After these rules were established, everyone in the new village understood more clearly what they were busy with every day.
The entire new village operates like a machine, functioning efficiently.
Apart from little kids like Jiayin, there wasn't a single idle person in the village.
Even Grandma Li would occasionally carry Jiayin on her back to help weed and prune the melons in the field, earning five work points in the process.
Of course, everyone in the Li family strongly opposed it. They were afraid of tiring the old lady out, and they were also afraid of sharing the good news.
Jiayin is a glutton and has gained a lot of weight. She's chubby and cute, but who knew she couldn't stand the sun?
She only went to the fields with this grandmother for one day, and when she came back, half of her face was noticeably darker. From the front, she looked like a hermaphrodite, with one side white and the other black.
Everyone in the family couldn't help but laugh when they saw this, which made Jiayin so angry that she stuck her little bottom out, buried her head in the quilt, and refused to go out.
Suddenly, the blanket was pulled back, and she was pulled into someone's arms.
Jiayin was a little annoyed, but when she looked up, she found that it was Young Master Ye. She burst into tears, feeling wronged, and hugged Young Master Ye's neck tightly.
"Waaah, Uncle, is Fu Niu an ugly child? Daddy laughs at me, and my brother laughs too!"
Young Master Ye couldn't help but laugh. The chubby little girl now had a black and white face, which was quite amusing no matter how you looked at her.
But the little girl was crying, and he couldn't bear to see her like that, so he quickly comforted her, "Fu Niu isn't ugly at all. It's just from being in the sun. She'll be fine after staying home for a few days."
"Really?" Jiayin sobbed, then felt a little embarrassed by her coquettish behavior. After all, she was an old maid at heart. But then she looked at her short arms and legs and thought, "Hmph, I'm just a child, and I'm going to be willful and angry!"
"Wow! Wow! Fu Niu is angry! Fu Niu isn't an ugly child!"
"Okay, okay, Fu Niu, don't cry, don't cry!" Young Master Ye panicked and quickly opened the box he had brought. "Let's see what good things your uncle brought you!"
The box contained a pair of gold bracelets with two small, openwork bells hanging from them; they were particularly exquisite and beautiful.
Young Master Ye placed the heavy gold bracelet in Jiayin's hand, and Jiayin immediately smiled.
Both small bracelets were solid, and with the gold bells, they weighed more than three taels, which is more than thirty taels of silver.
Extravagant, too extravagant, but... she liked it! So, her tears immediately found another outlet, flowing from the corner of her mouth!
Seeing that the chubby girl's eyelashes were still wet, but her eyes were sparkling and drool was dripping from her mouth, making her look like a complete little money-grubber, Young Master Ye could no longer hold back and burst out laughing.
Jiayin wiped away her drool, gripped the bracelet tightly, and, not caring about being laughed at, got out of bed to find her grandmother.
Grandma Li was killing a chicken when she heard her granddaughter crying, so she ran into the house. She bumped into her granddaughter, Jiayin, and Jiayin fell to the ground with a thud.
Grandma Li quickly scooped up her granddaughter. "My little darling, what's with all this crying and laughing? You little rascal, you're really getting clever! You think you can get a tan and then not let the family laugh? Tomorrow, I'll have your dad and the others get tanned to a crisp, so they can get as dark as you, okay?"
Jiayin gave her grandma a big kiss and excitedly showed off to her, "Grandma, Grandma, this is a treasure that Uncle gave me!"
Old Mrs. Li glanced at it and was so shocked that she quickly pulled Young Master Ye, who came out afterward, away.
"Why are you giving Fu Niu'er jewelry again? She's just a little kid, what does she know about beauty and ugliness? And such expensive stuff at that! You should keep this gold, or have some nice jewelry made for her to use when she gets married in the future!"
Young Master Ye listened with a smile before saying, "After killing the barbarians, the Emperor rewarded me with a lot of gold and silver. I took out a gold ingot to make a little trinket for Fu Niu'er. Don't worry, Auntie, I don't need these things."
Grandma Li was relieved, but even more grateful. This was a gift from the Emperor himself; it was imbued with imperial aura, so it would surely bring good fortune to her granddaughter if she wore it.
"Alright, Auntie will accept it for Fu Niu'er. Just this once, it can't be done again."
"Okay, I understand, Auntie." Young Master Ye took Jiayin's hand and sat down to watch the old lady tend to the chicks.
