Chapter 12
The family sat around the table; the food had already been reheated twice, and it was now just the right temperature to eat.
Chen Qingyun was so hungry that she couldn't even lift her head while holding her rice bowl.
Li served her a bowl of soup, saying, "Eat slowly, is the food in the countryside not to your liking?"
"Hmm, the food is alright, but the bowls are filthy."
Wang Ying said, "Earthenware bowls are not like porcelain; they easily accumulate dirt and grime."
Chen Qingyan recalled that when he first went there, he seemed to have experienced something similar, and as a result, he was scolded by his father. Seeing that his sister was in the same state, he couldn't help but smile.
Li said sternly, "You haven't done anything impolite, have you?"
"No, it's just that I ate a little less."
Chen Qingsong, standing nearby, asked with a face full of curiosity, "Sister, is the estate fun?" If he didn't have to go to school today, he would also like to go and have a look around.
"There wasn't much to do. The road was all trees and grass. By the time we got to the village, it was already noon. It was too hot, so I didn't go out and just stayed at the village head's house."
Wang Ying said, "I went to the fields with the head of the village. The wheat harvest this year is pretty good. Millet has already been planted in the fields. After the wheat is dried and sold, the money will be delivered here."
Li nodded. She didn't know much about the fields, but since she had entrusted the management to Wang Ying, she naturally trusted him.
After dinner, Wang Ying asked Liu Zi to unload the things from the car and show them to everyone one by one.
"These wild mushrooms are a good thing. Add some to stewed chicken in winter, and the flavor will be very delicious." This is a famous Northeastern dish, stewed chicken with mushrooms.
"The wild jujubes taste good too. Xiaoyun and I ate a few on the way." As she spoke, she picked up a jujube and handed it to Chen Qingyan next to her.
Chen Qingyan took the green jujube, smelled it, and then took a bite. Her nose immediately wrinkled from the sourness.
"Hahahaha, I forgot to mention that these dates taste better when they're soft."
Chen Qingyan spat out the date and glanced at him; this guy was doing it on purpose.
Wang Ying winked slyly and continued taking things out.
The straw-woven sparrow was given to Chen Qingsong. After all, he was still a child. Although he usually looked mature, he still loved the toy.
The items themselves weren't expensive, but their novelty made them popular.
After the family finished their meal and chatted, they somehow started talking about mountain spirits and monsters. Wang Ying told them a story about a treasure bowl, which her grandmother had told her in her previous life.
"The story goes that there was once a family that was not well-off. One year, a drought struck and they ran out of food. The parents starved to death so that their children could survive. However, the children also had no food and were about to starve to death. The eldest child had no choice but to take a basin and go out to beg for food."
No one else had any food, so naturally no one gave him any. Exhausted and hungry after a day's walk, he sat by the river and wept.
Just then, an old beggar appeared out of nowhere. Seeing him crying pitifully, he went up to ask him what had happened.
The boy then told his family story: "My parents starved to death, there's no food left in the house, and my younger siblings will starve to death in a few days."
The old beggar sighed upon hearing this, took out a ceramic bowl from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "Go back and put a grain of rice in it, and you'll have food to eat first thing tomorrow morning."
The boy, somewhat skeptical, took the earthenware bowl home, found the last grain of rice in the rice jar, and threw it in. He initially thought the beggar was just trying to trick him and didn't have much hope. To his surprise, when he woke up the next day, the bowl was full of grain!
Everyone gasped in surprise. There were so few forms of entertainment in ancient times, and they were all completely engrossed in hearing such a novel story.
Wang Ying continued, "With grain, they no longer had to go hungry. The boy cooked a pot of porridge and had a full meal with his younger siblings. When he went to bed that night, he put in a few more grains of rice, and the next day the earthenware bowl was full again."
Qingyun couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! This is truly a treasure!"
"Yes, the four children survived the famine, and their lives got better and better. Eventually, they all grew up, started their own families, and began to argue over this earthenware bowl."
Chen Qingsong said, "This is the ceramic bowl that my elder brother obtained, so it should rightfully be given to him."
Chen Qingyan disagreed, saying, "Since we're brothers and sisters, we should use it together."
"Human hearts are inherently greedy. Naturally, everyone would want such a treasure trove. This led to brothers turning against each other and fighting fiercely. Just then, the old beggar passed by again and saw them fighting until their heads were bleeding. He couldn't help but shake his head and sigh."
Li, clutching her handkerchief nervously, asked, "And then?"
"Later, the old beggar sang a song called 'Separation of Flesh and Blood' at the door. Suddenly, the ceramic bowl in the cabinet broke, and nothing could grow out of it again."
