Seeing off Grandma Dong and others, Zhao Qinggang returned to the house.

The second master and the second wife came back.

“…… The peaches are growing so well this year! Before anyone entered the house, the excited voice of the second wife came in.

The big house moved away.

Zhao Qing's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are left to live in the semi-idle house, and the second master and the second wife treat her as their daughter, and there is no need to hide it, Zhao Qing told the second master and the second wife about the purchase of the 2,000 acres of fruit forest.

After three years of tempering, the second master, who only reads sage books, also knows the hardships of life.

Nothing else could help, so he took the initiative to take care of the fruit forest.

The so-called care is nothing more than going to the fruit forest every once in a while to see how the fruit trees are growing, listening to the fruit farmers' reports, and dealing with some emergencies.

2,000 acres of fruit forests, including 1,000 acres of snow peaches and 1,000 acres of apple trees.

The snow peaches ripen in July, and the apples ripen in October, just staggering the season, and after taking over, Zhao Qing has not changed this pattern.

Only the wooden house guarding the fruit forest was renovated.

A dozen elaborately designed cabins were added, and pavilions, stone benches, and cloisters were repaired.

Originally, it was just a low thatched house that could barely live for two people, but after this transformation, it immediately became a small bridge and flowing water house with a beautiful artistic conception.

Zhao Qing did this just to attract some scattered merchants.

Sometimes, the same purchase price can save the merchants a few days of accommodation, and they will not hesitate to choose their own home!

But I didn't expect that every April and May the peach blossoms are in full bloom. It's a real-life version of paradise!

The second master likes it amazingly.

I personally named it Peach Blossom Xiaozhu.

also moved all the books to prepare for the scientific expedition to Peach Blossom Building.

Everywhere you look at books, you can read books while looking at the peach forest. It's a lot of fun.

In the past two years, Zhao Qing has been filial piety, Fu Ge'er is young, and Zhao Qing has no energy to Zhang Luo, and almost all the fruit business in Jianing County has been monopolized by the Cao family, a big fruit merchant, and it has been purchased and exported in a unified manner.

There are fewer and fewer individual customers who come to buy in person.

After the repair, the small building in the peach forest is basically useless, and Zhao Qing doesn't mind that the second master treats it as a separate courtyard, and often takes the second wife to relax.

"Mother is back. Tired or not? Zhao Qing took the handkerchief handed by Xia Zhu and personally greeted the second wife to wipe her sweat.

"Not tired!" The second wife took the handkerchief with a smile and wiped it herself, "Gu Changsheng said that this year's peaches are growing well. One acre of land can produce seven or eight thousand catties! ”

Gu Changsheng is a fruit craftsman hired by Zhao Qingzhong, who has served the fruit forest all his life, has rich experience and is famous far and wide.

A forest. He took a look. It can be estimated that eight or nine is not far from ten.

"Really?" Xia Zhu said in surprise, "Last year, the yield per mu was only 3,000 catties!" ”

"Hmm!" The second wife nodded, "According to last year's purchase price of five cents per catty, this thousand acres of peach forest is more than 40,000 taels, deducting miscellaneous expenses such as labor and fertilizer, and there are 20,000 taels left!" ”

As she spoke, she looked at Shuxiang and Xia Zhu with a smile.

"Now, both of you have the money to add incense!"

Chunlan, Huamei and others have all married one after another.

Now the semi-idle old people are only left with the fragrance of books and summer bamboo. The scholar is also married, and the husband's family is a steward of the cloth merchant Dong's family. It was Zhao Qingtuo's grandmother Dong's matchmaker.

Xia Zhu's marriage is a little difficult.

is eighteen years old, in the eyes of Jianing County, she is already a big girl, and she will be an old girl if she can't marry for another two years. Zhao Qing picked left and right, and even begged the fourth aunt and grandmother Shen Huaizhen to find it from the county office, but Xia Zhu was not satisfied and refused to marry.

According to the concept of the second wife, the maid's marriage is directly referred to.

But Zhao Qing had to be satisfied with Xia Zhu, and the second wife couldn't screw it, so it has been delayed until now.

"Oh, Sister Xia Zhu doesn't have her mother-in-law yet, and the second wife is ready to add a box of silver!" The newly bought little maid Yuehong giggled when she heard this.

