Blessings of Time Traveling

Everyone tacitly did not mention Si Ni and Wu Ni, not because they forgot these two girls from the Qi family, but because their hearts were filled with a sense of powerlessness.So what can I say?Will they still find them?This is a painful wound in their hearts.

The only thing that can give them a little comfort is that Si Ni and Wu Ni were already over seven years old when they were sold.This age is supposed to be able to remember some things.As long as they don't give up and they work hard to find their families, then one day they will meet again, right?

After returning home, Qi Erniang and Qi Mingcheng first went to the old lady's house to say hello.

This is a customary rule.Before going out, say "I'm going out" to the elderly at home; after returning home, say "I'm back" to the elderly at home.There are many other rules like this.Perhaps these rules were created to maintain the authority of the elders?

However, Qi Mingcheng prefers to regard this as an act to avoid worrying the elderly.

When they got home, please greet the old man and let the old man see that they have returned safely. Naturally, the old man will not have to worry anymore.

It was the end of Xia when Qi Mingcheng crossed over.After he lived in this house for a while, it was late autumn in a blink of an eye.As if it was just a rain in the middle of the night, after Qi Mingcheng got up, he immediately felt a chill that could penetrate into his skin.He was so cold that he hurried back to the house to add another coat.

At this time, the environmental pollution was not as serious as in later generations, and the average annual temperature was originally lower than that of later generations; Lidong Town was located in a hilly area. Although Shanglai Village looked like a flat land, its altitude was actually higher than that of a real plain. The higher the temperature, the lower the average temperature here.

Not to mention anything else, even in the hottest summer, when Qi Mingcheng sleeps, he still needs to cover himself with a thin quilt.

Qi Mingcheng was a little unaccustomed to the cold.

"Where is this going... When it snows in winter, you will probably grow together with the stove." Qi Erniang teased him with a smile.

In this era without air conditioning and heating, ordinary people have simple heating methods. They have to wrap layers of thick clothes on themselves and burn charcoal.Every household has a stove.A square wooden frame is usually set up on a larger stove, allowing several people to huddle together to enjoy the fire; a bamboo basket is placed outside the smaller stove, which fits in the hand and is suitable for one person to keep warm alone.

As for charcoal, every household burns some by themselves when cooking.

When cooking, experienced people can take care of both the upper pot and the lower stove.Guessing that a piece of firewood was almost burned, I took it out with pliers, put it in an earthen jar, and then closed the lid to seal it.After a while, charcoal is formed.However, the control of the fire is very important here. If the firewood is not burned through, then there will be choking smoke during the process of making charcoal. If the firewood is burned too thoroughly, it will directly turn into ashes.

"I can save such a big basket of charcoal throughout the year. It seems like a lot, but it will definitely not be enough in winter." Qi Erniang felt that Qi Mingcheng lacked common sense in life, so she explained it to him bit by bit. , "So, our family will have to buy some more charcoal when the time comes."

There are people in nearby villages who burn charcoal.When villagers go to buy charcoal, the price is not expensive.Because, the villagers can use firewood to offset the money.

This is the same as when the Zhao family sells tofu, people who buy tofu basically use soybeans to pay for the money.

Qi Mingcheng's heart moved, and he asked, "Can't we burn the charcoal ourselves?"

"You are thinking too simply. Anyone can dig an earthen kiln for burning charcoal, but the heat is too difficult to control." Qi Erniang shook her head.Although when she cooks, she turns a stick or two into charcoal, and she always succeeds again and again.But her small troubles are different from the scale of burning dozens or hundreds of catties of charcoal in a kiln.Every little daughter-in-law who is in charge of cooking in the former knows it, while the latter requires experienced and seasoned watchers.

But the more Qi Mingcheng thought about it, the more he felt that his idea was good, and said: "Sister, you are just too timid. No one can get the tricks at the beginning, as long as we roughly know the method of burning charcoal, even if we don't know how to burn charcoal once or twice. Success, after three or five times, the charcoal will always be burned out!"

Selling charcoal is feasible!Qi Mingcheng turned around in circles while thinking, and quickly switched to the fighting spirit mode.

Qi Erniang looked at it for a while, and said: "Even if we know how to burn charcoal, there is no place to sell it! Don't look at the size of our Lidong Town, there are only three or four charcoal sellers around us. If anyone in this village wants to buy charcoal, they all look for the lame old man. He has a nephew who works as a policeman in the town! Firstly, his family’s charcoal is really good, and secondly, he is looking for him who can talk to the officials. Nephew, no one dares to steal business."

"We don't sell in Lidong Town. The market here is only so big, and we can't sell it at any price!" Qi Mingcheng said excitedly, "Let's rent a boat and go along the Lidong River to a bigger place outside." Sell ​​it in the town! Sell it in the city! This matter has to be done quickly, charcoal is better sold in late autumn and early winter, and later, when those big households have prepared all the charcoal for the winter, it will be difficult to sell what we have out."

The market in a small place is easy to be monopolized, but the market in a big place will be more free.

Qi Mingcheng also recited "The Charcoal Vendor" written by Bai Juyi in the Tang Dynasty when he was studying.The old man in the poem belongs to the kind of ordinary person with no background. Because he was forced to buy it at a low price by the eunuch, his charcoal was sold at a low price in the end.However, it can be seen from this that selling charcoal is indeed a way, provided that there is no oppression.Qi Mingcheng didn't want to sell them in the city like an old man, he thought it would be great if he could be a small wholesaler.

Qi Erniang and the others never thought of doing business, so many things were out of their minds.

