Chapter 174 - Caught Two Pairs Of Mother And Child Goats
Then, he placed the pheasants in the chicken pen and led the goats to the pigpen to raise them first.
It was too cold for the new year, and it was too troublesome to raise pigs. The Guan family had no plans to do so at the moment either, so the pigpen was empty.
He would temporarily keep the two pairs of goats here.
The female goat's eyes were filled with anger and unwillingness, but it was sensitive by nature. It could feel fear towards Guan Chibei, so it did not dare to move. It only protected the child anxiously and walked around the pigpen.
Guan Chibei glanced at them calmly and did not react. He went to prepare the goats' food.
The goats were still young. The two female goats were still feeding them and were very plump.
He would rear these two pairs of goats first. It was just nice. Actually, if he didn't bring them back, it would also be quite difficult for the female goats to raise the young goats during winter.
They might live better in the Guan family. The Guan family was not prepared to kill them anytime soon.
Everything would be fine once they calmed down.
After Guan Chibei went out, he returned to the mountain. He had not taken down the two roe deers and a large musk deer.
He really could not take them in the trip just now. Guan Chibei tied the three living prey with tree vines and went up the mountain again.
The villagers could no longer close their mouths. They watched as Guan Chibei went up and down the mountain a few times and returned home with rich prey. All of them were speechless.
…
No matter what, the house was filled with living prey that they had to take care of in autumn and winter!
The house seemed to have become lively. Although Guan Chibei's yin energy weakened the vitality of living creatures, they usually did not dare to escape. After they familiarized themselves with the environment and settled down with ample food and drink, the eyes of these living creatures were much brighter and they became livelier.
Who wouldn't like their house full of living creatures?!
Previously, Guan Chibei had been at home organizing the various pens in the backyard. They were finally of use.
At night, Mother Rong and the rest returned. They rubbed their hands together and came in. "The sky is getting colder. When we went down the mountain this morning, the grass on both sides had already frozen."
Mother Rong and the rest rushed into the kitchen. Everyone was in the kitchen for dinner now, so it was warmer.
Today, Second sister-in-law Guan stayed at home and had already prepared dinner. There was a large pot of sweet potato porridge with a few side dishes. There were stir-fried duck eggs and a small plate of stir-fried meat. It was considered a sumptuous spread in the village.
The porridge was boiled until it was thick and bubbling. It only emitted heat on the surface and the bowl was warm even in their hands. It was the best dinner this winter night.
The family sat around the table. Mother Rong took a sip of porridge and said, "It looks like we can only do business for a few more days."
Indeed, the sky was getting colder. It would probably start snowing in less than half a month.
"I don't know when Yuan River voyages will stop, but I don't think the ships can move once the river shows signs of freezing. However, there are more people at the docks these days. They must be rushing to board the ship to do things. Doing business is important, so we have to keep doing it."
The men from the Guan family had never been talkative. As such, the only person who talked was Mother Rong.
"But we also have to prepare to close our stall for winter."
"Then we'll have to build the wall." Guan Chibei said, "It's time to stop our business, build the wall, and spend winter at home."
The Guan family nodded and agreed. Although the money they had earned recently had to be spent on the wall instead of other places, this was also a decision made by the family.
Who said that everyone didn't benefit if safety was increased? Furthermore, during autumn and winter, they were most afraid of wild beasts running down the mountain. After the previous incident when someone stole a child, not to mention the baby's safety, everyone was wary of bad people entering their houses.
Mother Rong took out all the money she had earned over the past few days. The whole family counted that they had about eight taels of silver!
The Guan family was shocked.
They thought that no matter how good their business was, they would earn at most one or two taels of silver. That was already considered quite generous.
They did not expect there to be more than eight taels of silver!
Everyone in the Guan family froze.
Although Mother Rong counted money every day and knew how much there was, her heart still trembled at this moment. It was as if the copper coins were burning her hands. She glared at them but did not dare to touch them.
Ye Lulu felt a little amused. She counted money every day as well, so she knew very well. "Didn't we count money every day? In the beginning, we earned our capital back after six or seven days. After that, we made pure profits. We earned hundreds of copper coins a day. Later, our business became better and we earned eight or nine hundred copper coins a day, close to a tael of silver… If not for the cost of the rice and noodles, we would have earned more."
The Guan family was so funny… Did they think that they had only earned a little after counting money every day?
Ye Lulu grinned.
The Guan family looked at Ye Lulu in shock.
It wasn't that. They just hadn't expected to come into contact with such a large sum of money… That was why they were all silent.
"Especially during the past few days." Although Ye Lulu did not go out to participate in the setting up of the stall, she knew everything. She added, "Didn't Mother say that the river voyages are about to stop? The weather is colder and more people are buying porridge? Guan Chibei fishes every day. All the chickens in the house have been slaughtered, and business is getting better."
