Chapter 46: Kill, but Don't Bury

。The little boys were completely out of work. Even the jobs of collecting firewood in the forest were taken over by the men. 。It's by the little stream. We checked it out beforehand to make sure there...The rich fruity aroma gradually filled the entire room.

The kang floor, which was empty just a moment ago, is now filled with fruit.

The red apples, the yellow pears, and the bright red dates are so fresh and fragrant, no matter how you look at them.

Jia Yin also knows that taking this out so suddenly would indeed embarrass the old lady.

But this season, fresh fruit is very affordable.

Especially delivered to affluent places like Kyoto, many people would certainly buy it as a New Year's gift.

Also, such a good thing, hanging in the small courtyard with no one to eat it, is a pity.

Although the space is small, the courtyard has a fixed function for plants. Whether it's food or fruit, as long as it matures, it won't rot if it's not picked.

But to keep it useless, silver would be best.

So, Jia Yin left a little bit for emergencies, the rest she took off.

At first, she only wanted to be self-sufficient and hadn't thought about making money from the orchard.

Therefore, both the front and backyards together planted two apple trees and two pear trees.

In addition, there was a crooked jujube tree in the front yard, and two chestnut trees outside the courtyard wall. There was nothing else around.

At this moment, she regretted it. If she had known she would be traveling through time, she would have prepared more.

But looking again at the colorful frozen meats and seafood in the freezer, there were no signs of melting or decay.

She dared not be greedy anymore, so she fell into a sound sleep.

After all, she had just passed her hundred days and didn't have much energy. Busy picking fruit was a heavy burden for her...

Li Laotai saw that her granddaughter actually fell asleep instantly, she couldn't help but laugh and cry.

She whirled around the ground a few times, hurriedly opened a crack in the door, and let someone call Li Lao Si back.

Li Laosi was just sitting next door, chatting idly, when he heard that his mother had something to do, so he hurried back.

Li Laotai pulled her son in, not giving him time to be surprised, and whispered softly.

Don't ask anyone anything. Tonight, you and your wife come here secretly and we'll pack all these fruits. If anyone asks, just say you brought them back from the south.

"Then when you get to Kyoto, take it and sell it there. If anyone at the鏢局 asks, just say that our family picked it from the mountains in autumn, understand"

Li Laosì nodded blankly, swallowing hard, and finally couldn't help but speak.

"Mother, this is too much! We don't have that many baskets at home"

Li Laotai also had a headache, tapping her empty pipe bowl twice, she instructed.

"Then go borrow it and put it outside the courtyard, and bring it in at midnight."

"I'm not very familiar with the villagers. My third brother is the most familiar, especially the elderly gentlemen next door. Just now when I was walking around, I saw a lot of willow baskets in the side room. They must have been woven during their free time."

Li Lao Si pointed at the next door. Li Laotai was overjoyed, near water platform, this can solve the big problem.

Jia Yin fell asleep soundly and slept until the middle of the night. Before she could even open her eyes, she heard rustling sounds coming from inside the house. She thought robbers had broken in.

On closer inspection, I saw Grandma and my parents working by the dim oil lamp, packing things into a basket.

Roughly calculated, there are more than twenty baskets of apples and pears, and dozens of bags of red dates.

Li Laotai was busy while kneading her lower back, visibly exhausted.

Jia Yin felt flustered and quickly closed her eyes, pretending to still be asleep. In reality, she snuck away to the space for a wander.

The front and back yards had already been cleared of anything useful to help out the family. The five acres in the back, however, were still untidy.

This five-mu of land has four mu of corn, one mu of potatoes, and a small amount of cabbage, radishes, and carrots - these kinds of winter storage vegetables.

The thought of picking fruit, how tiring it is! Jia Yin really gets goosebumps just thinking about it.

But the work couldn't be left undone, after all, spring was coming and he still had to farm with his family.

When the time comes, it will be convenient to cheat and help the family have a bumper harvest.

Thankfully, it would be two or three months before spring left. She could slowly harvest...

