After eating dumplings on the morning of the first day of the new year, Mrs. Ding said to An Ran: "Grandma, this stove is not easy to cook even if it is not used. I need to find someone to clean it up."
An Ran realized that she had been cooking the day before yesterday, "Let's go in two days. These two days will be the Chinese New Year. Who wants to work? After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Aunt Ding will go to the village and ask who knows how to cook the stove."
Mrs. Ding quickly agreed.
During the two days of Chinese New Year, Old Dingtou was very busy, because he had a donkey cart here, and people in the village came to borrow it when visiting relatives.
An Ran simply asked Old Dingtou to drive people's cars, pick people up and drop them off, and receive a lot of food every day.
Most farmers in the countryside are very honest and know that An Ran's stove is not easy to burn and they need to start a new one. On the fifth day of the lunar month, someone came to their door.
The stove can be set up in half a day, but it will take two or three days before the soil is dry enough to be used. So during the first lunar month, An Ran and Mrs. Ding had to use a temporary stove to cook outside.
Fortunately, there are few people, so you can simply get something to eat.
Both Old Dingtou and Mrs. Ding knew in their hearts that they would probably follow An Ran until they died.
When they live to their age, they know very well whether their master is kind or perfunctory. After getting along with each other these days, I know that An Ran is a kind person.
It doesn't deprive them of food and clothing, nor does it force them to work hard. The two of them have been living a miserable life in the Ding family since Mrs. Ding left. Now they just want to live a good life before they die.
The Ding Han family is in charge of the inner house of the Ding family. Since the men are not at home, she has the final say in the house. From this point of view, it would be better for the eldest grandmother to come out rather than stay in the house.
Since ancient times, it has been too easy for a mother-in-law to manipulate her daughter-in-law. Everyone in the house knows that Ding Han doesn't like grandma.
Especially now that the Ding family's fate is unpredictable, maybe the eldest grandma is far away and can avoid being implicated.
From then on, it was easy for the three of them to discuss matters, and Old Man Ding and Mrs. Ding often came forward to agree to things.
An Ran often goes to the village. When living here in the future, it is still necessary to build good relationships.
An Ran has a strong learning ability. During this period, she talked a lot with Lao Dingtou and his wife and the people in the village, and became more and more fluent in this language.
People in the village found An Ran to be a kind-faced and talkative person. Although he was only sixteen years old, he was very polite.
So there are many people who say good things about her when we get along with her.
In particular, Aunt Hua, the mother-in-law of the eldest son's family, was even more enthusiastic about An Ran because An Ran went to her house several times to buy vegetables with copper coins.
After all, when no one came from the Ding family, the head of the neighborhood would take care of them, so it was still important to have a good relationship.
After the first month, An Ran counted the money in his hand and planned the thirty acres of land.
It is impossible to take it back and grow it yourself. Old Dingtou and his wife cannot count on it, so it is unrealistic to rely entirely on growing it themselves.
She turned her head and looked at the mountains not far away. It was safer to go back to her old job, go up the mountain to collect medicinal materials and prepare medicinal materials.
After An Ran made the calculation, she just drank two mouthfuls of brown rice porridge and ate a mouthful of shredded pickled radish that morning. She felt nauseated and vomited a few mouthfuls of sour water before Mrs. Ding looked at An Ran with wide eyes.
"Grandma, did you miss the sunflower water last month?"
An Ran was shocked. She had been living her life with her heart in mind and had never paid attention to this. It seemed that after careful calculation, she hadn't been here for almost two months.
An Ran also broke out in a cold sweat. Could it be that that night, just that one time, it happened.
Grandpa An Ran knows some medical skills, so naturally An Ran also knows some common sense.
An Ran was restless all day long, wondering whether she wanted this child or not.
But we have to settle important matters first.
The next day, An Ran asked Old Dingtou to carefully inquire about the conditions and character of the three families renting the land.
She and Mrs. Ding went to the field to check, and the contract had to be re-signed, so she had to be fully aware of it.
Mrs. Ding looked at this large piece of land and said, "Grandma, this land still needs to be rented out. Even the three of us can't farm it now."
"I asked Ding Bo to find out about them. If that doesn't work, I'll let them continue planting. But I want to leave a small area to grow medicinal materials."
Only then did Mrs. Ding remember that the eldest grandma’s family was a barefoot doctor.
"But Grandma, you can't be tired now. Is this okay?"
"No problem, I have experience in this."
An Ran chose a piece of land near the foot of the mountain. Crops would definitely not grow well in this kind of land, but growing medicinal materials would not be a hindrance.
After reading it, An Ran had an idea in her mind, so she and Mrs. Ding came back first.
When Old Dingtou came back, he said: "Grandma, the three families we rented originally were all good. The third family among them is a little naughty, but they are not bad people either."
An Ran thought for a while and said, "Uncle Ding, then go to these three families and tell them the situation. Then go to the head of the village and let's sign a new contract."
An Ran told Old Dingtou about the situation of the land he had inspected in the morning, and he wanted to keep two acres of land near the foot of the mountain and rent out the rest.
After Old Dingtou remembered it clearly, he invited everyone here the next day.
An Ran first asked the mayor to sit down, and then said: "Today, we will sign a new contract. The rent will remain the same as before. Please ask the mayor to come over and be a witness."
This is a man with a round face and a smile who said: "Grandma comes from a wealthy family. She doesn't know how to farm. The past two years have not been good. Grandma, please lower the rent for us."
An Ran took one look at this man and knew that he was the third child mentioned by Old Dingtou. He seemed to be more slippery indeed.
"No matter where you go out, you have to eat. Besides, the rent is not high. If you don't want to rent it, I will rent it to someone else."
When the third child heard this, he quickly said: "Rent, how can I not rent? I have been farming for so many years."
The headman also glared at the third child with dissatisfaction. This is bullying this young lady. Her rent is not high. You want to lower the rent. If you don't rent, there are many people waiting to be planted.
The chief brought both paper and pen, and he rewrote three contracts as agreed upon by both parties.
There were two acres of land near the foot of the mountain. It was not the best land, so I kept it safely. The remaining land was filled with a deed, and both parties fingerprinted it in duplicate.
An Ran thanked the village chief, and Old Man Ding sent everyone out again. Mrs. Ding then said, "Grandma, neither the old man nor I know how to grow medicinal materials."
An Ran put away the contract, looked at Mrs. Ding's worried look, and said, "It's not so tiring to grow medicinal materials, and you don't have to take care of it all the time. Besides, we have to have an income."
An Ran still has some money in his hands, but he can't just sit back and rest.
Now Enron just wants to grow some common medicinal materials, then go to the mountains to collect some medicinal materials, and then prepare them and sell them to pharmacies. He must have income to survive.
She reached out and touched her belly again. She couldn't keep this child. Without a child, she might find an opportunity to leave the Ding family in the future. If she had a child, she would be tied up.
The Ding family, Ding Changhe, is not worth paying for for the rest of his life.
~~~
An Ran: I came from the countryside, so living in the countryside is a bit more free. If you have a house and land, you can still live a good life.
