Chapter 117: Life is Too Long [VIP]
On the mountain road back to the city.
The yamen runners took Tian Baolai and the men on horseback and only dropped them off at the intersection of Shanghe Village.
Yang Jizong and Shen Yao rode together.
When they arrived, Yang Jizong first pulled the reins and dismounted, then helped Chen Yao dismount and returned the horse to the yamen runner: "I'm sorry to have troubled you all today. If you are free tomorrow, I will treat you all to a meal at Zhiwei Tower in the city."
"Mr. Yang, you are too polite. This trip is not in vain." The leading yamen runner Li Xin sat on the horse and patted the wild animal hanging on the saddle, bowed to him and said goodbye, not taking the polite words seriously.
Everyone waved goodbye to the departing yamen runners, and when they turned around to go home, they were surrounded by villagers who came out to greet them and asked about the situation in the quarry.
Among them, Niu Wazi's father had the loudest voice. There was no other way. What he saw and heard today was enough for him to brag about for the rest of his life.
Who would have thought that he would be able to ride a horse home with the yamen runners in this life?
Chen Yao, her cousin, and Yang Jizong had all stepped onto the stone bridge, and could still hear Niu Wazi's father bragging to others on the country road.
The night deepened in the Shen family's living room.
When Zhao Xiaofu saw the three people coming back, he quickly stood up and went forward to greet them. Before he could open his mouth to ask, he was interrupted by Yang Jizong.
Yang Jizong knew what he wanted to ask. He placed the wild animals he had brought back under the porch and told him directly, "Zheng Fu is safe. It was one of his men who died."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaofu showed a hint of disappointment on his face.
Yang Jizong patted his shoulder, signaling him not to rush for revenge. "Come with me into the city tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, we'll set out to teach the people in the villages how to grow and sow winter wheat."
"Teacher, I'll go home and pack my bags first." Zhao Xiaofu bowed and hurriedly took his leave.
As soon as he left, all the family members gathered around Yang Jizong.
"Zi'an, why do you want to leave home so soon? There's still a long time before we plant the winter wheat." Huang Xing was reluctant to let her child go out and suffer, so she winked at her daughter, asking her to persuade him.
Chen Yao, however, sat in the chair very casually, touching her hungry stomach and crying out: "Mom, please make us some food, we haven't had a good meal all day."
The bowl of tasteless meat made her almost nauseous, and she gave most of it to her cousin and Yang Jizong's bowls.
"It's hard to digest food so late at night. Mom will make some noodles for you and lay two eggs for each of you." When Huang Xing went out, she poked her husband's arm, signaling him to persuade the children.
"Second sister, I'll go help you." Miao followed Huang Xing to the kitchen.
Ever since her husband and son took her elder sister to Jiangnan, and the new house had not yet been built, she and Baolai had been living in the Shen family.
We can take care of each other no matter what happens on weekdays.
Although Shen Qingshan didn't seem to care about what Yang Jizong said, he was worried in his heart.
Especially when he learned that the quarry was short of food and Li Menghong did not dare to open the granary privately to release grain, Shen Qingshan sighed.
"Our lives are too cheap, and no one takes us seriously."
Just as Zheng Fu said, even if they did not rent this fertile land to cultivate, the wealthy families had plenty of slaves to cultivate it.
"Dad, it's not that our lives are worthless, it's that we don't have good farmland or stored grain. How can we compete with them if our foundation is not stable?" Chen Yao took the savings box handed over by Yang Wenying, took out a piece of crispy cake and took a vicious bite.
Shen Qingshan looked at his daughter's face covered in food residue and couldn't help shaking his head: "You are such a child, what can we use to compete with others?"
Killing them would be as easy as crushing a nest of ants for those powerful people.
"Cousin, I've finally seen through it. These so-called aristocratic families are rotten to the core. They live a comfortable life with ample food and clothing, but they don't know the hardships of the tenant farmers. It's better to rely on yourself than on them."
Tian Bao said this, looking at the pastry Yang Wenying handed over, and then he paused and explained: "Sister Wenying, you and Zi'an are different from them."
Yang Wenying handed her brother a shortbread and stood up to pour hot water for the three of them. "I used to be just like them, unaware of the hardships of tenant farming. Only after experiencing it firsthand can you understand the hard work that goes into every grain of rice."
"Unless, unless we let them experience it too." Yang Wenying said, sitting back in the chair.
But she also knew that her suggestion was unrealistic.
Chen Yao finished the pastry in her hand and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. "When your brother finishes planting winter wheat and becomes the governor of Ezhou, he will encourage everyone to open up wasteland. When that time comes, I will give him the seeds of the crops I have cultivated. Then everyone will no longer have to worry about not being able to grow good food on the wasteland."
"Cousin, what kind of seeds can produce a good harvest in barren land?" Tian Baolai's eyes lit up when talking about farming.
Chen Yao bent her hand and motioned him to come over.
This aroused Tian Baolai's curiosity even more. When he got closer, Shen Yao hissed, "Cousin, this is a secret. I can't tell you for the time being."
"Cousin, you!" Tian Baolai looked at Chen Yao in disbelief. He didn't expect that his cousin would even tease him.
Yang Jizong watched Chen Yao laugh so hard in her chair after she succeeded, and couldn't help but laugh too: "This is one of the reasons why I went ahead to teach the people how to breed."
"Then are there other reasons?"
"I was afraid someone would stop me from doing this, and the laughter around me suddenly stopped.
Without power, he could not help A Yao spread the crop more widely.
