Chapter 39
The next morning, the speed of dressing for all four of them was much slower than usual.
It was because they all slept too late last night. The morning clock rang outside in the morning. The four people sat on the bunk and couldn’t wake up for a long time. But the last one to wake up was Xue TingRang. By the time he fell asleep last night, the other three were already asleep.
They went listlessly all the way to the dining hall for breakfast, and then went to the lecture hall. Meng Xian Sheng was preaching in front, and the four roommates had to work hard to avoid falling asleep in class.
After spending the whole morning like this, Mao Badou still didn’t take it seriously, but Chen Jian said seriously: “No matter how good the scripts are, we can’t do that again. Don’t forget the quarterly exam is in two months.”
When they remembered this, the few people were all agitated, and Mao Badou sullenly said: “I don’t care, I can’t learn at all, who knows if I can survive til then.”
Li Datian also looked hesitant. The two of them had forgotten their previous excitement.
“If you want that Gu Ming to trample you under his feet forever and even if in the future you stop studying and go home, there will be someone by your ear saying that you are inferior to Gu Ming, you just continue to do that.” Xue TingRang suddenly interjected .
“I guess many people are waiting to see our embarrassment, but I don’t care. It’s up to you.” Chen Jian said.
It is not a future speculation but has already begun.
After the canteen turmoil, the four offended a group of Class A students led by Yu Ziyou and Hu Lianshen. Nowadays, few students in Class B are willing to talk to the four. In the past, Mao Badou was very popular in the academy, but now when people see him, if they can hide, they hide, and if they can’t hide, then they walk around him.
This is also the reason why Mao Badou was willing to work hard with the three before. Because no one wanted to play with him anymore, he could only stay in the dorm. Who ever thought about making a notebook again now, and seeing that breath was vented.
“Anyway, I am not particularly interested in these scripts, so I will go with you.” Li Datian said.
Since then, the two-on-two had become the three-on-one, and Mao Badou can only droop his head and say: “Then let’s not look at them anymore.”
At this time, Xue TingRang cleared his throat: “Leave the book for me.”
“Even I’m not gonna look at them anymore, yet you are still gonna read them? It’s over! I’ve led TingRang down the wrong path.”
Xue TingRang glanced at him: “Of these people, your concentration is the weakest. You won’t be able to resist if the book is left with you. After I go back later, lock all the books in my locker. It’s not impossible, I will supervise you.”
With a few words of effort, Xue TingRang changed from a conspirator to a custodian, and he could even say that he would have possession of these scripts.
Mao Badou was shocked by his solemn expression, thinking that TingRang was really loyal, completely forgetting who was the last to sleep with the lamp last night. Only Chen Jian seemed to be aware and glanced at Xue TingRang.
Not to mention here, on the other side, Zhao’er and the two others went to buy a mule.
It was also a coincidence that someone happened to be selling one.
It is a black-brown horse mule, just over two years old,and looking at the teeth and eyes, it was very healthy.
There are also distinctions between mules. The mules are divided into horse mules and donkey mules. Like Daqing is a donkey mule. It is born from the mating of a male horse and a female donkey. The shape and color of the mule follow the donkey. It is larger than the ordinary donkey, and has strong endurance and is good at running.
Other the other hand, a horse mule is born from the mating of a mare and a male donkey, and its shape and color follow the horse. The horse mule is big and has a good load. Although it is not as good as a cow, it is still very good. At the same time, it has a speed that a cow does not.
The only thing is that mules are born hybrids, so they have no ability to reproduce from birth. Therefore, the general sellers of mules, except for resale, are only dealers who sell such animals.
And this mule seller needs money since he has encountered difficulties in his family, so he came out to sell the most valuable animal that the family possessed.
Jiang Wu’s family often deals with livestock.When he saw the mule and he said it was ok, then they decided upon the mule. After asking the price, the seller’s family really needed the money, so the price was not high. In fact, the price was pretty low. Generally, horse mules are more expensive than donkey mules, but the price of this horse mule is about the same as that of donkey mules, only 25 liang.
The reseller didn’t look like a liar, so Zhao’er decided to buy it without a counter-offer.
This man was also honest, and since the mule was gone, he also gave them the mule cart as well. However, this cart was somewhat different from what Zhao’er had wanted, but since it was given for free, they took it. It wasn’t a big deal to use this cart first and create a new cart in the future.
After that, the three drove two mule carts to Yuqing Village.
As soon as they entered the village, countless people gathered around, looking at them.
The Jiang family has a mule cart, and the villagers have known for a long time that it is common for people to borrow the Jiang family’s mule cart for urgent matters. Now they saw that there was another one, and the person who drove the cart was the Fourth of the Xue family. The village suddenly exploded, and one after another gathered around to inquire about the details.
