Splendid peasant girl busy farming

Chapter 12051

After seeing Tuantuan off, Yang Ruoqing was quietly savoring the news Tuantuan had brought, and she almost burst out laughing.

My silly girl seems to have really developed genuine romantic feelings for Jinling, her childhood sweetheart.

No longer treating Jinling as a younger brother as before, but truly regarding Jinling as his partner and lover.

"It seems that our daughter has completely emerged from Bingbing's shadow."

Luo Fengtang's voice suddenly rang out behind her, almost startling Yang Ruoqing.

"What are you saying? Our daughter has long since moved on from Bingbing's shadow," Yang Ruoqing glared at him and said with great disdain.

"How so?" Luo Fengtang pressed, clearly very interested in this belatedly learned news.

Yang Ruoqing said, "Don't I know my daughter well? Even during the year and a half that she corresponded with Bingbing, she didn't actually like Bingbing as much as we imagined."

Luo Fengtang was even happier now, his eyes lit up. He sat down on the stone bench next to him and pulled Yang Ruoqing over to sit on his lap. "Qing'er, tell me more."

Yang Ruoqing originally didn't want to mention Bingbing anymore, but the person beneath her was using his legs as a stool, which was just too comfortable.

Moreover, at this moment, Zuo Junmo is discussing Taoist techniques with Master Yuan, and it is estimated that he will not be able to come out for at least an hour.

The children went to play on the mountains in front of and behind the Taoist temple. Well then, let me say a few more words to Luo Fengtang.

"I'll say it again: if our daughter really liked Bingbing that much, then it wouldn't have been Bingbing who wrote to her so often, gradually guiding her to think in that direction."

"She would actively think about these things. The reason she was so passive was entirely because her feelings for Bingbing were not pure. In addition, Bingbing was from our village and grew up with her. She didn't want to marry too far away and wanted to stay closer to home. Also, although she seemed carefree, she was actually very loyal and couldn't bear to refuse her childhood friend. So, under these factors, she reluctantly and Bingbing reached the point of meeting each other's parents."

As Luo Fengtang listened and pondered, he finally came to a conclusion: "So, the main reason our daughter chose to be with Bingbing was because of us. She's a really good girl, a filial and good daughter!"

Yang Ruoqing saw through his thoughts at a glance, and she smiled.

"You should be secretly happy. However, her feelings for Bingbing aren't purely romantic, but her feelings for Jinling are pure and simple!"

"Otherwise, all we could do was sneak out with Jinling and hang red plaques on the wishing tree."

That red sign is actually a marriage wish card.

Yang Ruoqing originally thought that Luo Fengtang would be disappointed after hearing this, because although the flowers he was growing were not taken away by the boy in front, they were taken away by the boy from the Zuo family, pot and all.

As a result, Yang Ruoqing only caught a trace of disappointment in Luo Fengtang's eyes, but that trace of disappointment quickly disappeared, replaced by joy and relief.

“If it were any other young man, I would indeed be uneasy, but I am very satisfied and at ease with the Zuo family’s lad!” Luo Fengtang said.

“That’s right. Men should marry when they are of age and women should marry when they are of age. When a daughter grows up, she should naturally have her own path to walk and people to accompany her.”

"Come here, Qing'er, I'll take you somewhere." Luo Fengtang suddenly stood up, took Yang Ruoqing's hand, and headed towards the front yard.

"Why did you bring me here?" Yang Ruoqing realized that Luo Fengtang had brought her to the wishing tree.

The branches overhead were already covered with wishing cards of various colors.

Among them, red represents marriage, purple represents wealth, and yellow represents health...

“Let’s hang up wishing cards too,” Luo Fengtang said, pulling a red card from his sleeve.

Yang Ruoqing's eyebrows twitched violently twice.

"My goodness, we're both so old, hanging this thing around, people will laugh at us!" Yang Ruoqing covered her mouth and giggled, while turning her head to look around, afraid that others would see it. If they did, she couldn't bear the embarrassment.

Luo Fengtang, however, remained calm and composed, without even blushing. He casually and calmly hung the red card on the tree branch.

"As long as you are sincere, hanging this wish card has nothing to do with age." After hanging the card, Luo Fengtang took Yang Ruoqing's hand and led her to the tree. "Come on, let's make a sincere wish together."

At this moment, Yang Ruoqing also stopped smiling, nodded, put her hands together, closed her eyes with a devout expression, and silently prayed in her heart.

"I wish to stay with this man beside me for this life, the next life, and the life after that, forever and ever!"

