Chapter 42: Changes in the Village
It wasn't until they made the trip that they learned that Huanghua Village and Mugong Village were located between Taohua Village and Xiaba Village. When Shen Zhiyi talked to Zhao Daya about it, she learned that Huanghua, who had heard that she was going to marry into the village, came from Huanghua Village.
"She named the village, and no one else in the village had any objections?" Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but gossip.
Zhao Daya rolled her eyes and said with a hint of disappointment, "The reason she could be named like that is definitely because her father is the village chief!"
"Oh, I knew it," Shen Zhiyi remarked after the fact. "But it's a bit unbelievable that the village chief's daughter would only marry Zheng San from our village."
"Zhiyi, do you even know that because our village has chili peppers, girls from other villages are trying every means to marry into our village?" Zhao Daya exclaimed. Seeing that Shen Zhiyi still didn't quite understand, she patiently explained, "I heard that some young men are even thinking of marrying into our village, just to secretly learn how to grow chili peppers."
Shen Zhiyi never expected that a chili pepper would save the village's marriage market.
“Hua Ya’s family has been having a lot of headaches lately,” Zhao Daya said slowly.
"What's wrong?" Shen Zhiyi asked. She had been so busy lately that she hadn't had a chance to listen to the village gossip.
Zhao Daya looked back with a surprised expression that said, "You don't know anything?" and then said, "I don't know how they found out that Huaya was the first person in our village to grow chili peppers, so they all try to marry her or marry into their families."
Shen Zhiyi was quite surprised to hear this. Thinking of Ge Ermazi in the county town, she could understand the feeling of being entangled in something without knowing it. No wonder that the usually honest and simple Uncle Tang noticed that Ge Ermazi's eyes were strange at that time.
"There are even people climbing over the wall in the middle of the night! Luckily, there are patrolmen passing by in the village, otherwise they would have sneaked into the yard!" Zhao Daya said thankfully.
"No wonder the village patrols haven't stopped for a single day," Shen Zhiyi said with a sudden realization. "It seems we need to start considering village security measures."
Although Zhao Daya couldn't understand what was said afterward, it didn't stop her from nodding in agreement. These were all valuable experiences she had learned from her grandfather.
In this rare moment of leisure, the weariness from being away from home was soothed. Shen Zhiyi's hand touched the cloak placed beside her, her heart still lingering on those unspoken feelings.
Does she have to tear off flower petals and ask, "Does he like me?" or "Does he not like me?"
Instead of wasting time on that, why not do something more meaningful? Feelings stem from attraction, so let things take their natural course.
As the scenery outside the carriage became increasingly familiar, the longing to return home grew stronger.
Shen Zhiyi pointed out the way to the coachman, and just as the carriage turned the corner toward the road leading to her courtyard, it suddenly stopped.
"Don't go over there." Tie Tou's voice came from outside the carriage.
"Tie Tou," Shen Zhiyi called out, leaning out of the carriage as well.
"Sister!" Tie Tou's serious face instantly turned into joy as he excitedly ran forward, but then stood by the carriage. "Sister has been gone for a long time... Will you leave again after you come back?"
As he spoke, Tie Tou's eyes would occasionally dart toward the horse, a longing look in them.
"Tie Tou, get on." Shen Zhiyi said as she lifted the lighter Tie Tou to the carriage. "Sit here obediently."
"Okay," Tie Tou replied obediently, "Thank you, Sister."
Shen Zhiyi patted Tie Tou's head and was about to go back to sit in the carriage when Zhao Daya popped her head out, leaned against the curtain, and asked, "What has happened in our village these past five days?"
"It's nothing," Tie Tou replied, glancing at the coachman beside him out of the corner of his eye. That little gesture didn't escape their notice.
The conversation then became routine until the carriage stopped at the gate of Shen Zhiyi's courtyard, where the driver stayed outside to look after the carriage.
Shen Zhiyi and the others led Tie Tou into the courtyard. Zhao Daya walked at the back, closed the courtyard gate with a stern face, peered through the crack in the gate to observe the outside, and then turned around and followed.
“I checked, no one is eavesdropping outside,” Zhao Daya said softly to Shen Zhiyi.
Seeing Zhao Daya's seriousness, Shen Zhiyi nodded in agreement.
"Has something happened in our village?" Zhao Daya asked Tie Tou softly.
Before Tie Tou could speak, tears welled up in his eyes, startling Shen Zhiyi, who quickly asked, "Could something have happened to someone? Have you reported it to the authorities?"
"Does the magistrate still care about the stolen chili peppers?" Tie Tou asked, his voice choked with emotion.
"This matter..." Zhao Daya turned to look at Shen Zhiyi and said, "Do you care about this?"
"Was a lot stolen?" Shen Zhiyi asked in a deep voice.
Tie Tou held up a finger and sobbed, "A chili pepper. I clearly remember there was a chili pepper growing there, but my mother said I was wrong. So I carefully broke off the leaves and saw that there was a stem, but the chili pepper was gone!"
"Are other households throwing away chili peppers?" Shen Zhiyi asked.
“They don’t know, only I check on the chili peppers in the field every day,” Tie Tou said slowly.
Tie Tou's family consisted of only him and his mother, Yang Shi. As an orphan and widow, they naturally had little wasteland to cultivate, so they valued every single chili seedling.
