Chapter 104: Village Chief Selection [VIP]
The next morning.
Tanaka was checking out with his daughter L and the shopkeeper. Huang Songbai and Mule had to stay in the inn and wait for the tea merchant, so they would not check out of their room, only their daughter L's room.
By the time Tanaka finished the formalities, Huang Songbai had already gone to the backyard, driving a mule cart with the father and daughter's luggage and was waiting at the door.
When passing by the market, Tian Baozhu asked her uncle to stop the mule cart and she went down to buy breakfast.
I'm busy cleaning and tidying up the house today, so I definitely don't have time to make breakfast for Grandma Xie, so I can only buy it outside and bring it to her.
When the mule cart stopped at the door of Grandma Xie's house, the three of them began to unload their bags, and the early-rising neighbor had already opened the door to inquire about them.
After learning from Tian Baozhu that they had rented an empty house from Grandma Xie's house, everyone became curious. Some asked them how much the monthly rent was, where they were from, and even asked if anyone else wanted to rent the house, as they also wanted to rent out their own empty house.
Tian Baozhu answered these people's questions ambiguously, with a half-truth and a half-falseness. With a smile on her face, she recommended her own fur products to everyone.
When everyone heard that they were asked to buy furs, they all avoided them and went back home.
Grandma Xie was old and slept very little, so she woke up early, opened the door and sat in front of the main house, trying hard to listen to what people were saying outside.
Without hearing Tian Baozhu mention the rent, the corners of her drooping mouth gradually raised a curve.
This girl is smarter than two grown men.
Tanaka Zheng and Huang Songbai were moving the luggage and folding tables and chairs in the car into the Xie family's yard. They were suddenly met with a pair of cloudy eyes, which scared them.
"Thank you, grandma. We have to be busy cleaning the room this morning. I bought you some buns for breakfast today. There are meat buns and vegetable buns. Which one do you want to eat first?" Tian Baozhu unloaded the basket for making velvet flowers in the yard, squatted beside it, holding the buns and asked.
Granny Xie sat on the porch, leaning on a bamboo stick, motionless. She only turned her head in the direction of the voice and said, "Give me one vegetable and one meat."
Tian Baozhu responded and opened the oil paper package and handed it to Grandma Xie. She held her hand and let her feel it herself: "This one is meat, and this one is vegetable. Grandma, take your time to eat. I'll go and get busy first."
Mrs. Xie was obviously stunned when someone grabbed her hand out of the blue, but she quickly recovered and grabbed the meat bun and put it into her mouth.
After moving their luggage, Tanaka Masashi and his third brother tied the mule cart outside, and then carried the wooden bucket to draw water from the well in the yard. He couldn't help but curl his lips when he saw Mrs. Xie eating buns with big mouthfuls without even saying thank you to her daughter L.
After Tian Baozhu entered the house, she tied a cloth on her hair, opened the window, and first swept all the dust in the house with a broom. Then she took the well water her father drew and began to scrub.
Mrs. Xie couldn't stand the dust in the yard, so she carried a stool in one hand, hit a bamboo stick with the other, and moved from the door of the main house to the outside of the gate with a bun in her mouth.
The mule cart tied at the door had become a playground for the naughty children in the box. Just when the mule was about to kick impatiently, the children scattered like birds and beasts when they saw Mrs. Xie coming out.
In the next yard, Furong also heard the noise. She sorted out the calligraphy and paintings for her husband, and went out with him carrying the basket.
"You don't have to see me out. It's still early. Go back and rest for a while." Liang Ming felt sorry for his wife.
Furong closed the door and smiled brightly: "I'm happy to go out with my husband. Miss Tian just moved next door today, so I'm taking her to get familiar with the neighborhood and buy some vegetables."
"You are kind-hearted." After parting with his wife, Liang Ming went to the market to set up a stall.
Furong greeted Grandma Xie who was sitting at the door, and then went into the yard to look for Tian Baozhu.
When Tian Baozhu learned that she was going to take her shopping and strolling around the neighborhood, she didn't want to go at first, but when she heard where the vegetables were cheaper, she couldn't even open her mouth to agree, but Tan Zhongzheng urged her to go.
"Go, Baozhu, drive the mule cart and buy some rice, flour, grain and oil. Leave the cleaning work to us." Huang Songbai took the rag from her hand.
Tian Baozhu was very happy to be able to drive a mule cart to go shopping. She got on the cart and held out her hand to Furong: "Sister Furong, please get on. I can drive the cart very steadily."
