stingy landlady

Chapter 83 Passersby in Life (2)

Dazhu felt melancholy; parting always brings sadness!

Madam Zhou leaned against the door, gazing into the distance, tears staining her clothes! Zhou Qiong hugged her mother tightly, sobbing softly.

Old Zhou watched from afar, without uttering a word!

Guizhi looked at it for a long time:

"Alright! Everyone, get back to what you were doing!"

Xu Hong asked about the cassia branch.

"Miss! What should I do now?"

Guizhi glanced at Xu Hong and said to Dazhu:

"Dad! We need to go back first, we have something to do!"

He then said to Old Man Zhou:

"Grandpa Zhou! You go ahead and do your work! My dad and I have something to do! We'll head back now!"

Then, looking at Uncle Xu Hong, he said:

"Uncle Xu Hong! Come on over!"

On the way, Guizhi whispered to Dazhu:

"Father! Let's go back and give Zhou Xing's indenture to Uncle Xu Hong! He'll have a way to give it to the person who should have it!"

Dazhu didn't understand and asked:

"Guizhi! Xiaoyun and his father both just said no!"

"Father! Only by mastering the indenture can Zhou Xing learn real skills! And only then can he be used by Lin Xiaoyun!"

Otherwise, how could someone without any leverage gain the trust of their master?

Xu Hong asked, with a double meaning:

"Miss! Are you willing to part with her?"

Guizhi smiled:

"Why can't you bear to part with them? Is it because of money and power? They are just passersby in life!"

Uncle Xu Hong! A person experiences many things in life! I'm only six years old, not even at the beginning of my life. Who knows what people or things I'll encounter in the future!

If we are destined to meet again, we will cross paths in the future. If not, it is normal to part ways.

Uncle Xu Hong! I won't see myself as a savior; I just need to get over the hurdles in my heart!

Why create trouble for yourself?

Guizhi looked at Xu Hong with a mischievous smile:

"But Uncle Xu Hong is in trouble!"

Xu Hong was puzzled:

"what?"

"Uncle Xu Hong, listen carefully! Once you get Zhou Xing's indenture, you must go to Huanghua Village."

First and foremost, we must immediately purchase rice seeds for 200 acres of land and begin seedling cultivation now.

You need to split up and have your people burn the stubble, then plow the land and apply manure. They also need to harrow the land.

Since building houses doesn't require money or land tax, then build a few more. At the very least, build me a large pigsty that can hold three hundred pigs.

Build a large cattle pen that can hold at least one hundred cows.

They also need to build me a house so that my dad and I can have a place to rest when we visit occasionally!

Also, those who build houses should have vegetable gardens and start growing vegetables now to be self-sufficient!

And we also have to consider that they are all adults, what if someone wants to get married! Or should those who are already married bring their families over, or how should we arrange things?

These are all things you need to consider, Uncle Xu Hong!

The most urgent task is to plant this season's crops! Otherwise, I won't have the money to buy grain, and we'll all be facing dire straits!

Upon hearing this, Xu Hong felt a bit overwhelmed; there were many urgent matters to attend to, and he hesitated for a moment.

Then Guizhi's voice came again.

"Does Uncle Xu Hong still have any money?"

Xu Hong hurriedly reached out to take it from his pocket.

"Uncle Xu Hong, there's no need to take it out. If that silver can buy food for your people for the next six months and cover the cost of building houses, that's good enough!"

After finishing building the pigsty, Uncle Xu Hong went to find piglets! We need to breed and raise our own sows!

Guizhi glanced at Dazhu, who listened silently. His daughter really thought a lot.

"Dad! Let's lend Uncle Zhou to Uncle Xu Hong for a few days! Uncle Zhou has experience in clearing land for our family!"

Dazhu nodded:

"Alright! Let Mingzhi go and make the arrangements."

Xu Hong! You have to eat one bite at a time, and do one thing at a time!

First things first! Buying rice seeds and raising seedlings is crucial! After raising the seedlings, you can slowly burn the wasteland and then plow the land!

"Don't we have horses? Buy a few more plows and use them to plow the fields first. If that's not enough, we have oxen; we can have the farmhands come and help."

Xu Hong's lips twitched when he heard that retired warhorses were being used to plow the fields.

But then I thought again, what generals, what staff officers, centurions, or chiliarchs!

Once the war is over, those who have been discharged from the army and returned to their hometowns will still have to farm or serve as guards. They will still have to find their own way to make a living.

If someone is disabled or seriously injured in battle, the imperial court says they will be rewarded for their service. But where would the Ministry of Revenue find so much silver to settle these people?

We'll just let them fend for themselves!

When they arrived at Dazhu's house, Guizhi said to Dazhu:

"Father! You go in first and talk to Mother. Zhou Xing went with Lin Xiaoyun, and we need to give Lin Xiaoyun the indenture!"

Dad needs to talk to Mom properly, and we'll buy a few more for a few more people when we have the chance!

As expected, Li was unwilling. Guizhi and Xu Hong waited for a while before slowly entering the house.

Li is mixing the dumpling filling! Guixiang is kneading the dough and dividing it into small pieces, while Siya is helping by pressing the pieces down with her little hands. Guihong is rolling out the dumpling wrappers and filling them with dumplings.

Li's low voice reached Guizhi and Xu Hong's ears:

"Xiao Yun left without even saying goodbye! She ate and lived here for so long. And then she just left like that!"

Even if you only have a cat or dog, you'll still develop some feelings for it, right?

Yes, that's not like they're anyone to me! Let them go if they want!

But they also want to take my people with them! I bought them with money!

When I bought her, she was incredibly skinny. Now, after all the hard work, she's grown into a decent-looking person and can even work. And now she just wants her?!

"It's not that easy! If there were so many good things in this world, why didn't you get them?"

The Li family is indeed a bit difficult to deal with.

Guizhi listened for a while, and Dazhu looked at her with some difficulty. In fact, he couldn't understand why she insisted on giving Lin Xiaoyun a contract of indenture.

Guizhi thought for a while and said to Xu Hong:

"Uncle Xu Hong! Give my mother five taels of silver!"

He then turned to Li and said:

“Mother! We spent three taels of silver to buy Zhou Xing back then, and now we’re asking Uncle Xu Hong to give us five taels of silver.”

People strive for higher positions, just as water flows downhill! It's his good fortune that he can follow Lin Xiaoyun to study, learn to read and write, and practice martial arts! He'll acquire real skills!

We can't block their way! We'll buy a few more people when suitable ones come along!

"Uncle Xu Hong! Let Ping An and Xi Le get familiar with the chores around the house! They can help out a bit!"

As for auspiciousness, good fortune, and brocade, they should learn some manners from Lady Zhou!

We have a lot of work to do at home, so let's help out a bit!

Learning martial arts can't be delayed! But I know absolutely nothing about when or how to learn! Uncle Xu Hong, you can arrange it!

Xu Hong hurriedly said:

"Just get up early and practice for an hour! We don't expect them to become experts, just be able to protect Miss!"

Guizhi took the five taels of silver handed to her by Xu Hong, placed it in front of Li Shi, and said:

"Mother! Uncle Xu Hong is in a hurry! Give him Zhou Xing's indenture first! We can talk about everything else later!"

With a gloomy face, Li wiped her hands, took the silver, and opened the cabinet. Only then did she find Zhou Xing's indenture and throw it on the kang (a heated brick bed).

"You two are so good at getting along with people! You finally got them able to work, and then you let them out again!"