farmer's little girl

Chapter 67: Giving a Man a Fish is worse than Teaching him to Fish
Mrs. Mei hesitated and said: "Boss, you still want to say kiss..."

Lu Guangyi interrupted her: "Mother, I don't want to get married for the time being. The younger brother is not too young, so I can't delay any longer. As for the second younger brother, although he is a bit older now, as long as he can read carefully, Our family will only provide him with a few years. As for whether he can read it after a few years, we will see at that time. Although our family does not have much land, but my father can sell tofu, and I can go out to do odd jobs. With the money, let’s pay close attention to our daily expenses, it’s not too difficult.”

Mrs. Mei still hesitated, but Lu Minghai suddenly said: "Listen to the boss."

Ever since Lu Jiaoyue mentioned this matter, Lu Minghai kept frowning deeply and did not speak.

After all, he always felt that he owed his sons.Especially the second child, if it wasn't for the sake of the family, his second child has always been smart, and I'm afraid he would have read it by now.

He knew what his wife was hesitating about. If it was the youngest son, she might have already agreed.The reason why he hesitated was because he felt that the second child was getting old, and if he continued to study, it would be a waste of the family's money.It’s not that the daughter-in-law is biased or anything, it’s just that the country people live their lives and are used to careful planning. If it were any other family, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be tempted to send a 14-year-old child to school.

That's not going to school, that's a waste of money.

But looking at the anxious eyes of his second son, Lu Minghai felt that he should speak.Even if it was a waste of money, he felt that his son's dream should be fulfilled.

"It's the boss. I'm afraid it will be hard for you these few years. Your marriage is..." At this point, Lu Minghai looked at Lu Guangyi with some guilt.

Lu Guangyi said: "Father, don't talk about getting married. I don't want to talk about getting married in the past two years."

Knowing that the shadow of the Pei family incident has not yet passed, Lu Minghai did not continue talking.

It's not that Mei can't figure it out, how can she not understand what a man understands, but the days to come will probably be difficult.

Lu Jiaoyue couldn't accept it, why she brought up this matter, but the family members discussed it and discussed it, but they completely left her aside.

Isn't it just a matter of money, she still has so much here.

She expressed her thoughts with some sadness in her heart. Lu Minghai looked at her daughter's eyes with relief, but still said firmly: "Yue'er, dad can understand your thoughts, but your elder brother is right, the family can't use you." You save the money for your dowry, and the money for your two younger brothers’ education, father and your elder brother will come to figure out a way.”

"But why can't you use mine?" Lu Jiaoyue felt aggrieved.

"You are going to get married in a couple of years. As a daughter, you are supporting your two younger brothers to study. What face do you let your father and brother have?"

"But--"

At this moment, Lu Guangzhi stood up and gave Lu Jiaoyue a hand: "Okay, sister, just listen to your parents and elder brother, there are so many men in our family, there is no reason to use your money. By the way, father, mother, I still have some money here, which adds up to ten taels. This is what I earned from doing odd jobs in the county last year. It should be enough for me and my younger brother to live for a year. I thought about it, and I didn’t read it for a long time. Study for three years, if you still can't read it in three years, I will learn how to do business with my little uncle."

He took out the silver from his pocket and put it on the table.

The Erfang couple looked at the money on the table, unable to make a sound for a long time, and their eyes became more and more guilty.

They thought about their hesitation before, afraid that the second child also knew that he was old, so he thought about secretly earning money for his own education, and their parents ignored their son like this.

It is the daughter who understands what her brother is thinking, otherwise why would she bring it up.

"Second child..."

"Okay, father and mother, this is the end of the matter. I will ask my elder sister to sew two schoolbags for me and my younger brother, so that we can use it in school." Lu Guangzhi said with a smile.

After speaking, he dragged Lu Jiaoyue away.

After going to Lu Jiaoyue's room, he breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her: "I just took the opportunity to pass the money to Ming Road, and my mother didn't ask me where I got the money from doing odd jobs. I can't think of asking." Seeing that Lu Jiaoyue didn't speak, he said again: "Okay, big sister, don't think about it anymore, what father and big brother said makes sense, our family can't use your money, after all you are a girl's house."

Lu Jiaoyue was still feeling wronged: "But aren't we a family? Why are we so clearly separated!"