The second wife was stunned, and then she also quipped, "Then Ying'er will give her share to the scholar, and save her eyes from growing to the top of her head!" "The high is not scored.

Poof......

Everyone laughed.

Xia Zhu's face turned red, and she stomped her feet vigorously, "The second wife arranges the slave maid again." "I didn't pour the tea anymore, I turned around and left.

This girl's temper is getting bigger and bigger.

The second wife turned her head curtly and looked at her back, "Does she have someone in her heart?" "It's not anyone, why is it urgent to mention it?

After talking about so many households, none of them are satisfied.

Someone?

Zhao Qing didn't know why, blinked and asked, "Who is it?" ”

"Grandma! Grandmother! ”

"Mother! Mother! ”

As he was talking, Brother Fu and Brother Rong ran over.

Brother Fu ran into the arms of the second wife as soon as he was tall, "Grandma, grandma!" ”

Seeing Brother Fu'er, the second wife's heart melted, and she screamed with her heart, lowered her head and kissed her forehead twice.

was born without Fu Ge'er's flexibility, and when Rong Ge'er pounced, the second wife had already been occupied by Fu Ge'er.

was so anxious that Brother Rong cried.

"My mother, my mother! This is my mother! ”

As soon as he came out of the clean room, the second master heard his son's cry, his face suddenly darkened, and he rushed into the house in three steps and two steps: "Who bullied Brother Rong again?" ”

When I looked up, I saw Brother Fu and Brother Rong robbing the second wife.

Brother Fu dominated the arms of the second wife and did not let go, and smiled proudly at Brother Rong.

And Brother Rong grabbed the second wife's arm and squeezed it in, while crying, "My, mine, this is my mother!" ”

"It's my grandma!" Fu Ge'er hugged the second wife and didn't let go.

The second wife was sweating profusely.

The old son and the eldest grandson are all her lifeblood, and neither of them is willing to give a word.

The second old man's dark face softened instantly.

"Brother Rong, come and hug Daddy." He bent down and picked up Brother Rong.

"Grandpa!"

Fu Ge'er raised his little face and shouted with a grin.

The second old man indulged in his hair, "It's just you, dare to bully my son like this!" ”

Brother Rong lay aggrievedly in the arms of the second master, sobbing and shouting, "My mother is mine, my mother is mine." ”

"It's yours, it's yours." The second master wiped Brother Rong'er's tears while coaxing, "Dad, I'll help you grab ......" Seeing that Brother Fu was looking at him with big black eyes, he swallowed his words suddenly, and changed his words again, "...... He is your eldest nephew, you are a generation older than him, we are elders, let him ...... Don't care about him in general...... "Hold Brother Rong and go out," ...... Daddy brought you apples to eat. ”

*****

The harvest of the peach grove did not make everyone happy for long.

Early in the morning of the third day, after everyone had eaten, Zhao Qingzheng and the second master and the second wife discussed the matter of hiring pickers in advance, and Gu Changsheng came to the semi-idle residence with a sweat.

“…… Master Cao went to check on the peach forest last night, and he wanted to buy it for every catty! He stood respectfully in the middle of the ground, the drops of sweat on his forehead falling down in thunderbolts, but he didn't dare to wipe them.

One penny per catty, calculated according to the yield of 8,000 catties per mu, the gross income of 1,000 mu of land is only 8,000 taels, which is not enough for the cost of serving!

Moreover, peaches are no better than apples, and apples can be stored for at least half a year or even longer.

Peaches, on the other hand, only have a golden period of more than 20 days, and if they are not disposed of, they will rot on the tree.

This kind of thing happened once a few years ago.

That year was also a bumper harvest, and the price of peaches was pressed to a penny by Cao Jiashengsheng, and in anger, many fruit farmers simply did not sell.

The two stalemate for more than half a month, seeing the peaches rotting on the tree, finally had to bear the pain of cutting love for a penny or two catties...... That year, many fruit farmers hanged themselves on the night of the Chinese New Year's Eve because they had no money to celebrate the New Year.

His predecessor died that year.

He owed a full few thousand taels of wages, and the pickers were all hired by him, and when the owner died, they all surrounded his door...... forced him to almost commit suicide.

And the Shen family's peach grove was also bought cheaply that year.

The past is still vivid, is it going to be repeated? (To be continued.) )