If it weren't for Shen Zhiyi's insistence on spacing between the plants, Yang would have preferred to have each plant planted right next to the others.
Chili peppers contain seeds, and without the right method, it would take some time to grow them successfully. She never intended to hide them from others, but now that someone is stealing her chili peppers, her feelings are inevitably complicated.
"This is outrageous! We can't possibly catch who stole it!" Zhao Daya said, clenching her fists. "If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have hidden in the fields and caught them!"
"That's truly despicable," Shen Zhiyi responded. Rather than dwelling on hindsight and regret, it's better to look to the future. She then added, "Have you put away the rest of the chilies?"
"Yes, I've written down all the numbers and left them at Grandpa Village Chief's house," Tie Tou replied obediently.
"That's good. While it's still early, I'll take the chilies that need to be delivered to the restaurant later." As Shen Zhiyi spoke, she unlocked the door. Just as the door opened, Zhao Daya called out, "Where are the things at home?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhiyi turned her head and saw that the room was clean and tidy, with even a new straw mat on the kang (heated brick bed).
"Could it have been stolen?" Zhao Daya asked in shock.
"No, no," Tie Tou stammered, looking like he was about to cry.
Just as Zhao Daya was about to speak, Shen Zhiyi secretly reached out and pulled her back, saying gently, "Take your time, there's no rush."
Zhao Daya was so anxious that she almost spun around in circles, and could only turn her head away from the scene.
Tie Tou calmed himself down, looked down at the ground, and his voice gradually became calm: "It was because the village chief and his grandma thought that the things in my sister's house were very important and were worried that someone might sneak in, so they moved everything over there."
“Only the village chief has the key here, and when I opened the lock, there were no signs of damage to the lock, so it shouldn’t be a bad guy who broke in,” Shen Zhiyi explained gently. “Even the straw mat has been replaced; the village chief and the others must have replaced it.”
"I was just in a hurry," Zhao Daya said embarrassedly, realizing that she had caused the incident because she was too anxious. "I'll try to be more patient next time."
"Think things through..." Shen Zhiyi said, then put it in a more accessible way, "Think before you act."
"But there are some things I don't have time to think about," Zhao Daya muttered to herself.
Shen Zhiyi pretended not to hear and walked out with Tie Tou, while Zhao Daya, who was lagging behind, hurriedly followed.
As she walked to the courtyard gate, she opened the door and saw a group of people walking towards her, followed by several carts. Shen Zhiyi immediately opened the gate to welcome them and asked, "Grandpa Village Chief, what brings you here?"
"Hearing you're back, how could we sit still?" the village chief said with a chuckle, then looked at the people behind him, "Hurry up and bring the cart over, don't delay Chen's matter!"
"I'm not sure how long I'll stay in the village yet, after all, I still have things to do with Lord Lu that I promised to do," Shen Zhiyi said. If it weren't for the urgent land reclamation in Peach Blossom Village, she wouldn't have had a chance to come back.
The village chief immediately turned around and shouted to the people behind him, "Don't pull the cart for now!"
The fact that communication inexplicably turned into shouting shows just how great his voice is and how energetic he is.
"Girl, these things..." The village chief left his sentence unfinished, glancing over as if to say something.
Shen Zhiyi understood what this meant and said softly, "With Grandpa Village Chief helping to keep it safe, I feel very reassured!"
"I'm glad you don't blame me for taking matters into my own hands." The village chief said, then thought of something else and tentatively asked, "Is the matter with Lord Lu difficult to handle? If it is, just find an excuse to come back and stay there. I'll cover for you and make sure he doesn't find out."
Shen Zhiyi felt a warmth in her heart and smiled, "Don't worry, Grandpa Village Chief, it's not that difficult!"
"Have you collected all the last of the chilies and sorted them?" Shen Zhiyi asked, changing the subject.
"The sorted items have all been weighed," the village chief honestly replied.
"Then I'll deliver it to the restaurant today," Shen Zhiyi said, not wanting to delay for even a moment. Seeing the village chief about to persuade her, she spoke up first, "Isn't Zheng San waiting to sell the chilies to get married? I can't delay such a joyous occasion."
"You're such a young lady, saying this..." Before the village chief could finish speaking, Zheng San, who had just finished placing the cart, came over with a grin and said, "Sister Chen, are you tired from your trip? Are you thirsty? I've prepared some sugar water for you, drink it quickly to quench your thirst."
As Zheng San spoke, he opened the bamboo tube tied around his waist and handed it over.
"No need to trouble Brother Zheng. I need to sell the remaining chili peppers to the restaurant before I can feel at ease. I won't stay here any longer." As Shen Zhiyi spoke, she noticed the coachman over there. "I can take a horse-drawn carriage back and forth, it's very fast."
"I'll be going now," Shen Zhiyi said, and Zheng San quickly chased after her, saying, "Don't rush, little sister, your brother will help you out."
Shen Zhiyi was about to refuse, but Zheng San was too proactive, and the village chief also advised, "With Zheng San with you, it will be safer."
Thinking about the recent events in the village, Zhao Daya, who had just returned like herself, said to Zheng San, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Zheng San."
“Hey, no trouble at all! No trouble at all! Helping my own sister is no trouble at all.” Zheng Sanxing said excitedly, following closely behind Shen Zhiyi.
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