As the morning sun shone on the stone mill at the priestess's house, the little dumpling stood on the flower bed under the big tree at the door, her little mouth never stopping talking.
“This pig was bought from my family by the Miao village. We will use the chili peppers as payment when they ripen next year. You just need to keep the money for the seeds.”
This area is considered the southwest of the Great Yan Dynasty, which is under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Zhennan. Chili seeds are not expensive, and there is plenty of them available outside. Every household still has some savings.
But it's not enough for the Miao village to grow chili peppers alone, so they have to send people to harvest them. This morning, before dawn, Huo Xiaolong started working on the beef tallow base she had mentioned last night.
The choking woke up the people in the neighborhood near the mother-in-law's house, as well as the group from the brothel.
The group of children standing there listening to Huo Xiaolong speak were the same group who had eaten at Miao Cuifang's house last night. All the adults had gone to earn money, leaving them the only ones with free time.
So, each of the children, who were not even as tall as an adult's leg, was holding a piglet. The piglets were still struggling, mainly because they were frightened by the smell of poisonous snakes on the children.
"Miss, shall I return the pork to you?"
"No, give me back my pork jerky! After the New Year, you can all pool your money and let them breed. Then you'll have a continuous supply of piglets."
"Will you come again next year?"
Huo Xiaolong thought for a moment and said
"Not necessarily, but if Sister Liuxu takes Brother Cuifang back to her parents' home, I'll most likely come along."
The little dumpling, afraid that the children would keep asking questions, waved them off and told them to take the piglets home and build a pigsty.
The saintess watched from afar as Huo Xiaolong leaped down from the flowerbed. The priestess silently appeared behind her and whispered...
"Whether I'm a saintess or a priestess, I want the village to become like it is now, at least so that people can live a better life."
The girl turned around and saw her mother-in-law, whose face was covered with deep wrinkles.
Originally, her mother should have been the next priestess.
But her mother didn't have much energy to manage the affairs of the village, and devoted herself entirely to the family, so she gave her the position of Holy Maiden.
She worked very hard to learn from her mother-in-law how to be a good saintess, and even how to be a good priestess.
But by remaining stagnant and stuck in a vicious cycle, it seems as if they have entered a vicious cycle.
Until she saw Huo Xiaolong as he is today.
Although she is just a child, she is very organized and methodical. If the village can develop as she says, it will only take a few years for the Miao village to live a life like that of Pingyang County.
"It's okay now, Mother-in-law."
Because she came.
Ruyi was bored staying here. Even looking at the mountains and rivers could become tiresome. Besides, neither she nor Xiao Lanyi were the type to indulge in poetry, songs, or romantic love. Their sweet moments consisted of snuggling together in the room.
The general, standing beside the ground with a hoe in hand, was somewhat stunned; the beauty was different today.
She wasn't dressed in plain clothes; instead, she wore a dark blue headscarf, her hair braided and pulled back behind her ears. As she moved up and down with the Ruyi, a few stray strands of hair fell beside her ears. The beautiful woman smiled at Xiao Lanyi, who was standing there dumbfounded with a hoe, and said...
What are you doing, just standing there grinning like an idiot?
"You're beautiful."
Ruyi's cheeks were slightly flushed.
"Of course I'm beautiful."
She didn't believe that Xiao Lanyi would like her if she didn't have this face. Most love at first sight is just lust at first sight.
"Are you too disgusted to come down and turn the soil?" Ruyi asked.
"No, we soldiers don't care about being dirty. We're not like those rich kids from the capital."
After saying that, Xiao Lanyi took off his shoes and stepped onto the same spot as Ruyi. Being a girl with a mischievous nature, the beauty touched the man's cheek with her muddy hand.
A black dot immediately left a mark on Xiao Lanyi's face.
The man didn't return it; he just watched Ruyi make a scene.
"How can General Xiao not be considered a scion of a prominent family in the capital? If you weren't, I'd be quite pleased with you."
“Other wealthy young men spend their days eating, drinking, and having fun like playboys, while I spend my days crawling and rolling on horseback. If my wife likes the look of those rich young men, I can dress up for you.”
Just like Ruyi now, he also likes this simple and peaceful life of returning to the countryside with his beloved to farm and pick tea.
I mainly like Ruyi dressed like this.
"No, I only like the way you look in armor, or your everyday outfit is fine too. When you dress up in fancy clothes, you look like a little tyrant."
"If only Lan Hua were here."
Xiao Lanyi spoke his mind directly. He really missed his sister. He was living a carefree life with his sweetheart in Miao territory, and he wondered how Lanhua was doing in the palace.
The previously ambiguous atmosphere suddenly turned somber as the man looked down at his sweetheart who had moved closer to him.
Ruyi wrapped her arms around the man's waist, her fair arms peeking out from her wide sleeves. She nestled against General Xiao's chest and said...
"Why don't we go back to see my sister during the Chinese New Year?"
The man shook his head and said
"No, I can't give the Emperor another handle to use against me."
"At worst, we'll go secretly."
"It's too dangerous. If I really miss Lan Hua, I can go to the capital myself. It's just that you'll have to wait for me in the border town."
Ruyi laughed a few times but didn't reply.
If Huo Xiaolong were here, he would definitely understand what Sister Ruyi meant by those laughs: "Your words are useless, they have no effect. I can go wherever I want, and you can't stop me."
As the sun began to set, the Miao village was filled with joy.
When the adults came home and saw the pigsty, they almost wanted to hit the children. How many times have we told you not to take anything the mistress of the house gives you?
As a result, I listened to this group of children chatting amongst themselves, saying...
"My mother-in-law asked me to take this."
"My mother-in-law said it was a loan for Miss Guan."
"Miss Huo is very kind."
"Miss Huo said she would repay her by planting chili peppers next year, or she could repay the money."
The adults looked at each other silently, their eyes stinging with tears, and quietly made up for the parts the children hadn't done well.
“We have a rumor in our Miao region, it’s a very, very old story, almost everyone knows it. At that time, the Miao region suffered a severe drought, and almost everyone was dying. The poorest people had no food to eat. The priestess said that the Miao village would suffer a lot and live a long period of hardship, but one day, a woman from outside would lead us out of our predicament.”
Miao Cuifang pulled Liu Xu to sit on the roof, just like when they were at the brothel. Liu Xu leaned on his shoulder and listened to him talk about his family.
“I just didn’t expect this woman to…” Miao Cuifang trailed off, unsure how to continue.
"It's this big?" Liu Xu asked.
"Um."
"This is probably fate. No matter where she is, she is like a star in the darkness. She may not be big, but she shines brightly. Eventually, this star will find its own place and shine and give off heat there."
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