Chapter 57: Encountering Trouble Digging the Trench

Seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao sighing like a little adult, Jiang Wei couldn't help but laugh: "Why are you sighing at such a young age? You don't need to worry about money. The house won't be built until autumn. By then, the money will definitely be prepared."

Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't think so. When autumn comes, the weather will cool down, and not many people will buy ice cream and snow cakes. At most, they can only be sold for another month or so.

Delivering to Yuelai Restaurant every day can earn more than one tael of silver, plus the snow cakes they usually sell at the street corner, in a day, at most they can earn two taels of silver.

In more than a month, earning seventy taels of silver is the limit.

Moreover, after building the house, they still need to buy various wooden furniture and prepare grain and charcoal for the winter. Adding this money is still far from enough.

"Or... Mother, should we sell that ginseng?" Jiang Xiaoxiao wrinkled her small face and looked toward Yuelai Restaurant.

Someone is hosting a banquet in the restaurant; maybe it's a rich master.

Selling this ginseng would solve all these problems.

"No." Jiang Wei refused without thinking, "That's your thing, it can't be sold casually."

Jiang Xiaoxiao pouted: "But I have no use for that ginseng."

"Who says it's useless? This kind of aged thing can save lives at critical moments. Once sold, it's gone." Jiang Wei said.

In her philosophy, money is an external object. Even if one is rich, some things cannot be bought.

Especially precious tonics like ginseng are very rare and are precious things that money cannot buy!

"Don't worry, we'll talk about it when the money is not enough." After Jiang Wei finished speaking, she took her to the pork stall and bought two jin of pork and three jin of pork bones in one breath.

Although there was river deer meat at home, this thing is very nourishing for the body. Usually, eating it once is enough; it cannot be eaten often. After all, the weak cannot be nourished.

Pork doesn't need to be avoided. Children are growing their bodies. Buying more pork bones back to boil soup is the best.

"Two jin of pork for seventy wen, three jin of pork bones for thirty wen."

What?

Jiang Xiaoxiao was stunned by this price. When did the price of pork become so high?!

Wasn't it only twenty-five wen per jin before? Now it has actually risen to thirty-five wen per jin!

Jiang Wei didn't care, paid one hundred wen readily, and then left with the stunned Jiang Xiaoxiao.

Jiang Xiaoxiao's heart was dripping blood.

But thinking back to when she went to the grain shop before, even grain had risen in price, so it was reasonable for pork to rise in price.

The drought came fiercely and cruelly. The harvest in the villages around Yong'an Town this year was a problem. Everyone was in danger, fearing that there would be no grain to eat in the winter, and began to hoard grain frantically, which caused the price of grain to rise again and again...

Returning home, Jiang Wei started to wash the pot and set about making ice cream and snow cakes.

This time, Jiang Xiaoxiao was exceptionally motivated. With her small arms and legs, she hugged a pile of dry firewood to the kitchen, helped watch the fire, put water, beat eggs, and then took the egg beater from Jiang Wei and frantically started beating the cream...

She had to make more so that she could earn more money!

Jiang Wei couldn't help but laugh watching from the side. It's good for the little girl to have drive, as long as she doesn't get tired.

However, just as the mother and daughter finished the first pot of ice cream, a shout suddenly came from outside the courtyard.

"Xiaoxiao's mother, are you home?"

Jiang Wei took the whole pot of ice cream into the space, came out to see, and it was Zhao Tiezhu, the eldest son of Qiulian Niang, so she said: "What's the matter?"

Zhao Tiezhu was fourteen years old this year and went up the mountain to help dig the trench today. He should have just run down from the mountain, covered in sweat, and his speech was still a bit panting: "So-something happened, Uncle Li Zheng asked you to go up the mountain."

"Happened?" Jiang Wei frowned, "What happened?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao, who was beating cream in the kitchen, heard this, immediately put down what was in her hand, and ran out to see.

Today was the first day of digging the trench; how could something happen?

Jiang Wei didn't dare to delay, tidied up casually, and followed Zhao Tiezhu up the mountain.

Seeing this, Jiang Xiaoxiao hurriedly followed behind with her short legs.

Zhao Tiezhu looked back at her and just wanted to say "Little Sister Xiaoxiao, go home and wait", but the next second he saw Jiang Wei reach out and scoop her up, striding up the mountain.

The five-year-old little girl hugged her mother's neck, quiet and well-behaved. Zhao Tiezhu opened his mouth and didn't say anything in the end.

Jiang Wei walked very fast. Zhao Tiezhu, who grew up helping his family with farm work and often searched for wild vegetables and caught crickets all over the mountains, couldn't keep up with Jiang Wei's pace at this moment.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed in a direction ahead, "Everyone is there."

Jiang Wei and Jiang Xiaoxiao looked together and saw that a long, large trench, about three feet deep, had been dug on the upper half of the mountain near the water source.

But for some reason, everyone stopped there, looking wilted, and tools like hoes and shovels were thrown aside.

As soon as the Li Zheng looked up and saw Jiang Wei, as if seeing a savior, he hurriedly ran over and said: "Xiaoxiao's mother, you finally came. Hurry and see, what should we do? We followed the map you gave to dig the trench, but there is a large stone buried underground here..."

Getting closer, Jiang Wei saw the giant stone buried in the deep pit. This trench was three feet deep, not shallow, but it was completely blocked by the giant stone.

"What should we do?" The Li Zheng was so anxious he scratched his head, "This stone is too big, we tried many ways but couldn't chisel it open. If we take a detour, there are trees and gravel slopes on the side..."

Jiang Xiaoxiao was put down and also walked up to take a few looks.

A very large stone, completely immovable by manpower!

No wonder everyone was at their wit's end. Such a large stone would need to be chiseled into small pieces with the help of mechanical equipment in modern times, and then dug away with an excavator.

"Hmph, I said digging the trench was unreliable!"

The person who didn't approve of this from the beginning became increasingly impatient, threw the hoe in his hand on the ground, and complained dissatisfiedly, "Wasted a whole day for nothing, and spent a lot of effort, and finally dug out a stone. Are you happy now! A woman with long hair and short knowledge, doesn't understand anything, and insists on coming to command blindly!"

Following this person's words, gradually a few people looked at Jiang Wei with eyes full of blame.

Facing those blaming eyes, Jiang Wei rarely didn't speak.

Jiang Xiaoxiao glared angrily at the person who spoke.

Digging a trench by manpower in ancient times was indeed not easy and would encounter many troubles, but the route her mother gave was completely fine. This time, encountering a large stone blocking the way was purely bad luck, and this group of people couldn't completely blame her mother...

"Enough, Li Dayong, say less. Xiaoxiao's mother did this for the sake of our village." Zhao Youcai on the side spoke up.

"Exactly, Li Dayong, don't blame blindly! Her family has a well and doesn't lack water at all. Xiaoxiao's mother helped us find a water source and helped us draw a route to dig a trench. She has already done enough. It can't be blamed on her that a stone blocked the way!" Others also stood up to fight for Jiang Wei.

"I have a way to move the stone." At this time, Jiang Wei said lightly.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 58 =====