"That's right! Look how much more lively our village has become since the Li family came!"
Today it was the turn of a plot of land on the south side of the village, and Jia'an was bending over to cut sorghum ears.
Seeing Grandma Li carrying Jiayin as she walked from the edge of the field, they hurriedly went to greet her.
"Grandma, what brings you here? The sun is so strong, my little sister must be hot."
Jiayin's fair and tender little face was especially adorable with her big, bright eyes rolling around.
Jia'an wiped his hands vigorously on his clothes before pulling out a slingshot from his pocket and showing it off to his sister.
"Little sister, look at this! You can use this to hunt birds. I'll go get you some bird eggs to eat tomorrow!"
The slingshot was made with great care; the wooden handle was smooth and rounded, probably from being frequently rubbed in the past.
"Eeya!" Jiayin had played with it when she was a child in her previous life. Out of curiosity, she reached out her little hand to grab it, and Jia'an put the slingshot in her hand.
Seeing that the slingshot didn't look like the one at home, Old Lady Li casually asked, "Where did you get this slingshot?"
"Grandpa Zhao gave it to us, and Grandpa Zhang and the others gave us some too. Jiayi even got a little dagger, it's so cute!"
Jia'an raised his little head, as if showing off their spoils.
When she heard that it was given by those veterans, Grandma Li didn't say anything.
These days, every family that has helped the Li family seems to have made an appointment to send things to them.
The dried vegetables, soybean paste, mustard tubers, and other similar items were all available; you couldn't refuse to buy them!
Grandma Li understood that this was the villagers' way of thanking her, so she gradually stopped refusing.
In the future, I'll just send some home-cooked food as a gift.
"Little Lucky Girl is here again!"
Zhang Ersao, who lives at the west end of the village, was bringing water to her husband when she saw Li Laotai from afar and quickly came over to greet her.
Seeing Jiayin nestled obediently in Grandma Li's arms, Zhang Ersao was overjoyed. She took out a silk flower made of fabric trim from her pocket and handed it to Jiayin's little hand.
"I found some scraps of fabric in the closet yesterday, perfect for making a flower for my little girl to play with!"
When Zhang Ersao saw Jiayin smiling with the silk flower in her hand, she was so charmed that her heart trembled, and she reached out and pinched Jiayin's little cheek.
Jiayin has delicate skin, and even without using much force, her rough hands can leave a red mark on her face.
Jiayin, feeling uncomfortable, quickly turned her head away, which made Zhang Ersao laugh even harder.
"What a little girl, already so shy."
Jiayin was speechless. Who's shy? It's clearly disgust!
It's true what they say, coming to the fields with Grandma never brings good things. It's much better to go up the mountain with Mom and the others; not only will we be protected from the sun, but we can also take things out of our spatial storage...
Every household in the village was busy with the autumn harvest, but there was an exception: the Liu family.
The whole family stayed indoors; no one went out to work.
With the crops ripening, if they are not harvested soon, and it rains in a few days, the entire year's harvest will be wasted.
Guo was so anxious her throat was practically on fire, but she couldn't get anyone to do anything.
Whenever Liu Tiezhu was asked to work, he would clutch his stomach and cry out, running towards the outhouse.
Liu Laifu said he was going to the county town to find Wu Er, but there was no news for several days.
The two daughters-in-law are both incredibly lazy; the moment it's mentioned that there's work to be done, they run off faster than anyone else.
"Mother, the Li family has so many people. They've been helping this family and that family these past few days, but why haven't they come to help our family? We're relatives, how can they be so heartless?"
Liu Laifu's wife sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), her plumpness causing her eyes to squint into slits, her tone sour.
Guo's eyes lit up when she heard this. Who knows how much it would cost to hire someone?
The Li family loves to work, so why not just have them come and help?
With that thought in mind, she skipped off to the Li family's house.
"Big sister, are you taking a rest?"
When Guo saw that Old Lady Li was sitting at the gate of the courtyard, coaxing her granddaughter, she shamelessly went over to her.
Old Mrs. Li glanced at her sideways, but didn't reply. She regretted not locking the door, as anyone could come in freely.
Guo was not annoyed and remained cheerful.
"Big sister, my crops haven't been harvested yet. Since you have a large family, could you help us harvest them?"
"My family is busy and can't help you. Your fourth brother will be back soon, so you'd better go back quickly! Be careful, he has a bad temper and might throw you out!"
After speaking with a sullen face, Old Lady Li picked up Jiayin and went back into the house, not even glancing at Guo Shi.
Guo was rebuffed and wanted to get angry, but she was also afraid that Li Laosi would really come back.
So he spat at Old Lady Li's retreating back and walked home grumbling.
"A whole family of heartless bastards! They won't even help their relatives! Do they really think anyone's begging them? Bah!"
Guo walked and cursed, and when she encountered villagers along the way, she cursed even more fiercely, but no one in the village paid any attention to her...
Thanks to the help of the Li family, the autumn harvest in Qingshui Village was completed several days earlier than in previous years.
The villagers of Qingshui Village were exceptionally friendly and welcoming to the Li family.
Is Yu-sheng home?
That morning, the Li family had just finished breakfast when they heard the village chief's voice coming from the gate of their courtyard.
Li Lao Er responded and quickly got up and went out.
"Yusheng, I remember you used to be an accountant. I need your help with something," the village chief said, stating his purpose directly.
When Li Lao Er heard him say that, he guessed that it was about writing and calculating, so he readily agreed.
"Okay, uncle, just let me know if you need anything."
"Tomorrow is the day the county officials come to collect grain taxes, and I'd like you to help me with the accounting."
As expected, the village chief brought up the matter of paying grain tax. He sighed heavily and said...
“In the past, I was always the one who did all the work every year. Many of the veterans and elderly villagers didn't understand these things. Those tax collectors would always take advantage of me while I was busy to cheat them and collect a lot more grain…”
Autumn grain is the key to survival in winter, but unscrupulous local officials and yamen runners don't care about that; they're just hoping to make a fortune from grain taxes.
Upon hearing this, Li Lao Er quickly agreed.
"Don't worry, Uncle! My whole family will go help tomorrow, and we'll make sure the villagers don't suffer any more losses!"
"Hey, Yusheng, I'd like to thank your family on behalf of everyone."
The village chief patted Li Lao Er on the shoulder with satisfaction, very pleased.
He became increasingly convinced that agreeing to let the Li family settle down was a great thing for Qingshui Village!
After the village chief left, Li Lao Er went back to his house and told Li Lao Tai about it. The whole Li family agreed to help.
Only Wu Cuihua sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding two peeled chestnuts in her hand and stuffing them into her mouth.
"Always meddling in other people's business, no one even does their own chores!"
She muttered to herself, dissatisfied but not daring to speak out loud, like a rat stealing food from a gutter.
Her family heard it, but no one paid any attention to her, pretending not to hear it. Otherwise, arguing about it would be a waste of time and ruin her mood.
The next day, before dawn, the Li family got up early, lit a fire to cook, and went to the village chief's house after getting ready.
In Junyang County, the grain tax is collected by villagers from each village who carry their own tax grain to an open space in the village.
After the yamen runners arrived and the total was calculated, the goods were transported away using donkey carts provided by the government office.
The Li family has many hands, so they inevitably have to help carry grain sacks from house to house.
Especially Li Laosi and Jiayi, who could carry over a hundred pounds and still move with incredible agility, which made the villagers envious.
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