Chapter 79 Those who want to go to our village raise your hands
The rebellion in Qianzhong was finally quelled in late summer and early autumn.
The imperial army returned to the capital to report.
The new officials who were assigned to several prefectures and counties in Qianzhong Road wiped away their tears and took up their posts.
As a result, order gradually returned to the surrounding areas.
Among the refugees who had previously flocked to Xunzhou, some moved on to the next destination after a short stay, some returned to their hometowns in Qianzhong, and others settled down in Xunzhou.
It is another bumper year for Lingnan.
Everywhere you look, you see large, plump ears of grain and fruits all over the mountains.
When Governor Gu and County Magistrate Song saw that the people in Lingnan were living in harmony and the price of rice had dropped, they both exclaimed, "God bless the people."
As expected, the granary in Liangmin Village was packed to the brim, just like in previous years.
At the end of summer, Su Zhizhi celebrated her birthday like last year. Everyone prepared a sumptuous banquet together and ate until everyone's stomach was full.
After the busy autumn harvest, Mingde Academy resumed classes, and Su Zhizhi and Xue Che returned to the academy.
The classmates hadn't seen each other for several months. When they met in the academy, they gathered together and talked excitedly like a group of little sparrows.
"Zhizhi, I heard that a lot of refugees went to your village. Is that true?"
"Can your village support so many people? Will there be enough food?"
"Gu Qingning, I heard there are a lot of refugees in Qiancao County. Did you see any when you got home?"
The children were young and were shocked to see such a large influx of refugees for the first time. The topic of conversation revolved around the refugees.
Gu Qingning took out a large bag of fried rice cakes and shared them with everyone:
"I saw many refugees working on my farm."
After refugees poured into Qiancao County, the Gu family took in many of them and lent them food and land in time. They caught up with the summer planting season and harvested food in the autumn, so that they could have enough to eat.
After the refugees harvested the grain, they would return the borrowed grain and the small rent they owed to the Gu family.
The following year, the Gu family's fields continued to be cultivated by them, making them long-term tenants.
The refugees who had been exploited at every level put all their efforts into farming when they encountered such a good thing.
Gu Qingning gave the largest piece of fried rice cake to Su Zhizhi:
"They work very hard, Zhizhi. Are the refugees in your village the same?"
Su Zhizhi took a bite of the rice cake and nodded:
"My father said that the refugees in our village are no longer called refugees. They are new residents of our village and have been registered as residents in our village."
"The new villagers in our village are very strong and energetic. They can cook, hunt, and farm... Everyone has meat to eat, new clothes to wear, and they learn to read and write together. In the winter when farming is not busy, we even build houses for the new villagers."
After Su Zhizhi finished speaking, everyone looked at her in disbelief.
"So many people... can everyone eat meat? Wear new clothes? And, learn to read?" Even Gu Qingning opened her mouth wide.
Wu Zhan was shocked: "Your village didn't use all the money from selling ink to buy meat for them, did they?"
Wu Zhan was wearing brand new clothes that his father Wu Fugui bought for him from another place.
The Wu family caravan made a lot of money by selling Black Mountain Ink.
Although it was inconvenient to go north due to the unrest in Qianzhong for a time, the trade route to the east was opened up and Black Mountain Ink was sold to the Yangzhou area.
Now the Wu family has three caravans and has hired several servants to work at home. Wu Zhan finally doesn't have to clean the door and floor at home anymore.
Children who have new clothes will want to show off. Wu Zhan puffed out his chest when he spoke, wanting to draw attention to his clothes.
This is the Jiangnan silk his father bought for him from Yangzhou!
As Wu Zhan was expecting, someone finally started talking about clothes.
"Wow, what kind of material is this?" Liu Xiangxiang's voice sounded with envy and curiosity.
Wu Zhan hid the happy expression on his face, cleared his throat and was about to explain:
"Ahem, this is..."
