Time flies so fast, and my brother Aman is already one month old. It turns out that the wrinkled baby has become fatter and fatter at first sight. When he meets his mother and sister, he always opens his toothless mouth and talks and talks.
Just a little chatterbox.
"Mom, our tofu stall has made some money in the past month. After all the bean harvesting, we can still have more than half of it left."
Now everyone in the village knows that this tofu stall only sells for the morning market, so they come to buy it early in the morning, and because there are only two plates a day, they can't buy it late, and there is a sense that the supply exceeds demand.
Zhuang Keqing never does things in a hurry. These days, in addition to getting up early every day to grind beans and make tofu, he also helps to weed the fields at other times. His life seems to be no different from before.
But by being so quiet, she made money.
Qin Manzhi looked at the old wooden box in her daughter's hand. It was her dowry when she got married. It was not made of good wood and was not worth a few dollars. It was kept intact enough that it was not pawned by Mr. Zhuang.
Now the bottom of the small box is covered with a thin layer of copper coins, and this is their income for only one month.
"How can there be so many?..." Still a little unbelievable, Qin Manzhi twirled the copper coins with his hands and listened to the clattering sound they made, which gave him a sense of reality.
"Yes, mother, let's save up. When Man Bao grows up, he still has to study!"
Aman on the bed didn't know what Aniang and Ajie were talking about. His attention was completely attracted by the sound of copper coins clattering in the box, and he flapped his little hands to get them.
Zhuang Keqing tapped Aman's round little nose, causing the little guy to sneeze.
"You will have to hold a writing brush from now on." The little girl teased her brother with a smile, turned around and counted 50 yuan, then stuffed the box into her mother's arms.
"Mom, today I'm going to the mason's house in the next village to buy a larger stone mill. We've been borrowing it from the village chief for too long."
"It's time to book it, and bring some tofu and soy milk to the village chief. We have troubled him many times, so we always have to thank him." Qin Manzhi covered the box, carefully put it at the end of the bed, and covered it with a thin quilt.
Cover it up and turn around to tell your daughter.
"I've already prepared it. I have one piece of soft tofu and one piece of old tofu, as well as two pieces of dried tofu and two pieces of fried tofu skin. How about that?"
Knowing that her daughter always thinks more carefully than herself, Mrs. Qin smiled and nodded, then packed her money bag and asked her to leave early and come back early.
"Don't worry, I can walk very quickly and I'll be back in the evening. You take Manbao at home and leave lunch on the stove. Remember to heat it up."
While he was talking, Zhuang Keqing walked outside the house and remembered to bolt the door to the small courtyard when he exited the door.
Walking on the loess road in the village, she felt very happy when she saw that the seedlings in the paddy fields had taken root and were growing well.
Erlizi Village is not a big village, but the terrain on its back is gentle, with vast paddy fields. There are springs flowing down the mountain, which are clear and sweet. The nearby Qinglin River is a tributary of the Huaiqing River and has never dried up. The village directly brings in the river water.
, irrigation is naturally not a troublesome method.
She looked at the paddy fields and thought about the farming of fish in rice fields that she had occasionally seen on the agriculture channel in her previous life, as well as the small dried fish she had bought with the trademark rice fish. She wondered if she could make her own fish
The ridges of the two acres of paddy fields were raised and some fish fry were put in. The small fish eat grass and insects, helping to weed and prevent insects. When the water is drained, the fish are fat and fat, which is another source of income.
Planning happily, Zhuang Keqing did not slow down. When he left the village entrance and was about to go to the side road of Sanlin Village next door, he saw a group of vehicles coming in front, starting with an ox cart, followed by five mules.
The car was piled with boxes and cages, and a dozen people who looked like servants were walking beside it. It looked like they were traveling with their families.
The pedestrians had a lot of things and were driving, and the country roads were narrow and small, making it difficult to walk. Zhuang Keqing simply didn't hurry and stood on the roadside, waiting for them to pass by before leaving.
I was still thinking about when to ask Aunt Li's husband to help me hoop a wooden barrel. When I went to the town, I got on top of myself, and the wheel stopped in front of me.
