The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 235 - 224: News

Chapter 235: Chapter 224: News

With the oxen, the plowing went much faster.

Zhou SiLang and Junior Ms. Qian, one leading the ox and the other supporting the plow, while the others followed behind to break up the soil and loosen it.

Because the sun was too scorching, they were worried the water buffalo might get too tired, so they even rested for a good half hour in the middle.

After giving it water to help it cool down, they continued, but even so, before the evening meal, they had managed to plow the field of over an acre.

The Qian Family didn’t return the ox right away, since borrowed oxen weren’t returned like that, so they had Zhou Liulang lead it off to graze, and tied up the freshly cut rice straw from the field to send back with the ox to the Bai Family.

The straw was considered feed for the water buffalo.

Having a buffalo that ate rice straw directly like this was probably unique in the entire village.

After the Zhou Family had their evening meal, the whole family, including Manbao and Ms. Qian, went to Little Bay.

By that time, the sun had not completely set, but the sunlight was no longer scorching.

All twelve members of the family nearly filled the field as they borrowed some farming tools from the neighbors and split into three rows—left, center, and right—starting to divide the field from the two sides and the middle.

Each row was further divided into two groups.

Manbao and a few younger ones were responsible for picking up large stones and some grass in the field to throw away. While it was still light outside, everyone managed to finish the task and even created the planting rows.

Ms. Qian discussed with a few daughters-in-law about which vegetables to plant where and, once decided, said, "It’s hot weather, so don’t plant the seeds first thing tomorrow morning. Scatter the fertilizer first thing in the morning, then come back after the evening meal."

Junior Ms. Qian agreed.

The next time, of course, the whole family would come again.

Junior Ms. Qian, along with three sisters-in-law and Zhou Xi, was in charge of seeding, while Zhou Dalang and the others carried water for irrigation. It didn’t even take an hour before the seeds were sown, and the process was very quick.

This made the villagers who were watching enviously from the sides.

The Zhou Family’s activity was so significant, it would be hard for the villagers not to notice.

Therefore, today there were many who came to Little Bay to see the excitement, standing on the field ridges and chatting with the Zhou Family members in the field.

Knowing that the vegetables were to be sold in the county town, someone interested asked Zhou SiLang, "Are vegetables really that easy to sell in the city?"

"It’s alright, but bamboo products don’t sell anymore. That’s why we thought of selling vegetables, because even city folks have to eat vegetables, right?"

"Doesn’t everyone have a spot of spare land at home to grow their own? It’d be better to grow your own, yet people actually buy vegetables?"

"Zhou Er, if you don’t have enough vegetables to sell, take some from my place. I’ll sell them to you cheaply."

Zhou ErLang: "... Vegetables aren’t worth much, and if I buy from you and can’t sell them, I’d lose a fortune."

He said, "Selling my own produce, I make the sale without any cost. If I can’t sell, I’ll just bring them home to eat, and if the family can’t finish, the chickens can eat it. But if I buy from you and can’t sell, will you refund me?"

"Exactly, if you don’t get a refund, wouldn’t Zhou Er be feeding the chickens with vegetables? That’d be like the chickens at Uncle Jin’s place eating money!"

Everyone burst into laughter, and the matter was glossed over.

But still, some were jealous, burning with envy. They discussed privately about trying their luck in the town, thinking they might be able to make money too.

But as soon as the idea was mentioned, someone instantly threw a dampener on it, "If you go to town, what about the work in the fields? The bugs still aren’t all caught, and the weeds aren’t all cleared. I saw that Uncle Jin’s family went to apply fertilizer today; obviously, they’ve finished all their work."

"That’s right, none of the tasks are as important as the fieldwork, which is our lifeline’s sustenance."

So, the matter ended there, but the next day there were still some who followed Zhou ErLang to the county town carrying baskets of vegetables from their homes.

Seeing Zhou ErLang, they felt somewhat embarrassed.

However, Zhou ErLang greeted them warmly, inviting them to walk together.

It was a joke to him; he wished people would follow him to the town to sell goods every day so that he wouldn’t have to wait for others from different villages to hit the road with him.

Now, with fugitives both inside and outside Luojiang County, the safety conditions weren’t as good as before, so the more people, the better, as he was afraid of robbery while on the road.

It wasn’t a given that just by carrying vegetables to the county town, they could sell them. With the same vegetables at the same price, customers would definitely prefer to buy from people they knew well, and greeting customers properly was also important.

At least on that day, only Zhou ErLang returned empty-handed, while one of the others was the most pitiable—only managing to sell one portion of his vegetables, which Zhou ErLang helped him with just enough to cover the protection money and still losing out on the town entrance fee.

The next day, Zhou ErLang left the village alone, clearly, no one else was going after the experience of the previous day.

Returning in the evening, he told his family about the day’s events as if they were a joke. Manbao then said, "They gave up too easily. If it didn’t work on the first day, they should try again the second day. If they persisted for ten days or half a month and there was still no improvement, then it would not be too late to give up."

Zhou ErLang laughed, "Exactly, the first time I went to set up a stall to sell bamboo products, I didn’t sell anything either. Later on, I just squatted down and watched how others greeted their customers. Although it was embarrassing, I had to put on a thick skin and greet people too; not everyone is naturally good at it."

With that, Zhou ErLang paused, then added, "Except for Four."

Zhou Dalang laughed, "Well, there’s no helping it with Four, he just naturally has a thick skin."

Zhou SiLang wasn’t pleased, "You teach the children about teaching children, why do you have to drag me into it?"

Junior Ms. Qian said, "It’s easy to talk about it now, but it’s not like before. You used to sell bamboo products, and even if you didn’t go to the county, you could sell them at the big markets. But now when they sell vegetables, can they go to the big markets?"

The big market at Dali Village was a farmers’ market, where everyone had their own vegetables.

"But going to the county town, not only do you have entrance fees, but you also have to pay for protection to set up a stall. Even without eating or drinking for a day in the town, it would cost several coins per trip. It’s one thing to do it once and take the loss, but to try it ten times or half a month, that’s seventy or eighty coins wasted, and there’s nothing to show for it. Who could afford that?"

That was indeed the case.

Manbao frowned deeply, "Why doesn’t County Magistrate Fu do something about it?"

It would be strange if he could. Zhou ErLang said, "The county magistrate isn’t even in town anymore, so who knows what he’s up to. I guess even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to do anything."

"Where did he go?"

"How would I know? I only found out when I went to deliver your letter and heard the yamen’s servants talking about it. It turns out that County Magistrate Fu had left the county town two days ago."

Manbao decided to write to Fu Wenyun that night. Wasn’t he going to try to figure out a way to provide disaster relief?

She was also curious to see if Zhou Daliang’s family would get any aid.

Zhou Daliang was Silang’s good friend, and his family was in a tough spot at the moment, which had been causing Silang a lot of worry lately.

But before her letter could be sent out and she could await Fu Wenyun’s reply, Bai Shanbao informed her, "My uncle said the county magistrate has gone to Baxi. Our state may also reduce taxes soon, and my uncle left with people for Baxi early in the morning."