Yang Jizong saw Chen Yao's worried look and immediately said to comfort her: "Don't worry, Xiao Fuyi and I will go together."
This not only ensures their safety during the trip, but also allows the methods of sowing winter wheat to be recorded truthfully.
He wouldn't refuse.
"Then tomorrow you can host a banquet for the yamen runners in the city, and I will go with you."
"Ayao, don't go. It's not convenient for you to go with a group of men drinking." Shen Qingshan didn't want his daughter to get involved. As for the affairs of the court, their family would not get involved if possible.
Chen Yao was not convinced and wanted to argue a few more times, but then she heard footsteps outside. Her mother and aunt came in with the cooked noodles.
"Kids, eat it while it's hot. I put lard in it, and it won't taste good if it gets cold." Huang Xing handed the children bowls and chopsticks.
While the children were eating, Huang Xing and Miao told them about hiring more people for the tofu workshop.
As for who to recruit, both of them have candidates.
"Our two villages are now united, but mother and your aunt also know that people's hearts are hidden. We must sign a confidentiality agreement with them before hiring them. We can't let them leak our prescriptions." Huang Xing took out the agreement that he had been holding in his sleeve and handed it to his daughter.
"Ayao, look at this. Your mother and I came up with this idea. If there's anything inappropriate, please revise it for us." Miao also agreed.
Chen Yao put down the chopsticks in her hand, looked at the contract handed to her, raised her brows, and was a little bit disbelieving.
"Ayao, what's wrong? Tell me and we'll fix it." Huang Xing said as she was about to get up and go to the study at home to get pen and ink.
"Mom, please sit down. I'm just a little surprised. The contract you wrote is very well. There is not even a trace of erasure." Chen Yao took a look at it and returned it to them after finding no problem.
Shen Qingshan explained to his daughter, "Don't you see how much effort your mother and aunt put in? They revised this contract five or six times before copying it."
"Since this concerns our family's property, we must be careful."
"that is."
Huang Xing and Miao agreed that since there was no problem with the contract, they decided to recruit people tomorrow.
Before going to bed, Huang Xing learned that Yang Jizong had to leave early, and she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
The relationship between the two children has finally deepened, but now they are about to be separated. What should I do?
what to do?
If you are sincere, you will find a way to see each other even if you are thousands of miles apart. If you are not sincere, you will be dreaming different dreams even if you lie in the same bed.
The next day, early morning.
Yang Jizong woke up early and heard noise coming from the warehouse before he had time to wash up.
When I pushed the door open, I saw Chen Yao checking the wine jar.
"Ayao, what are you doing up so early?"
Chen Yao covered the bowls in her hands one by one, selected a jar of fermented wine and instructed Yang Jizong to bring it out: "If you want to ask someone to protect you and Xiaofu's safety, then we must show some sincerity, otherwise they will not be sincere."
The guards under Zheng Fu in the quarry rebelled at will, not to mention the yamen runners hired by Yang Jizong along the way.
Who knows if they will stab Yang Jizong in the back or trip him up secretly.
Yang Jizong wanted to tell Chen Yao that if food and money could buy people's hearts, then their hearts would easily change.
But he didn't say it.
Because this is A Yao's intention for him, he can't let her down.
Yang Jizong followed the instructions and went into the kitchen holding the jar of wine.
Chen Yao took a long-handled spoon and scooped half a spoonful into the bowl. Before she could taste it, Yang Jizong held her hand.
"Ayao, let me try it for you first to see if it tastes the same as fruit wine." Yang Jizong was afraid that the wine was not brewed well and would be poisonous if drunk, so he tried it for her first.
Yang Jizong sniffed it carefully before taking a tentative sip. Then he took another sip: "Ayao, this wine..."
"Delicious, right? Even though it's only been brewed for ten days, it already has a winey aroma. If it's brewed for another two months, the taste will only become mellower." Chen Yao took the rest from his hand and drank it.
Yang Jizong put down the bowl and looked at the wine jar as he gave it away with some reluctance: "It's really a waste to give it to them."
"What's the waste? As long as they help you with their heart and keep you safe, it's not a waste." Chen Yao took his hand and went to her room.
Yang Jizong stopped in front of her door, feeling embarrassed to go in: "Ayao, it would be bad if our parents saw this."
"It's okay, they haven't woken up yet. You can come and go in my room as you please." Chen Yao pulled him into the house and made him sit on the embroidered stool. She rummaged through the drawers and took out a pair of slippers she had made earlier.
"Take these shoes with you. They're convenient to wear when you get up at night or when you're writing at your desk. You don't have to worry about damaging the shoes your grandmas made for you."
Yang Jizong looked at the pair of slippers without heels, his eyes flashing, and he stood up and hugged the person in his arms.
Chen Yao pushed him but couldn't move him, so she just let him hold her: "Don't be reluctant to wear them, my slippers are not as good as the ones made by grandma. When you wear them out, I will make you another pair."
"Will you always do that for me?"
"Well, I'll have to think about this."
"Ayao!" Yang Jizong tightened his grip around her waist, his voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm, "I want to wear the shoes you make for the rest of my life."
"Life is too long. Do I still need my hands? If you have money, just buy them. Or I can teach you and you can make them yourself. And make a pair for me. Making shoes will tire your hands!" Before Chen Yao could finish her words, she was picked up by the waist and led past the wooden screen into her bedroom.
"You, what are you going to do?" Chen Yao looked up at the person standing in front of her bed. Her face gradually turned red and her heart began to beat faster.
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