The village chief looked around at everyone, thought for a moment, cleared his throat, and solemnly proposed, "How about each of us take out a little of our surplus and give it to Miss Su as a token of our appreciation? She's been working so hard for our village. Everyone, tell me, is this a good idea?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, like ears of rice dancing in the wind in the fields, rising and falling in an orderly manner.
Soon, with thirty coins from your family and fifty coins from his family, a stack of copper coins carrying the warmth of the villagers' palms and their sincere hearts was collected.
Under the dim light, these copper coins flickered with a faint but moving glow, as if quietly expressing the villagers' full gratitude.
The village chief hurriedly found a clean and elegant coarse cloth handkerchief and carefully wrapped the copper coin. Every movement he made was extremely solemn, as if he was protecting the most precious and rare treasure in the world.
Afterwards, carrying this heavy heart, he led a few elders. Although their backs were slightly hunched, their steps were still steady and firm, and they walked quickly towards Su Huaiyue's house with big strides.
At that time, Su Huaiyue was in the house, flipping through an ancient and thick book in the dim and flickering candlelight, concentrating on reading it. His slender fingers gently stroked the pages, trying to find more wonderful ways to help the village flourish.
Hearing the knock on the door, she frowned slightly, a look of doubt on her face, then gently put down the book, stood up and slowly walked towards the door.
When I opened the door, I saw a large group of people outside and a dazzling stack of copper coins in the village chief's hand.
"What are you all doing?"
"Miss Su, it's all thanks to you that we are where we are today. These are what we have earned today. We are giving some of them to you as a token of our appreciation to you as a village. Please don't despise us."
Su Huaiyue's clear eyes were instantly filled with emotion, and her eyes were slightly red. She quickly waved her hand to refuse, and said with a bit of urgency: "I appreciate everyone's kindness, but I can't accept this money. Helping the village is something I am willing to do."
Her voice was soft and graceful, yet revealed an unquestionable firmness, like a crystal clear stream flowing through the mountains. Although gentle and graceful, it always had its own persistent direction.
The villagers were not willing to give up easily, and continued to persuade him one after another.
Some were full of admiration and praised her pure and kind heart, as if the compassionate and savior Guanyin had appeared in the world and protected the village.
Some had fiery eyes and praised her for her extraordinary intelligence, saying that she was like the God of Literature who had descended to earth and brought vitality and infinite hope to the village.
But Su Huaiyue was resolute, raising her chin slightly, her eyes revealing an unshakable stubbornness like the stars in the cold night, sticking to her original intention, "Everyone please stop trying to persuade me, I really can't accept these, these are all earned by everyone's hard work, keep them for yourself."
Seeing that they couldn't persuade him any more, everyone had to give up and exchanged helpless and admiring glances with each other. In those glances, there was regret for not being able to repay him, as well as deep respect for Su Huaiyue's noble character.
Wei Ersao, who was standing at the back of the crowd, stared at the money with her eyes fixed on it, her eyeballs almost glued to it, like a wild and hungry wolf staring at its fat and delicious prey.
She muttered to herself, her eyes full of jealousy, as she squeezed through the crowd.
"Since this money is a thank you to us, then I will do it on her behalf..."
Wei Ersao quietly stretched out her hand, and just as she was about to touch the edge of the copper coin, she felt a sharp gaze like a thorn in her back shooting at her.
Her heart skipped a beat and she looked up. Madam Wei was standing in the crowd. Her eyes were cold and stern, like the biting ice in winter, piercing her fiercely and warning her.
That look seemed to say: "Just try it if you dare!"
Mrs. Wei curled her lips, retracted her hand awkwardly, and her face turned pale and red, as if a cat that had stolen some fish was caught by its owner on the spot. She felt extremely guilty and could only pretend nothing had happened and look away.
Su Huaiyue saw through her little thoughts, walked around her and waved to the crowd, "I appreciate everyone's kindness, go back quickly, we still have to get up early to work tomorrow, everyone should rest early."
Seeing that she really didn't want to accept it, the village chief could only look at everyone, then sighed and left.
The night is still as quiet as water, with only the occasional barking of dogs.
But this little episode is like a pebble thrown into the lake of the heart, causing ripples and making the simple and mellow friendship of the village deeper and stronger, echoing in the night.
After the others left, Wei Ersao suddenly spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Humph, I've always said that some people are so obsessed with appearances that they suffer in vain. How can they survive this exile without money? Look, they even refused the villagers' money and gifts. They will suffer the consequences later."
As she spoke, she glanced at Su Huaiyue out of the corner of her eye, with a hint of sarcasm on the corner of her mouth. Her expression seemed to say that she had seen through everything a long time ago and was just waiting to see the joke.
Su Huaiyue raised her eyebrows and was about to open her mouth to refute, but Wei Yunrou stepped forward first.
The little girl's face flushed red with anger, her hands clenched into fists like a small animal protecting its calf. "Second sister-in-law, how can you say that? The villagers' lives are already difficult. They've been so kind to us these days. How can we be so greedy and ask for more?"
She looked at everyone firmly, then turned to look at Su Huaiyue, her eyes full of protection, "Sister-in-law has everyone in her heart and doesn't want to cause trouble for the villagers. This is kindness, why does it become wrong when it comes to you?"
Third Sister-in-law Wei also put down the clothes she was mending, stood up and walked to Wei Yunrou's side. Her expression was gentle but revealed an unquestionable sharpness: "Yunrou is right, Second Sister-in-law. Our Wei family motto is here. Not to mention that we still have money on hand, even if we are truly penniless, we must not let these villagers who have just emerged from famine spend money."
She looked at Wei Ersao calmly, but the power in her words was like a needle hidden in cotton.
Sister-in-law Wei Si was quietly sorting out her food supplies. Upon hearing this, she timidly raised her head and said in a soft but firm voice, "Sister-in-law, I also think this is inappropriate. Let's..."
Before she could finish her words, she was glared back at by Wei Ersao's vicious eyes. She was so scared that she shrank her neck and lowered her head again.
Seeing that everyone was leaning towards Su Huaiyue, Wei Ersao's face turned pale and red. She was so angry that she started to lash out: "Great, you are the only ones who are so noble, and I am the only one who is so vulgar! I am just thinking about everyone else. We have been sleeping in the open air all the way here, and it is difficult to move forward without money. But you are so good, pretending to be so powerful. Don't count on me when you get hungry and cold!"
She crossed her arms over her chest and sat down on the ground, looking like a street shrew.
Seeing this, Su Huaiyue smiled instead of getting angry. She lightly walked up to Wei Ersao and looked down at her condescendingly: "Sister-in-law, if you really care about everyone, why don't you take out the money you earned a few days ago and share it with everyone?"
Her eyes were cold and every word she spoke was like a knife, stabbing Wei Ersao's body and making her tremble.
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