Chapter 158 Working Together
Wan Qiqi hadn't gone far and overheard what was said.
Aunt Fengxian, who was traveling with her, also heard this. Seeing that her face darkened, she quickly said, "Yongnian's wife, Aunt Wu is just being quick-tongued. Don't take it to heart."
Wan Qiqi couldn't be bothered to argue with these women; they were just jealous.
She ignored Aunt Fengxian and continued walking forward.
At the front of the group, Chen Li was asking Lin Dazhuang about how the yam was discovered. Lin Dazhuang told him the truth, but omitted the fact that Wan Qiqi had said the thing was called "yam".
He didn't understand many of Wan Qiqi's actions, but he didn't want to tell others about them and make them suspicious of Wan Qiqi.
After listening, Chen Lizheng couldn't help but ask, "What does she want those sour fruits for?"
Lin Dazhuang scratched his head, looking somewhat conflicted, and said, "It seems to be some kind of food."
Food?
Chen Lizheng's curiosity about Wan Qiqi grew even stronger. He couldn't understand how Wan Qiqi knew so much; it seemed like everything could become a treasure in her hands.
If the villagers had her mindset, they wouldn't be sighing and complaining all day long.
The men in the village were used to climbing up there, and before long they reached the place where they had first dug up the yams.
There was another pit, nearly a meter deep, which was the one Lin Dazhuang had dug out earlier.
Beside the pit, you can still see a corner of a yam sticking out.
Chen Lizheng was overjoyed when he saw it. He lay down on the ground and dug around with his hands a few times, revealing the yam clearly.
His hands trembled with excitement, and his eyes shone with a light, as if this thing could bring infinite hope.
He followed the roots to the vine, his hands trembling even more violently.
This vine is actually quite common in Lianhua Village, but he never expected that it was actually a yam vine.
For a moment, he felt that he had failed as the village head, that he did not know there was food in the mountains and that the villagers had suffered from hunger.
Upon seeing this, the men around him immediately understood—this was it!
This stuff is edible and filling, so I won't go hungry this winter and can live well until next spring!
Living is not difficult for modern people, but it was extremely difficult for rural areas in ancient times when famine struck.
Wan Qiqi felt uneasy watching this.
Chen Lizheng held up the yam vine in his hand and said loudly, "This is the yam vine, take a look." As he spoke, he handed the vine to the people next to him so that everyone could see it.
He continued, "Almost all the men in the village are here, but some families only have the elderly, weak, women and children who cannot go up the mountain. So when everyone digs it out, each family will take out five to ten catties and give it to those families."
"Okay, no problem!"
"Yes, we agree."
"Agreed."
Voices rose and fell, all agreeing with Chen Lizheng's words.
Every family has elderly, weak, women and children; they can't just let these people starve to death.
Seeing that no one had any objections, Chen Lizheng waved his hand, signaling everyone to get started.
Lin Dazhuang immediately picked up a hoe and started digging in the same spot, his face showing excitement.
He wanted to dig up more, sending half back to the Lin family and the other half to Sister-in-law Chen.
Wan Qiqi stood to the side and watched for a while, then turned around, put down her basket, and started picking sour dates again.
Although she had already collected two large bamboo baskets of these things, there weren't many left after peeling and shelling them, so she had to collect more to take back.
Suddenly, a slightly aged hand appeared before her. She looked up and met Chen Lizheng's gaze. She slowly stood up and smiled faintly, "Chen Lizheng, why don't you dig some up and take it back?"
"Sanyuan, help me dig. I'll take a break first." Chen Lizheng put the sour jujubes in his hand into Wan Qiqi's bamboo basket.
He said he was helping, not digging for himself, which surprised Wan Qiqi.
As the village leader, Chen Lizheng wanted to keep what he dug for himself, and no one would say anything, but he chose a different path.
Chen Lizheng's performance during this period made Wan Qiqi realize that Chen Lizheng was a good village official, a good official who could truly distinguish right from wrong and cared about the development of the village.
She stared at Chen Lizheng for a while, then said calmly, "The sweet soup business can't last long. The process and cost are linked. Even if I taught the villagers, they still have a hard time making it, which is why it's like this now."
Chen Lizheng was taken aback, seemingly not expecting her to say this. "You made the sweet soup yourself. Whether you want to take it out or not is up to you."
He glanced sideways at the busy villagers. "I know the villagers very well. You've shared everything you can. It's up to them to decide what to do next."
"Mm." Wan Qiqi did not deny it and nodded.
She was truly kind and compassionate to the villagers; whether it was pomelos or yams, she always thought of the villagers.
She was not a saint, nor would she act like a saint; she simply did not want to see the villagers selling their children for food and clothing, nor did she want to see anyone die of hunger.
If her business does indeed flourish in the future, the villagers will undoubtedly be her first choice for business partners, and she will need to select a group of trustworthy people from among them.
Although these things seem somewhat distant now, Wan Qiqi firmly believes that doing so will not cause any harm.
After chatting with Wan Qiqi for a few minutes, Chen Lizheng picked up his hoe and joined the team digging for yams.
Many of the women who came along saw that the yams were so big that they could feed several meals, so they joined the group.
Only a few children were carrying baskets, searching for wild vegetables.
"Auntie, what are you doing picking these sour fruits?"
The child's voice interrupted Wan Qiqi from picking sour dates. She looked up and saw Chen Ergou's son, Chen Zhu.
“Your second aunt likes to eat it, so I picked it up and brought it back for your second aunt to eat.”
Although Chen Zhu looks somewhat like Chen Ergou, his personality is more like Yunniang's, and he is also similar to Old Mrs. Chen. He looks rather cute, and Wan Qiqi's tone is also quite gentle when she sees him.
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