The mulberry life of a small peasant girl

Chapter 44

At night, Zhong Caixin put Mantou to sleep, folded the clothes Zhang De brought back, and then went to the kang.

Zhang Dezao lay on the kang, his eyes squinted, not knowing what to think.

Zhong Caixin fell asleep, moved to her husband's side, hugged his waist sideways, and put her hands in the hollow of his neck.

It was a rare time for Zhang De to take the initiative. He felt his wife approaching and wrapped his arms around him, imprisoning him in his arms.

The two leaned together to keep warm and comforted for a long time, Zhong Caixin said: "Although the elder brother keeps telling me that the place you go is not dangerous, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes, how can I feel at ease, and you haven't sent any news back, and I don't know Can you reach Kyoto smoothly?"

Zhang De patted his wife on the back reassuringly, "It went very smoothly. I took the carriage with the officers and soldiers leading the team. The carriage stopped at the outskirts of the capital and let a dozen of us enter the imperial mausoleum together. At the beginning, the control was very strict. , only the purchasers could go out, and the rest stayed inside. Later, the work was assigned in turn, even if the rice I cooked was the most palatable, so everyone recommended me to be the cook, and after half a year, I was finally able to go to the capital to buy grain with the purchasers. "

Zhong Caixin complained: "Then why don't you send a letter back?"

"Tsk tsk, how can it be. I have to go back after buying food, and there are people watching all the time. But my situation is the best. I cook two meals and guard the tomb at midnight. One day has passed like this, and half a month has passed. Everyone envies me for being able to go out once. Moreover, I am also acquainted with the shoppers. Anyone who wants to buy something on weekdays will give money to the shoppers. The shoppers see that I am safe and able to do things, and secretly share with me. "

"I didn't expect you, an idiot, to make money there. Seeing how happy you are, how much did you earn?"

Zhang De raised ten fingers, but thought that Caixin couldn't see it in the dark, so he said, "Twelve taels."

Zhong Caixin thought that it would be a matter of time and money, but how did she know that it was ten times as expected, and quickly asked: "You will not do anything bad, right?" Couldn't sleep all night.

"How can I do bad things. But it's really easy to earn these ten taels. The people with me are rich and wealthy. They are not willing to patrol or clean the tomb. I work for them, and then they ask me to buy Things, I bought all the money, and when I saw that I was on the road, I also gave me a little bit afterwards, and I saved ten taels in three years."

"Idiot, you still work for others? There is no shortage of money at home, what will you do if your body breaks down?"

"How come, those jobs are very easy, and after I go for a few years, you must have a hard life. With these ten taels, you will be comfortable in the future."

Zhong Caixin was afraid that the villagers would talk to Zhang De, so she hurriedly told him about returning to her natal home.

Zhang De didn't blame, but said distressedly: "Why didn't I think that I should have let you go. I am very worried when the four of you are at home."

Zhong Caixin was very moved when she heard this, she reached under Zhang De's clothes and rubbed his bones for him.

Zhang De was pinched by his wife, and his anger soared. He glanced at his sleeping son, and turned back to press Zhong Caixin under him.

In the early morning of the second day, Zhong Caixin came out of the bedroom with the baby's urinal in her hand, while Zhang De was holding her head full behind her.After a day of contact with Zhang De yesterday, the quiet little baby was very attached to the sudden appearance of his father, hugging Zhang De's neck and refused to let go, Zhang De took out toys to coax him, and told him about juggling in the capital, Street performers and so on, the two father and son chattered and laughed.

Xiaofu looked enviously at the full head in Zhang De's arms. She used to play in his uncle's arms, but now her place is gone.

Zhang De beckoned to Xiaofu, Xiaofu immediately ran over wagging his tail, "Xiaofu went to my uncle's room to get a gift, it's in the gray cloth bag, I didn't give it to you yesterday."

When Xiao Fu heard this, he ran to the bedroom in a panic, and came out with a cloth bag in his arms.

"Open it and have a look, you and Nuan girl's presents are all inside."

Supporting the table with both hands, and stepping on Daddy's lap, he poked his head out to look.

Xiaofu opened it and found that there were two boxes of makeup powder inside. She hastily twisted open the lid, and inside was a pink transparent paste mixed with sediment.

"Smell and look, it is said that it is made of peach petals. It has a peach blossom fragrance and can moisturize the skin, not greasy and dry. Women in Kyoto buy this."

Xiao Fu took some of it with his finger and applied it on the back of his hand. It was wet and melted as soon as he wiped it. The skin was smooth and fragrant.

"Sister, come and take a look." She called out to Nuan Bao who was sweeping the floor outside the door.

Nuan Bao put down the broom and asked Xiao Fu to wipe some on his arms, it was really cool and comfortable.

The two of them met and muttered as if they were looking at something rare.

Zhong Caixin came back after washing the urine bucket, saw the things spread out on the table, and asked, "What are you looking at?"

Nuan Bao handed the powder to Zhong Caixin, "Auntie, do you think this is difficult to make? It's mainly made of peach petals."

Zhong Caixin dried her palms with a hand towel, picked out some and smelled them, "It's okay to do, but the effect may not be better than this. It seems that some Angelica dahurica is added. You need to understand the pharmacology."

