Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

“Your employment contract has never existed before, and there is no law to follow it. It is not a contract of servitude, so it cannot be stamped.”

Hearing the county magistrate's explanation, Zhang Xixi accepted the employment contract, somewhat surprised that the county officials here were so patient!

Before long, the land deeds were stamped with the official seal. Zhang Wenbo and Zhang Xixi paid their taxes, thanked the county magistrate, and then came out.

Once outside the yamen, Zhang Xixi quietly asked, "Big brother, why did you stop me from giving that county magistrate a bribe?"

"I heard that this county magistrate comes from a peasant family and is a rare honest official. He despises those who accept bribes the most!"

Zhang Xixi patted her chest, thinking to herself, "That was close!"

I almost let someone down!

They drove their carriage to East Street and admired the bustling scene along the way.

Zhang Xixi thought to herself, "Behind the rich, meat and wine go to waste, while on the streets, frozen corpses lie!"

Poor people can't even afford to eat, while these rich people live a life of luxury, indulging in meat and fish every day!

You could open a pastry shop in the county; the sound would definitely be great, it's just a bit far.

In modern times, such a short distance would be reached very quickly by car!

Alas! The past is like smoke, impossible to recall!

"Brother, let's find a place to park the carriage first, and then go for a stroll."

"Row!"

After responding, Zhang Wenbo found a place to leave the carriage, parked it, and then took the people in the carriage to explore.

Their first stop was Shuweixuan, a bookstore with a variety of books, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Before going in, Zhang Xixi told the two children and Zhou Yujie the old rules for choosing books: only one copy of each type of book, and if they wanted one for each of them, they should go back and copy it.

This is a great way to practice calligraphy!

After all, having good handwriting was very important for taking the imperial examinations. In modern terms, it was called "presentation score." Good handwriting was pleasing to the eye and thus earned a higher score.

As soon as Zhang Wenbo and the others went inside, they each went to read books. Zhang Xixi also went to look around and flipped through a few novels, but they were all written in classical Chinese and were really not good to read.

It seems that the development of novels in this era is still very slow!

Finally, with Zhang Wenbo's help, Zhou Yujie and his friends selected five books and some paper, all of which they could use now.

"Brother, didn't you find anyone you like?"

Zhang Wenbo shook his head. Apart from some primers and introductions to mountains, rivers, and geography, the rest of the books here were for the imperial examinations.

He doesn't want to take the exam anymore, so let's not buy it!

After paying, Zhang Xixi led her family out of the bookstore. As soon as they stepped outside, she said:

"Brother, I actually think you can take the exam again, at least to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination), so that you can teach more students in the future."

Zhang Wenbo hesitated for a moment but still refused, saying, "Let's forget it. I don't have time to read right now."

Zhang Xixi stopped and pulled her family members to stand by the roadside, persuading them, "Brother, passing the imperial examination will improve your social status. People will look at you with more respect, and it will be easier for you to get things done."

"As for the school, there are already many people. We can invite an old scholar back and divide them into two classes. Those who are good at studying and can participate in the imperial examinations can be in one class, and those who don't have the talent but just want to learn to read can be in another class. This way, you will have more free time!"

Zhang Wenbo pondered for a moment and then said, "Let me think about this before I talk about it!"

"All right!"

Zhang Xixi then looked at Da Bao and the others, waving her hand, "You can go wherever you want from now on!"

Only Da Bao pleaded, "Mom, I want something delicious."

"Let's go then!"

Zhang Xixi and her friends first went to a fabric store and bought some fabric. When they saw some nice ready-made clothes, they each bought a set, and each bought two pairs of shoes.

I've worked so hard to earn so much money, I can't treat myself badly!

They went to the West Market and bought a lot of food and some seeds, including osmanthus cake, candied hawthorn, roast goose, and pork, before taking the horse-drawn carriage home.

When they arrived at the deserted village, seeing that it was not too late, Zhang Xixi and her group delivered the red contracts that the villagers had asked them to prepare to them.

The next day, it rained all morning, which thoroughly moistened the land. After the rain stopped in the afternoon, Zhang Xixi asked Wang Daniu to arrange for someone to pour the soil conditioner onto the ground.

Similarly, Zhang Xixi bought soil conditioner from the system, poured it into a container, and had them carry it to mix with water before spreading it on the ground.

The effect is a bit less effective without organic fertilizer, and there's not much manure from the livestock at home, not enough for one composting.

Niu Da hasn't come recently either, could it be that he hasn't received it?

Two days later, after the soil amendment was applied to the land, Wang Daniu came to find Zhang Xixi early in the morning.

"Master, what should we plant in the field?"

Zhang Xixi thought about it and realized that peanuts are known as the fruit of longevity, so eating more peanuts is good for you, and you can also make oil from them, so growing them is not a bad idea.

Moreover, vegetable oils already existed in this era, such as sesame oil, radish seed oil, soybean oil, and rapeseed oil, which were sold in stores, but the prices were a bit high, and the yield of home-grown oil could not compare to that of peanuts.

Peanuts are still the best!

"Plant ten acres of peanuts, and the rest of them will be planted with sweet potatoes. Wait a moment, I'll go get the seeds for you."

After speaking, Zhang Xixi went to the storage room and bought a bag of sweet potato seeds and a small bag of peanuts from the system, then handed them to Wang Daniu.

"After you plant them tomorrow, come back to me and take the growth solution to water the soil."

"Yes, boss!"

Actually, planting sweet potatoes is faster by cuttings, but last time the sweet potato vines in the field were all dried out, so I didn't prepare them in advance.

These lands are currently at a high elevation, which is a good thing for the rainwater this time, but irrigation will definitely be inconvenient in the future. It seems that we need to put the construction of waterwheels on the agenda.

But who should we turn to?

She remembered that there should be waterwheels in the south, but she wondered if the technology had spread here.

Zhang Xixi went to check on the pasture and saw that Zhou Fu was working hard to cut grass.

Since I told him last time, we've stockpiled a lot of hay at home, but we also have a lot of livestock.

These past few days, Wang Daniu and his group haven't used any oxen. Just like last time, they've had the village children look after them, paying them with hay.

"Zhou Fu, have you ever heard of a waterwheel?"

Zhou Fu looked up and replied, "I've heard that the owner is planning to install a waterwheel?"

Zhang Xixi quickly explained her plan, "I just don't know who can make a waterwheel."

Zhou Fu thought for a moment and said, "Master, I know a little about the principle of a waterwheel. I've seen waterwheels before, but I don't know carpentry, so I probably can't make one."

That's really great news!

Zhang Xixi said happily, "Since you know the method, how about I ask the village carpenter to help you figure it out!"

"It's possible, but I'm afraid I might not be able to do it and it would delay the employer's business!"

Zhang Xixi said seriously, "I trust you. Don't worry. Just tell me what you need. If we don't have it at home, we can go out and buy it."