Chapter 141 The Household Next to the Earth God Temple
"Master, the adults in the greenhouse want to have a meal at our farm, saying they want to share in some good fortune. What do you think we should do to make the arrangements?"
Yuan Hongqu hadn't gone far when Wu Tian followed.
"Did Eunuch Chen say that?" Yuan Hongqu frowned.
Today, she only accompanied Eunuch Chen and Chief Secretary Li for a short walk in the greenhouse. After the adults arrived, she went out and hid in the crowd, letting Wu Tian take the lead.
Eunuch Chen and Chief Secretary Li knew her and that she was the true owner of the estate, so it was fine for her to accompany them. However, Yuan Hongqu did not want to stand out too much in front of the others.
“Eunuch Chen didn’t say. It was Lord Zhang from the Ministry of Rites who said it, and the others all agreed,” said Wu Tianjian, the landlord, with a displeased expression, cautiously.
"What good food can peasants possibly have? They just had a major snow disaster, and all their livestock froze to death. Now all they can eat are grass roots and tree bark. The radish greens we left over from the fall are the best stuff, aren't they?" Yuan Hongqu said with a half-smile.
Wu Tian felt uneasy. He knew that most other villages were like this, but their village was different!
During the autumn harvest, they traded for a lot of grain elsewhere, and every household had enough stored grain to last until next spring. Moreover, the village's granary was still full of reserve grain, untouched!
But that's what the employer says, so it is!
“That’s right, boss. Many families in the village have gone hungry, but we’re better off than those in the west city. We can still go up the mountain to dig up some grass roots and get some elm bark, so we’re barely managing to keep from starving.” Wu Tian, understanding the implied meaning, immediately replied.
“That’s right. Since they want to have a meal in the village, let’s take them to the one next to the local temple. It’s on the way anyway. Don’t let them go anywhere else. I remember they have seven sons, the oldest is only ten years old, and there’s only one able-bodied man in the family. They don’t know where their next meal will come from…”
Yuan Hongqu had a deep impression of this family. It was all too common for poor families to sell their children, but this family had so many children, yet they didn't sell a single one. Instead, they struggled to survive, sharing every bite of food among themselves.
Wu Tian said with a bitter face, "Master, that was before. This year, even their three-year-old son can help pull radishes in the field. The family has earned a lot of grain. They won't be short of food this year."
"Why do I see that the adults and children in their family are still so thin? They don't eat even though they have food. You can't be so stingy."
The two walked and talked.
"They used to overwork themselves, and their health deteriorated. As soon as winter came, they started brewing medicine, and everyone in the family was drinking it, saying it was a tonic prescribed by a doctor." Wu Tian spent most of the winter in the village, so he knew a lot about the affairs of these people from Zhunhu.
"It's his house. What auspicious energy? It's all just wishful thinking. I have to go back now. You handle it. Today, let all the villagers have a meal to remember the bitter past and appreciate the present. No matter whose house he goes to, it's the same food. Don't let them have a good meal and then start thinking about our village again."
"And what about Eunuch Chen?" Wu Tian could tell that the master treated Eunuch Chen quite well.
"Eunuch Chen is probably going back to the palace to work, so let him go to the grape trellis and pick some grapes to take back and report."
After Yuan Hongqu finished speaking, she had already walked to the carriage, then turned back and said,
"After they're all gone, turn up the temperature in the greenhouse again. It would be a shame if they all died... Let's see how many we can save."
Wu Tian nodded hurriedly in agreement. This morning, the landlord said that the grapes in the greenhouse probably wouldn't survive after today, and he had been heartbroken ever since!
Since there was still a chance to save them, Wu Tian couldn't wait for those people to leave so he could quickly raise the temperature in the grape greenhouse.
Yuan Hongqu didn't even go to the small courtyard on the estate this time, so as not to let them notice the greenhouse behind the courtyard, which was the biggest "auspicious sign" on the estate!
Yuan Hongqu has left. Eunuch Chen and Chief Secretary Li cut down all the grapes that ripened in the greenhouse today and took them back to report.
Wu Tian walked around the village and returned to the local temple, waiting for the officials to come out.
If they leave now, that's fine. But if they listen to the advice and still don't leave, then we can only let them experience the bitterness of the past and appreciate the sweetness of the present.
The group from the third division had their fill of looking at the grape greenhouses and were thinking of taking some grapes back with them. However, the farmer who looked after the greenhouses said that the remaining grapes were not yet ripe. These grapes are very tricky; if they don't ripen on the vine, they won't ripen even if they are cut and left to rot.
Unripe grapes are bitter and astringent, a hundred times worse than green apricots.
They then gave up the idea.
Since that's the case, we must eat this meal at the manor today.
Although this wasn't on their itinerary, it's reasonable for them to have a meal before heading back after coming on business.
When they arrived at the local temple, even though Wu Tian explained repeatedly that the village was in dire straits, only slightly better off than the western city, and that they could barely make ends meet with some grass roots and tree bark, they were still struggling to survive.
Although the grapes sold for some money, all of it was donated to the West City, leaving not a single penny for themselves.
Therefore, the villagers in their village did not see their lives improve despite the auspicious omen.
No matter how much Wu Tian tried to persuade them, the group insisted on having a meal there, and even gave Wu Tian some money.
Wu Tian was dumbfounded; his employer hadn't said anything about what would happen if they took the money.
However, upon further reflection, he realized that even Eunuch Chen and Chief Secretary Li had left money for buying grapes before they left, so it was only right that they accepted money for their meal.
But how should we reasonably charge for these grass root and tree bark dumplings, dried vegetable leaf porridge?
Fortunately, the officials didn't make things difficult for Wu Tian for long, and directly selected the family living near the land temple. This was because their family was the closest to the greenhouse, while the other families had to walk a bit further to get there, and they didn't want to walk that far.
Secondly, this family lives next to a local earth god temple. Since this "auspiciousness" is related to the land, it may be due to the blessing of the local earth god. This family lives next to the earth god temple, so they must be more influenced by the auspicious atmosphere.
Without needing Wu Tian to explain further, we immediately decided to eat at this restaurant.
However, they glanced at the muddy yard from outside, where several little kids, covered in mud, were still frolicking around.
Standing at the entrance of the courtyard, they could smell the strong medicinal aroma, even stronger than that inside the shop. They didn't dare to step inside, and were also wondering if choosing this place was the right decision.
Fortunately, Wu Tian's words immediately dispelled their doubts.
"My lords, the Liu family has seven sons. His wife gave birth to seven children, all of whom were boys, and all of them survived. The eldest son is now ten years old, and the youngest is just over a hundred days old."
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