruit trees, like peach trees, pear trees, hawthorns..." Lady Zhang listed off a string of names and could no longer sit still; she got up excitedly, "I need to quickly find Wang Shiliu’s Wife so she can send the message for us."
Since there was a lot to convey and it was very important, both Lady Zhang and Lian Shouxin went to Wang Shiliu’s Family together.
Manman and the other children stayed at home. They took out the blueprints from before and, using a writing brush, circled and dotted them, marking out where they planned to plant the fruit trees.
"We will plant fruit trees in these places," Manman declared.
"Right, but when it’s time to plant, we will probably need to have grandpa and Uncle come over," said Wu Lang.
The children, looking at the blueprint, were all full of longing.
...
The next day was the big market day at Back Mountain Village, and Manman thought about how it might take a few days after Wang Shiliu sent the word before Zhang Qingshan could get things done for them.
Just after they finished lunch, Lian Shouxin was about to lead the people back to work when they heard the sound of shouting at livestock outside the shop.
"Oh, your grandpa has come," Lady Zhang heard it in the house and immediately ran outside.
It was indeed Zhang Qingshan who had arrived. And with Zhang Qingnian too, the two of them drove a large cart. Manman spotted at once a bull tied with rope behind the cart, and a plough being carried on it.
Did Zhang Qingshan really deliver the bull and plough the very day they had someone send a message?
The whole family was naturally overjoyed.
"...It just so happened that today Qingnian and I rushed to the market together. Once we reached the market, we ran into Wang Shiliu. He told us you wanted to buy a bull and a plough. These are big matters, we can’t delay, so I quickly searched the marketplace, and with good luck, I found everything at once."
Zhang Qingshan explained the events. After hearing the message from Lady Zhang, he immediately dropped everything else and, after buying the bull and the plough, didn’t even go home but headed straight to Thirty Mile Camp. It was also from Wang Shiliu that they learned that, at this Chinese hour, Manman and her family would be at the shop, so they came directly to the shop.
To buy the bull and the plough, he and Zhang Qingnian attended the market but did not conduct any other business.
"How about it, are you satisfied?" Zhang Qingshan asked Lian Shouxin to take a look at the bull and the plough.
Wu Lang and Xiao Qi, having finished their meal and not yet gone to school, also gathered around.
Lady Zhang then asked Zhang Qingshan how much money had been spent on the bull and the plough.
Zhang Qingshan didn’t hide anything. Currently, the price for a working bull ranged from five to ten silver pieces. The bull Zhang Qingshan picked out for them was a young adult bull, just the right age to start working, and its price was seven silver pieces. This was because Zhang Qingshan made the purchase; if it were someone else, they might not be able to secure it for less than eight silver pieces. The plough cost one silver piece and one qian.
Lian Shouxin checked over the bull and the plough, his face showing his pleasure. Even if he wasn’t an expert, he could tell they were quality items. Zhang Qingshan’s half-lifetime of keen eye was not for nothing.
Manman was also happy; seeking Zhang Qingshan’s help was the right decision.
Zhang Qingshan was also very pleased. Of his several children, Lady Zhang had the most gentle personality and was the prettiest. However, her life after marriage had been the hardest among her siblings. Zhang Qingshan and Lady Li never said it outright, but the child they worried about the most was Lady Zhang. Before, they had wanted to help but couldn’t find a way. Now that Lady Zhang had set up her own household and was slowly improving her life, as a father, Zhang Qingshan was eager to lend a hand. It was rare that Lady Zhang, who always gave them good news and not bad, would ask someone to send a message for help. Zhang Qingshan naturally put aside other matters and took care of his daughter’s request first.
After checking the ox and the plough handles, Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang invited Zhang Qingshan and Zhang Qingnian into the house.
"No hurry, take your time," Zhang Qingshan waved his hand. He wanted to take a look at the new property that his daughter and son-in-law had recently acquired.
"Grandpa, have you and my uncle eaten yet?" Lian Manman hurriedly asked, noticing the time Zhang Qingshan and his company had arrived. She suspected that to hasten their journey, they hadn’t yet had time for lunch.
"We had some dry food, we’ve eaten," Zhang Qingshan said.
"Wife, quickly stir-fry a couple of dishes..." Lian Shouxin said in a hurry.
