"Before Hua Yatou started harvesting vegetables, did she eat two meals a day, each consisting of pickled vegetables and dark flour porridge?" The village elder's wife shuddered involuntarily as she recalled the previous hardship. "The princess and her unruly girl must have smashed all the pots and pans, right?"
The old village chief grinned like a fox, his voice even softer, "It's better if it's smashed. If it's smashed, we won't even need to eat porridge and pickled vegetables."
Inviting a god is easy, but sending him away is difficult, not to mention that we didn't even invite this god home ourselves.
If the food isn't good, the god might just leave on his own. But if he eats and drinks well every day, why would he want to leave?
The village chief's wife's eyes lit up as she listened. "The old man is right! A person's life is nothing more than eating and drinking. If you don't eat well, you won't last long."
"But this will definitely displease Princess Mingzhu. You need to go to town and tell Haisheng and the others not to come back for the time being. Also, for Husheng, have Hua'er send a message via pigeon. They should stay in Tangshan Prefecture for now and not rush home."
The old village chief grinned, "Don't worry, I've already made arrangements for Haisheng and Husheng this morning."
"That's good." The village chief's wife nodded. "But what if she buys chickens from us?"
“If they want to buy, then sell to them. But the price for a chicken can’t be lower than this!” The old village chief secretly held up two fingers. “Also, if she asks you to make chicken soup or stir-fry chicken, then use the skills you had before you got married.”
The village elder's wife glared at the man, "My skills were already excellent before I married you."
The old village chief chuckled, "Then let me do it. People in the capital are always very particular. If they leave a few chicken feathers in the soup every now and then, will they dare to let us cook?"
As for her black-clad henchmen and maids, they were lucky if they could even cook the food properly; after a while, they'd be packing their bags and leaving!
The village chief's wife's lips twitched. "You old rascal, you've got a lot of bad intentions."
"What wicked intentions? This is called... using their own methods against them!" The old village chief laughed smugly. "Speaking of which, I learned this from Hua'er. She's much better at dealing with those troublesome things than I am."
At this point, the two of them chuckled softly.
The village elder's wife quickly left the chicken coop to plant sweet potatoes in the vegetable garden next door. The old couple were in good health, and with their two sons and one grandson, they could all work. Earlier, when Hua Yatou asked the villagers to cultivate vegetable gardens, they had cultivated all the land in front of and behind their house.
These two baskets of sweet potato vines are now enough to propagate two acres of land.
According to the Su family, one mu of sweet potatoes can yield over a thousand jin, so two mu would yield over two thousand jin. If they are quick, they can even plant another crop before winter, which would yield over four thousand jin of grain. Even if the yield is lower due to drought, they don't have to worry about going hungry.
Just as the elderly couple picked up their hoes to get to work—
A slightly annoyed voice sounded from behind, "What are you two dawdling about here for! The princess wants chicken soup tonight, why haven't you even killed a chicken yet?"
The two turned around, looked at Meng Yun'er, and frowned in unison.
They only counted the princess and her group, forgetting about Meng Yun'er.
Seeing that the two of them didn't make a move, Meng Yun'er simply walked towards the chicken coop herself. During her time in Tangshan Prefecture, she had only earned hard-earned money, and the Feng family mother and son were stingy. She hadn't tasted chicken for a long time. The chickens from Su Chengde's family had bright and shiny skin and feathers, and they would definitely taste delicious when stewed.
"What are you doing? Do you want to steal the chickens?" The old village chief raised his foot and blatantly blocked the entrance to the chicken coop.
"What do you mean, 'steal the chicken'?! Village chief, that's a really harsh thing to say." Meng Yun'er licked her lips, raised her chin, and looked at the man. "Now that the princess wants chicken soup, are you unwilling to give it to her?"
"Whether we give it to you or not is a matter for our Su family, and has nothing to do with you, Meng Yun'er." The old village chief sneered, picked up a broom next to the chicken coop, and swept it at her feet. "What was said this morning was very clear: no one from the Meng family is ever allowed to enter Shanghe Village. Get out of here now, or I'll have someone drag you out!"
The broom was covered in chicken droppings. Meng Yun'er stumbled as she was swept away. Looking at the chicken droppings on her skirt, her face darkened. "Why are you driving me away? My father and elder brother were clearly wronged by Su Hua. The princess has already sent people to the Qingshui County government office, and they will be cleared of their names soon."
"Injustice? The evidence is overwhelming, how can you say it's an injustice?" The old village chief sneered. "That night, the villagers of Shanghe Village and the county yamen runners all witnessed it. Your father, Meng Yongfu, confessed to the murder himself and wrote a confession in his own hand. Even Princess Mingzhu couldn't turn black into white."
Even if, hypothetically, the princess were to help you distort the truth, as you claim.
As long as Meng Yongfu remains convicted, you are not allowed to enter Shanghe Village.
As he spoke, his hands never stopped moving. In the blink of an eye, he swept the man from the chicken coop to the front yard, then out the gate, and then slammed the gate shut.
The speed was so fast that Meng Yun'er was completely caught off guard. Her nose almost got caught in the door. Enraged, she kicked the gate hard, yelling, "That old bastard! He really has a death wish..."
Before the cursing had even finished, a shadow loomed over them from behind.
Meng Yun'er turned her head and saw a man dressed in black carrying large and small bags walking towards her. The resentment in her eyes immediately turned into anticipation. "Guard Yan! You're finally back! How are my father and the others? Why didn't they come back with you?"
As she spoke, she craned her neck to look behind the man.
Yan Yi paused slightly, glanced down at her, and said, "Meng Yongfu is dead."
"What... my father is dead?!" Meng Yun'er's face turned pale, and she stumbled towards the man, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Didn't the princess tell you to explain to the magistrate that my father and brothers should be spared for the time being? How could they be dead? Didn't you tell the magistrate?"
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