Chapter 250

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Protagonist:

Chai Mi

Su Wan didn't know what to say for a moment. After thinking for a while, she sighed: "They brought it on themselves. Paying back debts is only right and proper, there's nothing to say. But this matter has nothing to do with your father, so when he comes back he'll just lie there..."

"Then ask him." Chai Mi thought for a moment, then still said patiently: "This matter is actually very simple. Mom, our family has no money, but our family also has no famine. We're all ordinary commoners. If you want to claim famine, you need a reasonable justification, right?! For no reason at all, you can't just drag a whole famine upon us just to eat one meal of dumplings."

Chai Mi pointed at the house: "In our Sanjiacun, the only place most likely to claim famine is building a house. Because marrying a wife actually doesn't cost that much money."

Chai Mi's words weren't wrong.

In this era, marrying a wife, the bride price is actually very low.

When Su Wan married, the bride price was only two or three hundred yuan. By now, the 1990s, the bride price is still only eight hundred yuan.

You have to know, Che Lianyun's monthly salary is eight hundred yuan, and she's merely a teacher. If one encounters someone who can earn money, earning even more, maybe just half a month's salary can marry a wife.

Completely unlike later generations where bride prices are so expensive.

Of course, expensive has its reasons. In later generations, more men than women...

In this era, the place that costs the most money is building a new house. The sense of accomplishment from building a new house is many levels higher than marrying a wife.

Due to the ancient saying "establish a home and build a career." This establishing a home has become everyone's lifelong struggle.

Especially in the countryside, whether or not one has a house has become an important standard for people to judge whose life is good or bad.

Families with new houses are actually few and far between.

Chai Mi's family's house is very dilapidated.

In the village, not even one-tenth, or even less than one-tenth of families, have built new houses.

Among them, Chai You De's new house is the best.

"Mom, their new house has a span of six point five meters. Ours? The span is only four meters. His house is practically equivalent to two of ours. Furthermore, we have three rooms, Chai You De's house has five rooms. Not to mention more, it's been six or seven, eight or nine years since he finished building that new house. At the very least, back then it must have cost twenty or thirty thousand. Where did those twenty or thirty thousand come from?"

Chai Mi's words could be said to be a thunderclap that woke the dreamer.

Su Wan immediately understood: the famine Chai Zhongxiao owed should have been used for Chai You De to build his house.

Although Che Lianyun earned a bit more, this is only a matter of the last few years. Before, it wasn't much either. So most of the money for building their house was borrowed by Chai Zhongxiao. Only they didn't expect it was a bank loan.

"No, didn't he borrow seven or eight thousand from our family? If the house cost twenty thousand to build, how do they owe over ten thousand in loans?" Su Wan didn't understand: "Not a single cent in hand? They just forced the build?"

Chai Mi laughed: "How would I know? And, the foundation Chai Zhongxiao built his house on, it's all stone. More than half of those stones were cleared by you and my dad, the two of you. Those wooden purlins, most were stolen by my dad. Actually, I even feel that after they finished building the house, they'd easily have money left over. The bricks seem to have been paid for by my great-aunt. As for whether they repaid later, I don't know. Anyway, back then it seems Chai Chunwei bought them. Building that house, ten thousand plus yuan at most. Chai You De might even have several thousand left over. He's the textbook definition of getting something for nothing."

Chai Mi knows this matter inside and out.

Normally speaking, according to common sense, Chai You De at that time belonged to the village's best-built house, and the cost was quite high. So after finishing the house, their days should have been tight.

However, after actually finishing the house, Chai You De began a life of drinking small white liquor three meals a day.

Chai You De drinking more and more started from that time. He opens his mouth and closes his mouth saying "my this house, Sanjiacun's number one."

In the jianghu they also say Chai You De is the village's famous "Old Thirty Thousand." Without thirty thousand plus in savings, who could finish building a house and still live his kind of life?

"However, this matter has nothing to do with our family. My grandparents definitely didn't secretly give our family money. The money wasn't spent by us. Chai Zhongxiao and Wang Huirong can make whatever trouble they want, it all has nothing to do with our family." Chai Mi paused: "Even if they've courted death again, I'll at most just go watch the excitement one more time."

Su Wan didn't speak of this matter anymore. She just felt a bit unbalanced in her heart, and also felt a bit of hindsight — schadenfreude.

"What to eat at noon?"

"Dumplings?"

"Okay." Su Wan said: "Have Xiu'er call your eldest aunt over..."

Chai Mi raised her head and glanced at Su Wan, then understood her mother's meaning: wanting to celebrate the joy of Chai Zhongxiao and his wife's impending inability to make ends meet.

