Mingheng was very excited when he saw Qiao Mingjin counting the coins. He stopped pulling the cow and let it go on its own. He turned around and sat on the carriage with his legs bent, counting the coins one by one with his sister.
Two hundred and forty-one in total.
In addition to the capital of 121 fen, I also made a profit of 120 fen.
Both siblings were very happy.
"Sister, let's see what else there is to earn next time! It doesn't take much effort to make a hundred cents a day, and you don't have to worry about anything. It's great."
Qiao Mingjin wrapped more than two hundred copper plates in old cloth and said with a smile: "Where does this happen every day? It happened by chance."
"Then we sell firewood and walk around the city every day to see if there is anything else to do."
Qiao Mingjin nodded after hearing this.
You can only make a living by selling firewood, and there can't be any accidents. If someone is sick and needs to see a doctor and take medicine, it is really not enough. Poor families can't even afford to get sick.
It seems that we need to think of other ways out.
"Sister, how about we also grow vegetables and sell them? Just like my uncle's family. How about we sell firewood and vegetables in the morning?"
Qiao Mingjin looked at him and smiled: "Sister, I don't have any land. Even if we grow all the vegetables in the yard, it's only enough for us to eat."
Mingheng felt frustrated for a while.
Qiao Mingjin rubbed his head and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you go hungry. After we sell firewood for a while and don't have to worry about food, I'll think of other ways."
Mingheng pursed his lips and nodded heavily to his sister.
Qiao Mingjin added: "Look at the cow quickly, don't get pulled away and get lost."
"It's okay, the cow knows the way. Even if you sell it far away, it can get it back. The family next door to my uncle had their cow stolen at night, and they searched everywhere, but within a few days, it
The cow came back on its own."
"real?"
"Of course, my second brother and I helped to search for it at that time. We searched for several days..."
When the siblings returned home talking and laughing all the way, it was an hour earlier than yesterday.
There was no one at home, so Ming Qi and Wan'er must be still on the mountain. They didn't take a break, so they put down their bags, packed a few knots of water, took some hemp ropes, machetes and the like, and then led the cows toward the other side of the mountain.
When I met villagers on the road, they all greeted Qiao Mingjin, and Qiao Mingjin nodded in response.
"Hey, this is no different from Heli. How can a woman like this live with a child? I thought she would be rewarded after all her hardships."
"I heard that she collects firewood and sells it. It can be sold for a few dollars, so eating should not be a problem."
"Why is firewood so easy to sell? How much strength does she have as a woman! All the people want in the city are thick firewood, so who is not a strong man to chop firewood? How can this last long? Again, let's talk about it.
The fields will get busy in a while. She doesn’t have cattle to carry firewood to sell in the city? She can’t even walk.”
"The Yue family is nothing. The mother and daughter moved out, and no one has even taken a look in the past few days..."
The villagers passing by were talking behind their backs, but Qiao Mingjin didn't care at all.
Whether it's good words or bad words, each family lives its own life. The path she chose is her own. She doesn't have time to think about the past and the future. The most important thing is to live her current life well first.
"Sister, sister, you are here!"
"Mother, mother..."
Mingqi and Xiao Wan'er saw Qiao Mingjin from a distance, so they rushed over from a distance. Mingqi was still holding a bamboo rake in his hand.
Qiao Mingjin touched their heads and said with a smile: "You're so good. Did you have lunch at noon? Did you go to the back mountain?"
"We had sweet potato porridge at noon. We didn't go to the back mountain, but the front mountain. There were also people from the village who came to collect firewood. Aunt Xiu also brought Changhe and Liuzhi to help us move the firewood into a pile."
Qiao Mingjin nodded while listening. Children of poor people have long been able to become a householder, and nine-year-old Mingqi can already afford to be a householder.
I took the two of them to the firewood pile and took a look. Oh, my aunt and nephew picked up a lot this day! Although they were all small and thin branches, there were quite a few. They could fill half a cart.
Qiao Mingjin praised the two of them, then took the three of them deeper into the mountains to cut some thicker firewood...
After guessing that it would be enough for one cart, Qiao Mingjin looked at the sky and saw that the sun was still hanging in the sky. Then he took a sack and a hoe from the cart, found some rotten leaves and mud, and shoveled them into the bag.
"Sister, what do you want these for? They don't smell good."
"These are all fertilizers. While it is still early, we will bury some fertilizers in the yard and plant all the vegetables today. Otherwise, we will have no fields and land, and what will we eat in the future?"
