stingy landlady

Chapter 53 Reiterates the Importance of Growing Off-Season Vegetables

The young man in the blue shirt nodded quickly: "Oh? It's filled with celery, that's delicious! I'll definitely come tomorrow!"

Guizhi looked at Young Master Zheng and whispered, "Our family makes a living from food! Rare things are just rare foods! Look at those green vegetables, they're rare things now!"

Young Master Zheng, with his cheerful personality, smiled and said, "You're a clever and quick-witted young lady! Shepherd's purse, wild garlic! Early-planted greens! These are all rare treats! Next time you have something delicious, be sure to tell me first!"

Guizhi thought for a moment and said, "The first jar of pickled wild garlic we made should be ready to eat. I'll bring some over tomorrow for you two gentlemen to try!"

Seeing Guizhi's business acumen, Young Master Liu couldn't help but say, "No need to bring any, just bring the whole jar!"

One sentence made Young Master Zheng burst into laughter, disregarding his image! Guizhi also laughed sheepishly. Even Young Master Liu couldn't help but smile.

In the evening, when Grandma Yang came to deliver wild vegetables, she found Grandpa Zhou.

The old lady spoke while tears streamed down her face, sobbing, "Uncle Zhou! You are all good people!"

I had no other choice but to come to you!

My family only had one younger brother, but he went astray and became addicted to gambling. That damned man gambled away everything and jumped into the river and drowned.

My younger brother and sister-in-law were left with no house or land. My eldest nephew, who was already engaged, had no choice but to have his engagement broken off.

My poor sister-in-law was left with no hope, hanging in the woods by a rope! Her two sons didn't know what to do, so they came to me, their aunt, for help.

"Uncle Zhou, these half-grown boys are going to bankrupt me. I really can't afford to support them. They're considering selling themselves, and that's when I thought of you! Even when selling yourself, you should find a good employer. Don't you think so?"

Perhaps he can find a wife in the future, so my brother won't die without an heir!

Old Zhou didn't know about other people's affairs, and of course, he didn't want to refuse without going through Dazhu. Although he told Old Madam Yang that he needed to think about it, he had actually thought about it seriously in his heart!

With a father of questionable character and a mother of weak will-be parents, it's hard to imagine what the two children will be like. If they are diligent and capable, that's fine! But if they are cunning and lazy, then they'll only bring trouble upon themselves.

It would be best to find out more before even seeing the person. Don't even mention buying someone, especially since they're servants themselves. They just haven't made a big fuss about it in the village. Many villagers assume they're relatives of Dazhu or Li.

That evening, Guizhi suddenly had a brilliant idea and asked Dazhu, "Dad! How about we plant cucumbers, green beans, eggplants, and peppers now? We can make some money while it's early! The stubble on the east side has already been burned, so we still have some wood ash. We can also haul in some cow dung. I think it should work! Dad! What do you think?"

Dazhu thought about it carefully: "We usually start planting here in June! It's warmer then! Cucumber seeds need a higher temperature to germinate!"

Guizhi laughed and said, "Dad! You have to try everything to know if it will work! How about we soak the cucumber seeds and put them on the kang (heated brick bed)? We can plant them after they sprout!"

Dazhu has already tasted the benefits of planting vegetables early.

"Guizhi, your father also knows that planting vegetables a season earlier will result in a higher price."

There are just too many things to do right now, so your grandfather told Dad to finish one thing before moving on to the next. That way, he won't end up doing nothing well! Right now, I'm repairing the dikes and digging the ditches. We still need to plow the low-lying land deeply with oxen and then harrow it flat before we can plant rice seedlings.

You all want to live in big houses, so we need to consult a feng shui master to choose a good location and auspicious date for the east side. Building a house isn't something you can just do casually.

Dad feels like he has so many things to do right now, and he's afraid he won't be able to take care of anything and will end up with nothing to show for it.

"Dad! Don't we have connections? You can't do everything yourself! You've entrusted Uncle Zhou with managing the West Depression area. You can go east and find someone to oversee the house construction!"

"Grandpa Zhou is here to help with the vegetable planting! We're hiring people anyway! We'll hire someone to grow the vegetables and have Grandpa Zhou help manage them!"

Dazhu suddenly felt that things were becoming clear.

"That's right! Guizhi is the smartest one!"

"Tomorrow, Dad will find someone to look at the feng shui and hand over the vegetable planting to your Grandpa Zhou! You all can go and take a look when you have free time."

After sleeping soundly until dawn, Dazhu woke up to find a little tail following him around.

"Dad, I don't need to herd the livestock today! Let Lin Xiaoyun herd the cattle and horses! Anyway, the horses and cattle are all in the east end now, and he lives in the east end too. How convenient!"

Dazhu affectionately patted Guizhi's head, "Then you can stay with your father this morning!"

Upon seeing the old man, Guizhi greeted him first: "Grandpa! Good morning!"

When the old man saw Dazhu bring out the cassia branch, he nodded.

The fourth brother also came out of the house yawning! Seeing Guizhi following behind, he immediately woke up from his drowsiness!

Guizhi called out sweetly, "Fourth Uncle! Good morning!"

The fourth brother pointed at Guizhi, "So early! What are you doing with your father? We're going to Xiwadi, that's a place for men."

"Fourth brother! I have something to do today and can't go! You and Mingzhi keep an eye on things!"

The old man asked, puzzled, "Dazhu! Why don't you sort out Xiwadi first? Where are you going?"

Dazhu looked at the puzzled old man and the fourth son, and said:

"Father! Fourth Brother! I'll ask someone to take a look today and see where to build a house, and when to break ground! But we can't start construction right away! There's only so much work in Xiwadi! Mingzhi can manage it!"

The old man asked, "Are you really okay with leaving everything to others?"

Guizhi pouted and said:

“My dad can’t handle everything by himself! Otherwise, why would we hire someone to manage things? Grandpa, Fourth Uncle, my dad just needs to wait and see the results!”

"Isn't that right, Dad!"

Guizhi raised her little face, as if seeking praise, "Yes, yes, yes! Guizhi is right!"

Dazhu then said to the old man, "Dad! That's exactly what I mean! I'll arrange for Mingzhi to manage Xiwadi, and then I'll have time to deal with the house construction! We can do both at the same time!"

Dazhu had a disagreement with the old lady over selling vegetables, so he didn't mention growing vegetables again.

Seeing that Dazhu didn't intend to go west, the old man asked, "Then why aren't you going to Xiwadi now?"

"Yes, Dad! I need to see Uncle Zhou about something! If I don't run into Mingzhi, just pass on the message for me, Fourth Brother!"

The old man looked at Dazhu suspiciously, "Will you go find the doctor yourself? Or will your father go with you?"

Dazhu quickly said, "It would be best if Father and I went together! But it's still too early now, Father and I can go together later!"

The old man felt that Dazhu still couldn't do without him!

"Alright! Then Dad and Fourth Brother will go take a look in the west first, and we'll go together later!"

“Okay! I’ll do whatever Dad says!” Dazhu said.

That last sentence dispelled the old man's last remaining doubts. He happily followed his fourth son westward!

"Dad! Why does Grandpa look so strange?"

Dazhu glanced in the direction the old man was looking and sighed inwardly, "Let's go! Guizhi, let's go take a look to the east!"