farmhouse ditty

Chapter 202
An old man with a young daughter-in-law in her twenties set up a stall at the entrance of the town, and there were many watermelons in it.

Although it is already July and August, there are still quite a lot of people who come to buy watermelons. This old man has been growing melons for more than ten years, and the surrounding villages are all good melons from him. It is said that they are all sandy, and all of them are sweet.

The man from the Cao family also came to him with two baskets, "Hey, old man Sun, pick me two melons."

The old man answered in front of him, handed the melon in his hand to the little daughter-in-law, and came over by himself, looked at the man from the Cao family, and said with a smile, "Hey, why are you here to buy melons today?"

Cao's man said, "Hey, my mother-in-law and aunt's grocery store can't do without people, so let me come here."

The old man smiled, "It's better to buy from your family... Hey, why don't you come to a small one today? I've got three cut ones here. You have a small family, so pick half and eat it."

Cao's man looked at the cut watermelons in front of him, they were really sandy, making people want to eat them, "Well, how much is it per catty."

Old man Sun smiled, "Four cents a catty."

The man from the Cao family smiled, "Hey, old man Sun, the whole watermelon only costs three pennies a catty on the scales. If you do all this, you will sell it for an extra penny."

Old man Sun waved his hand, "Hey, it's not the whole thing, everyone can't finish it."

The man from the Cao family twitched his lips, "Old grandson, grandson, you are getting better and better at doing business."

Old man Sun smiled and pointed back, "Hey, it's not my idea, it's my daughter's idea."

Cao's man glanced at the little daughter-in-law in front, "Oh, that's your daughter-in-law, I thought it was your daughter-in-law... Hey, isn't your daughter-in-law..."

Old man Sun gave a pause when he heard this, changed the subject, and said, "Hey, shopkeeper, where are you coming from?"

The man from the Cao family looked at old man Sun and was unwilling to say it. He had heard from his mother-in-law that this old man's daughter had already married, and now she would return to her mother's house, maybe it was her husband's house. Give it a break, but I heard that her husband's family is not a good person.

He thought about it, so he didn't ask any more questions, and said with a smile, "Hey, old grandson, I won't let you earn this penny today. You can pick two big watermelons for me right now. Cut it open for me with your long knife, and I will take it away."

The old grandson listened for a while, hey, Brother Cao usually picks the smallest watermelons, why do he want to get the bigger ones today, how many people came to his room...

"Oh, Chu Geer, fortunately, the guys in your workshop are helping. Otherwise, with the dozen or so carts of wood, just the few of us are really busy."

A man in his early thirties stood in an alley in the back street. There was a row of houses in that area, all of which were used as warehouses for others. He was talking to the group of people who were unloading goods in front.

Chu Ge took off his coat and put it aside, so as not to get dirty while moving things, "Hey, Brother Liu, look at what you said, there are so many wooden boards, how can I let you guys do some work?" Mile."

"Hey, Chu Geer, why did you say that? It's obviously me, the older brother, who has delayed your affairs. Look, you still..."

This man who let Chu Ge call him Second Brother Liu said with a bit of embarrassment that he is Liu's brother, the one who bought Shi Laodao's forest land earlier than Xiuniang, and now he is relying on that piece of woodland. Woodland, sending wood to several kiln-firing workshops, the business is pretty good.

"Okay, second brother, don't be too busy. You guys have been on the road for several days. Let's rest on the side first."

Chu Ge was wearing a short coat, talking about taking seven or eight pieces of thick wood from the car, and handing it to Wang Er next to him, Wang Er turned around and handed it to Muzi behind him, and Muzi handed it to a guy next to him, just like this. One of them was moved to an empty house.

In fact, Chu Ge's workshop had already stopped working yesterday because there was no wood, and today Liu's brothers sent the wood over early, and they rushed to help if they could.

Chu Ge took Wang Er and the others to work, calling five or six guys to deliver the wood outside, and the rest of the dozen or so guys kept putting it away in the house, so that it didn't take long to unload a cart and wait for it. When Xiu Niang came over, they only had two carts of wood left.

Seeing that Chu Ge was still working, Xiu Niang went to the side and said to Liu's brother, "Second brother, the four carts of wood in my shop have all been unloaded. Let your buddies go back to the racecourse to rest first."

Liu's brother looked at Xiuniang, and said with some shame, "Hey, sister, brother, I'm really sorry for you. I was supposed to come last month, but something happened at home and I delayed it. Two fellows fell ill on the road..."

Xiu Niang smiled and said, "Hey, second brother, I haven't said anything yet, but you've been telling me all about it. If others see this, they'll think I've done something to you."

Liu's brother lowered his head in embarrassment, and just about to say something, he heard Cao's man's voice from ahead.

