Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

early morning.

Qinjia Village.

It was October now and the weather was getting colder. When I woke up in the morning, I felt cold and had to put on a coat. There were fewer people in the fields after the autumn harvest.

The family got up early in the morning to pack their things. They had made an appointment with Old Lady Qin to go to town together yesterday.

The construction of the house is about to begin, and the kitchen is still missing a lot of things, not even extra bowls and chopsticks. Yun plans to buy a few more sets.

Uncle Niu's ox cart was parked outside the courtyard gate, and Old Lady Qin was sitting on it waiting for them, with several large bags of wheat piled beside her.

Qin Li came out carrying a large sack and put it on the ox cart, and Yun Zhenzhen followed closely behind.

Old Lady Qin looked at the extra sack beside her and raised her eyebrows slightly: "Third son's wife, you only brought 100 kilograms to the town?"

There is a drought this year, and the wheat yield in the autumn harvest is not very high. Because of the small quantity, we have to use this grain to exchange for money. We have to rely on this wheat for food and clothing in the second half of the year. We can also exchange it for some corn, coarse rice, etc. to last longer.

Yun Zhenzhen smiled and said, "Mom, you forgot, we didn't plant much last year, and we only harvested 200 kilograms of wheat."

Old Mrs. Qin paused.

Yes, how could she forget the Yun Zhenzhen in the past? She did nothing all day and was so lazy that she didn’t even bother to help in the fields. She relied on her eldest grandson alone, and it was considered diligent of her eldest grandson if he could harvest 200 kilograms.

Can the three old families survive until next year with just this little?

Their family does have dozens of acres of land, and they harvested nearly a thousand kilograms of wheat. It sounds like a lot, but their family also has a large population, with many young and middle-aged laborers. There are more than ten people in the family, and everyone has to feed themselves.

Today this thing is gone at home, and tomorrow that thing is missing. Don’t you have to spend money to buy them?

Old Mrs. Qin got a headache just thinking about it. She still had to live frugally.

Yun Jing and Qin Li sat on the other side, and Yun Zhenzhen also got in. The car swayed towards the town.

Half an hour later.

Willow Town.

A group of people got off the carriage carrying large and small bags and went to do their business.

Yun Jing went to the bookstore in town. The children at home have been reading a lot recently, and the pens, ink, paper and inkstone are being used up very quickly. Yun Zhenzhen gave him a sum of money to buy the items.

Yun Zhenzhen and Old Lady Qin went to the grain shop in town together. When they got there, they learned that the county magistrate had recently issued some new laws regarding grain, requiring all major businesses to purchase and sell grain at no more than ten cents per pound.

It was also stipulated that the grain prices in each grain store could not increase significantly, and the maximum selling price could not exceed twelve cents.

In the past, the price of rice fluctuated around seven or eight cents per pound. In years of poor harvests, the price would generally rise by a few cents. If the imperial court did not intervene, and grain stores hoarded grain, the price of rice would probably skyrocket.

By then, food prices will soar, money will become worthless, food will become hard currency, and many people will be displaced because they cannot afford food.

Yun Zhenzhen didn't expect that the county magistrate could issue such an effective decree that could reduce the occurrence of many hidden dangers.

This time, Old Lady Qin brought nearly 500 kilograms of food to the town. Half of it was exchanged for copper coins, and the other half was exchanged for staple foods such as corn, brown rice, and buckwheat.

Yun Zhenzhen originally wanted to exchange all the 100 kilograms of wheat for rice to take home, but under the piercing gaze of Old Lady Qin, she silently exchanged it for 50 kilograms of corn.

Forget it. Next time I come, I won’t come with Old Lady Qin. I’ll buy all the rice myself.

After the food was exchanged, everything was moved onto the ox cart and Uncle Niu was asked to help guard it.

Yun Zhenzhen and Old Lady Qin went to the town center.

This was her first time shopping with her mother-in-law.

The most prosperous place in the entire Liuye Town is the central street. There are various restaurants, cloth shops, grain stores, grocery stores and study rooms nearby. There are more than ten restaurants of all sizes.

There are also many people from nearby villages who push carts into the town every day to do small business and set up small stalls to make a living, selling embroidery, grain, fresh vegetables and mountain products. The whole street is filled with various hawking sounds, and it is very lively.

Old Lady Qin took Yun Zhenzhen into a cloth shop. The business of this shop was very prosperous. Many women and girls came here to choose cloth. Most of them sold grain after the autumn harvest and exchanged the money for cloth to make outerwear.

As soon as Mrs. Qin entered the store, she walked straight to the counter.

The shopkeeper, who was counting on an abacus, looked up and saw a woman standing in front of him. One could tell from her face that she was a shrewd head of the family. She must have come to the store to buy cloth for her whole family.

The harvest was poor this year, and the business in the store was also very bleak. We had to rely on selling cloth during the change of seasons to earn some money for the family.

The shopkeeper quickly walked out of the counter and greeted her: "Auntie, what do you need? My store has everything. If you don't know what to choose, I can still recommend it to you."

"Pick out a few rolls of black, white, and gray cloth for me, enough for about ten people." Old Lady Qin said, "I don't want anything that's too expensive or too low quality. Bring it to me first."

"Okay." The shopkeeper quickly called a servant over and told him the request.

Yun Zhenzhen walked aside, picked up a piece of cloth and said to her, "Mom, what do you think of this black cloth? I think it suits Dad very well. I'll buy you a brighter color, about ten feet long each, so you can make two sets of clothes..."

Old Lady Qin frowned and whispered, "Aren't you buying it for the children? Why are you talking about me again? Your family is going to build a house soon, and there are many places to spend money. You can't afford to waste it."

"I need to buy clothes for the children, and I need to buy clothes for you too," Yun Zhenzhen said with a smile. "I have the money to build a house, and I also have extra money from the grain I exchanged this time. Besides, I have a partnership with a big restaurant in town. Don't worry, Shouze has been away from home for so long, I have to show my filial piety to you two on his behalf and on behalf of the children."

Old Mrs. Qin looked at the cloth in her hand. It only cost a few cents per foot, which was not expensive. She also knew that her daughter-in-law had saved some money from her business, but she was still reluctant to buy herself a new set of clothes.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper beside him quickly chimed in, "Oh, auntie, your daughter-in-law is so filial. You are so lucky! She rushed to buy cloth for you to make clothes. This is the best fate for children and grandchildren. Don't waste her kindness."

Hearing his praise, Old Lady Qin was very happy and said without hesitation: "Buy it!"

Then he continued, "But we agreed that if you buy one for us, I have to buy one for you too, and you can't refuse me."

Yun Zhenzhen couldn't help but laugh and nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, Yun Zhenzhen specially selected a few pieces of cloth for the children in the family. The clothes they made would be durable and they would have something to change into when they got dirty after working out.

After thinking about it, another person chose a set of cotton cloth, which was of better material, so that he would not look shy when wearing it in important occasions.

The two of them walked to the other side and picked out some shoe soles, bought some needles and thread to sew clothes, and when they paid the bill, they spent a total of four hundred coins.

Old Mrs. Qin felt a little distressed, but she also knew that these expenses were necessary, especially for the children. Maybe they could really pass the imperial examination and become students, so they needed to wear better clothes.

At worst, after this period of time, I can go home and tighten my belt. The family still needs to save money, and the money saved must be spent wisely. My grandson is almost grown up, and he will have to spend money on marriage and wife-in-law in the future...

Yun Zhenzhen didn't care about that and paid the money readily.

While paying the bill, he kept muttering, "Mom, you have to remember that money is earned, not saved."