Li Lanzhen lowered her head in shame. When she looked up, she inadvertently saw Xue Laohu and Han Mingjiang standing behind her, looking at the crops with serious expressions, and then at her.
Li Lanzhen decisively turned around and walked forward.
Whatever the reason, as long as crops grow, that's a good thing.
Li Lanzhen said to the old village chief walking beside her, "Old village chief, please don't call me a lucky star anymore."
The crops growing in this valley have nothing to do with me.
Looking at Li Lanzhen, who was expressionless and clearly unhappy, the old village chief touched his nose and chuckled.
A group of people led horses, oxen, and donkeys to the cave.
Along the way, Li Lanzhen had already told the village chief what was going on with these livestock.
And how she herself obtained this batch of supplies.
So, once they arrived, the old village chief raised his hand to signal the crowd of adults and children to quiet down.
Then, smiling, he said to everyone, "Dear villagers of Hanjiacun, Lujiazhuang, and Liujiacun."
As you can see, these six horses were obtained when we fought against the Jin King's soldiers after we escaped from Ankang City.
When we emerged from the underground river and descended the mountain, we hid in the valley.
Hunter Xue and Han Mingjiang brought them all back.
There was also a horse, a cow, and two donkeys. Li Lan encountered a merchant caravan on his way back to the valley from Youzhou City.
The caravan leader's wife had a difficult childbirth, and Lanzhen helped her. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The leader was overjoyed and gifted Lanzhen a cow, a horse, and two donkeys.
The villagers looked at Li Lanzhen and thought to themselves, "The old village chief was right, she is indeed a lucky star!"
Otherwise, how could they have happened to run into a merchant caravan?
And by sheer coincidence, they encountered the caravan leader's wife having a difficult childbirth. They lent a helping hand, and she successfully gave birth to a boy, with both mother and child safe and sound.
That's why there are so many supplies. According to the old village chief, there's also grain, winter clothes and quilts, and cotton.
The old village chief said that they could only see what other supplies were available by opening the sacks.
The old village chief continued, "This is what I think about the distribution of these livestock."
Back then on the mountain, if it weren't for Lanzhen's family and Hunter Xue, there probably wouldn't be many of us left.
So, these horses belong to Lanzhen, Xue the hunter, Zhang Deshui, Li Erhan, and Gou Dan—each of these five families owns a horse.
The horse, the cow, and the two donkeys should all belong to Lanzhen.
However, she was generous and kept only one cow, leaving the horse and two donkeys to the village for further distribution.
So, we were left with two horses and two donkeys. I thought we shouldn't distribute them, but just leave them in our village and find someone to take care of them, to do heavy work like plowing fields and hauling crops, and we could use them together.
Does anyone have any objections?
All the villagers said in unison, "No objections!"
Just as the village chief was about to discuss how to distribute the supplies, Gou Dan stepped forward.
He puffed out his small chest, clenched his fists, his face flushed, and looked up at the old village chief.
"Grandpa Village Chief, it's just me and my grandma in my family, so we don't need the horse. I'm not strong enough, and my grandma is getting old. If we have a donkey to plow the fields and pull the crops, my grandma can save some of her strength. Let's leave the horse to the village."
When we left the village to escape famine, it was always Grandma Lanzhen who took care of us.
After catching up with Hanjiacun, the village chief and all the uncles, aunts, and other villagers took great care of my grandmother and me, so thank you all!
He then bowed to everyone.
The old village chief listened to his words, his eyes slightly reddening. He raised his hand to pat the man's head and nodded repeatedly in praise.
"Dog Egg, you're a good kid, thank you. Okay, we'll do it your way!"
He raised his head and said to everyone, "As you can see, Gou Dan, a six-year-old child, knows how to be grateful and how to repay everyone. That's great. I hope that we, the people who have fled to this valley, will unite, love, and help each other. Winter is coming, let's keep each other warm and get through this winter. When spring comes next year, our good life will arrive!"
After he finished speaking, Han Yinan immediately stretched out her two small hands and clapped them.
After he took the lead, a deafening slapping sound and shouts echoed through the valley.
"Understood, Village Chief. Let's unite, offer each other warmth and help, overcome this difficulty, and live a better life!"
Li Lanzhen was also moved by this heartwarming scene!
She smiled and said to the village chief, "Old village chief, it's really troublesome to have to say Hanjiacun, Lujiazhuang, and Liujiacun every time we announce something."