The country folks are like this. Once someone buys something expensive, the whole village will know in a while. They are very enthusiastic and can’t wait to get to the bottom of how they can be so rich.
Generally, there is nothing bad, just curiosity, and of course some are jealous. However, in Yuqing Village, the surnames of Xue and Zheng are the most common surnames. Even if the people of Xue surname are jealous, they seem extremely happy on the surface. They can’t wait to advertise that they have talents, but others don’t.
So before Xue Qinghuai and others came back, the Xue family knew that they had bought a mule cart, and it was the fourth son Xue Qinghuai who brought it back.
The Yang Shi kept walking to the private school in the village. This private school was built on the edge of the Xue family’s ancestral hall, not far from the home of the elder Xue. Back then, Xue Qingshan wanted to open a private school. Father Xue planned to let him open it at home. Later, Patriarch Xue personally went to Zheng Lizheng, and asked the village to build a house for the homestead in the name of the great benefit to the village. He spoke again in person, and the clan pooled money to build two tiled houses.
Although it is a little crude, the Xue clan can be considered to have a patriarchy. The other children in the village who want to go to school have a place to go now, so there is no need to get up early and go to other villages.
When Yang SHi came to the private school, Xue Qingshan was dozing off in another room.
The action of her pushing the door awakened him immediately.
“You are still sleeping, how can you sleep! Fourth brother bought a cart. No wonder he was so anxious to separate from the family. It turned out that he hid private savings. And dad still says that Fourth brother works the hardest for the family, but is the least greedy for money!”
Xue Qingshan was taken aback for a moment, and then said disapprovingly: “It’s just a cart; it won’t cost that much.”
“Not a cow cart, but a mule cart!”
This sentence immediately made him stand up from his chair.
Xue Qinghuai and Zhao’er both laughed til their faces became stiff, and finally was able to drive the cart back.
It’s really all folks from the village. Buying a car is different from other things. It’s also a big happy event. When people greet you, it is part of etiquette to greet them back. If you do not, then the villagers will say you have no manners and look down on the villagers just because you have money. But having to deal with them one by one is really exhausting.
“Zhao’er, you go back to the house and rest. Your fourth uncle will take care of the mule. I will build a shed for this big guy later and make him live comfortably.”
Xue Qinghuai’s voice is intimate, and it seems that men have a deep affection for things like carts. Just like when the Jiang family bought a cart, Jiang Wu loved it so much he could not let it go, just like Xue Qinghuai now.
In fact, Xue Qinghuai behaves like this for a reason. Not to mention that the mule cart is a rare and large object in the countryside. He carries his picks and walks the streets and alleys to sell goods. A few pairs of shoes can be worn out a month, and the soles of the feet are thickly callused. Every time Sun Shi washed his feet and she cried distressingly.
He had thought that his biggest dream was to have a cart. It doesn’t matter whether it is a donkey cart or a mule cart. Now this wish has been fulfilled.
Zhao’er said that this cart will be mostly driven by him in the future, so he has to take good care of the mule.
Zhao’er laughed. She could understand the mentality of Fourth uncle. Once she had also wanted to have a mule cart, so she could go wherever she wanted.
She opened the door and went in to drink water.
Just as the water slipped down her throat, she heard a dispute outside.
The Dafang couple had come back. Not only that, but they also called both Elder Xue1 and Xue Qingbai from the field.
“Well, Fourth brother, you don’t even discuss with your family when you buy such an expensive object. And Father keeps saying that Fourth brother is working for the family, and he dare not keep any of the money he earned, so he gives it to the family. It hasn’t been a few days since the family has been separated, and yet Fourth brother who dares not be greedy bought such a cart!”
Elder Xue still had mud on his feet. Judging from his complexion, there was nothing unusual, but it was just because there seemed to be nothing unusual that it seemed a little unusual.
After all this, the old man was actually suspecting him.
“Brother, don’t be so jealous of Fourth brother. Fourth brother is not such a person.” Xue Qingbai persuaded him from the side.
Xue Qingshan waved him away: “You leave me alone. You are an elm-headed person, and still say Fourth brother is not such a person. You work in the field, and he goes to buy a cart and shows off. The food gathered from the harvest by your family still needs to be shared with him.”
Speaking of this, we have to talk about how the land was planted and how the grain was divided when the family decided to separate.
It was impossible for the Second family to farm the land, so Zhao’er was very decisive at the beginning. According to the rules of tenancy outside, she only needed 60% of the grain, and the remaining 40% was taken out and divided among the few farms.
Dafang doesn’t want to be so generous, but Dafang doesn’t have anyone who farms the land, so it can only be done. These two houses had it convenient, but the Third family, Fourth family and Elder Xue had a hard time splitting the work and harvest. Later, Elder Xue made the decision. Except for 60% of each family, the remaining 40% of all land is divided by three. After this, things became a lot more clear.
