Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

"Really!" Shopkeeper Qian exclaimed in surprise.

Zhang Xixi nodded, "Really!"

Manager Qian rubbed his hands together, "Then could you please ask Madam Zhang to part with it!"

Zhang Xixi said seriously, "It is possible, but this is, after all, a life-saving item left to me by my master. There is only one of its kind, so how can I take it out so easily?"

“Madam Zhang, tell me what you want, and I will do my best to make it happen.”

That's a clever way of putting it. It means you only do what you can do, and if you can't do it, you don't do it, right?

This Manager Qian truly lives up to his title; he's as shrewd as a fox.

However, she didn't want anything, nor did she want to have too much involvement with the Duanmu family. She only said that to let Manager Qian know how rare this medicine was.

Let's give them a heads-up beforehand, letting them know that they only have this one antidote pill, and that they should never come looking for her again!

"Then two thousand taels of silver will do!"

Manager Qian thought Zhang Xixi would ask for an exorbitant amount, but she only wanted money. Had he misjudged her?

She was born into a rural village and had very little experience!

"Madam Zhang, won't you reconsider?"

Zhang Xixi shook her head, "Two thousand taels."

"Fine!"

Zhang Xixi went inside, bought an antidote pill and a beauty pill, and then came out to hand them to Shopkeeper Qian.

She even pretended to be reluctant and said, "This is the only antidote pill left, so keep it safe. Don't come looking for me if you lose it! And this beauty pill is a free gift; it's the last one!"

Shopkeeper Qian solemnly accepted the box, nodded, and was about to take his leave.

I suddenly remembered that when I came here, I saw that most of the rice planted in the village had already sprouted ears. Judging from the appearance, it should be ripe next month!

"Madam Zhang, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you!"

Zhang Xixi asked in confusion, "Is there anything else?"

"I came to check on your rice. It should be ready for harvest next month. Could you leave some rice for me? I'll pay you the market price!"

Zhang Xixi thought to herself, "So the rice has already headed! It's growing so fast!"

"Of course, but we don't have many family members, so we can only give you rice. You can take it back and turn it into rice yourself. How about twenty coins per pound?"

Shopkeeper Qian pondered for a moment. As long as it was grain, it would be fine. Besides, the rice bran could be used to feed the warhorses, killing two birds with one stone.

"Sure, but could you please help me out if any other families in the village want to sell their grain? The price is negotiable!"

"Sure, I'll go talk to the village head, but I don't know if they'll sell it to you!"

Manager Qian said seriously, "Don't worry about that. We business people believe in voluntary transactions. If a deal goes through, everyone is happy. If a deal doesn't go through, we still maintain good relations!"

Manager Qian left a contact address in the county, telling Zhang Xixi and the others to let him know after they had finished collecting the grain, and then he would come over to deliver it.

After Manager Qian left, Zhang Xixi immediately went to the rice paddy and found that, just as Manager Qian had said, the rice had already begun to head.

She quickly found Xiao Chen and Zhou, saying, "Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, the rice in my house has started to head, so the ducks can't be put in there anymore, or they'll eat the ears."

Ms. Chen and Ms. Zhou immediately realized, "Oh no, we actually forgot about that!"

The three quickly chased the ducks out of the rice paddy, while Zhang Xixi's family brought them back to the chicken coop.

The Chen family rushed home and took the opportunity to check on their rice paddies. Fortunately, the rice hadn't sprouted ears yet, so they could raise the ducks for a few more days.

Back home, they continued making vermicelli. Zhang Xixi and her team were busy for several days before they could stop. They used several thousand kilograms of fresh sweet potatoes to make several hundred kilograms of vermicelli.

It rained heavily for several days, so Wang Daniu and the others stayed home to rest instead of going out to work.

Fortunately, the rain came after the fans had dried, otherwise they would have gotten moldy.

Apart from Zhou Yujie and his friends who were at school, no one else in Zhang Xixi's family went out.

Seeing Zhou Fu coming from the cattle pen, Zhang Xixi quickly asked, "Zhou Fu, is there enough hay at home?"

"It might last a few days, but who knows how long this rain will last!"

Zhang Xi was also worried that if the rain lasted too long, she would have to cut hay in the rain to keep her livestock and poultry from going hungry.

"After the rain stops, you should cut more hay to prevent this from happening again."

"Yes, boss!"

Zhang Xixi held two tiger cubs in her arms and looked at the rainy scene, wondering where the grain that Zhou Yuhao and the others had transported had gone!

She hoped to reach the Northwest as soon as possible; she didn't want foreign enemies to invade, causing the country to be engulfed in war and chaos.

Meanwhile, in the Northwest, Zhou Yuhao and his men delivered the sweet potatoes. Seeing so many sweet potatoes, the soldiers' morale soared.

Finally, I don't have to go hungry anymore. I can finally fuck those damn Northern Desert people!

The rain stopped after a few days. Zhang Xixi went to check on the terraced fields that had been cultivated at home, which covered about 100 acres. She then asked Zhou Dashan to help her get the necessary paperwork done in town.

The day after they received the documents was a day off for Zhang Wenbo and his colleagues, which was a good opportunity to go to the county town and exchange all the contracts for red ones.

The next day, Zhang Xixi and Zhang Wenbo took Zhou Yujie and the two babies to the county town.

After having a big meal at a restaurant in the county town at noon, we went straight to the county government office.

We were lucky today; the county magistrate and the county clerk were both there. Zhou Yujie was asked to wait outside with the two treasures, while Zhang Wenbo and Zhang Xixi made some arrangements before going inside.

When she was led to the county magistrate's office, Zhang Xixi took out the house deeds, wasteland deeds, and employment contracts that she had prepared in advance.

This time, the land deed was in Zhang Xixi's name. The county magistrate glanced at it and saw that it was another hundred-odd acres of wasteland. He looked up and glanced at Zhang Xixi and the others a few times.

Upon noticing this, Zhang Wenbo cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask if Your Excellency has any questions?"

"I'm just a little curious. I remember you were the ones who came last time with the land deeds for three hundred acres of wasteland. And this time it's another hundred acres. Has this wasteland already been cultivated?"

Zhang Wenbo nodded. "It's all done."

The county magistrate raised an eyebrow and said, "Although this wasteland is exempt from tax in the first year, the penalties for failing to pay taxes in the second year are severe. Moreover, now taxes can only be paid in grain, not silver. You should think this through!"

Zhang Wenbo and Zhang Xixi exchanged a glance. The imperial court was now facing such a severe food shortage!

"Thank you for the reminder, sir, but we are already prepared."

Alright, the county magistrate didn't say anything more, picked up the official seal and stamped all the land deeds.

But what are these other two pieces of paper? What is an employment contract?

"These two contracts cannot be stamped!"

Zhang Xixi quickly asked, "Why can't we build it? It's also a contract."