stingy landlady

Chapter 85 Return to daily life

Guizhi followed behind the old man, panting heavily. Finally catching her breath, she said:

"Grandpa! You always complain that you're getting old and your legs aren't as good as they used to be! But I can see you're still very strong! I can't keep up with you even when I'm rushing!"

The old man laughed heartily!

"You're just a kid! You have short legs, so you run fast! But you can't keep up with my long legs. One of my steps is equivalent to several of yours!"

"Let's go see who's grazing the horses! They say a good horse doesn't eat the grass it's already grazed! We need to find a place with plenty of grass!"

As expected, it was Xile tending the horses! The old man happily went forward to touch the horse, while Xile nervously asked:

"Who are you? Don't touch it, it will kick!"

Guizhi, being a bit slow due to her short legs, called out upon hearing the sound:

"Joy! This is my grandfather! Call him Grandpa!"

Hearing the voice, Xile turned around and saw Guizhi. She quickly bowed deeply and called out, "Miss!"

He then turned and bowed to the old man, calling out:

"Old Master!"

"Hehe! This kid's not bad! Quite clever! Guizhi, is this Xile? Did he just arrive?"

"Grandpa! Your legs are too long! You're abandoning your granddaughter now that you see a horse!"

Guizhi said coquettishly!

"No! How could that be? I was just in a hurry and walked a little too fast!"

Alright! You and Xile go help Lao Zhou pick out the vegetables!

I was grazing the horses here! I told you these horses recognize people; I'd only been driving them for a couple of days, and they still remembered me!

As the old man spoke, he used his hands to comb the long hair on the horse's body!

The horse indeed neighed contentedly and then lowered its head to continue grazing.

Guizhi and Xile walked and talked. It turned out that Xile and the others were all near the front lines, in places where fighting was taking place. Their families had either been massacred or their children had been abandoned or sold while fleeing.

War has torn many families apart!

"Joy! Let's not dwell on the past. You're still young; we need to look forward."

As Guizhi spoke, she and Xile entered the new courtyard. Guizhi bent down to pick up a small stone from the ground and continued:

"This will be our new home from now on! If we want to walk around this yard without getting muddy, we'll have to collect these big pebbles. We can spread them out in the yard so we won't have to worry about rainy days."

Do you know where Joy is?

Joyfully nodding:

“Let’s go to the river. We used to collect pebbles there all the time. There are so many, miss!”

Guizhi said to Xile:

"Yes, there are a lot of small stones along the riverbank here. You guys should go and collect as many as you can when you have time, and pile them up. When you have enough, we'll have the adults bring them back in an oxcart so we can pave the yard!"

Upon hearing this, the construction workers on the side building smiled and said to Guizhi:

"Hey, Miss! You should go buy some pebbles! They're readily available; a few cartloads should be enough. How long will it take to get a bunch of kids to collect them all?"

Guizhi craned her neck and looked up. The person speaking was putting tiles on the roof beam, so she said:

"Uncle! Don't underestimate us just because we're small; there are many of us! We can collect quite a lot in a day! Buying pebbles costs money, so let's save as much as we can!"

"Hehe! Miss San is quite thrifty despite her young age!"

"Xile! If you have time today, take them to collect pebbles. Then my dad can have someone bring them back!"

"Yes, Miss!"

Guizhi solemnly said:

"But there's one thing! Joy, remember this! No one is allowed to go into the water! It's not safe without an adult watching!"

The two talked until they reached Old Man Zhou's place. Several children were working separately there.

Ping An took the picked vegetables from the garden, washed off the mud with water, tied them into bunches, and put them in a basket!

Under Old Man Zhou's guidance, Jixiang and Ruyi sorted and packed the wild vegetables they were going to take to town into baskets, and packed the vegetables they were going to sell that day!

Jinxiu and Zhou Qiong were washing vegetables and talking by the stove, preparing meals for the farmhands when they returned from work.

Madam Zhou seemed somewhat absent-minded, rubbing her eyes every now and then. With Zhou Xing gone, a mother couldn't help but feel anxious and worried.

After Guizhi and Xile entered the courtyard, everyone bowed and greeted Guizhi.

Guizhi smiled and said:

"Everyone, let's get back to our own business!"

Old Zhou asked Guizhi:

"Third Miss, it's just you and Second Miss going to town today. Why don't I drive the carriage for you? I'm still worried about having two girls!"

Guizhi said:

"Grandpa Zhou! My dad got my grandpa out of the mountains! Now, we don't even need to herd the horses! My grandpa sent me and Xile away, telling us to come back and help!"

Old Zhou said:

"That's wonderful! It would be even better if the old man could go to town with you! Then this old man will stay home and continue drying and pickling vegetables!"

"Grandpa Zhou! We need to arrange for someone to collect the swill from the restaurant kitchen!"

"Let Pan Sen or Pan Qiang go! They both know the way and the people. They've been there a few times before, each of them."

"Okay! Grandpa Zhou has made all the arrangements!"

"Grandpa Zhou! I'm going to check on the vegetable garden."

"Yes, Miss!"

Guizhi went to the vegetable garden, and Xile followed closely behind.

Guizhi mainly went to check on the piglets' growth and, incidentally, to check on the vegetables. One crop of greens after another seemed to be growing smoothly!

Although we don't sell much, we have a large family, so we don't need to buy food. When we crave meat, we'll occasionally kill a couple of ducks to satisfy our cravings.

Guizhi was calculating that she would need to buy dozens more ducklings to raise! Hmm! She wondered how many people lived in Huanghua Village; if she bought more, they would need to raise ducks and chickens there too!

The little pig greeted Guizhi with "hmm hmm," its fur shiny and healthy-looking!

It probably weighs around a hundred pounds. Lately, when we've been grinding green wheat into flour and bran, we've been mixing it with swill to feed the pigs, chickens, and ducks!

After the wheat harvest in a few days, the family's food supply will be secured! The pigs and poultry will also have enough to eat!

Everything is steadily progressing towards the life Guizhi has planned!

After leaving the vegetable garden, Guizhi said to Old Man Zhou:

"Grandpa Zhou! Everything is fine! Is Aunt Zhou still feeding the pigs four times a day?"

"Yes! Third Miss! She said she dares not arbitrarily change the pig's established habits anymore! She's afraid the pig will get diarrhea!"

"Okay! Feed them four times a day like this, they'll grow fast! And the pigpen is kept quite clean! Pigs are clean, and we can save their manure to grow vegetables, it's great!"

Grandpa Zhou! If there's nothing else, I'm going back to the old house! I'll have Xile help you pick and dry the vegetables! Jixiang, Ruyi, and Jinxiu, come with me home to help my mother make dumplings!

Old Zhou blinked and said:

"Third Miss! Let Zhou Qiong go too! Her mother can manage on her own!"

Guizhi pondered for a moment and said:

"That's not impossible! It's just that Aunt Zhou's belly is quite big, so it's convenient to have someone around to run errands for her!"

After thinking about Jinxiu and Zhou Qiong, who should I choose to stay?

"Third Miss! Let Jinxiu stay here! Let Zhou Qiong go with you! She's familiar with the work and knows how to make dumplings!"