The maid's road to success

By the time Wen Niang and An Ning found out everything, it was almost noon. An Ze and his friends had been busy cleaning up the yard. There were a lot of weeds in the yard, so they cleared them all and also cleared out a piece of land to plant vegetables.

"Take the money and go to the government office to exchange the deeds with them. There are a few deserted houses around. See if you can buy them all and connect them together. In the future, if there are more people, they can live there."

Fortunately, the land here is cheap, not as expensive as in Kyoto. I only spent more than three hundred taels to buy all the fields under the hill, but most of them were medium-sized fields.

"Sister Wen Niang, An Ze said that you allow us to make things and sell them, and allow us to get the money ourselves?"

Wu Shan still couldn't believe the good things An Ze said and decided to ask himself.

"Yes, but you have to prepare the materials, make them yourself, and buy them yourself. I won't help you."

Wushan shook his head excitedly.

"No, no, I can weave bamboo mats myself. I can cut bamboo and make them."

“I can feed the chickens and ducks.”

"I can do the laundry."

"I can make a tub."

Everyone was vying to show off their abilities. Seeing this, Wen Niang felt very warm in her heart and pulled everyone to sit down and talk.

"Our place is different from the charity. I don't have much power to take care of your food and drink all the time, so you have to farm well, raise chickens and ducks, and make some things to sell. What I can do is to provide you with a place to stay, send you food when you have no food, and take care of your clothes for all four seasons and necessary things. Can you accept that?"

Several people in Wushan nodded excitedly. This was something they had always dreamed of. The children in their charity were not unsuccessful, but they were young and many people were unwilling to let them work. They also did not have the money or opportunity to learn skills and earn money to support themselves.

In fact, they do a lot of work in the charity, which is even harder than those apprentices who have to serve their masters for three years. What they lack is someone who can give them the opportunity to work and earn money.

"Thank you, Sister Wen Niang. We will live a good life and grow up well. When we grow up, we will repay your kindness."

Although it was only the second day they arrived, with Wen Niang's words, they knew that in this life they would not have to wait for others to oppress them all the time, and they could support themselves with their own abilities. It didn't matter if they were disabled or sick. In the charity house, even if you had a broken arm, you had to wash clothes with your feet, and even if you had a broken leg, you had to lie down and wash the toilet.

Now we have fields and houses, and everyone is able to endure hardships, so there is hope for the future.

"Wushan, go find a doctor later to check your illnesses and prescribe some medicine. I'll leave you some pocket money. If you need anything, you can go to Yufuzhai to find Anze, oh, that's Daniu."

Wu Shan's eyes suddenly turned red. He took the copper coin and nodded. Finally, he could see his sister's illness. On the day when she was framed and driven out of the house by her stepmother, her sister was kicked a few times and vomited blood. She has been breathless and weak, and incompetent, and cannot earn money to take care of her sister.

"I will make a good bamboo mat and return your money."

Wen Niang touched his head and said.

"You're a good kid. We're usually busy, and you're the boss here. You have to shoulder the responsibility and take good care of them. Come to me if you need anything. I'll ask An Ze to come over every five days, and you can ask him to tell me."

Wu Shan nodded, then looked at his sister's appearance and rushed out. Wen Niang noticed that his tears were dripping to the ground when he turned around.

This child lived with his sister in the charity home, and no one knew how much suffering he had to endure.

"You escaped, and the people at the charity hall didn't cause any trouble?"

Ulan shook his head.

"In order to get out every day to find food for me, my brother dug a dog hole in a hidden corner of the charity hall. He usually blocked it with a jar. In a place like the charity hall, once you enter, they won't let you out easily. But they won't care if you disappear inexplicably. After all, there are so many children, they don't need a few of us."

Wen Niang understood that it was easy to enter the charity hall but difficult to get out, but as long as you had a way to get out, the charity hall would not catch you again. This was not a bad thing and saved a lot of trouble.

After all, so many children were thrown into the charity. It would be a lot of trouble if they spent manpower just to take care of a few escaped children.

If there are a few missing children, someone might throw a few more in a few days, and no one will care about those who slipped away.

"As long as you are not particularly good-looking, no one will care if you leave the charity."

Another child added.

Every time Wen Niang heard such words, she always felt uncomfortable. She understood what the child meant. In order to get more people to donate money and food, the people in the charity hall would occasionally select the best-looking children in the charity hall and take them out to seek financial support from wealthy businessmen and officials.

As for why these children went there, it goes without saying that these children were used to please those people.

But no one will stop it, and no one will resist. After all, these people will always say that this is also for the good of the charity. If these people are unwilling to donate money, then everyone will have nothing to eat and drink.

Who will feed so many unwanted children?

"Don't worry, we don't spend that much money, and we won't use you to exchange for benefits. All you have to do is learn a skill and support yourself before you leave at the age of twelve or thirteen."

Wen Niang didn't want to be like other charity organizations, which force children to live until they are twelve or thirteen and then let them go.

