Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Other families with lazy kids are even more frustrated.

Zhou Guo worked for more than an hour and then went back with the basket. She had to go back to turn the seeds and cook dinner. What to eat? It seemed that she had to go to the market tomorrow. She couldn't eat chicken every meal.

There was nothing special for dinner, just eggs and a whole cured rabbit.

Although they had eaten a lot, everyone still ate with gusto. Farm work was really hard and they were so hungry that everything tasted delicious. They ate all the steamed buns and vegetables, and even the last bit of soup left in the bowl was eaten with the steamed buns.

When it got dark, the whole family crawled into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The old man almost fell ill from idleness in the winter. Since the spring ploughing and sowing began, he has been busy all day long and has no time even to go into the mountains. Once he got busy, all the discomforts in his body disappeared, including the dizziness, back pain, insomnia, and loss of appetite.

Everything I eat tastes delicious. Although I am a little tired, I feel extra energetic. I fall asleep as soon as I touch the pillow at night and sleep soundly until dawn. I feel indescribably comfortable.

Zhou Guo laughed at him, "Master, it seems that you are destined to work hard and never enjoy a peaceful life."

The old man disagreed. "Is it a blessing to eat and not move around like in winter? I'm afraid that few people can enjoy such a blessing. People will get sick from boredom."

Zhou Gu said seriously, "Sir, my grandfather used to like visiting people during the winter, or he would sit under the big tree at the entrance of the village and chat with people. I think you should walk around the village more this year, make some friends with the old men, and visit people when you have nothing to do. Every time my grandfather comes back from visiting people, he is in great spirits and even eats half an extra bowl of rice."

The old man was a little tempted. Someone said that it is better to speak than to hold it in.

After breakfast, the family went to the fields.

Zhou Guo harnessed the horse and drove the carriage to the town. Today was the market day and there were no vegetables at home, so he had to buy some meat.

Although the market nowadays cannot be said to be deserted, but compared with the time during the Chinese New Year, it is like a city or the countryside. There are actually few people at the entrance of the market, which is a popular place for people to gather.

Even the number of vendors at the market was much less than usual; it seemed they were all working at home.

She drove the carriage straight in, heading straight for the meat stall with a clear goal.

I ordered five pounds of pork belly, three pounds of spare ribs, and two pig's trotters. I also went to the mutton stall next door and bought six pounds of mutton. It was a pity that there was no beef today, otherwise it would have tasted good if I had bought a few pounds and fried them.

After cutting the meat, she went to a small stall and bought a stack of meat patties. The uncle selling meat patties knew her. Seeing that she ordered another stack in one breath, he gave her one as a gift. "You came alone today, where are your brothers?"

Zhou Guo smiled and said, "I'm busy with farm work at home. Didn't the seeds get planted in the past few days? Uncle, your family hasn't started planting yet?"

The man said, "We don't have much land. When I was young, I sold some of the land to pay for my mother's medical treatment. We only had four acres of land left for a family of eight, which was not enough to support us. So I came out to find a way to make a living. My mother, her children and I, my two old parents, are farming the land. I feel ashamed when I talk about it."

The man didn't know if it was because he hadn't spoken for a long time, so he spoke to Zhou Guo.

Zhou Guo was curious, "Uncle, is your home far from here?"

The man said, "It's not far. It only takes five or six hours to get here. But the road is all mountainous. I can't bring all these things with me, so I have to rent a house outside to live in."

Zhou Guo opened his eyes wide, "You live outside to sell cakes? Where do you rent a house? Don't you have to run around the villages every day?"

The man smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, this market only comes once every five days. I can't just sell it for one day and rest for the rest of the days. Fortunately, the village is not very far away. I have a cow, so I can make it in time by hauling these things."

Zhou Guo nodded, "Then you two have a hard time. You don't see each other very often throughout the year."

The man laughed and said, "It's not hard. I plan to bring my family out in a few years, and then we can be together as a family."

The wheels rolled forward. Zhou Guo sat on the edge of the car, holding the whip in one hand and a cake in the other, eating it with relish. Looking at the cake in his hand, he thought about what the uncle said. It seemed that he had made a lot of money from the cakes over the years and had enough money to buy a house outside. It was really a drought or flood. Those who had land but didn't plant it had to move out. People like them who had no land couldn't even find land to plant and had to buy one.

Two large bowls were filled with square pieces of shiny red braised pork, a bowl of pickles, and a clay pot of soup. However, today's soup was finally different. Previously it was eggs with dried pine mushrooms.

All the eggs at home were eaten up, but everyone seemed to be used to having a bowl of soup after the meal.

Zhou Guo thought about it, and thought of his grandfather's tea leaves. He pinched out a small handful, fried the tea leaves in hot oil until they changed color, then added a few scoops of water and salt. This was a bowl of tea soup with oil and salt.

She had been lucky enough to drink it a few times in her previous life. Although she was not used to it, there was no soup this time, so she had to make do with it. She hoped that the old man would not scold her for wasting his tea when he saw it.

Two bowls of braised pork were served, and everyone in the family almost stared at them. At this time, the physical work was heavy, and stewed chicken was far less attractive than a few slices of fat. Everyone urgently needed some oil in their stomachs.

The fragrant, fatty but not greasy braised pork is everyone's favorite.

Then there were pickles, and finally… "Huh? What kind of soup is this? Why is there tea leaves in it?"

Everyone was stunned and came closer to take a look. "Why don't the tea leaves fall apart? There's oil in it. What kind of soup is this?"

The old man didn't say anything when he saw his tea being wasted like this. He thought that they were all to be eaten after all, whether it was tea or soup, they all had to go down the stomach.

Zhou Guo chuckled, "I've used up all the eggs at home, so I can't make soup. So I thought of using tea leaves to make some for everyone. Tea leaves can be used to make tea, and naturally they can also be used to make soup. Don't despise it, it's still soup after all. I put oil and salt in it."

Everyone was even more disgusted when they heard it, "I don't know what it smells like?"

The old man took a few sips first, pondered for a while, and nodded: "Not bad, very delicious."

Zhou Guo's brows relaxed. The old man might be used to drinking tea, so he also likes to drink the soup made from tea leaves.

"Really?" The others also scooped a little to taste. They hadn't had time to eat the braised pork yet, so they always wanted to try some new dishes.

Everyone was not used to the drink, so they turned around and picked up the steamed buns and started to eat the braised pork. They decided to eat the meat instead. The fragrant and greasy braised pork was their favorite.

Zhou Guo also picked up a steamed bun, broke it open, stuffed it with pickles, and ate it with a bite of meat and a bite of steamed bun with pickles. It was no wonder that after doing physical work, they had to eat meals with a lot of oil and salt. After an afternoon of work, the family was still in high spirits, unlike yesterday, when they were so hungry that their hands and feet were weak and they felt anxious.