Chapter 39: Borrowing a Car After the Price Increase

  Spring goes and autumn comes. On the mountain, with the change of seasons, the fruit buried underground has finally taken shape, and it's time to harvest.

  Lan Niang straightened her waist and took a deep breath, putting down the hoe in her hand. Today, as soon as it dawned, she brought her family to the field to dig sweet potatoes.

  As it was almost noon, Liu Jian glanced back and said, "Lan Niang, you and the children take a rest first. Once we finish digging this ridge, we'll pack up and head back."

  Lan Niang wiped the sweat from her forehead, turned around to look at the remaining land, nodded in response, and then gazed out at the many sweet potatoes still buried underground. In her heart, she estimated that this year's sweet potato harvest would definitely be much better than last year's, not less than the grain yield of a mu of land down the mountain. A mu of sweet potato land could produce as much as dozens of mu of rice.

  What an exciting thing it is, Lan Niang's heart is so sweet. Calculating based on last year's highest price of 50 cents per catty for meat, the several mu of melon fields on this mountain will yield an income of over 500 or 600 taels. Heaven! Since moving here, she has never seen so much money before. Her heart is surging with excitement.

  "Come on, just a bit more effort, and we'll be done soon and can go home to rest!"

  Bending down, picking up the pumpkin vines on the ground, tying them into a bundle and taking them home to feed the pigs and rabbits. They love to eat this more than anything else, which also saves the trouble of cutting grass again.

  It's autumn now, and sometimes a few people come up to the mountain to hunt, so this family comes early in the morning to work, finishing digging the land before noon and then hurrying back home.

  It was also discovered by the hunters who came to the mountain that the rabbits raised at home were unintentionally seen, and a considerable sensation was caused among the villagers.

  So now the whole family is extremely careful, when working and digging sweet potatoes, they are divided into three small groups to take turns guarding the must-pass road on the mountain. If someone comes, they will also signal to cover each other, it can be said that their awareness of prevention is very strong.

  Until now, although they planted a lot of sweet potatoes on the mountain, no one has discovered them yet. For this reason, Lanniang was very excited for a while.

  It's harvest time now, and the situation is becoming more cautious. This is the most critical moment. If someone sees it, wouldn't all the hard work this year be in vain?

  The house is empty now, but there's a wild puppy picked up by Mu Tian from the mountain, watching the door. Named Xiao Hei, it's all black, but also a bit unreliable at times.

  Although it is still small now, it has already compared to a adult rabbit. If not careful, the door of the rabbit enclosure was not closed tightly, and it slipped in. That would be a thrilling battle between rabbits and dogs. The winner must be this three-week-old little black one. A large group of rabbits fled and hid everywhere to avoid this big plague god, while it drove away the fleeing rabbits with great momentum.

  After a busy day, back home, take a breather, have a cup of tea.

  Lan Niang saw these several baskets of calabazas that had just been transported back from the ground, piled up in the kitchen, and added to the previous few days', there was no room to turn around.

  "Her father, today we should either go to Liu's house first to borrow a car and sell some of them down the mountain, otherwise tomorrow we'll have to move back home again, really there won't even be room for our feet."

  Although Lian Niang was anxious, the yield of calabaza was so high that there was only a small space in this house. Now it can't be put outside, and people often come to see it. The villagers are more envious and like to walk on the mountain, either hunting or intentionally passing by the door of their mountain house, taking a glance at their rabbits, and satisfying their cravings.

  Liu Jian took a sip of tea, put down his teacup, and smelled the faint aroma of roasted sweet potatoes coming from under the stove.

  "Lan Niang, I've thought about it, just this year alone, I've borrowed Liu Lao's car no less than a hundred times."

  Lan Niang looked at Liu Jian with a puzzled expression, paused for a moment, as if thinking of something, "But they won't lend it?" Her eyes stared straight at Liu Jian, eager to know the answer.

  "It's not that I don't want to." Liu Jian looked at her and replied, his tone accompanied by a gaze that seemed to be searching for something, as if he was reluctant to speak.

  At the time of Lan Niang's angry stare, he still recited a passage from memory.

