Unexpectedly, I was given fifty cents for this load of firewood. Plus two bags of pine wool, it was sixty cents a day.
Although she was only allowed to deliver a car every other day, if she delivered crude firewood in the future, the price would probably be higher. Besides, she could also take the opportunity to rest and find other things to do.
It's really too much to rush to the city every day.
The harvest this day was very good.
In addition to the income from selling firewood, there were 210 eggs and after the cost was removed, the family got 147 cash, and the 38 bamboo rakes earned more than 300 cash. Today, I got a total of more than half a cash.
Now I have one or two taels of silver saved at home. It’s great.
It’s just that the bamboo rake business is not doing much either.
Although the grass and trees on this mountain are freely available to the villagers, the bamboo grows slowly, and most of the time, one or two branches are cut down when the family needs it. If people knew that she was cutting it to make things to sell, I'm afraid that
It will cause a lot of trouble.
When they returned home in the afternoon, Wan'er and Mingqi were very happy that Qiao Mingjin had brought back many cakes, snacks and candies. The aunt and nephew ate happily with their cheeks puffed out.
Qiao Mingjin didn't say much. The two children thought she had bought it with the money she earned from selling firewood, so they happily grabbed their own small bamboo rake and started raking the loose hair hard.
It makes Qiao Mingjin happy and sad...
She walked around the mountain and saw that she had cut down a dozen bamboos. There was a small blank space in the bamboo forest, so she turned around decisively.
This bamboo can no longer be cut. Villagers often use bamboo in their homes.
In the middle of the afternoon, she searched for some thick firewood to chop. She held up a machete tied to a bamboo pole and pulled the dead branches into a crackling sound. When she saw the dead tree, she squatted down and chopped it with the hatchet. Her whole arm was waving.
It didn't feel like it belonged to her anymore. It took a while for the numbness to subside, and my waist and back were sore.
The three children were very sensible. Xiao Wan'er followed her closely and bent down to pick up some thin firewood branches. Mingheng and Mingqi followed behind, de-branching and cutting short the thick dead branches Qiao Mingjin had chopped.
The night was getting dark quickly, and now the family couldn't afford to burn lamp oil, so the family picked up a cart of firewood and went home.
Fortunately, there are many trees on this mountain, and there is no shortage of firewood. If it were a stone mountain, she would have no choice but to cry and howl at the mountain.
While leading the cow home, Qiao Mingjin looked back at the mountains, thinking that she would definitely go into the mountains tomorrow.
These days, she only wandered around the front mountain. There were no ferocious beasts in this mountain, and there was nothing to be afraid of. She had to see if there were any other available resources in the mountain.
Selling firewood is really not a long-term solution. When can we afford Mingheng to go to school? He is nine years old now. He also needs to earn money for one or two acres of land as soon as possible. No farmer can afford it every few days.
I have to buy food once, which I really can't afford.
When the sky fell, Mingheng took the money for the eggs and went to several villagers selling eggs. When he came back, he brought back a few half-grown boys, each of whom either carried or carried a load of straw.
"Sister, Sister Xiu knew that our family needed straw, so she gave me this. Other families also said that they had plenty of straw, and asked their boys to send some over. They said that there would be straw in the fields in a few months.
Yes, these are from last year and they still take up space."
Qiao Mingjin was very grateful after hearing this and praised it to several children.
Although they are all common things in the countryside, for her, each of them is rare, just like providing help in times of need. It is not an exaggeration to say that her family has only four walls.
After the boys left, Qiao Mingjin went to the firewood shed to take a look. In addition to half of the firewood piled in the firewood shed, it was actually just straw. In addition to the ones just delivered today, there were also some leftover from the previous roof.
Yes, half of the house was actually piled up.
It doesn’t take so much to make a straw holder.
Qiao Mingjin looked at the straw in half of the room, thought for a while, then carried a large bundle out, and asked Mingheng to also carry a large bundle.
He dragged out another cattail mat for drying grains, but it was already very torn. Qiao Mingjin didn't care, patted it with a cloth and wiped it a few times, then spread it on the ground.
The two large bundles of straw were stacked neatly, and the uneven front ends were straightened, and then they were spread out on the ragged mat.
After the thickness is evenly spread, water is sprinkled on top, and then beaten lightly or heavily with a wooden mallet.
The three children didn't understand why.
"Sister, what are you going to do?"
"Mom, Wan'er, come and sprinkle the water!"
I don’t know if this child was born in a water town, but she especially likes to play with water. Even when taking a bath, she is restless in the wooden basin. As soon as she is stripped naked and placed in the wooden basin, she giggles happily and starts to laugh again.
The slaps splashed water all over Qiao Mingjin's face.
Therefore, Qiao Mingjin always bathed her daughter before continuing the bath herself.
