Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Chapter 610 Taking a break from the busy schedule

Zhou Guo said, "I didn't lie to you. First, I didn't ask you to pay money, and second, I didn't ask you to donate grain. I just asked you to go to Cangshan Village to have a look. If you like it, you can buy some and you won't lose anything. After you apply the fertilizer, the grain production will increase. You can use the increased production to pay me back for the fertilizer, and the rest is yours. It's a great deal. You don't have to spend a penny. Think about it, isn't it?"

When everyone thought about it, it seemed to be true. They were not asked to do anything but to visit Cangshan Village.

"Boy, which family in Cangshan Village are you from?"

Zhou Guo said, "I am from the Zhou family. I live at the end of the village. You will find out where my home is once you go into the village. I can't lie to you. Oh, yes, I remember that the eldest daughter of the old bald man in our village married into your village, right?"

"Yes, yes, it seems that they are from Cangshan Village. Your Cangshan Village is amazing. They have made a fortune in the past two years. I heard that it was the Zhou family who helped them make this big deal. There was no family with the surname Zhou in Cangshan Village before. These families all fled here a few years ago."

Someone noticed that Zhou Guo also had the last name Zhou and asked, "Are you the child of that family? Or are you a relative of his?"

Zhou Guo said: "...Um, if I'm not mistaken, I am that family's child."

When everyone heard her admit it, they were all shocked. They stopped asking about Fei and kept asking about the pine mushrooms. "I heard that the mushrooms you collected were sold for several taels of silver per pound, is that true? Are the mushrooms in the mountains really that easy to sell?"

"I also heard that you charge 100 coins per pound for the mushrooms in your village, right? What kind of mushrooms are so valuable? You see, there are many mountains in our village. Are there any on these mountains? If we find them in our village, can you also give us 100 coins per pound?"

"Everyone in Cangshan Village has made a fortune in the past two years. My relative-in-law, an old deadbeat, was extremely poor a few years ago, but in the past two years, he has been able to eat meat once a month and wear fine cotton flowered clothes during the New Year. When will I be able to be that lucky?"

At this point, he said to Zhou Guo: "Hey, kid, why don't you come live in our village? I heard that you are the God of Wealth of Cangshan Village. You can help us make a fortune too!"

Zhou Guo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Uncle, how could I have that ability? Besides, who told you that it's 100 coins per pound? That's not true. It's about the same as the sheep mushrooms in the mountains. Don't you also make some money from wild vegetables every year? They're all about the same. Even if you can make some money, how much can you make?"

Before they could say anything, he changed the subject, "But the fields are different. The crops in the fields are the livelihood of our farmers. We can't be careless. If we take good care of them, our family won't have to go hungry all year round. If we don't have to go hungry, then good days are coming, right?"

After hearing what she said, everyone nodded.

Zhou Guo added: "So, the first step to living a good life is to not let your family go hungry. If you cultivate an acre of land carefully and apply enough fertilizer, the yield will always be much higher than if you don't have enough fertilizer and let it grow naturally."

Everyone nodded again.

There were old people who had been listening. They had lived long enough to know that they had no share in things like pine mushrooms. Unless they could find this thing in the mountains in their own village, would Cangshan Village still allow outsiders to enter the mountains and rob them of their money?

No one would do this!

The white-haired old lady still had a gloomy expression on her face. Zhou Guo probably knew that she probably had this expression on her face. It hadn't changed for a while.

The old lady nodded and said, "Okay, okay, I'll go take a look tomorrow, but you said you would send it back home for us, does that count?"

This is of great concern to everyone. Cangshan Village is not close to them, and it would be hard work if they really had to carry the goods on their own.

Zhou Guo smiled and said, "Of course it counts. I'll send it to you on a bullock cart and make sure it's delivered to your home. Anyway, you don't have to spend any money now, so what are you afraid of?"

This is true.

After finishing his words, Zhou Guo immediately said goodbye, "Then we will leave. When your family members come back, tell them so that you know that many people have gone there today. If they buy too much, there will probably not be much left. The next batch will not come out for more than a month at the earliest."

Everyone was shocked, and someone couldn't hold back his anger and said, "Then I'll call my head of the family back. Sanya, go to the field and call your father."

Zhou Guo said goodbye with a smile, turned the cow's head and drove towards home. There was not much fat left, and if he went any further he was afraid there would be nothing left to buy.

The old man looked back and saw the crowd getting chaotic. Everyone was telling each other and said with a smile, "Why don't you give them a ride?"

Zhou Guo straightened the ox's head, let it walk slowly, and brought the food box over. Then he said, "I am nosy, but not to this extent. I don't know how many people there are. Even if I want to take them, there won't be enough seats. Besides, it will be a bit uncomfortable with outsiders around. Let's just walk back slowly, eat while walking, and think of it as an outing. It's a rare opportunity to take some time off from the busy schedule, so we won't let outsiders disturb us."

The old man felt the same way and pinched a piece of jujube paste cake. "It's rare that you have this awareness. I'm really worried that you will bring a large carload of people."

Zhou Guo found it funny while eating and said, "Master, you have traveled a lot and seen a lot of things in the world, but why are you still so afraid of getting along with others? When we came all the way north, there were so many people walking with us, and you never resisted. What happened now?"

The old man glanced at her and said, "How can it be the same? There is no way."

As he squinted his eyes and looked forward, he sighed, "This person, a person comes naked and will leave naked in the end. I am already old, half a foot in the coffin, why do I force myself to deal with so many people? Master, I will do whatever I want."

Zhou Guo picked up another crystal clear water chestnut cake and ate it with relish. He nodded after hearing what the old man said, "If we don't want to deal with each other, then we don't have to deal with each other. You can just stay at home every day. Hmm... this water chestnut cake is delicious. Master, try it. It's soft and doesn't require much chewing."

The old man quickly finished the date paste cake in his hand and picked out a piece of water chestnut cake.

Zhou Guo ate a few pieces of cakes and felt choked. He picked up a piece of hard dried meat and started eating it, sighing. He really wanted to eat spicy dried meat at this moment, which was very satisfying.

The master and his disciple ate all the way back. When they came across a stream or a river, the old man would go fishing. Zhou Guo would squat beside them and eat cakes, unable to help but muttering:

"Why do you carry a fishing rod with you wherever you go? You carry it with you when you go out to sell fertilizer, too. If we don't run into a river, wouldn't it be a waste? The fishing rod is fine, but why do you carry a bucket? I thought you were going to do something else, but it turns out you were just carrying the bucket to hold the fish."