Chapter 296: Buying an ox is also an investment

Wu Niangzi's two daughters, Xiu Lan and Xiu He.

The elder sister is six, the younger four; both are lively, love to talk and laugh, showing their mother has raised them well.

Gu Xixi bent over to catch the two lively little birds, laughing, "Run slowly, watch out for falling!"

The two little girls hugged Gu Xixi on left and right, chattering nonstop.

"Aunt Gu Xixi had Lan'er write the characters, and Lan'er has finished them!"

"Aunt Gu Xixi, quick look at He'er's new hairpin! Mother made a few for Aunt Gu Xixi too!"

"Aunt Gu Xixi, our ox has come back, what a big one!"

"Aunt Gu Xixi, can the ox understand what we say?"

……

Gu Xixi laughed, answering here and there, overwhelmed, truly a sweet burden.

Until Wu Niangzi came to the rescue, saying, "All right, all right, you two little sprites, make some room; the landlord hasn't even seen the plow ox yet, he's only been looking at you two."

Gu Xixi laughed, "It's fine; seeing them carefree makes my heart happy too."

She took out two paper packets from her bag and handed them to the two young ladies.

Just bought in town, there are malt sugar, crisp sugar, and fruit rock sugar, one portion each, evenly distributed.

"You two go eat the candy first; after I make a round, I'll come see how your studies are going."

The two little ones thanked her, took the candy, and ran off cheering and jumping.

"Ah!" Wu Niangzi reached out but failed to stop her daughter, feeling at a loss. "These two children! Really, I've let them get away with no manners."

She turned to Gu Xixi and said, "They have enough to eat and wear on the farm, and the landlord personally teaches them to read; this is already a good life we never dared imagine."

"Landlord, please don't spend anymore on snacks for them."

Gu Xixi walked on, smiling, "It's fine; since Lan'er and He'er call me aunt, I'm just picking up some snacks on the way, it's nothing much, so don't stand on ceremony with me."

Wu Niangzi lowered her head, moved, silently vowing to give her all in work so as not to disappoint such a good landlord.

When Gu Xixi first hired Wu Niangzi, it was mainly to tend the greenhouse, daily watering the crops inside and regularly replacing the heating charcoal brazier.

From early winter, fruits were harvested continuously; by the day before yesterday the last batch was gathered, and Chen Dafu and his wife also came to the farm to prepare for spring planting.

By rights, Madam Wu's work should be done, and the farm is not short of hands now.

But Gu Xixi still allows them mother and daughter to live here, with no intention of driving them away.

Thus Wu Niangzi plucked up courage and proactively told Gu Xixi she had the strength to do farm work; she also wanted to contract a plot of land to farm, like Chen Dafu.

At that time, Wu Niangzi said she wanted to claim three mu of land, and Gu Xixi was still quite surprised.

Because the hired workers in Huachi Du Cun each get only three to four mu, which is work for able-bodied men.

But Wu Niangzi laughed, "It's just heavy labor; landlord, rest assured, although I'm a woman, my strength is no less than a man's!"

Wu Niangzi's confident smile infected Gu Xixi, also adding a measure of admiration for this woman.

Abandoned by her in-laws, she single-handedly raised two young girls, yet managed to be self-reliant, surviving on her own strength.

Such a woman, Gu Xixi also wanted to do something for her.

Thus she thought of the win-win method of buying a plow ox.

Upon hearing this, Wu Niangzi was very happy and increased the land she claimed from three mu to four mu.

For her, it was the first time not relying on a man, having a foundation of her own; she only wanted to do a bit more and earn a bit more.

For herself, and also for the future of her two daughters.

Chen Dafu saw Gu Xixi come over, laughed, and pried open the ox's mouth to show her, saying, "Landlord, look at these teeth—prime adulthood; if well fed and used normally, it can last at least ten years!"

Although Gu Xixi didn't know much about animal husbandry, she still went up close to have a look.

"Really? In that case, buying it for four strings of cash is quite a bargain."

"What? Four strings of cash?" Chen Dafu exclaimed.

Tao Shi and Wu Niangzi also stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

In the Great Undertaking Dynasty, one string equals a thousand copper coins.

The plow ox is the most valuable tool in ancient agrarian society; the imperial court forbids slaughtering them without cause, and buying and selling plow oxen can be done by registering a contract at the government office, with installment payments.

At the start, Mu Nan Zhao killed a mad ox in the village to protect Gu Xixi, and afterward had to report to the county office.

Nowadays, plow oxen in the northwest cost between six and seven strings of cash.

So Gu Xixi spending four thousand cash is not a small sum, yet it's surprising how low the price is.

Gu Xixi then explained, "It's just my luck this time; a Miss Zhao helped introduce the seller."

"This ox was originally a calf born on the seller's own hometown two years ago."

"It came by water from the south together with a batch of mules and horses to the northwest; it's the only one, and they didn't expect to make a big profit from it."

"It happened that I offered a suitable price, could pay in full without installments, and they sold it to me."

Wu Niangzi sighed in admiration, "If not to say the landlord is formidable, this luck, this vision and courage."

"Whether buying this ox is worthwhile or not, even if I had no use for it and immediately resold it, the profit from buying and selling would still be significant."

Tao Shi asked with a smile, "The Miss Zhao the landlord mentioned—couldn't that be the matchmaker Zhao?"

"Exactly her." Gu Xixi turned to look, "Auntie, do you know her too?"

Tao Shi and Chen Dafu exchanged smiles and said, "Not only do we know her; she's the one who arranged my eldest daughter's marriage."

Gu Xixi laughed with interest, "Oh? That really is a coincidence."

Tao Shi said, "She's been acting as a matchmaker since her youth."

"Over these many years, the marriages she's arranged have mostly had good reputations, so she's formed many close connections."

"Around here, if you speak of which Zhao woman has good relations and a wide network, it's only her."

Chen Dafu cherished this plow ox greatly, one moment talking to it, the next leading it to its newly built pen.

Mrs. Tao gazed at her husband's back, smiling and sighing, "He, when he was young, already loved these big livestock; it's a pity he couldn't afford to buy any."

"The master bought him a cow to look after, and that fulfilled his wish."

Gu Xixi chuckled lightly, "You can tell Uncle Chen is very happy."

With spring planting approaching, Wu Niangzi and Mrs. Tao still had to go screen the wheat seeds, so Gu Xixi walked alone to the little house.

In her free time, she would teach Xiu Lan and Xiu He to recognize characters.

She had considered sending the two girls to Huachi Du Cun village to study at the village school, but there was nowhere to lodge, and commuting such a distance was clearly impossible.

Wu Niangzi never even thought of letting her daughters study.

But this isn't her fault; firstly, village girls seldom know how to read, and attending school is nothing but a daydream.

Secondly, she is already worn out just trying to survive, and really has no energy to think about anything else.

So Gu Xixi never mentioned schooling to Wu Niangzi; she simply did what she could, squeezing in time to teach the children to recognize and write characters.