stingy landlady

Chapter 20 Shaking People Off

Zhao Xiaofang and her mother saw that the two sisters wouldn't let them into the house no matter what. Eating standing here was worse than going back inside and eating slowly on the kang (heated brick bed)!

Dazhu came back from herding the cattle and hitched up the cart. Guizhi and Erya explained what had happened. Dazhu thought for a moment and said, "We'll move the things later."

After saying that, he walked towards the old house. Guizhi saw that there was a way! and followed closely behind.

After entering the house, Dazhu called out, "Mother!"

"Dazhu! He hasn't left yet!" the old lady asked, looking up.

"Mom! I haven't left yet, everything is ready! I want to talk to you about something."

"What is it? Tell me! After you're done, go sell the boxed lunches! Who will buy them if they get cold?" The old lady put down the sewing clothes she was holding. She also knew that Dazhu brought lunch to Lao Wu every day, saving him a lot of living expenses.

“Mom, right after the New Year, there were several places selling boxed lunches in town. We’ve always sold our boxed lunches to those shop owners, but with so many people selling boxed lunches, business wasn’t good. That day, we didn’t sell much at all, and more than half of them were left over! Sigh!” Dazhu thought about what happened that day, and it felt like a nightmare.

"Oh? What are we going to do then? What will you rely on if you lose money? How can people be so quick to follow trends!" the old lady said angrily.

"Mother! Don't worry! Listen to me, I just found a way to deliver food to my fifth brother. The kids selling boxed lunches don't recognize me, but I recognize my second sister-in-law's brother and his family. I saw them at his wedding."

"That Zhao woman, I told you she can't keep her mouth shut! As soon as you started selling boxed lunches, she got greedy and wanted to sell them herself. I've told your father and me several times! But she went back to her parents' house and persuaded her family to sell boxed lunches! I don't know how she could be so heartless over such a small amount of money. Erzhu is such a coward!" The old lady had no choice but to be angry with her daughter-in-law.

“Mom, the town is so big, it doesn’t matter who sells! The children even saw her third aunt and her family selling boxed lunches. If relatives want to make money, we can’t stop them, right, Mom?” Dazhu said slowly and deliberately.

"Besides, your son has another way out now. He can sell all the boxed lunches every day and also deliver meals to Fifth Brother. It's killing two birds with one stone! Hehehe!" Dazhu finished speaking and grinned foolishly at his mother.

"You, you need to be more careful! Tell Li Shi to keep her mouth shut this time. Don't be silly and let someone trick her into telling you something again." The old lady pointed at Dazhu and admonished him.

"Yes, yes! I'll listen to you, Mother!" Dazhu looked at his mother with difficulty again: "Mother! Zhao's mother is here now. She just wanted to come into my room to watch me cook. The children didn't let her in. We're about to load things onto the car. What if she comes out and tries to overturn the lunchboxes..." Dazhu was worried. If this old woman started to throw a tantrum, his mother would really have to step in.

"Oh dear! That's right! I'll go keep an eye on her. If she dares to make a move, I'll tear her face off!" The old lady got up and got off the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Grandma, Grandma! Let's not fight her. My dad and I are leaving. My mom has the child and she's honest. You can't beat them both by yourself!" Guizhi hurriedly pulled her away.

"We have to fight even if we can't win! What else can we do? We can't let them bully us in our house!" The old lady was also anxious.

"Grandma, take a lock and lock Auntie's door. You can open it again after we leave!" Guizhi said with a smile.

"Oh? That's a good idea! Go lock the door now! Let them bully people, they have no shame or scruples! They even want me to cook for them! No way, go eat shit!" The old lady was still angry.

Guizhi hurriedly said, "Grandma, Grandma! Keep your voice down! Don't let them hear you before you come out!"

The old lady immediately understood, "Good! My granddaughter is so smart! I'll scold her after I lock the door!"

The old lady went to find a lock to lock Zhao's door. Dazhu went back to his room to prepare to move things to the car.

Actually, when Dazhu was harnessed to the oxcart, Zhao's mother and daughter were peeking out the window from the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Mother, my eldest brother has hitched up the cart. He'll be carrying the food boxes upstairs in a bit!" Zhao pointed to the courtyard.

"Mother will get on the carriage later too. Just say you're giving me a ride. Surely you can't refuse my old lady a seat! We're family, your older brother can't refuse such a small favor," Zhao's mother thought to herself.

"Once I get on the bus, I'll take a closer look at what kind of food they have. It smells so good! When we get to town, I'll secretly follow them and figure out where they're going."

"Fang! Your brother and his family have lost a lot of money! They have to make it back this time no matter what! Your older brother has been in business for a long time and has many connections, why can't he help us out?" The Zhao mother and daughter chatted while keeping an eye on the courtyard.

Unbeknownst to them, Guizhi and the old lady had followed the wall to her door. The door was tightly closed, and the old lady quietly fastened the latch and locked the lock. With a "click," she gently pushed and pulled, but it wouldn't open.

"What was that sound?" Zhao's mother asked after hearing it.

"I didn't hear anything! It's probably the sound of melting snow! The ice crystals have melted," Zhao Xiaofang said casually.

Guizhi and the old lady had already slipped back to their own home. She called out softly, "Father, Mother! Hurry up and load the things onto the cart; the road is muddy and slippery. It's hard to walk."