Furong was a little worried when she pulled her into the car, but after leaving the alley, she saw Tian Baozhu driving with great skill and couldn't help but praise her: "Miss Tian, you are really amazing."
Tian Baozhu smiled and said, "Sister Furong, you can just call me Baozhu. Where can we go to buy vegetables? Please show me the way."
Under Furong's guidance, Tian Baozhu not only bought rice, flour, grain and oil at cheap prices, but also bought a lot of local seeds, silk and colorful silk threads, which were all gifts for her uncle to take back to his family.
"Baozhu, what are you going to do with these seeds?"
"My uncle will be returning home with the tea merchant in two days. I can take some home to plant. Sister Furong, thank you for taking me out to buy tea today. When Mr. Liang comes back tonight, you can all come to thank my mother-in-law for dinner."
"Why are you embarrassed? If it weren't for you, my house would have been settled."
Hold on, I'll teach you how to cook our local dishes."
"OK!"
After asking about Grandma Xie's dietary restrictions, she prepared a light meal with three dishes and a soup. After everyone had finished eating, Grandma Xie.
In the afternoon, Tanaka Zheng and Huang Songbai surrounded their daughter L and urged her to write a letter to her family. The letter was more than ten pages long, three of which were for A Yao, describing the seed sowing method.
"Uncle, come and have dinner with us in the next two days. I will give this to you on the day you leave." Tian Baozhu patted the bundle, stood up and locked the bundle and the envelope in the wooden box.
Huang Songbai nodded. He knew that these things were all very important. "Don't worry, when my uncle finishes the autumn harvest, he'll bring his family back to deliver the goods to you."
"Uncle, this is another route map I drew. Please keep it." Tian Baozhu took out a drawing from the booklet and handed it to him.
Huang Songbai unfolded it, took a look at it, and then put it in his arms.
After seeing his daughter L finish her instructions, Tanaka pulled his third brother up and said, "While we have the mule cart, let's go to the outskirts of the city and chop some more firewood these next two days. We have to buy firewood from other people when we live in the city."
A load of firewood costs five cents, so you have to be thrifty in your life and save wherever you can.
Seeing that the two elders were about to go out, Tian Baozhu reminded them not to come home too late, and that they had to invite Liang Ming and his wife to come over for dinner in the evening.
When Liang Ming and his wife came over, they were carrying a fresh fish and a basket of rambutans. Furong peeled two of them herself and gave them to Baozhu and Grandma Xie to try.
"How is it, sweet?"
The moment she took the fruit in her mouth, Tian Baozhu's eyes lit up. She had never tasted such sweet fruit before. "Sweet, Sister Furong, what kind of fruit is this? It looks really weird."
"Rambutan, I didn't know that rambutan would ripen so quickly this year." Grandma Xie reached into the basket again. She hadn't eaten it for a long time.
Liang Ming handed one to Tian Zhongzheng and Huang Songbai, asking them to eat one too.
The two grown men peeled off the red "thorn ball" and put the white flesh inside in their mouths. They were so amazed that they were speechless.
They had never eaten such sweet fruit either.
"Sister Furong, how long can this fruit be preserved? I want my uncle to take some back for everyone in the family to taste." Tian Baozhu took another one.
"This fruit will go bad in a few days. If you want to buy some, you might as well buy a fruit tree. We have an orchard here. If you want, let my husband accompany you there tomorrow."
"Won't this delay Mr. Liang's business?" Tanaka Masashi and Huang Songbai asked at the same time.
It can be seen that they really want to bring the fruit home for everyone to taste.
"My business depends on fate. Even if I set up a stall every day, no one will come to buy. It's not a waste of time at all, but the journey to the orchard is a bit far." Liang Ming took out a handkerchief and wiped the juice off his hands.
Huang Songbai said with a smile: "What's there to be afraid of? We have a mule cart."
Everyone laughed when these words were spoken.
In the evening, with Furong's help, Tian Baozhu prepared a large table of dishes, including steamed sea bass, braised pork with preserved vegetables, traditional Hangzhou three fresh dishes, stir-fried asparagus and fried shrimp.
Mrs. Xie hadn't eaten such a sumptuous meal for a long time. She was very moved during the meal and thanked Baozhu and Furong.
Because of this meal, everyone enjoyed it and the atmosphere gradually became more harmonious.
The next day, Tanaka was helping his daughter L set up her stall at the market, and then he followed his third brother and Liang Ming to the orchard outside the city to buy fruit trees.
