The Daily Life of Farming and Raising Children in Ancient Mountain Residences

Chapter 241: The Way

The officials had left, but the townspeople lingered, especially those from the countryside. Those who recognized Old Man Chen, Old Man Lu, Mrs. Chen, or anyone from Daxing Village gathered around to ask questions, and it took a quarter of an hour before they finally dispersed.

The people of Daxing Village returned home in a dazed, euphoric state, feeling as if they were walking on clouds. As for Sang Luo, having made her presentation and declined any rewards, she felt satisfied with what she had accomplished. The matter was settled in her mind, and she no longer dwelled on it.

She went about her days as usual, unaware of the profound impact her actions had on others.

Shen Lie seemed to have found his path.

Previously, when studying, he aimed to carve out a future where he could provide a good life for Sang Luo, protect her, and allow her to pursue her interests freely. However, after that day, his perspective changed.

He saw his own path in both Sang Luo and Former Governor Zeng—one that was clearer and more defined, the path he should follow after becoming a scholar and an official.

Shen Ning and Xu Wenyin, though still vague, began to form their own dreams.

Daxing Village, once again, captured the attention of Shezhou’s people. This time, the impact was far greater than the previous occasion.

News spread about how Sang Luo and the people of Daxing Village had helped the mountain villagers establish a foothold in the mountains and survive with the resources available there.

Konjac tofu and yam became widely known, and even the currently unavailable divine tofu gained fame in Shezhou City.

Chen Youtian registered at the prefectural office to participate in making new plows. The first batch of plows produced by the government was sent to Daxing Village, with the Shen family’s two plows arriving first. As neighboring villages gradually received their new plows, Daxing Village became a scene of wonder.

Farmers from surrounding villages, whether near or far, carried their newly acquired plows to Daxing Village, and upon arriving, they first inquired about the location of Sang Luo’s fields.

Shen’s thirty acres of land were barely plowed by Zhao Dalang and Zhao Silang. Most of the work was done by neighboring farmers who came to help.

It wasn’t that Zhao Dalang and Zhao Silang didn’t want to work, but they had no opportunity. Somehow, word spread that helping Sang Luo plow the fields in Daxing Village had become a major event for local farmers. For every plow provided by the government, a corresponding number of teams would come to help.

The Shen family had only thirty acres of land. Even though the official plows were not produced very quickly, the arrival of sixty to seventy people a day, each working just half a day, meant that the work was mostly done by the next day.

But the work wasn’t over yet. After finishing the work on the fields, there were still the mountain areas to tend to. Instead of plowing, they used hoes. Two people per household would come, work for half a day, and then leave. The activity in Shen’s fields was even more bustling than in the mountains, attracting countless onlookers.

During this time, whenever people saw groups carrying hoes or plows on the main road, they would greet each other with:

“Heading to Daxing Village?”

“Yes, yes, are you too?”

“Yes, let’s go together.”

The exchanges were almost as casual as asking if they had eaten.

It wasn’t long before someone with a keen eye noticed that the Shen family was planting various fruit trees found in the mountains on their land. In just a few days, word spread about this.

From a certain day onward, people began sending fruit trees to the Shen family. These trees were dug up from nearby mountains, with each village sending just a few, but with so many people delivering them, it added up. There were the Feng family, the Gan family, the Zhou family, the Zheng family, and Dong Ge’er’s family—people Sang Luo recognized, as well as many she didn’t, who quietly left the trees by the house without disturbing her.

Zhao Dalang and Zhao Silang were very pleased for their master’s family. Of course, their own family had also helped with the work.

But the brothers were astonished at how, within just seven or eight days, over forty acres of mountain land had been cleared by Shezhou’s villagers. The trees were left, and the weeds and shrubs were cleared, with the fields tilled. When people brought fruit trees, they asked Zhao Dalang and Zhao Silang where to plant them and helped to plant them.

The land was now neat and tidy. Several small fruit orchards had been established, and the remaining land was ready for planting beans, vegetables, or yams.

Zhao Dalang scratched his head and asked his brother, “Do we still have work to do?”

There was no heavy work left.

It was all so sudden.

Zhao Silang was quite pleased: “Sang Luo is kind-hearted. How much labor has she saved everyone with those plows? Who wouldn’t be grateful? Not having any work isn’t a problem. I’ll ask Sang Luo about it later.”