"It's just a family that can't be used! Sister, have you ever thought that the big men in our family all have hands and feet, what is it like to use your own money? Besides, you are not afraid to make us lazy. The bad habit of reaching out to control what you want when you have no money in the future? Although I have never studied, I heard from the teacher in the school that it is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish. We must stand up on our own, and the family will become more and more Good. The family is getting better and better, and your back will be hard when you get married in the future."

Well, Lu Jiaoyue had to admit that her younger brother was right.It seems that her previous thinking should be changed in due course.

It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish!
Wasn't it because the Du family got used to using her money that she ended up like that in her previous life?Although this kind of argument cannot be used here, Lu Jiaoyue also hopes that all brothers will be successful in the future.

Press the button and don't mention it, since it has been decided, the second bedroom couple no longer hesitate, and hurry up to do this matter, so as to catch up with the time for the private school to accept students in spring.

There is no private school in Daxi Village, but there is one in a neighboring village.When he was a child, Lu Guangzhi always went to that private school to eavesdrop on his teacher's lectures, so he decided the place where the two of them were enlightened was in that private school.

Lu Minghai took his two sons on a trip in person, and after showing them to his husband, they sent them to Shuxiu, so the matter was settled.

Shuxiu costs about five taels of silver for one person a year, and ten taels for two people. It's no wonder that Mrs. Mei was so hesitant before.

After all, the matter has been settled, and the next thing to think about is how to continue reading for the two little ones.

After Lu Guangyi planned to sow the seeds, he went to town or county to do odd jobs.Lu Minghai planned to make more tofu and sell it in the future, while Lu Jiaoyue felt that "teaching a man to fish is worse than giving him a fish" as his second brother said, and decided to think of another way to earn money for the family.

Inspired by Guiya, she approached Mrs. Mei and told her about setting up a small stall in the county.

After listening to her daughter's words, Mei could not accept it.

Although Mei's personality and handling of people are all northern women's temperament, after all, she is somewhat influenced by Liu's, and feels that women should not show their faces everywhere.That time, in order to marry her eldest son, she went to the town to work for a period of time, which was the ultimate for her, so how could she accept her daughter's idea of ​​setting up a stall in the county.

But Lu Jiaoyue did not give up, she used Guiya's family as an example.Now the business of Gui Ya's family is getting better and better, as can be seen from the soy milk she takes from the second room every day and the money that the second room receives.Lu Jiaoyue thought quite simply, since Guiya's business in the town can be so good, her family should be able to do the same.Of course, it is absolutely impossible to compete with Guiya for business, so their family will go to the county to do it.

Set up a small stall and earn a few taels of silver every month, which is enough to support the education of two younger brothers.

Mei was deep in thought, she didn't agree immediately, but after thinking about it for a few days, she told Lu Jiaoyue about the difficulty of implementing this method.

First of all, the county is too far away, and it takes a long time to go there, so they can't live in the county and set up a stall.She couldn't let go of her heart just because of the mess at home.

Lu Jiaoyue had thought about this question a long time ago, she meant to use her own money to buy a donkey for the family.It can be used for grinding at ordinary times, reducing the burden on my father and elder brother, and I can also set up a car to go to the county.

Donkeys have little strength and can't carry much weight, but they can learn from Guiya's family and find a place to store their things in the county. On weekdays, the donkey cart is only used to pick up people and transport some small things.

This is a good idea.

Mrs. Mei was still thinking about it, so Lu Jiaoyue went to talk to Lu Minghai and Lu Guangyi. Under her strong request, they agreed to buy a donkey with her money.As for the matter of going to the county to set up a stall, since neither of them was free, they could only point to Mrs. Mei, so Mrs. Mei had to think for herself.

Mrs. Mei didn't think too long, so she agreed.

It was also Lu Jiaoyue who whispered in her ears every day, how delicious my mother made this one bite at a time, and no one could compare to that.As she listened, Mei's heart began to itch.To be honest, she has eaten the steamed stuffed buns of Gui Ya's family, and they are really not as good as her craftsmanship. Since a girl, a mother and two younger sisters can support the family.Couldn't she earn some money to subsidize the family's education for her two sons?
Thinking about it this way, she became motivated, and Lu Jiaoyue asked Lu Minghai to buy the donkey back the next day.Because she felt sorry for the money to buy a donkey, and with the mentality of recycling waste, Mei finally made up her mind to do it.