This doesn't mean they are stupid, just because they don't have the concept at all.

Their thinking is conservative and negative.

It is said that "if you are poor, you want to change." They are not so poor now, so they subconsciously want to maintain the current stability and will not pursue other things.In this era when natural disasters and man-made disasters may cause families to be destroyed, the pursuit of stability is a common feature of the working people.

They always feel that they cannot afford the loss when the change fails.

"I still want to rent a boat?" Qi Erniang said in surprise, "It's fine to burn charcoal by yourself. Even if you can't sell it, it's just a waste of energy, so I don't think it's a pity. But if we want to rent a boat, when the time comes If the charcoal still can’t be sold, won’t the boat rent be a loss?”

"I can definitely sell charcoal, do you believe it?" Qi Mingcheng asked.

Qi Erniang really wanted to say "not so trustworthy", but when she thought of the changes in her younger brother after marrying into the Zhao family, she immediately shut her mouth.

Qi Mingcheng ran back to his room to think about a specific plan.

Mrs. Qi poured the ground soybean milk into the pot.She whispered: "Erni, you just let Mingcheng mess around? Even the lame youngest is so capable, and he hasn't been able to sell charcoal to the city after so many years of business! If we go to the city, Those who live in the city are unfamiliar..."

Qi Erniang sighed, and said: "When something comes to Mingcheng's mouth, it's so easy to touch the upper and lower lips."

"Then why don't you stop him?"

Qi Erniang frowned: "I don't dare to trust him very much, but what if he really made money? Sanni needs money."

"When Sanni was sold into the Zhou Mansion, the Zhou Mansion gave her five taels of silver. Five taels of silver is the price of a maidservant. Now that Sanni is older and capable, if the master sells her again, the It must be more than this price, and it will cost more than twenty taels of silver. You can afford this large sum of money? I can afford it? So, it would be great if Mingcheng could really make money." Qi Erniang lowered her head and added firewood to the stove.

When Sanni was sold, she signed a death contract, which meant that Zhou Mansion had the right to buy, sell, transfer, exchange or gift her to others.When she was sold, she was worth five taels of silver. If the family only gave five taels of silver to the master when they went to redeem her, it would be equivalent to how the Zhou family had trained the little girl to be a high-ranking girl after all these years of food, clothing and monthly regulations. As a result, the girl went home before she could do anything about it.How can there be such a cheap thing in the world?

Therefore, of course, the price at the time of redemption must be based on Sanni's current price.

Moreover, regarding the redemption of the body, it is not something that can be redeemed with money.In the mansion, the maids called the act of wanting to "redeem their bodies" "begging for grace".That being said, you are originally someone else's, and you can only be redeemed with the owner's consent.If the host doesn't agree, no matter how much money you spend, it's useless.In operas, there are often touching stories about the owner seeing the maidservant’s loyalty and exempting them from ransom money, but those are operas!

Even though everyone knows that the Zhou family is kind, even though Qi Erniang can't read a few big characters, she also knows that she can't place all her hopes on others.

In the case of Sanni, it would be best if the Zhou family didn't care too much; but if they want to care about it, it's only natural.

Qi Erniang complained and complained, she could only blame the ruthless father who sold her daughter, she couldn't blame the Zhou family.

"My mother-in-law's place, if I really open my mouth, I can lend some more money... Even if our tofu can be sold at a high price, isn't it because of Mingcheng's good prescription?" Qi Erniang He said slowly, "It's just that we have to think farther away. Sanni won't be able to get well without leaving the Zhou mansion. We still have to arrange a place for her and arrange a marriage for her... The Qi family's house and fields have already been destroyed. After being sold by that old bastard, after Sanni came home, there was nothing in the house, how did life go? Mingcheng married into the Zhao family, so I can't bring Sanni into the Zhao family, right?"

Mrs. Qi bit her lower lip and said in a low voice, "You don't want to call him father, and neither do I, but don't make it so ugly."

"It's that old thing, and you still want to hear a good word about him from me? Pooh!"

Mrs. Qi hurriedly said: "Hey, I didn't mean that... I mean, it's not good to be heard when you say that. They don't have back pain when they stand and talk, and they can drown us with just spittle. Rumors hurt people, how did our mother get there? Wasn’t it because she couldn’t give birth to a son, her family resented her, and the villagers laughed at her, so she kept giving birth and giving birth..." As she spoke, Mrs. Qi endured I can't help feeling sad.She has been married for three to five years and has no children so far.Even though she doesn't go out very often, she knows that everyone calls her "the hen that doesn't lay eggs" behind her back.

Qi Erniang knew what was going on with Eldest Sister, and seeing that she had lost her mind, she squinted her eyes and asked, "Why, did Wu Shun talk about you?"

"No, no!" Mrs. Qi quickly shook her head and explained, "He...he treated me very well. He also said that he himself was picked up from the dead by his father-in-law. If we never have children, he will pick one up too. .As long as you have the right mind, you will be no worse than your own when raised."

"Hey, what brother-in-law said is true. After all, he often goes to the town, so he has knowledge!" Second Sister Qi said with a smile.There is a jealous side in her character, and she is very defensive.In the last sentence, she still called Wu Shun by his first name, but now she immediately changed back to calling her brother-in-law.

Mrs. Qi pursed her lips, not ashamed to answer.

"By the way," Erniang Qi patted her head and said, "If Mingcheng really intends to sell charcoal, it's better to ask brother-in-law to help him. What do you think, sister? Mingcheng has never done business, but brother-in-law often talks to restaurants. I'm also relieved to let my brother-in-law look at Mingcheng more sincerely."