Spring scenery in the fields

Chapter 143 Meeting Tao Chunmei

"Being a water carrier is harder than carrying sacks, and the pay is lower. Unless there is no work to be done, few people will do it."

"Last time, Aunt Lan told me that many families in the town don't have wells, so they have to fetch water. It's too much trouble just thinking about it."

Although they also have to go to the river to fetch water, it is close and free.

"It costs fifteen taels of silver to dig a well in the town."

"Fifteen taels, my god, it's so expensive."

It’s enough to buy several plots of land.

Shen Rongshan led the donkey around a corner and said, "It's not always possible to get water after digging a well. It's all in vain."

"Some wells are dug but not well backed up, and they collapse. That means the well was dug in vain, and you have to spend money all over again."

"So some families would rather pay someone to fetch water than to find someone to dig a well."

Ji Wenhe thought about it and still felt that living in the countryside was better, except that buying things was not very convenient.

You have to pay to burn night incense in town.

The two men waited outside the town for about quarter of an hour, and then they arrived with their bags on their backs.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting." Shen Liang panted.

Shen Rongshan sat in the front and motioned for them to get on the bus. After making sure they were seated properly, he raised the whip and with a "snap", the sleepy donkey immediately perked up.

Walking on the country road.

The two men leaned against the baskets behind them, looking drowsy.

The car jolted a bit when we came to an uneven section of road.

Shen Anguo suddenly opened his eyes, yawned, and most of his sleepiness went away.

"An Guo, did you guys not sleep well last night?"

Not only were they thinner, but there were bruises under their eyes, and it seemed that they hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

He rubbed his shoulders and frowned: "Sister-in-law, you don't know, there are several of us living in the same house, some snore, some grind their teeth."

"It was very noisy, and some people were not sleeping well and were kicking others."

I was so tired during the day and wanted to have a good sleep when I went home, but I was crowded with people and felt sleepy and noisy, so I couldn't sleep deeply.

Shen Liang echoed: "It's hard to say much to those older than us, and those younger than us won't listen. If we don't want to cause trouble, we can only endure it."

If the landlord knew about this, they probably wouldn't rent the house to them again.

Ji Wenhe sighed in his heart. These days, nothing is easy, especially for ordinary people at the bottom of society.

"Go back and have a good sleep."

Shen Anguo nodded and tilted his head to look at her: "Sister-in-law, how is your business going?"

"It's OK. I earn money and spend it. There are many things that my family lacks. I need to buy this and that. In the end, I spend more than I earn. I want to buy a homestead, but I don't know when I can wait."

"Don't worry, sister-in-law. Just make money. It will be easy to buy a homestead."

Ji Wenhe nodded and changed the subject.

We chatted along the way and when we arrived near Zhangjia Village, we saw a few women on the roadside.

One of the women came forward with a big smile on her face: "You're going to buy some goods. It's almost the busy farming season, so we need to buy some fat pork for the family."

Shen Rongshan replied, "Aunt, we haven't brought in any fat pork yet. We'll have to buy some in a couple of days. The busy farming season is still a few days away. If we bring it in now, it will go bad."

"That's fine. Come back to Zhangjia Village. I have a large family and a lot of land. You have to buy half a pound to take back."

I wanted to buy less, but there was no oil or water, and the people at home had no energy to work, so they followed her and made trouble.

I had no choice but to agree to buy them half a pound of meat, as the oil at home was almost gone.

"Oh, I understand, Auntie, let's go back to the village."

"Okay, let's go back."

Ji Wenhe saw a familiar figure, stared at it carefully for a while, and remembered who it was.

Liu Erfang.

Since they appeared, they have been facing away from me. It seems that the last scare was effective.

After returning to the village, Shen Anguo helped carry the goods up the mountain.

There was no place to put it in Lan Qiuhua's house, so Shen Anguo came back.

Ji Wenhe carried the basket on his back and opened the lid. The vinegar and soy sauce inside were intact and had not spilled.

Take out a clean basin, put the dried fungus in it, and soak it in water.

Shen Rongshan walked to the door and said, "Wen He, I'm going to return the donkey cart and will be back in a while."

"it is good."

It was already past noon. I made a few extra vegetable cakes in the morning and ate one of them cold.

I went down the mountain to the wasteland and picked some peppers.

For fear that geese and ducks would destroy the peppers, they were moved to a corner and separated by a small space with a fence.

"Wen He, what are you going to cook for dinner after picking those chilies?"

It’s Tao Chunmei, Wang Erfeng’s mother-in-law.

She has a pair of slanted eyes. I have seen on the Internet before that most people with this type of eyes have bad intentions.

But she felt that was not accurate, as she had a colleague who had slanted eyes and was a very nice person.

Moreover, it is not advisable to judge a person's goodness or badness based on the shape of his eyes or other body features.

She was coming down the mountain carrying a bunch of branches.

"Auntie Tao, I want to go back and make some black fungus."

"Oh, how can this be delicious?"

Ji Wenhe smiled and said, "Everyone has different tastes. I just like this."

Tao Chunmei walked to a place not far in front of her and looked at the chili in her hand: "It's spicy and not very tasty, but you can take it to the town to sell it. There are shops that will buy it, but the price is not high."

"I'm not selling it. I'm keeping it for myself. I like spicy food." She laughed.

"It's up to you. Auntie is going back."

"Hey, take care."

He turned around to look at her back, caught a glimpse of Shen Rongshan coming back, and stood there waiting for him.

When the other person came closer, he stepped forward and held his hand: "Brother Shen, make spicy and sour shredded wood ear mushrooms tonight, it's delicious, and roast some bacon and bamboo shoots."

He curled his lips lovingly: "Okay, tell me how to make it, and I'll make it for you when you want to eat it later."

Ji Wenhe laughed and said, "It's simple. I guarantee you'll learn it after just one look."

The ingredients at home are a bit limited, so the taste may not be enough.

"By the way, Brother Shen, when you go to the mountain, check if there is any wild garlic and dig it up to transplant it."

Last time I dug up some wild onions, I didn’t think of keeping them, so I fried them all and ate them.

I went to look for it later, but couldn't find it. It had all been dug up.

"I'll go after I have a drink of water. Are you staying at home or going to Aunt Lan's?"

Ji Wenhe thought for a moment and said, "At home, making silk threads."

"By the way." Shen Rongshan looked at her, "How is the style selling?"

On the way back, Shen Anguo and Shen Liang were there, so he didn't ask.

"Three hundred and eighty coins."

He was shocked: "So much." Nearly four hundred coins.

"Well, if it hadn't been copied by others, I could have made more money."

Working in the town, a good job can earn more than 200 coins a month, but such jobs are hard to find. It depends on luck and connections.

People like the two sons of Shen Zhong's family, who earn higher wages, cannot get into the restaurant to be managers without strong connections.

Ordinary people earned between sixty and a hundred wen a month.

Those who are worse off only make a few dozen cents a month. With so many people in their family, it is not enough for living expenses and they have to live a tight life.

After returning home, Shen Rongshan carried the basket and took the sickle: "Wen He, I'm going to the mountain."