"What, becoming godparents?"
When Grandma Xu explained what had happened, the family members all had different expressions.
"What's the point of acknowledging godparents? We have sons and daughters already, we won't." Xu Genshan frowned, wondering what the Wang family was up to now.
"Grandma, we already have a little sister, we don't need any other little sisters." Xu Mao and the others quickly chimed in, saying that there was no better little sister than Fu Man'er.
Xu Yi turned his body slightly to the side, afraid that Fu Man'er would feel bad if she heard this. Goodness, she was holding a peach and eating it with juice all over her face, not taking it seriously at all.
"Brother, do you want some?" Sensing Xu Yi's gaze, Fu Man'er held up the peach, which was covered in teeth marks, and handed it to Xu Yi.
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"You eat it." Xu Yi refused with a hint of disgust. She had just finished eating; how could she possibly have the stomach to eat such a big peach?
Fu Man'er was secretly hoping he wouldn't eat it, so she lowered her head and started to outwit the peach again.
Grandma Xu also shifted her gaze from Fu Man'er, "Look how excited you all are, do you think I'm a fool?"
“I rejected the Wu family right away. No matter what they were up to, Man’er is our Xu family’s beloved granddaughter. No outsiders are allowed in.”
During this time together, everyone in the family, young and old, treats Fu Man'er like family. The family is living a good life. Those with ulterior motives should stay away from us.
The Xu family was completely baffled by the Wang family's actions, but they all believed that it was not a good thing.
Indeed, Wang Sanbao and Niu Daya had ulterior motives for becoming godparents.
This all started with a dream Wang Chunni had. She increasingly felt that the family in her dream was the Xu family in the back mountain. At first, the couple didn't take the dream seriously.
But Wang Chunni spoke as if it were the truth. The patterns carved on the bridge, the clothes worn by the maids, the plates used to serve dishes, the cups used to hold wine—every single detail—how could one know so much without seeing it with their own eyes?
Moreover, the Xu family is now quite famous in the village. Besides Xu Genshu becoming a scholar, the old man Xu's method of fertilizing the soil and the waterwheel are all topics of conversation among the villagers.
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It was all about crops, and many people in the village went to ask him for advice. The old man, who had been farming for most of his life, suddenly became a hot commodity.
In addition to the businesses run by the two sons of the Xu family, the lame Xu Genshan actually opened a restaurant in town. Although Xu Genzhu was still just a peddler, he would go out every now and then and the things he brought back were said to be good by the people in town.
If they become godparents, wouldn't the Wang family also be able to share in these things?
Wang Sanbao even felt that the fortune teller's predictions had come true, and that the Xu family might be the key to leading the Wang family far into the future.
"Mother, once I become the granddaughter of the Xu family, I will definitely teach that wretched girl Zhaodi a lesson." Wang Chunni was still just a child, but when she said this, her face was full of viciousness, which was not in line with her age.
But Wang Sanbao and his wife didn't see anything wrong with it. "Yes, Chunni, let me tell you, you have to take back everything that brat eats and wears. Those are all your things. You'd better find a reason to kick her out. She's a jinx and can't be kept around."
The couple still felt a chill run down their spines when they thought about it. How could someone who was supposed to be dead come back to life? The more they thought about it, the more frightened they became. If it weren't for the future wealth and prosperity of the Wang family, they really wouldn't want to be associated with this jinx.
Wang Chunni nodded emphatically, taking Niu Daya's words to heart. The Wang family was already dreaming big about something that was still far from being realized.
The Xu family was unaware that they were being targeted in this way, and they were all busy with their own affairs, with Old Man Xu being the busiest among them.
Besides the new house, another big thing has come up.
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Zhao Yongkang found Old Man Xu early in the morning and told him that the county magistrate was coming to inspect the villages.
“Brother Zhao, the new magistrate is going to make an inspection, shouldn’t he…” Old Xu stretched out his hand and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
He's become much more familiar with Zhao Yongkang now, and no longer addresses him politely as "village chief," but affectionately calls him "Brother Zhao."
Zhao Yongkang shook his head. "This new magistrate is different from the previous ones."
In the past, the county magistrate would occasionally come to the village to inspect the situation, ostensibly to see how the people were living and how the crops were growing.
But as soon as they arrived, they had to be treated to lavish meals, and they were expected to take things with them as well. The higher the rank, the more powerful they were, and the village chiefs had no choice but to try their best to accommodate them.
Otherwise, when it comes time to pay taxes in the autumn harvest, there will be a lot of trouble. One minute your grain isn't plump enough, the next minute it's short-weighted. It's very frustrating.