Instead, she hopes that they can learn to survive on their own and live well even without her help.

There are good charity houses and bad charity houses in the world, but she doesn't intend to do the same thing as the charity houses. She hopes that all the children here can live like normal people in the future.

After An Ning and An Ze finished dealing with the land deeds, Bi He and An Ping also closed their shops and came to help.

"I bought some cotton clothes to keep the children warm. Fortunately, this place is close to the mountains, and there is no shortage of firewood on the mountain. Wushan can go back and chop firewood with the children to cook and keep warm."

Bihe and Anping unloaded the large and small bags and started to help pack.

Yesterday they agreed to let the children grow their own vegetables, so she bought some seeds. Although it is too cold now to plant them, they will be able to do so when the weather gets warmer.

She also bought seven or eight old hens, which could lay eggs directly when they came home, and the children could also eat something nutritious.

"The people who changed the gate are here today. But we're not here normally, and there are children here, so what about safety?"

Wen Niang and Bi He thought of the same thing. After all, they were all children.

What if there is someone with bad intentions who comes to rob when no adults are around?

"Let Wushan and a few other boys learn martial arts from Big Brother. I know how to make traps. When we lived here before, we were able to escape danger several times thanks to the traps I made."

An Ze's words made Wen Niang feel very good. An Ze was a child with a lot of experience and knew how to prevent danger. He taught Wu Shan how to set these traps, which would definitely greatly reduce the danger.

"I'll go mix some clay and put in some broken pottery pieces. The walls will be raised higher, so it can block some people."

"Wushan, come with me to the mountain to cut some bamboo and jujube wood and make some spike traps. We will put them under the courtyard wall before going to bed at night."

Anping thought about it and reminded Anze again.

"By the way, I'll keep two dogs. If someone comes at night, they'll be alert and their barking will scare them away."

Wushan nodded.

"I can use a bow and arrow. I made one later and polished some wooden arrows. That should be enough."

Wen Niang was even more satisfied when she saw them solve the safety problem through discussion.

"We bought these dozens of acres of land today, but you can't farm them all. Why not rent them out? A 40% harvest each year will be enough."

After buying An Ning today, I thought about the problem of having too much land to farm.

Wen Niang felt that they were still young and did not plan to let them farm now. They could rent the land out and watch how the old farmers farmed, learn more and then farm on their own.

What's more, it's good enough if these children can take care of the yard and do some handicrafts. It's not like the charity where they have to work day and night for profit.

When Wushan brought the doctor back, the doctor didn't want to treat them at first because he was afraid that they didn't have the money to pay for the consultation.

It was only after Wen Niang deposited a small ingot of silver that the doctor began to treat several people promptly.

Among them, only Ulan and the very thin child have serious problems.

"This girl has been injured, her lungs have been injured, and she has been delayed for so long, so she still needs to be slowly recuperated with warm tonic medicine. This boy has accumulated toxins since he was a baby, and he has not been properly treated, and he lacks nutrition. I can only use medicine and acupuncture to detoxify him. I just hope he will not be able to survive like an ordinary person. If he is well taken care of, he may live another thirty or forty years."

Wen Niang nodded and asked him to prescribe the medicine first.

Seeing that ten days of medicine cost more than ten taels of silver, Wen Niang suddenly understood why so many people would rather bear the illness than go to see a doctor.

It’s not that I don’t want to, but I can’t afford it.

"I will pay this money back. I can make more bamboo mats every day and sell them for money."

Bihe slapped him on the back angrily.

"If you say that again, go back to the charity hall. Did we bring you back to make you pay back the money?"

An Ze understood the kindness of Bi He and Wen Niang, and pulled Wu Shan to tell him to stop saying such things.

"If you really want to repay me, then just take good care of this place and stop worrying about my elder and second sisters. Anya can't see, and now she can take care of the little ones and make snacks for the family every day."

Wu Shan nodded with moist eyes. He had seen his sister in pain many times and thought about jumping into the river with her. Life was so painful and he didn't even have the money to see a doctor.

Now someone is willing to help them, to pay for their sister's medical treatment, and to give them hope to live. How can we not be moved and remember it.

Seeing that it was getting late and worried about the children at home, Wen Niang packed up and left with her family. An Ze stayed to help Wu Shan set traps. After all, he had learned some martial arts for a few days and could scare off the bad guys.

As Wen Niang and her companions' carriage drove away and the red glow of the setting sun grew dimmer and dimmer, Wu Shan felt that this was his light and his salvation.

"We will all be fine in the future and repay the kindness of our elder sister and second sister together."

Anze put his arm around Wushan's shoulders and watched the carriage leave.

A group of children followed behind them, feeling that their current life was full of hope.

After settling the necessary things here, Bihe and Wen Niang felt that they should give the villa a name, otherwise every time they talked about that place it would be Wushan Na, Wushan Na, which was very awkward.

Bihe thought for a long time and finally chose a name.