He borrowed a bamboo flat from someone, and came over with two baskets of watermelons, "Hey, sister Xiuniang, you are here too, hurry up, everyone, come and eat some melons after work." .”

When Wang Er and the others heard that there were watermelons to eat, they all shouted joyfully, quickened their movements, and finished unloading the remaining cart in a few strokes.

Chu Ge took the watermelon that the man from the Cao family forcefully stuffed him, and said, "Brother Cao, what a great way to let you spend money to sell melons."

The man from the Cao family waved his hand and said, "Hey, what's the matter? It's a hot day, and you've been busy all morning. Can you eat some watermelon to quench your thirst?" Xiuniang gave her mother-in-law the ten taels of silver earlier, saying that her mother-in-law helped her in the business, and this was part of the money. He wondered if Xiuniang was so kind to the two of them, should he also express it? .

Xiuniang looked at the man from the Cao family and said that, she laughed openly, and shouted that everyone could eat together, or if the eldest brother of the Cao family took it back, he and his sister-in-law Cao would not be able to eat it either. Wouldn't it be a waste.

She gave a piece to Liu's brother, and sat on a stone board with Chu Ge and started to eat. Wang Er and the others looked at it, laughing and going to get the watermelon.

Liu's brother also used to sit with Chu Ge and the others. While eating, he told Xiu Niang what had happened in the past month. Originally, he heard Liu Shi said that Xiu Niang wanted a batch. The wood doesn't need to be particularly expensive, it's almost as strong as...

He said with some shame, "Chu Geer, sister, I just thought about finishing the two lists in my hand, sending the felled wood blocks to others, and picking out the whole wooden boards in the middle. Keep it for you... But now, so many days have passed, haven't I delayed your business..."

Xiu Niang and Chu Ge glanced at each other, knowing that this brother Liu is also a solid-minded person, he was delayed by something, if he had sent the wood over a long time ago, he couldn't be blamed for it all. .

Chu Ge said, "Okay, Second Brother Liu, you are a boarder with a dozen cars, and you rushed to the town with a few buddies. You haven't closed your eyes these days, and we haven't said anything, so don't I always feel sorry for us.”

"Yeah, okay, Brother Liu, you sent it here today. If you had come here a few days earlier, I wouldn't have used up all the wood in my warehouse, so I wouldn't be able to put so much wood in your storehouse," Xiuniang smiled. "Or as the old saying goes, it's better to come early than coincidentally."

Liu's brothers were really moved when they saw how generous Chu Ge was, without even saying a bad word. He immediately said that the dozen or so carts of timber that were sent here were free of charge. .

After Chu Ge and Xiu Niang listened, they couldn't agree more. The Liu brothers had been driving with their buddies for several days. How could the two of them lie to him? Because of the atmosphere today, he said that in a feverish manner, but if this matter passed, he would regret it to the core of his heart.

Originally, Xiuniang collected waste wood in the town, which was two taels of silver per cart, but the wood for Liu's brothers were all cut from big trees, and it cost a lot of money. In terms of the relationship between her and the fact that she gave up the woodland to Brother Liu, the brothers of the Liu family will not ask her for a high price, but what's the matter, they will also ask for about ten taels of silver (earlier Xiuniang asked Wang Er to go) Beimianshan asked).

Sure enough, this brother of the Liu family couldn't justify it. Chu Ge and Xiu Niang wanted to give money, or they would put the boards on the cart and take them away again. He had no choice but to ask for eight taels of silver for each cart.

After they had rested, they went back to the shop together. Chu Fu and Wen Shi watched in the workshop, and he asked the rest of the guys to start working first, to deal with the wood they had brought.

Chu Ge and Xiu Niang took Liu's brothers to the main room, and Xiu Niang went to the second floor to get the silver. The second brother Liu brought a total of fifteen carts of wood. Calculated on the basis of eight taels of silver per cart, it would be 120 taels.

Xiu Niang took a 100 tael bank note and 20 tael silver, and put them all in front of Liu's brother, "Second brother Liu, please order, this is 120 tael in total."

The brother of the Liu family was embarrassed to accept it, but he thought to himself, if this continues, Chu Ge and Xiu Niang might think that he thinks the money is too small, and he is too hypocritical.

He also expressed his thanks generously and collected the money. Seeing that Chu Ge's workshop had started work, he said that he would go back to the racecourse to rest. When it was over, he told Xiu Niang and Chu Ge, He is already preparing the next wood board, and it will be delivered later, and this time it will definitely not be late.

Chu Ge and Xiu Niang also talked to him with a smile, and when they were sending him out, a young man came from afar, looked at the plaque on the shop, and handed them a letter saying yes From Xiayang Village...

(End of this chapter)