"Gui Xiang, Gui Xiang, come out quickly! We have guests!" Cheng Shi shouted loudly into the courtyard, his mind racing. He knew his brother-in-law would never mistreat him; if they were poor relatives, why would he let them bother him?
Having figured this out, there was nothing else he didn't understand. He enthusiastically led everyone into the courtyard as they walked. The courtyard gate was quite tall, because Cheng Shi himself was a tall and strong man; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to open a blacksmith shop.
What's that old saying again? Rowing a boat, blacksmithing, selling tofu—these are the three hardest jobs in life!
As they were talking, a young woman wearing a blue headscarf hurried out, carrying a small baby on her back. She wore patched linen clothes, which didn't seem to fit her well, probably because she had gained weight after giving birth. However, the clothes were very clean and neat. She had a pair of crescent-shaped eyes that looked quite cheerful, not like the kind of person who would be aggressive.
Wang Guixiang was taken aback when she saw her husband bring in so many people, including the elderly and children!
"Gui Xiang, this is my brother-in-law's friend. Hurry up and boil some hot water for the guest!" Cheng Shi called out to his wife. He was thinking of asking her to make some tea or sugar water, but then he realized that there seemed to be no tea at home. As for the little bit of brown sugar, he had to save it for Niu Niu.
Niu Niu is Cheng Shi's daughter. The two have been married for several years and only have this one daughter.
Seeing her husband frequently winking at her, Wang Guixiang could no longer stand still. Seeing that the people who came were all wearing cotton-padded jackets made of fine cotton cloth, she quickly nodded and told them to wait a moment, as the hot water would be ready soon.
Liu hurriedly said there was no need to trouble herself, but unable to refuse such hospitality, Wang Guixiang had already run to the back of the house.
Gu Qingshan and Pangya were worried about their own carriages and horses, so they planned to keep watch at the gate.
Apart from these two people, a bunch of people instantly filled Cheng Shi's small house, which wasn't very big to begin with. Luckily, the children could go out to play in the yard, and Wu Chunhua and Liao Hongying were there to watch over the children at the door, otherwise there wouldn't have been enough chairs to sit on.
After everyone was seated, Qin San Niang smiled and explained her purpose. She recounted to Cheng Shi her encounter with Huang Dali and his group on the way, as well as their plan to settle here. She wanted to ask for his opinion and also wanted to see how to go about the procedures, since settling down was not as simple as just talking about it!
As far as she knew, firstly, the county or prefecture had to have a policy for resettling displaced people, and the selected village had to have the corresponding land and homesteads to provide. After that, they had to visit the village head, or even the clan elders, and in some places with more rules, they also had to visit the township head. After signing the contract, they had to go to the government office to register and stamp it before the land was considered to be in their hands! All of these things would keep them busy for several days.
Hearing their explanation, Cheng Shi understood. His brother-in-law was a kind and generous man, but settling so many people in Shili Gou was somewhat difficult. Putting aside everything else, the village head was not an easy person to deal with. Although there were many vacant houses in the village, they were all occupied by the Chen clan, let alone fertile land!
Even though his family is not of the same surname, they moved here back to his grandfather's time and are considered elders in the village. However, they still can't hold their heads high in front of the Chen clan. It's only because his family has an ancestral blacksmithing skill that everyone can use that they can give him some face.
Seeing that he no longer looked as composed as before, Qin Sanniang exchanged a glance with He Yingyuan and knew that settling down was not such a simple matter. However, money talks, and that has always been an undeniable truth!
Besides, Liu and Wu Chunhua were quite satisfied with the scenery here, and she didn't want to go any further south! It was freezing cold, and just thinking about it gave her a headache! Moreover, no matter where she went, she would have to go through this anyway, and having someone to guide her was much better than being completely clueless!
Moreover, Qin San Niang was quite satisfied with this place. Although it was winter, it was clear that it was a good location. The large expanse of land along the river looked extremely fertile! In addition, Shili Gou was close to the official road and only half an hour away from the prefectural city, which was incredibly convenient! It would also be convenient for their family to do business in the future!
“Brother Cheng Shi, we’ve traveled a long way and it’s not easy to get here! We’ve been looking forward to having a place to stay day and night! Looking at our Shiligou, it’s just as Brother Huang said, a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains! The land is even more fertile than our hometown!”
Of course, we know that the process of settling down is complicated and involves many rules, so we can't let you work for nothing. In addition to the money needed for buying land and property, I'll give you an extra five taels of silver, how about that?"
Five taels of silver is enough for a family to live on for a year. Qin San Niang didn't believe he wouldn't be tempted. Besides, the blacksmith shop didn't seem to have much business right now. Moreover, even if the shop was doing well, who would complain about the silver being too hot to handle?
Five taels of silver?!
Wang Guixiang, who was outside preparing to add water, overheard this and her heart instantly raced with excitement, like a deer's beating around its neck! Seeing her husband's stunned expression, she became even more anxious. She turned and hurried to her room, carefully took out the brown sugar she had saved up, and with a determined heart, poured it all into the water jug!
When she returned to the main room, she heard her husband say, "Madam, there's no need to be so polite. There are quite a few people fleeing from our village right now. I'll go to the village head's house this afternoon!"
Wang Guixiang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this simpleton wasn't completely stupid! She should still try to talk to them, whether it worked out or not, especially since this family was wealthy! This was already half the battle won!
Carrying the sugar water jug and pouring it for everyone, Wang Guixiang shrewdly walked over to Qin Sanniang and said with a smile, "Madam, please have some water first. Why don't you have lunch at my house? I'll have the master go and ask him about it this afternoon!"
"That's too much trouble for you!" Qin San Niang glanced at the bowl in her hand; it was tea-colored, so it must be brown sugar water. She thought to herself that this woman was quite clever, much more quick-witted than her husband. As she spoke, she had Da Wa take her basket, took out a piece of cured meat weighing five or six pounds, a roast chicken, and a bag of rice, and handed them to her.
When Wang Guixiang saw the cured pork, her eyes widened in amazement. The roast chicken and rice bag that followed nearly made her jaw drop! Although her family wasn't starving, she couldn't even count how long it had been since she'd eaten meat! The cured pork looked perfectly marbled, and it looked so juicy that it would practically drip with oil if sliced and stir-fried! And the roast chicken was incredibly plump! Her mouth was practically watering!
Cheng Shi wasn't much better. The adults were too shy to speak up, but the child had no such reservations. Wang Guixiang's little daughter, on her back, babbled, "Meat, meat...eat meat!"
"Sister, hurry up and cook! I think the baby is hungry too. I'll go help you! Is your baby a year old yet? He speaks so clearly!" Wu Chunhua said quickly. As the saying goes, "He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding." Since the Cheng couple had taken this meat, they would definitely do their best to help them.
“Niu Niu is already two years old!” Wang Guixiang said as she led her to the kitchen. It wasn’t that she really wanted Wu Chunhua to help, but the meat was too precious for her to handle. Even now, she couldn’t believe that the meat was really meant for her family!
Hearing this, Wu Chunhua was a little surprised. The baby looked very small. She had exaggerated when she said the baby was one year old. However, she still smiled and praised her daughter for being clever and speaking clearly.
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