Chapter 421 - 410: Thoughts
A group of elderly men discussed the children’s marital matters, and it wasn’t until Old Zhou had finished a bag of cigarettes that he finally remembered the important business at hand.
He tapped his pipe, emptying the ash and residue, then tucked it behind him at his waist and grabbed a handful of wheat to help rub.
He scoffed inwardly, thinking that if this was how they rubbed wheat at his home, the big stick would have come down on them by now, as he had never seen anyone rub wheat while sitting.
However, since this was someone else’s home, of course, it felt more comfortable to sit while rubbing the wheat.
When Old Zhou remembered the urgent business, he asked those present, "Have all of your families’ wheat sun-dried yet?"
"Not yet, mine just finished being rubbed, and it still needs to dry for two or three more days. But it looks like it’s going to rain again; you see those dark clouds on the horizon, looming as if they might come our way. If it rains, we’ll have to dry it for an extra day."
"Then you all better be careful not to let it get rained on; I was just about to mention that the Bai Family wants to exchange wheat with us, for seed, so you must dry it well."
"How much do they want?"
"All of it!"
"What?" The villagers were startled and asked in unison, "Why do they want so much? Can their family even plant it all?"
"They’re big landlords, and it’s not just one Bai Family - there’s Old Master Bai and Young Master Bai, right?" Old Zhou had naturally assumed that both sections of the Bai Family wanted to exchange for seed wheat, so he said matter-of-factly, "With so much land they have, I reckon this bit won’t even be enough for them."