Koi baby helps his mother farm and becomes the richest man

Chapter 210 On the Road

After returning to their residence, Liu Song and his servant opened the bag and pockets to check, and they couldn't help but gasp.

Qing'er stammered, "Master, this...this is considered a big deal, right?"

"You slave!" Liu Song patted him on the head, "After all, they are Prince Zhou's in-laws' family, so show some respect to me!

"Don't you see? Prince Zhou loves his new wife very much. He wants to bring her with him when he goes to the capital this time. Who knows, he might even ask for her to be the Crown Prince's Consort.

"How can you and I afford to offend the Crown Prince's Consort's family?

"Help the master think about it quickly. We must prepare a reasonable return gift."

Qing'er said in embarrassment: "But Master, we came here in a hurry and didn't even bring much money. What can we give as a return gift?"

"Alas," Liu Song sighed, "I'll have to go back to Beijing and talk about it. Find out the address here in detail, and when we get back, we'll send the gifts we prepared to the post office."

Without further ado, the day of departure soon arrived. Mrs. Zhou Er was worried about her two nieces, so she stayed for a while.

Aunt Zhao couldn't leave her aunt-in-law, who was unfamiliar with the place, here, so she stayed.

The only people who went with Zhou Yu were Qin Ying, Zhao Hu, An An, and several other followers. Zhang Jinzhi stayed behind to handle various affairs in Qin County.

We encountered a snowstorm just two days after we started walking. Although it wasn't heavy, it still had some impact on our travels, and the team slowed down.

Zhou Yu sat in the spacious carriage and made tea, listening to An An and Qin Ying chattering. Qin Ying was making lace in her hands and talking to An An with a smile on her face.

Zhao Hu was not afraid of the cold. He rode a horse and then sat on the shaft of a cart.

An An touched the cotton-padded jacket on her body and asked Qin Ying: "Mom, why is cotton so expensive here? I heard from grandma that it is very difficult to make a new cotton-padded jacket.

"They used to wear cotton-padded clothes, which were made from old cotton that they bought and traded for. Some people wore them their entire lives. They were as hard as iron and not warm at all.

"Oh, it's better than being naked."

Zhou Yu almost spit out a mouthful of tea and couldn't help but remind him, "An Bao'er, you'll be a big girl soon. Can you please be a little more careful with your words?"

An An didn't care: "Just look."

"Because we don't grow cotton here," Qin Ying sighed, "the cotton production everywhere is not high now, and only the rich and powerful can afford new cotton.

"This is also the case in recent years. In the past, when there was no cotton, guess what the country folk used to keep warm?"

An An was curious: "What is it?"

Zhou Yu also pricked up his ears. He really didn't know this.

Qin Ying narrated the story: "In our mountain village, people can freeze to death in winter, and the most windproof and warm thing is leather.

“But think about it, if you get something like a wolf or tiger skin, you risked your life to get it, so who would be willing to use it for their own use?

"We exchanged them for money. The money we earned from a good piece of leather was enough to support a family for a year.

"Those who are better off use pigskin, but pigskin is only good at keeping out the wind and is not warm at all.

"When times were better, we used sheepskins or the skins of other animals, or rabbits we hunted.

"There's really no other way, so I used rat skin. Even though rats are called thieves, their fur is still pretty good if it's processed well.

"This thing is dirty and needs to be cleaned properly, otherwise it's easy to get sick, and it can be fatal.

"Besides, how big do you think a mouse is? It's hard to catch, and it's not easy to collect enough clothes for it.

“Often, even in a whole year, you can’t collect enough mouse skins to make a piece of clothing.

"Everyone just bartered around, exchanging things others needed for a piece of leather.

“Most families, after years of hard work, can finally collect enough leather for a set of clothes, but the types, sizes, and colors will be different.

“Some leathers have a foul smell because they are not handled properly.

"But it's already pretty good. Before winter comes, everyone prepares all the food, vegetables and firewood they need for the winter and stays at home all winter.

“When we really had to go out, we would send someone out wearing the only leather jacket in the house.

"What about those who really can't get the fur? They can't just sit there and wait to freeze to death, right?

"Look, we can all afford clothes made of cloth now. But decades ago, people in the countryside couldn't even afford the worst homespun cloth, so they made their own clothes from paper."

An An blinked her eyes in disbelief, "Paper clothes? Paper is so easy to tear, how can I wear them?"

"This paper is not the paper you use for reading and writing," Qin Ying said with a smile, "That kind of paper is similar to kraft paper, which is not easy to tear, can be washed repeatedly, and can be cut and mended.

"Poor families would put crushed wheat straw, rice straw, or even corn cob scraps between two layers of paper..."

An An held her chin and murmured, "So, our lives are getting better and better?"

"How should I put it," Qin Ying said after a moment's silence, "People have progressed from eating raw meat and drinking blood to enjoying fine food.

“Let’s not talk about the distant future, it’s like taming rabbits ourselves.

"Isn't it a matter of learning little by little? If we raise rabbits, we can eat rabbit meat and use rabbit skins. The extra ones can be exchanged for money to buy other things we need.

"As for cotton, I think that gradually, as long as more people grow it, even if the yield is not high, more cotton will be sold on the market."

"But," An An pouted, "if the yield isn't high, who would go to the trouble of growing it? They'd starve to death!"

Qin Ying paused and fell into deep thought.

Zhou Yu also looked thoughtful. He stuffed a piece of dessert into An An's mouth and handed Qin Ying a cup of tea.

Qin Ying thought for a moment, then looked up and asked Zhou Yu, "Husband, can you help me get some cotton seeds?"

"I can!" An An raised his hand to answer.

Qin Ying gently pressed her hand down and said with a smile: "Mom knows you can do it, but don't be impatient."

Zhou Yu thought for a moment and said, "If the quantity is not large, it should be fine."

"That's good," Qin Ying said with a firm look, "I want to try to improve the seeds you gave me and An An's seeds.

"The current cotton production is not high, and An An's offer must be too good. We can't let ourselves get into trouble."

Zhou Yu smiled and nodded, "Yes, that's right. I'm afraid we'll be delayed in Beijing for a while. If you have nothing to do, you can take up this matter now."

"What can I do?" Qin Ying chuckled and shook her head, "I know that once I return to the capital, I will inevitably have to socialize, but I don't plan to spend a long time dealing with those ladies and rich girls.

"They disdain to be with me, and I don't want to waste my precious time on them."

An An applauded and cheered: "Mom is awesome! My An Baoer's mom is just so awesome!"

"My dear," Zhou Yu poured Qin Ying another cup of hot tea and suggested, "How about our An Bao'er be named Zhou Ning'an?"

An An has always been posted on Qin Ying's household page. Her original name was Qin An An.