The husband's son-in-law

"Our rice, wheat, yellow rice, and some peanuts and beans, the paddy fields are more fertile, the rain is good all year round, and the harvest is one stone and five buckets per mu of land, and ten mu of paddy fields is fifteen stones..."

Li Zhouzhou said that the crops were harvested very quickly.

Gu Zhao was still a little overwhelmed, because the units of measurement were different, so he had to convert in his head, one stone equals ten buckets, one bucket of rice equals ten liters, one liter equals two catties, that is, one stone of rice equals two hundred catties.

Fortunately, the Dali tax rate is not high, 5.00%.

There is no natural disaster or man-made disaster in one mu of land. If you take care of it carefully, there will be about 150 catties throughout the year.Ten acres of paddy fields in the family, that is three thousand catties, 850 catties are taxed, leaving two thousand eight hundred and fifty catties.

Official grain collection, rice and wheat are priced at the same price, about eight cents a catty, and sold to grain merchants for ten cents a catty.According to the calculations of grain sellers, ten mu of land can be sold for only two taels of silver, eight pennies and fifty cents, which is less than three taels.

He costs a tael of silver for a manuscript book.

"The harvest on dry land is less, and it is better to have one acre per stone, and sometimes there is not even one stone. At this time, we can rely on the peanuts, sweet potatoes, yellow rice and miscellaneous grains in the field to eat, so that we will not be hungry."

For yellow rice, beans, peanuts, etc., grain merchants charge even lower prices, about five or six yuan a catty, so most farmers sell rice and wheat, and keep miscellaneous grains for their own consumption. It is rare to see polished rice and white flour in the pot throughout the year. .

"Master, you said that this place does not grow yellow rice, and there is little wheat. Then it is impossible to eat only white rice and refined noodles all year round? If you only eat it at home and sell it for money, you will spend salt, vinegar, and cloth on weekdays, and make cotton clothes in winter. To buy cotton, what can I do with these daily expenses?"

Gu Zhao: "They grow hemp and raise silkworms, and they rely on these two things to sell for money. The silkworms they grow produce silk, reel it, and then weave it into satin. A piece of high-quality silk can sell for ten taels of silver."

Li Zhouzhou stared round, so much money?

Their family's ten mu of paddy fields cost only three taels of silver a year.

"It's not like all silks and satins can be sold for ten taels. It takes a lot of effort."

Li Zhouzhou was envious, but not sour, "Of course, my father and I carefully watched the rice in the field, and there was nothing wrong with it, and when the rice came out, the rice was pounded clean, so it's ready for three or two. , the one that can sell for ten taels of silver must have spent more effort."

Gu Zhaoxiao, Zhou Zhou in his family is very thoughtful.When he was in school in modern times, there was a roommate in the dormitory who played games. He once said that he made [-] yuan, but the other person said why so much. Seeing that you just play games and do nothing every day, you earn money easily. One thousand eight, please eat please eat.

But in fact, that roommate spent a week, made strategies, and read tutorials on online forums. It took hard work and luck to open a rare item and sell it at a high price.

For the same reason, Zhou Zhou of his family thinks of others first.

"Yes, most of them are raised hemp and weaved into linen. It's as rough as the linen bags we use to hold rice noodles. This one is cheaper, and the better ones are worn in linen clothes. They cost only thirty or fifty yuan a piece."

The lives of ordinary people in ancient times were not easy.

Li's family earns four taels a year from the land. Before the father and son spent less money, they saved three taels a year on the basis of one tael a year.

In ancient times, it was not easy to separate families. There are more people, more land, more people, and more harvests. However, in Gu Zhao’s view, food and drink expenses are also the same. It is better than a single small family, but there are many things. good.But when you get married and have children, when the children grow up, you still have to divide them.

"Our family is fine." Li Zhouzhou saw the expression on his father-in-law, afraid that he would think that studying was a waste of money, so he said relievedly: "Father knows how to kill pigs, and I also raise pigs and chickens to save eggs. These are all income. This year the snow falls It’s so early, the next year must be a good year with plenty of rain, and you can save seven or eight taels of silver after deducting the daily expenses.”

Gu Zhao thinks that next year will also cost a lot, his pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and buying books.

If it can increase production.The harvest of more than 200 catties per mu is too little. Is it because the ancient seeds were not cultivated and optimized?

The two had a conversation, and Gu Zhao went to read a book. Li Zhouzhou sat on the kang and didn't eat melon seeds, for fear of disturbing his husband's reading by making noise. As a result, the kang was warm and the room was quiet, and he fell asleep for a while. .

When he woke up, Xianggong was still reading.

Li Zhouzhou got out of bed lightly, the pot of jujube water was completely cold, Li Zhouzhou carried the pot to the stove, looked at the sky outside, it was time to make dinner.

As soon as it was dark, Li Da came back with a bamboo basket on his back.

Li Zhouzhou came out from the kitchen to meet his father.

Li Da unloaded the basket and said, "I'll pick it up in five days. The eggs were delivered, and the Zhu family took them."

