stingy landlady

Chapter 6 Buying Cows

That evening, the family gathered together. Li explained the matter of firewood, and Wang Dazhu said:

"Buy it! Gathering firewood up the mountain takes too much time, and we can't manage it at home."

"Her father, who will you buy it from? Where will you buy it? We sell firewood every year, and we need to buy firewood this year. What are we going to do about this?" Li Shi laughed.

“Mom and Dad, let’s buy firewood from Uncle and Uncle this year! It will save them the trouble of hauling it to town! We’ll just give them whatever price they need.”

Guizhi thought it was a trivial matter.

"It's getting colder. Tomorrow, I'll sell some cotton and buy some more. Our quilts are too thin. I'll gradually stuff them with more cotton these next few days to make thicker quilts that will keep us warm in winter. We also need to hurry up and make cotton-padded jackets and trousers," Li Shi muttered.

"Buy more cotton tomorrow, and send some to my grandparents too, so that my grandma can make her quilt thicker."

Daya is the eldest granddaughter, and her grandparents treat her very well. She also remembers to be filial to her grandparents.

Cotton was very expensive. Guizhi and her friends asked around at two or three stores before finally deciding to buy the cheapest cotton, which was 25 wen per jin. Better quality cotton was available for 30-something wen.

I spent 500 coins to buy 20 jin of cotton. It hurts! The money I made today, after deducting the cost of meat for the next day, isn't even enough to make a quilt for each person in my family.

After dinner in the evening, Guizhi's father, along with several maids, carried six catties of cotton to the old couple's old house.

The old house had just finished eating, and Zhao and her daughter were cleaning up the dishes.

"Father, Mother, dinner's ready," Dazhu said as he entered the room.

"Hey sir, you're here. Have you eaten?" Grandpa took a puff of his pipe.

"Grandpa and Grandma, my parents bought you cotton. Grandma will make your quilts thicker so you'll be warmer this winter."

Daya smiled as she placed the cotton on the kang (a heated brick bed), then reached out to take her grandmother's hand. Erya also placed the cotton on the kang and sat on the edge of the kang with Siya in her arms. Guizhi stood beside her father, smiling with pursed lips.

"Why buy so much cotton? We just separated, and you have nothing. Eldest son, you should learn to be more frugal. There are many things that require money in daily life! You can't just spend everything you can earn right now; you need to have a backup plan!"

The old lady was annoyed. But she was actually happy. Although the eldest son's family had moved out, they still cared about the old couple.

“Dad, we don’t have time to collect firewood. We’re planning to buy several truckloads of firewood this winter.”

Wang Dazhu looked at his father, then at his two younger brothers:

"Are my second and fourth brothers still selling firewood this winter? If so, could you sell me a dozen or so zhang (a unit of length)? That way I won't have to hire a cart to haul it to town. I'll give you the same price as everyone else, just please help me chop and arrange it neatly."

The fourth brother readily agreed:

“Okay, brother, I’ll go up the mountain to collect firewood in the next few days. Actually, if you have time, you can hire someone to help you collect a few cartloads and cut and chop the firewood to save you some money. You can treat them to a meal and ask them to help out, but you’ll have to exchange jobs.”

"Fourth brother, I just don't have the time, and these girls aren't very strong. Why don't you help me? I'll have to spend money to buy from others anyway, so I might as well let my brothers earn the money."

Wang Dazhu was also gratified to have a younger brother who genuinely cared about him.

In the village, firewood was sold by hauling down dead trees from the mountain, sawing them into sections about a foot long, and then splitting them into smaller strips with an axe. The strips were then stacked to a height of ten feet, and the seller sold firewood according to the length purchased. Generally, one ten-foot strip of firewood cost twenty coins.

The villagers have easy access to the mountain, and there's plenty of firewood there. Most people sell their firewood in town, but the villagers can usually gather enough on the mountain to be self-sufficient. Wang Dazhu has temporarily ordered twenty zhang (approximately 10 meters) of firewood for winter use; it will be useful for cooking, making dumplings to sell, and also for warming the house.

