The road to wealth of a peasant widow

The Chen brothers really didn’t think so much.

Since they were young, their parents have always told them to be nice to their younger sister, and it has become a habit over the years.

My parents said that the good life of their daughter's family is only in the past ten years or so at her parents' home. After she gets married, she will have to move to someone else's home and have no choice. If her own family members don't show some favoritism to her, others will be even less likely to feel sorry for her.

"I know, I know, but I'm in trouble now. I promised to deliver 20,000 catties of charcoal within half a month. If I can't do it, I'll have to pay more than 200 taels of silver!"

"What? Why do we have to pay so much money?" The Chen family's father and son were all shocked by the amount. More than two hundred taels, even if they sold their land, houses, and entire family, they still couldn't raise enough money!

"If you don't help with the charcoal burning and fail to deliver the goods on time, you will have to lose money!" Chen Cui complained, half truthfully and half falsely.

Chen Cui was not making up the matter of compensation. The original contract clearly stated that if the goods could not be delivered on time, she would have to pay 1.5 times the purchase price, which was 210 taels.

"Well, you should teach us. If we all work together, we can definitely complete it. We won't let you lose money no matter what!"

Chen Shangen stamped his feet and said as if he had made some kind of decision.

"Yes, yes, we will study hard and work hard, don't worry!" said Chen Dahai and Chen Dajiang.

Seeing this, Chen Cui secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If it were another family, knowing that their daughter had this way of making money, they would probably have thought of letting her teach her brothers so that her parents could also make money.

But when it comes to the Chen family, even though the way to make money is right at their doorstep, they still hesitate again and again, for fear that if their family members learn it, they will take away their grandson's job in the future.

Since it has been decided, Chen Cui did not waste any more time and started on-site teaching immediately.

There were a lot of cut branches in the backyard, so she used the materials available and explained them one by one.

Just like she said just now, once this method is revealed, it is actually very simple.

The Chen family, father and son, had all been working for most of their lives. During the slack season, they often worked as helpers and did various odd jobs. They accepted these things very quickly.

As Chen Cui was explaining, they were able to perform standard movements as required, which was much better than the first time she did it.

"Yes, Dad, that's it. Don't apply the mud too thickly at the beginning. You may need to add more patches on it later. It can't be too thin either, otherwise it may crack when it is burned. This is about right."

It had reached the stage of making mud. The three Chen family members, father and son, each took a pile of firewood and began to cover it with mud layer by layer.

By the time the fire was lit and the reserved ventilation holes were sealed one by one, Chen Dahe and Chang'an came back from the mountain.

"Sister, you're back! Dad, big brother, second brother, you're here too, that's great!"

Chen Dahe was very happy to see Chen Cui. His sister finally came back. When he saw his father and two brothers, he was even more surprised.

In the past, with his sister in charge at home, Chen Dahe only had to do things as he was told. He was only responsible for doing the work and hardly had to worry about anything.

He had been alone at home these days taking care of his nephews, and as the only adult in charge, everything depended on him. He suddenly felt a great sense of responsibility. Now that the person in charge had returned and he could hand over the burden, he breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously.

But before he could completely relax, Chen Cui gave Chen Dahe another task.

"Today I will teach our father and the eldest and second brothers how to make charcoal. Tomorrow you will go back to Chenjiagou with them to teach them until they can make high-quality charcoal independently without any mistakes."

Chen Cui gave instructions to Chen Dahe.

Chen Dahe wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in surprise, "Sister, did you really find a buyer for our charcoal in the city?"

"Well, the quantity is quite large. We need to deliver 20,000 kilograms every half month, and three times before the New Year. The contract has been signed, and we have even contacted the carriage company for transportation. Now we just need our charcoal."

"What, 20,000 kilograms? And half a month, can we do this?" Chen Dahe was surprised.

"I've calculated that if our parents, eldest brother, second brother, and sisters-in-law all help, it won't be a problem to burn out this much in half a month."

Chen Cui is very confident. There are only two adults in her family, plus three children. They can burn 700 to 800 kilograms in two days. The labor force of the Chen family is more than double that. Together, the two families can easily burn 20,000 kilograms in half a month.

"Is Boss Chu's grocery store still delivering goods?" Chen Dahe asked with some hesitation.

"As long as he still accepts it, we will deliver it. We can't lose this way."

Boss Chu is a local. His family runs a grocery store and he has a wide network of connections in the local area. This line must be maintained well. I would rather work harder and leave some goods for his family and deliver the goods regularly.

"This, this, isn't it too rushed? We have to burn nearly 50,000 kilograms of charcoal a month. This is not an easy job!"

Chen Dahe had been burning charcoal for more than a month and was very aware of the workload, so he sighed.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, he was slapped on the head by his father.

Chen Shangen has been diligent all his life and he hates to see his children and grandchildren being lazy. When he heard what his youngest son said, he couldn't help but take action.

He raised his red palm and said angrily: "Why are you in such a hurry? There is no work in the fields in winter. It's so relaxing to stay at home and wait for pennies to fall from the sky! Your sister has finally found such a way. As long as the charcoal is burned, it can be exchanged for money. Where can you find such a good thing? Let's do it together. If you don't work hard, I will beat you up!"

Although his daughter did not say how much the wages were, he knew Cui would not treat her family unfairly, so he could not bear to see what Chen Dahe said just now.

"Dad, Dahe is already so old. In a few years, Suozhu will get married. Please don't hit him anymore. These days, the charcoal burning is all thanks to Dahe. He does all the work. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be able to do it with several children."

When Chen Cui saw that the old man actually started fighting as soon as he said it, she was also surprised and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"That's right, that's right, I didn't work any less." Chen Dahe covered his head and said with a grin.

Dad is so old, but he still has such great strength. He doesn't spare any effort when he hits him!

Among the several children in the Chen family, Chen Cui had never been beaten. Among the three brothers, Chen Dahe was beaten the most because he was simple-minded and straightforward, and not as smart as the eldest and second brothers to dodge. But that was when they were children. Who would have thought that he was already thirty years old and still had to be beaten by his father!

"It's my duty to do the work. Is it worth saying it out loud?"

Chen Shangen also felt that he was a little impulsive just now, not because of hitting his son, but because he regretted using his own hand. His hand was still red from the slap just now.

There are so many branches in the yard. You can just pick up a small stick to teach your son a lesson. Why use your own hands?