Li Zhouzhou felt relieved, poured hot tea for his father to warm up first, and quickly prepared dinner.

The family eats in the main room with oil lamps on.Li Da said: "Zhu Mason only burned one but didn't pick it up, so I made the decision. I burned two pots and two stoves, totaling [-] Wen."

This is the cost of firewood in winter when it snows. If it is burned in summer, it will be five or ten yuan cheaper.If you go to the town to buy it, a big pot made of clay costs only seven or eight yuan.

Five days later, it was a sunny day when I took the stove out. The snow had melted and there was some mud on the ground, which made it difficult to walk.

"It's nothing, we agreed to pick it up today." Li Da went early with a bamboo basket on his back.It is said that it is difficult to walk, but the snow on some roads has not completely melted, and it is also possible to pick up the snow-covered places.

When Li Da arrived in Shili Village, he went directly to Zhu Mason's house.

Knock on the door, and the answer comes from inside.

"Here we come." Zhu Mason's son opened the door and called Uncle Li, "My father is making this for the first time. Although the medicine stove is bigger, I'm afraid it won't work well—"

"Why did it burn out?" Li Da asked, is it a waste of time to make a trip today?

Zhu Mason's son said: "No, you come in and sit down first, have a sip of hot tea, and let my father tell you."

It turned out that it was fired a day ago. Although it is the first time for Zhu Mason to make this enlarged version of the medicine stove, with more than ten years of experience, the fire is still in place, and the first furnace cellar was fired successfully.The Zhu family looked at this thing curiously and asked if it worked.

Mason Zhu also wanted to try it out, so he immediately asked his wife to take the hard wood that had been burned from the stove, lighted a few, and put a boiled pot on it, but it turned out that it would work, but it really did.

The stove is of course smaller than the hearth, and it is easy to move. It is placed in the main room of the house, with a pot of water boiling on it. The grandchildren and grandchildren of the family love to come to it. They cannot do without the small bench, saying it is warm.

"...The firewood doesn't cost much. You can have a hot drink whenever you want. Instead of boiling water, bake a sweet potato on it. My mother-in-law even used the stove to make a pot of sweet potato and yellow rice porridge. Although the fire is slower, there is no big stove. Hurry up, but it didn't take long for the room to warm up." Mason Zhu said one sentence is easy to use.

Li Da drank hot water and knew what Mason Zhu meant.

"It's done. Your family will use the extra-burning set first, and I'll come over to get it some other day."

Zhu Mason smiled and said: "Haha, that's what I mean. I have used them all at home, so it's not good to give you the old ones. In this way, I will refund you ten coins, and you will come over three days later. You say I burned the old ones." The pots and pans that have been used for half a lifetime, and the medicine stove in the town are also fired by me, why didn't I expect to make it bigger?"

It is clearly a very simple thing.

"I didn't think about it, who wants to put a medicine stove at home?" Li Dashun said: "It's also my brother-in-law's idea. He is a scholar. He usually reads books and burns kang at home. , Zhou Zhou and I couldn’t keep warm, so we wondered if we could make a bigger one, put it in the main room and save firewood to keep warm.”

Mason Zhu gave a thumbs up, "No wonder, no wonder, it's better to be a scholar with a good brain, your brother-in-law is good, he is filial, and my brother will enjoy the blessings in the future."

The creases on Li Da's face stretched out with a smile, but he said: "We peasants just make do with it. My brother-in-law is weak and can't get down to the ground, but he is smart."

Naturally, Mason Zhu boasted and boasted, and said a beautiful word, good at studying, and in the future, like Zhu Xiucai in his village, he will be admitted as a scholar, and he will not have to kneel when meeting officials and masters, and the crops in the field will not have to pay grain taxes.

Li Da was very happy when he said this, although he didn't know what would happen to Gu Zhao in the future, but now he heard that he felt smooth and comfortable.

After drinking hot tea and eating a meal of mixed grains at Zhu Mason's house, Li Da returned to the village with the stove and pot on his back.

It was dark when we got home.

The main room was lit with oil lamps. Li Zhouzhou heard movement at the gate of the courtyard. He must have come back. He hurried to open the door and helped him unload the basket. His weight was not right. Before he asked, his father said, "Mason Zhu said it would work , His family left a set and asked me to go there in three days."

The father and son entered the hall.

Li Zhouzhou carefully held the stove looking for a place to put it.

Li Da glanced at his brother-in-law and wanted to praise him, but he never said such a thing on weekdays. What he said was: "Mason Zhu said that the stove is easy to use, so he refunded ten cents to me."

"That's pretty good, it's just one more run for Father Lao." Li Zhouzhou set his position.

Li Da: "Anyway, if you are idle, you are idle, and walking is nothing." Zhou Zhou felt a little regretful that he couldn't hear it.

These ten coins are not much money, but Li Da is very happy.

It shows that his brother-in-law is so smart that even outsiders can see it and praise him.