……

Sang Luo was also aware of the busy scene outside Shezhou City. When Zhao Silang asked if there was any heavy work left at home, she was momentarily taken aback.

“Of course, there is. With seventy or more acres of mountain and field land, do you think I can manage it all by myself?”

In reality, Shen Lie, Shen An, and Shen Ning had not allowed her to do any heavy work, and there were hardly any light tasks left for her.

Hearing this, Zhao Silang was happy: “That’s great! We’re more than happy to work for you. The people in the village are envious of us working for your family.”

Sang Luo smiled and, since Zhao Silang was there, asked him to wait a moment while she went inside and brought out a sack of seeds. “Perfect timing. Could you help me scatter these seeds on four acres of land?”

“Seeds? Scatter them on four acres?”

“Yes, these are alfalfa seeds. The pigs, sheep, rabbits, chickens, ducks, and geese all like them. They’re nutritious, grow quickly, and will save us from having to gather grass every day.”

Alfalfa has high protein content and is excellent feed for livestock and poultry. One planting can be harvested two or three times, and if planted well, it can yield several thousand pounds of fresh grass per acre.

Besides feeding livestock and poultry, it’s also a delicious wild vegetable. When fresh, it can be stir-fried or cooked with cured meat, and it’s incredibly fragrant. Sang Luo planned to sell it in the east market, where fresh produce was in high demand.

The best part was that as long as it wasn’t used to fertilize the fields, it didn’t need strict timing conditions to grow, and it had a flowering period of up to four months.

Sang Luo had her eyes set on making alfalfa honey.

She knew how to make sugar, but even with sugarcane, she doubted if she could sell it. Honey, however, was a luxury item at this time, with a high selling price. Beekeeping and harvesting honey were good for both feeding poultry and livestock, and selling honey could also be profitable. It was a low-maintenance, hassle-free venture, and finding such opportunities was rare.

In fact, she had had Shen Lie plant alfalfa in the valley during their years in the mountains, which had accumulated a good amount of seeds, though at that time it was mainly for sheep feed and green manure.

Zhao Silang was deeply impressed with Sang Luo’s well-organized plans. After asking where the alfalfa should be planted and receiving a good amount of vegetable seeds, he left with several small bags and got to work.

……

After Zhao Silang left, Sang Luo thought about the farm work at home being on track. Once the busy season was over, she planned to hire people to dig the foundation and build the courtyard walls. She took out paper and a pen to draw a floor plan according to the size of their homestead.

Before she had drawn many lines, Shen Ning returned from the Shen family with several young girls, having finished making pens and preparing to sell them.

“Sister-in-law, we’ve made two hundred brushes. We’re discussing whether to sell them today.”

“That’s great,” Sang Luo said, setting aside her pen and smiling. “What did you decide?”

Shen Ning approached Sang Luo’s desk and said, “We’re thinking of setting up a stall outside the academy before the school lets out. What do you think?”

“Let’s give it a try and see. Have you decided on the price?”

A few years ago, Sang Luo had bought brushes at a candle shop in Qiyang County for thirty-five wen each. Given that this was outside the academy and prices were lower this year, she was unsure about the current market.

Shen Ning replied with a smile, “Second Brother checked for me. The cheaper ones are around thirty wen each, and some can be up to one or two hundred wen. Our brushes have bamboo handles and are for a small stall, so we’re thinking of selling them for twenty-five wen each.”

Sang Luo considered that there were only forty students at the academy, and many of them came from well-off families. She doubted they would sell many, but she remained supportive and encouraged Shen Ning to give it a try.

As soon as Shen Ning saw that her sister-in-law had agreed, she happily got ready. Sang Luo found out that Shen Ning had even asked Chen Ershan to make a simple wooden box for setting up a stall. When packed away, it was a box, but when unfolded, it became a stall. Chen Ershan had also been invited to help at the stall outside the academy.

Since the academy was male-only, and Shen Ning was thirteen this year and aware of such issues, she had enlisted Chen Ershan as a strong helper.

Sixteen-year-old Chen Ershan was not only tall but also skilled in martial arts. His presence with Shen Ning and Xu Wenyin going into the city was reassuring, at least in terms of safety. Although he wasn’t very eloquent, Sang Luo didn’t mind, especially since the two young girls were also busy and not idle.

