The Farm Life Of a "Fool"

Chapter 18

Xu Ran felt relieved just after everyone had left. He wrapped his arms around Liu Tong and said, "Oh, Tongtong! Now I agree that bickering is much more exhausting than work.""

Being embraced during the daytime made Liu Tong feel a little embarrassed, so he pulled him away and said, "Don't be upset, Ran. I'm not sure why daddy-in-law would treat us this way either."

Xu Ran was unconcerned at the least. The former owner of this body, who was a fool, should be saddened by it. However, he had already passed away. His family just treated him with disdain.

Xu Ran cuddled Liu Tong once more before entering the house to see Tangtang and Guoguo.

Tangtang and Guoguo had been in the room all along, and Xu Ran was afraid that he might frighten them.

Tangtang and Guoguo were sitting in bed. The moment they saw Xu Ran entered the house, they leapt out of bed and grabbed onto his legs and said "Dad."

The kids all called out to him at the same time. They were terrified of Elder Daddy Xu because he had always scolded them. They assumed they would not be scolded again after moving here. To their surprise, Elder Daddy Xu unexpectedly arrived at their house.

Seeing how depressed the two children were, Xu Ran took them in his arms and kissed them on the cheeks. "Don't worry, Tangtang, Guoguo; I'm here, so no one can bully you any longer."

"No one can bully dad either." Guoguo clenched her fists and said unhappily.

"Yeah, and daddy as well." Tongtong followed.

Liu Tong overheard their conversation as he entered the room, and those words warmed his heart. Liu Tong walked up to them and hugged them. It was also a comfort for them to be together.

Xu Ran had never had unreasonable relatives in his former life, so he had no idea how to cope with them, but the one thing he knew for certain was that he should not be soft-hearted. You were bullied because you were kind. He needed to start making a good living now that he had a spouse and children, even if it was just for their sakes.

Xu Ran said to Liu Tong after soothing the two children, "Let's put the chili sauce in the bamboo tubes today, Tongtong! You will then sell it in town. We must purchase the land as soon as possible."

"Alright, then Tongtong and Guoguo, you two play inside the house or find the some leaves outside to write with."

"Got it, daddy."

After replying, Tangtang grabbed Guoguo's hand and headed out.

Their father told them to write while they were in the Xu family, but he didn't know much about it and always said that if only their father wasn't so ignorant.

They didn't have enough money to buy paper, so they had to make do with picking leaves from trees and writing on them with flints that had been ground into sticks. They've been very good at it as a means of practicing their handwriting.

The large jar of chili sauce was opened by Xu Ran and Liu Tong, and there was more than half a jar of chili sauce inside. "It's difficult to fill the bamboo rubes like this, Tongtong. I'll get some bamboo tubes while you get a spoon and a funnel. Today, let's have 20 tubes."

"All right." Liu Tong returned with the equipment after moving into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Xu Ran completed the bamboo tubes he had been working on for a long time. He set the connectors on the side because they all had their own tubes and he couldn't leave them jumbled up.

One person would place the funnel on top of the bamboo tube, while the other dipped the funnel in chili sauce and poured it into the tube.

Xu Ran had made a funnel especially for filling the chili sauce, and it proved to be very useful. He filled the 20 tubes in about an hour. Both of them were overjoyed after plugging both of them and cleaning away all of the spilled sauce before placing them inside the basket.

"It all comes down to this now. Tongtong, you go get Xu An's ox cart!"

"Okay," Ling Tong left and went to borrow Wu Mei's ox cart.

Xu Ran held the basket in his hands as he was waiting for Liu Tong's return.

Liu Tong arrived in town in his carriage. He used to visit Mr. Chen's restaurant. The shopkeeper happened to be in the restaurant at the time, and as soon as he saw Liu Tong, he greeted him warmly "Here you are, Daddy Xu! This time, what have you brought me?"

All of Liu Tong's preys were sold here, whether they were dead or alive, and they were very popular with the locals who liked to eat fresh food. The shopkeeper was clever, and he paid a high price for all of Liu Tong's products.

Liu Tong smiled as he took the products from the basket "All of these, Mr. Chen, were made by my husband. They may be eaten plain or used as a spice. Please take a look at them."

Mr. Chen took a step forward. When he removed the cork from the bamboo hose, a savory aroma wafted out. To Liu Tong, he said, "Just a moment. I'll go get some chopsticks."

Mr. Chen had a pair of chopsticks and a plate in his hand, and he couldn't wait to get some chili paste out of the bamboo tube and onto the plate, followed by a dip into his mouth.

He gave a pleased nod right away "It's very nice. It would be easier for me to prepare dishes in the restaurant with this seasoning, and it can also be sold separately. How many do you have here, Daddy Xu? Is it possible for you to sell them all to me? In terms of pricing, you have full control."

Liu Tong was surprised. He said, as he raised the whole basket to the table, "There are twenty in total with the bamboo tube in your hand. Mr. Chen, you get to choose the price! I have no idea what the price will be because this is my first time selling them."

"Do you have any more of this at home, Daddy Xu?" If that's the case, will you please sell them all to me? I'll give you one tael of silver for every two bamboo tubes of chilli paste you offer me in the future, but you must sell them to me."

Two bamboo tubes of chilli paste could be sold for one tael of silver, which was a generous amount, but Liu Tong had no idea if Xu Ran would accept. He paused before asking, "Mr. Chen, I'll have to check with my husband at home about this. It's up to you to decide on the current price of these products!"

"Okay, so you should return and talk about it. Today, I'll keep all of these stuff for the price of one tael of silver for two tubes of chili paste."

"Then that's fine. Mr. Chen, thank you very much." Liu Tong smiled and gave the shopkeeper the basket of goods. Mr. Chen quickly counted ten taels of silver and gave it to Liu Tong, who thanked him and quickly left.

Ten taels of silver! This was the first time that Liu Tong had seen such a large sum of money, so heavy in hand.

Liu Tong hurried back home and handed over all of the money to Xu Ran. Then he told him about what Mr. Chen had said in the restaurant.

Mr. Chen's plan, Xu Ran deduced from Liu Tong's narration, was to buy up all of their chili paste. After all, they didn't think this solution was bad. He was no only a farmer, and his family was still poor. It was reassuring to know that someone was supporting for them.

As a result, he told Ling Tong, "Tongtong, please deliver more products in the morning and inform Mr. Chen that I have decided. Remember to remind him that there are certain requirements, one of which is that he cannot tell anyone who sold him the paste, and the other is that he must return all of the empty bamboo tubes to us until the chilie paste has been consumed."

"All right. I got it." Liu Tong nodded. No matter what the decision was, he would just listened to Ran.

"From now on, you take care of the currency," Xu Ran said as he returned the ten taels of silver to Liu Tong.

Xu Ran illustrated the virtues of a modern-day decent guy who turned in his pay slip. Liu Tong stood there, holding the thick silver in his hand and biting his lips silently.

He only whispered Xu Ran's name in his heart,

'Ran, Ran...'

03.25.21

Awe, my heart goes "boom boom"