Chapter 153: Chapter 153: The Others, I Don’t Want to Bring Along

Qi Zheng tapped his empty tobacco pipe against the edge of the kang bed twice before saying, “It’s not just about buying a few acres of land now. Our family still has some silver, whether it’s an acre or two, we can manage to buy.”

“But other families don’t have this silver. By then, they might not even be able to buy a homestead.”

Hearing Qi Zheng’s words, Mrs. Qi’s concern for the silver eased a bit, and she sighed, “Isn’t that right, not being able to buy a homestead, a family wouldn’t even have a place to live, how could we get by?”

Qi Quanjin’s brow was also furrowed tightly.

Though Yi Meng felt weighed down too, she gathered her spirits and said, “Dad, Mom, I think that no matter how hard it gets, it’s a good thing we’re still alive. Think about it, if we weren’t, what good would a mountain of gold and silver be?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Qi Zheng said, “Meng Niang is right. As long as we’re alive, we can get through the days.”

All of a sudden, Qi Quanjin looked up at his father, “Dad, we aren’t earning much silver now, and if everyone needs to buy a homestead but doesn’t have the money, should we still lend it?”

Mrs. Qi pressed her lips together, clearly unwilling, but she kept silent.

These people, especially the other three families, had been with them through thick and thin, even fighting off wolves together, so the bond was naturally deep.

Turning them away would trouble her conscience.

But helping them, how would it be possible?

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

This money, it was problematic to lend and problematic not to lend.

Qi Manman tossed and turned, mumbling something, dreaming of delicious food perhaps, smacking her lips twice.

Yi Meng carefully covered her daughter’s blanket before saying, “Dad, Mom, Brother Jin, rather than lend money, I think we should find a way for everyone to earn together.”

“How do we earn?”

Mrs. Qi glanced at Yi Meng, “We don’t have a house or land now. Can we really expect to sell those chestnuts for money?”

“It’s not impossible.”

Yi Meng thought for a moment and said, “There are quite a few forests around here. We’ve at least traversed through them before, and as long as we’re careful, it’s possible to find a way to earn from the forests.”

“No way!”

Mrs. Qi immediately shook her head, “The forest is too dangerous. I think you’ve been emboldened by those wolves before, and now you think every forest is safe?”

“Mom.”

Qi Quanjin interrupted Mrs. Qi’s lecture, “I think finding a way to earn in the forest might work.”

“Your courage has grown too?”

Mrs. Qi glared at him at once.

Qi Zheng fiddled with his tobacco pipe, raised his eyelid, glanced at his son and daughter-in-law, and then said, “Old woman, don’t rush, let the children finish speaking.”

“Hmph!”

Mrs. Qi snorted but kept silent.

Seeing his wife looking at him without interruption, Qi Quanjin continued, “Today, when we went out to chop wood, many people wanted to buy firewood from us after we got to town. But fearing there wasn’t enough for ourselves, we refused.”

“Our family has a horse cart, and every time we go out, we can bring back quite a lot of wood. Plus, we have a lot of people, so if we sell the firewood, we could earn some money.”

Qi Quanjin laid out all his thoughts.

This time, Mrs. Qi didn’t scold but instead considered the matter seriously.

Beside her, Qi Zheng nodded in agreement, “That could be a way. Back in our old village, many people went to town to sell firewood, and while it didn’t make a lot, it was an income nonetheless.”

“Right!”

Qi Quanjin seemed to receive great affirmation, “Dad, then I’ll take people to continue chopping wood tomorrow! Otherwise, everyone just staying at home isn’t right either.”

Qi Zheng was about to nod when Mrs. Qi retorted without good humor, “You think it’s easy, but who knows how many people can still get up tomorrow!”

“Huh?”

Qi Quanjin looked confused at his mother, not understanding why she said that.

Could it be everyone was getting lazy now that they had houses and no longer needed to travel?

Mrs. Qi didn’t beat around the bush and explained Yin Cheng’s speculation, adding, “Today your wife brought back a lot of herbs to prevent what Mr. Yin said about everyone getting sick.”

“Didn’t you also drink a bowl of herbal soup tonight, or did you forget?”

The final rhetorical question successfully reminded Qi Quanjin of the bitterness in his throat.

Shortly after dinner, everyone, regardless of age or gender, was made to drink a bowl of herbal soup.

Nobody asked why they had to drink it.

Since two doctors were overseeing it, they drank because they were told to.

Qi Quanjin rubbed his face, “Then, should we wait a couple of days to chop wood again?”

Selling firewood was the only way he could think of to earn money at the moment, and if that couldn’t be done, they’d truly be left to rely on what little they had.

Yi Meng said at this point, “A couple of days won’t make a difference. Let everyone rest and recover. If they break down from stress and fall seriously ill, it would be counterproductive.”

“Those words make sense, make sense.”

Mrs. Qi quickly nodded in agreement.

Qi Quanjin, who usually listened to his wife, especially on such important matters, had no objection, “Fine, then let’s let everyone rest for now.”

The matter of chopping and selling wood was temporarily shelved, but the need to earn money remained pressing.

Yi Meng said, “Dad, Mom, I want Second Brother to look for another courtyard tomorrow.”

“Didn’t we say we’d find another one?”

Qi Zheng was surprised.

This had already been discussed at dinner. How had the fourth daughter-in-law not understood?

Yi Meng shook her head, “Besides settling Ji Hu and the others, I want to find another yard. This afternoon, Mom and I talked about growing some vegetables.”

Remembering this, Mrs. Qi slapped her thigh, “Right, right, Meng Niang mentioned it to me this afternoon. It’s just about nailing some wooden boxes, and Fourth, if you can get some soil, we’ll give it a try. Even if not much grows, at least we’ll have fresh vegetables for the family.”

Qi Zheng and Qi Quanjin exchanged glances and nodded, showing no objection.

Mrs. Qi, realizing something was off after she finished speaking, asked, “Meng Niang, why do we need another house?”

“I thought it would be good to move Mr. Tongsheng and others out as well, so we’re still just these families, with both front and back yards. It’d make everything more convenient.”

Yi Meng said candidly, “The vegetables I bought today are quite valuable. I don’t mind doing this lucrative business with Uncle Zhou, but I don’t want to involve others.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep