The road to wealth of a peasant widow

Chapter 175 Oak

The children who were going to school had all gone out. After Xu Dagui sent Suisui off, Chen Cui asked him to drive her to the farm and check out the fields.

After leaving the city, the green scenes of spring and summer disappeared, the farmlands exposed their original land, and all I could see was yellow.

She went to Zhang Ruomei's house every day these days and had no time to check on the crops. She knew that the grain had been stored in the warehouse, but she didn't know whether the land had been cultivated.

When Chen Cui arrived at the farm, the farmers were harrowing the fields and preparing the land after the harvest.

A man was leading a cow in front, and behind the cow was a large wooden rake with several large stones pressed on it. When the cow moved, it could turn over and level the ground, crush large pieces of earth and clods, and evenly mix the black ash from the previously burned wheat straw into the soil.

In addition to leveling the land, harrowing the ground has another function, which is to rake up all the weeds in the ground to avoid affecting sowing.

There are five cows on the farm. The farmers have divided the land into different plots and worked in groups. Now most of the land has been harrowed.

The leading farmer was called Cheng Dahang. When he saw Chen Cui coming to the farm, he hurried forward to report on the progress of harrowing the land.

"Madam, we can almost finish preparing the land today, and we will start ridge making tomorrow. We have already hired temporary workers. If nothing unexpected happens, we can transplant the pepper seedlings in seven or eight days."

Chen Cui looked at the land and the pepper seedlings that were still green in the distance. Fortunately, when the seedlings were raised, a piece of high ground in the corner was chosen with good drainage. The pepper seedlings were small, so they were not affected much.

These peppers are much more valuable than wheat, beans, etc., so nothing can go wrong.

Chen Cui went to the granary to make sure there was no problem with the grain stored there, and asked for Cheng Dahang's simple account book to look through.

The reason why Cheng Dahang was able to become the head of the village was because he knew a few words, although not many and his written words were often incomplete, but after all, he was different from those ordinary farmers who were illiterate.

The account book records recent expenditures, the flow of grain in and out of the warehouse, and some miscellaneous items using words and some symbols.

She flipped through it roughly and looked at the final balance. Seeing that there was no discrepancy, she stopped asking questions.

Chen Cui knew that there must be some water in this, but she had managed the farm herself in the county before, and she had a detailed account of some things in her mind.

Although Cheng Dahang gained some benefits, it was not much and was within the acceptable range, so he kept silent.

Because Cheng Dahang was a pretty good manager and could lead the people under him, most things were arranged properly without her having to worry about them, which saved her a lot of trouble.

If she insisted on being very careful about every expense and making sure that no one got any benefit at all, then if he was not careful when doing things, the loss would definitely be much more than what he had taken away with greed.

Even if you bought the person yourself, there is no need to be too haggard about it. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. There is no need to be too serious!

Chen Cui sat under the shade of a tree, watching the people working. Next to her was Cheng Dahang's wife, Yang, and further away there were a few children laughing and playing.

Although she herself did not suffer any losses, she was helpless in dealing with the current predicament of Longnan Prefecture.

Chen Cui could lend food to her fellow villagers in her hometown when there was a shortage of food, but she could only help a small number of people. For most of the people, she did not have the financial resources or the ability to provide relief.

Just as she was leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes and concentrating on thinking, something like a small stone suddenly hit her leg.

"Didn't I tell you to go play over there? Go, go, stay away from here and don't disturb the lady!"

Before Chen Cui could say anything, Yang drove the children away.

Chen Cui looked over and saw three little girls looking at her timidly, as if they were about to leave but were reluctant to do so.

"Hurry up and leave!" Yang whispered to the children while looking at Chen Cui's face.

"My oak tree is still there!" One of the little girls bravely said to Chen Cui's feet.

When Chen Cu looked down, she realized that what hit her was not a pebble, but the fruit of an iron oak tree, which was the Qinggang fruit she had seen in her previous life.

This oak nut is only slightly larger than a thumb, but probably because it has been played with for a long time, its entire body is very smooth and has an oily luster, and it is obviously a favorite of little girls.

Chen Cui's heart suddenly moved. She picked up the oak and asked the little girl, "When did you pick it up and where did you find it?"

She remembered that there seemed to be no iron oak trees nearby!

"We picked them up on the hill behind the farm when the wheat just turned yellow. There were plenty of them on the ground, and we picked out the best ones!" the little girl answered bravely.

Hearing this, Yang couldn't help but said anxiously, "I told you not to go up the mountain casually, why don't you listen? I will tell your parents to keep a close eye on you."

The oldest of these three children is only five or six years old, which is definitely not the age for them to go up the mountain alone. Even if it is a mountain near their home, there are many unknown risks.

After Chen Cui encountered a wolf in the mountains, she never went up the mountain alone again. She only went to areas she was familiar with and never dared to wander around again.

Because Yang was the wife of the village head, she seemed to have quite a bit of authority in the village. When the children heard what she said, they immediately started to cry.

"Here you go, take it, don't cry, and remember not to sneak up the mountain next time."

Chen Cui stood up and handed over the oak nuts in her hand. She also took out a few mints from her pouch and shared them with them.

After receiving their beloved acorns and seeing the candies, the children's faces suddenly brightened up and they immediately ran happily to share with their brothers and sisters.

Yang saw that Chen Cui didn't look angry, but she still smiled and explained, "Children from farm families don't have any manners. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Madam."

Chen waved his hands to show that he didn't care.

"Tell your man to find a few people to go up the mountain and pick up more oak nuts like those we just saw. The more the better. Put them in the car when I leave."

Yang was a little confused: "Are you going to take it back for the young lady to play with? I'll just pick some up."

"No, I have other uses for it. Remember to ask him to quickly free up a few people to go to the mountain and collect as much as possible."

Seeing Chen Cui's serious tone, Yang did not dare to delay any longer and hurried to tell her husband to make arrangements as soon as possible.

But her husband told her to serve the boss's wife well and not to neglect any of her instructions.

He said that the lady looked kind and never spoke in a loud voice, but she was actually very capable. Not only could she read and write, she could also do accounting and manage the shop, which was better than many men!