Chen Kai silently rolled his eyes. So many people had suddenly arrived without their opinions being asked. The village was about to become lively again.
When Old Man Chen saw so many scholars arrive, he immediately hesitated to go forward. So he handed over the task of welcoming the group to the village chief, feeling that he was not suited to deal with these scholars and that it was better to let the village chief handle it.
The village chief welcomed the group into the village, and then, while leading the way, explained the future plans for Anping Village to the group of scholars.
This group of people also learned why so many people in Anping Village were working.
The villagers who came to greet them started talking amongst themselves after they had gone some distance.
An older woman exclaimed, "Oh my, there were several exceptionally handsome young men just now!"
Another older woman scoffed, "Heh, no matter how pretty she is, it's all for nothing if no one wants your daughter."
The girls of marriageable age in Anping Village blushed with embarrassment, but they still followed along, secretly watching the scholars.
The group of scholars were visiting Anping Village, and the villagers were also watching them. It was quite an interesting scene.
Originally, this group of scholars were not very willing to come to this poor and remote mountain village, but they still came here in order to edit the book made by the watermill.
As a result, the more they looked, the more they felt that this small mountain village was very different, especially when they visited the water mill, which greatly surprised the group of scholars.
An old scholar exclaimed, "A wonder! This is truly a wonder!"
In the past few days, the Chen family has installed three more watermills: one in the village, one at the village chief's house, and one in Liujiazhuang.
The installation of watermills by the villagers was also carried out gradually.
The Chen family calculated that a watermill working day and night could produce about fifteen catties a day, which was already a very high output.
One pound of bracken root noodles can be exchanged for three pounds of dark flour; this is the transaction price they agreed upon with the Liu family.
While the people of Anping Village were explaining the watermill, some wealthy villagers also inquired about the trade of bracken root noodles in Anping Village, as Anping Village has always had the highest production of bracken root noodles in their area.
Even without watermills, the Chen family, despite employing so many people, always produced far more bracken root noodles in Anping Village than in other villages. However, Anping Village's bracken root noodles were only supplied to the Liu family, leaving them with nothing. As a result, they all started eyeing Anping Village's bracken root noodles.
However, the village chief didn't want to get involved in the convoluted dealings of these wealthy families, so he clearly told them that the bracken root rice noodles in Anping Village would only be sold to the Liu family, and if they wanted bracken root rice noodles, they should go and discuss it with the Liu family.
In addition, Anping Village will be selling water-powered mills in the future. If they are interested, they can buy them and produce bracken root rice noodles themselves.
The village chief did the Liu family a great favor, and the steward of the Liu family estate was very satisfied, thinking that the Chen family was someone worth befriending.
Seeing that everything was alright here, Chen Kai went somewhere else.
As Chen Kai and his friends were walking, someone suddenly tapped them on the shoulder. Turning around, Chen Kai exclaimed happily, "Little Fatty, it's you!"
The chubby boy happily said, "Chen Kai, Xiao Tian, it's been so long! We almost missed each other."
Chen Kai asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"
How did you get here?
The chubby boy said, "My dad almost took us to another place to take refuge, but seeing that things were slowly getting better here, we didn't leave."
"I came here with my brother and the others."
How have you been lately?
His family has been having a hard time lately, let alone poor families like Chen Kai's.
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Not bad! At least we didn't starve to death."
They were chatting when several more children ran over, followed by their pageboys.
"Chen Kai!"
"Xiao Tian!"
Chen Kai was very happy that all the children had come.
They chatted for a while, and suddenly, the chubby boy said shyly, "Chen Kai, there's something I'd like to ask you for help with."
Seeing the chubby boy acting so hesitantly, Chen Kai asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
The chubby boy said, "It's my brother. He also wants to participate in editing the book on watermills, but according to his qualifications and seniority, it's not his turn. So my brother asked me to ask you for help. After all, wasn't the watermill your family the one who spearheaded the research?"
Chen Kai was very helpless. What was the point of them all fighting over the same thing? Didn't they have other things in their village?
Chen Kai said speechlessly, "Why are you all fighting over this one thing? Doesn't our village have a new sled? Your brother can compile the new sled into a book!"
The chubby boy suddenly realized, "Oh, so that's how it can be done!"
Chen Kai nodded affirmatively.
The chubby boy's thoughts became clear instantly, and he ran to find his brother, telling him what Chen Kai had told him.
After hearing this, the chubby boy's brother excitedly exclaimed, "Oh, I understand!"
Seeing that his brother was in a good mood, the chubby boy said, "Brother, I'm going to my friend's house for lunch today."
"Oh, and my friend also said that when we go back, he'll give me half a truckload of vegetables. Just a heads-up, don't you dare try to take them from me!"
The chubby boy's brother said nonchalantly, "Fine, whatever you want, but I still need to thank you for this."
Then, the chubby boy's brother changed the subject and said, "In that case, you should also give your friend a big gift. You know, it's only fair to reciprocate, right?"
The chubby boy thought for a moment and then said, "I want to send them some delicious food, but we don't have any ingredients at home right now."
The chubby boy's brother had a servant bring over a wooden box. He handed the box to the chubby boy and said speechlessly, "Give this gift to your friend."
It's normal for wealthy families to exchange gifts. He had originally planned to visit and deliver the gift in person, but now he didn't need to. Although he would still go to express his gratitude in person, he would let his younger brother deliver the gift.
He was happy that his brother had made true friends, people whose friends his brother should reciprocate.
The chubby boy opened the wooden box, looked inside, and found it contained only silver jewelry. He immediately lost interest and closed the box.
He hesitated, wondering what would happen if Chen Kai and the others didn't like it. After hesitating for a while, he still took the box and went to find Chen Kai and the others.
After finding the people, the chubby boy handed the wooden box to Chen Kai and said nervously, "Chen Kai, this gift is for you." Then he looked at Chen Kai and the others expectantly.
Chen Kai and Xiao Tian curiously approached and took the wooden box. They opened it and looked inside. Inside was a longevity lock and two small silver bracelets, both very well made.
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