The road to wealth of a peasant widow

As a carpenter, the thing Liu Youshan has the most at home is wood.

Compared with processing materials supplied by clients, this kind of turnkey work can make more money, so he naturally prefers it.

He went to the kitchen and took a wooden stick from the firewood pile. He scratched it back and forth on the ground a few times and calculated the ingredients needed.

Then he quoted the price: "A five-foot long table, three square stools, and a wardrobe, a total of eight hundred and fifty coins."

He was afraid that Chen Cui would find it too expensive, so he explained: "I have never made this kind of wardrobe before. I have to think about it when cutting the materials, and it takes a lot of effort to make twenty bamboo hangers, so it costs more than an ordinary wardrobe."

As a carpenter, he usually made beds, tables, chairs and boxes for the surrounding villages, but he didn't make many wardrobes.

It's mainly for rural families, who only have a few pieces of clothes, so a box is enough and there's no need for a wardrobe.

In fact, Chen Cui did not think the price was expensive, she just made some more requirements on the delivery time, hoping that he could finish the work as soon as possible and deliver it before the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Because she remembered that the school seemed to start two days after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and she hoped that it would not delay the children's use.

Liu Youshan calculated the time and thought he should be in time, so he nodded.

On the way back, Changping excitedly told Chen Cui about his discovery: "Mom, Uncle Youshan said he can't read, but he can count. I saw him scratching on the ground."

Chen Cui smiled and said, "Of course he has to be good at math. Otherwise, when he makes furniture for others, he won't know how much wood to use, and he won't know how to cut the wood to save money. If he wastes other people's things, the owner will definitely blame him."

"It seems that being a carpenter is not easy!" Changping said to himself.

"No matter what you do, you have to learn the tricks. Even if you are farming, you have to know the weather and the habits of the crops. When I was in the capital, I heard that there are agricultural books that teach people how to farm. I don't know if there are any tips for farming in them."

"What? There are books that teach people how to farm!" Changping exclaimed.

"Yeah, I haven't thought about that. When you have learned to recognize words, come back and teach me. I want to know what those books say." Chen Cui said with a smile.

"Yes, of course. When I come back I will teach mother what I have learned." Changping nodded vigorously.

"When we visit your father's grave in a couple of days, tell him about this happy event. It will also comfort his spirit in heaven."

Chen Cui sighed and said with a little sadness.

"Yeah." Changping responded softly.

On New Year's Eve, although Chen Cui's family could not put up Spring Festival couplets, set off firecrackers, or visit relatives and friends to wish them a happy new year, it was still very lively.

Chen Cui cooked four or five dishes, and several children helped to make two baskets of dumplings. The whole family had a lot of food and their bellies were full.

In recent days, because there is meat in all three meals, these children can't control themselves and their appetite has increased dramatically. Chen Cui feels that if they continue to eat like this, they might get stomachaches due to indigestion.

So, after dinner, she asked them to walk around in the backyard to prevent indigestion.

The three brothers simply lit the lanterns that Chen Cui bought for them and played in the backyard.

Suisui insisted on joining in the fun and asked her mother to carry her along.

Ever since this girl learned to call "mother", her brothers have become enthusiastic about teaching her how to call people and asked her to learn to call "brother".

After so many days, there have been some results. In addition to calling "Niang", Suisui has also learned to call "Pot".

Even so, the brothers were happy to hear the word "pot". Whenever Suisui called out, all three of them rushed to respond.

At this time, several children lit a bonfire with branches in the backyard and played with their sister in the yard. The scene was joyful and peaceful.

In contrast to the harmonious atmosphere in Chen Cui's home, the atmosphere in the Liu family's old house was not harmonious.

That day, Old Mrs. Zhou wanted to attack Chen Cui, but accidentally injured Liu Youliang, not only on his hand, but also on his face.

It was New Year's Day and he had scratches on his face. People who didn't know would think something was wrong with him. This made Liu Youliang, who was very proud, feel very embarrassed.

For this reason, he had not spoken to Old Zhou for the past few days, and had asked the younger generation to pass on messages about anything. Old Zhou was also full of resentment towards him and decided not to pay any attention to him.

The old couple ignored each other and were angry with each other, which made the atmosphere in the home very low. The younger generations acted very carefully, for fear that they would do something wrong and get punished.

On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, Liu Wende and his son returned home. The family started frying food, but it did not liven up the atmosphere.

When Liu Wende learned the whole story from Zhou, he couldn't help but start thinking.

He didn't believe the gossip his mother said when she was young, he just felt that his brother's wife seemed different from before.

The woman, who was originally as honest and loyal as my second brother, actually blatantly tried to sow discord between my parents. The old couple fell for it and started fighting among themselves.

However, he doesn't spend much time at home, so no matter how the old couple quarrels or makes a fuss, it doesn't bother him.

As long as he comes back, he will definitely be treated the best in the family, and the little conflicts between his father and mother will not affect him at all.

But he couldn't just sit back and watch. It was New Year's Day, and if the old couple were to be angry with each other and their friends and relatives who came to pay New Year's greetings saw it, he would be laughed at and would lose face.

"Dad, this is eight taels of silver from selling the cow. Please keep it."

As he spoke, Liu Wende handed over a purse.

Liu Youliang took the purse, weighed it, and began to sigh: "Alas, this cow can be sold for a lot of money even if it is sold for meat, but the seller only gave this much!"

"Dad, you should be thankful. Fortunately, we met a good customer. He bought the cow and waited for it to die so that he could sell some beef during the Chinese New Year. If it was the kind of cow that needed to be used to pull carts and plow the fields, we wouldn't be able to sell our cows at all!"

This cow is very thin and staggers when it walks. It looks sick at first glance and cannot be concealed from others, so I can only sell it cheaply to people who want to eat meat like this.

Of course, he would not mention the fact that he actually sold nine taels of silver and kept one tael for himself, and the old man would never know.

Liu Youliang was also helpless after hearing this.

Forget it, just sell it at a low price. It will be troublesome if the cow dies at home. I have to report it to the government and find a way to sell the meat. By then, I might not even be able to get the money back.

Liu Youliang put the matter aside, took a puff of welding smoke, glanced at his son and asked, "Anything else?"

Liu Wende sighed inwardly, and took out another purse and handed it to the old man: "The restaurant's business is good this year. This is the money the boss just gave me yesterday. It's six taels in total. Keep it for you."

Liu Wende worked as a manager in a restaurant, with a monthly salary of 900 wen, which was nearly 11 taels a year.

It’s just that for a manager like him, only half of the monthly salary is usually paid, and the other half is not settled until the end of the year.

The few hundred coins he was given on a regular basis were used for his daily expenses and miscellaneous spending. Only the money at the end of the year had to be handed over as a payment for his family's household expenses.