In the end, Ran'er and Qinglian didn't leave the congratulatory gifts they prepared for Chunshui. I went home after the set. The sisters thought that if Chunshui was in high school, it would be a major event near Yangzhuang, and the news would soon reach Xia Village, and after hearing the news, it would be too late to give gifts. After all, the Zhou family will not be hasty, and will definitely prepare carefully before holding a banquet to celebrate.

The next day, Qinglian went to Xia Village to buy needlework and thread, and when she came back, she said to Ran'er:

"Brother Chunshui really won the lift. I heard a lot of people talking about it in the shop just now. ”

"Uncle Zhou, it's time for the joy to blossom."

"Isn't my sister upset?"

"Go, don't make fun of my sister."

"Sister, when are we going to send congratulatory gifts?"

"Next day to catch the market, it shouldn't be late."

Since Qinglian thought of planting lotus roots to make money on the set, Ran'er also agreed very much. When I got home, I had already gone to the vicinity of my mother's grave, and the place where the creek bends. Ran Er thought, although this place is not usually managed, he can't use it rashly, it is best to say hello to the village chief. I thought about it, but I couldn't find a suitable reason. If you tell the village chief that you want to dig a pond and plant lotus roots, will it cause some people to be blushing, so that they don't let their sisters use that place?

The sisters discussed for a while, and Qinglian asked Ran'er tentatively:

"My sister said that if I told the village chief that we were going to buy the bamboo forest, and by the way, we would also row that section of the river into the bamboo forest, would the village chief agree?"

"That's a good idea. I just don't know if the village will sell it, and how much will it cost? Let's ask Grandpa Li to inquire on my behalf. ”

After Ran'er and Qinglian came to Grandpa Li's house to explain their intentions, Grandpa Li was no longer surprised by the actions of the young ladies after two things. I readily agreed.

"That piece of bamboo has been growing for many years, and it is useless, and it is estimated that it is not worth borrowing money, so this thing will be done. Go home and wait for the letter. ”

The next day, Grandpa Li led the village chief to Ran'er's fence yard.

"Are you going to buy that bamboo forest?"

"Yes, village chief. Can it be sold? ”

"If you can sell, you are idle, and you are idle, and you are an ownerless thing. Have you thought about how much money you can buy? ”

Ran'er and Qinglian couldn't help but glance at each other whenever they thought that the village chief would ask them the price, and then looked at Grandpa Li and the village chief.

"Is a tael of silver okay?"

Seeing Qinglian's serious appearance, the village chief and Grandpa Li both laughed. A child is a child, if a tael of silver can buy such a mountain, can you wait until now?

"I mean a tael of silver a mu, okay?"

Hearing Qinglian say seriously again, Grandpa Li and the village chief stopped laughing, and couldn't help but be impressed by this **-year-old girl in their hearts. Outsiders have always known that it was Ran'er who supported this family, but they didn't expect Qinglian to be so smart.

"I'll see it."

The village chief followed Qinglian's words and responded.

"It's not easy for two children, the village chief told the above, it's better to spend 800 yuan per mu."

Grandpa Li interceded with the Ran'er sisters.

"Okay, I'll go to the county and ask now. There will be an echo in the evening, you two will prepare the banquet and wait. ”

After the village chief finished jokingly, he left with Grandpa Li.

In the evening, Grandpa Li came over alone and said to Ran'er and Qinglian:

"The village chief is back, and the matter has been negotiated, 800 wen per mu, tomorrow morning to measure the area, write documents, and prepare food for four or five people at noon."

At the beginning of the morning of the next day, the village chief, Grandpa Li, Li Shun, and a clerk from the county. First went to the bamboo forest to measure it, there were fifteen acres, and then said that he wanted to enclose the beach by the stream and asked to measure it together. Grandpa Li said to the village chief and the county clerk:

"This river beach is flooded in summer, and it's useless in winter and spring, so you don't have to pay for it with the little sisters, right?"

The village chief looked at the document from the county, meaning to let the other party take the idea, and the clerk also knew that Ran'er and Qinglian were two orphans, and they had been dependent on each other, and seeing that the river beach was only three or four acres in total, and they could neither plant crops nor trees, so they nodded and agreed.

Overjoyed, Ran'er and Qinglian thanked a few people for their help, and the lunch was prepared very neatly. Chicken, fish, pork, eggs are lacking in anything. The wine is also the best in the village.

After the meal, the clerk took away the written paperwork and the twelve taels of silver that Ran'er handed him, and said:

"I'll go to the county and stamp the big seal, and I'll send someone to bring it to you."

After the village chief and the clerk left together, Grandpa Li stayed for a while.

"Ran'er deliberately asked for that river beach, do you have any ideas?"

"Ran'er knew that she couldn't hide it from her grandfather. Originally, I discussed with Lian'er that as long as that section of the river beach, I could dig a pond to raise lotus roots, but I was afraid that I would be remembered, so I simply bought that piece of bamboo. ”

"It's a good idea to dig a pond to raise lotus roots. Who gave you what it thought? ”

"It was Lian'er who thought of it."

"Hehe, Lian'er is really a clever ghost. When are you going to start construction? ”

"Just these few days, dig it before the beginning of spring, and don't delay planting lotus roots."

"Okay, set a date, grandpa will help you call someone to help."

Now, Ran'er and Qinglian are already shy. Not only did the ten taels of silver left by my mother also pay the land money, but the only five taels of silver I had left in my hand also made up two taels, and now I have less than three taels left in my hand. The sisters calculated that in addition to seventy or eighty eggs a month, which could be sold for one hundred and twenty yuan, they were pigs in the pigsty. At the end of November, Ran'er and Qinglian sold the pigs, got four taels of silver, spent one or two or six dollars to buy a little piglet, and the remaining two taels and seven dollars, plus the original rest, a total of more than five taels, less than six taels. The egg money is enough for daily expenses, and the big money can only wait for the spring to sell sour bamboo shoots.

Anyway, digging a pond is just a cost for food, and at most three taels of silver is enough. Therefore, on the first day of the lunar month, under Grandpa Li's Zhang Luo, the pond of Ran'er's house began to be built. At the end of the first ten days, not only a pond six feet deep and three acres square was excavated, but also a protective edge was built around it to prevent it from being washed away when the water rose in summer.

The lotus root was bought directly from Yangzhuang Ji for more than one or two silver, but the two sisters did not ask for help, and the two stood knee-deep in the cold water and buried the lotus root in the mud at the bottom of the pool. Every time you just hold on to the pool for a while, you have to come up and run to prevent frostbite. The three-acre square pond was planted by the sisters for five or six days before it was finished.

Chunshui High School's banquet has not been placed, because since Chunshui has been in the city to socialize, worship the teacher, meet the window, and only come back at the end of the month. Seeing that the New Year was approaching, the father and son of the Zhou family discussed, and the banquet was set for the sixteenth day of the first lunar month.

The congratulatory gifts of the Ran'er sisters were sent early, and they just had to wait for the sixteenth day to go to the table.