Mother Rong shivered. Oh my, if Lulu hadn't suggested doing business, she would never have imagined that she could have so much money in this lifetime!
This income was really beyond her expectations!
At this moment, Mother Rong firmly announced that she would continue doing this for the rest of her life!
During this period of time, they had earned more money than they had imagined. Therefore, the Guan family had to build a wall. After improving the safety of the Guan family, they would still have some money left.
That would be enough to prepare for winter.
This was because Guan Chibei had hunted prey, but there were many other things to buy during the new year. Furthermore, there was not enough land on the mountain, and the villagers had to buy food.
The people in Yunwu Village worked hard in the city every year because they wanted to save money to buy food and survive winter.
However, the Guan family happened to do business before the new year, so they could prepare for winter well.
Following that, Mother Rong and the rest went to the city to set up their stall every day. Even though the sky was getting colder, they still set up their stall every day. Furthermore, they were full of fighting spirit and became even more passionate.
They had to continue the business at the docks before the Yuan River was sealed.
And earn more money.
As for Eldest sister-in-Law Guan and Second sister-in-Law Guan, one of them could always spare some time to bring the two men from the Guan family, be it Guan Chixi or Guan Chinan, along to the city to shop and start stocking up for winter!
At the same time, the Guan family came up with a plan and went to find a builder. They started to work and build the wall at home.
In addition, they spent money to buy materials for building walls—mud bricks. In the Shang dynasty, there were many types of building materials. The noblest and wealthy families had green bricks, baked tiles, and so on. Some were even closer to modern technology, but that was something that very few families had.
As for most ordinary commoners, if they were farmers and didn't have money, they would naturally use yellow mud, wood, and even straw huts.
As for the commoners who had a little more money, they could also use mud bricks. Unlike green bricks, mud bricks also used water, mud, and straw as raw materials. After stirring them, they were laid with wooden lattices and placed in the same. They were then smoothened with wooden boards.
After putting them away for a few days, they would become mud bricks. The Shang dynasty had mud bricks. They weren't cheap, but they cost lower than green bricks. Some families would choose to use mud bricks to build their houses if they had spare money, but most farmers did not have such conditions.
The Guan family had also calculated the money in their hands.
Actually, it didn't cost much to ask someone who specialized in building houses to come over. This was because they only wanted to build a wall. The Guan family's men could have done it themselves, but they had to take care of business.
Instead, it cost more to buy mud bricks.
However, the Guan family hesitated for a moment before buying mud bricks. This was the same as when the Guan family had just built the house. Everyone felt that a wall would be used for a long time, so they had to spend money!
Therefore, within the next few days, the team at the foot of the mountain who specialized in building houses went up the mountain and entered Yunwu Village. When they arrived at the Guan family, they started to look at the ground, measure, and ponder. Then, they pulled over mud bricks and started to build the wall.
Oh my!
This was definitely a big move that couldn't be hidden in the village!
There were more than ten people from the specialized building team in the city. All of them were strong men. They also knew about architecture and how to build houses. They gathered at the Guan family. This could be said to be a huge commotion!
Everyone in Yunwu Village was naturally shocked!
The villagers were discussing fervently as groups ran over to take a look.
Oh my, what was wrong with the Guan family? Where did this money come from? They actually wanted to start work and build a house silently!
What was their Guan family thinking?
Were they building a new house or something?
Everyone was curious and shocked. They gathered outside the Guan family's house in shock, creating a huge commotion. Those who did not know better would think that something was wrong.
"What's wrong with the Guan family? They suddenly became rich?! Don't they have a lot of sons? Weren't they very poor before?!"
"The Guan family's formation is huge!"
"What are they doing? Building a house?"
"Where did the Guan family get the money from?!"
The villagers gasped in surprise. Most of them were talking about how the poor Guan family suddenly had money and even wanted to build a house.
Indeed, building a house was a big deal at this time.
The villagers were stunned and puzzled. They speculated and discussed. They were also jealous. Guan Chibei walked past everyone with a calm expression and entered the Guan family's door with a bunch of money in his hand.
When the villagers saw him, they immediately found a reason. Oh, that was right! Did Guan Chibei exchange his prey from hunting in the mountains for money?!
That made sense. If Guan Chibei exchanged prey for money, the Guan family would have money to build a house!
That was right! Why hadn't they thought of that?
One thing was worth mentioning. Although Mother Rong and the rest had been doing business during this period, they had only been doing it for a little more than a month.. Due to the cold autumn and winter, although there were more people on the docks, there were fewer people from Yuan City.