Gu Zhao and Li Zhouzhou haven't eaten yet, they are waiting for their father to come back to eat together.Now that everyone has come back, the porridge and pancakes in the stove are still warm. When eating, Li Da said: "In winter, the rice will be cold before I have a couple of bites. I will go to Zhu Mason's house today. He uses a stove." It is hot to eat and drink."

"Then I will light up the stove tomorrow and use the stove to heat hot water, so that father and husband can drink hot tea." Li Zhouzhou said.

Gu Zhao heard the meaning of his father's words, and asked with a straight smile, "It's also because I'm smart that I came up with such a trick. Dad went to Zhu Mason's house. Didn't his family praise me?"

"..." Li Da.

Li Zhouzhou looked at his father curiously.Li Da coughed and said, "That's a compliment."

"That's great, Mr. Xiang is smart."

Li Da thought to himself, it's better to have a happy chat with Zhu Mason.

On the second day, the stove in the main room was lit by Li Zhouzhou.The firewood in the stove house was too big, so it had to be cut down and put in a basket next to the stove. After the stove was lit, a pot of hot water was first boiled in a new pot.

The ashes of the firewood fell from the block and were about palm height from the ground, so they were easy to clean.

The firepower is also fast, and the water will boil in a while.

Li Zhouzhou brewed a pot of thick tea and served it to his father and husband-in-law, it was really good.In less than half a day, Li Zhouzhou liked this stove. He used it to stew bone soup in the afternoon, saving firewood and keeping warm. Xianggong also used chopsticks to fork steamed buns and bake them on top. Same.

They are all delicious.

The kang in the house is not burning during the day.

The house is big, and the heat from a single stove cannot reach the back room, so Gu Zhao moved the desk to the main room. Anyway, no one came to Li's house during the day, so it was very quiet. He sat in the main room to study and read, and Zhou Zhou sat by the stove. While sewing, mending and doing some zero-year-old work, Dad baked a sweet potato and ate it.

Gu Zhaogang said that no one was visiting at home, and someone knocked on the door the next day.

When Li Zhouzhou was not married, he didn't like to listen to the excitement and join the crowd, and it was the same when he became married. He didn't become a woman or uncle in the village chatting and watching the excitement.

He doesn't love her, but the house is so suffocated in winter that some people can't help but want to visit.Others in the village would never choose Li's family when they went out. Li Da is a widower. The wife and uncle came to avoid suspicion, and Li Zhouzhou was a gourd with a saw mouth. Not having fun.

Only Brother Xing would come to chat.

Brother Xing couldn't hold it back, and wanted to find someone to talk about his mother-in-law. Others were unreliable, it was his mother. He said it on his front foot, and his mother passed it on to others. Feeling annoyed and wronged, I only told Li Zhouzhou about it.

It was Brother Xing who knocked on the door.

Li Da opened the door, Brother Xing called uncle, but Li Da hummed and said nothing.Brother Xing was actually a little afraid of his uncle, and said, "I'll talk to Zhou Zhou."

Li Da took a look.

Brother Xing quickly changed his mouth: "Look for Zhou Zhou."

The difference between the two is less than one year, and they grew up together. Li Zhouzhou is not as good as Xinggeer in everything, plus Xingge's mother likes to tease, praise Xinggeer and belittle Li Zhouzhou. Under such circumstances, Xinggege Er Yang's arrogance is not to say that he looks down on Li Zhouzhou, but that he gets along more casually.

Brother Xing was not called Brother Zhou Zhou when he was seven or eight years old, and he was called Li Zhouzhou in private, and Li Zhouzhou never said Brother Xing because of this.

"Go in." Li Da had a feud with the third room, and they had an unpleasant quarrel, and the second room was alienated from him on their own initiative, and looked down on him as a big brother.Since then, Li Da has also cooled down, and he is indifferent to the second brother's family, but he will not embarrass the younger generation.

It's just that the name still needs to be called.

Zhou Zhou of his family is older than brother Xing, so the reasoning is that he should be called brother.

Brother Xing came, even though he was a nephew, Li Da still went out for a walk.Brother Xing saw that uncle had gone out, heaved a sigh of relief, hurried to the main room, and shouted: "Zhou Zhou, Zhou Zhou, I'm here to talk to you, don't mention it, I'm suffocated these days gone."

Li Zhouzhou heard the commotion at the gate of the courtyard in the morning, saw Brother Xing coming, and was a little worried for a while, thinking that he and Brother Xing would go to the kitchen to chat, otherwise the voice of talking would disturb the husband-in-law.

"It's okay, you talk about yours. I moved the table in to read books, and sat on the kang when it was cold." Gu Zhao saw it and said proactively. He has been married for so long, and he has only seen this cousin come to the house to look for Zhou. Zhou said to talk.

Friends are still needed.

Li Zhouzhou moved the table back to the back room with his grandpa, thinking that it would be good if the other stove came back in two days, it would be inconvenient not to have to move it around.

The two of them had just moved the table, Li Zhouzhou locked the door behind him, and Brother Xing went to the main room.

"Hey, what's in your room?"