Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

When they returned, the factory had already been built, exactly as Zhang Xixi had instructed, with a high wall surrounding it.

It was divided into several areas, all separated by walls and covered with tiles.

They also built a special drying room to prevent the vermicelli from not drying properly on rainy days.

The washing and drying of sweet potatoes were on one side, the filtering of sweet potato puree and the stove were on the other side, and the mill was on the west side of the yard.

Zhou Dashan and his group also went to town today and bought two donkeys.

Around noon, Ma Youqing arrived in the village with Zhao Quanfu and the others.

Because Zhang Wenbo had already reached an agreement with the village, Zhou Dashan and the others agreed to hire a tutor and accept children from other places to study.

Because the school was built very spacious from the beginning, one room could be divided into two rooms to serve as a place for midday rest.

The lunch was prepared by Xiao Wangshi and delivered to them. The school paid some food expenses for Xiao Wangshi every month.

This time, Ma Youqing took them directly to the school to find Zhang Wenbo.

Zhao Quanfu and his son looked at the plaque hanging above the gate that read "Abandoned Village School" in large characters. The characters looked very elegant and were written in a beautiful hand.

Inside, there are three large brick houses. Looking out the window of one of the houses, Zhang Wenbo is giving a lesson.

Ma Youqing had just called out, "Zhang...!"

Zhao Quanfu immediately waved his hand to interrupt Ma Youqing's shout.

"We'll just wait a bit, let's not disturb their class!"

Ma Youqing covered his mouth, then let the father and son see!

After a while, Zhang Wenbo checked that it was time for school to end, so he put away the books and let the children go home.

After reading this, Ma Youqing quickly led Zhao Quanfu and his son to Zhang Wenbo's rest room.

"Scholar Zhang!"

Zhang Wenbo looked up and saw them, then happily greeted them, "Ma Yaren, Uncle Zhao, Brother Zhao, you've come!"

Zhao Quanfu and his son nodded to Zhang Wenbo.

Although Ma Youqing had already told Zhang Wenbo and the others what they had said at the Zhao family that day on the way here.

But it's still a bit awkward to be face-to-face!

Zhang Wenbo also remembered that incident and quickly apologized to them, cupping his hands and saying, "Uncle Zhao, Brother Zhao, I'm very sorry about what happened last time, I was rude!"

Zhao Quanfu and the other man exchanged a glance. Since they had both confessed, it would be ungentlemanly to hold a grudge any longer.

"It's okay, we understand!"

Ma Youqing also smoothed things over, making the conversation between the group pleasant again.

"Everyone, come back with me for dinner first. We can talk about everything else after dinner."

After the meal, Zhang Wenbo not only took Zhao Quanfu and the others to Zhou Dashan and the clan elders' homes, but also showed them around the deserted village.

I also told them about the school's situation and salary.

"We only have this many children now, but more than twenty more will come to study after the autumn harvest. We'll discuss class assignments then."

"You can also suggest any other conditions. If there are no objections, how about we sign an employment contract for five years?"

Zhao Quanfu and the other man shook their heads, took the contract handed over by Zhang Wenbo, and glanced at it.

The document clearly states their usual school hours, holidays, and some rules and regulations.

The two asked each other about unfamiliar words, and finally took the brush, signed their names, and pressed their fingerprints on the brush.

"Gentlemen, let me show you where you usually rest. If there's anything you're not satisfied with, please let me know."

Zhang Wenbo led the two to see the rest area at the back and told them about the meals to be provided.

Finally, Zhang Wenbo paid them half of their monthly salary in advance, telling them to come over the next morning to officially start teaching.

The two then said goodbye.

Zhang Wenbo also gave the referral fee to Ma Youqing, since this was an expense for the school and would be deducted from the tuition fees collected later.

On their way back, Zhao Quanfu and his son were still discussing the abandoned village school. It was a bit far, but the village had a good environment, the people were kind, and they were very considerate of others.

Although talking about money might seem a bit shameless, they are studying so that their families can have a better life. What's there to be ashamed of?

Hiring a mule cart to take them to and from school every day wouldn't cost much money.

"Boss, when we get back, go find a mule cart."

"Ok!"

Ma Youqing, who was standing nearby, quickly said, "Grandpa Zhao, I know the mule cart driver. I'll introduce you to him. I guarantee he's safe and reliable."

"Then thank you very much, Mr. Horse Tooth!"

Zhao Quanfu thought for a moment and then took out two taels of silver and handed them to Ma Youqing. "Ma Youqing, this is your reward. Thank you so much for this!"

Ma Youqing accepted the silver and said with a smile, "Grandpa, you're too kind. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know and I'll definitely help."

The three people on the mule cart were chatting happily.

In the deserted village, Zhang Xixi also drove her mule cart out of the village by herself, and after walking for a while...

After looking around and seeing no one, he bought a pig from the system store, put it on a mule cart, and drove it to Old Wang's house.

Old Mrs. Wang was already waiting at home, and she happily came to greet Zhang Xixi.

Zhang Xixi lifted the curtain and said, "There is a boar, a sow, and eleven piglets inside."

Looking at so many pigs and listening to their grunts, Old Wang was overjoyed, her smile deepening.

If you raise her well, you can get at least four big fat pigs. How much money can you make from that!

"Let's sign a contract!"

As Zhang Xixi spoke, she took out a piece of paper and handed it to Old Wang, and also took out her lip rouge, gesturing for her to press her fingerprint on it.

"We need to sign!"

Old Wang readily pressed his fingerprint on the document and then instructed his family to move the pig down to the newly built pigpen.

Seeing that everything was finished, Zhang Xixi hurried home.

Zhou Yuping happened to come to Zhang Xixi's house to buy sweet potatoes, because he and Zhang Wenhong had agreed to start making vermicelli tomorrow.

"Third Aunt, how many sweet potatoes do you have left?"

Zhang Xixi estimated in her mind that the cellar, the granary, and the empty rooms were all filled with sweet potatoes, "probably more than 500,000 jin!"

So much! Zhou Yuping was astonished. He counted on his fingers, "One jin costs two coins, so one hundred thousand jin would be..."

Zhang Xixi said calmly, "Two hundred taels of silver!"

"This, this, I don't have that much silver!"

Seeing Zhou Yuping's dejected look, Zhang Xixi felt helpless. Those who have never done business before are no good; he needs to practice more!

“You can buy on credit. Just give me an IOU. Take 100,000 jin of sweet potatoes over first, and come back for the rest once you’ve mastered the craft.”

Zhou Yuping slapped his forehead. "Why didn't I think of buying on credit? We'll make money once the fans are sold!"

Zhang Xixi had Zhou Fu write an IOU, and Zhou Yuping signed and pressed his fingerprint on it before handing the matter over to Zhou Fu.