"Spring Garden."

Wen Niang read it several times and asked her what it meant.

"Spring is the best season of the year, far better than the willow trees and mist in the imperial capital. Spring brings everything back to life, and it is a good season for rebirth."

“We named it Chunyuan, hoping that those children can have a brand new life in Chunyuan.”

Wen Niang nodded and said that Bihe was a good name, Chunyuan, which had a good meaning.

"We've also bought the courtyards on the left and right, but they're too dilapidated to be lived in without repair. We still need to clean them up and find a craftsman to repair the house."

The two talked for a while before returning to their room to wash up and go to bed.

I've been running back and forth lately and have been very busy. Fortunately, Anya and the children can help Anping make snacks and have helped a lot. But life is pretty good like this.

Wen Niang had always dreamed of having a small courtyard where she could close the door and live a quiet and stable life.

She never thought that one day she would have to feed so many children. She didn't think she was a good person, nor did she think she could do these things well.

But once I really started doing it, it wasn’t bad. Every day was fulfilling. Seeing those children becoming happier and happier, it seemed like everything had meaning.

Chunyuan now had a name, and the children had a place to live.

Wushan is very capable. He goes to the mountains to chop firewood and bamboo every day.

He is still young and cannot make as fast as a professional mat weaver, but he can make one in three or two days.

Fortunately, he was careful and cleaned up the burrs and woven them finely, so grocery stores also liked this kind of goods.

It’s the same as what others sell, twenty cents per piece.

Wen Niang, Bi He and other three people were the first to receive the mats he wove. He was indeed a careful child.

Wushan returned to Chunyuan carrying a bamboo pole. He looked at the two words above the gate and the laughter inside. He still had the money from selling mats in his arms, and he felt satisfied.

It turns out that they can also make money with their own abilities. The idea that the charity hall gave them in the past was that if they left at will, they would be doomed to die.

No food, no money, no house, no cotton clothes.

So everyone would rather work hard in the charity hall than leave.

When I walked into the yard, I saw a few children sitting there splitting bamboo strips and grinding off burrs.

"Brother Wushan is back."

Wulan and his men quickly surrounded Wushan and took off the bamboo pole and sack on his body.

"Today, three mats were sold for sixty coins. I spent ten coins to buy some brown sugar. We can make brown sugar water to drink later."

Children’s happiness is so simple. They pay for the things they helped make and get snacks to eat. It is a very happy thing.

Everyone happily got up, cleaned up, and went to cook and eat.

Now their lives are much better. They can boil, steam or fry the eggs they collect every day, and they also have rice and cornmeal to fill them up.

It is much better than the charity hall. If you can’t finish eating the eggs, you can sell them for money, which is also a source of income.

The days were getting better and better. Wushan looked at the busy children and thought of the time when they first came here, when several older children came with them because this place was shabby and small.

They were reluctant in their hearts, and when they heard that they would have to work here, grow vegetables, and feed chickens and ducks, they just left. Wushan knew that they would only regret it more and more.

But what can be done? Those people are destined to never return to Chunyuan. Wushan knows that such people are not suitable for Chunyuan without Bi Hewen's mother telling them.

The purpose here is to enable children to have enough survival skills, rather than having a lot of money to spend and then supporting them until they are twelve or thirteen and then having them find jobs on their own.

They are not suitable for such a place, and even if they come, they will ruin the atmosphere here.

"Brother Wushan, what are you thinking about?"

A boy stood in front of Wushan and brought him warm water.

"I saw Ah Hu and his men today, helping the steward to deliver the toilet bucket."

When the children heard it, they immediately gathered around.

"Did the steward say he wanted to take us back?"

Wushan shook his head.

"No, the manager said that if we dare to escape, we should not think about going back. We would rather die of cold outside than go back to the charity hall."

When Wulan heard this, she pouted. She didn't want to go back. It was so good here. She could work every day, eat well and wear warm clothes. She was so happy.

"Ah Hu regretted it. He saw me selling mats and making money. He also knew that I could keep the money myself, so he regretted it and wanted it back."

Wulan and several other children frowned and shouted no.

"Don't let them come. They are not reliable and always try to be cunning. If they do something wrong later, what should we do if Sister Wen Niang doesn't allow us to stay here?"

Wushan touched his sister's head.

"Don't worry, I didn't agree. Sister Bihe said that since I chose Chunyuan, I have the obligation to protect this place. I won't let anyone destroy our lives. I will observe and inquire carefully about everyone who comes in. Don't be afraid."

Wushan knew that more and more people would come to Chunyuan, but he didn't want anyone to be able to come in. Sister Wen Niang said that she didn't want to support an ungrateful person.

As the first group of people to live in Chunyuan, the people of Wushan must maintain everything here so that it can last longer. So even if Ah Hu is envious or regretful, he cannot come to Chunyuan.

This is a pure land, a spring garden that can accommodate all the kind-hearted children who have been abandoned.