“Of course,” the old man said, particularly excited. “Young men, don’t waste time, get in the car, I’ll take you there.”
Instantly, the crowd erupted in cheers.
The crowd, which had been calm, suddenly erupted in howls and wailing, and one by one, like monkeys, they leaped onto the oxcart in a few steps.
A moment later, a thunderous voice rang out, "Thank you, Second Master! Thank you, Linzi."
"Hold on tight," the old man said cheerfully, "we're on our way."
The crowd that saw her off didn't realize what was happening until the oxcart disappeared. They wanted to find Jiang Nuan to thank her, but found that she had already left.
The clan chief's wife looked complicated. "Fifth sister-in-law is so generous. How could she bear to part with that?"
Everyone cherishes their oxen and avoids using them if possible, yet she went so far as to try to save people a few steps in getting the oxcart ready.
It really leaves one speechless.
Don't they realize that if they exhaust the oxen and make them thin, how will they carry out spring plowing?
"Alright," Chief Huang said with a displeased look, "Stop being so sour. You're reluctant to do good deeds yourself, but you won't let others do them?"
Chief Huang sighed inwardly: I made a terrible mistake in choosing a wife!
They had a cow and a donkey, both in their prime, which he said he would use to send young men to do corvée labor in the village. However, his wife disagreed, always feeling that sending them off a few times would exhaust the livestock.
He didn't allow a woman to interfere in family matters, so he directly instructed his two sons to give the child away this morning.
As a result, this old woman, in order to prevent the animal from being given away, fed her livestock fodder that was wet with dew. Both animals were so weak that they could barely stand, and she missed such a good opportunity to give away the animal as a favor.
Thinking of this, Chief Huang felt even worse. He glared at his wife and left with his hands behind his back.
At the Huang family home, everyone was busy and bustling about.
"Mother," Xie added some firewood to the stove before turning to ask, "After this batch of steamed buns is finished, should we steam another batch?"
“It has to be steamed,” Jiang Nuan nodded with a smile. “They say that half-grown boys can eat their fathers out of house and home. These guys, even three steamed buns a meal might not be enough to fill them up.”
"Mother," Jin Shi said, returning from outside the door carrying two chickens, "Should I prepare both chickens?"
“Yes,” Jiang Nuan pointed to a corner of the kitchen, “There are more people than meat, so we need to add more potatoes.”
“Sister-in-law,” Xie beckoned, “come and start the fire, I’ll take care of the tidying up.”
“I can do it,” Jin said crisply. “This chicken is very wild and hard to pluck. Second sister-in-law, please boil more water.”
Madam Xie nodded, then turned to Jiang Nuan and said, "Mother, this time the corvée labor was worthwhile; we can eat white flour buns and meat every day."
She dared to say that no other family in the village could afford to eat like this, and some people might not even get to eat this well during the Lunar New Year.
In fact, Mrs. Xie was very distressed about the money she had spent.
However, she believed that Jiang Nuan had her own plans, and even though she felt extremely distressed, she chose to support her unconditionally.
“This is just the beginning. The work isn’t heavy, and everyone is strong and healthy, so there’s no need to eat too well,” Jiang Nuan shook her head. “When the official road is being built, the food will be improved.”
"It has to be even better than this?" Madam Xie's mouth dropped open in surprise. "Mother, anything better would be too much."
Even though she couldn't read many words, she understood the principle that a little kindness is appreciated, but excessive kindness breeds resentment.
Don't let these people become too greedy, only to have their families blamed instead!
“No, I know what I’m doing,” Jiang Nuan said, pinching a pretty bun. “It’s only for these few days of corvée labor. How could I do this normally? Our family’s money didn’t grow on trees. You guys have swollen hands from cutting cabbage to earn this much money. I won’t let your hard work be wasted.”
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