Joe's Farming

Qiao Yu nodded: "Yes, I want 500 first."

Qiao Yu thought of making half of it to test the waters first. In case the people here don’t like the taste of century eggs, he would just eat it himself or give it away.

Gu Xiuxiu originally thought that 500 was a lot when she heard that they wanted it. But the sister-in-law also said that she wanted 500 first. Did she mean that she would collect more later?

"Sister-in-law, I don't have so many at home." Gu Xiuxiu said honestly.

Qiao Yu smiled and said, "I know, you can ask other people in the village to send the duck eggs to you, and then send them to me together.

Of course, I won't let you work for nothing. I'll give you 10% more than the price you usually sell the duck eggs for, and the extra 10% will be yours.

I'll charge 20 wen for each delivery, Xiuxiu, is that okay with you? By the way, please buy me 20 salted duck eggs."

Gu Xiuxiu, Wang Xiuzhi and Li Shuigen who were present did not expect Qiao Yu to be so straightforward. He did not ask about the price and went straight to discussing the remuneration.

"I have salted duck eggs at home. I'll get them for you. Fresh duck eggs are not as delicious as chicken eggs, but they are a little cheaper than chicken eggs. Usually, you can buy ten for eight cents in town." Gu Xiuxiu told the price.

Qiao Yu nodded. Chicken eggs are usually sold for one penny each, so the price of duck eggs is very reasonable.

That is to say, there was more land in ancient times. In modern times, raising ducks in captivity requires water and land, which is more troublesome than raising chickens. The growth cycle of ducks is not as fast as that of chickens, which led to the price of duck eggs being more expensive than chicken eggs.

Of course, the most important point is that duck eggs are colder than chicken eggs, and are not as good for people with weak constitutions as eggs.

"Okay, then please help me collect 500 of them now, and we will take them directly when we return."

Wang Xiuzhi nodded to Gu Xiuxiu: "Go quickly, and call Tiedan to come along."

Gu Xiuxiu then handed her son to Wang Xiuzhi and prepared to go out to help collect the duck eggs.

"Wait a minute!" Qiao Yu called out to the person.

"I almost forgot. This is five cents of silver. Thank you for your hard work." Qiao Yu was so happy when he spoke that he forgot about the money. It would be bad if the money was not enough when people went to collect it.

Gu Xiuxiu smiled and took the money. In fact, she had originally planned to owe the money to the villagers first and then pay after Qiao Yu paid her the bill.

"It's not hard. Big brother and second brother, you guys play for a while. I'll be back as soon as possible." Gu Xiuxiu said to Gu Gang and Gu Feng again.

Gu Gang and Gu Feng nodded.

"Don't worry, we came here just to see you today."

Gu Xiuxiu went out with peace of mind after hearing this. She hadn't seen her two brothers for a long time and wanted to talk to them more.

All the sisters-in-law looked nice, and she was thinking of calling Tiedan over to have dinner together.

Gu Gang saw Xiuxiu leave, and asked about Gu Zaozao coming.

"Second Aunt, what about Zao Zao? Which village did she marry into?"

Wang Xiuzhi sighed whenever she thought of her second daughter: "Oh, she got married so early in the town."

Gu Gang heard this and said, "Marrying to a town is a good thing. Why is Second Aunt sighing?"

Li Shuigen didn't say anything, but frowned, seeming to be very worried about his stepdaughter.

Wang Xiuzhi said somewhat embarrassedly: "It's a good thing for her. Auntie won't hide it from you, she married a town master as a concubine a long time ago."

Gu Gang and Gu Feng were both stunned when they heard this. This cousin had her own ideas since she was a child and was very smart.

I didn't expect that I would become someone else's concubine.

A concubine has a low status and can be sold at will by the mistress of the house. No matter how poor the second aunt is, she will definitely not let her daughter become a concubine, so she must have wanted to go on her own initiative.

Speaking of Gu Zaozao, when she was a child, Grandma Gu disliked her because she was a girl and insisted on naming her Gu Zhaodi.

Still Gu Erlang disagreed. He thought his son would come sooner or later anyway, so he gave him the name Zao Zao and told Grandma Gu that he hoped his son would come earlier. Only then did Grandma Gu give up.

Qiao Yu had never thought that a little girl from the countryside would volunteer to be a concubine, so she asked curiously, "Which town is it? I have a good friend who knows a lot of rich people in the town, maybe I can take care of her."

Wang Xiuzhi's eyes brightened when she heard this: "She married early to the Wen family in Taoyuan Town, the second young master of the Wen family. She came back twice in the past two years, but she hasn't come back this year. She sends me money every once in a while, but it's all earned through her hard work. How could I bear to spend it? I saved it all for her."