When they saw the orchard outside the city, Tanaka Zheng and Huang Songbai were stunned. The branches and trunks were full of red fruits, some of which had even fallen to the ground and rotted, which made people feel sorry to see.
Liang Ming walked up to the fruit farmer and spoke in the local dialect, which the two of them could not understand. But when the orchard owner looked at them, they both forced a smile.
"The owner of the orchard is willing to sell you five fruit trees at most, but the price is a bit high." Liang Mingchao stretched out his hands and gestured to the two of them.
Tanaka pulled him aside and whispered, "We can just buy three trees, not five. One or two ounces of silver per fruit tree is a bit too expensive."
"That's right, we only need three trees." Huang Songbai smiled at the owner of the garden and came over to say.
Liang Ming looked a little embarrassed, but he still had to tell them the truth: "It's not one tael of silver per fruit tree, but five taels of silver per tree."
"What?"
Five taels of silver for a fruit tree, and a few more taels could buy a mule cart for the family. Why are these fruit trees so expensive?
"Why is this so expensive? Mr. Liang, can you talk to the owner of the garden and give us a discount?"
Liang Ming continued chatting with the owner, but in the end they still couldn't agree on a price. "Five taels of silver, and he will tell you how to plant these fruit trees."
Tanaka Zheng and Huang Songbai looked at each other and asked, "Should we still buy this fruit tree?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the gardener chattering a lot in dialect.
After Liang Ming's explanation, it turned out that the owner of the orchard told them that if the fruit tree died next year, they could give them another one.
"Then let's buy one and plant it for A Yao. When it bears fruit, we can all eat it." Tanaka gritted his teeth and discussed with his third brother.
Huang Songbai looked at the fruit trees in the garden and thought of the taste of rambutan. He gritted his teeth and said, "Buy one and ask him to tell me how to plant it. I'll tell A-Yao when I get back."
Liang Ming mediated, and the owner took the two of them to pick the strongest fruit tree, tied it with red silk, and told Huang Songbai how to plant it. Huang Songbai then agreed with him to pay the money on the day he came to dig up the tree.
Three days later, Chang Wei led his team back to the inn from the tea garden. The caravan's mule carts were loaded with tea packages, and each mule cart was covered with oilcloth.
Huang Songbai heard the noise upstairs and immediately went downstairs to talk to Chang Wei, asking when they would return. He learned that they were going to buy food for the journey in the afternoon and would set off tomorrow.
Huang Songbai immediately set off in a mule cart to the market, and took Tian Baozhu and her daughter to the orchard outside the city to dig fruit trees.
The fruit tree, with its soil ball and roots wrapped in a sack, was brought to the car and laid horizontally. Tian Baozhu looked at the lush branches and leaves that were exposed and couldn't help but click her tongue: "Dad, Uncle, when can we eat the fruit from this tree after it's planted?"
Tanaka glared at his daughter L and said, "It doesn't matter when you can eat it. As long as we can transport it home and it survives, we will be able to eat it sooner or later."
Huang Songbai tied up the fruit tree and explained to the father and daughter, "The owner of the orchard told me that it will bear fruit two years after transplanting. If it doesn't survive, he will give us another one."
Tian Baozhu nodded, and when everyone returned to the Xie family, she moved several sacks of seeds and luggage into the car and placed them neatly.
"Okay, Baozhu, go into the house. Your father has to go with your uncle to buy some food. Your father will take your uncle out of the city tomorrow, so you don't have to come." Huang Songbai patted the dust off his hands.
Tian Baozhu stood beside the mule cart and said reluctantly, "That won't do. I won't feel at ease until I see you out of the city, uncle."
"Okay, then you should still wear men's clothes tomorrow. Yue A Shui didn't tell anyone that you are a girl." As soon as Huang Songbai finished speaking, he drove the mule and set off.
Tian Baozhu was slightly stunned when she suddenly heard Yue Ashui's name. Thinking of Yue Ashui's silly look that day, she couldn't help laughing out loud, muttering, "The meals I cooked along the way were not in vain."
In the evening, Furong told her husband that Huang Songbai was leaving, thinking that they and her should go to see him off.
These days, Tanaka Zheng and Huang Songbai have been chopping firewood outside and bringing it back home. The neatly stacked pile of firewood under the eaves is enough for them to burn for a year.
"Let's send him some more rambutans tomorrow," Liang Ming said.
