stingy landlady

Chapter 59 Need Fruit Tree Seedlings

To save time, the Pan brothers, Pan Sen and Pan Qiang, split up to visit several villagers. They were all from the same village, and these people were all related to each other in some way. They all came out of their houses to look at the carriage, pointing and whispering amongst themselves, unsure what to say.

An elderly woman from the nearest house approached the carriage and greeted it warmly.

"Second Miss, Third Miss! Young Master Lin! Why don't you come to my house for a while? Come in and have some water! Qiangzi said the landlord treats the brothers very well! They're well-fed! He even makes them clothes! He treats them like family!"

The landlord's family is kind! Good deeds are rewarded!

What kind of tactic is this? Trying to get close to complete strangers? What if they drug you or something while you're drinking water? What would happen then?

Gui Zhi shook her head at Gui Hong, stepped forward herself, and said with a smile:

"Grandma! Thank you so much! We're not thirsty! We'll leave when Brother Pan and Brother Pan return! We won't bother you any longer!"

The old lady reached out to take Guizhi's hand, but Guizhi smiled and stepped back.

The old lady didn't insist on pulling people away; she just kept rambling to herself.

"Senzi and Qiangzi were lucky to find good employers! Their mother died tragically, and their sister was sold off to some remote corner by their deadbeat father! It's all a tragedy!"

"Back then, it was so hard to escape famine. We finally found a place to stay! But Qiangzi's father is such a good-for-nothing! He could have been a good student, but instead he learned to gamble! This perfectly good family has been ruined!"

The three of them stared blankly at the old woman talking to herself, then looked at each other without offering any opinion.

The old lady stopped talking when the two Pan brothers returned.

"Grandma! What are you doing here? Let's go back! We're going to visit my parents' graves now!" Pan Qiang said to the old lady.

Pan Sen greeted Gui Hong and Gui Zhi:

"Second Miss, Third Miss! My brother and I are going to visit the graves first! It's very close by! We'll be back in a bit! Several uncles and elders in the village have agreed to give us saplings; they're going to dig them up now and will bring them to us later!"

He then turned to the old lady and said, "Grandma! Don't worry! We two have plenty to eat and wear at the landlord's place, we won't go hungry or cold! You go back now! Qiangzi and I are going to visit the graves!"

The old lady was persuaded to go back, and the Pan brothers took their things and went to pay their respects at the grave.

When the two brothers returned, the villagers saw them and walked towards the cart carrying bundles of saplings on their backs or in their arms.

"Moriko, this is a crabapple tree! It's as easy to grow as a plum tree!"

"Qiangzi! This is my family's apple sapling! The fruit is bigger than crabapple trees, and it blooms earlier!"

"Qiangzi! These are my family's dried-pit plum saplings! They used to be your favorite! Take good care of them, and you'll have plenty to eat in a few years!"

The group put down the saplings, said their goodbyes to Pan Sen and Pan Qiang, and then took their leave. They stood by the roadside in silence, but didn't go home! They all waited for the carriage to leave first!

No one went up to talk to Gui Zhi and Gui Hong, nor did anyone try to get involved with Lin Xiaoyun.

The three of them simply watched quietly as Pan Sen and Pan Qiang interacted with the villagers. It was clear that the two brothers were quite popular!

As the group sat in the carriage and left Huanghua Village, they remained silent.

Guizhi, lost in thought for a long time, finally spoke to the Pan brothers:

"Brother Pan, Second Brother Pan! There will be other times to come!"

When there's not much work to do in the vegetable garden, go check out the western depression and lend a hand! That way, you'll have experience when we need to clear land again!

I think that patch of wasteland over there by the road in your village is quite nice!

Pan Qiang was still lost in the sadness of parting. Pan Sen replied, "Yes, Miss! Qiangzi and I will obey your orders, Master!"

Looking at the carriage full of saplings, Guizhi grinned foolishly at Guihong: "Second Sister! We can't buy rice and cloth today! There's nowhere to put them!"

Gui Hong gently tapped Gui Zhi's head with her finger from inside the carriage and said:

"You! You're so unambitious! You always do whatever comes to mind! You didn't even tell Dad and Mom when we came to ask for saplings, did you? You always act on your own! You're such a cunning little thing! Haha!"

Seeing Guizhi pout, she continued, "If we don't want to buy it today, then we don't have to! We can buy it tomorrow, it's the same! Just don't cause any more trouble tomorrow!"

Guizhi quickly smiled apologetically!

"I won't dare! I won't dare! Tomorrow I'll leave everything to my second sister's arrangements!"

The carriage returned to Xing'an Town. A light rain began to fall again. Reaching the usual meat stall, Guizhi muttered to herself:

"Second sister! The fruit trees planted today will definitely survive the rain!"

Looking at the greasy wooden board used for selling meat, Guizhi continued:

"When people don't have enough oil in their stomachs, they feel like they can never get enough to eat! Those farmhands probably eat a lot because they're lacking oil in their stomachs! Of course, they also probably work a lot!"

They bought meat for making dumplings, and then, without going anywhere else, they took the horse-drawn carriage straight home!

Upon arriving at the door, Gui Hong waited until the carriage came to a stop, then jumped down first and said to Lin Xiaoyun and the others:

"Wait for me a moment! I'll go plant trees with you!"

He then said to Pan Sen and Pan Qiang: "

"You guys help carry the food boxes inside! Don't take the baskets off; we'll need them for vegetables tomorrow. Take them to the east end later and unload them!"

As he spoke, he took the meat into the house and put it away. He saw Li sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) sewing shoe soles, and Guixiang sewing clothes on the kang. Siya was playing with scraps of cloth, piecing them together by herself.

"Mom! Eldest sister! We went to Huanghua Village today and got some fruit tree saplings. We're going to plant them in the vegetable garden now while it's raining!"

After saying this, he handed his money pouch to Li and added:

"Mother! Here's today's money, please keep it safe! The carriage is full of fruit tree saplings, there's no room to put grain! We'll buy cloth tomorrow, what if we accidentally get it dirty if we put it in the carriage!"

"Mother! I'm going to plant trees!" Guizhi said as she walked out.

"What fruit tree seedlings? Did you go to Huanghua Village today? You went that far?"

Li asked in confusion.

Gui Hong stopped and turned around to explain to Li Shi:

“Mom! Pan Sen and Pan Qiang are from Huanghua Village! They went to pay respects at their parents’ graves today!”

They asked the villagers for it! There were plum trees, crabapple trees, and apple saplings! They gave them quite a lot! The carts were all full!

"Go on, go on! So many fruit tree saplings, that's really great! In a few years you'll have fruit to eat! Or how about Mom goes with you to plant some trees?"

"Guixiang, keep an eye on your fourth sister!" Li said, getting up to get out of bed.

Gui Xiang put down her work and said:

"Mom! Why don't I go? I'm stuck at home all day, I can't go anywhere!"

Looking at her sister's fair and delicate skin, Gui Hong knew that she had also been confined at home every day, feeling very restricted. She must have been longing to find an excuse to go out and get some fresh air.

Gui Hong smiled and said to Gui Xiang:

"There are Pan Sen and Pan Qiang, plus Brother Xiaoyun! And then there's Grandpa Zhou and Zhou Qiong at the east end, that makes six people! Three people dig the holes, and three people plant the trees, so we shouldn't need Big Sister to go, right? It'll be filthy on a rainy day!"