Just as the Li family members were enthusiastically clearing the land, a dilapidated horse-drawn carriage swayed and wobbled into Shuxia Village.
The person driving the carriage was none other than Fang Da, Li Xuming's former right-hand man.
The Li family members at home had already heard the news and led Fang Da to Pan Jinhua's house.
"This old servant, Fang Da, greets the Old Madam, the First Madam, and the Second Madam!"
"This servant, Fang Wu, greets the Old Madam, the First Madam, and the Second Madam!"
"This servant, Fang Xiaoxiao, greets the Old Madam, the First Madam, and the Second Madam!"
As soon as the Fang family of three entered the hall, they bowed down.
"Old Fang, we're not an old lady anymore."
Pan Jinhua smiled and asked Liu Yun and Mo Qiaoniang to help the three of them up.
"Old Fang, what are you doing? Our family is still a criminal, there's no need to discuss these things anymore."
Fang Da was helped up by the two men and then pressed down onto the stool. After several tugs, he finally sat down on the stool, albeit unsteadily.
"Madam, we've finally waited for you. You've suffered so much."
Fang Wu choked up as soon as she opened her mouth.
The Fang family had lived in the Li family for three generations, including the eldest son, Li Qingzhang, whom she had watched grow up.
Before the house was raided, the old lady released the deeds of the entire family, allowing Fang Da to take his family to Lingnan in advance.
They came with the caravan and had a good life, but it's pitiful that the old lady, at her age, has to suffer like this.
"Never mind, everything's fine now, it's all in the past."
Pan Jinhua had no choice but to comfort Fang Wushi again.
Seeing that his wife had stopped crying, Fang Da quickly spoke up. His wife was usually very decisive, but on such a joyous day, she was so easily moved to tears. How could she have made the old lady cry again?
"Madam, this old servant has not failed in his mission. We arrived in Shao County a month ago. Our family is currently renting a courtyard in the county town..."
Fang Da took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Pan Jinhua. He then recounted in detail how they had lived in Shaoguan County, rented a house, and started a normal life while waiting for the Li family to arrive.
A few days ago, Fang heard that a group of prisoners had arrived, so he went to check and found that it was indeed them.
But he dared not go forward, remembering what the old lady had said: wait until the Li family had been assigned a place, and then wait a few days before going to find them.
He hasn't been idle these days either. He's been buying a lot of things in the county, like grain, oil, rice, flour, and cloth, all of which are piled up in the carriage.
"Thanks a lot."
"Madam, you flatter me. My family has already brought our belongings, and today..."
"No, after lunch you should go back. This village is remote and communication is not very convenient. You will have to pass on the news to Nanze. Also, I plan to renovate this house, and I will need you to find people to help me."
Pan Jinhua didn't intend to keep clearing land forever; otherwise, why would she have worked herself to the bone to transfer her money?
The reason we're having everyone clear the land now is simply to further refine their personalities. They're all grown men, and although they were clan brothers in the past, they've never been as close as they've been these past few days farming.
The imperial court was quite lenient in its control over those who were exiled. Once they arrived at their assigned locations, they could live like ordinary people. However, if there was any military situation, the entire family, regardless of age or gender, had to go to the front lines.
The men in the family were not allowed to take the imperial examinations. There were no restrictions on marriage in the family, but the choices were much fewer, since commoners would not be interested in exiled families.
Pan Jinhua called Fang Da, and Liu Yun and the others went down to pack up the things he brought, while she opened the envelope and divided the silver notes inside into several portions.
Three of the money came from the other three families, one was for Fang Da's expenses in the county, and the other two were hidden away by her.
Sure enough, when the families returned from the fields at noon and saw Fang Da, they were overjoyed. Seeing that there was meat and vegetables on the table, they finally felt that they were living a normal life.
"Meat! We're having meat for lunch today!"
"Holy crap, finally some meat!"
Because there was meat to eat, everyone was all smiles. It was because they hadn't eaten meat in so long. The young and old were as happy as if it were New Year's Day. Even the children were no exception. When cooking, they stayed in the kitchen and didn't move an inch.
The Li family ate lunch happily. Fang Da took his wife and daughter back to Shaoguan County. Pan Jinhua then distributed money to each branch of the family before they dispersed.
In the days that followed, the Li family members were all out clearing land, which made the dozen or so households in Shuxia Village extremely envious. They were simply jealous of the large number of people.
Not only are there many of them, but they're also incredibly hardworking. On their second day in Shuxia Village, they were already clearing land without a word of rest. In just a few days, they've cleared over ten acres! I'm so envious! So jealous!
Zhao Qi was like that. Every day he would go to the land that the Li family had cleared out and take a walk around. When he came back, he would sigh and say, "Look at them, look at myself. I can't compare. I can't compare. Zhao Qi's family is small. When he first came to Shao County, only his eldest son and second son were left. The younger ones are all gone."
He was surprised when he first saw the Li family; he heard that not a single one of them was missing.
These past few days, Pan Jinhua has also been busy. She is working with Li Xujiang and Li Qingzhang on something.
There was a bamboo grove in Shuxia Village. Pan Jinhua saw it on her first day there. Later, she thought about making something out of it and came up with the idea of using bamboo.
Of the five brothers, Li Xujiang was the best carpenter, so Pan Jinhua pulled him out of the land reclamation team. Among the things Fang Da brought were writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, so Li Qingzhang was also called in to help with writing and drawing.
First, he asked his family to cut some bamboo, and then asked Li Xujiang to whittle it into thin bamboo strips. Li Qingzhang wrote the numbers one to ten on the bamboo strips, and drew symbols in the upper left corner as instructed by Pan Jinhua. Finally, he drew four sets each of plum blossoms, orchids, and chrysanthemums with the same pattern. Then he wrote two bamboo strips for heaven and earth, making a total of fifty-four bamboo strips.
Bamboo strips are simple to make, requiring little skill. Li Xujiang is quick, and he made quite a few in half a day, throwing them all into a bamboo basket.
Writing is not difficult, but drawing is slower, and Li Qingzhang is not very good at it.
After two days, it's finally done.
The finished product was then coated with tung oil and left to dry for several days before Pan Jinhua finally got her hands on it.
Holding a deck of ancient playing cards, Pan Jinhua's hands trembled with excitement.
What's retirement without cards! What's retirement without mahjong! What's retirement without milk tea! What's retirement without cake!
Ahem, I'm getting carried away.
Since there were no materials for mahjong, Pan Jinhua immediately thought of playing cards.
"Grandmother, what's the use of making this?"
Li Qingzhang witnessed the creation of this thing, but he couldn't understand what the bamboo plaque was for.
"This is not for use, it's for playing."
"Playing?"
"What should I play? Grandma, I want to play too!"
Upon hearing this, Li Qingtong immediately rushed over, followed closely by her younger brother, Li Qingjun.
"Hey, kids can't play this, it's for adults."
Upon hearing Pan Jinhua's refusal, Li Qingjun immediately frowned and pretended to cry.
"Grandmother, don't you love Jun'er anymore?"
Li Qingjun was the most clever and perceptive child. He had long noticed that since the exile, his elders had been especially fond of him. For a time, his father wished he could hold him and his brother in his arms every day.
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