novelhk Chapter 9 Selling the Cow
Chapter 9 Selling the Cow
As dawn broke, Zhao Yuan got up early, quickly washed his face with cold water, and sat down in the main room to continue weaving bamboo baskets.
After breakfast, Zhao Zhaodi and Zhao Laidi went to school, leaving Zhao Yuan and Lin Fangfang at home. The baby was sleeping in bed; newborns are still sleepy.
"Fangfang, I need to talk to you about something."
Zhao Yuan moved closer to Lin Fangfang.
"Ah."
Lin Fangfang agreed.
"I plan to raise pigs, expand the pigsty, and raise more than a dozen pigs. I plan to sell the cattle and let others farm the fields, because farming doesn't make money."
You don't need to let the pigs out to raise. Zhaodi and Laidi can help you when they come back. I'll also help you if I can manage. Pig prices are good right now, you're sure to make money.
This year I plan to deliver more bamboo baskets each month, and also do some other business on the side. We can buy grain in the village from now on, which will make things easier for you, and I'll have more time to weave baskets and do other business. What do you think?
Zhao Yuan looked at Lin Fangfang and asked.
"It's up to you to decide. I'll listen to you on important matters. I just hope you won't hang out with Zhao San and his gang anymore."
Lin Fangfang glanced at Zhao Yuan and replied.
"Fangfang, don't worry, I've thought it through, I won't hang out with them anymore."
Lin Fangfang nodded.
"I'll go ask the top scholar if anyone has any mud bricks for sale."
With that, Zhao Yuan stood up and walked towards Zhao Jieyuan's house.
"You scholar, do you know which family in the village sells mud bricks?"
When Zhao Yuan entered, he saw Zhao Jieyuan eating breakfast.
"Hmm, if you want to buy mud bricks, why don't you make them yourself?"
"I need it urgently, so I'll buy some to save myself the trouble."
“Zhao Qian’s family made a lot of mud bricks before the Lunar New Year. They plan to repair their house this winter, but they probably won’t sell them. You can go and ask them.”
"Okay, I'll ask about it later."
"Hey, top scholar, aren't you busy lately? Could you help me out for a few days? I'm planning to repair a few pigsties."
"Don't you have two pigsties? Are you building more than that, planning to raise pigs?"
"Yes, we're preparing to raise pigs."
"You're so skilled, you can make money. You've never raised pigs before, why are you suddenly raising them? Are you afraid of losing money? Have you lost your mind after some shock?"
Zhao Jieyuan took a bite of rice, smiled, and looked up at Zhao Yuan.
"You're the one who's out of your mind. I'll just try, just try. Will you help me or not?"
"I'll definitely help. You should treat Fangfang better. She's really good to you and wants to live a stable life with you. She won't dare to be such a jerk anymore."
Zhao Jieyuan shoveled rice into his mouth as he spoke.
"I know, I won't do it again. Look, I'm planning to raise pigs now."
"Come on, I'll go with you to Qian Duoduo's place."
As he spoke, Zhao Jieyuan put down his chopsticks and walked with Zhao Yuan toward Zhao Qian's house.
Although Zhao Qianduo lived in the same village, his home was far away, requiring a walk of more than two miles along the paddy field path to get there.
Zhao Qianduo was about to leave.
"Qian Duoduo, I've brought you some money."
Zhao Yuan called out to Zhao Qianduo.
Zhao Qian glanced at Zhao Yuan and Zhao Jieyuan, smiled, and continued locking the door.
"I want to talk to you about some business."
Zhao Yuan continued.
"What business do you want with me?"
“You made so many mud bricks before the New Year, but you won’t use them until winter. It’s still a long way off. I need them urgently, so sell them to me first.”
"Huh? You're buying adobe bricks?"
"Yes, I'm in a hurry to repair a few pigsties."
“I’m not selling. I’ll start building my house right after the late rice harvest. How can I possibly compete with that?”
Zhao Qianduo locked the door and prepared to go to the field to make mud bricks.
“There’s still some time before the busy farming season, so we can still make some. You can lend me your old ones or sell them to me, and I’ll come and help you make mud bricks later.”
"Yes, Qian Duoduo, if you help Zhaoyuan out, I'll come and help you make the mud bricks. It definitely won't delay your house repair."
After some more gentle and persistent persuasion, they finally reached the field where mud bricks were being made.