At dawn in the morning, Chang Wei checked out of the hotel and asked his brothers to pack up the mule cart. He felt very sorry to learn that only Huang Songbai would be accompanying them on their return trip.
It seems that they can only chew dry naan and dried meat on the way back.
While everyone was busy, Yue Ashui quickly slipped over to Huang Songbai and whispered, "Uncle, is Miss Tian really not going with us?"
Huang Songbai smiled and got on his mule cart and said to Yue Ashui, "Go ask her father yourself."
As Huang Songbai called out "brother-in-law", Yue A Shui ran away quickly without waiting for Tanaka Zheng to come over.
Tanaka was coming out of the inn, sitting on the mule cart and frowning at Yue Ashui in front of him: "Third brother, please be careful on your way home, and write to us as soon as you get home."
"Don't worry, brother-in-law. You should be careful when you stay in Jiangnan." Tanaka was driving a mule cart loaded with goods and following the tea merchants' team to the city gate.
It was still early at this time, the city gate had just opened, and there were not many people leaving the city, so it was quickly passable.
When everyone arrived at the city gate, they saw Baozhu and Liang Ming and his wife.
"Please don't get off the car. This basket of rambutans and this calligraphy and painting are your farewell gift. When you come again next time, my husband and I will take you boating on the lake." Liang Ming and Tanaka Masashi loaded the things into the car together.
Huang Songbai was deeply moved when he saw the basket of rambutans. He sat in the front of the car and bowed to the couple to express his gratitude. "Thank you very much. I'll trouble you to take care of my brother-in-law and Baozhu."
"Don't worry."
"Uncle, have a safe journey. Please give my regards to my family when you go back." Tian Baozhu waved goodbye to her uncle with red eyes. She didn't burst into tears until she saw her uncle hand in the travel permit and the tea merchant team leaving the city gate.
Tanaka patted his daughter L's shoulder and thanked Liang Ming again: "Thank you for coming to see my third brother off."
"Uncle Tian, you're welcome. Let's go back while it's still early. Maybe we can find a good spot to set up a stall at the market." Liang Ming walked back holding his wife's hand.
Tian Baozhu looked back again. It would take two months for her to see her uncle again.
After leaving the city, Huang Songbai felt extremely melancholy, but when he thought about the fact that he had returned with a full load of everyone's harvest, his melancholy was much diluted.
While resting on the road, Huang Songbai gave some rambutan to Chang Wei and others to try.
Chang Wei brought his brothers to Jiangnan several times but they had never experienced the local customs and culture. When they got the rambutan, no one knew how to eat it.
It was not until they saw Huang Songbai demonstrate that everyone started to taste it.
Sweet, refreshing sweetness, so sweet that it can make people temporarily forget the many hardships on the road.
As they walked back, the weather became hotter and hotter, and the mule drank water by the river.
Huang Songbai saw that everyone had taken off their coats and were sitting shirtless in the shade of the trees to enjoy the cool air. He was glad that Baozhu did not follow them back and took off his clothes as well.
Huang Songbai was looking forward to returning home as soon as possible, while his family members were looking forward to their letters.
If it weren't for the need for someone to weed and kill insects in the wheat fields at home, Huang Mei really wanted to go to the city every day.
After the weather cleared up, Tian Baolai would face his mother's interrogation every day when he returned home after delivering goods to the city, and his answers were always the same.
No letter.
Huang Mei was anxious and angry, and couldn't sleep well every day. Soon she fell ill in bed.
Tian Baolai had to take care of his mother and tend to the family's fields, so he had to ask Yang Jizong to go to the city to deliver goods to the supply and marketing cooperative and bring back some medicine for his mother.
Chen Yao and Yang Jizong simply took Shitou and Luo Dunzi into the city, and sent the collected cicada shells and centipedes to Baohetang on the way.
Everyone went to the supply and marketing cooperative to deliver food first. Tian Dongsheng learned that his aunt was sick, so he picked up a basket of melons and asked Chen Yao to take it back for his aunt to eat, and promised that as long as there was a letter, he would deliver it as soon as possible.
Inside Baohe Hall.
Shitou and Luo Dunzi helped the servants count the silkworm shells and centipedes, while Chen Yao explained her aunt's illness to Doctor Li so that Doctor Li could prescribe medicine for her.
"Ayao, I'm going to the bookstore. You guys wait for me here." Yang Jizong secretly squeezed Chen Yao's hand.
Chen Yao understood that he was actually going to the paper mill to do some work, and it was inconvenient for him to bring Luo Dunzi and the others with him, so she nodded and said, "You go."
