The road to wealth of a peasant widow

"Dad, let's make this clear in advance. After deducting the cost of the charcoal we burn before the New Year, we will split the money 30% to 70% from the sale. You get 30% and I get 70%. Is that okay with you?"

Chen Shangen was shocked. He had heard from his daughter about the selling price of charcoal: seven cents per pound, and he could sell it for more than one hundred taels of silver at a time.

He waved his hands quickly and said, "No, no, it's too much. When we sell them, you can pay your brother and sister-in-law according to their wages. They have nothing to do in the winter anyway, so just think of it as working."

"That's not possible. They are not outsiders, how can you treat them like this? Just do as I say. I won't let you work in vain!" Chen Cui said firmly.

Seeing his daughter's firm attitude, Chen Shangen stopped talking. He thought he would talk about the money after selling the charcoal. Now the charcoal had not been burned yet, so it would be unnecessary to say more.

Chen Cui and Chen Dahe taught all night long, teaching the Chen father and son the complete method of how to burn charcoal, but the results of the teaching would depend on the final product tomorrow.

In order to save time, the Chen father and his two sons will not return to Chenjiagou tonight. Instead, they will make a new bed in Chen Dahe's room in the west room and sleep there for the rest of the night.

When Chen Cui brought the three of them home, she told Zhang and her sisters-in-law that they might have to stay at her house for two days, and they didn't have to worry about them if they didn't go back at night.

When they came back, in order to avoid attracting attention, they got off the carriage at the village entrance and walked into the village.

During dinner in the evening, several children surrounded Chen Cui. Although they didn't say any affectionate words, the admiration in their eyes was obvious.

When Sui Sui saw his mother, he hugged her neck and refused to let go, and no one could take her away.

"The day you left home, Sui Sui was fine with everyone around during the day, but when she saw that I was sleeping with her at night and she couldn't find you, she started crying and making a fuss. I had to work really hard to coax her to sleep."

Changping said with a smile.

Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, Chen Cui knew that he must not have slept well in the past few days. It was difficult for him to work during the day and to coax the child to sleep at night.

"Thanks to you helping your uncle at home and taking care of your brothers and sisters, mother can leave home without worry. Changping is such a good brother!"

After praising her eldest son, Chen Cui did not forget to praise her other two sons.

"Changan has been very hard working these past two days following your uncle up the mountain. Changfu is at home helping your eldest brother and taking care of household chores. You are both good children. Mother is very happy!"

After hearing their mother's praise, several children smiled embarrassedly. Chen Shangen looked at the scene in front of him and felt very relieved.

Although the son-in-law passed away early, these grandchildren are all obedient and sensible. With several filial children around, my daughter's future life will not be bad. What's more, now she has a way to burn charcoal and sell it for money, so her future life is even more secure.

That night, everyone had dinner and went to bed early.

When Sui Sui went to sleep, she grabbed Chen Cui's clothes and refused to let go. Even when she fell asleep, she couldn't pry her little hands apart. If she tried to pry them apart hard, she would look like she was about to wake up. Chen Cui had no choice but to let her hold on like this.

This child must be afraid that his mother will leave again, which is why he feels so insecure.

The next morning, just after dawn, the Chen father and son got up and went up the mountain with Chen Dahe to cut trees.

They plan to help Chen Cui prepare more branches today and return to Chenjiagou tomorrow.

With the addition of three strong laborers, the speed of tree felling increased a lot. After a day's work, the backyard was full of branches.

In the evening, it was finally time to test the results. When they knocked off the outer layer of mud and revealed the charcoal inside, the Chen father and son were extremely nervous.

Finally, after Chen Cui's appraisal, the charcoal made by the three of them were all qualified, and they showed happy smiles on their faces.

Chen Cui was also very satisfied when she saw the finished products. She didn't expect that Chen's father and the eldest and second brothers were so good at hands-on work that they could succeed in one try, which saved time for the subsequent charcoal burning.

"Dad, when you and your elder and second brothers return home, tell mother, sister-in-law, and Dahe's wife about this matter, and ask them to keep it a secret and not tell her family for the time being. As for the place to burn the charcoal, choose the new courtyard to the north of our old house. Few people go there, so as not to attract the attention of others."

Chen Cui instructed her father.

Chenjiagou is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only one small path for entry and exit. There are so many iron oak trees on the mountains that they cannot be used up. Just like Liujiaping Village, they are just cut down at random and replanted the next year.

The branches used to make charcoal are as thick as arms, and the main trunks cannot be moved. It is winter now, so it has no effect on the survival of the trees, and they will still sprout and grow branches in the spring of the following year.

As for the new courtyard she mentioned, it was one of the several residential plots that Chen Shangen found in the village for his sons. This plot was connected to the main house where they live now.

Chen Shangen knew that when he got old or passed away, his sons would definitely split up the family business, so he had already designated a place for each of them to live after the division.

However, he did not have much money at the moment, so he could not build houses for every family right now. They could only be left empty for now. As the plot of land connected to the old house was close by, he surrounded it with a wall and used it as a vegetable garden, where he planted all kinds of vegetables.

It is winter now and even the cabbages have been harvested. The place is just empty. It is large enough and connected to the old house by a small door, making it a good place to burn charcoal.

Chen Shangen knew the seriousness of the matter and immediately responded, "Don't worry, this matter will not spread out of our family. Your brothers will definitely tell them about it when they return."

The three brothers Chen Dahai, Chen Dajiang and Chen Dahe immediately patted their chests and promised that they would take good care of their wives when they returned and would never reveal a word to anyone.

In fact, Chen Cui still has some confidence in them.

Over the years, the Chen family has lived together in harmony without any disputes. In addition to the fact that the two elders of the Chen family are good at managing the family, it is also related to the personal character of the family members.

There is no need to talk about the three brothers of the Chen family. They are all honest and loyal. Although they are not smart or talented, they are down-to-earth and hardworking.

Her two sisters-in-law and her brother's wife are all good people, at least they don't have any major flaws, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to live together peacefully for so many years. Although the sisters-in-law cannot be said to be like real sisters, they are very united and close to others, which shows the cohesion of the family.

Therefore, even though the Chen family was not very wealthy, they lived a life that was envied by many villagers, especially the mothers-in-law, who admired Zhang for being able to make her three daughters-in-law so obedient.

In fact, Zhang didn't have any means to discipline her daughter-in-law. She was just trying to gain her heart.

She also has a daughter, and she treats her daughter-in-law as her own daughter who married into the family. So she is naturally calm and her love is genuine.

Your daughter-in-law is not a fool. If you treat her sincerely over time, how can she not feel it? Naturally, she will not cause trouble for no reason. Two good things in exchange for one good thing, and this is how the Chen family is in its current situation.

This is also because the wives chosen by the two elders of the Chen family for their three sons are all of peaceful temperament. If they were replaced by those with an unpeaceful temperament, no matter how you try to persuade them, it would be in vain, and they would cause trouble for you even if there was nothing wrong.

The Chen father and son left in an ox cart, which was loaded with a lot of charcoal. This was what Chen Cui had prepared for Chen Dahe to deliver to Chu's Grocery Store in two days.

It is much closer to the county town from Chenjiagou than from Liujiaping. Now that she has to stay at home, she asks Chen Dahe to bring someone else to deliver the goods. As for who to bring, she lets them decide.

Chen Cui was not idle at home either. She dragged the wood home, but she also had to cut it into pieces for charcoal burning afterwards, so she was still busy and having fun.

Fortunately, thanks to the efforts of Chen's father and son, there are enough branches piled up in the backyard, so they don't have to go to the mountain to cut trees recently.