For Su Wan, who has always been at the center of suffering, whatever retribution others receive, she doesn't care much. But Chai Zhongxiao receiving retribution, she's still very happy about.

Chai Mi walked to the window sill and knocked on the window: "Hey hey hey... classmate Chai Xiu, don't lie prone reading. Reading too long like that easily causes nearsightedness."

Chai Xiu was lying prone on the kang head doing homework...

Mhm, summer homework Chai Mi personally assigned her.

Although Chai Xiu hasn't attended school yet, in Chai Mi's view, Chai Xiu is smart enough. She thought that this autumn when school starts, she'll send her straight to third grade.

However, Chai Xiu has never attended first or second grade after all. Going straight to third grade is somewhat non-compliant with regulations.

However, if Chai Xiu can perform up to a third-grade student's standard, that's another matter entirely.

So the first few days when Chai Mi went to the market, she specially "warmly" prepared pencils, erasers, and some summer homework for Chai Xiu, letting her do homework.

But the hardest part isn't those 1+2 equals what problems, it's that Chai Xiu doesn't know how to use a pen...

Chai Mi taught for a few days. Only now can Chai Xiu write something crooked and slanted.

Although it's not good-looking, you can tell what she wrote. It counts as a bit of progress.

Still about a month until school starts. There's time.

Chai Xiu rubbed her eyes, raised her head blankly: "Ah..."

Wasn't it Sister Chai Mi forcing me to read?

Now coming to feign concern... Chai Xiu pouted, put the textbooks and such aside, then got off the kang, and came out to ask Chai Mi: "What's up, Sister? Making me go do what work again?"

Chai Xiu is like the family's little employee. Wherever there's work, she moves there. Fortunately, Chai Xiu never talks back. Whatever she's told to do, she goes and does it. Obedient and adorable.

"Go call Eldest Aunt to come home and eat a meal of dumplings."

"What about Eldest Uncle and Cousin and Sister-in-law?"

"Just casually invite them. Eldest Aunt coming is enough." Chai Mi instructed.

Chai Xiu understood perfectly. Mainly just calling Eldest Aunt Su Jin over to eat. As for those remaining few, it's just a casual invite. The "come if you want" type.

After all, it's not some big banquet. Inviting one person is enough.

After Chai Xiu left, Chai Mi counted on her fingers, estimated that without an hour or two, Chai Xiu definitely couldn't return, so she wasn't in a rush to cook.

Moreover, breakfast had only just been finished not long ago, and there was still some time before lunch.

A couple of days ago they dug up the potatoes planted in the vegetable garden, harvesting nearly three small bags of potatoes. That plot of land had been left empty ever since.

There were four vegetable ridges in total. (Vegetable ridges were explained earlier, so no further explanation. Since this involves normal dialogue in the text, it cannot be changed to something else.)

Chai Mi then planned to plant some autumn Chinese cabbage. (Autumn Chinese cabbage is the same thing as the small Chinese cabbage planted in summer, but when planted in summer the density is too high and the cabbage doesn't grow large.)

But now the vegetable ridges hadn't even been formed yet. So Chai Mi first used the Lou Pa to turn this small plot into ridges about seven or eight meters long and one and a half meters wide, then asked Su Wan: "Mom, do we still have cabbage seeds?"

"Planting cabbage, isn't it too early?"

"What time is it now, it's not early anymore."

"I think it's a bit early." Su Wan said as she came over, took a look, then pursed her lips: "Your vegetable ridges are not formed well, all crooked and twisted. Let me do it……"

Su Wan then handed the child in her arms to Chai Mi, and herself took the Lou Pa and formed another round.

In the past, Su Wan was the one who planted vegetables, so she did this with ease.

Chai Mi really couldn't do this well; in her previous life, for various reasons, she often worked away from home in the later period, and as for this kind of vegetable planting work, she actually hadn't done it much anymore, so although she knew how, she really couldn't do it well.

After forming the vegetable ridges, Su Wan was sweating all over from exhaustion. She held her waist and said: "No good, ever since giving birth to the third child, this body hasn't been as nimble as before. Doing this little bit of work, I'm sweating from exhaustion."

"Then let me do it, don't keep disliking this and disliking that. Either this person can't do it well, or that person can't do it." Chai Mi let Su Wan coax the child, and she herself got to work.

Chai Mi dug a row of small holes with the Chew Tou, then went into the house and took out the cabbage seeds she had saved before, and scattered them in.

The cabbage seeds weren't bought, but were seeds collected from the cabbage flowering and seeding after one batch after another grew up.