Dazhu knew that they could move the bags without worry. With a wave of his hand, several people filed out, quickly carrying large and small bags to the car.

The old lady offered to help, but the mother said, "Mom, you don't need to! Don't get your shoes wet! We're so grateful to you this time!"

Dazhu said with a smile.

"Grandma, there are still dumplings inside. Come in and eat dumplings, and there are also vegetables. After you finish eating, you can stay in this room, or I'll have my mother take Fourth Sister to your room! You can only stay here until my grandfather comes back," Guizhi said worriedly.

"Alright! Sanya is really much more sensible now. Come on, let's go inside and eat dumplings, make that old hag drool." The old lady deliberately raised her voice for the last sentence.

Zhao's mother pretended to be deaf and dumb. Anyway, she had already eaten her dumplings and was full. She was just waiting for Dazhu and the others to finish loading the cart so she could rush out and catch them off guard.

Dazhu and his family are all ready and waiting to depart.

Zhao's mother had also gotten out of bed and started walking outside, muttering to herself, "Fang! I don't know when I'll be able to come back again after this trip! You should take some time to visit your parents. If your brother and the others make money, they won't forget you!"

Zhao pushed the door open: "I know, Mother! Huh? Why can't I open the door?"

"You haven't eaten! Put some effort into it! The ice crystals might have melted and frozen the door shut," said Zhao's mother.

The two of them tried to push, and the door moved but they couldn't open it.

"Mother, the door is locked!" Zhao's mother also noticed.

"Who locked the door? Why were we locked inside?"

"Oh no! It must be that damned old woman of yours! She's afraid I'll go with her son! I've always said your mother-in-law is a cunning woman!"

"What should we do? Mother! Mother! Open the door for me!"

"Call again! Louder, say you need to go to the toilet," Zhao's mother muttered under her breath.

"Mother! Mother! Open the door! I need to use the toilet! Ouch! My stomach hurts, I need to poop in my pants!" Zhao shouted, jumping up and down.

Inside the large hall, the old lady sat on the kang (heated brick bed) with Siya, eating dumplings. Looking at Li Shi, she said, "Lanxin! Don't mind them! Let her yell and jump around! We can't control her!"

Dazhu drove the oxcart to the east of the village to pick up bean sprouts, while Guizhi ran to the garden to take a look. There wasn't much snow left in the fields; it should be ready to plant vegetables.

But we don't have enough manpower at home, so hiring someone to grow vegetables isn't practical. I've heard there are human traffickers who buy servants who become family members. Maybe we should go check it out today.

How could she get her parents' consent? Guizhi knew that her parents and grandparents were all peasants, and they had never had servants. At most, they would hire people to do the work for a few days when they were too busy.

After Guizhi got on the oxcart, she was still thinking about how to take Dazhu to the slave trader to buy people.

"Third Sister, what are you thinking about? I called you but you didn't respond!" Er Ya spoke first.

"Second sister, why did you call me? Is something wrong?" Guizhi asked, puzzled.

"Father! Eldest sister! Do you think Third Sister is stupid? Hahaha!"

Guizhi sighed helplessly. "Father, eldest sister, second sister! I'm thinking we can grow vegetables in our garden!"

"Yes! The weather is getting warmer, and we can plant vegetables in the garden. We'll be planting soon too!" Dazhu suddenly wilted like a frostbitten eggplant!

"Father! We're short-handed. Shall we go check with the slave traders later?" Guizhi asked tentatively.

"What are you going to the human slave dealer for?" Er Ya asked, puzzled.

“Sanya, we country folk don’t have servants. Where do you get all these cunning ideas?” Dazhu understood.

"Ah? Father! Sanya said she wants to buy a servant?" Daya was too shocked! She couldn't even imagine it!

"Why? We only have this month's earnings left! At most, it's only thirty taels! Sanya, what are you thinking?" Dazhu still respected Guizhi's ideas. Guizhi's ideas were indispensable to the family's current situation.

“Dad, if we hire people to grow vegetables, people will laugh at us. Apart from our own family, many people in the village still don’t know how much money we make. Besides, if we hire people to do the work, it’s not that we’re afraid of spending money, but we are afraid of having one or two more people like my second aunt’s family or my third aunt. What will we do then?” Guizhi slowly analyzed what she had in mind.

“But what if the villagers find out about buying people…” Daya hesitated.

"Can the people who buy it really listen to us? We don't know anything about them!" Er Ya also found it unbelievable.

“With a contract of indenture in hand, you can sell yourself again if you don’t obey. But you should think about what kind of man you want to buy first. It’s definitely a man, a man who can do farm work.” Guizhi then looked at Dazhu.

"Where would we get that much money? If we buy people, your grandparents won't approve! Your grandfather, second uncle, and fourth uncle all want to find work! If family members give us some money, we'll be more willing to work!" Dazhu thought that since money was going to be spent anyway, it was a good opportunity for family members to earn that money. After all, it's better to keep the profits within the family!

“Dad! No one has lived at the east end of our village for a long time. It’s scary that someone with ulterior motives might take notice. What if we’re all away there and someone sneaks in…” Guizhi thought for a moment.

"Father, money can be earned back after it's spent! It all depends on where it goes!"

“We’ve just bought people and said we’ve hired long-term workers. It’ll be the same no matter who asks. As long as people know how to do the work, we don’t have to worry about so much.”

Guizhi thought there were many advantages, "Dad, buy a capable one!"