"The waterwheel you made was a reward from the new magistrate." Zhao Yongkang had a good impression of the new magistrate. "I heard that this magistrate came from our town in his early years. He's here to gain experience. If he does well, he might be transferred back to the capital."
The two had a good relationship, so Zhao Yongkang spoke to him a few more times. Old Xu was just a farmer and always felt that these things had nothing to do with him, so after listening, he asked.
"Then why did you come to me?" Zhao Yongkang had been very anxious when he arrived.
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"Oh dear, I almost forgot the important matter." Zhao Yongkang scratched his forehead and changed the subject. "The county magistrate came to see the waterwheel in our village and your method of fertilizing the soil. By the way, I still don't understand what you said about putting fish into the rice paddies. Can you tell me about it again?"
They came to learn from Old Man Xu. He spoke eloquently about the first two, but he was a little stumped by the last one.
"You wait here, we'll go find Man'er and have her give us a good talking to." He himself didn't understand how to talk to others.
"Huh?" Zhao Yongkang was dumbfounded. "Man'er? She's such a tiny child, why are you asking about her? Don't you know?"
Oh dear, he let it slip. Old Xu had no choice but to make up an excuse to cover it up. "This matter was discovered by Man'er by accident. Later, my eldest grandson took her to look up a lot of ancient books. She knows what happened. I don't remember very clearly."
Hearing this, Zhao Yongkang reluctantly believed it, and the two of them went to the Xu family's paddy field together with Fu Man'er.
It can be said that the rice in the Xu family's paddy fields is the best grown in the village. Zhao Yongkang looked on with great envy. If the whole village were like that, then their Dashi Village would never have to worry about not having enough food.
"Grandpa Village Chief, look how happily these fish are swimming." Fu Man'er squatted on the edge of the field, watching the fish swimming inside. When these fish were first put in, they were only about the length of her thumb, but now they are as big as her palm.
Zhao Yongkang looked down and saw fish swimming between the gullies. It seemed that they were not at all uncomfortable when they went from the river to the fields.
“Man’er, tell Grandpa Village Chief what’s going on?” Zhao Yongkang squatted on the edge of the field, imitating Fu Man’er.
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This is something that Fu Man'er actually witnessed when she was still a wandering spirit. She overheard a few words back then, and now she can talk about it with ease.
"Just as our land needs fertile soil, so does this rice paddy, but we can't fertilize it like we would the land."
Just thinking about that scene made Fu Man'er's eyes sting; she couldn't even tell what was floating on the paddy fields.
"Eh~" Fu Man'er shuddered and continued, "These fish eat insects and the like. If we put them in the fields, we won't have to worry about insects eating our rice."
That's true. Every year, countless grains of rice are eaten by insects, and they don't know what to do about it.
"Anything else?" Zhao Yongkang pressed, completely oblivious to the fact that he was asking a child.
"Fish also excrete waste, which fertilizes the soil in the fields. They also frequently turn over the soil, which helps our rice grow better."
“Most importantly…” Zhao Yongkang’s ears perked up. There was something even more important?
Fu Man'er grinned, "These fish will grow really big by the time of the autumn harvest. I'll ask my mother to make me braised fish, steamed fish, fish soup, fried fish pieces, and dried fish. They'll be so delicious!"
As she spoke, her mouth started to water, so she quickly slurped it up and closed her mouth.
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This series of eating methods stunned Zhao Yongkang. He realized that the little girl was most concerned about eating fish. Sure enough, a child is a child.
Thinking about it this way, he realized that Fu Man'er's detailed explanation wasn't anything special; in the end, it was all about food.
“Our Man’er is so clever. When the county magistrate comes tomorrow, we must make sure he takes a good look at your family’s rice paddies. If the county magistrate approves, Grandpa Village Chief will buy you candy.”
Fu Man'er glanced at Old Man Xu and saw that he was pulling grass from the ridge of the field. He probably hadn't heard her. She whispered, "Grandpa Village Chief, could you give me some secretly tomorrow? My family won't let me eat it."
She ate too much a few days ago and got a toothache, so her family stopped buying her candy. All the candy she had hidden away was taken away by Xu Yi, and now she has nothing.
The little girl looked at him expectantly, and Zhao Yongkang couldn't very well refuse, so he had no choice but to agree. He genuinely thought that raising fish in rice paddies was a viable method.
In this way, their grain income in Dashi Village will increase significantly, and the lives of the villagers will be much better.
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