stingy landlady

Chapter 102 Another Storm (6)

Pan Qiang replied:

"Master! Miss! It's not right for us two young men to keep living at Aunt's house! We have neither money nor land to build our own house, all we have is our strength!"

We're crammed onto a kang (heated brick bed) with the farmhands. Neither of us will ever get married. Just thinking about the future makes me feel hopeless!

The master and mistress are kind-hearted; buying us is giving us a way out!

After saying that, he knelt down and kowtowed. Pan Sen wasn't very good at talking, so he just followed suit and kowtowed.

Dazhu thought about it and agreed, finding it to be true.

"Alright! Alright! Let's go to the yamen and sign the contract tomorrow! You don't need to kowtow anymore! It's late tonight, you can move over first thing tomorrow morning!"

Guizhidao:

"Tomorrow morning, you two come over and hitch up the cart, load it with cucumbers, green beans, wild mountain vegetables, and some greens picked from the garden. Have Aunt Zhou kill a duck in the morning, and come with us to sell the ready-made food!"

"While you're at it, go to the yamen to sign the indentures and complete the formalities! But how much do you two want for yourselves?!"

Pan Sen and Pan Qiang exchanged a glance, and Pan Sen said:

"It is up to you, sir and young lady, to decide!"

Dazhu said:

"Let's give each person ten taels to start! We're not exactly well-off at home right now, so we'll reward them gradually later!"

The two kowtowed happily, saying, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, young lady!"

Guizhi waved her hand and said:

"We don't do that kind of kowtowing all the time in our family! It's not like it's a holiday or a festival! From now on, if there's something to discuss, just say it. You can't just kneel down like that! A man's knees are worth gold, right? Don't kneel anymore!"

After the two brothers left, Guizhi said:

"Dad! Two more problems have arisen! We also need to help find wives!"

Dazhu laughed, "I was just worried about not having anyone to do things! Now that the contract is signed, I can rest assured that the two of them will be in charge! There's no rush about having wives. They are slaves, so we'll still need to buy a few female slaves to serve them!"

Dazhu didn't see anything wrong with buying and selling people.

"Guizhi, when you have time after the wheat harvest, go and pick two more female slaves. They can do chores, such as sewing, mending, washing clothes, and cooking."

Guizhi laughed and joked:

"Dad! Let Brother Pan and Second Brother Pan go and choose one together! That will solve the problem!"

Dazhu pointed to the cassia branch with his hand and said:

"Dad's going to the old house. Things have gotten so big today, let's see what your grandparents have to say!"

Guizhi scoffed at it.

"What else can we say! We've already fought, we've already cursed! We've already taken back what we stole, what else can we do?"

"Then Dad should go see him too! How about we both go together?"

"Okay! I need to bring one, Ji Xiang! Ji Xiang!"

Jixiang ran out, "Did Miss call me?"

"Okay! Dad and I are going to the old house, you're coming with us!"

"What? You're scared now? Afraid your grandparents will beat you? You need help? But you still have your dad, don't you?"

Guizhi ran forward, laughing as she said:

"Dad, you're still nagging me! But in front of Grandpa and Grandma, don't you have to obediently accept the beatings and punishments too? Hahaha!"

Dazhu followed slowly behind, feeling helpless.

After all that commotion, Dazhu moved away. The old man didn't go to the east end of the restaurant for dinner either, just made do with whatever was available at home.

When Dazhu and Guizhi arrived, the old man was soaking his feet.

"Father! Mother! Have you eaten?"

"I just remembered to ask your dad if he's eaten! Why didn't you think of that while he was eating? You've finished eating and you're only asking now! What time is it already?!"

The old lady sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and glared at Dazhu.

"We agreed that your father would drive the carriage for you, and you would feed him!"

Dazhu hurriedly admitted his mistake:

"Dad! Mom! We've been busy all day! Dad, we've moved to the east end of the building. From now on, we can come eat anytime, whether we have to catch the train or not!"

The old man felt relieved and scolded the old woman:

"Listen to what Dazhu is saying! Don't you know what happened today? I just ate a meal at home, and it's like I bit off a piece of your flesh. It hurts me so much!"

The old lady looked at Guizhi with Jixiang, and remembering how Jixiang and the others had beaten Zhao Shi, and said to Guizhi:

"Sanya! What are you doing bringing this girl along? Are you afraid I, with my old bones, will bully you? And you even brought a bodyguard?"

Guizhi chuckled:

"Grandma! That's my little girl. I brought her to keep me company!"

"I thought you wouldn't dare bully this old woman and were going to have your maid do it!"

“Grandma! How could that be! My father is still here!” Guizhi said, glancing at Dazhu.

Dazhu said to the old man:

"Dad! We've moved to the east end of the house for now. We need to find a fortune teller tomorrow to choose an auspicious date for the housewarming party!"

The old man said:

"Okay! Sure! It's not uncommon for us to stay for a few days before the banquet! You can arrange it yourself!"

Dazhu continued:

"Dad! I think we'll finish transplanting the rice seedlings in Xiwadi by tomorrow, and I'm planning to start harvesting wheat the day after tomorrow! Dad, what are your plans? Should we send a message to Third Brother and ask him to come back and help out for a few days?"

After the wheat is harvested, we'll have to plant corn or soybeans right away! The seedlings in my eastern field are already this tall!

Dazhu gestured with his hand, saying it was about one centimeter!

"Yes! We can plant them after harvesting the wheat, and it'll be in time!"

The old man wiped his feet as he spoke!

Guizhi gestured for Jixiang to help pour out the foot-washing water. The old lady glanced at it and snorted coldly:

"Hmph! Erzhu can't work because of his leg injury! If you ask me, there's no need to call Lao San back! He'll just come back and take things from us!"

"Dazhu! With so many people helping you, it would only take two days to finish!"

The old man cursed:

"What nonsense is this old woman spouting! Weren't Dazhu and his men paid for? Their money is nothing compared to yours, you'd rather split every single copper coin in half!"

The old lady shouted:

"I'm poor! If I don't spend those few copper coins carefully, like you who spends so extravagantly, I'll be broke in a few days. The whole family will starve!"

The old man was also troubled:

"Neither of those two, Erzhu and his wife, is easy to deal with! If they hadn't broken their legs, they could have been put to good use right now! As for me and Lao Si, how long would it take to finish working here?"

I'll go find the third brother to come back and help tomorrow! Whether he does it or not, he'll still get what he's owed!

Guizhi blinked and said:

"Third Uncle doesn't know that Grandpa and Grandma planted wheat, so he definitely won't come back to get it! Grandma, my Second Aunt stole two strings of copper coins from our cupboard today. Didn't she give them to you? That's two taels of silver!"

Consider this money my father is giving you to hire people! It won't even cost you two day laborers to help harvest wheat and plant crops!

Upon hearing that the old lady had secretly saved money, the old man shouted:

"Why didn't you tell me you also took Dazhu's money! You old fool! You're blinded by money! When Li went to see the doctor, you didn't contribute anything either. Were you thinking I'd beat you to death?!"

The old lady saw that Dazhu was there and wouldn't let anyone else in.

"That was given to me by Erzhu's wife! Besides, Sanya just said it was Dazhu's filial piety money! It's for us to hire people to do the work!"

"Tomorrow you go find a few people to help with the work, no need to ask Lao San! He's not getting any of this wheat harvest! He doesn't even give me any of the money he earns, and I still have to feed his whole family!"