Lu Guangzhi can help with this matter. He is familiar with the county and knows many people, so he naturally knows which is the best place to set up a stall.The reason why the ruffians are called ruffians is that they are familiar with the streets.With the help of some acquaintances, Lu Guangzhi quickly found a suitable place to set up a stall and a place to store his things.

Everything is ready, the only thing I owe is Mei Shi.

Under the behavior of her sons and daughters working together to drive ducks to the shelves, Mei could only roll up her sleeves.

On the first day the stall opened in the county, Mei did not let the man and son stay, but only kept her daughter to help her.Lu Minghai and Lu Guangyi helped them unload their things and set up the stall, so she drove them away, telling them to pick them up at noon.

The buns are all made in advance at home, and they only need to be heated on the steamer. As for the soy milk, they are also mixed with water in advance, and they only need to be boiled on the stove before drinking.Mei's also made another food, that is, cornmeal nests, each of which is yellow and round, with a small nest in the middle, which looks pleasing.It is also heated in a steamer, and you can eat it when you pick it up.

The soybean milk was already boiling, so Mei closed the oven door, squatted there and whispered to her daughter, "Yue'er, why don't you come to our stall?"

This street is located on the main road of this market, and there are several small stalls scattered here and there for buying food.At this time, there were already people shopping in those stalls, but Lu Jiaoyue's stall had not seen anyone stop.

Lu Jiaoyue made a gesture of calmness, then stood up and tied the kerchief on her head again, and adjusted her apron before shouting: "Baozi, delicious buns! , corn noodles, fragrant and delicious, and delicious soy milk, mellow and delicious, beautifying and healthy..."

Mrs. Mei dragged her daughter to the side, "Why are you yelling these things, no one else yells."

Lu Jiaoyue said helplessly: "Mom, the reason why people don't shout is because they have been here for a long time, and others know what they sell. It's our first time here, and others don't know what we sell, so it's better to call someone else." I know."

In fact, Lu Jiaoyue also learned this trick from Gui Ya. Gui Ya told her how she started the business at the beginning, so she learned it well.Originally, Lu Jiaoyue was shy, and she was embarrassed enough to sell in the street, but she knew that her mother was even more shy than she was, so she could only bite the bullet.

But when she sold out the first time, she found that she was not as embarrassed as she imagined.There's nothing to be ashamed of, they don't steal or rob, and rely on serious means to make money, they should be proud of it.

Just cheering herself up in her heart, Lu Jiaoyue went to the stall and started selling again.For a while, a girl's delicate and soft voice could be heard in most of the street, like a yellow warbler coming out of a valley, or like a pearl falling into a jade plate.It is undeniable that the first wave of customers at the stall were all attracted by this sound.

"What's for sale?"

"There are steamed buns, cornmeal nests, stuffed pork with cabbage, mushrooms and green vegetables, and roasted meat with dried plums and vegetables." Lu Jiaoyue opened the steamer and said, "Today is our first day of opening. , so buy two steamed buns and get a bowl of hot soy milk for free. Customer, do you want to sell a few more?"

The man who bought the buns was a middle-aged uncle, at this moment he said with a smile: "The little girl has a sharp mouth, what is this dried plum and vegetable roasted pork stuffing? Can you tell me."

This person was wearing a blue silk cotton gown, a black beaded belt around his waist, and a jade wrench on his hand. He looked elegant, but he didn't look like a scholar.

Lu Jiaoyue didn't know how to explain it, so she could only say: "You can buy two and try it. This steamed stuffed bun stuffed with dried plums and vegetables is my mother's unique skill. I'm sure you'll come back after eating it." Lu Jiaoyue was also very disturbed, but she still forced herself to be calm.

The man smiled: "Young lady, it's her first time to do business. It's pretty good. Wrap me two steamed stuffed buns with prunes, vegetables and roasted meat that you mentioned, and give me a bowl of soy milk. "

Lu Jiaoyue had already packed the steamed buns with oiled paper, and found that her mother was still in a daze, so she bumped her lightly. Only then did Mei come to her senses, and quickly went to get the bowl that was placed in the wooden basin and covered with cotton cloth. Scooped a bowl of soy milk from the pot and handed it over.

