The road to wealth of a peasant widow

When Chen Cui, her brother and her son returned to Liujiaping, the last rays of sunset had already set and it would be dark soon.

They first drove the ox cart back home, unloaded the things on it, and then returned the cart.

Chang'an and Changfu had spent a day at home with their younger sister. They had been looking forward to their mother, elder brother and uncle coming back. They were so happy to see them in person.

However, just after unloading the things and before they had time to rest, Chen Cui called Changping and said that they should go return the car together.

"I have something to talk to you, Mr. Youcai. Let's go." Chen Cui explained at her son's puzzled look.

Her legs were numb from riding in the car all the way, so she didn't take another car and walked behind the ox cart.

Liu Youcai's family had just finished dinner and everyone was still in the main room. When Changgen heard the noise of a ox cart at the door, he quickly ran to open the door.

When he saw Changping at the door, he was delighted at first. Just as he was about to ask him about what he had seen and heard in the city today, he saw Chen Cui coming after him.

"Aunt, you're here. Are you looking for my mother?" Changgen knew that Aunt Eryong had a good relationship with his mother, and thought she was here to look for his mother, so he asked.

"Chang Gen, it's not convenient for my aunt to come in. Can you please ask your grandfather to come over? I have something to ask him."

Although Changgen was confused, he didn't ask any more questions and ran back to call his grandfather out.

"Eryong's wife, do you have something to talk to me about?" Liu Youcai was a little puzzled. It was already dark, what did his niece-in-law want to talk to him about?

"Uncle Youcai, for the next few months until the New Year, I want to rent your ox cart and use it at my home. Do you think it's okay?" Chen Cui explained her purpose.

Liu Youcai didn't understand for a moment, and said politely: "If you need to use this ox cart anytime, just come and tell us. It's too ungentlemanly to ask whether it's rented or not."

"Uncle Youcai, you misunderstood. I may need to use the ox cart every few days. I feel embarrassed to bother you all day, so I want to pay to rent the ox cart temporarily. The rent is paid by the day. During this period, we are responsible for feeding and caring for the ox. When the time comes, we promise to return the ox and the cart in the same condition. To show my sincerity, I will mortgage the few acres of land in my family to you. If something happens to the ox while it is in my house and I cannot return it on time, you can take the land deed to reclaim the land."

Seeing that he didn't understand what she meant, Chen Cui hurriedly explained.

Even though Liu Youcai was considered knowledgeable, he was still shocked by these words.

Someone actually wanted to rent his ox cart in this way. He didn't know how to react for a moment.

Winter is indeed the slack season for farmers, and we don't use ox carts very often. But we may need to use them sometimes. Once we rent them out, it will be inconvenient to use them at home.

Chen Cui saw his concerns and continued, "If your family needs to use the oxcart during this period, as long as the cart is at home and I have no other arrangements, you can use it as usual. It won't be inconvenient for you."

Liu Youcai nodded slightly, that’s pretty good.

"Because I have limited money on hand, I can only offer you ten cents a day. From now until the end of the year, I will rent you for three months. I guarantee that the cows will not be starved or tired, and they will not affect your spring ploughing."

This made Liu Youcai curious: "Eryong's wife, why do you always go to the city? Can't you just stay at home and observe mourning for the children?"

Chen Cui smiled sadly and forced herself to shed a few tears: "Uncle, I also want to stay at home and not go anywhere, but Eryong is gone, I have to support this family, otherwise what will happen to the children in the future? The Changping brothers will get married and have children, and they will get married every year. They can't do without money. All these things are weighing on my heart. Now I have finally found a way, but I need to use a bullock cart. Isn't this asking you for help? Please consider this matter for Eryong's sake!"

Liu Youcai felt uncomfortable after hearing this. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I need to discuss this matter with my family. I'll give you a reply after dinner tomorrow. You and Changping can come over then."

Chen Cui nodded: "It should be."

She could see that Liu Youcai was already somewhat tempted, but the cattle were an important asset of the family. Although he was the head of the family, he could not make decisions on his own. He had to inform everyone in the family before making a decision.

On the way back, Changping asked curiously, "Mom, do we really need to rent the ox cart from Changgen's family?"

"Well, as you can see, we can burn 700 to 800 kilograms of charcoal at a time. We can't carry it out by carrying it on our shoulders or hands. We have to use a bullock cart to transport it. It's not a good idea to always borrow it from others. Let's just rent it. It's safer to use it when you spend money."

"But you said that we want to use our land deed as collateral, what if..." Changping hesitated.

Chen Cui smiled bitterly: "You are willing as a mother, but why would they rent such a valuable cow to you without something of equivalent value as collateral? What if the cow has any problems, how can you compensate them for their losses?"

Changping was still a little worried: "If something happens to the cow, then our land will be..."

"There are certain risks in doing anything. We can't not do it because we are afraid. Now we have to use a bullock cart to sell charcoal, so we have to find a way to solve this problem. If you think about the profit from selling charcoal once, you can calculate the cost and know what to choose."

Chen Cui explained patiently.

Changping's eyes lit up. Yes, they could earn two and a half taels of silver each time they sold charcoal. Now an acre of good land only earned three taels of silver. If they continued like this, in a few times, the money from selling charcoal would be enough to buy several acres of land. Mother was still thinking long-term.

"Mom, you are the one who has the plan!" Changping couldn't help but admire her.

Chen Cui touched his head and said, "You are still young, so you can't think so much. When you grow up, you will definitely be better than mother."

As soon as the mother and son returned home, Chang'an hurriedly prepared dinner. It turned out that the meal had already been prepared, waiting for them to come back and eat.

Suisui hadn't seen her mother for the whole day and was originally held by Changfu. When she saw Chen Cui, she stretched out her hands and struggled to get into her arms.

Chen Cui also missed the child, so she quickly took her over and held her in her arms while she sat on the chair.

Suisui was grinning when she first saw her mother, but when she was in her mother's arms, she pouted and started crying in grievance, shedding tears silently, as if she was blaming her mother for leaving her at home for a whole day again.

The little girl's eyes were red and there were two strings of tears on her face. She looked at you silently, which made Chen Cui feel heartbroken.

She quickly and patiently coaxed the child and said all the nice things to him, but Sui Sui still shed silent tears, venting his dissatisfaction.

It was not until her own little bowl was brought to her and a spoonful of rich rice porridge mixed with egg yolk stopped at her mouth that the child stopped crying and moved her head towards the spoon.

It seems that nice words are not very effective for babies, and food is more attractive!