171 Chapter 171 New Year (7)
“Alright, let’s see what happens then.” Gu Chengzhi nodded.
Father Gu and Second Uncle Gu, who were on night duty in the main hall, also discussed this. However, their family only had 100 acres of land, and all of it was planted with wheat, so there was no more land to grow chili.
In the end, Father Gu said, “If we really can’t do it, let’s see if anyone has land to sell. If not, we can buy some barren land to plant vegetables, as we can’t keep buying them with our current income.”
“That’s true. Since there’s no tax for the next five years, we can try it. If this chili thing doesn’t work out, we’ll turn it into a vegetable garden.” Second Uncle Gu nodded in agreement.
At that time, Mrs. Yao couldn’t bear to listen anymore. The men only thought about how they could earn money by farming, but why didn’t they think about whether they knew how to farm or not?
At the thought of this, she asked, “Brother, darling, you’re both thinking about farming. But which one of you knows how to farm? You’ve never even watered the flowers.”
“Yeah, no matter how high the income from farming is, there’s a limit. If we were to hire workers, we might as well not farm.” Mrs. Liu echoed.
“Who would know how to do anything when they were born? You didn’t know how to grow bean sprouts before, but you’ve learned it now.” Second Uncle Gu said indignantly.
“Speaking of bean sprouts, fewer people are selling them now. We can try that out.” Father Gu added.
“That’s because there are no more cheap beans. The green beans in the grain shop have grown to seven coppers per pound now.” Mrs. Liu mentioned.
“One pound of beans grows to about ten pounds of bean sprouts. We won’t lose money no matter what, as there will be no more vegetables for sale after the new year. This will be a good opportunity.” Father Gu insisted.
“Let’s try it then. We can sell them for at least one or two months before the vegetables grow.” Second Uncle Gu nodded in agreement.
“You’re not buying a boat?” Mrs.Yao saw that they were hard-bent on farming and hurriedly asked.
“You have the silver for that?” Second Uncle Gu retorted in a bad mood.
Father Gu replied, “Let’s forget about buying a boat for now. Let’s see if we can rent one after the river opens.”
On the other end, Gu Chengrui and Zhou Ying returned home and gave Er Zhuang a pot of pork ribs to enjoy the new year.
The two of them took a bath and changed into new clothes the next morning before going out to make their New Year’s visits.
The first place they went was their old home. Later, Gu Chengrui and the other four brothers went for New Year’s greetings.
Zhou Ying went to the patriarch’s home with Mrs. Liu and Mrs.Yao.
The group went out, and after a round of visits, she felt her knees trembling. She hadn’t expected she would have to kowtow in New Year’s greetings. If she had known, she would have changed into thick cotton pants.
After they visited the entire village, the village women gathered together to gossip.
Finally, Ninth Aunt Gu looked at Mrs. Liu and asked, “Sister, your son Chengye is turning 18 this year. What kind of girl are you looking for? Do you need our help to find one?”
“Ah, her standards are high, so it’s impossible for her to take a liking to your niece. Don’t bother asking.” At this point, sixth Aunt Gu spoke.
“What’s wrong with my niece? Why can’t she make the cut?” Ninth Aunt Gu looked at her question.
“Does your niece know how to read? Gu Chengye used to be a scholar, so no matter how low his standards are, he would never find a girl who couldn’t read.” Sixth Aunt Gu responded by turning her head.
Ninth Aunt Gu was angry after hearing this and wanted to hit her. Mrs. Wang saw this and immediately stepped forward and stopped her. “It’s the new year; let’s not get angry and hurt each other’s feelings.”
After saying that, she glared at Sixth Aunt Gu. “You too. Why do you have such a foul mouth? His mother hasn’t even said anything yet, and here you are answering for her.”
“I stopped her because I was afraid she would embarrass herself.” Sixth Aunt Gu mumbled, frustrated.
“You’re still talking.” Mrs. Wang glared at her.
“Well, it’s getting late. Let’s go home and cook for our families.” Mrs. Liu said with a dry smile.