Zhang De opened his mouth and said: "Yes, I remember the shopkeeper said that it can whiten the skin, probably because of the effect of Angelica dahurica."

Nuanbao has never used skin care products in modern times, not even facial cleanser, so I am not sure about making skin care plasters, but it is still possible to pick some flower petals or apply some cucumber slices.

Then, Xiao Fu picked out some headbands, headscarves, sachets, and other small accessories for women from the cloth bag.These things are very novel and interesting to Nuanbao, not to mention Xiaofu. The two sit together and help each other tie their hair and wrap their headscarves, really like a little village girl.

Seeing these gadgets, Nuan Bao couldn't help but think that if they also made some simple hair ties and hair clips like those in Kyoto, they would definitely be popular, "Little aunt, you said we also make these things for sale, okay?" ?”

Zhong Caixin had been working as a grocery store before, so she was naturally more familiar with the market of these small parts. After thinking for a while, she replied: "There should be some, but doing these alone doesn't make money, so let's just treat it for fun."

Zhang De went to the capital for a trip, and his horizons were broadened a lot. He used to think that farming was safe and secure, but now he is bold and wants to do some small business.Especially when I heard that the three mu of land in the family was leased to Aunt Zhang for farming, and the lease will only expire this autumn, and he plans to use the ten taels to earn some money back.

Zhong Caixin felt that it was easy to imitate the style of the Kyoto hair rope, and now this trend has not yet blown, and they can only make some small money in the time difference.The hair rope needs a lot of fabrics of different colors, and they can't buy a whole piece of fabric, so they can only buy some rags.

Zhang De accompanied Zhong Caixin and Nuan Bao to Ning County. Ning County has relatively developed commerce and there are many tailor shops. The three of them went to the tailor shop to buy a few bags of rags and it cost dozens of pennies.The rags are really shattered, a thin strip, or a small scrap, it is completely impossible to make purses and insoles, and they can only be sold to the poor to make patches on weekdays, and the store will never throw them away for no reason.

Back in the village, blacksmith Zhao was asked to help make some wire, and after paying the deposit, the three of them went home and began to distribute their hair.

Zhang De remembered the grocery store that Zhong Caixin used to run, and raised his head and asked, "Why don't we open a grocery store in the village?"

There is no grocery store in Zhangjia Village, because there are markets on the fifth, fifteenth, and 25th of every month, and there is nothing wrong with going to the market along the road.Moreover, the grocery store needs a lot of reserve funds, and the money is spent on the goods, and no one in the village has the courage to do it.However, if the villagers suddenly come to the house, or if there is a shortage of something, they can only make up for it after going to the market, or go to the county to buy it by ox cart.

Xiao Fu thinks this proposal is good, the grocery store knows that there are many things to eat and many things to play, and she will definitely stand in front of the shop when the time comes.

"Open a grocery store, little uncle, we can open a store too."

The small courtyard of the Zhang Family is not far from the big tree in the center of the village. This is indeed a place for business. No matter where the villagers will not go too far to buy things, it is really convenient.

Zhong Caixin felt that it didn't matter whether he could drive it or not, as long as Zhang De wanted to drive it, then he could do it.

Zhang De is very familiar with Longqing City, so he plans to go to Longqing City to sell some goods in the village, so that the goods from Ning County will not be duplicated and no one will buy them, and it will not affect the business of driving ox carts in the village.

The idea has been decided, and everyone's hearts are alive. They want to build a thatched shed in the yard for a shop, and cut some wood to make tables and chairs. But this time Zhang De's brothers have all been conscripted, and he is the only one. People go up the mountain.When the villagers saw that Zhang De started construction as soon as he came back, they came to inquire one after another. Zhang De smiled at everyone and said that he was going to open a small grocery store in the village, and hoped that everyone would come to support him.

The little uncle was busy in the front yard, and Nuan Bao and the others didn't stop. They wanted to finish the headbands and hairpins before the shop opened, and then put them on sale in the shop.

At night, everyone gathered together to discuss what goods to sell and came back. Zhong Caixin was very experienced, "The village definitely needs daily things such as salt and sugar, and some embroidery threads for women. In addition to these, you can also sell some barbarians. Although the villagers in Zhangjia Village are not rich, they are not poor either, especially some daughters-in-law are very fond of comparison, and like things they have never seen the most.”

Nuan Bao also said: "I think we can buy some pens, ink, paper and inkstones. There are also children in the village who go to school in the village. Just buy some cheap ones."

Not to be outdone, Xiaofu continued, "Little uncle, remember to buy some candy when you come back. Many people in the village like to eat it."

Zhang De smiled and said, "It's Xiaofu, do you like it very much?"

"Whether she likes it or not, everything she buys will be sold. If you steal it, Xiaofu, you won't be able to eat dinner."

Xiao Fu lowered his head and twisted his fingers, whether it is better to eat candy or eat.

Before Xiaofu figured it out, the thatched cottage was completed, and the tables and chairs were also ready, just waiting for the goods to arrive and put them on the shelves!
Zhang De borrowed an ox cart to go shopping around Longqing City, and finally bought all the goods, looking at the only three taels of silver left in his hand, this time he must have a successful business.

On a good day and auspicious day, a few strings of firecrackers were burned, and the Zhangji grocery store officially opened.

(End of this chapter)