mesbooks Chapter 533 Borrowing Grain
Chapter 533 Borrowing Grain
It was Gu Xiaolu who spoke, tilting her head as she talked animatedly, "Pigs breed pigs, generate money, breed pigs, then there's no worry about not having enough money to support my little sister!"
“Little Deer is right!” Gu Qingning clapped her hands and said, “How come I didn’t think of that! If that’s the case, we can also give sugarcane seedlings, plant sugarcane and sell it to Auntie to make brown sugar, that would be great too.”
"Haha, but we can also give them small fish fry so they can raise them or sell them to Auntie."
Once Gu Xiaolu started, the children immediately began to brainstorm, all trying to find ways to increase the Cai family's income.
Wu Qingfeng listened attentively, and after summarizing, he still felt that giving a piglet was the most direct and honest way to do it.
They also thought they could send it in the name of the county government, and issue a notice that any family that gave birth to a baby girl and was willing to raise her well would be rewarded with a piglet.
Of course, once the reward is given out, if it is discovered that the baby girl was not properly raised, the person will be charged with fraud and sentenced to five years of hard labor. The neighbors have a duty to supervise, and if anyone discovers this and reports it in time, the original piglet will belong to the informant.
However, if that's the case, then what will Chang'er give?
Wu Qingfeng found it somewhat amusing and a little crazy, but the benefits were undeniable.
After thinking for a moment, he slapped his forehead and realized that the county government had already established a set of standards for rewarding baby girls.
There was no need to go through all that trouble now, so as soon as Lin Chang'er woke up, he told her the results of his discussion with the children.
"Give away a piglet?" Lin Chang'er found it somewhat amusing, but it was indeed very practical, wasn't it?
Especially my daughter's comment, "Pigs beget pigs, beget pigs, beget money, isn't that the same as money begetting money in a cycle?"
In addition, although the Cai family was poor, their yard was actually quite large, and they originally had a pigsty. Moreover, the neighbors on the side were not densely packed.
So it won't disturb the neighbors, or make them uncomfortable because of the smell of the pigsty.
Lin Chang'er thought about it and felt it was indeed a good idea, so she nodded and said, "Then let's send the little pig! Later, you can ask the county government to distribute the reward according to the standards you originally set, so that the villagers know that the county government does what it says."
Wu Qingfeng readily agreed.
On the third day after the baby was born, which happened to be a day off at the primary school, Lin Chang'er took her two children, Gu Xiaoman, and Xiao Bao, who was always clinging to his older sister, and set off for Caijia Village. When they passed by the old house, they encountered the Li sisters, Wang Jingyi, and Xiao Niu, who were staring longingly at the carriage.
Lin Chang'er thought, since she's already taking care of Xiao Bao, it won't make a difference if she takes care of a few more.
Kids make it so lively!
They also arranged for Liu Zi to get another carriage, and asked the nanny to go with Lin Yanqing to help look after the children.
Wu Qingfeng was definitely going, but he was going on behalf of the county government when the little girl turned one month old, so he didn't go with her this time. Since he had a rare excuse to take leave, he stayed at the Gu residence to accompany Madam Wu. These days, County Magistrate Li had gotten used to it. He would handle what he could himself, and only send what he couldn't handle to Wu Qingfeng at the Gu residence. So the county government had also gotten used to Wu Qingfeng taking leave.
Lin Chang'er then went to Caijia Village in a grand procession.
This time, we were well-prepared: a piglet, six live crucian carp in a large bucket, ten catties of tofu skin, five catties of ham heart, a basket of eggs, three catties of brown sugar, two jars of fine rice wine, and one hundred catties of refined rice.
Aunt Xu, Aunt Gu, and Wang Xing'er all rushed to make some baby swaddles, clothes, hats, socks, and diapers.
It didn't use any expensive materials, just soft, fluffy cotton fabric.
They've considered everything, from food to supplies, for both new mothers and babies.
The crucian carp was given to the new mother to help the baby grow, and it was also used as part of the group's lunch.
There are quite a lot of things, and they're all mixed up.
