They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 34 Liang Chunfen, the Strong and Silly Girl

“Zhichun, I think these potatoes and sweet potatoes look really good. How about this, you sell us twenty catties of sweet potatoes and twenty catties of potatoes. What do you think? After you finish planting, if you have any left over, sell us some more.”

Since the village head had said so, Xu Zhichun certainly couldn't refuse. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and smiled, "Alright, then twenty catties will do. I'll have Xiaoyan and the others bring it when they come back."

"Row."

Liang, the village head, was satisfied and went to bring her the land deeds with a smile. "Take them back and keep them safe. Those two plots of land are yours now."

Both land deeds were stamped with the official red seal. The two thin pieces of paper carried her hopes, and holding them in her hands, she felt at ease.

"Thank you, Village Head."

Xu Zhichun smiled brightly, carefully folded the two land deeds, and put them into his pocket.

"By the way, Village Head, I'd like to find a few people to clear the land quickly so we can plant things. I'll pay them twenty-five copper coins a day, and I'll hire six people to clear the land for me in three days. It needs to be neat and even, and there can't be any tree roots left in the ground. I'm thinking of asking Uncle Yang Ming, Brother Mingjia from Uncle Liang San's family, and Sister Chunfen from Uncle Liang Dong's family. Could you help me see who else would be suitable? They need to be hardworking and reliable."

Twenty-five coins a day is a lot of money. Six people can finish the job in three days, which is seventy-five coins. Many people go to the city to find temporary work, but even if they work themselves to the bone for a month, they may not earn more than a hundred coins.

If this wage were known, many people would fight tooth and nail to do it. Xu Zhichun deliberately asked me to help him find three people, which was essentially asking me to do someone a favor for free.

Liang Lizheng was quite pleased, though he felt respected.

Such thoughtfulness is rare.

If it weren't for the fact that his third son and his wife had already made a lot of money with Xu Zhichun, he would have wanted his second son to take a share. But after thinking about it, he reluctantly gave up and instead selected three hardworking and relatively poor men for Xu Zhichun.

Xu Zhichun smiled and said okay.

“By the way,” Liang Lizheng couldn’t help but say, “Liang Dong’s Chunfen is a simple-minded girl, but she’s very strong. There’s probably no man in our village who can match her strength. But you’ve hired men, and she’s the only girl. Isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”

She may be simple-minded, but she's incredibly strong and a real expert at clearing land; however, she is, after all, a girl. Although almost no one in the village considers her to be the same kind of person as the other girls.

Xu Zhichun said, "I'll go and talk to Uncle Liang Dong and Aunt Liang. If they don't agree, I'll find someone else."

Uncle Liang Dong and his son are both in poor health, but they are honest people. Clearing land is hard work, and it would be bad if they felt they had worked enough for the wages and injured themselves while working themselves to the bone.

That's why Xu Zhichun wanted to hire Liang Chunfen.

Liang Lizheng thought it was a good idea, "Alright, then you go and talk to them first."

Xu Zhichun took his leave and went to each household to inform them of the matter of inviting people.

No one disliked the wage of twenty-five coins; they thanked her profusely and promised to do the job perfectly. The location was also nearby, just on the hillside behind Xu Zhichun's house, where they were clearing land.

Xu Zhichun arrived at Liang Dong's house. Liang Dong's wife, Xu, was at home taking care of the household chores, while everyone else was out working.

Upon seeing Xu Zhichun, she was taken aback for a moment, then quickly wiped her hands and warmly invited her inside to sit down.

Xu Zhichun felt a little embarrassed by her fiery enthusiasm and quickly explained his purpose with a smile.

Madam Xu was overjoyed and immediately said with a smile, "It's rare that you thought of my silly girl. You've found the right person to help with the land reclamation. Don't worry, don't worry, I'll definitely go. My silly girl is very strong, even men can't compare to her. You can rest assured that she can do the heavy work."

Xu Zhichun was somewhat amused and exasperated by her enthusiastic attitude. "I've already spoken to my aunt, she'll let her go over tomorrow morning."

"Yes, yes, definitely!"

Xu Zhichun left, and Xu Shi was still excited for a long time. She walked around excitedly looking for work to do, full of energy.

The little girl has a huge appetite, so her meals have to be prepared separately with extra vegetables and beans. Even so, she often complains of being hungry. Her mother has no choice but to cook mixed grains like beans and taro for her.

He also had to keep it a secret from his daughter-in-law, for fear that she would be unhappy if she found out.

She didn't blame her daughter-in-law. Who would want a sister-in-law who's both greedy and simple-minded? With that kind of appetite, it would be hard for her to find a suitable husband. She wouldn't dare marry into a bad family, fearing that her daughter would starve to death after marriage.

So what if you're strong and can do a lot of work? There are only so many jobs in the fields in the countryside. No matter how strong you are, it's not a big deal. People who aren't that strong can still do the work.

In her spare time, she would go up the mountain to dig yams. Yams were plentiful, so at least she could fill her stomach.

Unexpectedly, Xu Zhichun actually hired her to clear the land. Xu was really happy. Seventy-five coins! Plus, she could earn some money picking lantern fruit. It meant that the silly girl was at least earning money for the family. When cooking for her, she would feel more justified in giving her an extra handful of coarse rice.

When Zeng Xiaoyan and the others returned from digging up konjac, Xu Zhichun happily presented a plate of steamed sweet potatoes and potatoes. "Come on, come on, they're still warm! Come and try them! I thought these potatoes and sweet potatoes looked similar to taro, and since taro can be steamed, maybe these two can too. I tried them and they were indeed delicious! Come and try them!"

This explanation is perfectly reasonable. It couldn't be more justifiable.

"Really? Let me see how delicious it is."

"If it's so sweet when eaten raw, it must still be sweet when steamed, right?"

"So soft! Wow, so sweet, even sweeter than eating it raw!"

"Mmm, I think so too. It's a sweet potato, right? It's delicious!"

"I think steamed potatoes taste better. Although they are not as sweet, they are soft and powdery, and have a light fragrance."

"Haha, I like them all!"

"Hey, everyone likes that, right?"

"Ha ha."

After just one taste, it was absolutely amazing!

I was a little hesitant at first, but now I'm completely won over.

Even if you can't cook it, steaming it is fine too.

It's sweet!
Rounding it off is like adding sugar!

That's candy!

"Sister-in-law Zhichun, Sister-in-law Zhichun, my family wants to plant it."

"I want some too, please save some for me!"

Xu Zhichun was both amused and exasperated: "Don't worry, don't worry, there are so many. Even if someone's share is missing, yours won't be missing."

Zeng Xiaoyan quickly added, "If Sister-in-law Zhichun tries any other methods, don't forget to tell us."

"Yeah."

"That's natural."

Putting aside sweet potatoes, potatoes themselves are a crop with countless possibilities and endless ways to cook them. Why wait for her to try them? Whoever has them can quickly come up with many ways to cook them.

Aunt Zhu sighed, "Those two merchants are really good people. They didn't lie to us. Zhichun, you're so lucky."

Zeng Xiaoyan nodded in agreement: "That's right, these days it's rare to see such kind people from out of town."

Xu Zhichun coughed guiltily, then said earnestly, "You're right."

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(End of this chapter)