Making adobe bricks involves turning over soil from the field, dipping it in water to form a paste that is relatively hard, then filling the paste into a rectangular mold, pressing it down, removing the mold, and letting the adobe bricks dry naturally.
The choice of soil is important; it needs to be sticky yellow clay, otherwise it will crack when it dries.
Finally, Zhao Qianduo agreed to sell Zhao Yuan some clay bricks that could be used immediately. In addition to paying the money, Zhao Yuan gave Zhao Qianduo a piece of land to make clay bricks.
With the mud bricks ordered, Zhao Yuan began constructing the pigsty.
The original pigsty was drafty and unsuitable for raising pigs, as pigs living there were prone to illness. He wanted to rebuild it according to his previous life's scientific pig-raising model.
"Hey, top scholar, do you have any more pigsties at home?"
"There's one more room. I plan to buy a piglet to raise when the weather gets a little warmer."
"Then lend it to me for a while. I want to tear down the old pigsty and rebuild it."
"Sure. You can just bring the pigs over then."
"Thank you for your trouble."
After saying this, Zhao Yuan waved to Zhao Jieyuan and walked towards Zhao Qiusheng's house in the fifth group.
Zhao Qiusheng had already gone to the back mountain to gather firewood.
Zhao Yuan hurriedly ran towards the back mountain.
There's not much firewood on the mountain; most of it is bare. A few years ago, large-scale construction projects basically cut down all the trees. Now, no trees have sprouted, and it remains a desolate scene.
Zhao Yuan stood at the foot of the mountain and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Qiu Sheng, Qiu Sheng."
"What are you doing?"
A loud response came from the mountain.
After figuring out the approximate location, Zhao Yuan ran towards the mountain.
Upon reaching the top of the mountain, Zhao Yuan stood there, hunched over, panting heavily. After catching his breath, he took out his pipe and handed it to Zhao Qiusheng. The two rolled a cigarette, lit it, and sat on a rock to chat.
"What do you want?"
"Two things. One is to help me for a few days and fix the pigsty. The second is that I want to sell my cow. Do you want to buy it? It will be the same price as Zhao Kongshan's cow before the New Year. My cow is even stronger than his."
"When can I help you? It's not busy with farming yet, but I can come and help you for a few days. Are you really going to sell the cow? What will you do with your land if you sell it?"
"It's really for sale."
"Can you make it any cheaper?"
"Cattle are already cheap enough, so I'm not planning to farm this year. I'm going to raise pigs instead, and I'll let whoever wants to farm the land do so."
"Let my family farm that field, how about one dan of grain per mu?"
"Hmm... alright then, give me the money later and take the cow to your barn."
After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Yuan nodded in agreement. One dan of grain per mu of land was indeed a bit cheap, but it would be quite good if he didn't have to repay the grain or work the fields, and could go about his own business.
"From now on, I'll buy my food from your family."
"Good."
After saying that, Zhao Qiusheng stubbed out his cigarette, tied up the firewood, and carried it down the mountain with Zhao Yuan.
After descending the mountain, everyone went home.
Zhao Yuan returned home and quickly continued weaving bamboo baskets.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhao Qiusheng arrived.
Zhao Qiusheng moved a long bench and sat down next to Zhao Yuan, who then handed him a pipe.
Zhao Qiusheng rolled his own pipe, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled white smoke rings.
Zhao Qiusheng finished smoking a pipe and stubbed it out.
"Zhaoyuan, here is 260 yuan. That's all the money we have at home. We'll pay you back the other 50 yuan after we sell the grain in the fall."
“Okay, I won’t farm this year. I’ll buy rice from you and use it to pay for the rice. You can write me an IOU first, and I’ll bring the cow back to your cowshed today.”
Zhao Yuan took the money and counted it as he spoke.
"Oh, and you even wrote an IOU."
Zhao Qiusheng smiled and asked in return.
“It’s normal to write an IOU. Fangfang, bring me a pen and a piece of paper.”
Zhao Yuan called out towards the room.
Lin Fangfang brought paper and pen and handed them to Zhao Qiusheng.
Zhao Qiusheng took the pen, wrote down the IOU, and signed it.
Zhao Yuan handed over the 26 large bills and IOUs to Lin Fangfang for safekeeping, and then took Zhao Qiusheng towards the cattle pen.
Zhao Qiusheng drove the cattle home.