Crossing the Unknown Country

Su Heniang took it quickly and thanked him repeatedly. This was not a worthless thing. In their farm, this was a good thing. It was very practical for making shoes, underwear, handkerchiefs, etc. There was also some good material inside, which they could not afford, but they could make small things.

Su He bowed to express her gratitude. She knew that even scraps of cloth had to be bought with money in this era. The female owner of the cloth shop waved her hand to say that it was not necessary to thank her, and told Su He to come to her when she came to town, as they were already acquaintances. She would give them a discount next time they bought things, and if there were mountain products, she could sell them to her, as she would buy them anyway.

Su He smiled sweetly and said to the female owner of the cloth shop: "Okay, pretty auntie, I will send it to you directly next time I have it."

The cloth shop owner smiled and said, "Call me Aunt Zhou from now on. My maiden name is Zhou."

Su He quickly said, "Aunt Zhou, I'll remember that."

Aunt Zhou sent them out of the cloth shop, said goodbye to Su He's father, and then went back to the shop.

As they walked and talked, Su He's mother said, "I've bought cloth from this cloth shop before, but I didn't know the owner was so kind. Maybe Su He is lucky to meet so many noble people this time."

Su He's father smiled and said, "This is because our daughter is sensible and knows how to talk. Otherwise, she wouldn't be so easy to talk to."

Su He happily hugged her father's neck and said shyly, "I'm not that good, please stop praising me."

The family chatted and laughed as they went to the grocery store to buy some seeds and two bowls. There were too few bowls at home, and if more people came, they would not be enough. They asked if there were any silkworm seeds, so they could only wait and see when they could go to the county town.

Su He followed her parents and passed by the blacksmith shop and asked her father to buy a sharp knife. She thought she could cut some wooden plates, bowls and cups at home, so they would not break easily. She also asked for some iron sand to be used as a medium for dyeing cloth. She was not familiar with this and needed to try it at home.

Until now, Su He brushed her teeth with willow branches and used a bowl to collect water every day. Everything in her family was really simple. So no matter how rich you were born, if you were thrown into a remote area, you would become the same as the people around you. Her great grandfather was an official, but in just two generations, he became a real farmer. Her generation was even more hungry and cold, and had become the poorest farmers.

So if you don't have a lot of assets, don't live in seclusion in the mountains, otherwise your descendants will be lost in the crowd. The best inheritance of their family is that they can still read and study, otherwise they have to do some hard labor if they want to get out of poverty.

Finally, I went to buy some rice, flour, oil and salt and went home. I had to save money to buy a cow, which was the most important thing now. A cow cost about 20 taels of silver, and I had about 7 or 8 taels of silver at home. I just needed to work harder.

It was already dark when they got home. When they got home, their brothers told them a good news. A neighbor saw the white walls of Su Pei's house and wanted to buy some whitewash to paint them as their child was getting married. Su Feng and Su Pei took the initiative to ask the neighbor for 500 coins per bucket, and the neighbor agreed, which was much cheaper than in town.

Su He didn't think it was cheap, the price he quoted was good, they were all from the same village so he couldn't ask for more money. They decided to burn it twice tomorrow in case someone else wanted to buy it.

The next day, Su Pei, Su Feng, and Su Che went to fetch stones, while she and Su Run collected firewood, and by the way, they also collected enough firewood for the family, and pulled enough grass, and prepared all the extra things needed for the family today. After Su Pei and the other two came down, they quickly started to burn limestone, and this time they were more skilled. Su Pei and the others burned it in the big stove, while Su He and Su Run burned it in the stone pit on the side. If the fire is not enough, wait for the one in the big stove to be ready, and then squeeze these in and burn them again. This will reduce the burning time accordingly, and it will be finished early in the afternoon. Su He baked the steamed bread slices brought out in the morning on the fire, and they had some food together at noon, and everyone felt very comfortable.

Su He's goal is to eat three meals a day slowly. They are still young and growing, so they must keep up with nutrition. They can't eat well but they must be full. When she got home, she picked some mulberry leaves and prepared to make a Shanxi delicacy dip. She had tried this delicacy before. It was simple and delicious. There are also a few more dishes at home. Try to eat this and see if the family likes it.