Sang Luo chuckled, “You’ve thought of everything. Go ahead.”

“It’s still early,” Shen Ning said. “I’ll wash and cut the vegetables first. Don’t rush to make dinner, I’ll be back by the time we finish setting up the stall. We’ll return around the time when the academy lets out.”

Sang Luo, smiling, sent her off: “Alright, I’m not uncomfortable. I’ll handle dinner. You focus on your business.”

……

On the first day of the stall, Shen Ning returned just before the evening. She had come back with Shen Lie and Shen An.

Without the box, it seemed they had left it at Xu’s place. Seeing Shen Ning’s smiling face, Sang Luo asked, “It looks like you sold something?”

Shen Ning was delighted, nodding vigorously. She took out a money pouch from her waist: “Sister-in-law, we sold three brushes. They were bought by Second Brother’s classmates for seventy-five wen. I gave a discount of five wen, so we received seventy wen. I’ll keep it here for now, and we’ll split the money later when everyone’s here.”

Forty-five wen.

After the deduction, Shen Ning had seventeen wen.

Seeing the young girl’s successful start, Sang Luo was pleased and cheerfully invited the siblings to wash their hands and have dinner.

That night, after they had gone to bed, Sang Luo asked Shen Lie which of his classmates had bought the brushes.

Shen Lie scratched his nose and said it was Wang Yunzheng’s sixth uncle.

Since the Wang family’s children wouldn’t use such brushes, it was clear that Xu Wenyin had bought them to show support.

Shen Lie laughed, “Let her enjoy it for a few days. After a while, she’ll come up with other ideas.”

With only forty students at the academy and many from well-off families, relying solely on selling brushes outside the academy would be limited, and the time and effort spent on the stall were considerable.

Shen Ning quickly realized that the stall, which had only been set up for five days, saw a drop in sales after the first two days of support from Shen Lie and Wang Yunzheng’s classmates. On the fifth day, no brushes were sold at all.

In the evening, Xu Wenyin and a few others came to Shen’s house. They gathered in Shen Ning’s room, discussing and brainstorming ways to sell the brushes for half an hour. By the time it was completely dark, Qin Fangniang and Shi Erlang’s wife had been calling people in the village, so the three girls hurried back home.

Before bed, the sisters-in-law soaked their feet together. Shen Ning, frowning, said, “Sister-in-law, the brushes aren’t selling very well.”

Sang Luo tried to suppress a laugh and said, “There aren’t many students at the academy, and they mostly use expensive brushes. Think about it—besides the academy students, who else needs brushes?”

Shen Ning pondered for a moment and suddenly slapped her forehead: “Sister-in-law, do you think that in the city, families with children as young as Ah Xu and others are also starting to find tutors to teach them to read and write?”

With the imperial examinations being held, reading seemed to offer a clear path.

Children in their village were studying every day, especially Ah Xu and Zhou Wulang, who were particularly diligent.

Sang Luo smiled and nodded, “Exactly. So you need to target their business.”

Are there families in the city with children starting to study? If they are learning, where would they buy brushes and ink? Following this thought, Shen Ning’s eyes lit up: “Sister-in-law, I understand now. I’ll try selling brushes at a few shops on the street outside the academy—shops that sell brushes, ink, or candles.”

She would make a trip each day, spending an hour in total, but only setting up the stall for a short while outside the academy because later on, there would be no one left to buy. Selling through established shops would be more effective than competing with them during limited hours at the academy. Shen Ning thought this was a good idea, remembering how her sister-in-law had also sold tofu through other vendors.

With that much time, she could make more brushes or work on other things, such as making paper. This approach seemed better than spending an hour every day making just a few wen.

She struck her right fist into her left palm: “This is the way to go. By giving more business to the ink and brush shops, even if we make less profit per brush, we’ll sell more than if we just stayed at the academy. Parents buy brushes for their children, and they won’t just buy from the academy exit.”

She realized this clearly.

At the end of the first month, Shen Ning got busy with her new venture. She, along with Xu Wenyin, visited the candle and brush shops outside the academy, negotiating deals for bulk sales. The price was set at fifteen wen per brush, shifting from retail to wholesale.

On the same day, an official boat from Shezhou docked at the capital. A wooden box containing documents was lifted into the carriage waiting at the dock, and the carriage, loaded with the box of official papers, sped straight toward the imperial city.