Zi Qing was shocked after hearing Shen's words and quickly asked what the loss was. It turned out that today Zeng Rui Xiang had given Tian Shi eighteen taels of silver again, saying that the extra six taels were on behalf of Zeng Rui Qing. Because this year Zhou Shi's leg injury spent a lot of money and delayed the family's work, and there was no harvest in the fields either.
Zeng Rui Xiang naturally knew the situation of Zeng Rui Qing's family, and took the initiative to say to his older brother: "Every family has difficulties, our parents rely on us two sons. When I was young, my older brother always took good care of me, I have been keeping it in mind all these years. Although we have been distant from each other for some time, after all, we are still biological brothers, so let's not be too calculating. My family is still doing okay now, and next year when you recover a bit, adding a little more to support our parents will be the same."
Zeng Ruiqing didn't say anything, seemingly acquiescing. Madame Zhou was overjoyed upon hearing this - six taels of silver is no small sum! Calculating carefully, it's enough for her family to live on for two years. How could she not be over the moon?
Nowadays, the big house has returned, and according to the rules, the year is still spent at home. Seeing Shen Shi and Zhou Shi, they are more enthusiastic than before. Zi Qing silently prayed in her heart that she hoped these six taels of silver could let the big house see the sincerity of the second house.
Zi Qing whispered to Shen Shi, "Xiao Gu still envies me for having a father who can earn eighteen taels of silver in a year to support me. In fact, Father's earnings are not enough to support them all, and I haven't spent any of it. I wonder what she'll use to compare with me in the future?"
Shen's family heard that and scolded Zhen Qing with a sentence "What are you grinding your teeth for".
At the end of the year, Shen Jianshan came to pick up He Shi and said: "This year is not good, but thanks to the sweet potatoes and watermelons, we actually made more money than in a bumper harvest. Thanks to my sister's family, we can also have a good New Year." He Shi was naturally delighted when she heard this.
Shen Jianshan sent two more hams over. The Shen family wanted to pay for them, but Shen Jianshan refused, saying "Are you treating your brother like an outsider?"
The Shen family had no choice but to give up, each sending a piece of cloth. They also packed some dried fruits and pastries to bring over.
On the twenty-eighth evening, the family gathered in the east house to roast fire. Zeng Rui Xiang held Zi Xi, Shen Shi was doing needlework on the side, and the children's New Year's clothes were still short of two pieces. Zi Fu and Zi Lu had just counted the copper coins for the couplets, Zi Shou helped them string it up, and Zi Qing took out the account book. It was said that they would report the annual accounts to everyone so that they could have a clear idea in their minds.
"After settling the accounts at the beginning of spring, Xu Shifu and his family were left with less than 17 taels. The watermelon income was 520 taels, the second season's potatoes sold for 110 taels of silver, eggs 38 taels, and capons 10 taels. Last year's green onions and celery were less than 5 taels, and this time they only sold more than 6 taels of silver due to late preparation. Additionally, this year's lanterns made a net profit of 280 taels. Therefore, the annual income is almost 983 taels.
Expenses include buying mountain land for 80 taels, building a house for 19 taels, buying fields for 15 taels, and other miscellaneous expenses of around 25 taels. Currently, there are still around 844 taels of silver left at home."
After settling the account, Zeng Rui Xiang and Shen Shi stared at each other in confusion. Zi Fu was even more shocked, his mouth agape with incredulity. "Qing Er, you must be mistaken! How is this possible?"
"This is true. Our family currently has over 840 taels of silver, I've counted them myself." Zi Qing emphasized again.
"If it weren't for the separation of the family before, I wouldn't have dared to think about it. In two years' time, I was able to earn this fortune on my own. If we had separated earlier, who knows, maybe I would be a rich master by now." Shen said with a smile.
"But Mother, if we had separated earlier, I might not have been able to come back. Where did you get all this money from?" Zi Qing thought to herself.
"I didn't expect Qing'er to actually keep track of this account, Father really underestimated you. Now everyone has a clear idea, the income and expenses for the year are all accounted for, unlike before when everything was muddled. Not bad, not bad." Zeng Ruixiang said.
"In the past, there was some confusion, and in a year, you wouldn't even see a single copper coin, what's the need to keep track of accounts?" Shen Shi smiled and glanced at Zeng Rui Xiang.
The family began to discuss the use of the silver eagerly, and Shen said: "Buying a water field won't use up that much silver, and the opportunity for a water field will come slowly. It's better to buy a shop in the city first, rent it out, and with the left over money, Zifu won't need to go take the imperial exam for another year or two, and the family won't need to spend a large amount of silver."
Zeng Ruixiang also agreed to buy a house in the city this time, preferably one with a backyard. In case any of the children want to settle down and start a business in the city in the future, it would be convenient.
"I also think the shop is good, in case the business climate is bad, the income of the shop is still guaranteed." Zifeng said.
"I think it's better to buy both the shop and the paddy field. The paddy field can guarantee that our family has food, and we won't go hungry. If the early rice crop fails, there's still the late rice crop. What if we only have the shop and no food to eat?" said Zi Rong, seemingly still haunted by the days when he couldn't eat his fill.
"Hmm, I'm also afraid of not having enough food, let's buy a paddy field." Zi Shou followed with a sentence.
Zeng Ruixiang thought of Yan Renda and said, "Their dry land is not much less than ours, and they have three mu of paddy fields, which is better than ours. How come their life gets poorer and poorer? They don't have a plan in mind, and their thoughts are all used elsewhere. The children are getting more and more, and I heard from my mother that Chunyu has got pregnant again, what's good about this?"
"If I were to say, it's still that you can't bear hardships. If you could bear hardships, it wouldn't be like this. San Niang Jia's third son, this year in our house, didn't he also have an income of over ten taels of silver? How others do things... just take the lantern that Zi Qing made, they go to cut bamboo early in the morning, split it open, and let San Mei do it at home. Your brother himself is busy with both farm work and household chores, which one did he neglect? In the evening when he's free, he still has to weave frames... and also, our new courtyard, those earth walls were all made by him and his brothers, how much hardship they endured, how much sweat they shed. Can your sister's husband do that? I'm afraid their life is even more comfortable than ours, fighting chickens and dogs every day, except for eating and dressing a bit worse, but you don't see them worrying." Shen Shi said.
"I think they're also spoiled by their elders, not a year has passed without them adding more, both grain and vegetables, I'm afraid there's even silver, my eldest uncle is still calculating that there's still the Yue family to rely on, where would he be willing to put in great effort to work in the fields?" Zi Fu said.
"That's right, take those watermelons and sweet potatoes for example. We've already sent the seeds over. If they're cultivated properly, we can make a profit of one or two taels of silver per year. This year our family made 110 taels of silver from selling sweet potatoes alone. Uncle's family also had a good harvest this year thanks to these two crops, and their income is even higher than in a bumper year," said Zi Qing.
"I'm afraid all the sweet potatoes we sent were eaten by Dagu's family, and later the ones we gave to Ahpo were also sent to Dagu's house." Zirong said.
"This won't work in the long run. Can parents still control them for their whole lives? What will happen to this bunch of kids in the future?" Zeng Rui Xiang sighed.
"So, a person is either very clever and has a plan in mind. If not clever, then they must be able to endure hardship. If neither clever nor able to endure hardship, then they can only suffer. Relying on others is unreliable, you all remember that?" Madam Shen seizes the opportunity to educate the children.
Several children nodded like chicks pecking at grain. Zi Qing felt that it was not easy for her uneducated mother to come up with such profound words, and that life's hardships had taught her well.