With Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's answers, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's families began to value the two children more and more. Especially after Zhuangzi learned from Zhangjia Zhuangzi and hired a few more people, he found that the money paid was not much, but the people under him worked harder than before.
In the afternoon, the temperature rose. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan took Pomegranate to the field that had been harvested. At this time, the field was full of short stubble, whether it was rice, wheat, or corn.
"Xiao Bao, can we plant some vegetables in winter?" Wang Juan picked up a leaf that was blown by the wind and felt that it was a waste to leave the field empty for winter.
Zhang Xiaobao pursed his lips and looked at the field. After a while, he shook his head and said helplessly, "We can't plant vegetables in these fields. I don't know how much a catty of cucumbers in winter costs."
"Pomegranate, how much are cucumbers in winter?" Wang Juan turned her head and asked Pomegranate who was not far away.
"Where are the cucumbers? In two days, the stored cucumbers need to be eaten, otherwise they will go bad. If you want to eat cucumbers, you can dry them in the shade and soak them in water to eat. You can do the same for other vegetables. "Pomegranate did not know what the two little guys were thinking. They were expecting to buy cucumbers in winter.
"If there are cucumbers that have just been picked, how much are you going to pay for them?" Zhang Xiaobao followed and asked.
"In reply to the little gongzi, I won't buy them. Even if there are, I can't afford them." Pomegranate had nothing to do, so she followed and said something impossible.
Wang Juan did not think so. If Zhang Xiaobao did not have a solution, he would not ask. After thinking for a while, she found that she could not make a greenhouse, so she touched Zhang Xiaobao with her hand and asked, "How do you want to plant cucumbers?"
"Erniu is free. Let him go to Ge Zhuang to collect firewood, which is rice, wheat, and corn stalks. These things should be very cheap. One copper coin can buy a few bundles. We can plant cucumbers. Let's do the preparation work today and do it tomorrow."
Zhang Xiaobao began to plan things. Wang Juan still did not understand how to plant cucumbers.
Before she asked, Zhang Xiaobao explained to her, "In fact, this is a scam. My subordinates helped me think of it. I didn't think it would work, so I didn't use this method. this method can grow vegetables in winter in the north without any transparent materials...
In theory, it is feasible, but in the actual process, it is not as good as transporting from other summer countries. The investment is big, the harvest is small, and the income will not make ends meet. Some of the materials here are cheap, and the labor cost is not included. Plus, there are no cucumbers in winter, so we should be able to make money. Tomorrow, follow me. "
Wang Juan saw that Zhang Xiaobao still did not explain the matter clearly, so she was not in a hurry to ask. She just wanted to see how he was going to prepare for today.
Since there was something to do, the three of them did not stay outside for long. They turned back and Zhang Xiaobao began to arrange.
He chose a piece of land that was 40 meters by 40 meters in the back. He and Wang Juan measured the rough data together. Every 5 meters by 5 meters, they dug a square trench that was 1.5 meters deep outside.
Then, they built a wall that was more than 20 square meters above the trench. The wall was 2 meters high, and there were holes near the top of the wall. The holes were as thick as a child's arm, and they were spaced 1 meter apart.
Zhuangzi was not busy now. There were many people, and they could save some of their own food. They all came to help. After the holes on the wall were finished, they made a hole under each of the outer walls, which was slightly bigger.
At night, even if they were done, the holes were not dry. Erniu got some firewood and started to roast the wall at night. He connected a stove from the hole below and put the firewood in the stove. The heat moved along the space between the two walls to other places.
That night, there were many people making the fire, so it was quite lively. The children in Zhuangzi were so excited that they did not go to sleep and wandered back and forth.
Early the next morning, Zhang Xiaobao ordered people to buy the mats. The cheapest ones could be made of straw or reeds. Bamboo was not necessary as it was a bit expensive. He bought countless bamboo poles that were as thick as a child's arm. They were at least 2.5 meters long, which was about 6 feet.
Although they were not worth much, they bought everything and spent 100 bolts of silk, which was 20 taels of silver. Zhang Xiaobao, who was watching from the side, felt very distressed.
"Little Young Master has been busy these days. It is not easy for him to earn some money. Every time he works, he does not have 20 taels of silver. He only relies on chili sauce and vegetable oil. He even used the money he borrowed two days ago. He even used the money he earned from selling carrots. Two Zhuangzi and the money he earned, 3,900 taels of silver have been exchanged for food. This includes Young Master Song's share.
The chicks have grown a lot, but they are not allowed to be sold. They can only lay eggs next year. After handing in the food to the higher-ups, there is no money left in Zhuangzi. Now, the Zhuangzi's expenses are all supported by Little Young Master's daily income from selling oil and chili sauce. Madam, why don't you persuade Little Young Master? "
Steward Zhang muttered to Jang Wong Clan, who was also watching the scene. 20 taels of silver, it was enough to cover the courtyard's expenses for a month.
"Steward Zhang, Xiao Bao wants to do it, and he is using his own money. Don't worry about other people. Xiao Bao has his own plans."