The middle-aged uncle paid the money and was about to leave with the bowl, but Mei was about to stop him when he heard him say: "I'm the owner of that antique shop over there, let the waiter bring the bowl back to you later. "

"Okay." Lu Jiaoyue nodded.

The steamed buns stuffed with dried plums and vegetables cost two pennies each, which is one penny more expensive than other buns. Four small copper coins were lying in Mei's hands.She stared at it blankly for a while, and then, as if she had been spat out, she pushed away Lu Jiaoyue who was standing there filling the buns for others, and went to serve herself.

One two, three four, most people buy two buns at a time, and drink a bowl of free soy milk along the way.After a while, the number of people at the stall gradually increased, and the mother and daughter Mei became more and more busy.

"Boss, your soy milk is really delicious. I only drank it once in the countryside. Most people in this county don't know how to make tofu, so this soy milk is quite rare."

Mrs. Mei smiled and said, "This is our own handicraft. My family is in charge of selling tofu."

"No wonder I said that there is no beany smell in this soy milk! Yes, I will come to take care of your business in the future."

Lu Jiaoyue interjected from the side, "From now on, more customers will come, soy milk will be given away for the first three days after buying our steamed stuffed buns, and after that, a bowl will be priced at a penny."

"Then I'll come back tomorrow."

The people in the county are richer than the people in the country, and it is especially convenient to go out to buy food. Many people do not cook in the morning, especially since this is a downtown area, there are many shops around, and many people in the shops come out to buy breakfast. .

After a while, Erfang's buns were sold out.

Because of Gui Ya's experience, this time Lu Jiaoyue asked Mei to make a hundred buns, not only the penny buns were sold out, but also the two penny buns stuffed with dried plums and vegetables and roasted meat were all sold out. .There are also people who have tasted it and found it delicious, and then come back to buy it again. Unfortunately, there are few steamed stuffed buns filled with dried plums and vegetables.The man felt a little regretful, and said that he wanted to buy a few more for the family to taste, and asked Mei to make more tomorrow.

Not only the steamed stuffed buns were sold out, but also the soy milk was sold out. Many people said that the soy milk tasted good, and they bought two extra buns just for the soy milk.

Looking at the empty steamer and pot, Mei could not relax for a long time.

After a long time, she touched the heavy purse at her waist, and said to her daughter excitedly: "I used to think that Guiya was exaggerating when she said her business was good, but now I realize that it is not exaggerating at all. Things are really sold out."

Lu Jiaoyue was also a little excited and nodded repeatedly.

After sighing happily, the two realized the reality, that is, the things were selling too fast, but it was still some time before Lu Minghai and his son came to pick them up.

The mother and daughter looked at each other, and could only sit behind the stall and spend time.

Nothing to do on the street, Mei felt a little cramped, so she said to her daughter: "If not, let's put away the things first, and then come back and wait for your father and brother."

"Row."

The two worked together to put away the stall, put the things on the small wooden cart that put the stove, and pushed them to the place where they kept their things.

They specially hired a carpenter to make this small wooden cart. Almost all food stalls in the county have such a cart.The car is hollow, two stoves can be placed in the middle, two pots can be placed on the top, and there are wheels on the bottom to push it around, which is very convenient.

The mother and daughter put away their things and went to the market for a while. Because they made money today, Mei bought two catties of meat and some vegetables before returning to the stall.

Not long after, Lu Minghai and his son came. Seeing that the stall had disappeared, they were a little surprised, thinking that something went wrong.After asking, I found out that everything was sold out.

After returning home, Mrs. Mei poured out the money in the purse and counted it. It was almost 150 Wen. After deducting the capital, she could still earn [-] Wen.This is still free soy milk, if soy milk is not free, I am afraid I will earn more.

Mrs. Mei was very happy, hugged Wulang who came back from school, kissed him fiercely, and said, "Mother can earn money for you and your second brother to study."

No one knew that Mei Shi was under a lot of pressure these days, women were different from men, they thought a lot on weekdays, and they were used to careful planning.At this time, seeing another income in the family, Mei finally didn't have to worry about not earning enough money to support her two sons' education.

Just like Guiya who just started to set up a stall, Mei's is full of energy now, and Lu Jiaoyue is finally relieved.

She is very proud in her heart, as long as she thinks seriously and works hard, life at home will get better every day.