  Liu Bazi, since getting benefits from borrowing a car at Liu Jian's house in this village, has opened her eyes. She admits that she was very foolish before. When people from other families in the village came to borrow something or make a deal, she would always be very agreeable, thinking it was only right to look out for fellow villagers, and it was all free as long as they fed her family's strong cow until it was full.

  Since then, after getting a bargain from Liu Jian's house, her mind has broadened and her brain has become more active. Now, if others in the village come to borrow their family's cow, she will lend it to them as long as they can pay for it. However, during this busy farming season, some families in the village don't have a strong labor force or want to save energy, so they are willing to secretly give Liu's wife some money to borrow the cow.

  In this way, Liu's ideological awareness was enhanced. Thinking that her family had spent more than 10 copper plates to borrow a car when they didn't have much money at home, now hearing that their backyard had raised hundreds of rabbits, Liu naturally thought of raising the price.

  Lan Niang was disgusted when she heard that Liu Pozi was so greedy, and they were not even given money. They had already given the most in the village, as far as she knew. In the past, she was afraid of giving too little, and now she didn't mind giving a few more coins. But now, Liu Pozi's greed was getting worse, and Lan Niang was furious when she heard about it.

  "What does she mean? Is the money from our family not enough?" Lan Niang asked Liu Jian with her eyes.

  Liu Jian said, "Let's buy a car ourselves. Otherwise, after a while, we'll have to transport rabbits into the city every day to sell them. Isn't that spending money every day? These days I've seen that Liu Lao, who usually doesn't talk much, also seems to be thinking about this."

  Lan Niang heard this and became even more annoyed, slapping her thigh and saying: "Alright, let's just buy one then. It won't cost that much money, our family has the ability to do so now, if we're going to buy one, let's buy a good one."

  Knowing that she had been listening to the whole thing, she couldn't help but laugh. She raised her head from the book and looked at her mother, who was furious, with a face full of anger, saying: "Yes, Dad, this time we should buy a good one, why not buy a horse-drawn carriage? It can be used to transport goods, and no one will see the goods inside. And when there's nothing to do, we can take the carriage into town for a stroll."

  She gazed at them with sparkling eyes.

  Lan Niang's mouth was agape, she wanted to take advantage of the people from the mountain who had red eyes, but the ox cart and horse cart were not in the same price range. She hesitated and asked: "Isn't it a bit too expensive?"

  Xiao Yingying asked her father with a smile: "Dad, is it expensive?"

  "What's so expensive? It's always better to spend money on your own car, rather than borrowing someone else's and having to consider their feelings every time!"

  Lan Niang was willing to listen to this suggestion, why bother going to borrow, "If it's done, I'll buy him a car."

  As soon as I heard it, my eyebrows rose, and I looked at Tianhe and Erni with a smile, this time we can really become car owners.

  He said and did it, Liu Jianli took three calabazas from his waist and put them on his body, and went to the city by car.

  "Woof woof woof." A burst of excited dog barks echoed through the house, making those who knew what was happening wince in anticipation. That cunning little dog must have slipped out of her rope again and snuck into her paradise, "Rabbit Garden".

  Last time it was because of this that it ran in and bit to death several just-born rabbits, making Zhi Xiao and Er Ni heartbroken for several days. Those are all money after two months.

  Have you ever heard of a farmer borrowing ten eggs from another farmer, taking them home to hatch into ten chicks, and after a year, the ten chicks turned into a thousand chicks? The farmer who lent out the eggs was unwilling to accept this. Originally, those ten eggs were mine, so now the thousand chicks in the other farmer's house are also mine. This is a kind of intangible wealth. Do you think someone who understands this principle will feel heartache?

  That night, this little black dog, as long as it was at home, would be stared at by them under its eyelids, otherwise it would be tied up.

  Lan Niang watched as her daughter and Mu Tian rushed out, already accustomed to their strange behavior, quietly sat back in her original position, this matter could be completely handled by the two of them.

  She now needs to estimate how many pumpkin seedlings to leave this year, the yield of pumpkins is so high, other places are not yet, she must calculate this account carefully, it may be a turning point for her family or maybe not.