Many people have actually only eaten cabbage, but haven't seen cabbage flowering and fruiting. This isn't anything strange; as long as it grows long enough, it can flower and fruit.

Chai Mi planted three ridges of cabbage, and half a ridge of radishes, and half a ridge of hot vegetable.

After being busy for over an hour, her waist sore and back aching, she finally finished.

As a result, Chai Xiu still hadn't come back.

Chai Mi rolled her eyes: "Mom, your daughter Xiu'er is promising. Give her a little time, and she goes wherever she plays. Asking her to call me Eldest Aunt, it's been over a month, and she even had someone carry her over……"

Su Wan didn't care much: "Children, they all like to play."

Afterwards Su Wan instructed Chai Mi: "In a few days when the seedlings sprout, put on some urea or Er Dian. The cabbage seedlings are too small now; fertilizing now would easily kill them."

Su Wan said based on some experience.

Generally when cabbage seedlings first come out, they are especially weak, finer than grass. At this time, once there is too much chemical fertilizer, it will cause many seedlings to be killed by the ammonia gas produced by the chemical fertilizer.

And this amount is very hard to control, so she won't put chemical fertilizer now. Wait until the seedlings are a bit bigger and their resistance is stronger, then put chemical fertilizer, and it will be much better.

"En." Chai Mi agreed.

"By the way, don't let those potatoes see the light. Once they see light they turn green and can't be eaten, and they sprout." Su Wan, afraid Chai Mi wouldn't know this or that, kept instructing her.

Chai Mi couldn't show the expression of "I know everything, you don't need to say," and could only silently nod.

Su Wan instructed a few more sentences: "This big Chinese cabbage is the only vegetable we eat in winter. You must plant it well, otherwise there will be no vegetables to eat in winter."

Chai Mi didn't refute. Actually, starting from this era, the Southern Region had long been transporting some vegetables to the Northern Region, but they were very expensive.

In winter, the vegetables sold were generally very expensive, often one or two dollars a catty. Hearing Su Wan say this, Chai Mi suddenly remembered that her family later started developing vegetable greenhouse farming.

In her previous life, her family had also planted them, but due to not knowing how to manage, the results were poor, and many seedlings froze to death.

"En. I know."

Just as they were speaking, Chai Xiu led Eldest Aunt Su Jin from outside the door.

Su Jin was holding a big bunch of bananas in her hand, and several kiwis, all things from the Southern Region. It seemed Liu San had started setting up stalls again recently.

"Eldest Sister, since you're here, why bring anything?" Su Wan took them.

"Leftovers from the market. These things can't be kept for long; if not eaten in a few days they'll spoil." Su Jin said, while actually still carrying a bucket of bulk sunflower seed oil in her hand. "This is oil pressed from the remaining melon seeds they had a couple of days ago. There are forty or fifty catties. I brought some over for you."

Su Wan didn't say much, just picked it up and went into the house.

"Why didn't Third and his wife come?"

Su Wan led Su Jin to the Kang Tou and asked.

Su Jin pursed her lips: "Does nothing all day but eat, eat, eat. Were all the good things eaten by those two? They're staying at home. Xiu'er said to have them come, but I didn't let them. Those two rice buckets, if they help you for a day they get sick from the work. I haven't even been embarrassed to say anything about them. It's like they're unwilling to work for their third aunt…… But, things aren't like that."

Su Jin had been brooding a bit about Chai Mi asking Liu San for help digging a well a couple of days ago, and the result was that this couple got sick after working one day, and the next day Chai Mi had no choice but to hire someone.

"Can't do that little bit of work, and still expect them to be fed. Might as well feed dogs." Su Jin muttered: "Look at Zhang Hailan, fat as a ball. That fellow, eats everything but never enough, does everything but can't do anything. Ate so much sorghum rice for nothing, did that little work, and still wants wages. Comes back with red arms and red face. I said it's nothing, she even went to the hospital to check, still nothing. Wasted several hundred dollars. Having a daughter-in-law like that on my stall is enough already."

Su Wan said with an embarrassed face: "Look at you, at this age, why get angry over that? Who doesn't get tired from working? As for me myself……"

Su Wan pointed at herself: "I was working not long ago and was also hospitalized, spending several thousand. Can people's constitutions be the same? Being fat doesn't necessarily mean good health."

Su Wan actually thought Zhang Hailan was a good person and worked honestly. It was just that those two days were too sunny, and her skin couldn't take it.

"You did how much work, she did how much work……" Su Jin still wouldn't let up.

"Third Aunt, look at you. You only know how to complain about your daughter-in-law. Didn't my eldest brother get sunburned too? That day his arms were sunburned and peeling……"

"Him? He's an even bigger rice bucket."