It stands to reason that there is not much work in the field right now. Just after spring ploughing, there is no need to even fertilize, water and weed. It’s just that Elder Xue and Xue Qingbai don’t like being idle, so they stay in the sun watching the sprouts and fixing minor things in the field.
But they never expected that Xue Qingshan would make a fuss about this kind of thing.
But what Xue Qingshan said was not wrong. Xue Qingbai was in the field, but Xue Qinghuai was always outside, so it seemed that Xue Qingbai had suffered a loss.
In particular, there is another cart placed here. As Xue Qingshan said, Fourth brother is greedy for the money from selling goods, and the Third brother is losing out on this deal. The whole family ate the food that he worked exhaustingly to grow, and yet Fourth brother secretly saved money in his house to buy a cart.
Third Brother, Xue Qingbai, was did not seem bothered, but Zhou Shi’s eyes flashed on the side.
“From this point of view, this car should belong to the family, and every family can use it.” Yang Shi said.
“Believe it or not, I didn’t buy this car alone.”
“Why don’t I know when my cart has become a family possession?” Zhao’er walked out of the house.
She also ignored Xue Qingshan and looked at Elder Xue: “Grandpa, I bought this car, not my uncle. I haven’t learned how to ride it yet, so I will let my uncle ride it back for me.”
These words caused a thousand waves of waves, and Yang Shi immediately said: “Just you? Where did you get the money to buy a car? Zhao’er, it’s not that Eldest aunt wants to scold you, but you shouldn’t take the blame for Fourth Brother.”
Zhao’er nodded: “It is true who owns it. To be honest, I bought this cart with Jiang Wu and my Fourth uncle. I plan to do business in partnership using this cart. I took out the most money to buy this cart, so shouldn’t it be considered mine?”
Yang Shi’s heart suddenly stopped, but then she said in an uncanny voice: “such a proper looking person can tell such lies. Just because you said that it is yours so it is yours? I can also say that Fourth brother bought it himself.”
Xue Qinghuai was overwhelmed for a long time, because the Dafang couple are brothers and sisters, he has not refuted much. At this time, he couldn’t help it anymore and said: “Since you don’t believe anything, then don’t believe it!”
“Heh, Dad, look, Fourth brother admitted it!”
This skill in inverting truth and lies was really eye-opening.
Zhao’er was suddenly grateful for the foresight of her little man2 that day. When they said they wanted to partner up, they only said it verbally, and the next day, the various families brought the money they had to pay, and they all mixed their money together and put them in Zhao’er’s hands.
But before leaving the house, Xue TingRang asked the three of them to write a contract. What kind of business is going to be made, the money each family pays, and how the dividends will be distributed in the future all had to be written down in detail.
At that time, Jiang Wu and Xue Qinghuai were still reluctant to do something so troublesome, saying that they wouldn’t have teamed up if they didn’t trust each other Later, at Xue TingRang’s repeated requests, he personally wrote the 3 copies of the contract, and each of them had stamped their fingerprints on them.
Xue Qinghuai was stunned by the shamelessness of his elder brother, and his hands clamped into fists. Seeing that the situation was not right, Xue Qingshan went to hide behind Father Xue, muttering that Xue Qinghuai wanted to hit someone without reason.
There was a lot of trouble coming around, but Zhao’er did not pay attention to any of them. She turned around and went back to the house. A short time later, she got a deed from the house.
“Since you don’t believe it, come and have a look. Uncle, you forgot your contract?” She said with a sneer: “If you think our two families are colluding together, Jiang’s family still has another copy. I will let Jiang Wu prove it.”
At this moment Xue Qinghuai also thought of the contract, and hurried back to the house to find the contract, but the contract was kept by Sun Shi. Today, the Sun Shi brought Mao Dan back to her family. He almost turned the house over before he found the contract.
Two identical deeds were placed in front of Elder Xue. Even if he was illiterate, he could compare them to see that they had the same words. Not to mention that Xue Qingshan’s face turned pale after seeing the deed.
As if wanting to prove that he was right, Xue Qingshan suddenly said: “There are five liang silver from Fourth brother. Where did you get the money? And he still says that he didn’t take from the family money!”
Xue Qinghuai had been expressionless since he got the contract.
At this moment, his face suddenly showed his grief, and his expression of grief was mixed with ridicule. He looked deeply at Xue Qingshan and Elder Xue, and said, emphasizing every word: “Whether you believe it or not, this silver is the dowry of Maodan and his mother. She and her family have subsidized him over the past few years. And, Father, you really make your son feel cold! My eldest brother has framed me, yet you just sit and watch!”
After saying that, Xue Qinghuai left without looking back.