As soon as the three of them heard this, they helped grab the opening of the sack and asked Qiao Mingjin to put all the mud and leaves into it. Soon, the sack was full. The three of them worked together to grab the three corners of the sack and carried it to the cow.
On the car.
He loaded the firewood and pine wool into the car and headed home.
I didn't even unload the firewood when I got home, I just put it in the car, and I'll take the car there tomorrow morning.
Qiao Mingjin took out another twenty-five copper coins and handed them to Mingheng, and ordered: "Take this and give it to Aunt Xiu, saying that this is the fare for the two days. Then take five cents to buy some vegetables from her, what kind of vegetables?"
No matter what, you don’t have to ask for too much, and you can’t refuse to give money, remember?”
"Remember." Mingheng responded and went out.
Qiao Mingjin asked Mingqi to cook again, while she made a border in the yard, buried mud and leaves as fertilizer, buried the fertilizer and covered it with a layer of soil. The yard was tidied up, and it didn't take long.
.
After leveling the ground, she started digging holes to bury the rapeseeds.
I planted some short-lived green leafy vegetables, some easy-to-live winter melons and pumpkins, and some loofahs and cucumbers that need trellises.
Xiao Wan'er has been following her step by step, helping to pass some things from time to time. Qiao Mingjin looked at her three-year-old daughter, how sensible and well-behaved she was, and couldn't help but feel sour in her heart. It was said that children from poor families have long been the masters, but her daughter is only over three years old now.
a little……
"Wan'er, are you tired?"
"Wan'er is not tired. Wan'er picked up a lot of firewood today, and she will help mother pick it up tomorrow!"
"Well, Wan'er is so good. In a few days, will it be okay for Mom to take Wan'er to the city for some noodles?"
"Okay. Mom will eat it too."
"Well, mommy also eats..."
Qiao Mingjin planted all the rapeseeds before Mingheng came back.
He held a large basket in his arms and a small basket in his other hand. He couldn't free his hands, so he moved his body to squeeze the courtyard door open. After entering the courtyard, he turned around and reached for the courtyard door with his legs, trying to open the door.
closed.
Qiao Mingjin stepped forward to lock the courtyard door and took the basket in his arms: "Why did you bring so many things back?"
"Aunt Xiu forced it on me, and Aunt Qian Xiu accepted it."
Qiao Mingjin looked at the basket she was carrying. There were two bundles of green vegetables, a few white radishes, two cabbages, three eggs, and a dozen sweet potatoes in the basket.
"Aunt Xiu said that if you want to eat vegetables in the future, you should go to her field to pull them out. It's not worth much. The things in my sister's box were all given by Aunt Xiu. She said they were sold to our family for five cents. I have this box.
Aunt Xiu asked her to take fifty eggs to the city and help them sell them, saying that they would spoil if they were left open any longer."
After hearing this, Qiao Mingjin looked at the eggs in Mingheng's hand.
"Sister, Aunt Xiu said that two eggs from Songshan cost three cents. She also said that if they sell for more money in Qingchuan County, it will be our hard-earned money. That box of vegetables and sweet potatoes is a thank you gift."
After a pause, he then said: "Sister, do you think we can make some money by collecting eggs in the village and selling them?"
Qiao Mingjin glanced at him, but she didn't expect that this younger brother was quite economical and had a very lively mind.
Then he said: "We have loaded a cart full of firewood, but there is no room to put the eggs. We have been wandering all the way to the city. If it is broken on the road, the gain will not be worth the loss."
"It's okay. I'm holding the egg. It won't break."
Qiao Mingjin looked at his hopeful face and said, "Let me think about it. Let's wait until we sell the eggs for Sister Xiu tomorrow and then we'll see how things go."
Qiao Mingjin did the math, Songshan Ji cost one cent and a half, and if it was two cents a piece in the city, then she could make a profit of fifty cents from selling a hundred eggs. This business could be done.
Eggs are fragile, and it's quite a long way from Songshanji. If the price was the same, or if she could get more money, someone would be willing to sell the eggs to her...
After thinking about it for a while, I put it aside. We have to wait until we go to the city tomorrow to see everything.
Without thinking too much, he washed his hands and packed up his things. He went into the kitchen and saw that Mingqi was cooking well. She didn't need to worry about it, so he found a wooden bucket to fetch water... hies' pk
