The skilled widow is busy farming

Chapter 11
"You can't break ground until the period of filial piety has passed. There's no rush to build a house."

Grandpa waved his hand.

After the family discussed it, the land purchase was decided.

The next morning, the second uncle and his eldest brother went to the city together and took the middle-aged man to the Yamen to transfer the land.

I was busy until noon before I came back.

"I'm back, have you eaten yet?"

"I haven't eaten yet. Get us some food. I'm so hungry."

The eldest brother waved his hands, sweat all over his face and neck.

"Ouch! Why don't you come back hungry if you don't have something to eat?"

My sister-in-law complained heartbrokenly.

"There is no money to eat. The red deed requires taxes, and the middle-aged man has to pay according to the rules. Our uncle and nephew have clean pockets and haven't had a sip of water all morning."

Xiuniang quickly filled two basins of water so that her uncle and nephew could wash their faces and wipe away their sweat. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were busy filling the dishes for them. The food had been prepared long ago and they were waiting for them to come back.

"Grandpa, it's all done. You can take a look."

The old man picked it up and looked at it carefully twice before a smile appeared on his face.

I showed the things to my father-in-law and then passed them on to Xiuniang.

"Xiu'er, you should also take a look."

She took the land deed and looked at it carefully, thinking that it would be a good thing for Li Ping and his wife, and it would also leave a way out for the two children, so that she would not take advantage of Yuan Shen and the Li family in vain.

"I feel relieved now. My husband should be happy."

"mother……."

Brother Qun smiled at her sensibly and looked at his mother with worry in his eyes.

"I'm fine, dear son, hurry up and eat."

"Dad, this matter has been arranged. There will be a clan meeting tomorrow, so I will tell everyone about it."

Turning around, Uncle Li said seriously to Xiuniang: "Niece-in-law, don't worry, as long as I am still the village chief, no one will bully the two children. You don't have to worry about the children's studies. I will not be lenient when I should be beaten or scolded. , this is the root of my Li family, I will not let it go."

"Second uncle, thank you for taking care of our mother and son."

"Xiu'er, what your predecessor said about girls learning skills, tell your uncle about it and see if it works?"

Grandma reminded her when she remembered this.

"Oh, that's it. I invited Grandma Wang to Qing'er to come to our house to teach us the rules. I'm thinking about ethnic studies. Other girls can also come in and learn. These people are all ready-made. Girls can marry well after being taught. It can also support brothers, which is also a good thing for girls.”

Xiuniang told her second uncle her thoughts very seriously.

"Qian'er's father told me that I discussed it with other clan elders two days ago. It won't work this year because the money is not enough. The land has just been purchased and has not yet been recorded in the accounts. A meal at noon will cost money. Next year, let Qing'er study hard and figure it out, so I can tell everyone about it."

It's a good thing, the second uncle can train county magistrates and officials, his level and vision are not bad, he himself is also a scholar.

The Li family is considered a prominent family, not based on how much money they have, but how many famous sons and sons the clan has produced.

Kezu learns pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and also takes care of a meal at noon. These all cost money, and books cost money, and books are very expensive.

"That's right, I listen to you. I packed the boxes a few days ago and sorted out my husband's books. I plan to donate some of these books to ethnology and keep one copy at home. The rest are duplicates and it would be a waste to keep them. Let’s donate it to the clan school.”

Scholars have the habit of copying books. Li Ping is one of the most famous, and his calligraphy is very beautiful. He has practiced hard for many years. He has accumulated a lot of manuscripts at home, including the Four Books and Five Classics. These are precious collections.

Uncle Li glanced at his father, and his grandfather nodded, "Xiu'er has the final say. From now on, you just have to take care of two more children. No matter how capable she is as a woman, you men have to run errands for the outside affairs." "That's natural, we I will sort it out in the afternoon and discuss it together at the clan meeting."

"Second uncle, why don't we do the land thing together? If we need something, we can do it together."

"We'll hold a clan meeting tomorrow and we'll talk about it. We need to work on this land together. Our family paid for the ancestral field. The whole village, old and young, wants to work on the ancestral field together. I also have to help with land reclamation. I gave up all the good fields and gave them to I am trying to hide while helping to open up wasteland, no one can run away."

The second uncle already had an idea in his mind.

"to make."

Brother-in-law Heng also nodded.

"How do you plan to serve the wasteland?"

"I took a look and found that there are many trees that can still be used. They can be saved for building houses. This can save money. I will put up a net to enclose the land later."

The second uncle also made a special trip and looked at the ground. He was quite satisfied.

"In the first few years, the wasteland had little production. We had to raise free-range chickens and ducks. The area is close to the river and the canal. The manure can be used as manure to raise the land. Sprinkle some alfalfa and enclose a piece of land to raise beef cattle. Grandpa, Dad. Look."

"Okay, if you raise a few more pigs, you can also raise sheep."

"Dig a pond to raise fish, at least it will make some money."

Everyone worked together and discussed with great interest how to use the land to produce some benefits. The whole family had a smile on their faces.

In any case, the family has added land again, and there is more hope in the future.

In the afternoon, there is a clan meeting. The Li family holds a clan meeting every month. They report the accounts, where the money for clan education was spent, what things the villagers should do together, and the family tree of the new children and grandchildren must be discussed.

Everyone in the village, young and old, came. The second uncle and the clan elders went from house to house to inform them that there was something big going on today, and the whole family, young and old, were coming, and no one was missing.

Everyone moved their ponies and gathered at the entrance of the village ancestral hall. Next to the ancestral hall is the ethnic study.

Uncle Li stood up and reported to everyone.

"I have something big to tell you today. My nephew, Brother Ping, ran away due to a disaster. He brought back two ingots of gold, everyone saw it."

Everyone nodded and said nothing. Many village women looked at Xiu Niang with sympathetic looks in their eyes. It was not easy to be a widow from now on.

"My niece-in-law said that in the past, we were all relatives, and we often helped the couple. If the children have to study in a clan school, they also need the care of young and old men. This money will not last a lifetime."

"She discussed with us, bought land, and donated [-] acres of high-quality land as the ancestral field. The ancestral field was named after her grand-nephew Qun Ge. From now on, the ancestral field will provide for the expenses of the clan. The deed has been settled. , I also ask all you young and old men to be witnesses.”

Uncle Li respectfully showed the deed to several elders present for inspection.

The clan elders read it one by one, and then passed it on to the men who could read and read it again.

"Village Chief, Sister-in-law Ping Gaoyi, just tell us what we should do. This time everyone has seen the character of Sister-in-law Ping and her family. If something happens to her, she still thinks about us, the whole village, young and old. This will teach everyone in the future. We can all benefit from it, and I won’t say anything else. If the two children and Ping’s sister-in-law face any difficulties in the future, we can’t just ignore them.”

The young men from the same village stood up and spoke. This was a great contribution to the entire Lijia Village. The output of one hundred acres of land was quite good.

The tax on the ancestral field is also [-]% lower, which plays a great role in helping the village.

"That's natural. In the past, Xiu Niang was very good at dealing with others. We have all remembered it in our hearts. Whatever you say, village chief, we can just do it together. We all have the same surname, and no one can escape."

The old ladies also spoke.

"This ancestral field not only provides ethnic studies but also helps the orphans, the elderly and the weak in the village. This should be okay for everyone."

Uncle Li looked around the whole place, and when he saw everyone nodded firmly, he started to say the next thing.

(End of this chapter)