"Teacher, can you bring us some cheap ink when you go to the bookstore? We have run out of ink, and we can't practice calligraphy without it." Luo Dunzi, who heard the conversation between the two, ran to Yang Jizong with his short legs and asked with his head raised.
Yang Jizong glanced at Luo Dunzi and reached out to him.
Luo Dunzi immediately took out twenty copper coins from his pocket and said that he would make up the remaining money after they sold the cicada shells and centipedes.
"Wait here, don't run around and cause trouble for your master's wife." Yang Jizong turned around and left with the children's copper coins.
Luo Dunzi snorted twice. He was not a child, so he would not run around. He turned around and went back to help the waiter pick out centipedes.
The children caught a lot of cicada shells during the day and centipedes at night.
Just for centipedes, a kid like Luo Dunzi could hold a torch and catch fifty with chopsticks in one night, not to mention the older children.
So when they transported piles of cicada shells and skewered centipedes to the pharmacy, the doctors and waiters in Baohetang were all scared.
If you don’t know, you might think they have disturbed a centipede’s nest!
The medicine hall charges 150 wen per catty for silkworm shavings, and 2 wen per centipede if it reaches the standard length.
When Luo Dunzi and Shitou heard Doctor Li announce the price, they took out paper and pen, turned their backs to the table and started calculating.
Doctor Li was also moving the abacus on the table. After a few breaths, the two children reported the results.
"Doctor Li, five catties of silkworm sloughs is seven hundred and fifty coins, and the qualified two thousand one hundred and fifty centipedes is four thousand three hundred coins, for a total of five thousand and fifty coins."
When this number was reported, the guys in the pharmacy were all shocked. They thought the two kids were just talking nonsense.
Doctor Li raised his hand and motioned the two children to sit aside and wait for him to figure it out.
Luo Dunzi and Shitou were not in a hurry. When they saw the cold tea in the big teapot, they politely asked the waiter if they could drink it.
The waiter wrapped up the herbs and nodded at them: "Drink it, these are all three-skin tea leaves that we picked and dried ourselves."
After Luo Dunzi and Shitou thanked the adults, Shitou poured a cup for Luo Dunzi first, and Luo Dunzi handed the cup to Chen Yao, and then they drank it themselves.
Chen Yao patted the bench beside her and asked them to sit down and wait.
Doctor Li was sweating profusely as he was stared at by the three men. He had never been as nervous as he was today when settling accounts.
Moreover, the result he calculated after half an incense stick of time was exactly the same as that calculated by the two children: "This, Madam Shen, these are two child prodigies!"
If he wasn't a child prodigy, how could he figure out the answer so quickly, and the correct answer at that.
The guy at the pharmacy also came over to look at the counting sticks, and the result was indeed the same as the one reported by the two children.
Chen Yao stood up and said with a smile: "Doctor Li, please don't praise them, otherwise they will become proud."
Doctor Li gestured to his attendant to take the herbs to the back hall, then held out a cash box. "I've heard that merchants in this city are funding the education of impoverished students. I wonder who these two children's teachers are, and where they're studying?"
"The one who just went out to buy ink for us is our teacher. We have the Shen Family School in Xiahe Village." Luo Dunzi and Shitou answered quickly.
"Shen Family School? It's run by Madam Shen's family? And Young Master Yang is your teacher?" Doctor Li was a little bit incredulous.
Luo Dunzi stood on tiptoe, resting her hands on the counter as she looked at the cash box. She hummed twice, "Doctor Li, do you have any children? You could send them to our village to study. Then they'll be able to calculate accounts as quickly as we do."
Doctor Li pushed five taels of silver and fifty copper coins in front of the two children and said, "My children have already started school in the city."
"That's such a pity." Luo Dunzi grabbed the silver and asked Chen Yao, "Master's wife, is this five taels of silver? Do we have to exchange the silver for copper coins and share it with others when we get back?"
What a pity! Do you know what it means that there are always people better than you?
The child who couldn't even tell the difference between silver coins felt sorry for others. Chen Yao gently poked Luo Dunzi's forehead and apologized to Doctor Li.
Doctor Li waved his hand to indicate that it was okay, saying that children should speak without restraint!
The three of them waited in the pharmacy for a long time. When they saw Yang Jizong coming back from outside, they immediately stood up to greet him.
"Teacher, you are finally back!" As soon as Luo Dunzi and Shitou stepped forward, Yang Jizong handed them a piece of ink and two cups of cold milk tea and sent them aside.
