Chapter Twenty-One: There are still people to be brought back.
Shen Zhiyi thought Tang Huaya had figured it out, and then opened the chest. Inside were neatly arranged beige, light brown, and grayish-brown linen cloths, which must have been carefully selected.
This thoughtfulness touched her deeply.
“Beige suits you, and it’s also suitable for people our age.” Shen Zhiyi skillfully arranged the clothes. “Tie Tou’s clothes are all a size too small, and so are San Shui’s. They’re boys, so…”
"With the cloth I bought, all the children in our village can have new clothes! Of course, I also have my own selfish reasons. In total, I have three sets of clothes to change into!" Shen Zhiyi said with a smile, carrying the jewelry box and the cloth to walk out, but found it was too heavy.
"Let me help you." Tang Huaya saw this and quickly stepped forward, only to find that she couldn't lift it.
"Hua Ya, go and call Grandpa Village Chief, Uncle Stone, and your dad to come and help carry it. We'll distribute it in front of the ancestral hall according to the names of the people," Shen Zhiyi said, and then stopped trying to lift the box. It was something she couldn't do in her current condition.
Tang Huaya went to call for help, and they arrived in the courtyard. When they saw what was there, they were all surprised and asked, "What is this...?"
"A gift of gratitude from Lord Lu," Shen Zhiyi said with a smile, "which is exactly what the village needs!"
“Girl, this won’t do. This is a gift from Lord Lu…” The village chief wanted to say something, but realized that the gift from the lord to the girl could easily be misunderstood, so he quickly changed the subject, “Keep it for yourself! Besides, there are still some chili peppers in the village that haven’t been sold yet, so you can buy them yourself later.”
Shen Zhiyi knew they were kind and simple, and it was precisely because of this that when she was bedridden, they couldn't bear to give up on her life. They gave her food from one family to another, helping her to survive.
This is a life-saving grace!
Now that she has survived and has the ability to give back, how could she possibly go against her conscience and only take?
“That’s different! There’s something even better waiting for our village, so everyone has to get dressed up!” Shen Zhiyi said hurriedly. The village chief couldn’t help but turn around and look at Tang Huaya, as if to ask, “Is there anything else you haven’t told us?”
Shen Zhiyi smiled mysteriously, not intending to reveal the secret.
Tang Huaya was being stared at by everyone, completely bewildered. She had clearly stated that it was Xuan Yan, the servant boy from Lord Lu's side, who had come over, spoken for a while, left some things, and then left. Was there something she had forgotten?
"Let's go, let's finish dividing the stuff first!" Shen Zhiyi said decisively.
Li Shitou glanced at Shen Zhiyi, then at his father, the village chief, unsure whether he should strike the gong in his hand.
Shen Zhiyi, however, had no such worries. Taking advantage of Li Shitou's inattention, she grabbed the gong and started banging it, shouting as she went from house to house, "Gather at the ancestral hall! The county magistrate is bringing warmth to our village!"
"This child..." the village chief murmured helplessly, his heart filled with emotion.
"Hey, why are Shen Da and Zhiyi banging the gong?"
"What warmth?"
The story was so novel that the courtyard gate was opened quickly. Before Shen Zhiyi could even go to the back of the house to call out, the word spread rapidly.
When Old Man Tang and Li Shitou appeared, each carrying a bundle of burlap, the scene inexplicably drew gasps of surprise. It was exactly the same as when the grain was distributed. What county magistrate? It was clearly...
The people who were still discussing in twos and threes suddenly got up and walked out together.
Seeing this, Shen Zhiyi didn't care anymore. He struck the gong in front of the ancestral hall and immediately started talking about a more attractive topic: "Fellow villagers, have you noticed that the weather has been colder than usual lately?"
These words made everyone forget to leave and turn to look at Shen Zhiyi.
“According to the county records that Lord Lu mentioned, it will probably be even colder next month. To get through this, we will have to rely on the food we have stockpiled, the clothes that can cover our bodies, and the heated brick bed!” Shen Zhiyi said seriously. “Although this batch of peppers can be harvested, we still can’t estimate how cold it will be, so we need to weave straw to cover them and keep them warm, and we also need to check on their condition from time to time. So we need to eat well and dress warmly to withstand the cold.”
"That's why Grandpa Village Chief had everyone make adobe bricks and build heated brick beds. He also told everyone, regardless of whether they were relatives, to learn the craft and help build them, even if it meant paying on credit. It was all so that more people could survive. Winters are so cold, and so many people have lost their lives because of the cold..." Shen Zhiyi said slowly.
Even early spring was unusually cold, so she could imagine how cold winter would be. After all, she had learned from her conversation with Hua Ya that some elderly people and children would freeze to death in winter.
“Then wouldn’t that be…” someone choked up, and some women with shallow eyes were already crying softly, as if they had fallen into that despairing winter.
"But now we're all better off! We have a heated kang bed, food, and clothes. We'll definitely make it through!" Tang Huaya said loudly, her voice like a shot of adrenaline, waking people from despair.
"That's right, we still have Zhiyi!" someone shouted, and all the intense gazes suddenly fell on Shen Zhiyi.