When Qiao Mingjin heard that she was about to sprinkle water, he quickly grabbed her hand that was about to take the gourd and scoop, and said softly: "These girls are using them to earn copper coins, Wan'er broke them, and our family has no money to buy rice."
"
Upon hearing this, Mingqi hurriedly hugged her away.
"Sister, can this straw still be sold for money?" Mingheng, a child, seems to have a natural interest in making money, and his eyes light up when he hears about making money.
"Sister is going to roll some straw ropes and sell them."
"Who knows how to buy a straw rope! Who doesn't know how to twist a straw rope? They just twist a piece of straw rope when the family needs it. None of it is sold on the market." Ming Qi suddenly lost interest.
Mingheng glared at her and said: "You know how to pour cold water on it! Can you rub it? The straw rope you are rubbing is so loose that it has no strength at all, is ugly and cannot be used. The straw ropes in our house are still made by Nianghe.
The third sister rubbed it."
After saying that, he turned around and asked Qiao Mingjin again: "Sister, does anyone want to buy this straw rope?" She was also a little hesitant.
Qiao Mingjin glanced at the two siblings and said with a smile: "If no one buys it, we will keep it for ourselves. There is still plenty of straw. When the loofah grows in the future, it will also need to be tied up with ropes and tied at home.
It can be used to tie anything. I want to raise a few chickens in the future, so I will use straw rope to build a chicken coop and make a fence."
I also think of the precious grass and trees on the streets or in the garden in the winter of my previous life. In winter, I would wrap a circle around the bottom with a straw rope to keep it moisturizing and moisturizing.
I don’t know if the garden craftsmen of this era have thought of this. If there is a large need, this is also a job that can bring in money. But she can’t go to the homes of wealthy people to take a look at it at the moment.
However, this straw rope will not break if left alone, and it may be used in the future. Even if it is something that everyone knows, maybe some well-off farmers are not willing to rub this straw rope?
After all, pulling the straw rope is not a simple job.
After thinking clearly, he said to Mingheng: "This straw rope has many uses. The bamboo rake cannot be sold. Let's roll some straw rope and put it away in our free time. We will find an opportunity to sell it when we wait. It will also be an income.
."
As he spoke, his hands kept moving. The step of waking up the grass before rubbing the straw rope is not that simple.
If you sprinkle too much water, your hands will be tangled when rubbing. If you sprinkle too little, the straw will be dry and hard and difficult to rub. Beating is also a technical job, and it cannot be light or heavy...
After dinner, the family of four took a bath each. While it was still bright, Qiao Mingjin dragged a stool and sat on it to rub the straw rope.
I picked up a small handful, tied a knot at the end, divided it into two strands, and started rubbing it in the palm of my hand. After rubbing it for an arm's length, I clamped it with my legs and continued rubbing it. Then I rubbed it for an arm's length, and then moved back.
Stretch it out and continue to rub it until it is all the way, then pick up the straw from the side and feed it in.
Several children were also joining in the fun. They all took stools and sat next to Qiao Mingjin, rubbing along with him.
Xiao Wan'er was just playing, her palms were weak, and the straw couldn't be rubbed in her hands at all. Ming Qi was a good cook and a top performer in housework, but she couldn't do these patient tasks.
After rubbing it for a while, it became loose and loose. When feeding, it either fell off, became thinner or thicker, and was lumpy and not neat at all.
However, Mingheng did a good job. After several corrections from Qiao Mingjin, although the speed could not keep up with Qiao Mingjin's, at least the appearance was passable.
Ming Qi glanced at it, gritted his teeth and continued to compete. However, he couldn't get the point several times.
Qiao Mingjin thought that she would be at home more often in the future, and she would have to do all the leisure work. He gave her guidance while rubbing, and encouraged her. If she rubbed more than Mingheng, he would take her to the city to pick out a gift.
This boosted her confidence.
Qiao Mingjin helped her tie one end to the tree in the courtyard and asked Xiao Wan'er to deliver straw to her. He asked her to move forward while rubbing it, saying that if she could reach the door of the main room from the courtyard, she could sleep today.
Boy, this is a lot more fun!
Ming Qi got excited when he heard this, and stood and rubbed while cooperating with Xiao Wan'er. When Xiao Wan'er ran out of straw in her hand, she ran to get the straw with her short legs. Then she stopped by to see what was going on.
Heng rubbed it a lot more, and then ran to her aunt and screamed, "Hurry up, hurry up, mom and uncle have rubbed each other a lot more!"
At this time, the aunt and nephew were very determined not to go to bed because they would not compare Ming Heng to others.
Qiao Mingjin stood up and took a look, and found that she was rubbing her in a decent manner. This girl seemed to be born to do this. Although Mingheng was good at rubbing, her speed could not keep up with Mingqi's.
The three of them were very interested, and before going to bed, they also rubbed for thirty or forty meters. It was dark and there was no longer any light, so the family of four took a rest.