Yang Jizong took the sack and medicine from Chen Yao's hand, took her hand, and took the two children to say goodbye to Doctor Li.
Before leaving, Doctor Li told them that after collecting these silkworm sloughs and centipedes, they probably wouldn't be able to collect them again for a while.
The two children almost burst into tears when they heard the sad news, but were stopped by Yang Jizong's eyes: "Thank you, Doctor Li, for telling me."
After leaving Baohe Hall, I walked to the mule cart.
Chen Yao held her icy milk tea in her hand and waited for Yang Jizong to put on her sunshade hat. She asked, "Have you finished everything you wanted to do?"
"It's all done." Yang Jizong carried Chen Yao onto the mule cart. When he turned around, he saw two little kids drinking milk tea, staring at him with tearful eyes and looking aggrieved.
Luo Dunzi and Shitou stood obediently beside the mule cart, holding bamboo tubes of milk tea and waiting for him to hold them.
After waiting for a long time, Yang Jizong only said: "You are old enough, be a man and do it yourself."
The two little guys helped each other climb onto the mule cart and sat down next to Chen Yao to complain: "Master's wife, how can the teacher treat us differently? He can hug Master's wife, why can't he hug us?"
"Will we no longer be able to catch centipedes and silkworm sloughs to sell? Will other pharmacies not accept them?"
"The pharmacies in Qingfeng Town don't accept them, but I'm not sure about other towns. But after my house is built, you can ask my father to help you check it out."
"Really? That's great. Thank you, Master's wife. You are the best to us." Chen Yao coaxed the children back with just a few words.
Yang Jizong, who was sitting in the front seat, heard this and threatened, "Has your master treated you badly? If you keep yelling, get off the bus and walk back."
Luo Dunzi and Shitou became obedient instantly, but not for long before reminding Yang Jizong to exchange the five taels of silver for copper coins and take them home.
So Yang Jizong drove a mule cart to take them to the money shop to exchange copper coins.
Five thousand and fifty copper coins were packed into two sacks and loaded onto a mule cart by Yang Jizong and his men.
The two children sat on the mule cart, touching the bulging sacks and talking about how much money each of them could get.
"Master's Wife, picking up silkworm sloughs and centipedes can make more money than catching fish and shrimp and selling them. If only we had known this earlier."
"Then you have to thank Teacher Yang. If he hadn't said that these two things are medicinal herbs, the pharmacy might be willing to buy them. How would we know this and how would we be able to earn this much money, right?" Chen Yao patted Yang Jizong's shoulder and brought the milk tea to him, motioning him to drink some to quench his thirst.
Yang Jizong glanced at Chen Yao, then lowered his head, took a sip of the paper tube, and returned it.
Luo Dunzi and Shitou followed suit and handed over their milk tea: "Teacher, you have worked hard today."
Yang Jizong felt touched when he saw the two brats: "Drink, I am no longer thirsty."
The mule cart carried everyone home.
At the entrance of the village, the guard, Niu Wazi, saw the mule cart coming back and shouted loudly: "They are back! Teacher Yang and Madam Shen are back."
The busy villagers all looked up, and the children immediately ran over and pushed the mule cart into the village.
As soon as the mule cart stopped, the children came forward to help Chen Yao, Luo Dunzi and Shitou get off the cart, and then carried the two sacks into the Shen family's gate.
Shen Qingshan heard the noise and walked from the backyard, which was still under construction, to the front yard. Seeing the two sacks of copper coins, he exclaimed, "Ayao, they really sold it!"
The adults in the village were so busy these days working in the fields and building stone houses that they were almost going crazy, so they didn't take this seriously. They never thought that these kids could actually make money by doing such a small thing.
"Dad, I'm only selling it this time. The pharmacy in the city won't buy it anymore. When the house at home is built tomorrow, you can help the children ask in other towns." Chen Yao rinsed the bamboo tube with clean water and kept it for flower arrangement.
Shen Qingshan readily agreed to his daughter L's request. Looking at the pile of copper coins, he couldn't help but ask, "How much did the stones and the pillars sell for in total?"
"Five taels and fifty cents." Luo Dunzi ran to Chunya and asked her for the account book. It was time to distribute the money to them.
Shen Qingshan counted the heads of these little kids and was shocked. The centipedes they caught in the mountains for a few days were more valuable than a month's wages for adults.