Jang Wong Clan did not care at all. She still had a hundred strings of money at home. Looking at the small mountain of food, she was not worried at all. Moreover, the vegetable oil was coming in every day. After deducting the two Zhuangzi's expenses, there was still money left.
At night, a few people were left to light the fire to watch over the place. Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao also came to take a look.
"Xiao Bao, you want to plant cucumbers in the middle of the bamboo. When the weather is cold, you can light the fire. During the day, you can open the shed and open the bamboo to maintain the temperature inside. When the two bamboo poles are put together, it will be just right for the ends of the bamboo poles. At night, you can cover it with a mat.
Wang Juan understood. No wonder Zhang Xiaobao said that it was a scammer. If it was in the past, these things would cost a lot of money. It was even more expensive than building a shed. Cucumbers could be found elsewhere and could not be sold for much. How much would it cost to transport them from the South to the North?
"It is easy to maintain the moisture. You can just cover the mat with water. The mat will consume more water. Fortunately, it is cheap. During winter, the most important thing to consider is the snow. If there is a heavy snowfall, someone will have to get up at night to sweep the ground. The ground is afraid of the cold, so you have to dig a trench. Every few days, you will use the fire to dry the cucumbers.
Under this kind of sun, the cucumbers grow slowly. Now, according to the calculation here, in the middle of September, there will be two and a half months of Chinese New Year. At that time, you can make a lot of money. When you have a good year, you have to keep it a secret during the artificial pollination. "
These words slowly came out of Zhang Xiaobao's mouth. Wang Juan looked at his calm expression and felt that this was the demeanor that the international scammer should have. He was like a parent, leading his subordinates and defeating one enemy after another. His firm and deep appearance made his subordinates always full of confidence and hope.
"I didn't expect that something that was originally a scam would actually be able to make money here. When the time comes, eating a cucumber would be more expensive than eating a piece of meat. Let's go. Tomorrow morning, Young Master Song will be back to deliver the money he earned from collaborating with Zhou Xihu to sell candy. The houses of both our villages need to be repaired, and we still need to get up. We are counting on this money."
Wang Juan pulled Zhang Xiaobao's hand and turned to walk towards their residence. Under the light of the fire, the two small figures grew longer and longer.
The next morning, Song Jinggong rushed back. He first took out the money from the oil sales yesterday. It was not much, only about 900 copper coins, which was less than one tael of silver. It was not light to carry, mainly because many people used other things to exchange for it.
According to Zhang Xiaobao's instructions, those things that could be preserved were to be sold together. Those that could not be preserved were basically food. For example, three catties of watery spinach were exchanged for one catty of tofu. The spinach was directly taken to the small restaurant where it was bought. At the end of the month, it would be accounted for separately.
"Little Young Master, this is the money that Zhou Xihu gave me. I followed your instructions and asked for 30% of the money, and 50% of the money. That Zhou Xihu was overjoyed. This is 120 taels of silver. Carrying it on my back and adding the copper coins, it almost crushed me to death."
Song Jinggong put the bag on his back in front of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. He opened the knot, revealing the grey-white silver inside. There were 12 ingots, and each ingot was 10 taels of silver.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded. This money was enough.
Song Jinggong saw that the Little Young Master did not have a surprised expression, so he did not want to be so excited. He wanted the Little Young Master to guess, so he asked, "Little Young Master, why don't you guess how you got 100 taels of silver in such a short time?"
"Is there a need to guess? Zhou Xihu was spoiled since he was young. He is not even 20 years old and can be considered a child. Like me, he wanted to make his family happy. As a result, he used many methods to transport a large amount of brown sugar to make white sugar, and then used his connections to sell it.
I reckon that any place that sells sugar in this province will have his white sugar. The money you sent is only the first, and the next money will come soon. Last night, I asked Erniu to go out of this province to buy brown sugar. Before the new year, there will be a big increase. The money that should be earned still needs to be earned. "
Zhang Xiaobao touched the silver with his hand. While feeling the coolness of the silver, he spoke.
"Little Young Master, I will go back first. I will come back tomorrow afternoon and send the second money here."
After listening to Zhang Xiaobao's words, the last bit of excitement on Song Jinggong's face disappeared. He stood up, threw down a sentence, and left listlessly. He suddenly felt that it was meaningless for him to constantly lie to others. In front of the Little Young Master, he was like a child who had just learned to walk.
Whenever he asked a question that he thought was difficult, the Little Young Master would always play it down. He always had a cute smile on his face, but after looking at him for a long time, he felt cold from the inside out.
"Xiao Bao, you scared him." Wang Juan, of course, knew how Song Jinggong felt. It was just like when she saw Zhang Xiaobao's information. When facing this kind of genius that you had to admit, you would feel powerless.
"I didn't scare him. I was giving him confidence. He is a conceited person. He thinks that he is smarter than others. If I firmly suppress him, he will think it through.
He is already very powerful, and there is an even more powerful person behind him. Then, what is there to be afraid of when he does things? Then, he will use all his skills and not think of a way out. This will give him confidence. This is the position that he should be in. "
Zhang Xiaobao gave Wang Juan an analysis of the motivation theory of human nature and talents.
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