When everyone heard this, they remained silent.

Qiao Yu was also difficult to comment, but he didn't know whether Xu Yuan was familiar with Taoyuan Town, so he comforted her: "I'll go back and ask. Second Aunt, don't worry, being a concubine is not all suffering. Maybe it's just that there are many rules in a wealthy family and I can't go back to my parents' home to see you for the time being."

Qiao Yu's words were pleasing to the ear, and Wang Xiuzhi felt better after hearing them. She had been worried that her niece-in-law would despise her family for having such a daughter.

Gu Feng also said: "Zao Zao has been smart since she was young. Grandma never got any benefit from her before. Second Aunt, you don't have to worry."

Wang Xiuzhi nodded, stood up and said, "After talking for so long, I should go and cook for you. Xiaobao, go play with grandpa."

"Okay!" Zhang Xiaobao rushed to Li Shuigen, who caught him and held him on his lap, "Little Bao, be good and sit still."

Zhang Xiaobao nodded vigorously, his eyes always looking at Qiao Yu's face.

When Qiao Yu discovered her, she turned around and buried herself in her grandfather's arms.

"Xiaobao likes you." Li Shuigen explained.

Qiao Yu was amused by the child's shy and cute look, and said to Gu Feng: "Look, all the children like me."

Gu Feng raised the corner of his mouth: "The adults like you too."

-

"Tiedan! Zhang Tiedan!" Gu Xiuxiu took the money and ran home. As soon as she entered the house, she shouted her husband loudly.

Zhang Tiedan was feeding the ducks. In winter, the ducks could only find very little food in the fields, so they needed to be fed by their owner.

The earthworms used to feed the ducks are specially raised by Zhang Tiedan. He adds some leftover vegetable leaves and grain bran to them, and the ducks eat them with relish.

When Zhang Tiedan heard Gu Xiuxiu calling him, he hurried out from the small door in the backyard.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? You're in such a hurry."

Gu Xiuxiu didn't care that Zhang Tiedan's hands were dirty, and walked over to him and held him tightly: "Come with me to collect duck eggs! I want 500!"

"We still have dozens left. We need to collect another 400 or so. Let's go catch a duck and bring it to our mother. We have guests at home and they need a good meal.

Is one duck enough? Bring the old hen over too!"

Zhang Tiedan didn't even ask his wife what kind of guests had come to her house and why they had to be entertained so grandly.

Without saying a word, he went to the backyard to catch chickens and ducks, and went out with his wife.

Wang Xiuzhi was just wondering what to cook for lunch when she saw Zhang Tiedan coming over with chickens and ducks.

"Mom, Xiuxiu said there are guests at home, so she asked me to send it over first."

Zhang Tiedan also saw a carriage before entering the door, but without asking any questions, he went straight across the yard and into the kitchen.

Wang Xiuzhi was just thinking that if all else failed, she could just cook the duck and bacon her nephew brought, but she didn't expect her son-in-law to come.

"You are really filial. Consider these two as bought by me. Wait, I will pay you right away."

Zhang Tiedan and Gu Xiuxiu had sent gifts to the family many times, but the one who came today was their nephew, and there was no reason to let their son-in-law suffer this loss. In the countryside, every family would only give two chickens and ducks to entertain guests.

"No, no, no. Xiuxiu will scold me if she finds out." Zhang Tiedan waved his hands quickly and rushed out of the yard before he finished speaking, fearing that his mother-in-law would force him to collect the money.

Wang Xiuzhi looked at the two chickens and ducks, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. This son-in-law was good in every way except that he was notoriously afraid of his wife. He was not afraid of being laughed at by the villagers.

However, this is Xiuxiu's blessing. Wang Xiuzhi is satisfied with this son-in-law from the bottom of her heart.

People in the main room were chatting when they saw a man rushing into the kitchen carrying chickens and ducks, and then rushing out in a hurry.

Gu Gang asked Li Shuigen: "Who is this?"

Before Li Shuigen could answer, Zhang Xiaobao shouted, "Daddy! It's Daddy! Grandpa, why did Daddy run away? He ignored Xiaobao."

Li Shuigen was also at a loss, and could only say, "Maybe your father wants to go find your mother."

Zhang Xiaobao said, "Oh," and said, "Then he should run faster, or else mother will be angry with him."

Qiao Yu couldn't help but smile. She didn't expect that she could still meet a "henpecked man" in this era.

But it is truly unique.

But then he looked at Gu Feng, his husband, and he seemed to be laughing too...