When they arrived at their destination, Lin Chang'er didn't move everything out at once; she only had the children carry the piglets downstairs.
Aunt Cai came out upon hearing the news. Seeing that it was Lin Chang'er, she quickly wiped her hands on her apron before coming forward to shake her hand. "What wind blew the boss here? Oh, and what's this little pig?"
Lin Chang'er said with a smile, "I asked the children what they should give their little sister, and they said a piglet would be good. It can have piglets, and when the piglets grow up, we can sell them for money to buy food for our little sister."
“I heard it and thought it was a good idea, so I didn’t think much of it and brought the little girl a pig today. I don’t know if you’ll like it, auntie.”
Aunt Cai was overjoyed; once the piglets grew up, they could be exchanged for a good amount of money.
Her eyes were red. "The big boss has spent so much money again."
Lin Chang'er waved her hand, "It's just for the festive atmosphere. I brought so many little ones with me today, so please don't find them noisy."
Aunt Cai quickly waved her hand, "No, no, they don't mind that our family is poor. They are willing to come and see my sister. They are visiting our family."
"Children, come inside with Grandma and have some water first."
A large group of little children followed them through the door.
The carriage stopped at the back gate as Lin Chang'er instructed.
Cai's wife had a difficult childbirth, which took a toll on her health, so Lin Chang'er gave Cai Shitou a two-week leave.
Cai Shitou also heard the commotion and came out of the house to greet her. When he saw Lin Chang'er, he was happy, but he only called out "Big Boss" and then said nothing more.
Ultimately, he was still somewhat afraid of Lin Chang'er, because he had done something wrong at the Gu residence and always felt ashamed to face people.
Lin Chang'er pretended not to see the indifference on his face and instructed him, "Shitou, go open the back door first and let Ada and Brother Liu in. Then go and borrow grain and eggs from the families you are close to in the village. Tell them that the guests who came to our house today want to stay for dinner."
Cai Shitou didn't think much of it and nodded in agreement. When they arrived at the back door, he was immediately ordered around by A-Da and Liu-Zi to move things.
Even after putting everything away, Cai Shitou was still completely bewildered.
There was too much. Even all the New Year's goods he had ever bought in his entire life combined didn't amount to this much.
Liu Zi handed him a basket full of meat, eggs, chicken, duck, shellfish, and other things, saying, "This is the food our boss brought himself. Do you grow vegetables at home? Just get some leafy greens and that will do."
Cai Shitou went to the kitchen in a daze. Aunt Cai was boiling water, preparing to make sweet egg soup for Lin Chang'er, but there were many people coming today, and there were obviously not enough eggs at home.
Seeing her son come in, she said, "Shitou, you've come at the right time. Go to your aunt's house and borrow some eggs. Then go to the village entrance and buy each of the children a piece of candy. No matter how poor we are, we can't mistreat our guests."
Cai Shitou nodded and put down the basket. "Mother, this is the food that the boss brought himself. Just now, they also brought in a lot of things, some for our daughter and some to nourish our wives. They've all been put in the main room."
Aunt Cai exclaimed, "Isn't today's gift a piglet? Why is there something else?"
Cai Shitou shook his head, "You'll know once you go to the main room."
Aunt Cai wiped her hands and went to the main room. Looking at the gifts of baskets, pottery jars, and wooden buckets, she suddenly covered her mouth and said, "The boss is truly a great benefactor to our daughter. Shitou, you must remember this. Even if we work for the boss for the rest of our lives, we can never repay this kindness."
“I know, Mother. I was foolish before, but I have changed. From now on, I will definitely do things in a down-to-earth manner.”
Aunt Cai nodded and prepared to go back to the kitchen to cook. Cai Shitou remembered Lin Chang'er's instructions and scratched his head. "Mother, the head of the household just asked me to borrow grain and eggs, but didn't she bring her own rations? Should I still go?"
Aunt Cai paused upon hearing this, then slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Go! You not only have to go, but you have to go to several more houses so everyone knows we're having guests over for dinner today..."