Soon everyone in the family returned, and Jiayin ran all over the yard with her new bracelet, making the bell ring wherever she went.
Everyone in the family knew that the little girl had been angry, so they praised her in various ways, making Jiayin extremely proud.
I originally thought that Young Master Ye would stay for one night, but after lunch he was about to leave.
The Li family was reluctant to part with him and pressed, "Are we still going to Jiangbei to kill the barbarians this time?"
Young Master Ye shook his head. "No, this time it's to guard the dock. I volunteered for this job so that if any people like you come from the mountains, I can help them in time."
"Yes, yes! This is wonderful!" Old Mrs. Li was still terrified when she recalled the tragic events of the past.
Back then, all the city gates charged silver, so there must have been many people like them who were forced to enter the forest.
Although the forest is teeming with dangers, there are certainly many who have successfully traversed it.
We can't let them be hunted down by barbarians just when they see the light at the end of the tunnel.
"Then you should go quickly. It's close by. I'll have Lao Si bring you food in a few days."
Young Master Ye waved his hand and rode away with his personal guards.
He initially thought the old lady was just saying it casually, since the family was busy and might not have time to prepare anything for him.
But Old Mrs. Li was serious. That very night, she took her daughters-in-law to knead dough and planned to make noodles.
When Jiayin heard the name, she thought it was the kind of fine machine-made noodles from her past life, but after enduring her drowsiness and looking at it for a while, she admired her grandmother and mother's ingenuity and craftsmanship even more.
Kneading the dough, letting it rest, rolling it into strips once, and then rolling it into threads twice—each strand of noodle is purely handmade; it's definitely a huge undertaking!
The first batch of noodles was hung in the yard at noon the next day, swaying slowly in the wind like a curtain.
The early summer breeze was warm and gentle, and the sun was also very diligent; by evening, the noodles were about 80% dry.
Pick them, cut them into suitable lengths with a knife, and place them in a ventilated place to dry overnight until they are completely dry.
Jiayin took a small stick, tied a red ribbon to it, and helped chase away birds and flies. She forgot about her little face, and by the time the noodles were ready, she was completely covered in charcoal.
Therefore, the old lady specially cooked a bowl of noodles with gravy to make up for her little granddaughter's wounded desire to look good.
Life was always busy and wonderful. Whenever the Li family had free time, they would think about food. They saved up fifty catties of noodles and cooked a jar of meat sauce.
Li Laosan is going to set up a grill in the corner of the yard again. Tao Hongying is preparing to bake some dried vegetable and meat pastries to send to Young Master Ye. These won't spoil even if left for a month.
After dinner, Jia'an and Jiaxi played hide-and-seek with their younger sister in the yard, Jiaren talked with their grandmother, Li Laosi and Jiayi helped Li Laosan, and Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru tidied up the kitchen.
When Li Lao Er recounted how a customer had scolded the waiter during the day, he said, "I'll go talk to the village chief and tell him to kick out any customers like that in the future."
"Yes, that's how it should be. If the children in our village have done nothing wrong, we shouldn't let them be bullied. At most, we just won't earn that money!"
Grandma Li doted on her child and couldn't bear to see him suffer, so she chased her son away, saying, "Go quickly and come back to sleep early."
"I understand, Mother." Li Lao Er got up, pushed open the courtyard gate, and was about to go out.
As soon as the door opened, they saw Liu, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), and his men surrounding a middle-aged woman.
Liu, the镖头 (bodyguard), stepped forward and said, "Second brother, we caught someone acting suspiciously at the village entrance during our patrol. She said she was looking for Li Zhensheng's house. I thought the name sounded like yours, so I brought her here."
With one foot inside and one foot outside the door, Li Lao Er was completely rooted to the spot.
It took him a while to find his voice before he asked, "Who did she say she was looking for? Li Zhensheng?"
Jia'an and Jiaxi, with their arms around each other, lifted their younger sister into the sedan chair. Just as they reached the door, they heard this and turned around, shouting, "Grandma, do we have anyone in our family named Li Zhensheng?"
The old woman's sewing basket fell to the ground with a clatter, scattering needles, thread, and fabric scraps all over the floor!
Here's my third update today! Even though I'm a bit of a writer, I got up at 6 AM to write this—isn't that amazing?! Hehe, I'm begging for a five-star review~ Please urge me to update more~ Go, my darlings!
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