"Little girl, may I ask how to get to Erlizi Village?" The driver didn't get off the car, but sat on top of the bullock cart to ask for directions, his tone was quite polite.
He pointed directly to the direction he came from. Before Zhuang Keqing could say anything, the curtain behind the cart was lifted, and a fair-skinned boy of eight or nine years old came out. He glanced condescendingly and stood on the roadside.
The person who had just pointed the way for them suddenly lowered the curtain and shrank back.
The motorcade moved forward slowly again, and Zhuang Keqing vaguely heard the boy's coquettish voice coming from the oxcart: "Mom, I don't want to come to this country place. Even the people here are dirty!"
"My darling, bear with me, let's stay here for a year or two. When your father's problem is over, we will..."
The sound drifted away.
Zhuang Keqing shrugged and didn't take it to heart. No matter in the past or present, people are always born different, not to mention the era she lived in, where class barriers were even more difficult. She didn't want to waste her whole life in this small mountain village, so she had to work harder than others.
.Fortunately, I am a prostitute with some vision and means, so I always have an advantage over the real aborigines.
Turning around and taking the branch road to Sanlin Village, Zhuang Keqing was thinking about how big of a stone mill to make.
Grinding beans is the hardest part of this month. There are only two women in the family, and there are other jobs. If she wants to expand production in the future, she will be exhausted if she continues like this. So she plans to set up a factory in the village.
She had a water-powered mill specifically for grinding beans. She had her eye on the location, but she needed to discuss with the village chief whether she could rent that space.
But first, we still have to decide on the stone mill. This hydraulic stone mill cannot be made by a mason alone. Let’s solve this problem first. I guess it will take another month or two to save more money.
Find a carpenter to make a small waterwheel so that it can be assembled easily.
Sanlin Village and Erlizi Village are not far apart. The people in the village are all related to each other, and there are frequent marriages. The two villages have a good relationship.
After entering the village and asking for directions to the mason's house, Zhuang Keqing finally arrived at the door of his yard before noon. He saw a few unfinished stone rollers piled inside, as well as some stone tablets made for others, which seemed a bit crowded.
"Is Uncle Lu here?" Seeing that there was no one in the yard, Zhuang Keqing simply called at the door.
"Here we come." He shouted, and a tall man came out. He probably worked with big rocks all day long, so he looked stronger than a farmer.
After entering the courtyard gate, I said I wanted to order a stone mill. The stonemason Nalu didn't think it was strange that a young girl came to place an order. He only said that a deposit of 100 Wen was required and it would take a month to collect it.
Zhuang Keqing felt embarrassed when he heard this, "Uncle, I only brought 50 yuan this time. Can I bring it to you tomorrow?"
Master Lu glanced at the smiling little girl in front of him, nodded, stopped talking nonsense, and turned around to do his own business.
Zhuang Keqing stopped her. Huh? She hasn't said the style she wants yet.
He then asked the other party to describe the style and size of the stone mill he wanted, and specifically told him to add a diversion trough to complete it.
Mason Lu frowned, wondering how this girl could talk so well with her mouth, which made him dizzy. He waved his hand impatiently to show that he understood, and asked someone to leave the money and leave quickly.
Zhuang Keqing has not seen any businessman with such an attitude, but considering that there is only one stonemason in the nearby villages, he probably has a lot of work, and he has no time to chat with a little girl like you. Look at the piles of things in the yard.
Just know it.
So she didn't say much, put down the money, said hello and left. The other party was tapping the stone without raising her head, and she didn't know whether she heard it or not.
She had just walked back from Sanlin Village, and Erlizi Village over there was very lively.
Previously, the motorcade went straight into the village along the entrance of the village, and happened to catch up with the people who were busy in the fields returning home for lunch. This time it was strange.
Although there were a few wealthy households in Erlizi Village, they were not as big as the caravan coming in. Not to mention what kind of silk material was used for the sheds of the ox carts in front, but the mule carts in the back were piled full of stuff.
The box, style and carvings look like something ordinary people would have.
Those with good intentions followed the motorcade all the way and didn't even go home to eat. When they stopped in front of the ancestral home of the wealthy Shen family, which had been vacant for many years, they still hung out and stretched their heads.
