Coincidentally, the village head of Jingli Village and the village heads of Dawangzhuang and Xiaowangzhuang Village came to visit the pigsty and chicken farm. They were overjoyed when they heard the news.
They all said that they would tell the villagers when they got back that they had to come and share in the joy.
In the past two years, they have been working hard to keep up with the pace of the new village.
They did exactly whatever the new village arranged for them; they were obedient and loyal.
This earned him the kindness and trust of the villagers, and life naturally became much better than before.
Human hearts are made of flesh and blood; anyone who understands reason is extremely grateful to the new village and the Li family.
So, when they heard that the Li family's grandson was celebrating his one-month birthday, each family brought their chickens, ducks, eggs, or other mountain produce to the Li family's door as a token of their goodwill.
The Li family did not refuse; they accepted everything and then gave return gifts.
Send a bag of snacks or a few fruits for the villagers to take back and treat their children.
Therefore, Tao Hongying led a group to open the small oven workshop and speed up the baking of walnut shortbread and the like.
Zhao Yuru went to the Earl's mansion and led people to clean and tidy up, preparing everything needed for the banquet.
Although Jiayin has told others that she has recovered, she is not allowed to run around.
So she became the leader of the children, taking care of the stars and the crescent moon.
The two children are over two years old, they eat and drink well and are quite mischievous, so taking care of them is not difficult.
In the morning, I took her to the princess's residence, prepared all the food and drink, and added a little water spirit, and that was it.
That evening, Jiayin and I went back to the old house. We each went to our own mothers, and soon after we got on the kang (heated brick bed), we were all snoring away.
The Li family was initially worried that the Empress might take some action, but for several days in a row, everything was calm and peaceful.
It was as if the drugging of Jiayin to make her sick was a collective illusion.
The Li family had no choice but to continue their lives as usual for now...
One day, a peddler came to Xiaowangzhuang, shaking his rattle drum and calling out his wares.
Soon, women and children from the village followed the sound and ran to the village entrance to see what was happening.
After the family's life improved, the children also had a few coins.
So, one boy asked for two pastries, and another boy asked for three candies, crowding around the peddler's box.
Soon, the children went back to eat, and then the women came forward.
The vendor's goods were divided into two boxes. One box contained affordable and inexpensive items, including food, clothing, and daily necessities.
The women each spent several dozen coins to buy a wooden hairpin, some embroidery thread, or lamp oil and coarse salt.
Finally, they started drooling over the contents of another box.
Because the box contained various velvet flowers, silver hairpins, and other small jewelry.
It wasn't too expensive; you could get a silver hairpin for just a few coins, and the design was quite exquisite.
But when it comes to daily life, thrift and diligence are paramount.
No matter how the women fiddled with it or how much they praised it, no one took out any money.
Seeing this, the vendor became anxious and said dejectedly, "Sisters, I bought these things from a jewelry store. It cost me all my savings. They're really good stuff."
“If I can’t sell them, I won’t be able to survive. My mother takes medicine all year round and is waiting at home for me to recoup my investment and buy medicine to take home.”
He was very clean-looking and had a sweet tongue, so the women had a very good impression of him.
Seeing his anxiety, a woman couldn't help but soften and offered him some advice.
"Young man, life isn't good in our village. Your stuff is too expensive; we can't afford it even if we wanted to."
"Why don't you go to Xincun and Ercun? The families there receive several hundred taels of silver in dividends every year, so they're not short of money. If you send these things over there, they'll probably sell out in no time."
"Really?" The vendor was delighted, but then his joy faded as he said, "I heard from my colleagues that some important people live in the new village and don't allow outsiders like us to come and go as we please."
The woman clearly remembered as well, slapped her forehead, and said with annoyance, "Oh yeah, how could I forget about that? I almost made you come all this way for nothing."
The vendor grew anxious, his eyes reddening, "These women live in a village that's dozens of miles away, and they're the ones who live the best lives."
“My sisters-in-law are reluctant to buy them, and I can’t get into the new village. Aren’t these goods going to be stuck in my hands?”
"If I can't sell the goods, my mother won't have any medicine and she won't survive..."
He became more and more upset as he spoke, and this grown man was about to shed tears.
The women felt increasingly heartbroken and tried to comfort her.
In the end, it was the woman who had spoken earlier who stepped forward and took on the task. "How about this, young man, I'll take you there."
“Just say you’re my brother from my mother’s side. I’ll take you to the entrance of the new village to see if we can sell some jewelry to pay for your mother’s medicine today.”
"Oh, thank you, sister-in-law!" The vendor was overjoyed and took a silver hairpin from the box, stuffing it into the woman's hand.
"Since you've been so helpful, I can't let you come all this way for nothing. This is my thank-you gift!"
The woman meant well, but she didn't expect such a reward, and immediately smiled broadly.
She declined verbally, but quickly inserted the hairpin into her hair bun.
Then, amidst the envious yet regretful gazes of many women, she led the vendor toward the new village.
As soon as he had walked a dozen steps, the village head returned from the fields with his hands behind his back.
He frowned when he saw a village woman walking and laughing with a stranger from afar.
In broad daylight, does this woman have no regard for her reputation?
He called out loudly, "Zhang San's wife, who is this? Where are you going?"
Zhang San's wife was startled and felt a little uneasy.
The village head was usually very disciplined and strict, especially when it came to matters between men and women, which he utterly detested.
Last year, a young widow in the village brought a man home to have an affair. She was beaten half to death and kicked out. Now, no one knows where she is or whether she is alive or dead!
“Village head, this…this is my brother from my mother’s side. He’s here to sell some groceries…”
Zhang San's wife had only said a few words when she was interrupted by the village head.
"Isn't your family in Ganzhou Prefecture? It's a thousand miles away. Why did your brother come all this way?"
Zhang San's wife blushed, and having no other choice, she told the truth.
"Village head, this is a peddler who came to the village. His goods are too expensive, so our village can't sell them. He's also waiting for the money to buy medicine for his old mother back home."
"I had a moment of weakness and wanted to take him to the new village for a walk. Life is good there, and he must be able to afford it..."
The peddler quickly put down his load, wanting to bow and say a few kind words.
But the village head glared at her, pointed at Zhang San's wife's nose, and started cursing.
"Have you lost your mind? You always have to get involved in everything, don't you?"
"Who do you think you are, Guanyin Bodhisattva? Saving people from suffering, we can't do without you! Don't you know what kind of place Xincun is?"
"That's where the princess and the prince live. Usually, only people the princess and the prince know come and go. Even I have to ask permission in advance before I go there!"
"The fruits and vegetables grown there will be sent to the palace for the emperor to eat at any time!"
"You just bring outsiders over like that. What if these people have bad intentions and sprinkle pesticides on the fields, or offend someone important? Will you take responsibility then?!"
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