Lu Jiaoyue went to help Mrs. Mei for a few days, but Mrs. Mei refused to let her go.

Now is the critical time for spring plowing, Lu Minghai and his son are both busy, and they have to pick up and drop off Mrs. Mei every day, so there must be one person in the family to do housework and cook.Otherwise, not only Lu Minghai and his son would have nothing to eat at noon, but also Lu Guangzhi and Wu Lang would have nothing to eat after school.It is impossible to wait for Mei Shi to come back from the county every day before starting to cook, especially Mei Shi has been busy in the county all morning and is extremely tired.

Lu Jiaoyue stayed at home.

After finishing the housework at home, I help my mother do some trivial work such as making noodles, washing vegetables, and chopping stuffing.

On this day, only Lu Jiaoyue was at home alone, when suddenly there was a knock on the courtyard door.

"Anyone at home?"

Generally, except during the feline winter, people in the country don’t close their courtyard doors. Firstly, it’s convenient for them to come in and out. Secondly, because the people in the country are poor, they don’t have much valuable things at home, and every household is full of people, so the courtyard door can’t be closed. off is not important.

It's just because of Du Lian's harassment of Lu Jiaoyue and the Lantern Festival that happened before, when Lu Jiaoyue was alone at home, Lu Minghai would always ask her daughter to lock the courtyard door, and at worst, she would just come back and shout.

It was a female voice, but it was very strange, and Lu Jiaoyue was not familiar with it.

"Who is it?" She asked as she walked over to open the door.

The door opened, and there stood a middle-aged woman dressed in fancy clothes outside the door.

She was wearing a purplish red satin jacket with a stone blue horse-face skirt underneath, and she wore a tunic on her arm, and she wore a very bright crabapple flower on her head.Her face seemed to be powdered, making it unnaturally white, but her mouth was covered with scarlet lipstick.

"You are--"

"Is your lord here?" The woman sized Lu Jiaoyue up and down, and said again: "Are you the eldest daughter of the second room of the Lu family?"

Lu Jiaoyue nodded, feeling a little uncomfortable, because the way this woman looked at people was really rude.

"My parents are not here, what do you have to do with them?"

"Oh, since you're not here, forget it." The woman turned around and was about to leave. When she turned her head, she glanced at Lu Jiaoyue again, "Then when will your mother be at home?"

Lu Jiaoyue replied: "In the second half of the sound."

The woman didn't say any more, twisted her waist and left.

Lu Jiaoyue frowned, looking at her far away back, feeling a little bewildered in her heart.

"Yue'er, what are you thinking?"

It's Trader Joe's.

"The man looked for my mother, but he didn't say what he wanted to do."

Qiao looked at the man's back, then smiled and said: "She, she is Liu Matchmaker, I guess she came to your house to match your brother or you."

Lu Jiaoyue frowned even tighter.

"This matchmaker Liu is not easy to deal with, and her reputation is not very good. If she comes to your house to help you marry your brother, you must let your mother pay attention. Last year she talked about a matchmaker, and she said that at the time It's called a hype. Who knows that the girl married her before she knew it. The son of that family is a bit stupid. He is not too stupid, but he is a little slow. But if he is a good girl, whoever wants to marry such a person will regret it It's useless, who let you enter the bridal chamber after paying homage."

"I see, thank you, Third Aunt." Lu Jiaoyue thanked, and asked Mrs. Qiao to sit in again.

Qiao smiled and waved her hand: "Thank you, those who are well-informed usually know about her. Since your parents are not here, I won't go in and sit. I came here to ask about Wulang's schooling. Hurry up, our family's Liulang is six years old, I have been thinking about sending him to school, but I didn't expect your mother to move faster than me."

The three-bedroom couple are busy with spring plowing these days, so Mrs. Qiao hasn't come to see Mrs. Mei for a while.

"My mother was there when she was in the second half."

"It's okay, the two are close anyway, so I'll come when I think about it."

Lu Jiaoyue gave Qiao Shi two steps before turning around and entering the courtyard gate.

In the evening, just after dinner for the Erfang family, Mrs. Qiao came.

After asking about the situation of the private school, Shu Xiu and other things, he laughed and gloated and said something to Mrs. Mei.

It turned out that Widow Du went to the big house again.

(End of this chapter)