"Girls born into their family can't escape being sold when they grow up."
The woman was in a hurry, especially since she had three little girls with her.
"Why sell baby girls? Aren't baby girls human beings?"
"That's right. Their family thinks girls are a money-losing commodity. Raising girls is useless. At least they can make some money by selling them when they grow up. These people are heartless and don't treat girls like human beings."
At this point, Mrs. Tan couldn't help but boast: "Look at what I'm wearing and what I'm carrying. Everything I have was bought for me by my granddaughter. So what if she's a girl? Girls can hold up half the sky just as well. Girls can still make this old woman wear gold and silver. I didn't get to enjoy the blessings from my son, but I've gotten them from my granddaughter."
This is what Shen Danru often said at home: women hold up half the sky; without women, there would be no food or clothing.
Ms. Tan initially disagreed, believing that women should depend on men for survival and that the house would collapse if there were no man in it.
But after spending a lot of time with her granddaughter, she actually came to believe the saying that women can hold up half the sky.
Tan's words startled the woman. Luckily, she was cautious and inquired beforehand, otherwise she would have been in serious trouble.
Why did she find a man? Wasn't it just to feed her children and keep them from starving?
Well, that almost led to us falling into a wolf's den.
But she couldn't just listen to one side of the story, so she looked at the other old women. Although they didn't say anything, their eyes told her that the old woman who was speaking was not lying.
"Thank you, ma'am."
The woman thanked him and turned to leave.
Upon seeing this, the matchmaker stamped her foot and followed the woman.
But a short while later, someone informed Chen that she had stormed out of her house in a huff.
"Zhou Tanshi, what nonsense did you just spout? You ruined my son's marriage. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"
"Whether I'll suffer retribution or not is still unknown, but you've certainly suffered retribution."
Chen was stabbed in the lung and rushed over with a scream, causing the old women to quickly retreat.
Tan was a shrew and not afraid of Chen. They used to be in-laws, so she didn't dare to lay a hand on Chen, fearing it would make things difficult for her daughter at home. But now that they were no longer mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Tan no longer needed to show Chen any mercy.
Tan was almost a head taller than Chen and was used to farm work. Before long, she was riding on Chen's back, pulling her hair with one hand and slapping her face with the other.
Those watching felt relieved.
In the past, Tan Shi had bullied them a lot because she had many sons.
It wasn't until the Shen family arrived and Tan was exhausted from beating Chen that she finally got off Chen.
As if nothing had happened, Ms. Tan clapped her hands, spat on the ground, and went home.
That's exactly how it looks, like someone disgusted by touching something dirty.
Chen's face was so swollen that she couldn't speak. Her two sons helped her up and complained, "Mother, why did you provoke their family again?"
Chen looked aggrieved. Why did her two sons not only not help her after she was beaten, but also blame her?
The women watching the commotion curled their lips, secretly mocking Chen for not recognizing the situation. Now, how could her two sons dare to cause trouble for Shen Cheng again?
###
A few days later, more and more refugees gathered in Sifang Town, and people came to the town's door every day.
It's unclear where these people heard that the Shen family owned a lot of land and could provide them with plenty of food, so they voluntarily offered themselves to them.
Shen Danru had taken in more than a hundred refugees. Before the manor was built, Shen Danru had nowhere for these people to live, so he could only set up tents temporarily.
Fortunately, it's summer now, and apart from the midday heat, having a tent provides shelter, which is much better than staying outside.
The magistrate of Ningshou County was also very worried. Why were so many refugees flocking to Sifang Town, while there were no refugees in other towns such as Baiyun Town, Xingyang Town, and Yidong Town?
The advisor said, “Master, you’ve probably forgotten that while there’s no Shen family in other towns, there is one in Sifang Town. They know how to reclaim wasteland and even grow early rice. Now that the crops are ripe, the rice in other people’s fields hasn’t even sprouted yet. Right now, apart from those grain stores, I’m afraid only the Shen family has grain. Those refugees aren’t stupid; going to other towns would just be asking to starve.”
The magistrate then realized that what the advisor said made a lot of sense.
"Won't so many refugees cause trouble for the Shen family?"
“Master, you don’t need to worry about that. The Shen family has a Shen Danru. Just watch, there won’t be any refugees starving to death in Ningshou County.”
The magistrate nodded, agreeing with what the clerk had said.
The next day, Shen Cheng went to the county magistrate and asked to buy three thousand acres of wasteland in the west of the city. The magistrate agreed without hesitation and also gave him the remaining eight hundred acres of wasteland in the east of the city.
Those lands are barren and can't grow crops. Rather than leaving them there where not even a blade of grass can grow, it's better to give them to the Shen family so that food can grow on the land. Besides, they've taken in so many disaster victims.
Clearing land is time-consuming and labor-intensive. The effort that the Shen family put in is far more valuable than that of cultivating fertile land for anyone else.
But seeing the increasing number of refugees in Ningshou County, even the county magistrate became afraid. He had no choice but to order the city gates to be closed and prevent the refugees from entering.
A few days later, the manor in the east of the city was completed, and Shen Danru took in more and more refugees, totaling more than 500, and the number continued to increase every day.
They have to eat a lot of food every day.
Fortunately, Shen Danru can still afford to support them. The rice is already ripe, and even if it's not enough to eat, she has accumulated a lot of points from completing tasks, which can be exchanged for food.
“Master, when we were looking around the rice paddies just now, we encountered some suspicious-looking people with frightening appearances. We secretly followed them and overheard them talking about making a move tonight. I suspect they are bandits. Now that we are rushing to harvest our rice, I am afraid that they will come and steal our grain tonight.”
Upon hearing this, fear was palpable among those around them.
They can't afford to mess with the bandits.
Shen Danru sized up the two men; they were in their forties or fifties, with simple and honest faces.
They saw fear in the eyes of the others, but these two showed no fear on their faces.
Shen Danru asked everyone, "Are you very afraid of mountain bandits?"
“We have been fleeing famine all the way here. During this time, we encountered many bandits. They burned, killed, and looted. They snatched away all the infants they saw. The infants were tender, and I'm afraid all the children they stole ended up in their bellies.”
"Yes, masters. They not only kidnapped infants, but also women. Any woman with a bit of beauty was violated by these people. We smeared our faces all the way here to escape."
Shen Danru asked the two men, "Uncles, aren't you afraid?"
One of them, surnamed Cai, respectfully said, "We are also afraid, Master."
"Then why are you still following these people? Aren't you afraid they'll find out?"
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