books44 Chapter 144: Planning to take a chance
Chapter 144: Planning to take a chance
"take it out!"
Zhou reluctantly took out the money she had on her body, and cursed: "You old thing! I was blind in this life! I was promised to live in your house!"
An Chengde didn't say a word, he just collected money one by one and counted it carefully.
After counting, he said to everyone, "All the money added up is less than three taels of silver."
After hearing this, Zhang started to cry again: "With just this little money, how...how can I live in the future?"
An Tiancai rubbed his hands, leaned close to Zhang's ear and whispered in comfort: "Wife, wait until the fire in the old house is out, and I will go and get the money, and then we can build two thatched houses first!"
Grandfather An Chengde handed the silver to An Qing and told him, "Qing'er, Dacai, you two take this silver and ask Li Wu to go to the town with you. First, buy three sets of straw mats and quilts, and then buy some cornmeal and sorghum rice to fill your stomach."
An Qing nodded, took the silver and money from his grandfather An Chengde, and the father and son prepared to go out.
Zhang wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Qing'er, remember to buy the most affordable ones and come back quickly."
An Chengde looked up at the hanging beam, sighed, and said dully: "Xiu'er, you just came in and the An family suffered such a disaster. You have been wronged."
Meng Xiuer, who was standing aside, said nothing, but just lowered her head and sobbed.
An Chengde turned to look at Zhou and his daughter-in-law Zhang, and ordered: "Go and borrow pots and bowls from Qin to cook some food."
Zhou spread her hands, helplessly and angrily saying: "You old man, if you have the ability, why don't you go and borrow it?"
An Chengde didn't say anything else, but walked out of the east room and prepared to go to the nearby bamboo forest to pick up some bamboo leaves for firewood.
At this time, there was basically not much rice straw left in every household, and as their family had several people, they would need a lot of rice straw.
An Chengde has lived to this age and of course knows that when living under someone else's roof, he should try not to borrow money if possible.
So, he decided to use dead leaves instead of straw to make a bed on the floor temporarily.
So he came to the main house and was about to ask Qin to borrow something when he happened to see the brother and sister sitting in the main house, chatting and laughing with Qin while eating sweet potatoes.
Grandfather An Chengde glanced at An Yue expressionlessly, then turned to look at Qin.
He smiled humbly and calmly and said to Qin: "Sister-in-law, I wonder if you have any extra pots and pans at home. My family... we just came here to stay, so I have to trouble you to borrow them first."
Grandfather An Chengde's attitude once again refreshed An Yue's view of him. He actually changed his zombie face in the past and became so humble when asking for help.
Qin stood up and said with a faint smile: "Brother An, what are you talking about? Since your family has come to my house, we will naturally try our best to help wherever we can."
After Qin finished speaking, she picked up a rusty iron pot from the kitchen and brought back seven or eight old bowls.
He said, "Brother An, these items are not usually used and are a little old. Do you mind?"
"No, no, no, this is already very good. That...sister-in-law, I still need to borrow your backpack and sickle."
Qin looked up and pointed to the corner of the yard and said, "Oh! The farm tools are all in the farm tool room in the corner of the yard. Brother An, please help yourself!"
Grandfather An Chengde first moved the iron pot and bowls to the east room, and then went to the tool room in the yard to get the backpack.
At this time, the brother and sister had finished eating four sweet potatoes and drank some warm water, and their stomachs were full.
An Yue watched her grandfather An Chengde walk out of the yard carrying a basket on his back, and something suddenly came to her mind.
She asked Qin with great interest: "Aunt, are there still a lot of wasteland in our village?"
"Wasteland?" She repeated as she looked at An Yue in surprise.
An Yue looked at Qin seriously. Qin collected the bowls and said, "Don't even mention wasteland. There are a lot of wasteland mountains!"
After Qin finished speaking, she took the bowl and walked towards the kitchen.
An Yue followed her and continued to ask: "Is there no one buying barren hills and wastelands?"
"Every household in our village has its own farmland, and we grow various crops in the fields according to the seasons. Every year after the autumn harvest, after paying taxes, the remaining food can barely feed the whole family."
"As for the wasteland you mentioned? How can ordinary people like us think of that? After buying the wasteland, we have to drag the whole family to open up the wasteland."
"Instead of wasting money and energy, it's better to just cultivate your own fields and go out to work and earn some money when you have free time. This is more practical than reclaiming wasteland."
An Yue considered the situation in the village and realized that this was indeed the case, so she nodded to show her understanding.
Qin said as she tied her apron, "Besides, it takes a lot of money to buy wasteland, and villagers don't have the spare money to buy wasteland! If we can grow the only fields we have and maintain the yield, it will be a great harvest worth celebrating."
An Yue then asked: "But, the more land there is, the more you can plant, and the more you can harvest, right?"
Qin lowered her head to wash the pot, and couldn't help but laugh and shook her head, saying: "You are still a little kid after all. The soil in the wasteland is very poor, so how can you grow any high-yield crops?"
After hearing this, An Yue disagreed. With so much wasteland, she believed there must be suitable crops to grow.
Now that we are in such a desperate situation, we can no longer be timid. We have nothing left anyway. If we want to survive, we can only try a big one. The worst that can happen is that we can take An Nian with us to eat grass.
An Yue knows very well that she will encounter many difficulties in the future, but there are always more solutions than difficulties, so she will solve the problems when they arise.
"Aunt, do you know how much silver is one mu of wasteland in our village?"
"Oh my! After being asked by Yueyue, I really don't know the answer at the moment! But, when your uncle comes back later, you can go ask him!"
"That's fine. Thanks to my aunt for the sweet potatoes. Yueyue will take Nian Nian back to the house to tidy up the house first. When my uncle comes back, Yueyue will come over again."
"Go ahead! Yueyue asked so many questions just now, are you planning to buy wasteland?"
"Yueyue is just asking around. If there is suitable wasteland, I would like to buy a few acres."
After An Yue finished speaking, the brother and sister came out of the main room one after another.
An Yue plans to take An Nian out for a walk tomorrow to survey the terrain and location.
As soon as she arrived at the door of the east room, An Yue looked at the Ophiopogon japonicus in the basket under the eaves. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart:
[Right now, these Ophiopogon japonicus are the only ones that can be exchanged for some money. While it’s still early, I’ll quickly wash them and spread them out to dry. I have a lot of things to do tomorrow!]
So, she turned to An Nian and said, "Niannian, go ask your aunt to borrow a wooden basin and bring it over."
An Nian nodded and trotted towards the main house.
After a while, An Nian came running over with a wooden basin. An Yue put the basin in a backpack, put the backpack on her back and asked An Nian to go out with her.
An Yue asked as she walked: