Traveling Through Farmhouses: Taking the Baby on a Famine Escape

In the end, only Zhang Xixi and Zhang Dacheng signed contracts with Manager Qian to build courtyard houses, which would be completed in twenty days. The total cost was two hundred taels of silver, and they paid fifty taels as a deposit.

Zhou Dashan felt it was too expensive, but since his family had plenty of able-bodied men, he decided to build his own house. So he ordered bricks and tiles, paid a deposit, and agreed to have them delivered to his door.

Manager Qian was overjoyed to have made the deal, his eyes crinkling into slits with laughter.

"I haven't yet asked where you guests are staying!"

Zhang Xixi smiled and said, "A deserted village."

Manager Qian was stunned for a moment. Is it too late to add money now that it's so far away?

“That’s so far!”

"If you don't consider everything when doing business, you can't blame anyone else," Zhang Xixi asked, feigning ignorance. "What's wrong?"

The plan didn't even include the distance; now they've really lost out.

Manager Qian forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, it's just that we don't have enough bricks and tiles. We need to prepare for two days. Can we go over the day after tomorrow?"

"OK, no problem."

Looking at Zhang Xixi's smile, Manager Qian thought to himself angrily, "You're fine, but I'm the one with the problem. I originally thought I could make a fortune and ask the young master for credit, but now I'm just glad I didn't lose money."

But the contract had already been signed, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and start building the house.

These people are so cunning! They didn't even say they lived so far away. How much would it cost to transport the materials over there?

It was already noon when Zhou Dashan and his group returned to town from the kiln.

Zhang Xixi and her companions treated Liu, the constable, to lunch at Zhenwei Restaurant. They chatted and inquired about various matters. After seeing Liu off, they went for a stroll in the town.

The group wanted to buy cattle, so they went to the cattle and horse market first, but there were only a few donkeys there, no cattle. They then went to the blacksmith shop, but there were only hoes and sickles, no plows or rakes.

Hey! Don't the people in this town use oxen to plow their fields?

Few people in this town raise cattle for plowing, firstly because cattle are too expensive to afford, and secondly because the land is too barren to grow good crops, making cattle raising unprofitable.

"Father, why don't we go to the county town and take a look? We can go to the county government office there."

Zhang Dacheng hesitated and said, "If we go now, I'm afraid we won't be able to come back in time?"

"Dad, we'll stay in the county for one night and then come back. Don't worry about Xiao Jin and the others at home."

"Fine!"

Zhang Dacheng looked at Zhou Dashan, "His brother-in-law, where are you guys?"

Zhou Dashan thought for a moment, "I don't trust the villagers. I'll let the eldest go with you. I'll go back first."

"Father, I'm worried about you going back alone. Why don't I go back instead?"

Zhou Dashan rolled his eyes at Zhou Yuping, "Your dad is a grown man, do you think he'd get lost?"

"No, I am just..."

Zhou Dashan waved his hand, "Alright, just listen to me."

Zhang Wenbo, who was standing nearby, then said, "I'll go back with Chief Zhou. I don't know how to look after cattle and horses, so I won't be of any help."

Finally, Zhou Dashan handed a bag to Zhou Yuping and then he and Zhang Wenbo drove the mule cart back to the village, while Zhang Xixi and the others drove a horse-drawn cart to the county town.

It was already evening when they arrived in the county town. Zhang Xixi and her group entered the town before the city gates closed, found an inn, ate a bowl of noodles, and went to rest.

The next morning, I went to the county government office. I waited outside for a long time and made some arrangements before I went in and found the county magistrate. He then exchanged the land deeds of the three families for red deeds and paid a deed tax of ten coins per mu.

The deed tax may not sound like much, but if you have a lot of land, it can add up to a considerable sum. However, in ancient times, a red deed with an official seal was more reliable, so that the government could intervene if anything happened.

Zhang Xixi put the red contract in a wooden box and placed it in her storage bag, where it was safest.

Zhang Xixi looked pleased. She thought to herself that if she didn't have to consider the quality of the land, she could be considered a small landowner now. It was a day worth celebrating. She would go buy some good food to take home later.

After leaving the county government office, Zhang Xixi and the others went to the carriage and horse shop. They had been there for a while before, and although Zhang Dacheng felt that the livestock inside were not very good, there was nothing they could do now, so they had to make do.

Once inside, Zhang Dacheng was also looking at the cattle, with Zhang Xixi and Zhou Yuping following behind. Once they found one they liked and agreed on a price, they were told to go upstairs to pay and take the cattle.

Zhang Xixi and Zhou Yuping each led four cows before Zhang Dacheng stopped to look at them.

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in light blue cotton cloth saw that Zhang Xixi and the others had bought so many cows and quickly stepped forward to ask, "Everyone, do you need a cart frame? We have all kinds of cart frames here."

Zhang Xixi replied, "Yes, it is necessary, but we also need to go to other places."

Wang Yuancai said with a smile, "My surname is Wang, and I am the manager of this car dealership. Madam, you can leave your ox here with us and come back to pick it up later."

Zhang Xixi sized up the man and figured he didn't seem like a swindler. She then went to their shop to check and found it was genuine. So she ordered two cart frames and stored the ox and horse-drawn carriage inside.

Zhou Yuping was a little worried. If such a powerful plow got lost, it would be a huge sum of money. So he said he would stay and watch over it, and asked Zhang Xixi and the others to help him buy a plow and harrow.

Zhang Dacheng and Zhang Xixi asked passersby for directions until they found a blacksmith shop. Once inside, they discovered that the shop was twice the size of the one in town, and it sold a wide variety of items, most importantly, plows and rakes.

Zhang Xixi examined it closely and it seemed to be a curved-shaft plow. However, she remembered that there was a type of plow that was better than the curved-shaft plow. It seemed that the plow shaft was shorter and more curved, and the plow body structure was also lighter. That kind of plow was more flexible to use and the farming efficiency was faster. Moreover, if an iron shaft was used, the plow would be more sturdy and durable, and the service life would be longer.

"Shopkeeper, can you make custom-made plows and rakes?"

"Madam, what kind of plow would you like? This is the best plow we have in our shop."

Zhang Xixi explained her requirements, and the shopkeeper smiled wryly, "I have never seen such a plow before, let alone made one. Moreover, the shaft needs to be made of iron, which requires a lot of iron. It would cost at least twenty taels of silver to make. Besides, we cannot currently produce such a plow. Would you like to take another look?"

Zhang Xixi clicked her tongue in amazement. Iron was so expensive in this era. Oh well, never mind, I'll just make do with the curved plow for now!

"Then let's take this kind. How much is a set of plow and harrow?"

"Eight taels of silver."

Zhang Xixi glanced at Zhang Dacheng. She had never bought anything like it before and didn't know if it was expensive or not, so her father had to do it.

Zhang Dacheng understood Zhang Xixi's meaning and went up to bargain with the shopkeeper. Finally, they agreed on a price of six taels of silver for a set of plows and rakes, one hundred and fifty coins for a hoe, and one hundred coins for a sickle.

Zhang Xixi and her companions ordered eight sets of plows and rakes, twenty hoes, and twenty sickles. They paid a 30% deposit and asked the shopkeeper to deliver them to the cattle and horse market at noon before leaving the blacksmith shop.