Goldfield
Chapter 143: Visiting

When a group of people arrived at Dongshan Village, the fiery sun gradually approached the Western Mountain, which circled the mountain peak in a glittering golden circle. Most of the villagers had just finished dinner, and many old men and women gathered under the old elm tree at the mouth of the village. Some were playing chess while others were chatting amiably.

Among them was a fat and plump woman, who was carelessly talking to others while droplets of saliva came out of her mouth. This person was Xiaocao's eldest paternal aunt, Li Guihua. He had a bundle of roasted melon seeds in his pocket, and his lips flapped rapidly as the husks from the melon seeds flew away. His mottled eyes, which resembled the eyes of a thief, swirled furiously. No one knew who he planned to slander next.

Next to her was Madam Xiong, who used her elbow to poke her. He pouted towards the village entrance and said, “Guihua, look over there! Isn't that your sister-in-law and her precious little daughter? I heard that the day before yesterday they went with Hunter Zhao and his son to the prefecture city! Ck ck, I have lived for a long time and I have never been to a prefecture city. Your sister-in-law considers that stupid Xiaocao girl a treasure, ah, and takes her everywhere! ”

“Psh, what kind of treasure are you talking about ?! In the end, isn't he just something that makes you lose money? ” Since Li Guihua made her fruitless last trip to Yu's old residence and was rewarded with nightmares for several nights, he never had the guts to go there again to cause trouble. He even spread rumors that the old residence had demons haunting him and that Yu Hai's family was so and so, however, most of the villagers knew of his personality, very few of them take it seriously.

Madam Xiong's eyes flickered, and she laughed until the fleshy parts of her body trembled. She then said, “Do you think your sister-in-law is trying to marry off one of her children to the Zhao Family because she thinks they are doing well? Ck ck, even if he wanted to, he should not take that chit Xiaocao ah. He was a sickly person and no one knew when he would get the next spell! ”

“Who knows! The second brother-in-law was an adopted brother with Hunter Zhao. Perhaps they had something to do in the prefecture city and Xiaocao begged for them to come along. Second brother-in-law would definitely not be able to resist him, especially since he liked to pamper him! Regarding the thought of marriage, whether they could get a deal was uncertain! ” Mistress Li kept breaking the melon seeds in her mouth noisily and was unaware of the fact that there were many elders around. He had no manners and was busy eating his snacks selfishly.

Madam Xiong pursed her lips and chuckled viciously, “Your sister-in-law played a good game. That Zhao family is definitely one of the richest families in our village. Last time your sister-in-law killed a bear in the mountains. I heard, ah, they sold it for three hundred taels. Your sister-in-law has a very serious injury, and she has a very good relationship with Hunter Zhao. He got most of the money! ”

When Madam Li heard that the bear was sold for that much price and that her second brother-in-law might get a piece of the cake, her expression immediately changed. He repeatedly said, “I'll say ah! The second brother-in-law separated from the family with a weak inaction and no one in his family could do a decent job. Yet they are becoming more prosperous every day! Now I know that he raised quite a lot of money behind mom and dad! It was only fitting that he could fix the house, re-magine the yard, and even buy so many fabrics to make new clothes.It's okay, I need to tell Mom! When Hunter Zhao sold the bear, we hadn't separated the family! They need to compensate a little ah! ”

Madam Li stuffed all the melon seeds she had into Madam Xiong's hands and impatiently returned home. However, he had just mentioned the money from the bear when Madam Zhang's face wrinkled and the older woman started yelling at him. Moreover, he even got a lot of work assigned to him. There was absolutely no way he could find the time to sneak out to laze for the next few days!

At this moment, at the entrance of the village, all the villagers were looking at Hunter Zhao and Yu Hai with some large-bodied men wearing silk and satin who had an army aura about them. The villagers whispered softly among themselves. All the items Yu Xiaocao bought were hanging on the horses belonging to Zhao Han and Fang Zizhen. In a way, it was because the donkey was too small and could not carry everything. On the other hand, he was afraid that people would envy him for all the items he bought.

Fang Zizhen was in a hurry to meet his respected teacher, whom he had not seen for over thirty years. He directly followed behind Zhao Bufan to go to the Zhao Residence. Zhao Han at the back, took Li Li and the other subordinates along, and went to Xiaocao's house to deliver his belongings.

When Madam Liu learned that the Zhao Family was welcoming guests, she warmly plucked a little of every kind of vegetable growing in the fields and gave it to Zhao Han to take home. Although the Zhao Han family also had some area to grow vegetables, no one in his family knew how to farm, so they never got good results from their garden. Moreover, none of their vegetables were as clear and lush as the Yu Family's products.

Ever since the Yu Hai branch separated from the main family, they had become closer to the Zhao Family. Every few days, Zhao Han would send them some hunted produce and even help them harvest vegetables. He also never slackened when helping them. So, from time to time, the Yu Family would also send out some of their vegetables.

After the members of the Zhao Family ate the vegetables of the Yu Family, they increasingly disliked their own green vegetables. Even the old man, Zhao Zimo, praised the vegetables of the Yu Family many times. The vegetables they grow are very fertile and very delicious. It's easy to eat a few extra bowls of rice when you eat vegetables! He felt his own body getting stronger by the day. Even the old internal injuries, left behind by the previous military campaign, seemed to be getting better!

Zhao Han picked up the vegetables without the quibble and even gave the bright red tomatoes to Li Li and the other men. Li Li went with the general to visit another residence in the capital and had seen tomatoes before. However, all those people keep tomatoes in pots and use them only as ornamental plants.

