Farming and reading family

The Chen brothers put the grain away and covered it tightly before going home together.

When Gao E came out, she saw Chen Ke carrying a bunch of things and heading to a cave on the side: "It's dark over there, light a lamp."

Chen Ke hid the cricket cage behind him awkwardly, but it still showed a little bit. "I think Duokui and the others are quite bored, so I want to catch some crickets for them to play with."

Gao E looked at the string of cricket cages. There were about twenty crickets in them. How many were they?

But she wouldn't be angry with Chen Ke because of a few cricket cages. So what if Chen Ke wanted to play with crickets?

Better to lose your ambition on toys than to lose your life on hard work.

"Yeah." Gao E nodded. "Light a lamp and go over there. There are a lot of bricks piled over there."

Seeing Gao E wasn't angry, Chen Ke asked, "Then I'll put it over here?"

"Okay." Gao E nodded.

Chen Ke was a little uncertain. He walked past Gao E carrying a string of cricket cages. Seeing that she really didn't care, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He only knew the approximate time to collect crickets, but not the exact time, so he prepared first.

After tidying up the things in the yard and blocking the door of the cave, the couple took their children to sleep.

There were four beds in the middle of the cave, one for Gao E and Chen Ke, and two for the four children. It was much more spacious than their previous stay at Chen's house.

Every bed had to be covered with curtains, but Gao E was still not used to it. After all, her eldest son was already ten years old, and she was not familiar with Chen Ke.

Chen Ke seemed to have trouble falling asleep today, and the bed made a slight creaking sound as he tossed and turned.

In his previous life, he had never cared about household affairs. Even after Gao passed away, his life was taken care of by his parents, and then by his eldest brother.

At that time, his third brother and his wife not only wanted to separate the family business, but also left Baotou Village and had little contact with him.

When he was at his lowest point, he knew that every meal was hard-earned, but he never really cared about it. To him, it was just a way to get food.

But today, when I went to the market with my third brother, I saw him moving between the stalls, selecting things, bargaining, and making deals. I realized there was a lot of knowledge involved.

It is said that all things are inferior except reading.

But isn't it true that scholars are useless?

Gao E hesitated whether to ask what was going on, feeling that Chen Ke was worried about something, but while thinking about it, she fell asleep.

In the morning, Gao E went to the pond and saw some footprints, but no traces of large wild animals.

I guess he made some money here before, so he came to take a look again last night.

This made Gao E want to build a wall even more. It was not a good thing to be targeted by thieves all the time.

We must prepare a lot of food at home when we get back. Safety is really the top priority for their family living here.

Master Qin and his apprentices arrived early in the morning. Gao E left some pancakes for them. Master Qin saw that the Chen family was generous and did not refuse.

Although these craftsmen do the same work, their skills are different.

If you meet someone who is easy to get along with, you can guarantee that the roof will not leak for ten years.

If those who are demanding find fault with the work and the wages are not satisfactory in the end, the roof may leak in three years.

The key is that it is not noticeable at all when it is just repaired.

"Master Qin, it seems that some small wild animals come to my house at night. You are knowledgeable and experienced. Can you see if there is anything you can do?" Gao E came over and asked.

Master Qin laughed and said, "If you raise a dog, weasels and badgers won't dare to come near you."

Gao E thought about it and asked, "What if there are wild boars?"

"That's not easy to deal with." Master Qin frowned. "But there are many springs in your area. Wild animals usually don't come down the mountain to drink water. They only come down when there's nothing to eat."

"Then how much do you think it will cost to build a wall here?" Gao E asked directly.

Master Qin looked around and said, "Actually, you can build a mud brick wall to a height of one person, plant some thorns on one side, and if you want it to look nice, you can plant some mountain roses. Nothing can get through."

"Is a brick wall not okay?" Gao E knew that Master Qin also wanted to save them some money.

"Of course a brick wall is better, but it costs money. If you want to enclose such a large area, it will cost five or six taels of silver." Master Qin thought it was a lot.

Gao E thought about it seriously and decided to seal the cave first and buy all the necessary things. If she had enough money, she would definitely build the courtyard wall.

The brothers Chen Qing and Chen Jie spent half a day cutting back a lot of bamboo poles. Chen Ke also followed them. When he came back, his clothes were torn in two long holes. When he saw Gao E, he didn't dare to look up.

Gao E didn't say anything either.

Two days later, all the necessary parts of the cave were built, and Master Qin and his team received their wages and left.

According to the time agreed with Master An, he will come to install the doors and windows one day later.

Gao E kept her two sisters-in-law.

"How is Yu Ning's health?" Gao E didn't have time to ask these days.

Yang lowered her head and said nothing.

Lei couldn't stand it any longer: "The Song family is too shameless. They agreed on a betrothal gift of ten taels, but now they only give three taels. They even look down on Yu Ning, saying that she is injured and they don't know if she will be able to have children in the future..."

Yang pressed Lei and signaled her to stop talking.

When my mother heard these words, it was like a blunt knife stabbing her heart.

Gao E looked at her sister-in-law's reaction and said, "I think she also feels sorry for Yu Ning. The Song family is so fickle and they are definitely not a good match."

"Right!" Mrs. Lei instantly perked up. "Yu Ning is still in our family now, so we can still protect her. But if she becomes someone else's daughter-in-law, we won't be able to protect her even if we want to."

Yang knew it very well.

The Song family was quite wealthy, with more than 20 acres of land and many brothers. If the second brother had not passed the imperial examination, the Song family would not have taken the initiative to propose this marriage.

Now that he sees that his second brother may not go any further, he begins to regret it.

"What does sister-in-law think?" Gao E still looked to Yang for her opinion.

"Yu Ning's marriage with the Song family was decided a long time ago. If it is really cancelled, how will Yu Ning get married in the future?" Yang said in a low voice.

"Marriage is all about fate." Lei had the most say on this. "Think back to my time, I scolded every matchmaker of our generation. They said I was too aggressive and would end up being an old maid."

Lei clapped her hands excitedly as she spoke, "And in the end? That bastard, the third brother, who stood guard outside our shop every day and couldn't be driven away even with my father's hammer, didn't he shamelessly marry me back?"

"Besides, Yu Ning is so soft-hearted, she needs to find someone who can control her, otherwise she will be controlled to death." Lei said directly.

Yang sighed when she heard this: "Our family is not what it used to be."

Hearing what Yang said, Gao E and Lei fell silent.

"So I asked my eldest sister-in-law and my third brother's wife to come and discuss whether we can do something?" Gao E said slowly, "Let's find some ways to make money and live a good life."

Yang looked at Gao E uncertainly, thinking that these were things men should think about, and what could they, women, do.

Lei's eyes were bright and she became excited when talking about making money.