Mr. Shen told his son Fu about the events of the morning, when Tians family came to ask for wheat, and reminded him not to cause trouble in the future. He told him to listen to whatever Tians family said without arguing back. Then he repeated what he had said to his other son, Lu, earlier that day. Finally, Mr. Shen said, "The most important thing is to live a good life, dont waste your energy on unnecessary anger. If you have the energy to get angry, it would be better spent thinking about how to live a good life. When your elders make requests, as long as they are not unreasonable, try to satisfy them. Youre an educated person, you should understand this better than your mother. If someone has a bad reputation, not only cant they pass the imperial exam or become an official, but they also cant marry well." Fu listened and nodded respectfully.

  The next day, Zifou sent off Shen and Zilu, changed into a short shirt to dig potatoes in the vegetable field. Ziqing carried a basket beside him to pick up the dirt, pouring it onto the edge of the well, and whenever he saw earthworms or insects on leaves, he would take them to feed the chickens.

  Zi Shou came over to call someone, and it turned out that Zi Xi had woken up. Zi Qing went back to the house to tidy up and bring out Zi Xi. She saw Zi Fu packing vegetables into a basket, while Zi Shou was wrapping himself around Zi Fu, also wanting to go out. Zi Qing thought that he was still just a three-year-old child, who loved to play and make noise, and it wasnt easy for him to be cooped up in the house all day looking after his several-months-old little brother. So she opened her mouth and let Zi Fu take him along.

  Suddenly he thought of Zeng Rui Xiang coming home tonight, so he asked Zi Fu to buy some bones and meat back. Zi Fu went to get a dozen or so copper plates and took Zi Shou with him.

  Since starting to sell vegetables, the familys condition has improved a bit. Zi Qing often thinks about buying some meat for everyone to relieve their hunger. Firstly, everyone has been working very hard during this period. Secondly, all the children in the family are growing up and Shen Shi doesnt want to deprive them of anything. In the past, there was no choice, she couldnt make decisions herself.

  Ziying carried her little brother in a basket and went to collect eggs from the chicken coop as usual. Suddenly, she saw four small eggs with bloodstains inside the coop. Ziying was overjoyed, it was an unexpected surprise! The chickens they had raised for more than six months finally laid eggs. All those worms, earthworms, tadpoles and other things hadnt been fed in vain after all.

  Zi Qing put away the eggs and went to sweep the yard, sweeping up peach pits on the ground. Suddenly, she remembered something she had forgotten - planting fruit trees! The barren land on the back mountain would be perfect for it. With such a large area, they could raise hundreds or even thousands of chickens under the trees. Every year, the eggs and live chickens would bring in a substantial income. The chicken manure could also be used as fertilizer for the fruit trees, and the fallen fruit that the insects had eaten could still be fed to the chickens. It was truly a win-win situation.

  Ziying thought it was more and more suitable, planning to spend two years making money and cultivating seedlings, and must buy the back mountain. The investment in fruit trees is not large, and unlike farming, it does not need to be managed at ordinary times, just pruning branches every winter. After setting the goal, Ziying buried the peach pit in a corner against the wall, then leaned against the wall and meditated.

  Ziying was having a dream of getting rich, dreaming that the large orchard he planted was full of fruit, and he had also bought hundreds of hectares of good land. He would often count his silver coins, indulging in the beautiful dream of being a wealthy landlords wife. Ziyings mouth was watering when someone shouted at the door, Shen Shi and Zirong returned home. Ziying looked into the basket and found it empty, with only two pieces of cloth left.

  "Mom, are sweet potatoes selling well? How much per kilogram? Why did you buy fabric again?"

  "Its selling for four pieces a catty, although not as good as cucumbers, its still okay. After all, were not the first ones to sell this, there are people who know its value. My mother just passed by that fabric store and thought shed take a look. Shes gotten used to it these few times, didnt expect to snag a bargain. The boss wants to get rid of this thin cotton fabric, this fabric was stored in the warehouse and got soaked in rainwater. Normally it would cost around 500-600 copper coins per bolt, but my mother bought it for 200 copper coins per bolt today. Its quite suitable, even if its a bit dirty, whats to fear? Just wash it yourself and itll be fine. If it cant be washed clean, thats okay too, country folk dont fuss over these things. Tomorrow my mother wants to go buy two more bolts to store away, this is an opportunity that doesnt come often. Our family has many kids, and theyre all growing up, each one needs half a bolt of fabric for a new outfit. My mother also wants to make one for your grandmother."

  "How many feet of fabric is a bolt, exactly?" Zi Qing asked.

  "What kind of fabric is this? Cotton cloth is usually forty feet, and satin and velvet are twenty feet. This fabric wont spoil even if its left out, but the clothes arent worn often." Just then, Zifeng and the others returned.

  "Mother, are you making new clothes for us again? My clothes can still be worn, and youve spent a few silver coins on fabric recently, havent you?" asked Zifu.

  "Its alright, mother said that the money youve earned should be spent, its yours to spend, not someone elses. Mother has a clear conscience about this. In the past, we didnt have any money and couldnt make decisions, so we had no choice but to deprive you children."

  "Guess what, Mother? We have some good news at home today," asked Zi Qing.

  "Good news, your second aunt has proposed a marriage?" asked Shen Shi.

  "No, we came from Apo Na, havent heard that, is it a watermelon?" asked Zifu.

  "Its none of those, our hen has laid eggs! Didnt expect that? Be happy!" Zi Qing said with a smile.

  "Really?" "Really?" The three of them had disbelieving expressions. This was the first egg laid by one of the hens from the initial ten that Zi Qing bought.

  "Oh, speaking of eggs, Mother forgot something. Zifu, you and Zilu hurry up to the street to buy ten salted duck eggs. Tomorrow is Dragon Boat Festival, we need to cook glutinous rice balls, and then go to your aunts place to get some new garlic, scallions, and ask if they have any millet shoots?" Zifu took the money and left with Zilu, and Zishou followed them too.

  After Zifujin and the others left, Shenshi hurriedly went into the house to soak glutinous rice, saying that she wanted to make zongzi. Ziqing felt that this habit was not much different from the previous dynasty, it seemed that the level of productive forces was not too bad, they could extract plant oil, had printed cloth, windmills, and simple waterwheels, as for other things, Ziqing didnt understand them.

  After soaking the glutinous rice, Shen also soaked the zongzi leaves. Then she took out her embroidered silk threads and used five colors to weave a small net-like thing. The net still had two strands of colored thread woven into a rope that could be hung around the neck. Shens movements were very skilled, and in a short while, she had already woven one.

  After lunch, Shen began to pack zongzi. First, she packed about twenty dried meat zongzi with the leftover half block of dried meat from last time, and then she packed dozens of ordinary ones. Zifeng took Zirong and Ziqing to dig up sweet potatoes. Zifeng was in charge of digging, Zirong was in charge of transporting, and Ziqing was in charge of washing. After washing, Ziqing laid them flat in a warm and humid place to let them sprout. Ziqing thought that the yield of sweet potatoes could be very high, maybe two or three seasons, and now that not many people are planting them, they can even sell for four cents per catty, which should be quite profitable. Ziqing not only prepared seeds for her own family but also reserved some for her two uncles families.

  After the fragrance of zongzi wafted out, Zeng Rui-xiang came in and the whole family gathered together to eat noisily, talking and laughing. Shen Shi first recounted the events of the past dozen or so days to her husband in detail: wheat harvest, selling vegetables, sweet potatoes, eggs, etc., and only then mentioned that they wanted a gift of one stone of wheat, asking him to send it over tomorrow.