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but sigh with regret. If the family didn't quarrel and lived in harmony, wouldn't life be much better? But in this world, people are often insatiable, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant, and in the end, they get nothing.
Seeing that her eldest son looked tired, Madam Li said, "It's getting late, everyone should go back and rest."
The two children, Qingyun and Qingsong, were still not sleepy and insisted on trying to see if there was a treasure bowl in the house.
Unable to persuade the two, Li asked Tian's mother to go to the kitchen to get a bowl.
Wang Ying got up and pushed Chen Qingyan towards the backyard. The moon was bright and the stars were few, and a gentle breeze was blowing along the way.
Chen Qingyan suddenly spoke up: "If you put silver into a treasure bowl, will it be full of silver the next day?"
Wang Ying chuckled, "You're still thinking about that?"
Chen Qingyan coughed awkwardly, "I just find it novel."
"There aren't that many good things in the world. Most of them are fabricated by people. Even if they exist, you have to pay the corresponding price."
Chen Qingyan raised his head, looked at the bright moon, and said, "Does karma and retribution really exist in this world?"
"I believe it does. You reap what you sow, and one day it will come back to you."
Wang Ying thought of his parents again. After their divorce, they each remarried and ignored him completely. As a child, he felt very sad, but as he grew older, he realized that perhaps it was a good thing. At least he didn't have to support them in their old age, and he had no burdens or pressures in life. Wasn't this a kind of cause and effect?
Back in the bedroom, Wang Ying bent down, picked the person up, and placed them on the bed.
Chen Qingyan's ears turned bright red with embarrassment. "This... next time, just call me Uncle Chen..."
When Wang Ying saw him like this, she wanted to tease him, "I'm your husband, what's wrong with giving you a hug?"
"It's always the husband who embraces the other, never the other way around..."
"It's not that I look down on you, but if I asked you to carry me, could you even lift me?"
Chen Qingyan said with shame and indignation, "I'll definitely be able to once I've recovered."
"Then take good care of yourself." Wang Ying took a towel and clean undergarments and went to the bathroom to wash up.
I went for a walk in the fields today, and I got covered in dust. I was sweating and felt sticky and uncomfortable. Luckily, the Chen family has a convenient bathing area with a separate shower room. I can just boil some water and take a bath.
After taking a shower, it was almost time to rest. Wang Ying was thinking about the experimental field, so she quickly returned to her bedroom.
Chen Qingyan hadn't gone to sleep yet, and only blew out the oil lamp to rest when he saw him return.
Wang Ying crawled into bed, and as soon as she closed her eyes, she heard Chen Qingyan whisper, "What do you think I should do if I stop studying?"
"How about we start a business?"
What kind of business do you do?
For a moment, Wang Ying really couldn't think of anything, mainly because ancient times were different from modern times, and almost all industries were monopolized by families.
For example, the two grain shops in town that sell grain are owned by brothers, and the shops have been passed down from their grandfather's generation. They can basically meet the needs of the entire town. The market is already saturated, and if other grain shops were to open, their business would definitely not be as good as theirs.
Secondly, the things that could be sold in ancient times were limited, so it was really difficult to get a share of the pie.
There were ways to make money, such as buying goods from other places and selling them in town. However, transportation was a problem in ancient times. Without experienced merchants to guide them, they couldn't even find their way, not to mention the bandits on the road who would rob them of their money and kill them.
"Doing business is a bit difficult. By the way, since you can read and write, why don't you open a private school? You can teach children their first lessons."
Chen Qingyan's eyes lit up. That was feasible. He was very talented in his studies, if it weren't for that incident...
"Alright, from now on I will open a private school and teach people to read!"
Wang Ying yawned, "Okay, okay, then you should take care of your health first."
The room quieted down, and Wang Ying closed her eyes. Yesterday, some wheat was harvested from the experimental field, and today she would finish harvesting the rest and take it to the farm to sow in the fall.
He silently chanted "Activate the experimental field," a light flashed before his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was in another space.
The wheat in the field is mostly ripe. The wheat harvested yesterday is piled up to the side. We'll harvest the rest as soon as possible and then plant some other crops.
Wang Ying rolled up her sleeves and began harvesting wheat with the sickle she had taken from the Chen family. Just as she was working, she heard Chen Qingyan's voice coming from above her head!
"Where would be a good place to open a private school? It might not be appropriate at home. Mother prefers quiet, and if we open a private school, it will definitely be noisy. How about we find a separate room outside? What do you think... Are you asleep?"
No one answered; the room was eerily quiet.
Chen Qingyan turned over, looked at the makeshift bed under the bed, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he froze as if struck by lightning.
By the moonlight, he could clearly see that there was no one under the blankets!
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