Spring scenery in the fields

"Ok?"

"Get up, we have to go early."

"Well, I'll get up right away."

She hasn't gotten enough sleep.

Ji Wenhe stayed in bed for a few seconds, forced himself to turn on the phone, put on his clothes and got out of bed.

An oil lamp was lit in the kitchen. Shen Rongshan was standing in front of the stove serving rice. When he heard the voice, he said without raising his head, "There is hot water in the basin. It's hot. Pour some cold water into it."

Shen Yuanshan followed in and said, "Brother, Uncle Danian is waiting for us at the entrance of the village. Why don't you go and call him later?"

"Master is waiting at the entrance of the village. He told us the time. We will leave after we finish eating."

"Okay, let's eat." Ji Wenhe finished washing up and saw Shen Wenshan got up. "Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

He yawned and said, "I won't sleep anymore. I'm going to go look for wild vegetables. The ground is wet. Can I put the chicks in there?"

"No." Shen Rongshan gestured for him to serve himself the rice. "Don't let the chicks freeze to death again. The chicks are delicate. Leave them at Aunt Lan's house. Go and take a look."

"Well, I'll go in the morning."

Her family hasn't gotten up yet.

"I almost forgot." Ji Wenhe turned his head, "Aunt Lan and Xiaoya are also going to town today to join the villagers."

"She must be worried about leaving the chicks at home unattended. Wenshan, go get the chicks from Aunt Lan's house and look after them at home."

Shen Wenshan sat down with the bowl in his hand: "I'll go after I finish my meal. I guess they'll be up by now."

After the three of them finished their meal, they left the dishes for him to wash. Carrying two baskets on their backs, they said hello and slowly walked down the mountain.

"It's really cold so early in the morning." Ji Wenhe shrank his neck, hugged his arms tightly, and followed Shen Rongshan.

"You walk behind me and I'll block the wind."

He was so tall that he blocked all the wind in his face.

She reached out and grabbed the clothes around his waist, and walked carefully: "It's hard to walk on the road after the rain."

As soon as I reached the foot of the mountain, my shoes were covered in mud.

"When I have money, I will buy a donkey cart."

It’s convenient to go to town, and you can also make money by picking up people back and forth.

Shen Yuanshan walked in front and said, "Sister-in-law, let's buy a flatbed truck. I don't think we should buy a wheelbarrow. We can carry it on our shoulders and sell it."

"That's fine. A flatbed truck can hold a lot of stuff. You can save energy by driving the donkey cart to the village to sell it."

It had just rained, and without some strength, you couldn't push the wheelbarrow far.

Ji Wenhe looked up and said, "Brother Shen, how much does a donkey cart cost?"

Shen Rongshan replied: "A donkey is nine taels, not counting the flatbed cart behind it, and the cart alone is more than ten taels."

"It's so expensive!"

Not everyone can afford a donkey cart. Those who can afford one must be from a wealthy family.

"Donkeys are just like cows. They can work in the fields, pull millstones, and plow the land. So they are naturally expensive."

"Moreover, the imperial court has issued a clear ban on slaughtering oxen for working. Dead oxen must be reported to the government for inspection to determine whether they died of illness, old age, or human harm."

Ji Wenhe asked curiously: "What should be done with cows that died of illness or old age? What crime will be convicted if a cow is killed by human beings?"

Shen Rongshan replied calmly: "Cows that died of illness can be slaughtered and sold if they are edible. The same goes for cows that died of old age."

"If someone kills someone, he or she will be convicted of a serious crime and sentenced to life imprisonment or beheading, and will also be fined."

"When I was a kid, my dad told me about this. Someone from some village killed a cow and said it died of illness. When the government investigated, the man refused to admit it."

"The next day he was sentenced to beheading and fined several dozen taels of silver. My family couldn't afford the compensation. We sold the land but it wasn't enough, so we also sold the homestead."

In the end, he still couldn't pay it back, and he didn't know what happened to the family later.

"I understand. If the crime is severe, people will not dare to kill oxen at will."

That way she won’t be able to eat beef, and she quite likes eating beef.

"By the way, Brother Shen, how much does the average family spend in a year?"

She hasn't asked in detail yet.

"It depends on the population. If the population is small, the cost is less than one tael of silver per year. If the population is large, it will cost more than one tael of silver or more than two taels of silver per year."

"The headman's family has more than a dozen people, and the annual expenses are estimated to be more than 300 taels. The more people there are, the more food they need. During the busy farming season, if you don't eat enough, you won't have the energy to do farm work."

As the saying goes, the little brat will eat his father into poverty.

Men naturally have bigger appetites than women. It doesn’t matter if you don’t eat enough when you are not busy. Just drink more water.

By the time the autumn harvest season came, there was no oil or water in the rice and it was simply unbearable.

While talking, they arrived at the entrance of the village.

Outside the village, Zhu Danian was waiting with a basket on his back. When he heard the voices, he asked, "Is this Rongshan?"

"It's me, Master."

Shen Yuanshan took over the conversation: "Uncle Da Nian, my brother, sister-in-law and I are going to town together."

Ji Wenhe called out, "Uncle Da Nian."

"Hey, let's go, it won't waste time, the sooner we go the sooner we can return."

He did not take the two big black dogs with him, but left them at home and left food for them.

The four of them set out on the journey together.

It was just getting light and there were already many donkey carts on the road. Those who didn't get on a donkey cart had to walk.

Ji Wenhe had a full meal in the morning, so this time he asked him to make some more wild vegetable cakes to take with him.

Along the way, everyone took care of her steps, sometimes walking slowly, sometimes walking fast.

Around nine o'clock in the morning, we finally arrived in town.

Shen Rongshan turned around and saw that her face was sweaty and red. He said distressedly: "I will take you to Jinxiufang first, and you can rest there and wait for us."

She gasped and replied, "Okay."

The road is difficult to walk on after the rain. There are tire tracks in the middle of the road and many small puddles.

I feel even more tired than the last time I came here.

Shen Yuanshan took off the basket on his back and took the bamboo pole with a hand rope hung on it: "Uncle Da Nian, big brother, sister-in-law, I won't go with you. I'll go for a walk while there are so many people here."

Several people nodded.

Shen Rongshan took the basket and sent her to Jinxiufang. He took out the basket from the backpack and gave it to her: "Wait for me here."

"Okay, you and Uncle Da Nian go quickly."

Ji Wenhe took the basket, watched their backs as they walked away, and cleaned the mud off his shoes outside.

Only go inside after making sure you won’t bring any dirt into the house.

The boss's business is good, there are a lot of people, and some come to deliver goods.

The boss saw her and said with a smile: "Please wait a moment, girl. I will be done soon."

"Okay, I'm not in a hurry."

Ji Wenhe stood not far from the door, looking at the embroidery in the room.

After a while, the boss smiled and said, "There are a lot of people delivering goods today. We are a bit busy. The girls have finished making the lace."

"Okay, boss, please check the goods."

"Okay, let me take a look."

She took out the strings from the basket, looked at them carefully one by one, and then nodded with satisfaction.

"The girl is very skillful and played well. The total is eighteen cents, plus the ten cents I bet, the total is twenty-eight cents."

The boss counted them and put them on the counter.

"Girl, count carefully again. If there is less after leaving this door, I will not recognize it."

Ji Wenhe raised his eyebrows: "I believe in the boss."

I counted it in front of her, so she could tell if there was something missing.