Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

Chapter 33 Buy a straight shaft plow!

Zhang Jinhe returned to his own courtyard and saw that his grandfather was also sitting outside.

On the table in front of me were two plates of pastries and a bowl of millet porridge.

"Jinniang, what is it?" Zhang Mingde had seen Zhang Jinhe run out with a string of cash earlier.

A string of cash is no small sum.

"Young Master Xiao Ran and his second and third wives have returned from the village head's house and are asking me for money."

Hearing that it was borrowed by Xiao Ran, Zhang Mingde was not worried.

It's not about trusting Xiao Ran's character and abilities, but about trusting the value of Shu brocade.

"Has the matter of registering the household registration been completed?"

Zhang Jinhe shook her head, "She didn't say, so there probably isn't one, but seeing that the young master and his second wife are in good spirits, there must be some change in the situation."

Zhang Mingde picked up the small bowl, wondering what other chance Xiao Ran might have.

I tried everything I could to persuade you, but it was no use.

"The harvest is almost complete, it's time to prepare for tilling the land." Zhang Jinhe walked under the eaves and looked at the several sets of farm tools.

"Grandpa, this straight-shafted plow wasn't working well before, was it?"

Zhang Mingde looked at it and said, "Hmm, it seems so. After a long time, it's almost falling apart, just like a person."

"I'll take it to my third grandfather's place and try to fix it. We'll see how it goes next spring." Zhang Jinhe easily lifted the straight-shafted plow.

Zhang Jinhe's family owns a lot of land, in addition to contracted land.

Kaolao Village is close to Chang'an City, and much of the land does not belong to the village, but to meritorious officials, nobles, and members of the imperial family.

These people can't grow it themselves; they have to contract it out to others.

After the autumn harvest, it is divided again.

Zhang Jinhe himself can't farm much land, but the village has no shortage of labor, so he can find short-term workers.

Zhang Mingde was a highly respected elder, the village head, and his words carried weight. He had connections, and his family was well-off.

When I got home, I saw Zhang Dalang tidying up the things in the yard.

"Young master, how are Second Mistress and Third Mistress?" Zhang Dalang was very concerned about this question.

The Zhang siblings definitely hoped that Xiao Ran could apply to stay and reside in the family.

"Fortunately, it wasn't successful, but we still have a chance. Second Aunt, please prepare some pastries; we'll be over there in a bit." Xiao Ran looked at Zhang Erya.

“Alright, young master, I’ll go right away.” Zhang Erya went into the house.

"Jinniang just sent someone to say that they need people to plow the fields and asked me to go and do the work," Zhang Dalang said.

The Zhang siblings didn't own much land, which meant there wasn't much farm work to do at home.

Both siblings could only work for others.

"Brother, what's the deal with these pastries?" Zhang Erya asked, bringing out a basket filled with pastries.

"The things you took to Jinniang's house earlier, Jinniang just had them brought back, along with some pastries, for Third Sister," Zhang Dalang explained.

It's easier for children to accept when you say it.

San Niang didn't understand, but Zhang Dalang and Zhang Erya knew that it was all because of Xiao Ran.

Previously, they would only give us millet or something similar, but never pastries.

These pastries aren't as fancy as the sesame seed cakes and flower cakes from before, but they're still very good; you don't usually get to eat them like this.

"Hmm, let's eat something before we go." Xiao Ran wasn't used to other foods, but there were quite a few pastries sent over before. These pastries contained honey and oil, which were quite filling.

Xiao Ran didn't feel bad about it and didn't think there was anything wrong with eating it.

Zhang Dalang and Zhang Erya felt it was a bit extravagant, but since these things all belonged to Xiao Ran, they couldn't say anything.

Third Sister ate very happily; these were tastier than millet rice and sunflower vegetables.

After finishing her meal, Zhang Erya carried a basket filled with prepared pastries.

Xiao Ran carried the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin and felt it was very heavy.

This is only one string, which is one thousand coins. I can't imagine what it would be like to be extremely wealthy.

"What a hassle!" Xiao Ran was starting to miss paper money and mobile payments. It wasn't practical to always carry money in his pocket, and carrying it around felt a bit like showing off.

Zhang Erya took out a small cloth bag, which was probably a bag she had sewn herself.

"Young master, how about we use this?" Zhang Erya noticed Xiao Ran's embarrassment.

"Alright! Third Sister, let's go." Xiao Ran liked to bring the little maid with her, feeling that leaving her alone at home was pitiful.

I know from my childhood that this feeling is unpleasant.

"Okay!" Third Sister ran to Xiao Ran's side and took his hand.

Xiao Hei really liked Third Sister and always stayed close to her.

The little girl now has some playmates.

"Young master, Xiao Hei hasn't eaten anything yet!" Third Sister looked at Xiao Ran.

"It's okay, Xiao Hei isn't hungry. We'll feed him later." The dog food is in the car. We fed him this morning, so we can feed him again tonight.

Zhang Dalang and Xiao Ran went out together, but Zhang Dalang went to Zhang Jinhe's house, while Xiao Ran and the others went to their third grandfather's house.

This kind of carpenter can be considered a craftsman; he has a skill and won't do too badly.

There was a lot of demand for these tools in the village; those who could make straight-shafted plows and hoes were highly sought after in this era.

I never expected to run into an acquaintance again.

"Young master, second wife, third wife," Zhang Jinhe chuckled.

"Jinniang!"

"Sister!"

Zhang Jinhe rubbed Third Aunt's head, squatted down and petted the dog, "So cute, so well-behaved."

“Yes, Xiao Hei isn’t fierce at all,” Third Sister said.

"Call him Xiao Hei?" Zhang Jinhe looked at Xiao Ran.

“Yes!” Xiao Ran saw that his third grandfather’s house was piled with a lot of timber.

There are also many farm tools placed in the yard.

My third uncle was about fifty years old. He had dark skin, but you could tell he was very strong. His thick arms showed he had a lot of strength.

This wasn't achieved through gym workouts, it was through hard work.

Zhang Jinhe gave a brief introduction.

"Young master, is there anything you need?" Third grandfather asked.

"I need to buy a straight-shafted plow and then modify it; it's a bit of a hassle."

When he heard Xiao Ran mention buying a straight-shafted plow, his great-grandfather knew that a big deal was coming.

Zhang Jinhe was also very interested and wanted to know what Xiao Ran wanted to do.

"What changes should the young master make?"

Xiao Ran glanced at the brand-new straight-shafted plow that had just been made next to him. The first impression this thing gave was that it was bulky.

Redoing it would take too long; modifying it with a straight-shaft plow would be much faster.

“This is too big; it needs to be made smaller,” Xiao Ran said.

"This one is already done. I'll redo it. I'll make it the size that the young master needs."

"Third Grandfather, I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'll buy this first, and you can just modify it." Xiao Ran pointed to it. "How much is this?"

The great-grandfather looked at Zhang Erya and said, "Give me two hundred and ninety coins!"

Xiao Ran could sense that his third grandfather had given him a discount because of Zhang Erya and her sister.

"Okay!" Xiao Ran started counting the money.

Zhang Erya just gave the basket to her third uncle's family.

The great-grandfather, having received the money, was surprised by Xiao Ran's prompt reply. "Alright, then we'll proceed with the changes as the young master wishes. But Jinniang arrived first, so I need to fix her first."

“Third Grandfather, I’m not in a hurry. You fix the young master first. I can fix this another day,” Zhang Jinhe quickly said.

(End of this chapter)