……

In the afternoon, everyone returned to the Luo family home.

By this time, Yang Huamei and the others had already returned. Wang Cuilian kept Yang Huamei company in the main room while talking, and Tan stayed in the guest room to take care of the three sleeping children.

But Xu Yuanming was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing Yang Ruoqing and the others return, Yang Huamei quickly stood up. "Qing'er, you're back?"

"Auntie," Yang Ruoqing greeted Yang Huamei.

Luo Fengtang and Zuo Junmo nodded politely to Yang Huamei and then went straight back to their study in the backyard.

There's no other way. For the two of them, the study must be the place where they feel most at ease and safe.

Instead, staying in the main room and listening to the women chat might be seen by them as a form of punishment.

"Where is my uncle?" Yang Ruoqing did not return to the backyard, but chose to stay in the main room to chat with Yang Huamei and Wang Cuilian for a while.

"Oh, don't even mention it. I scolded her earlier and sent her back to her room to sleep." Seeing Luo Fengtang and Zuo Junmo leave the main room, Yang Huamei's tense body immediately relaxed, and she returned to her previous stool.

"Oh? What's wrong with Uncle?" Yang Ruoqing sat down on the stool next to her, took the tea that Rong Gu handed her, and took a sip.

Yang Huamei said, "At noon, he was at Yongjin's place and drank too much. I was afraid he would talk nonsense and annoy people, so I sent him to sleep."

"Aunt, please don't say that. It's not like I haven't eaten and drunk with Uncle before. He's a very good drinker," Yang Ruoqing said.

For many years, Xu Yuanming had been the manager of the tea house and Yang Ruoqing's capable assistant.

So they inevitably ate and drank together, especially around Grain Rain each year. Yang Ruoqing and the others would go to the tea house, where they would eat wild game from the mountains, drink the newly harvested tea, and smell the fragrance of tea flowers under the shed.

Xu Yuanming has a high alcohol tolerance and is also a very good drinker. At least Yang Ruoqing has never seen him curse or act crazy when he is drunk.

"Qing'er, now that you're back, why don't you keep your aunt company for a while? I'm going to the backyard to help your uncle pack his things," Wang Cuilian said as she stood up.

“Okay, Auntie, you go ahead.” Yang Ruoqing nodded. Tomorrow is the eighth day of the first lunar month, and Uncle is going to Zhoujia Village for his second New Year’s visit. The first time he went, everyone went together.

The second time, Luo the blacksmith went alone. He planned to stay at the Zhou family's house for a few more days to keep Luo Da'e company.

……

In fact, Yang Ruoqing had no interest in finding out which business the second wife had ultimately chosen for Xiu Hong and Sixi.

Yang Ruoqing has been doing business for over twenty years and is thoroughly tired of it.

When it comes to doing business, I don't know about others, but for her, there are only two points that can most stimulate her threshold for doing business.

The first milestone was when I started by testing the waters with small-scale trading and then earned my first pot of gold.

No matter how much that first pot of gold is, it can be exciting, filling people with anticipation for the future and giving them energy to get things done.

The second milestone was when the business entered a stable phase and made a lot of money. With this money, the family's material living conditions were improved, and the family gradually built its reputation and prestige among relatives and friends.

Then, at this point, a new money-making idea was found that could break through the previous bottleneck and take the business to the next level.

In fact, an ordinary businessman could very well rise to become a well-known figure in the local area or in a certain circle.

The success of the second phase will also inspire people to work hard and never stop striving.

Yang Ruoqing has already gone through this stage, and even more, which includes failures...

However, Yang Huamei took the initiative to talk to Yang Ruoqing about the second wife.

"Your second brother and sister-in-law are really single-mindedly focused on their children. Just to get some business tips from me and Lao Xu, they've prepared a whole table of dishes today, probably more than their New Year's Eve dinner!"

"We invited your grandpa, grandma, dad, your two uncles, and Sixi's dad all over. They drank several jars of liquor. Otherwise, your uncle wouldn't have been able to get drunk and couldn't even speak properly afterwards!"

Hearing Yang Huamei's description, Yang Ruoqing could imagine the scene at that time.

Those who went were all men who could drink, so a few jars of liquor were really nothing to them.

“Your father and your fourth uncle are also drunk. They’ve probably gone home to sleep by now,” Yang Huamei added.

Yang Ruoqing smiled and shook her head: "If you're drunk, so be it. It's the first month of the lunar year, and it's rare to have so many people together. You'll all be sober after a good night's sleep."

