The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 590 - 579: Want to Go

Chapter 590: Chapter 579: Want to Go

Ginger is quite hardy, and as long as there is no drought or flood, it will grow. If the soil is fertile enough, it will even thrive, so even though it’s already mid-April, it’s still possible to sow more.

Old Zhou took the initiative and spoke to a few families with good relationships. The next day, they carried their hoes out and hoed the edges of the dry fields, deciding to plant some ginger pieces on the sides.

After all, it was too late to clear new land, and most of the dry land was already planted with wheat and melons or beans. They couldn’t just pull out the crops that had been planted, could they?

However, what Old Zhou had proposed was very enticing: his family intended to take the ginger pieces to sell in Yizhou, and by then, they would buy ginger from them.

Even though the price would be cheaper, ginger’s market rate was fixed and could not be too low. The Zhou family certainly couldn’t cheat them too badly, right?

So they agreed without much thought.

About the ginger seeds, for now, they would borrow from the Zhou family and return them after the autumn.

The Zhou family members also began climbing the mountains with sickles and hoes, deciding to expand the cultivation of the Privet trees.

May had not yet arrived, and planting trees was also likely to succeed.

Yet they all felt that propagating by cutting and planting branches was too slow, after all, you have to ensure a harvest in the fall. You can’t prune too much.

Therefore, Zhou Sanlang couldn’t help but look at the Privet seeds and asked Zhou Silang, "Did Manbao ever mention whether these seeds can be planted?"

"She didn’t say. I’ll ask her later," replied Zhou Silang.

Zhou Sanlang thus expressed his pity.

Zhou Dalang said, "Even if the seeds can be planted, we don’t have any seeds right now. There’s no rush."

Zhou Sanlang then looked at the dried Privet seeds.

Zhou Dalang laughed, "Those Privet seeds were blanched, even if they’re not ripe, they can’t be planted, can they?"

Zhou Sanlang thought about it and decided to set the matter aside for now.

By now, the busy springtime work had ended, and soon it would be time to harvest the winter wheat. They would be busy again, so they took advantage of the current lull to resolve these minor matters.

Old Zhou asked Zhou Silang, "When you go to Yizhou, are you planning to find some work to do?"

Zhou Silang cleared his throat and said, "That’s the plan. Otherwise, the expenses for Manbao and me on the outside are so high, we can’t always take money from home."

Old Zhou nodded and said, "That’s the spirit. Build a good relationship with the manager of the pharmacy there – when the autumn and winter medicines are ready, you can sell directly to them. In the meantime, go out and see if there’s any work to do, at least to earn some money to supplement the family expenses."

He couldn’t help but grumble, "Originally, you went to take care of Manbao, but you hardly looked after her at all."

Zhou Silang: ...He was also very busy, okay? He had to manage everything inside and out.

Erya immediately said, "Grandpa, Grandma, let me go take care of the little aunt."

Old Zhou looked at Erya in surprise, "You?"

Ms.Qian also looked at Erya.

Erya nervously twisted the hem of her clothes, her face slightly red, but she still nodded and said, "Yes, I’ll go take care of the little aunt, and if possible, I’ll also find some work to do in Yizhou City."

Ms.Feng immediately said, "There’s no need for you to do hard work and make a spectacle of yourself."

Old Zhou retorted immediately, "Who said she’s going to do hard labor? Didn’t she keep books in her eldest uncle’s store and learn the abacus from Mr. Zhuang?"

Never mind Ms.Feng, even Zhou Erlang couldn’t help saying, "Dad, what household would hire a girl to keep the books?"

Old Zhou harrumphed and looked towards his wife, whispering, "Manbao can’t cook or do laundry. She has never been away from her family..."

Ms.Qian then said, "Let Silang take her to look around. Since we have plenty of people at home, she can’t help much here anyway. It would be better for her to go to Yizhou City to do some work. Apart from anything else, she can certainly manage Silang’s accounts properly."

Zhou Silang immediately said, "Mom, I can keep the books myself."

"Your records are a mess and full of errors, and besides us, probably Manbao won’t be able to understand them either, so let Erya help you," she replied.

Zhou Silang was puzzled, "Are my records really that bad?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Zhou Silang pursed his lips and said no more.

That night, before bed, Ms.Feng quietly pulled Erya aside and asked, "What made you suddenly want to go to Yizhou City? Weren’t you doing well in your aunt’s shop?"

"Mom, the shop has my aunt, my brother, and sister. There’s no need for me to write and keep books anymore. I want to go to Yizhou City to follow little aunt; maybe I can make something of myself?"

"You’re really foolish. What does a girl need with bookkeeping?" Ms.Feng said, frustrated, "Didn’t I ask you to learn cooking from your aunt? If you can learn to cook, you can open up a shop yourself in the future. Learning bookkeeping, you can’t be a bookkeeper."

"I’ve learned it, and my aunt taught me wholeheartedly, but my cooking just can’t compare to my sister’s," said Erya, dispirited because she had tried seriously, "With identical stoves and pots, cooking the same dish, with my aunt guiding both my sister and me at the same time, it’s strange, my cooking always falls a bit short."

Zhou Erlang cleared his throat and comforted his daughter, "These things depend on talent, you shouldn’t be discouraged, Daya is like her aunt."

Erya nodded in agreement.

Hearing that, Ms.Feng couldn’t help but pinch him.

Zhou Erlang winced but with his daughter right there, he didn’t dare to cry out.

However, Ms.Feng did not bring up learning to cook again, knowing all too well that feeling of not being able to learn no matter how hard you try.

Indeed, Erya’s cooking was even better than hers.

Ms.Feng sighed, wondering if Sanya would turn out like her, "Then if you go to Yizhou City..."

"I will definitely listen to little aunt," Erya said, "Mom, let me go. Little aunt knows so much, if I can learn even half of her skills, I won’t have to worry about supporting myself in the future."

"Why should you need to support yourself? When you get a bit older, you’ll marry into a good family..."

"Don’t married women also have to do fieldwork?" Erya interrupted her mother, saying, "Isn’t that still supporting oneself?"

"Find a good family where you don’t have to work the fields," said Ms.Feng. Once, she thought only little aunt could marry into such a family, but now her daughter had gone to school, learned to read, could keep books, and was not lacking in looks; she too could marry well.

But Erya hadn’t realized this yet, nor had she thought about marriage. She knew her mother worked the fields, her aunt was always busy, and her third, fourth, and fifth aunts were all married and had no option but to work. None of them could live off the land without contributing.

Little aunt said, don’t look at what people say, watch what they do.

From what Erya saw, limited as her experience might be, there was no such thing as a daughter-in-law who didn’t work for her keep.

In and out of the village, the women she saw, even those in her own family, had it better. Many brides worked to exhaustion yet ate the worst of the food.

She didn’t want that life for herself.

She enjoyed bookkeeping and the sense of earning and having her own money. It took her half a year to ascertain that she couldn’t master her aunt’s culinary skills, so she might as well look for other work.