Li Li had just found out that tomatoes could be eaten like fruit after he tasted the sweet sour tomatoes! That night, he also had time to eat tomatoes used as vegetables in cooked dishes. He suddenly realized then —— tomatoes are actually not considered a fruit but a vegetable!

After they saw Zhao Han and the other two people leave, Madam Liu started to get rid of the items Xiaocao bought while asking Yu Hai and his daughter about what they ate in the prefecture city, he said, their living conditions, etc. Regarding Xiaocao's extravagant expenditure, Madam Liu was already used to it. Fortunately, Xiaocao was also good at making money, so Madam Liu did not bother to say anything more.

Xiaocao then took out the jewelry he was carrying under his clothes. He first took out a pair of purple earrings for Xiaolian and helped her wear them. The excellent earrings made Xiaolian's glowing and reddish cheeks look prettier.

Madam Liu smiled at the side, “Xiaocao, this set of earrings you chose is passable. All girls should have some jewelry. In the past, our family had a hard time, but in the future, we will have to prepare a few more sets for the two of you! ”

Which young girl does not like sparkling and sparkling jewelry? Xiaolian really liked pearl-encrusted earrings and hairpins. He wears a hairpin in his hair and cannot bear to take it off. Yu Hai and his wife softly laughed when they saw their daughter admiring herself. They thought it was a little funny as well as heart-wrenching.

“Mother, I bought this for you. Hurry up and see if it works for you! ” Xiaocao take out silver bracelet and hairpin. He presented it as if it was the best treasure in the world.

Madam Liu let her daughter put the bracelet in her hands as she commented, “What's the point of spending this money? Usually you have a lot of work, so wearing a bracelet will only get in the way, right? ” Even though he said those words, he still felt warm in his heart. Girls are very close to their mothers.

When he saw the silver hairpin shaped like a magnolia, his eyes suddenly became wet and hot, and his mouth trembled. When she got married, her two older brothers had also just gotten married, so her family was not rich back then. The silver magnolia hairpin in her dowry was also her mother's dowry. Her mother usually doesn't wear it. Although her mother had been saving for over a few decades, it still looked new.

However, when Xiaocao was five years old, he was seriously ill. Madam Zhang used the excuse that her family did not have much money at home after paying her third son's school fees and refused to give them money to have Xiaocao see a doctor. Helpless, she could only use the silver hairpin of her dowry to pay for the cost of her doctor's visits and her daughter's medicine. Every time he thought about that silver hairpin, he felt a little sad but never regretted. A silver hairpin is just an object, no matter how expensive it may be, it can never be as expensive as the life of his daughter!

Now a new silver magnolia hairpin appeared in front of him. In fact, it was her wise daughter who bought it for her. The hole in his heart was apparently full. With a girl like this, what more could she ask for? He once again rejoiced because he had used his hairpin to save his daughter's life!

Xiaocao saw his mother holding back the tears in her eyes as she looked at the hairpin in her hand. Her mother was deep in thought, so she quietly interrupted, “Mother! I missed you these past few days when I was in the prefecture city! Is everything okay at home? Is there anyone from there coming and making things difficult for you? ”

Madam Liu carefully kept the silver hairpin and gently winked tears in her eyes. He smiled sweetly and said, “Your mouth is small and sweet, as if you have smeared honey on it! Everything in the house was fine.It was true, Third Young Master Zhou sent Xiaoduo today with watermelon seeds. How do we plant it? We can't delay the farming season !! ”

“We won't! Watermelons love warm weather, so if we wait a few days it will not cause any problems! We should start sleeping in the west room. Watermelon seeds should be soaked to increase germination. It's still a little cold in the morning and at night, so we need to keep the temperature warm. ” Yu Xiaocao has a good idea on how to grow watermelon. In his previous life, before his parents died, they had also planted two mu full of watermelon. Back then, he was still Junior High, so he had already done a lot of work around the family farm.

The whole family sat in bed and kept all the things they bought. Lady Liu got off the bed to make dinner. The Yu family was already used to eating three times a day, so their last meal of the day was usually a little slower than the other villagers. Yu Hai and his daughter gnawed at some dry food during the day. Madam Liu felt bad for them, so she specifically made a few more dishes for dinner.

Right after they finished eating, they heard someone knocking at their gate. Xiaolian ran to open the door and greeted Madam Mao, who was holding a basket of duck eggs.

Madam Mao entered the main hall with a face full of smiles. He sat cross-legged on the bed and pushed a basket full of duck eggs towards Madam Liu and said, “I'm here to thank your daughter Xiaocao! Today, Little Brother Qian Zhenxiu Restaurant came and ordered fifty ducks from us for tomorrow. If it were not for their relationship with your family, then they would not have bought so many ducks from us nor would they need us to slaughter and clean them. You won't know this, but before, every time someone ordered a duck from us, we always needed to slaughter and clean it. Duck feathers were very difficult to pick, so how long did it take us to pluck fifty ducks? ”

Madam Liu is an honest person, so she spoke honestly, “We can't claim credit for this! Today Xiaoduo was helping us in the backyard and saw your son, Wuzi, herding ducks through our bamboo fence. He said that your family did a good job of raising ducks and wanted to know who you were. I'm just saying a few words about your family, that's all. I really can't take this gift from you. ”

“If it wasn't for your daughter's Xiaocao talent, how could Zhenxiu Restaurant need so many ducks? If not for Brother Qian coming to buy a product from you, how could they know that my family is raising ducks? In the end, we are the ones using you! It's just some duck eggs, that's all. No need to be so polite! ” Madam Mao pulled Madam Liu's hand several times and was very warm to her.