Feeling a little embarrassed at suddenly becoming the center of attention in this way, Shen Zhiyi said, "Our village put in a lot of effort for the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-making system), which is why the county magistrate sent this gift of thanks!"
The crowd was somewhat confused, unable to immediately figure out what the problem was.
"Nonsense!" the village chief said, stepping forward. The whispering abruptly stopped. "We, the people of Xiaba Village, must always remember our benefactor! The reason we met on the road and fled here together was because we still had feelings for each other! You were kind to me, and I was kind to you. We relied on each other and got through one hardship after another."
When the older generation heard this, they couldn't help but pat their relatives on the shoulder. Despite the distance between them, the eye contact they made revealed their deep affection for each other. That's why Xiaba Village is more united than other villages.
“We’ve long since become family without blood ties!” the village chief said in a deep voice, then patted Shen Zhiyi’s shoulder affectionately. “The heated kang was Zhiyi’s idea, and the magistrate improved it. So these things are gifts from the magistrate to Zhiyi as a token of gratitude. We’ve all just benefited from this good fortune. Don’t be complacent about it when you go out! Be grateful to the magistrate in your heart, and also to Zhiyi.”
With such a solemn declaration, Shen Zhiyi disregarded her shyness and instead felt the expectation and hope emanating from the village chief. They stood in front of the ancestral hall, seemingly completing some kind of handover ceremony.
"Therefore, the next village chief will be Zhiyi," the village chief said earnestly.
No one objected at this moment; they all clapped and said, "Good!"
Standing before the crowd, hearing the enthusiastic applause, and seeing those eager eyes, the world seemed to open its arms completely to Shen Zhiyi at that moment, and her soul truly became one with this body.
A surge of heroic spirit welled up within Shen Zhiyi, and he blurted out, "I will lead everyone to prosperity!"
"Okay!" The response was deafening, as if shouting louder would make it happen faster.
Next, she distributed the "thank you gifts" according to the arrangements she had made in advance. Everyone was satisfied, but a few aunties held the beaded flowers and silently shed tears. Shen Zhiyi saw this and understood it in her heart.
Then, seeing the village chief approaching, Shen Zhiyi asked softly, "Grandpa Village Chief, how much money do we need to redeem Chen Hua and the others? Was that mentioned when they signed the contract?"
"Back then..." The village chief sighed softly as he mentioned this, "Their family heard from the steward on Master Lin's side that it was a contract with a price tag, so they redeemed it for that price. At the time, everyone was in a hurry to use the money, so they didn't ask me to take a look. When I finally did, I found out that if they worked for three taels of silver, they would need ten taels of silver to get their money back, or they would have to work for ten years."
Shen Zhiyi listened in silence. This was because she was illiterate, which was why she was deceived in the contract.
However, popularizing literacy was not something she, a peasant girl, could do; it depended on whether Magistrate Lu had such an idea.
As for redeeming the people, the sooner the better, but every household also needs money sometimes, so we need to pool everyone's money together to use as emergency funds and then repay the debt slowly...
Some ideas flashed through her mind; those were the experiences that had led to her success back then!
"Grandpa Village Chief, could we do this..." Shen Zhiyi took the initiative to share this idea. If it weren't for what the village chief had said in front of others, she wouldn't have dared to make such a suggestion.
“This is a good thing that brings good fortune, and no one should refuse it. However, we still need to make things clear to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings,” the village chief said. Before everyone left, he took the gong that was standing next to him, struck it once, and all eyes turned to him.
"Chen Hua and the others have been at Master Lin's house for more than half a year. Have they brought back any messages?" the village chief asked, his gaze mainly fixed on those families.
Seeing them all shake their heads in silence, my heart, which had been clenched with worry, could no longer find peace.
In particular, Xiaocui's mother raised her trembling hand to cover her mouth, as if sobbing out loud would be an ominous sign.
"Now there's something I'd like to discuss with everyone," the village chief said slowly. "Those children, we've watched them grow up. They're kind, honest, and quiet, always afraid of being bullied when they're out in the world. Now they've gone to work for Master Lin's family, but they can't get any messages out. You can imagine how difficult it must be for them inside!"
“Now we can plant chili peppers with the help of Zhiyi’s seeds, and we’ll be able to sell them in a few days. During this period, everyone’s finances will be a little better. But those families still have children who haven’t come back, so they are naturally heartbroken.” When the village chief said this, Deng Ashun cried out, his voice choked with sobs: “Village chief, just tell us what to do! Don’t say things like that anymore, it hurts me to hear it.”
No one laughed at Deng Ashun; everyone felt heavy-hearted, yet they firmly supported this viewpoint.
“After selling the chili peppers, everyone can buy whatever they want to supplement their household income. But if there is any money left over, it should be saved and temporarily lent to those families to raise the money to redeem their children so that they can come back as soon as possible.” The village chief quietly wiped away his tears and continued, “When the chili peppers are harvested next time, these families will definitely pay it back. I am here to witness it.”
The village chief has staked his entire life's reputation on this, and no one will look down on him.
Every family that had a child sold to work for Master Lin's family wanted to kneel down and beg, but they were all pulled back by the people around them. At the same time, their voices could be heard saying, "Our family is willing to lend them out!"
"My family is the same!"
"And my family too!"
These voices, when combined, form a force that cannot be ignored!
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