"We’ve already eaten our fill, no need to eat right now," Zhang Qingshan said, "I’ve heard from Wang Shiliu that you all are busy, so just keep doing what you need to do... I want to see how the construction of your shop is coming along first."
With that said, Lady Zhang and Lian Zhizhi went back to the shop to make food for Zhang Qingshan, while Lian Shouxin, Lian Manman, Wu Lang, and Xiao Qi took Zhang Qingshan and Zhang Qingnian to see the shop that was under construction. Afterwards, they showed the two around the land they had purchased.
While looking at the land, the three children vied with each other to tell Zhang Qingshan where a new house would be built, where vegetables would be planted, and where trees would be grown.
Zhang Qingshan listened with a beaming face, thinking that within a year or two, his daughter’s family’s life would indeed become prosperous.
"Good, these patches of land are a bit poor for crops but perfect for planting fruit trees," Zhang Qingshan said, "You don’t have to worry about the tree saplings, we have them ready. I’ll have them sent over to you, and I’ll help you plant them."
Not only the fruit tree saplings, but he also took on the task of planting them. Lian Manman chuckled to herself.
After they returned from the land, Lady Zhang and Lian Zhizhi had cooked a small basin of layered pancakes, stir-fried four dishes, and cooked a pot of soup.
After being busy for most of the day and having eaten only a few bites of dry food, Zhang Qingshan and Zhang Qingnian were both thirsty and hungry. Without standing on ceremony, they sat down at the table and started eating heartily.
Wu Lang and Xiao Qi returned from the land and then left for school. After dinner, Zhang Qingshan and Zhang Qingnian came out of the shop, and Zhang Qingshan had Zhang Qingnian start to harness the ox to the plough handles with Lian Shouxin. They had a whole set including binding ropes and belly bands, along with a whip, all brand new, but Zhang Qingshan didn’t even mention it.
"Qingnian, how much did this harness set cost?" Lian Shouxin asked Zhang Qingnian in a whisper.
Zhang Qingnian smiled and glanced back at Zhang Qingshan.
"What’s this talk of money? The one who sold the plough handles is an old friend of Dad’s. We bought the plough handles, and he gave us this harness set as a gift," Zhang Qingnian explained.
"Qingnian, these are not cheap... This is a great help to me; I can’t let you cover the costs anymore," Lian Shouxin said.
"Brother-in-law, don’t say such things. As long as my sister, my nephew and nieces have a good life, that’s all that matters," Zhang Qingnian said.
Clearly, the harness set was a gift from Zhang Qingshan to them.
Lian Shouxin felt somewhat uneasy, but what made him feel even more guilty was yet to come.
After they set up the plough handles, Zhang Qingshan drove the ox to the plot of land they had just looked at.
"Are we going to start breaking ground on this plot to plant vegetables?" Zhang Qingshan asked upon arriving at the plot, "You go oversee the construction of the house. While you’re at it, Qingnian and I will break ground on this plot for you."
After finishing these words, Zhang Qingshan didn’t wait for Lian Shouxin to agree, he led the ox in front while Zhang Qingnian supported the plough from behind and started to plough the land.
"This is virgin land; it needs to be ploughed deeper," Zhang Qingshan also reminded Zhang Qingnian.
Lian Manman followed behind, watching the calf plough the land while throwing the upturned grass roots and tree roots to the edge of the field.
"Grandpa, let me take a break and lead the ox," Lian Manman said after watching for a while, eager to try.
"You and your Sister Caiyun are alike, always wanting to try everything out," Zhang Qingshan laughed heartily. After ploughing two ridges, he finally handed the reins over to Lian Manman.
"Follow the ridge next to you, don’t stray off course..." Zhang Qingshan instructed Lian Manman on how to lead the ox.
Lian Manman found the experience quite novel; it was her first time doing such work, and she was at such close proximity to the calf that its damp breath sprayed onto her hands.
Zhang Qingshan allowed Lian Manman to have her fun for a bit before taking the reins back again.
When they had ploughed roughly four or five parts of the land, Zhang Qingshan stopped to give the ox a rest.
"Qingnian, you head back now," Zhang Qingshan said, looking up at the position of the sun, "Tell your mother, I’m going to stay here for a few days."
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Here’s the first update, asking for your likes. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your votes and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