However, the physical sensation after a hangover is definitely not pleasant. There will surely be a headache, dry mouth, and nausea. Yang Ruoqing will have to go to her parents' house later to check on her father.

"Oh, by the way, Qing'er, don't you want to know what business Sixi and Xiuhong are planning to do?" Yang Huamei deliberately kept them in suspense.

"Auntie, would you believe me if I said I'm not really interested in this?"

Yang Huamei was stunned. She carefully examined Yang Ruoqing's eyes and found them to be clear and full of sincerity.

"Okay, I believe you. You've seen it all, so this really doesn't interest you."

"Hehe, if Auntie wants to talk, I'm willing to be your listener. Just say it," Yang Ruoqing added, because judging from Yang Huamei's state, she seemed very eager to confide in someone.

Yang Ruoqing's words struck a chord with Yang Huamei, who smiled and nodded, taking a sip of tea.

"Si Xi and Xiu Hong initially planned to open a shop to sell chicken, duck, and goose eggs, but they changed their minds later, probably because they felt that the money they earned wouldn't be enough to cover the rent."

Selling eggs?
Fortunately, Yang Ruoqing didn't drink the tea, otherwise she really would have vomited it up.

It's amazing that they came up with this idea; this time and space is quite different from later times.

In this world, there's no technology or rudimentary techniques involved in food preparation; everything people eat, use, and wear is purely natural and authentic.

The gimmick of "farm-raised free-range eggs" doesn't appeal to people in this day and age.

Even large households that can consume eggs on a large scale and use them as daily household supplies would never visit your small shop every day with a shopping basket in hand. They would either have one-on-one contact with chicken farms like Zhou Wang's, and have the chicken farm deliver eggs to their homes in batches on a regular basis.

Alternatively, wealthy families might own estates with tenants, and the estates would produce poultry and eggs.

So if you set up a shop in town that specializes in selling eggs, the customers can only be ordinary residents, and these ordinary residents are mostly peddlers and laborers. For them, eggs are probably just something to supplement their children's nutrition, and they would be more than satisfied if they consumed two or three a day.

On the first and fifteenth of each month, when the market is open, villagers from all around, as well as mountain dwellers, bring the eggs they've been saving for ten or fifteen days to sell at the market.

They don't need to pay rent for the shop. You sell eggs for one coin each in your shop, but for the mountain folks who come to the market, they can probably buy three eggs for two coins.

If you were an ordinary resident of the town, what would you choose?
"The egg business is nonsense; it'll be out of business in less than two months," Yang Ruoqing waved her hand, directly denying it.

Yang Huamei said, "Your second brother also rejected it, so he and your uncle have been discussing it for a long time. We don't really have much experience, so we can only offer some suggestions. In the end, your second brother and his family made the final decision themselves."

"Now, I'm planning to sell sticky rice balls!"

"Selling glutinous rice balls? Do you also rent a shop?" Yang Ruoqing asked.

If it were up to me, I would never rent a shop. I would just get a small cart and go out once in the morning and once in the evening, which would be enough to keep costs low.

However, it remains to be seen whether the glutinous rice balls sold by Sixi Xiuhong and the others are exactly the same as what Yang Ruoqing has in mind.
“We don’t rent a house. We just get a small cart and the couple gets up early and works late to sell our wares at the school gate in town and at the market gate,” Yang Huamei said.

"They say they'll be serving a big wooden bucket of glutinous rice, along with vegetarian and meat dishes. There are many students at the school and many people in Washi. They'll be setting up a stall early in the morning and late at night. With low costs, they should be able to make a small profit, or at least not lose money."

"Hmm, this idea is feasible, at least it's better than selling eggs," Yang Ruoqing said.

"This rice ball can also be paired with white sugar and fried dough sticks. Some students who prefer lighter flavors may like it more in the morning."

As for Yang Ruoqing herself, she doesn't like to eat oily or greasy food in the morning; she prefers sweet food instead.

Yang Huamei slapped her thigh, "Yongjin and the others mentioned they also want to make sweet rice balls, I forgot to tell them."

"Aunt, what about you and Uncle? Besides roast duck, have you ever thought about expanding your product offerings?" Yang Ruoqing turned the conversation to Yang Huamei.

She only needed to know enough about the affairs of the second wife, because no matter how well Xiu Hong and the others did in their business, Yang Yongjin would always be there to bail them out.

Over the years, Yang Yongjin has managed restaurants in the county town, and he has probably accumulated a considerable amount of money, both openly and secretly.