Chapter 170 Changes
After another ten days, Hao Ren and his group finally returned to Black Bandit Mountain.
Although they were traveling very fast, this trip still took them nearly half a year.
When they set foot on the mountain path leading to Black Bandit Mountain again, they felt vaguely unfamiliar with it.
In just a few months, the area near Black Bandit Mountain under Wu Yingniang's drastic leadership had undergone astonishing changes.
Liangmin Village is fine, as the villagers still live on the mountain, but some of the houses have been renovated.
The area around Liangmin Village has seen the biggest changes.
On the Bufang Mountain and Mozhi Mountain connected to both sides, a number of shops have been built and stores have opened on the mountains.
From far away outside the mountain, you can see the flags waving in the wind in front of the shops.
The narrow and uneven path at the foot of the mountain was also repaired.
The repaired road is wide and flat, and can accommodate two large carriages running side by side. In the future, there is no need to give way when encountering two carriages.
The shops on both sides of the road have been renovated, painted red, and hung with lanterns and plaques. They are no longer as dark and gloomy as before.
There are shops on both sides of the road, and behind the shops there are several rows of houses built at the foot of Bufang Mountain and Zhimo Mountain.
Those are the new houses for the farmhands.
Many farmhands want to settle down here, bring their wives and children to live with them, and register their household registration here.
Taking into account that the efficiency of building houses by each household varies, the quality of the houses built varies, and it may also block the way up and down the mountain, Wu Yingniang simply waved her hand and formed a special team to build the houses.
They collected information on the size of the houses requested by each farmhand, collected money from the farmhands according to the size of the houses, and then built the houses uniformly.
The selected people are all craftsmen who are good at building houses. They can use their skills to make a living and earn money. The houses they build are better than those built by most farmhands.
Of course, there are also a small number of farmhands who expressed their desire to build the house themselves and were unwilling to pay the construction team. By building it themselves, they could save as much as possible.
Liangmin Village also expressed its understanding and planned a specific location for them so that they would not build randomly.
Wu Yingniang acted decisively and carried out extensive renovations near Heifei Mountain. After just a few months, the area had a brand new look.
Now that most of the houses have been built, everyone has taken advantage of the New Year holiday to move into their new homes.
In addition to Liangmin Village, several villages with different surnames have also formed nearby.
"Is this the Black Bandit Mountain?" Qin Xiao and Wei Dashuan stared with their eyes wide open.
He was the same when he left, but he became much richer when he came back.
Su Zhizhi and Xue Che rode on their horses, looking curiously at the smooth road beneath their feet and the houses that had sprung up like mushrooms on both sides.
There are a lot of people on the road now, young and old, all wearing new clothes for the New Year, buying food on the roadside.
Because there are so many people and it is so lively here, some people even come to the market carrying things from villages more than ten miles away.
Many shop owners along the road knew Hao Ren and his family, and when they saw them coming back, they all called out:
"Village Chief Hao is back——!"
"Village Chief Hao and his men are back from the northwest!"
"Go tell Yingniang..."
Gu——
The first one to show up to greet them was Po.
Po swooped down from the mountain and circled around Su Zhizhi.
Su Zhizhi touched Abao's shiny and smooth feathers and said, "Abao has become more handsome again."
Po cooed twice, happy to be praised.
Many people came out on both sides of the street to watch the fun.
Some of them were holding babbling babies in their arms.
More people have taken root at the foot of the Black Bandit Mountain, and more children have come with their parents.
Some children were held in their mothers' arms and were taught by their families to call Su Zhizhi "sister" and Xue Che "brother".
"Sister... giggle..."
“Chuckle…chirp…”
Su Zhizhi heard it immediately and waved to them happily.
Finally, there was a group of younger brothers calling her sister, and Su Zhizhi finally let go of her obsession with forcing Xue Che to be her younger brother.