The children used the spacious courtyard of the Shen family to distribute money according to the accounts. The person who caught the most earned nearly nine hundred coins, and the lowest, such as Luo Dunzi and Chunwang Chunya, earned four hundred coins.
The children were very happy to get the money, as it could be used to offset the taxes for the autumn harvest.
"Each of you has to give me twenty-eight cents. The teacher spent three hundred cents to buy ink for us." Luo Dunzi closed the account book and looked at everyone.
Everyone was very conscientious in handing the money to Chunya. After Chunya counted, she put the money together and took the string of money to the kitchen to find Teacher Yang.
Chen Yao was making medicine for her aunt in the kitchen, while Yang Jizong was fanning her and telling her the news he had received.
"Uncle is on his way back."
Chen Yao felt something was wrong when she heard this: "Only my uncle came back, what about Baozhu and my uncle?"
"They are still setting up stalls in Jiangnan. My uncle will probably need a lot of velvet flowers when he returns this time. You and Wenying are already working with Shopkeeper Lu, so why not give the velvet flowers to the embroiderers at the Rabbit House as well?"
Chen Yao thought about it and felt that it was right. She planned to dye the peanuts in the vegetable garden behind the house in the next few days: "Well, then I'll listen to you. But the silk thread is not enough, so I'm afraid I have to dye another batch."
Yang Jizong frowned when he heard this. "Let them do these things and pay them more. Ah Yao, my money is yours, why don't you use it?"
"I……"
"You don't treat me as a family member, so you not only don't use Wenying's money to build a house at home, but you also don't use my money." Yang Jizong's shoulders sank, and there was a hint of sadness in his low and hoarse voice.
The originally gentle and affectionate eyes also dimmed, and Chen Yao hurried over to coax him: "I'm just worried that you will need money in many places when you take office, so I want to save it for you first."
"Ayao, you don't have to save it, I..."
Before Yang Jizong could finish his words, Chen Yao leaned over and sealed his lips with her own mouth to stop him from chattering.
"Teacher Yang, I'm here to give you money to buy ink!" Zhang Chunya's voice had already been heard in the kitchen before he even arrived.
When Chen Yao heard the noise, she quickly stepped back, snatched the fan from Yang Jizong's hand, and pushed him out.
Yang Jizong took the string of money from Chunya's hand without even counting it, and asked Chunya to tell the children to do what they should do after dividing the money and not to make noise in the yard.
Zhang Chunya responded and turned around to carry out the order.
Yang Jizong returned to the kitchen and wanted to continue his affection, but he saw Chen Yao had already brought a bowl of boiled medicine to Huang Mei's room.
In order to comfort Huang Mei, Chen Yao told her the news she got from Yang Jizong.
"Ayao, what you said is true. How did Zi'an know all this?"
Chen Yao leaned over to her aunt's ear and told her that Yang Jizong had contacted his old friends, and only then was Huang Mei willing to drink the medicine.
Busy days always pass quickly. In mid-August, Yang Jizong was summoned to the government office by Li Menghong, an old official.
"I wonder what Lord Li wants to talk to me about?" Yang Jizong sat down and sipped his tea. His coarse linen clothes could not hide his gentle temperament.
Li Menghong was momentarily distracted, but the old official reminded him, "Our lord has come to you to tell you that the two village heads of Shanghe and Xiahe villages abandoned the people in times of crisis and failed to fulfill their responsibilities. They have now been beaten with a stick and are in custody."
Yang Jizong put down his teacup and looked at Li Menghong, who was sitting upstairs. "Sir, please speak frankly. If I can help you, I will do my best."
Li Menghong stood up and signaled the old official to go outside and guard in case there were eavesdroppers.
"Do you know what news Tu and Xue brought to Zheng Fu when they returned this time?"
"I don't know."
Li Menghong lowered his voice and said, "The higher-ups told them to tell Zheng Fu not to worry about the lives of the tenant farmers and to increase the rent by 20%. Their goal is to conscript you all into hard labor and let you die in the quarry."
These secret letters were extracted from Xue and Tu by him using severe torture.
Yang Jizong suddenly raised his head and looked at Li Menghong, with a fierce look on his face: "Seriously?"
"We are in the same boat, why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, you can go to the cell and ask them to see if what I said is true." Li Menghong turned his back.
Yang Jizong's eyes flickered as he thought of a countermeasure. He stood up and thanked Li Menghong, "To prevent this news from reaching Zheng Fu, please send people to strictly guard the city gates and win over Zheng Fu as soon as possible."