Erzhu was nudged from behind by Zhao and asked...

"Big brother, you've made some money, see if you can lend us a hand and get the Zhao family to work with you! We can make some money too!"

The three Gui sisters were a little anxious, fearing that their father would agree.

Business might be slow in winter due to the cold, and the hassle of traveling back and forth is another issue. Besides, heavy snow would prevent me from going to town for several days, and I don't have the capital to rent a place there. Rental contracts are usually for several months at a time, and rent is paid in full upfront for several months. A large house would be needed for the whole family, which we don't have yet. The town is only so big, and most of my current customers are repeat customers.

Wang Dazhu wasn't stupid; he was just honest.

"Second brother, we really can't help with this right now. We're only taking care of our immediate needs. As you know, the grain allocated to us by the family isn't enough to last until the autumn harvest; we're just barely scraping by."

After paying the grain tax on the corn harvested in autumn, we sold it for 2,500 catties and 50 taels of silver. Our family had many members and many expenses, and we also had to support a student's education.

The fourth son has already set his sights on a girl from the neighboring Erhe Village, and has even exchanged betrothal gifts in preparation for the wedding. They also need to buy a lot of things; currently, the fourth son and his parents share a room, and they don't yet have a separate room for their new home.

The elderly couple were overwhelmed with worry; they were short of money everywhere. They gave 300 jin to their third and fifth sons, leaving only about 1,200 jin for themselves. Even if they were frugal, it would only last until June or July when the young corn cobs were ready to be harvested. They also gave 200 jin to Dazhu, but with so many people, they still needed to be very careful with their food.

It's not easy for anyone! The old man said:

"Erzhu, you can either go up the mountain to collect firewood or go to town to do temporary work. There's not much work to be done in the fields at this time of year, and you can't just stay idle. You have to do something to earn some income."

It was getting late, so everyone went back to their own homes to rest.

"Dad, it's getting cold, and it's not convenient for us to go to town to get things. If only we had an oxcart!" Guizhi said softly after returning home.

"A single ox that can pull a cart will cost at least ten taels of silver, and making a cart will cost at least two hundred coins. What do you think, Mother?" Wang Dazhu felt a pang of heartache. The money he had just earned hadn't even warmed his heart yet, and he was already spending it all on buying this and that! Money doesn't last long; it's all gone in the blink of an eye.

"Honey, I'll listen to you. If you think it's necessary, then we'll buy it." Li had no objections; buying an oxcart was also a way to acquire family property.

“Father and Mother, we have our own oxcart, which makes it convenient to travel to and from town. We can put a small stove on the cart. When we get to town, we can find an open space, boil some bone broth, and deliver it to people, giving them a bowl of hot soup. It’s cold outside, so we can eat something warm. I think it will sell better. It gets dark early, so we can sell our food early and go home early, avoiding wasting time on the road,” Guizhi analyzed.

“I think it’s a good idea! We can use the oxen for farming. It’s more convenient to have an oxcart. If we hire someone else’s cart, they’ll ask all sorts of questions, always wanting to know where we sold the oxen, how we sold them, and how much money we made. We don’t want others gossiping about our own little business!” Er Ya commented.

"I'll listen to my parents! It would be better to have our own oxcart!" Daya didn't care, but she also hoped that having an oxcart would make it easier to carry things.

“Alright, let’s buy the oxcart. We’ll go check it out after we finish selling food tomorrow. I’ll also discuss it with Dad tomorrow morning to see if he knows anyone there.” Wang Dazhu felt relieved after making his decision.

The next morning, Dazhu told the old man that he wanted to buy an oxcart, and the old man was delighted. He happened to know that there were a few families raising cattle in the old woman's village, and said he would take him there to see them right away.

Dazhu took the money and, together with the old man, hired an oxcart to go to the old lady's hometown, Beipo Village.

