Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

Since they successfully made sweet potato vermicelli, Chen and Zhang Xixi have made some more in the past few days, partly to satisfy their cravings and partly to practice their skills.

Although we can't sell them now, we can in the future!

Who knows, this might become a family heirloom!

Of course, the recipe for these sweet potato vermicelli is only known to a few people and will not be shared with others.

Wang Daniu and his team worked overtime and finished building the dormitory in just a few days. The completed building needed to be aired out for a few days.

The carpenter hadn't finished making the beds yet, so they continued to live in tents.

Next came the land reclamation. They continued to cultivate the land that had been previously cleared. Zhang Xixi also asked Zhou Fu to notify the villagers who were behind on their work that they would start paying back their wages tomorrow.

There were more people working this time. When Wang Daniu and the others came to lead the cattle early in the morning, Zhang Xixi and Zhou Fu went to check on the mountain. After everyone in the village had arrived, they said a few words and then let Zhou Fu continue to supervise the work.

With so many people eating at home, Cuihua alone certainly couldn't handle all the cooking. Sun Xiuxiu would only help after taking care of the chickens at home.

However, the weeds in the family vegetable garden had grown a lot, and since today was a day off, Zhang Xixi took Zhou Yujie and the two children to the vegetable garden to weed and remove pests.

These weeds and bugs are such a nuisance! Luckily, the vegetable garden isn't very big, and the few of them can manage to clear it all in a day. It's just that they're a bit short-handed at home!

After lunch, Zhang Xixi went to the village carpenter's house to ask, "Carpenter Zhou, how's the bed I ordered coming along?"

“Da Bao’s mother, you’ve come at the right time. The bed is all ready. We’ll air it out today, and we can move it into the house tomorrow.”

"Really? Thank you so much! How much is it in total?"

After mentally calculating the cost of the wood and labor, Zhou the carpenter said, "Six taels of silver!"

The beds made by the villagers are so cheap, and you can use any kind of wood you want, as long as it's found in the mountains. Next time I need any woodworking done, I'll definitely ask the villagers to make them.

Zhang Xixi paid the money and said she would come back to move in the next afternoon before going home.

The next morning, Zhang Xixi arranged for Zhou Fu to go to town to buy some old rice, garlic, pork, etc., but there was no need to buy vegetables.

We can't even finish all the food at home, and in about a month, the wild mushrooms in the mountains should be in season, then there will be even more delicious food.

After the children went to school, Zhang Xixi went to check on the rice paddies.

Although the ducks also eat grass, it is probably because of the growth nutrient solution that was applied last time that not only the rice in the paddy field is growing fast, but the weeds are also growing very fast, and some of the weeds are even taller than the rice.

This won't do. If weeds are left unchecked, they will definitely delay the rice harvest!

When Xiao Chen came over to check on the ducks, she saw Zhang Xixi deep in thought and asked, "What are you thinking about, little sister?"

Zhang Xixi turned her head and looked over, "Sister-in-law, I'm thinking these weeds are growing way too fast!"

Chen looked at the weeds in the field and said, "I noticed them yesterday and was thinking of telling you, but I was so busy I forgot!"

Zhang Xixi smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll go find someone to weed."

Zhang Xixi went to the wasteland to find Wang Daniu and asked him to arrange for a few people to come and weed the rice paddies. She also made a request that the people who were weeding this time be the same ones who had been there before.

Wang Daniu, unaware of Zhang Xixi's intentions, still arranged the people according to her request.

Zhang Xixi wandered around again and found that it was still difficult to cultivate the mountain into terraced fields. The mountain was full of rocks and shrubs, and it was impossible to do much in a day by manpower alone. So far, the terraced fields cultivated were less than 100 mu.

Then he remembered something and went to find Wang Daniu again. "You guys should finish work early this afternoon and go to Zhou the carpenter's house to move some beds. Put two sets in one room. They are bunk beds, so four people can live in one room."

"Yes, boss!"

In town, Zhou Fu bought his things and set off in his horse-drawn carriage when he encountered a woman with a child of about three years old asking him for directions to the deserted village.

"Young lady, what are you going to do in this deserted village!"

Holding the child, Zheng looked at Zhou Fu with some wariness, then thought for a moment and replied, "I'm going to visit relatives. Does this brother know how to get to the deserted village?"

Zhou Fu thought to himself that everyone in their village came from the Northwest, and he had met all the villagers, but he had never heard of any of them having such relatives!

Could they be relatives of Wang Daniu and his group?

Zhou Fu thought for a moment that it was inappropriate for a grown man to take them back, fearing gossip, and even if he invited the woman, she probably wouldn't dare to sit down.

He pointed to the oxcart driver and said, "The deserted village is a bit far from the town. Why don't you take an oxcart there?"

Zheng looked at the old man pulling the oxcart and quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you so much, brother!"

"You are welcome!"

Zhou Fu drove the horse-drawn carriage out of the town.

The horse-drawn carriage was much faster than the oxcart, and we arrived home just in time for lunch.

After they finished lunch, Zheng took the oxcart to the deserted village. She got off the cart and paid the fare.

Holding her son, she walked into the deserted village. As soon as she entered the village, she could tell from the houses that this village was richer than her own.

Old Mrs. Wang had just finished lunch and was taking a stroll when she saw her and asked curiously, "Young wife, what are you doing here?"

"Auntie, I've come here to find my husband, his name is Wang Daniu. Do you know where he is?"

It turned out they were looking for Da Bao's farmhand. She smiled and pointed in a direction, "Just keep walking that way, and when you see some tents, that's where they live!"

After thanking her, Zheng left as Old Wang had instructed.

When she arrived, Wang Daniu and the others were still sitting and resting on the grass outside. This was also Zhang Xixi's request, as resting for the time it takes to burn two incense sticks after a meal is good for the stomach.

Wang Erniu was the first to see Zheng Shi and quickly nudged Wang Daniu, saying, "Brother, sister-in-law is here!"

"where!"

Wang Daniu stood up and looked around. When Zheng saw this, she immediately came over with her son in her arms.

"big cow!"

"father!"

Wang Daniu happily replied, "It really is you guys! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

“We didn’t know how to contact you either!” Zheng glared at Wang Daniu.

Wang Erniu and the others greeted her warmly, "Sister-in-law!"

"sister in law!"

"Sister-in-law Da Niu!"

"..."

Zheng agreed to everything, and Wang Daniu had already taken his son and was playing with him.

The couple went to the side and whispered something to each other. Although Wang Daniu was happy that his wife and son had come, he originally thought that his eldest son's arrival would not interfere with his wife's work. He thought he might ask the employer to let his son go to school.

Old Wang's family can't keep digging for food in the fields forever!

He told Zheng about all these plans.