"The autumn harvest is approaching, and I've already gathered enough evidence against him." Li Menghong twirled his beard confidently. "One more thing. Since both village heads are gone, I'm planning to appoint new ones. Do you have any recommendations?"
Yang Jizong bowed and said, "Sir, why not let the villagers choose for themselves?"
"Okay, then I'll leave this matter to you. After you've selected the people, bring them to the government office to register."
When Yang Jizong came out of the government office, Tian Baolai drove his family's mule cart to pick him up early. On the way, he learned about the story of the two village heads, Tu and Xue, and was very happy.
"Cousin, do you want to be the head of the village in Shanghe Village?" Yang Jizong asked while sitting next to the car.
Tian Baolai stared ahead, his face unfazed. "I never thought about it before, but now that you've asked me, Zi'an, I'm not going to hide it from you. I want to be the village head. I want to meet those wealthy families and tell them firsthand how much grain they can harvest from an acre of land, and how harsh the rent they collect is on us tenant farmers."
"Zi'an, but I don't know if everyone will choose me."
Yang Jizong patted him on the shoulder and said, "We'll know who everyone will choose tonight."
At noon, the two arrived home and had dinner with their family. Then Yang Jizong called Zhao Xiaofu and her son and told them about the election of village head.
In the past, Xu felt that the head of Xiahe Village should be his son, succeeding his father.
But now she doesn't think so, not only because her son worked hard and passed the examination to become a student, but also because she realized how incompetent her husband was as the head of the village during his lifetime.
"Ayao, I think you are the most suitable person to be the village chief."
As soon as Mrs. Xu opened her mouth, everyone in the room was very surprised. After all, no one expected such words to come out of her mouth.
"Wouldn't the villagers mind if I, a woman, became the village head?"
Yang Wenying was about to defend Shen Yao's words, but she saw Zhao Xiaofu, who was sitting next to her, immediately stand up and say, "You are smart and broad-minded. We have all witnessed how many good things you have done for the villagers. Why should people who achieve great things be so obsessed with these things?"
He was a slave in the past, but now he has passed the examination and become a student with his own ability and opportunity. Although his father's revenge has not been avenged, he believes that this day is not far away.
"He's right. If we were to elect a village head, I would definitely choose you, A'yao." Yang Wenying hugged Chen Yao's arm to encourage her.
Chen Yao looked at the elders in the family again.
Shen Qingshan and Huang Xing patted their daughter L's hand and said, "Ayao, your parents support you too."
"Ayao, we all support you." Huang Mei's mother and son, as well as Miao, all expressed their support.
As it got dark in the evening, the villagers who had been busy all day gathered in the drying yard when they heard the sound of gongs. The people from the two villages were talking to each other, wondering what had gathered them here.
Zhao Xiaofu struck the gongs and drums again. "Everyone, please be quiet. We have two important announcements to make. They both concern the future development of our two villages."
"Xiaofu, what's going on? Tell me quickly. We need to go help build your uncle Zheng's house while the weather is cool."
"Yes, yes."
"Everyone, be quiet. The first thing is that the heads of our two villages were beaten with a stick and imprisoned by Lord Li because of their inaction and oppression of our tenant farmers. They will never be able to come back again."
As soon as Zhao Xiaofu said this, everyone immediately became excited.
"Is it true? These two people were really arrested by Lord Li?"
The gongs and drums sounded again, and Zhao Xiaofu announced the second thing, which was to select village heads for the two villages. "If anyone wants to elect someone, go into the school and tell Luo Dunzi and Shitou the name of that person. The two children will have that person's name written on a slip of paper to keep it secret. We will choose the one with the most votes as the village head, and everyone will see if it is successful."
The people in the two villages immediately became excited again.
"Xiaofu, why are you wasting your energy? If it were you, I'd just make you the head of our village."
"Yes, that's right, your father is the head of the village."
The people around him immediately scolded him: "Why? Xiaofu is going to be an official in the future. If it were you, I'd choose Teacher Yang from Ayao's family."
Yang Jizong stood out from the crowd and said that neither he nor Zhao Xiaofu would be elected, and asked people from the two villages to line up and enter the two classrooms.
"If you ask me, we should choose Ayao for Xiahe Village."
"Ayao's father is also fine."
"What about our Shanghe Village?"
When Luo Dunzi and Shitou had collected votes from the two villages respectively, Zhao Xiaofu began to publicize the votes and asked the two children to supervise. The election of the village head must be fair and just.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
