Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

The school was closed the next day.

After breakfast, Zhang Xixi led Zhou Yujie and the children to graze on the mountain behind the house, taking the family's cows, horses, and mules with them.

Wang Daniu and the others left yesterday, and no one went to graze the cattle. The cattle stayed in the cattle pen all day, and the pine needles on the ground were trampled to pieces.

Since the livestock are all here, there's no way to clean up properly. Let Zhou Fu and the others clean it up today.

Da Bao was very happy to be able to play in the mountains!

Once they reached the mountain, they let go of the reins and ran off everywhere.

Big Mouth followed behind, chirping away!

Erbao and Zhou Yujie obediently watched over the livestock, while the Zhou Jingyang brothers went to collect dry branches to take back as firewood.

Zhang Xixi noticed that everyone had something to do, so she also looked for a place to see if she could find anything good.

It should be the season for chestnuts and walnuts to ripen now, and she really misses chestnut stewed chicken!

I wandered around the mountains, but I didn't find any chestnuts. However, I found a lot of hickory nuts, which is not bad!

They also collected a lot of firewood and dragged it back. Winter is coming soon, and the family will definitely need a lot of firewood. They need to prepare some when Wang Daniu and the others come back.

When Zhang Xixi returned, the two babies and Zhou Yujie had already gone to work with the cows.

With the help of the other two, Da Bao rode on the back of the ox. Seeing that they were having a good time, Zhang Xixi did not stop them.

Anyway, cows don't produce milk anymore!

Around noon, Zhang Xixi told the children to go home for lunch and that she would come back to relieve them later.

There are too many cows, it'll be a hassle to herd them back, let's just keep an eye on them for a while!

After the children had all left with their morning's harvest, Zhang Xixi bought a bucket of spiritual spring water for each of her livestock, as these were her family's heroes.

Feeding them spiritual spring water from time to time can increase their loyalty and make them more obedient to her.

A little while later, Zhou Yujie and the others arrived.

"Sister-in-law, go back and eat. There's an old nanny waiting for you at home."

Zhang Xixi looked puzzled. Who could it be?

Did she say what her name was?

Da Bao quickly answered, "Her name is Granny Yun. We met at the dilapidated temple last time, how could Uncle not remember!"

It's her. What brings her here?

"Take good care of the cattle and horses, I'm going back!"

At home, Granny Yun was chatting with Sun Xiuxiu about everyday matters, but in reality, she was trying to find out information about Zhang Xixi's family.

Zhou Fu, who was listening nearby, sensed something was wrong and immediately interrupted. After several attempts, Sun Xiuxiu realized what was happening and made an excuse to go to the kitchen.

Granny Yun was furious inside, but she kept a straight face.

When is your boss coming back?

Zhou Fu quickly said politely, "Please wait a moment, sir. Our boss will be here shortly."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Xixi walked into the courtyard and greeted Granny Yun with a smile.

"Granny Yun, what brings you here!"

"Madam Zhang, I've come to discuss something with you."

If her parents hadn't gone back and told her about the abandoned village, she really wouldn't have realized that this woman could come up with a new kind of food.

The disaster in Fuzhou has devastated many of my wife's family's shops and estates, causing heavy losses. She is eager to find a new opportunity.

"Granny Yun, have you eaten yet? Why don't we talk after we finish eating?"

"Madam Zhang, I've already eaten. You go and eat first, we can talk later."

"Then I'll trouble Granny Yun to wait a little longer!"

Zhang Xixi immediately went to wash her hands and eat.

In the kitchen, Sun Xiuxiu told Zhang Xixi about what Granny Yun had been asking about.

Zhang Xixi smiled and said, "Next time someone asks, if you're afraid of saying the wrong thing, just say you don't know."

Could it be that Granny Yun came for the recipe for the fans? But the county magistrate isn't so wealthy and powerful that he would even bother with their petty schemes.

After finishing her meal, Zhang Xixi went to the main room.

Granny Yun then mentioned wanting to buy the recipe for vermicelli.

“Granny Yun, this fan belongs to everyone in our village now, not just me. I can’t make that decision.”

"Then who can make the decision? Don't worry, the price is negotiable!"

Zhang Xixi quickly said, "It's not about the money, but the villagers in our village all depend on it for their livelihood. If the recipe is sold, what will we do? Besides, there is a food shortage everywhere. If you buy the recipe, will you be able to buy sweet potatoes to make vermicelli? Why don't you just order the vermicelli from us and take it back to sell?"

Granny Yun said seriously, "With our strength, we are not afraid of not being able to buy sweet potatoes. If you sell us the recipe, you can still produce and sell vermicelli in Dafang County. Moreover, we will protect you."

This method sounds good, but it would trap us in Dafang County, making it impossible to expand to other areas.

But the village really doesn't have the ability to keep the prescription, so it's better to stay in Dafang County and make steady progress.

"If someone comes to Dafang County to buy vermicelli, that would be fine too!"

Upon hearing the question, Granny Yun knew that Zhang Xixi was interested, and immediately replied, "Of course!"

"Granny Yun, how much are you offering for this prescription?"

"Five thousand taels!"

"No, that's too little, ten thousand taels!"

Zhang Xixi thought she would negotiate the price first and then go to the villagers to discuss it further.

"That's too much, eight thousand taels!"

“Alright, Granny Yun, please wait here for a while. I’ll go talk to the village and then come back to sign the sales contract.”

Zhang Xixi stood up and asked Sun Xiuxiu to take good care of Granny Yun, then she took Zhou Fu and went out.

“We’ll split up. You find a few elders from the Zhou family and ask them to come to the school. Tell them you have something to discuss.”

"Yes, boss!"

Zhang Xixi first went to the Zhang family to tell them about it, and then went to Zhou Dashan's house with Zhang Dacheng.

The last few met at the school and heard that someone had offered eight thousand.

They were overjoyed to receive the recipe for making vermicelli for two taels of silver, and readily agreed to sell it.

Zhang Xixi knew this would happen, which is why she agreed to Granny Yun's request beforehand, and then told her what would happen next.

Seeing that they all agreed, Zhang Xixi asked Zhang Wenbo to write a sales contract, including all the precautions she could think of.

After having Zhou Dashan and the others sign their names, he took Zhou Dashan and Zhang Dacheng home to handle the handover.

Granny Yun took the contract, looked at it carefully, and added a few suggestions as she read.

This person must be very knowledgeable about business!

Zhang Xixi had Zhou Fu add all the additional information before Granny Yun signed and pressed her fingerprint.

Zhou Dashan handed her the recipe for making vermicelli, saying, "Granny Yun, take a look at the recipe. If you don't understand anything, you can ask now. Of course, you can also send someone to the factory to learn."

Granny Yun thought to herself, "If I can still study, then of course I will study."

"I will arrange for someone to come and learn after I get back."

After saying that, he took out a stack of silver notes, counted out more than ten, and handed them to Zhou Dashan.