There were herders raising cattle and horses, as well as farmers. Upon arriving in the village, there were butchers, and Dazhu bought two jin of meat and two jin of pastries. First, he visited his uncle's house to offer his greetings. His uncle's family also farmed, had many children and grandchildren, and owned cattle and a cart; they lived a fairly comfortable life.

Then he went to buy two jin of meat, two jin of pastries, and two jin of wine, and went to Grandpa Ding's house, where the old man used to play with him when he was young.

Grandpa Ding's family were herders, owning over a dozen cows and two horses. Upon hearing that his old friend wanted to buy a cow, he immediately took the two of them to the cattle pen and selected a bull from their own herd that was about two or three years old. It was a strong, healthy bull, capable of pulling carts and working steadily.

He wouldn't ask for more money, only eight taels of silver. Grandpa Ding, ever so hospitable, took him to the village blacksmith to shoe the ox, so that its hooves wouldn't hurt when walking or pulling a cart. While they were there, they looked at custom-made oxcarts; they happened to have one ready-made, complete with a carriage, and bought a small portable stove for two hundred and fifty coins. In short, the trip the old man brought Wang Dazhu was incredibly worthwhile.

The father and son happily drove their newly bought oxcart home. When they reached the village entrance, they ran into Li and her three sisters, each carrying a basket filled with food, on their way to town.

The three sisters couldn't carry that much, so Li entrusted Siya to her grandmother's care temporarily. Seeing Grandpa and Dazhu on the oxcart, the whole family was overjoyed—they really had bought an oxcart!

"Put it all in the car, put it all in the car, get on the car, let's catch the train today!" Dazhu said excitedly.

"Dad, why don't you come to town with us?" Dazhu asked the old man, turning around.

"Alright, then I'll go with you to town for a stroll! And see how your business is doing!" the old man said, feigning seriousness, but a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth revealed his inner joy.

"Father, husband, then I won't go. I'm going back to take care of Siya. Mother also has a lot to do." Li put down the basket in her hand, let the three sisters get into the carriage, and walked home by herself.

Upon arriving in town, the vendors operated as usual, splitting into two groups of two, each with rice and dumplings for customers to choose from. The old man, still concerned, watched over the oxen from the cart. Having been away from town for a long time, he slowly observed the streets, smoking a cigarette. He watched his son and granddaughter greet customers with smiles, collect money, and gather food boxes. Alone on the cart, he pondered his own thoughts.

After packing everything, buying meat and vegetables for the next day, and completing the daily chores, the group of people, adults and children alike, sat on their family's oxcart.

"Grandpa, is there anything you want to buy? Let my dad buy it, he has money! What would you like to eat, Grandpa? Let's go buy it now!" Guizhi tugged at her grandfather's sleeve, deliberately speaking in a low voice, but everyone in the carriage could hear her.

Dazhu also asked the old man:

"Dad, what would you like to eat?"

Today was a special occasion. Usually, the family eats at home before going out, but this morning they went to buy the oxcart and didn't have time to eat. The old man and Wang Dazhu were starving, and they forgot to save some rice or dumplings for themselves. Passing a wonton stall, the old man glanced at it...

"How about some wontons? It's been so long since I've had any!"

"Okay, let's have wontons, even with the soup!"

The group ordered five bowls of wontons, a plate of stir-fried pork belly, and a pound of liquor for the father and son. Guizhi said she wasn't hungry, so she gave most of her bowl to her grandfather, tasted a few wontons herself, and drank some soup.

After the two older sisters finished eating, the three of them let Grandpa and Dazhu eat slowly. They bought Grandpa a pound of tobacco and two pounds of wine. They also went to the pastry shop and bought two pounds of soft and easy-to-digest pastries for Grandma, and two pounds of sweet and crispy glutinous rice strips for Li Shi and Siya to eat at home.

Hearing that they saved two taels of silver by buying the oxcart, the three sisters discussed buying two bolts of cloth, one dark red and one navy blue. Their fourth uncle was getting married and would definitely need new clothes, but they figured the two elderly people wouldn't be willing to spend the money. They bought these two bolts of cloth so their grandparents could also have new clothes, and there would still be some left over.