Chapter 28, Zhuangzi
The Yan family's carriage headed straight out of the county town without staying in the city for too long.
The county town is not big and not very wealthy. During this period, under the leadership of Yan Wenkai, Daohua has toured the entire county town, so he was quite well-behaved along the way.
But as soon as they left the city gate, Daohua couldn't wait to lift the curtain of the car and look at the scenery outside with great joy.
It was already the end of October and the weather was very cold. As soon as the curtains were opened, the cold wind blew into the carriage.
Mrs. Li was worried that Old Lady Yan and Daohua might catch a cold, so she immediately said, "Daohua, lower the curtains. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Daohua was a little reluctant to leave, but still obediently lowered the curtain. In ancient times, if you got sick, it wasn't like today where you could just take some cold medicine and get better.
However, sitting in the carriage without looking at the scenery outside was very boring, so Daohua could only make up things to talk about to pass the time.
"Mom, will it snow in Linyi County?"
Madam Li smiled and nodded. "Yes, in previous years, it would start to snow lightly in November, and in December, there would be heavy snow."
Hearing this, Daohua became happy again: "That's great, I haven't seen heavy snow yet. If it snows heavily, I can have a snowball fight with my third and fourth brothers."
Yanjia Village is located in the south, and it snows in winter, melting as soon as it touches the ground. She has been in ancient times for so long, but she has never made a snowman.
Madam Li shook her head and said, "I hope there won't be heavy snow this year."
Daohua was stunned and found that both Madam Li and Old Madam Yan looked a little solemn.
Old Lady Yan sighed, "If there's heavy snow, life will be even more difficult for the people. The cold winter will be unbearable, and who knows how many homeless refugees will die."
At this moment, Daohua was silent. She was just thinking about playing and forgot that this was ancient times, not modern times. People's methods of keeping warm were still very simple and backward. Once winter came and there was heavy snow and snow disasters, many people would freeze to death.
"Mom, did Dad tell me how the refugee resettlement is going?"
Mrs. Li shook her head. "Refugee resettlement is no easy task, and now that winter has arrived, it's even more difficult."
Seeing Daohua frowning, Old Lady Yan smiled and said, "Well, it's not your turn as a child to worry about these things. Your father will handle it well."
Daohua nodded and didn't ask any more questions, but her excitement about going out for some fresh air disappeared, especially when she saw the thinly dressed refugees walking towards the county town outside the carriage.
"With so many refugees flocking to the county town, can my father accommodate them?"
Madam Li: "Linyi County is relatively good. It's quite remote, and many refugees can't walk here."
Looking at the refugees shivering in the cold wind, Daohua sighed, "Life is so hard."
As soon as the words came out, Old Lady Yan hit Daohua on the forehead: "How old are you? You're already sighing. If the sky falls, there are adults to hold it up. You are just a little kid, what should you do?"
Daohua squeezed next to Old Lady Yan, took her arm, pursed her lips and remained silent.
Now that she thinks about it, she was reborn into a good family in this life. At least, her father is an official and she has some social status.
If she were reborn as a commoner at the bottom of society, even if she had space, her life would not be very comfortable.
She knew that in ancient times, if you didn't have enough status, even if you made money, you might not be able to keep it.
The carriage swayed for more than half an hour before finally arriving at the land purchased by Madam Li.
“Is this a Zhuangzi?”
As soon as she got off the carriage, Mrs. Yan saw the second courtyard in front of her and immediately asked.
Madam Li smiled and said, "Mother, you really have good eyesight. This is indeed a Zhuangzi."
Old Lady Yan: "How big is the land?"
Mrs. Li: "About five hundred acres."
Hearing this, Old Lady Yan patted Madam Li's hand and asked, "You used your dowry again?"
She knew very well how much her eldest son's salary was. It was difficult for him to support the whole family, so where would he get the spare money to buy a farm?
Needless to say, this farm must have been bought by Li with her dowry.
Madam Li smiled and said, "The money is just sitting there anyway, so why not use it to add to the family fortune? My daughter-in-law has her own selfish motives for doing this. Wenxiu and Wenkai are getting older, and the betrothal gifts will be a big part of their future marriage. The rice flowers are also growing bigger every year, so it's time to prepare the dowry."
At this time, Yan Zhiqiang came over with Yan Wentao.
Mrs. Li smiled and said to the father and son, "I've heard that Third Brother is an excellent farmer. Every year, we harvest much more grain than other families. This time, I shamelessly asked your family to leave your hometown and come here. I also hope that Third Brother can help manage this farm and increase our family income."
Yan Zhiqiang was stunned for a moment: "Sister-in-law, are you saying that I will be in charge of this farm?"
Madam Li smiled and nodded: "Third brother, please take more care of it."
Yan Zhiqiang was a little hesitant. He was indeed good at farming, and he was also the one who took care of the two hundred acres of land in his hometown. But the problem was that he was the only one in his hometown, and he had to take care of it, but he was not the only one here.
Mrs. Li: "Why, Third Brother, do you have any questions? If you have any questions, just tell us and we can solve them together."
Yan Zhiqiang looked at Old Lady Yan, and seeing that she looked as if she didn't care about anything, he had to speak up: "Sister-in-law, I'm in charge of the farm, so what should my second brother do?" He knew that his second brother was very competitive. If he knew that he would take away his job as soon as he arrived, there would definitely be conflicts in the future.
Hearing this, Madam Li smiled and said, "So you are worried about this. Don't worry, my second brother can't control the farm." Seeing that both Old Lady Yan and Yan Zhiqiang looked surprised, she said again.
"Since Second Uncle followed the master, he has never been to the fields again. I think he has become unfamiliar with farming."
Old Lady Yan frowned: "The second son has been following you for all these years, so what has he been doing?"
Mrs. Li smiled without changing her expression. "I'm going out to meet friends, get some news, or something."
Old Mrs. Yan didn't ask any more questions, but her face didn't look very good.
The eldest daughter-in-law spoke tactfully, but she knew the second son's character, which meant that he had followed the eldest son for all these years and had not done any serious work.
While the adults were talking about something, Yan Wentao took Daohua to visit the farm.
Looking at the skinny appearance of the tenant farmers on the farm, Daohua, who was originally very excited, suddenly lost interest.
Seeing her like this, Yan Wentao smiled and said, "It's okay. We are here now. With the crops you cultivated, they will have enough food and warm clothes next year."
Daohua: "But there are still many people who don't have enough to eat or enough clothes to wear."
Yan Wentao was silent for a moment, suddenly remembering the days when they disguised themselves as refugees. He scratched his head and said with a smile, "That's fine. My uncle is the county magistrate. After the crops in the farm are harvested, why not have him promote our grain throughout the county?"
Hearing this, Daohua's eyes lit up: "Yeah, why didn't I think of this, Third Brother, you are so smart."
Yan Wentao puffed out his chest at the praise.
Daohua: "But my father's official position is too low. It would be better if it were higher."
Yan Wentao didn't think twice and said, "Then let uncle work hard to get promoted."
Daohua glanced at him and thought to herself, her father had been a county magistrate for nine years and had never been promoted, which showed how difficult it was to get promoted. However, she still smiled and nodded.
(End of this chapter)
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