Liu Xiangxiang continued, "Look, Zhizhi's new clothes are so soft and comfortable!"
Wu Zhan: ...
She gently pinched the corner of Su Zhizhi's sleeve, her eyes full of stars.
She had never been so envious when she saw Su Zhizhi wearing the ink stick before.
Wu Zhan looked in the direction of Liu Xiangxiang's hand and saw that the fabric of Su Zhizhi's sleeves was neither linen nor silk. It seemed to be a material he had never seen before.
Su Zhizhi finished her fried rice cakes, stood up, and opened her arms in front of her classmates:
"This is cotton cloth, woven in our village. It's rarely seen outside. The villagers say it's breathable and comfortable, and everyone has one."
Everyone was extremely curious: "Zhizhi, what does your village look like?"
Gu Qingning stood beside Su Zhizhi and gestured exaggeratedly:
"Zhizhi Village is so clean and beautiful, the food is delicious, and the scenery is beautiful..."
After Gu Qingning went to Black Bandit Mountain to attend Su Zhizhi's birthday, she has been thinking about her ever since.
Someone asked: "Zhizhi, I also want to visit your village, is that okay?"
As soon as this was said, everyone shouted:
"Me! I want to go too."
"And me and me!"
…
Su Zhizhi stood on the table and said, "Those who want to visit our village, raise your hands. I'll count."
Everyone raised their hands.
Su Zhizhi shook her head: "Okay, I have to go back and ask my parents."
On the day off, when Su Zhizhi and Xue Che returned to the county town to eat, Su Zhizhi looked at her parents, then at Xue Che, and suddenly asked:
"Ah Che, your birthday is coming soon. Do you want to invite your classmates from the academy to the village to celebrate your birthday?"
Su Zhizhi's birthday is June 20th, and Xue Che's is September 20th. Xue Che is exactly three months younger than Su Zhizhi.
Xue Che, who was eating fried eggplant, glanced at Su Zhizhi warily:
"What do you want to do?"
Su Zhizhi picked up a piece of brown sugar rice cake for Xue Che and smiled:
"All the classmates in the academy want to come to our village to play. I thought your birthday is coming soon, and it would be a great occasion for you to have more people to celebrate your birthday."
When Xue Che celebrated his birthday last year, Su Zhizhi's family also celebrated for him, but it was not as large-scale as Su Zhizhi's village banquet.
Xue Che felt that his life was quite warm and satisfying, much better than celebrating his birthday with the housekeeper in the mansion before.
Su Zhizhi guessed that A Che might also want to have some fun, but he just didn't say it.
Ache sometimes looks like a lonely little adult, but Su Zhizhi feels that Ache is actually a person who is afraid of being lonely.
"I don't need to invite so many people," Xue Che took a bite of the brown sugar rice cake, "but if you happen to invite your classmates over that day, that's fine too."
Su Zhizhi's eyes lit up and she turned to look at the adults at the dinner table.
Hao Ren and Wu Yingniang listened to the conversation between the two children and laughed.
Wu Yingniang: "Then please, the autumn harvest is over anyway, so we can still afford to treat everyone to a meal."
Hao Ren rubbed his chopsticks. "Since you're inviting us, why not invite the dean and the teachers as well? Is that okay with Ache?"
Xue Che was closer to the teachers in the academy than to his classmates, but he had no objection to this.
Su Zhizhi shouted, "Then don't bring up the fact that I was catching up on my homework in the middle of the night!"
Wu Yingniang tapped Su Zhizhi on the forehead and said, "Then hurry up and do your homework. Don't dawdle until midnight."
Su Zhizhi let out a cry, finished the rice in the bowl, and ran back to the house to do her homework.
While running, he shouted:
"Ah Che, where did you put my homework? Please help me find it."
Xue Che, who had just put down his bowl and chopsticks, sighed and walked away like an old scholar with his hands behind his back.
"Here it comes, here it comes~"
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