While Chen Kai and his friends were wandering around the village, they overheard a lot of gossip.
The women in their village are so idle; whenever they have free time, they gossip about this and that, talking about this family and that family, spreading rumors and gossiping.
In particular, Chen Kai's sister-in-law sometimes leads the way in spreading rumors and gossiping. Whenever she has free time, she carries a small stool to gossip with the women in the village.
Not only did Zhou ignore it, but she also brought a small stool to join in the fun.
Even the girls, including Daya, went over to join in the fun.
He overheard some gossip: they said there was a wealthy village where a merchant said there was a war going on in the south, and it was getting more and more intense. They said the country might send more troops and requisition more grain, so everyone should stockpile grain as soon as possible.
When this news spread, it caused widespread panic. Then the county magistrate found out and arrested all the people who spread the rumors, had them flogged, and locked them up in jail.
The county magistrate also declared that anyone who dared to spread rumors or cause trouble would be charged with treason, arrested, and beheaded!
Chen Kai was relieved that they hadn't spread the news of the flood yet; otherwise, a beating would have been the least of their worries, and they might have lost their heads.
There's another thing. I heard that Bai Lian got married, and she really did marry a decrepit old man.
However, I heard that Bai Lian's marriage was particularly grand; she was carried in a sedan chair by eight men.
Bai Lian's two older sisters also married into the family, but they didn't receive such good treatment. They didn't even have a bridal sedan chair and had to walk in through the back door, which was quite embarrassing.
They also heard that on the day Bai Lian got married, the Bai family's mansion was taken away by someone, supposedly because of Bai Lian's actions. The Bai family's dye shop was also gone, and the Bai family went bankrupt. All of the Bai family's money was taken away by Bai Lian.
But that old geezer just liked Bai Lian. Even though he knew Bai Lian had done a lot of immoral things, he still married her openly and honorably with a grand wedding procession.
On the day Bai Lian got married, many women followed the bridal sedan chair all the way, cursing her, calling her a seductress, a scheming dog, and even plotting to seize her own family's property... The cursing was almost as loud as the people banging gongs and drums.
Bai Lian was practically a pariah, hated by everyone, but she was well protected. She was escorted by servants all the way, and apart from hearing a few curses, nothing happened to her. She still got married in style.
I also heard that on the second day after Bai Lian got married, the Bai family members were all beaten up and were beaten terribly. Master Bai even had his leg broken and can only beg now. Bai Lian's mother was also disfigured, and Bai Lian's brother is missing.
It is said that Bai Lian hired people to do all of this, and that she herself broke her father's leg.
In short, the white lotus is now being portrayed as extremely vicious.
Back in the courtyard, Chen Kai heard Sanya crying loudly.
Chen Kai walked over and asked, "Sanya, why are you crying?"
Sanya said in a choked voice, "Little chicks, they're trying to steal our little chicks."
Chen Kai comforted him, "They can't take it. There are so many people in our family, no one can take anything from us."
"If anyone dares to steal our chicks, we'll chase them away. Don't cry, okay?"
Sanya stopped crying and sobbed, "But, it was Grandpa Village Chief who wanted our family's chicks."
Chen Kai frowned and asked, "What happened?"
Sanya felt wronged and started crying again whenever she thought about it. The village chief wanted to steal their chicks! How annoying!
Zhou Si's granddaughter, Zhou Si Ya, explained: "The village chief found out about your family's method of getting more eggs from your hen, so he fenced off a piece of land on the mountain and asked each family in your village to contribute a chick to be raised on the mountain. Each family also has to dig up some earthworms every day to feed the chickens. In the future, the money earned from the eggs will be split equally among the villagers. As for whether to buy more chickens in the future, they will discuss that later."
Upon hearing this, Chen Kai thought it was a great idea. This year there was flooding and no harvest, so raising livestock would be a good option. They could eat the livestock and make money from it. How wonderful!
The village chief has finally taken the lead in doing a good deed, and they should give him their full support! However, for now, they need to appease Sanya and deal with the rest later.
Chen Kai wiped away Sanya's tears and coaxed her, "Sanya, be good, don't cry. It's just one chick, it's okay. I'll buy ten more chicks in a few days."
“Let the village chief and the others raise the chick we handed over. When the chickens in the mountains grow up and start laying eggs, we’ll bring back a lot of eggs and the chickens too.”
Sanya sobbed, "Then let's steal more chickens and more eggs. They're stealing our chickens now, so let's steal theirs in return."
Chen Kai said helplessly, "Alright, alright, we'll take them all back."
Chen Kai coaxed, "Sanya, stop crying. You won't be pretty if you keep crying. Come on, go wash your face. Look, your eyes are all swollen from crying."
Sanya sobbed, "Okay, I won't cry anymore. I want to look pretty."
Chen Kai saw Sanya go to wash her face and sighed helplessly. He was either taking care of the child or on his way to coax her.
Chen Laosi and Chen Laowu are resting at home today; they're going fishing in the lake later.
However, the last time they went fishing, the bamboo raft was damaged. Now, Chen Laosi took some things and asked Zhou Kai to make a new bamboo raft.
Xiao Tian stepped on the finished bamboo raft and said happily, "This bamboo raft is really sturdy!"
Chen Laosi also said, "It's even better than what my second brother made. The bamboo rafts my second brother made are not durable and tend to sink easily."
Chen Laowu complained, "Fifth Brother, if Second Brother finds out you're criticizing what he makes, let's see if he'll still make you a fishing rod."
After the bamboo raft was finished, Chen Laosi called Chen Nong and the others to go fishing together.
Er Ya was eating in the kitchen when she heard they were going fishing. She immediately exclaimed, "I want to go too! Wait for me!"
"Er Ya, bring out a few more wooden buckets," Chen Nong shouted.
When Chen Kai saw his nephew take out the fishing net, he said with disdain, "Let's not bring this fishing net with us, it's not very useful."
Last time we brought this fishing net, it was completely useless. Before we could even haul it in, the fish were scared away. This fishing net is not as fast as using a bamboo basket to catch them.
Chen Shi laughed and said, "It's alright, take it with you, maybe we can catch a big fish!"
Chen Nong said happily, "If only we could catch otters and cormorants, and train them well, they could help us catch fish."
Otters are intelligent and quick-witted. After six months of training, they can become skilled fishermen who help them catch fish. They are affectionately called "fish cats" by the fishermen.
Cormorants are highly skilled at fishing, using their sharp, hooked beaks to catch fish while quickly diving underwater. They have been domesticated for fishing since ancient times.
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