Chapter 165 - 165 Like a Paradise
165 Like a Paradise
Su Binglan said, “It’s good that you can forge these. Can you tell me how much it will cost?”
The blacksmith said, “Miss, this is a family business, and I won’t charge you a random price. Still, it’s not easy to forge these parts. I will charge you 23 silver taels for these.”
Su Binglan did some calculations and knew the weapon parts would be expensive. Fortunately, she had another 200 silver taels with her. She paid the blacksmith and asked, “How long will these take to finish?”
“Seven or eight days.”
“Okay, I’ll return for them in eight days.”
…
After leaving the blacksmith shop, Su Binglan went to buy a cow for ten silver taels. It was almost evening when she brought the cow back to the shop.
Su Wenzhe and Liu Yinyin had already finished their work. They saw Su Binglan leading a cow and were amazed. Still, they wondered if Su Binglan had bought the cow, considering what she had said in the morning.
The couple could not help but feel excited at that thought as their family now owned a cow because cows were rare possessions. Everyone respected cows because they could help plow land and transport people and things.
Cows were imperative to the villagers. Even if the villagers went hungry, they would not bear to let the cows starve because they counted on the cows to plow their land to reduce their family’s burden.
Su Binglan saw her brother and sister-in-law’s expressions and said, “I bought this cow, so our family has one too. We’ll hire someone to build a carriage when we return to the village. Then it will be convenient for us to transport things to and from town.”
Su Wenzhe approached the cow and stretched out his hand to gently touch its body. “I’m not dreaming, right? Our family owns a cow now, and we no longer have to work so hard to harvest our crops.”
People valued food and land above all else in that era. When Su Wenzhe saw the cow, he instinctively thought of the land and food at home.
Liu Yinyin was also smiling. “Father-in-law and mother-in-law will be thrilled to see this.”
Su Binglan could not help but smile when she thought of how happy her parents would be. After closing the shop, the Su family went to the academy to pick up Luo Jin’an, Su Xuexuan, and Su Xuehai.
The two little ones were excited when they discovered the cow belonged to their family. Su Xuehai reached out his tiny hand to touch the cow. “Cow, cow!”
Luo Jin’an carried Su Xuehai so he could touch the cow. Su Xuehai became even more excited when he touched it. Then Luo Jin’an picked up Su Xuexuan so he could also touch the cow.
Su Wenzhe watched Luo Jin’an treat his sons well and felt that Luo Jin’an and Su Binglan would be excellent parents when they had their own children. He did not know why, but he wondered what that would look like.
The sun was setting in the west when the family arrived at the village. The setting sun’s afterglow shone on the land, making the village look mesmerizing.
At that time, the villagers had all gone home to cook. Every household was burning firewood to cook, and smoke rose from every house in the village.
Su Binglan looked around at the scenery, and her heart relaxed. The village was like a paradise. Life was peaceful there, and it could heal one’s heart.
Su Wenzhe’s entire body relaxed when he looked around the village. He said, “It feels great to be home.”
Liu Yinyin nodded and responded, “I always feel relaxed when I see our house.”
When the couple was tired at work, they could have rested in the shop’s backyard. However, they preferred going home to rest because they could sleep better when they slept on their brick beds at home.
Su Binglan also felt the same way. Her mind and body instantly relaxed when they arrived at the village entrance.
The villagers did not think anything of it when they saw the Su family bringing a cow home with them. They only thought the Su family had hired the cow to help with transportation.
Meanwhile, Shen Qiuhua and her husband were grinding soybeans in the courtyard when Su Binglan and the others returned.
Shen Qiuhua happily put down the ladle and wiped her hands when she saw Su Binglan and the others. She approached them and said, “You’re home! I’ll fetch some water for you to wash your hands, and we can eat later.”
Liu Yiniyin said, “You’ve worked all day today, Mother-in-law. Let me fetch the water.”
Su Wenzhe said excitedly, “Father, Mother, look! That’s the cow Binglan bought for our family!”
“W-What?!” Su Fengmao quickly stood up and limped out of the house excitedly.
Su Binglan was holding the cow’s rope at the door when Su Wenzhe hurriedly supported his father and said, “Slow down, father. The cow won’t run away.”
Su Fengmao looked at the cow in disbelief and asked his daughter, uncertainly, “I-Is this our cow, Binglan?”
Su Binglan said, “Yes, father. I bought it today. We’ll have more in the future.”
Su Fengmao let out a hearty laugh. “Good, good. My daughter is fantastic. We finally have a cow.”‘
He was thrilled as he reached out and carefully patted the cow. Cows were highly precious to farmers, even more so than carriages.
To the villagers, cows were more practical, and raising them was not difficult. Still, most families did not own cows, let alone horses. As for how expensive horses were, it was not something ordinary families could afford to raise.
Shen Qiuhua also happily ran toward the cow. “Hurry and let the cow in.”
Su Binglan could understand how everyone felt because cows were precious to everyone. It was also related to that era’s ideology. That was why the Su family was so excited.
Shen Qiuhua watched the cow enter the yard and looked around, wondering where to tie it. “Our yard might be too small. I’ll tidy up a corner so the cow can stay there for a while. I will tell your father to build a shed for it later.”
Indeed, the house was small, and it was hard to store things there. When Su Binglan saw her parents grinding soybeans with the stone mill, she remembered there were also donkeys at the place she bought the cow.
Donkeys were cheaper and would only cost two silver taels for a small one. A small donkey could help grind the soybeans if Su Binglan tied it to the stone mill. Then her parents would not have to work so hard.
Su Binglan felt a strong kinship here and cherished it very much. She did not want her parents to tire themselves out. However, being busy was fulfilling for rural people. They could not stay idle for long, or they would become restless.
Su Fengmao chuckled and said, “Today is a good day, so let’s have some delicious food tonight.”
Su Wenzhe was washing his hands when he heard his father’s words. He said, “Father, we can eat delicious food daily now.”
“I know, but it’s a special occasion tonight, so let’s have some wine.”
Su Wenzhe’s eyes lit up when he heard they would drink wine that night. “Do we still have wine, father?”
In the past, the family only stored a little wine in the bottom of the box, but Su Binglan had used it as a cooking ingredient.
Su Fengmao enjoyed drinking wine, but it was so expensive, and he could not bear to buy more. He only saved what little wine he had so he could drink it during the New Year.