Chapter 61 Father-in-law [VIP]
In winter, the mountain road leading to Wanhe Township is covered with thick snow on both sides.
Only on the middle path, a series of footprints were frozen in the snow, and it was not difficult to see who was walking here repeatedly.
Yang Wenying followed the father and daughter and walked forward with difficulty. Every step she took made her leap three steps further. Looking at the snow-capped mountain streams on both sides, she was so scared that she almost crawled forward.
Shen Qingshan led the way, using a hoe to break through the slippery ice, revealing the brown soil underneath, and clearing an easy-to-walk mountain path for the children.
The three of them dug as they went, and it was already noon when they arrived at Wanhe Township.
"Ayao, why are you here?" Along with Grandma Wang's exclamation, wisps of smoke rose from this lonely little mountain village.
"Grandma, we are making money from silk. We came here today to discuss with you about buying the mulberry forest in the village, and then go to the quarry to pick up Zi'an and take him home." Chen Yao stomped her feet outside the fence gate.
When the old people in the house heard the good news, they couldn't stop smiling and pulled Chen Yao and others into the house. It was a good thing that the ownerless forest could be bought by A Yao.
Chen Yao and Yang Wenying entered the house first, while Shen Qingshan put down his backpack and went to various places in the village to check the condition of the houses.
Grandma Maizi poured hot water for the two children and watched Chen Yao's father walk out. She couldn't help but wonder, "It's cold outside. Where is your father going?"
Chen Yao drank some hot water to calm down, and told everyone that her father went to check the houses in the village.
This time, we not only have to measure the mulberry forest, but also build a silkworm room in the village. When Uncle Youfu, Goudan and others come back, we can raise silkworms together.
After Chen Yao finished speaking, she took out a string of copper coins from her backpack and handed them to Grandma Wang. "This is your salary for raising silkworms for three months. Each person gets 600 coins, and there's also a 20-coin bonus."
Grandma Wang looked at the heavy copper coin and quickly pushed it back to Chen Yao, her gray hair almost shaking out a shadow.
Chen Yao and Yang Wenying stood up and stuffed the money in the backpack into the hands of each elderly person.
"We agreed on this at the beginning. This is what you grandmas deserve!" Chen Yao paid out the wages and bonuses and sat down again.
Several elderly people looked down at the heavy strings of money in their hands, wiped their tears and kept expressing their gratitude.
With this money, they can also bring their relatives back from the quarry.
As for who to bring back first, the old people had already discussed it early on and decided to bring back Goudan, who was young and frail, first.
It’s just right for Maizi to keep him company.
So the old men put the strings of copper coins back into the backpack and held Chen Yao and Yang Wenying down to prevent them from moving.
Maizi was able to escape death this time thanks to the Shen family who provided manpower and money. These old guys can't pretend to be blind.
"Good boy, take this money and help us bring Goudan home. If there is any left, it will be considered as part of our repayment to you for the wheat. Please accept it quickly." Grandma Wang explained to Chen Yao while stuffing money into the backpack.
Chen Yao looked up at the elderly people and said, "Grandma, she can pay back the wheat money by raising silkworms and working in the spring. I promised to help you take Goudan home, and the remaining money will be used to buy you some food."
"No, let's put things in perspective. Just listen to Grandma Wang on this matter. You can't go wrong."
Maizi propped himself up slightly and looked sideways at Chen Yao and the grandmothers: "Grandma, please buy some food. When Brother Goudan comes back, he can have brown rice porridge every day. I have to pay for mine myself."
Maizi wiped away the two lines of tears on her face and looked at her grandmother pleadingly.
The old people love their children, so how could they not obey them?
However, I also agreed with Shen Yao that from now on, all matters of money must be handled in a fair and just manner.
Although they are old, as long as their children and grandchildren still need them, they can still work and earn money.
Furthermore, we cannot let the villagers think that the money comes too easily.
If money comes too easily, you will not cherish it, you will have inappropriate thoughts, and it will ruin the friendship between each other.
Chen Yao agreed decisively and never said no again.
Shen Qingshan walked around the village and then entered the house.
More than half of the houses in the village have been decayed and collapsed because no one has lived in them for a long time. It is definitely not possible to use them as silkworm rooms in the spring of next year.
The wood was rotten beyond recognition.
After hearing this, Chen Yao glanced at the house where the grandmothers lived now, and decided to renovate and expand it.
Build a silkworm farm, raise silkworms in the front yard and live in the back yard.
"Dad, after the New Year, pick five capable uncles from the village to help with the construction. Then each family will have one quota to raise silkworms here."
Shen Qingshan understood his daughter's words, and he would definitely choose carefully from these five families.
At this time, the porridge in the pot was almost cooked. Grandma Wang served a bowl to each of the three people and asked them to drink it while it was hot.
After drinking the porridge, the three of them took out the counting rope and went into the mulberry forest.
The father and daughter held the ends of the rope, Chen Yao counted the trees in the woods, and Yang Wenying recorded them in the account book. Because the mulberry trees were unevenly scattered, the area was nearly two acres.
As for the trees, there are 730 mulberry trees alone, and the rest are birch, larch, maple, and elm.
After counting these and greeting the elders in the village, the three of them.
After recuperating for more than half a month, Yang Jizong went back to work carrying stones.
There was no way, even with the alternation of day and night, and even though the foundation had been completed, it was still slow due to lack of manpower.
Coach Xing has been waiting for a long time for a reply from his superiors, and has been unable to sleep or eat well these days, and has even developed blisters around his lips.
Especially when faced with him, this time he refused to let go no matter what.