We've come to a valley, found a paradise where we can live a peaceful life, so let's give this place a nice name.
The old village chief clapped his hands and said, "Good! That's a good idea. Lanzhen, what do you think we should call it?"
The word "forget your worries" immediately came to Li Lanzhen's mind.
"Speak up, old village chief, let's call it 'Forget-Worry Valley'."
The old village chief lowered his head in thought, then burst into laughter, "Forget your worries, forget your worries! Very good, forget your sorrows and welcome hope!"
"Alright, let's call this place Forget-Worries Valley. From now on, when I inform everyone, I won't have to go through all that trouble. I can just shout, 'Villagers of Forget-Worries Valley, hahahaha!'"
Everyone was happily whispering among themselves, sharing their thoughts:
"Forget-Worry Valley, Forget-Worry Village, what beautiful names these are! Just hearing these names makes all my worries disappear!"
From then on, they lived happily and peacefully in the Valley of Forgetfulness!
While they were talking, Xue Laohu and Han Shunde called over several men from the guard team, who unloaded all the supplies from the horses and donkeys, placed them on the ground, and gathered them together.
And they opened the sacks and piled up the grain, cotton, quilts, and so much coarse cloth.
They were both surprised and delighted to see so many farm tools.
Li Erhan squatted on the ground, excitedly watching the curved plow. He grabbed the handle and shook it from side to side.
With a beaming smile, she called out, "My dear girl, this is a tool for plowing the fields!"
Li Lanzhen walked over and held the curved plow.
"Dad, you have such good eyesight! This is the plowing tool. You see, you can harness a donkey or ox to pull it from the front, and then a person can hold the handle from the back. This iron thing, which looks like a knife, will dig deep into the soil. It's not afraid of even the hardest soil. It turns the soil quickly and well."
Seeing the villagers gathered around to listen, she explained, "The caravan leader said this guy is called a curved plow."
"A curved plow?! Good, really good!"
They were all skilled farmers and were particularly interested in the tool that helped them plow the land. They were even happier after hearing Li Lanzhen's explanation.
"Dad, see if you can make a few more like this!"
Li Erhan looked at it and said, "It's possible, but I'm afraid we can't handle the iron blades below."
Li Lanzhen said, "Leave this to me, I'll think of a way."
The old village chief couldn't stop smiling. He gently stroked the curved plow in his hands.
"Lanzhen, it's alright. It doesn't matter if we can't make them. With just these few, we can harness the oxen and horses and clear a piece of land in no time. Besides, the soil in this valley is relatively soft. Once we clear away the weeds, it will be easy to clear the land."
Han Shunde walked over and said, "Dad, let's go check the supplies. There's so much, all sorts of things."
After the old village chief finished counting the supplies, he called the village chiefs of Lujiazhuang and Liujiazhuang to discuss the matter together.
The two village chiefs waved their hands and said to the old village chief, "Old Ge, I have something to discuss with you. Since this place is now called Forget-Worry."
"You should be the village chief of Forget-Worry Valley. It's easier to get things done if everyone listens to one person; otherwise, there won't be unity."
Their words were heard by everyone around them.
Li Lanzhen paid special attention to the villagers from Lujia Village and Liujia Village in the crowd.
Unexpectedly, Li Lanzhen did not notice their dissatisfaction. They were all grinning happily, saying repeatedly, "It's only right, it's only right, we will all listen to the old village chief."
Thus, before the supplies were even distributed, the village chief of Forget-Worry Valley was appointed.
The old village chief didn't mince words either. At this moment, he straightened his back, his face glowing, and waved his hand, saying, "On the road to escape famine, wave after wave of natural and man-made disasters, I feel like I'm an old man who won't live to see Youzhou."
He then gave the position of village chief of Hanjia Village to his eldest son.
Now that the people in the three villages want me to continue serving them...
"Then, this old fellow will continue to contribute my remaining energy and serve everyone for two more years. When Forget-Worry Valley is full of grain and teeming with cattle and sheep, then everyone will elect a new village chief."
As soon as he finished speaking, another round of thunderous applause erupted.
After the old village chief finished speaking, he turned to look at his eldest son, Han Shunde, who was standing beside him.
Han Shunde smiled and nodded, saying, "Dad, you're right. Your influence is stronger than mine, and you've experienced more things, so you have a plan for dealing with things. It's best if you continue to manage us."
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