When they reached the entrance at the foot of Black Bandit Mountain, many villagers had already come down from the mountain to greet them. Each of them had a happy face, as if they were celebrating the New Year again.
Wu Yingniang stood in front, wearing a neat crimson riding suit, looking upright and heroic.
When she smiled at Hao Ren, Zhizhi and A Che, there was a hint of tenderness on her face.
"Aren, you're back."
Hao Ren got off the carriage and looked at Wu Yingniang without blinking:
"Ying Niang."
Hao Ren wanted to hold Yingniang's hand, but before he could do so, Su Zhizhi threw herself into Wu Yingniang's arms and acted coquettishly.
Xue Che also walked up to Wu Yingniang and called her "Auntie Ying".
Wu Yingniang walked up the mountain holding Su Zhizhi in one hand and Xue Che in the other:
"Aren, let's go up the mountain first."
Hao Ren, who failed to hold hands: ...
Su Zhizhi was still saying on the way up the mountain:
"Mom, I miss you so much. I think of you when I eat and sleep. I miss you so much."
Su Zhizhi made a big circle with her hands and asked Xue Che:
"Ache, do you miss it too?"
Xue Che nodded shyly: "Yeah, I miss Aunt Ying too."
Wu Yingniang: "Besides eating and sleeping, when else do you miss me?"
Su Zhizhi: "I thought about it when we were playing snowballs, catching bugs, and eating rice candy..."
Wu Yingniang turned around and asked Hao Ren, "Did the two children eat too many snacks outside and not eat properly?"
Hao Ren couldn't remember clearly and said vaguely: "...I think I ate a lot."
Hao Ren's family kept talking, and the villagers' mouths were not idle either.
"Zhizhi and Ache seem to have grown a bit taller."
"Village Chief Hao is still as handsome as ever, and still the most beautiful girl in our village."
"Tsk, Dashuan looks a little older..."
Wei Dashuan spitted out a mouthful of disgust: "How can you talk like that!"
The villagers were genuinely happy, and their words were as direct as ever. When they saw Doctor Yu helping Hua Erniang, they almost bit their tongues.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's going on? What's Doctor Yu holding in his hand?"
"Why are you holding Hua Erniang's hand..."
"Hua Erniang succeeded!"
"Quick, set off the firecrackers!"
A group of people went up the mountain in a noisy manner.
When the kitchen team heard that they had returned, they were so busy that smoke kept rising from the chimney.
Qiu Jinyu went to the kitchen to take a look, and Aunt Cuihua said hurriedly:
"Sister Qiu, go and take a rest and change your clothes first. We'll be here for you to check out our craftsmanship later in the evening."
They really needed to take a shower and change clothes. They were exhausted from the journey and their bodies and faces were covered in dust.
During the period when large-scale construction was taking place on the mountains and hills, the village also built several more reservoirs, which brought mountain spring water to various parts of the village, making it more convenient for everyone to get and use water.
Ni Tianji used to live a life of luxury and thought, “It would be even better if water could be brought directly to every household in the future.”
Su Zhizhi and Xue Che took a bath and changed into the new clothes that Lu Chunniang made for them.
They had indeed grown a little taller, and when Lu Chunniang made the clothes, she made them a little longer, so they fit them just right.
After they both put on new clothes, Su Zhizhi took Xue Che to visit each household in the village to wish them a happy new year.
Su Zhizhi couldn't wait to tell everyone what she saw and heard on the road.
She wanted to tell everyone that she had seen the snow, touched the snow, and tasted the snow. She also brought her treasure box to show everyone what she had found on the road.
The moment Su Zhizhi and Xue Che left for a long journey, Hao Ren followed them to the door.
Seeing the two children running to the neighbors with relief, Hao Ren locked the door without hesitation and returned to the house.
After bathing, Hao Ren's body was slightly damp. He took off his outer garment, and hung his plain inner garment on his shoulders. He looked at Wu Yingniang with his deep, pool-like eyes:
"Yingniang, are you okay at home?"
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