"Go away, why are you releasing anyone? I don't have enough manpower here, so I won't release them." Coach Xing deliberately slammed the table loudly. He now regretted releasing Huang Songbai and Maizi.
Now, seeing Chen Yao makes him annoyed. He kicked the backpack with his foot and glared at her: "Leave now before I get angry, otherwise, I will arrest all three of you and put you into hard labor."
The copper coins fell out of the backpack and got stuck in the mud on the ground.
Yang Wenying bent down with red eyes and picked it up from the mud.
Just as Chen Yao and her daughter were about to say something else, they heard a soldier rushing in hurriedly from outside the door.
"Boss, come here, someone is coming, the imperial envoy is here!" This soldier is the spy sent by Coach Xing to keep an eye on the people sent by Shangfeng.
This sentence clearly made Xing Fang tremble. He tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were raised and said to the three people in the room: "Don't mention the redemption of people again."
Xing released the earthen house and ordered the officers to take the three people to find Yang Jizong. It was impossible to leave at this time, so they could only avoid the imperial envoy first to avoid messing up the next thing.
Xing Fang took the soldiers to welcome the imperial envoy, and the three of them met Yang Jizong under the guidance of the officers.
The indigo cotton jacket was particularly conspicuous in the crowd. Yang Jizong looked thinner than the last time they met.
The cotton-padded jacket was loose on him, and he felt like he was dangling in it.
"Brother!" Yang Wenying's cry brought a bit of life to Yang Jizon's numb face.
"Uncle, why are you here?" Yang Jizong squatted down, pressed his right shoulder with his left hand, and slowly took off the basket on his back.
Goudan immediately stepped forward, picked up his basket without saying a word, and continued to carry it to the city wall.
The convicts were building a wall with yellow clay and stones on the foundation of the city wall, and many people were standing barefoot in the mud and trampling on it.
These yellow clay walls with hay added are less likely to crack, but it is difficult to obtain them in winter.
Many people's feet had already been frozen and rotten, and some even had lost their toes.
Chen Yao withdrew her gaze and looked down at Yang Jizong's feet. Yang Jizong was wearing the shoes made by her father.
Yang Jizong led the three of them to a sheltered spot at the foot of the city wall. Following Chen Yao's gaze, he knew what she was worried about: "Making yellow clay is only allocated to women."
Chen Yao looked up and said "oh", then glanced at his face and sighed.
Yang Wenying stood there crying.
"Uncle Shen, is there something wrong at home?" Yang Jizong asked, bowing to Shen Qingshan.
Shen Qingshan told him that he was coming to pick him up today.
Coach Xing refused to let him go.
"Just now I heard his soldiers shouting that the imperial envoy is here. Could it be that the imperial envoy is here to cause trouble?" There was a hint of uneasiness in Chen Yao's eyes.
Yang Jizong's eyes lit up. He had been waiting for this for a long time and finally it came, so he nodded slightly.
Yang Wenying immediately thought of something and grabbed her brother's sleeve: "Could it be coming for you, brother?"
"Half of it is directed at Coach Xing, and the other half is indeed directed at me." As soon as Yang Jizong finished speaking, he saw his sister's face full of horror.
Shen Qingshan carried the backpack, took his daughter's hand and walked out quickly.
He had to go. He couldn't let this kid get his daughter into trouble, but he couldn't pull her away.
"Dad, let's listen to him finish his words first. If we leave now, we might just run into the imperial envoy." Chen Yao felt that something was wrong with Yang Jizong's expression. He didn't seem afraid at all.
"What else is there to say? This brat promised me that he wouldn't implicate you, but look at it, it's only been a short time and even the imperial envoy has come for him."
“Uncle Shen!”
Shen Qingshan pushed the man in front of him away and scolded him: "Don't call me uncle, I'm not your uncle."
"Father-in-law, please listen to my explanation." Yang Jizong stood by and bowed to apologize to him.
This shout made the veins on Shen Qingshan's forehead bulge, and he picked up his shoes and hit Yang Jizong.
Before Chen Yao could react, she saw her father beating someone unilaterally in a rage.
"Dad, Dad, stop hitting me." Chen Yao pulled the two apart and stood in front of Yang Jizong. When she looked up, she saw half a shoe sole print on his face.
Shen Qingshan was carrying a backpack, holding his knees and panting.
"Hurry up and explain, or my dad will beat you to death." Chen Yao took out the handkerchief Wen Ying had given her and stuffed it into his hand. "Wipe it yourself. You can't blame my dad for beating you. It's your fault for yelling."
"I didn't call you that randomly. My father-in-law didn't let me call him uncle, so I had to call him father-in-law." Yang Jizong leaned down slightly, lowered his head and put his face close to Chen Yao, "Ayao, we have paid our respects to our parents."
Yang Wenying was so frightened by this series of events that she stuck to the wall and dared not move.
My brother is really good at making a big splash!
Chen Yao rubbed his face with a handkerchief: "If you still want to be beaten, keep shouting."
"Ayao, come here." Shen Qingshan pulled his daughter to his side. "You are marrying into my family. It doesn't matter if you have paid respects to my parents. If my family doesn't want you, we can just divorce you."
"Ayao, are you going to divorce me?" Yang Jizong's shoulders slumped and he looked at her pitifully, like an abandoned dog.
Chen Yao gritted her teeth and said, "If you don't tell the truth and make my father angry, I will definitely divorce you."
"Brother, tell me quickly. If you tell me, uncle and A Yao will still need you." Yang Wenying immediately stepped forward and urged.
So Yang Jizong told the three of them what he had done before.
Why did the imperial envoy come here? The problem lies in the love letter that Yang Jizong wrote to Coach Xing.
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