Cheng Yue told Chen An to stop the oxcart and shouted to the back:
"Aunties and madams, if you're worried about not getting your money, ask Uncle Village Head to act as guarantor and pay you in advance. There's money to be made, so you'd better be proactive!"
"Oh! Yes, why didn't we think of that? Come on, let's go tell them now!"
Cheng Yueya is definitely quick-witted; no wonder she's good at business!
A group of people went to the field making a ruckus, startling Zhao and Chen Ping. After hearing their purpose, they agreed without hesitation.
The blisters on Chen Ping's hands kept growing and festering. These past few days, harvesting wheat had left him feeling like crying. He wished he could immediately return to the county town to escape the hustle and bustle, but he couldn't bear to part with the grain.
The whole family was exhausted and lost a lot of weight. Their complexions visibly worsened, mainly due to fatigue and the lack of cooks when they got home.
Not only that, Zhao and Li Manying quarreled every day for no reason, and their relationship became even more disharmonious than before!
More than ever, they want someone to take over this job; they never want to do it again!
While giving them money in advance is indeed quite insulting, isn't that just saying they're dishonest?
But what can we do if they don't agree?
Chen Ping did try to find someone in another village, but they said the journey was long and that in addition to the thirty coins he would be paid, he would also have to provide two meals.
How could he agree to that? He wasn't going to be taken advantage of. He stormed off in a huff.
Thirty coins already made me so angry my heart ached, and you still want to provide two meals? Dream on!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have lowered himself to seek help from people in his own village.
Anyway, it's good that the villagers agreed; they can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Zhao and Li Manying were so excited that they burst into tears; they had been so exhausted these past few days.
So they eagerly followed the crowd to the village head's house.
With so many people rushing into the courtyard, the village head thought something had happened. After hearing Chen Ping's explanation, he glared at him irritably.
Look at how eager he is to get paid, cutting wheat is like it's going to kill him. If he loses his job one day and can't earn money, he'll starve to death.
Unable to bear it any longer, the village head advised, "Chen Ping, these fields are our roots. No matter what you do, you must not forget that."
"You still have to go to the fields; you can't get rusty. The kids at home should practice more too. If they can't even handle this little bit of hard work, how will they manage in the future?"
"Uncle Village Head, don't worry, I know. Besides, my job is fine, it's good enough to support my family, I definitely won't be in that situation!"
If it weren't for the fact that it was the village head who was speaking, he would have cursed him a couple of times. Wouldn't that be cursing him?
What do you mean, "how will we live in the future?" His life is perfectly fine, which is worse than anyone else's?
The village head choked. There's always a chance of something going wrong. How can you live without making plans? You can't just think about the best-case scenario.
However, given Chen Ping's condition, it's probably pointless to say anything. Oh well, good advice is useless against a damn fool. I blame myself for being too talkative.
The village head sighed softly, then gathered everyone together, "Since you've all agreed, let's just give you the money."
Chen Ping, it's thirty coins a day. You pay for today's work first, and you can pay for tomorrow's work later.
With the money in their pockets, the men from each household took their sickles and went to work in the fields.
Another day with income! Happy! Satisfied!
Chen Ping laughed heartily, with a hint of disdain. A bunch of fools, so happy over thirty coins? They've never seen money before!
Unlike him, who easily earns two taels of silver a month, while farm work is so tiring, he doesn't even earn two taels a year.
Thinking this way, Chen Ping felt confident again. Yes, he was different from these peasants.
However, his smile froze on his face the next moment because he saw Chen An and Cheng Yue.
Especially considering Chen An walked over perfectly fine, is his leg healed? How is that possible?
Chen Ping was speechless with surprise, while Zhao Shi stared wide-eyed and exclaimed, "You, how can you walk with those legs?!"
She was convinced that Chen An's leg was useless and that he would be a burden to them, which is why they separated from the family. She didn't even stop them from severing ties, after all, what use is a cripple?
But how come Chen An suddenly recovered after only two months?
How can they accept this? If they had known it would turn out well, why did they even mention dividing the family property? If they hadn't divided the family property, would they have been so exhausted from harvesting wheat?
"Of course I'm better! Now that I'm better, I should walk!"
Cheng Yue and the others were originally going home, but then they thought that Chen An probably couldn't do the job of making the oven by himself, so they came to the village head's house to find the Zhang brothers, Zhang Dashan and Zhang Dajiang.
Chen Ping has the nerve to ask others for help, but he certainly wouldn't have the nerve to beg the village head's family. Besides, Zhang Dashan and his brother are close to Chen An and look down on Chen Ping the most. They probably wouldn't go even if offered money.
Of course, finding someone was secondary. Cheng Yue came here specifically to see how Chen Ping and the others would react; it was sure to be quite interesting!
Since we'll find out sooner or later anyway, we might as well take advantage of the crowd and slap them in the face!
Sure enough, the expressions on this family's faces did not disappoint her!
It took Chen Ping a long time to accept this information. "Your leg is ruined. How, how can it get better!"
"Even if it could have been cured, you should have told me in the first place. Isn't this just deliberately lying to people?"
He was furious! Not only did he lose a laborer for nothing, but he also gave away so much land, all of which went down the drain!
His younger brother has always been honest, but he wasn't careful enough and let him play such a trick on him.
Chen An frowned. "When did I say my leg was crippled? And why can't it get better? Didn't you all assume my leg was crippled?"
I can't accept the label of "liar." We both know what happened back then; there's no need to use such harsh words!
He didn't want to say much about the matter of being separated from the Zhao family, because even if he didn't say it, everyone already knew.
Chen Gen was expelled from the academy, and Chen Ping and Zhao Shi had offended all the villagers. Their reputations were already ruined, so there was no need for them to further damage them.
Chen Ping was speechless. If the doctor hadn't said it was incurable, would he have been able to separate from the family?
But he couldn't say it openly, otherwise he would be slapping himself in the face.
Chen Ping glanced at Zhao Shi and Li Manying with displeasure. He did want to separate the family property, but it wasn't a necessity.
If his mother and wife hadn't come to him saying that Cheng Yue had gone crazy, and hadn't spent most of the day egging him on, they wouldn't have agreed to separate the family so easily!
Zhao was even more unwilling and glared fiercely at Li Manying, calling her a troublemaker who stirred things up!
If the family hadn't separated, I wouldn't have had to do the laundry, cook, and clean the latrines myself!
She wouldn't even have to work hard in the fields; all the money that slut Cheng Yue earns would be hers!
She should have been enjoying a life of luxury, how did she end up in this situation!
Thinking of this, Zhao rushed forward, grabbed Chen An's arm, and cried, "Second son, my son..."
"Aunt Zhao, we've severed ties. Don't try to reconnect with us."
Chen An shook off Zhao's hand, his voice neither fast nor slow, but it sounded quite cold.
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