-

Gu Xiuxiu worked quickly, and before the meal was ready, she had received more than 400 duck eggs, including her own eggs, which were exactly 500, plus 20 salted duck eggs from her own family.

Gu Xiuxiu gave the remaining fifty cents to Qiao Yu, but Qiao Yu confiscated them.

"You have to pay for these salted duck eggs, or I won't buy them anymore."

Gu Xiuxiu returned the ten cents. Since a large amount of salt is used to make salted duck eggs, they are usually sold for two cents each.

Only then did Qiao Yu accept the ten cents.

Gu Xiuxiu pointed to the two large baskets of duck eggs on the ground and said, "They are all here. Five hundred. Sister-in-law, do you want to count them?"

Qiao Yu pretended to be unhappy and looked at her: "We are one family, why are you talking to each other? You can't lie to me."

Gu Xiuxiu felt a little embarrassed. She just asked casually because she was afraid that Qiao Yu would be suspicious.

Zhang Tiedan was looking at Qiao Yu and Gu Feng from the side. His wife's scarf was so beautiful. He would buy one for his wife when he made some money tomorrow.

On the way to collect eggs, he had heard his wife say that the people who came today were her cousins, Gu Gang and Gu Feng. He had heard his wife talk about this before, so he admired these two relatives of his wife very much.

Gu Xiuxiu introduced her husband generously.

Qiao Yu was startled when he heard the name. It turned out that there was really someone named Tiedan. Then he thought that it was a good thing that his parents-in-law didn't give Gu Feng a cheap name, otherwise he would be called Gu Gousheng, Gu Ergouzi, Gu Tiezhu...

It’s hard to put yourself in the shoes of someone who is just imagining it.

I heard that in some areas, rural people give boys cheap names like "shit tank". Although they hope that cheap names will make them easier to raise, it's too...

Goudan and Tiedan are quite acceptable.

When Zhang Xiaobao saw his father, he happily took out his treasured nougat from his arms.

"Daddy, have some candy."

Zhang Tiedan happily picked up his son and kissed him: "Little treasure, eat it. Daddy doesn't like candy."

Zhang Xiaobao ignored him and peeled the candy to stuff it into his father's mouth. Zhang Tiedan had no choice but to take a small bite. Then he was overwhelmed by the fragrance of the nougat and was even more reluctant to eat it.

"My dear little darling, Daddy has already eaten, you can eat the rest yourself."

Only then did Zhang Xiaobao happily eat it slowly.

-

Cooking in the countryside is simple, and chickens and ducks are not fried with a lot of oil like Qiao Yu does.

Wang Xiuzhi cooked the chicken with dried mushrooms and beans, and stewed the duck with radishes. Both dishes were simple but very delicious.

Now that Qiao Yu had no appetite, he could eat a lot better and ate two full bowls of mixed grain rice.

Wang Xiuzhi was delighted to see this and kept urging Qiao Yu to continue eating.

Qiao Yu drank the last bowl of chicken soup and waved his hand: "No more, my stomach will burst if I eat any more."

Gu Feng also said: "Qiao'er is pregnant. The doctor told her not to eat too much, otherwise it will be difficult to give birth."

Qiao Yu glared at Gu Feng angrily. Why did this guy say anything? He suspected that he did it on purpose! Show off!

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiuzhi immediately put down her chopsticks, her eyes sparkling: "Really? Xiaofeng, you are so lucky, your husband is capable and good-looking, and now you are pregnant!"

Gu Feng nodded with a smile on his face.

Wang Xiuzhi and the others didn’t think much about it at first, mainly because the color of Qiao Yu’s hemorrhoids was too light, and they didn’t mention it specifically.

Now that they knew, they all started praising Qiao Yu and Gu Feng for their abilities.

Then the pressure naturally fell on Hongxiu.

Hongxiu looked at Gu Gang with some embarrassment, and Gu Gang smiled and said, "Second Aunt doesn't know yet. Hongxiu and I have only been married for a short time. There is no need to rush."

Everyone then skipped this topic and turned to the duck egg business.

“It will take some time for me to make this batch of eggs, about half a month, so wait for my news during this time.

When I succeed, I will come to ask Xiuxiu to help me collect duck eggs. By then, there may be more than 500 eggs. "

Gu Xiuxiu nodded quickly: "Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'll tell everyone to save the eggs first."

After dinner, Qiao Yu, Gu Feng and the other three took the duck eggs they had received back home.

Wang Xiuzhi then remembered the red envelopes that the two Gu brothers had brought, and she had forgotten to stuff them back. How could she, an elder, accept money from her juniors?

Wang Xiuzhi opened the red envelopes, each of which contained twenty taels of silver.