The next morning, Zhao Yuru saw that her younger siblings had not gotten up, so she made breakfast by herself.

When it was time for congee, Tao Hongying came in yawning and in a hurry.

"What's wrong Did you sleep poorly Your eyes are dark."

Zhao Yuru casually asked a question, Tao Hongying didn't want to lie to her sister-in-law, and because her mother-in-law had ordered her not to say, she vaguely responded.

"I did a little odd jobs to help my mother."

Zhao Yuru didn't have time to ask any more questions when Li Lao Tai called everyone to dinner.

A family sat together drinking millet and sweet potato porridge, accompanied by stir-fried salted vegetables, mixed white cabbage shreds, and two flatbreads.

After putting down her chopsticks, Old Li instructed the fourth son.

"Go to the鏢局 earlier and inquire about when they're departing for Kyoto. Take those fruits back with you when you return, sell them there – Kyoto has many wealthy people who would pay a good price. That way your family can earn some extra income."

Everyone listened in confusion, "When did the fourth brother bring back fruit"

Old Li waved her pipe and glared.

"I know all about it, why do I still have to report everything at home to you"

Everyone fell silent, only Jia Yi was excited. He could go to Kyoto with his fourth uncle again.

After dinner, Li Laosi hurried into town.

Everyone at the鏢局 also wanted to go home for the New Year early, so they decided to leave tomorrow.

Then, Li Lao Si and Jia Yi had just slept two sound sleeps before they set off again, without even seeing Jia Ren who hurried back to hear the news.

Jia Yin is a person who only makes trouble, but never cleans up after it.

After sending out the fruit, she just waited for her family to collect the money. She didn't worry about how it was sold.

Farming is hard work, tiring her so much that she often sleeps during the day.

The old woman and Tao Hongying worried and deliberated for a long time, but in the end, they didn't send her to the city to see a doctor.

However, eating and sleeping like this, sleeping and eating like this, Jia Yin has actually gained weight...

Winter is originally a dull season, especially after drinking Laba porridge.

The water outside had frozen over, so even going to the restroom required running back and forth. No one was willing to move around or chat idly anymore.

Thus, every household huddled on the warm kang, living a true cat winter life.

Mr. Li Er continued to teach the children arithmetic as usual in the morning, while Mr. Li San sought some pieces of wood and knocked them together in the main hall.

Set up a few small stools so it's convenient to sit and tend the fire on a daily basis.

Wu Cuiflower got up at night and caught a cold, so she used it as an excuse to lie on the kang for half a month and refused to get up.

Li Lao Tai was unwilling to pay her any attention, only taking Zhao Yu Ru and Tao Hong Ying to do needlework, sewing new quilts.

To transport those fresh fruits to Kyoto, almost all the bedding in the house was used to wrap baskets.

...to the point where everyone slept directly on the mats, without even a mat under them, let alone blankets.

The old woman spent her silver and bought a lot of new cotton and coarse cloth.

They stitched together four quilts. The second, third, and fourth sons plus her, each got one quilt – very fair.

Jia Yin woke up bored and babbled to her two mischievous older brothers, asking them to ride horses for her.

I walked around inside and outside the house a few times, still wanting to take one last look.

Helplessly, I was scared back by the cold wind coming from under the door as soon as I arrived.

Days passed one by one, and soon it was the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month.

The family was tidying up the yard, sweeping and washing when Li Lao Si and Jia Yi returned on time.

Compared to the last time they escorted goods, the two of them clearly weren't as hungry this time.

Besides two patches of redness on her face, she had no other injuries.

A family huddled around as they entered the house, and Li Lao Si started unpacking his belongings.

"Mother, things in Kyoto are expensive. I couldn't afford to buy anything for myself, so I only bought two pairs of shoes for you and Fu Niu'er."ight, stop talking. Pick out two pieces of fabric and take them back."At last, Lady Wu conceded to the disdain on her face and examined the goods with delight. She had the maids carry away two bolts o...