The Little Lucky Girl

Village Chief Shi called his son over and said, "I haven't been back for decades. I don't know if those guys are still here. When you go back, find Uncle Shi Qing first. He's our cousin. Acknowledge him first, and then let him take you to find other villagers."

"Once you're settled, go to your grandparents' graves, kowtow, and talk to them about our life here."

"Then go to your uncle's house in the next village and check. If they are willing to come, take them there quietly. Be careful not to make any noise."

Magistrate Tao only said that he was willing to help them bring people from their original village over, but he didn't say whether people from other villages could be brought over. They didn't dare to ask any more questions, for fear that too many people would cause trouble, so they decided to gather the people together first. Anyway, the officials couldn't tell which village they were from, ahem.

Shi Dalang nodded vigorously, "Dad, don't worry."

Village chief Shi looked at his son's red face with excitement and felt very worried. He wanted to go there himself, but Lord Tao only allowed one person from the village to go, and he had to be a young man.

When the other elders saw that the village chief had finished speaking, they immediately surrounded Shi Dalang and started talking about their relatives over there.

As soon as the old men opened their mouths, they could not help but bring up old memories. Shi Dalang listened with great interest at first, but later, as more and more names were mentioned, his head began to feel dizzy and sweat broke out on his forehead.

Village chief Shi sighed as he watched this. His son was not like him and couldn't even remember such a thing.

He wanted to find a smarter one, but the State of Qi was in chaos and there was always danger. After thinking it over again and again, he decided to let his son go.

Village Chief Shi knocked on the table with his pipe and said, "Line up, line up, come one by one."

He turned his head to look at Ming Youyou again, and coaxed her with a smile: "Girl, you write fast, help your uncle remember more of what they said."

Fortunately, there was a school in the village, and Shi Dalang was driven there to learn a lot. Now he can barely read a letter.

Ming Youyou said it was no problem, and she also called Zheng Huan and three other external players to come over. If it weren't for the need to keep it confidential, she could have asked the students from Class B to help.

When the old people saw that someone was helping them write it down, they immediately became excited and talked more and more, telling him everything from the fact that the other person still wet the bed at such an old age to the fact that he had a crush on several girls.

Ming Youyou's wrists were sore from writing, and she reluctantly said, "Let's not remember these embarrassing things."

The old man was unwilling, "Write it down, write it down. My cousin is a bit stubborn. After hearing these things, he will know that I am really waiting for him here."

My goodness, a group of people rushed out from the mountains, saying that the imperial court over there was coming to pick them up to live a good life. I’m afraid no one would believe this pie-in-the-sky good thing even in a dream, and some might even think that they were being tricked into doing hard labor, so they have to make it clear.

Ming Youyou felt sorry for her little hand. She bit the pen and thought for a while, "Why don't you just find a token and give it to Uncle Shi? Something should be more effective than words."

The old people thought it was true, but everyone was poor back then, and when they fled here, they only had the clothes on their backs, so how could they have anything special?

Finally, the three old men took a red string from their grandson's neck and handed it to Ming Youyou, saying, "This is the custom of our Da Qi. When a child is born, a large coin is tied to his body to protect his life. The one you are wearing is your grandfather's."

Ming Youyou took the three large coins and looked at them carefully with wide eyes. "Aren't they all the same? Can you tell which one is yours?"

"You can tell the difference," an old man said with a laugh, "Look, there's a mark on this side. The one my cousin brought has one too. We made it together back then."

Another old man also said: "The copper coins are the same, but the ropes are different. This one of mine was made by my mother. She was the most skillful in her time. She made ropes for all the children in the family. You will know when you compare them later."

Ming Youyou nodded to show that she accepted the instruction, and put the big money and the red rope into the envelope.

Seeing that the other elderly people who couldn't produce tokens were very disappointed, she scratched her head and said, "How about I draw a picture for you?"

Even though decades have passed, this face is still proof.

The old man's eyes lit up immediately, and he stroked the few remaining hairs with his hands, nodding repeatedly and saying, "This is a good idea. My father and I look very similar. My eldest brother will be able to recognize us at a glance."

Some people may feel that they are not as handsome as they used to be, so they call their sons over and say, "Draw like him. Dalang looks exactly like me back then."

"Come on, stop flattering me. Your son is much better looking than you were back then." The other old men said, "The child takes after his mother. He doesn't have a face like yours. If you really paint him like him, your brothers wouldn't be able to recognize him."

The long-faced old man stopped talking, but winked at Ming Youyou quietly, asking her to think of a way to draw him better.

Seeing that everyone had said almost everything, Village Chief Shi looked around and called to Old Man Ming beside him, "Old Ming, you have a wide range of knowledge. Do you have anything to add?"

Old Man Ming had just been listening and not participating. The Ming family had few people, so he brought all those who could walk around with him, except...

He felt sad for a moment, then calmed down and said to Shi Dalang, "Tell your uncles and uncles that we have many people coming this time and we are fully prepared. Tell them not to think too much and just follow us."

The other old men understood immediately. In order not to become a burden, the old people in the village, including their parents, refused to follow them and hid in the mountains so that they could not find them...

The old men surrounded Shi Dalang again.

"Tell my cousin that if the other things are hard to get, forget it. I'll buy them for their families when I get back. But if there are any things left from my parents, they must be brought to me."

"My brother is a scoundrel. He didn't come with us back then. If you see him this time and he's still stubborn, have his son knock him out and carry him back here."

Village Chief Shi also said: "We will send people to guard the forest and tell them that they will be picked up after walking for five or six days. They can't bear much hardship."

After everyone took turns grabbing the village chief's pipe and finished smoking all the tobacco he brought, the discussion died down and everyone relaxed. Someone asked the yamen runner who brought the news: "The county magistrate is fine, why did you come to help us save people?"

The yamen runner's home was in the neighboring village, and he was familiar with everyone, so he spoke more casually. "We don't know the details, but I heard that it was suggested by the young lady from the Ming family."

Ming Youyou puffed out her little chest proudly.

Everyone immediately praised her, saying that this child was even more capable than her father and could even get the county magistrate to help her with things.

Seeing Ming Youyou was so dizzy that he was almost praised to the sky, Zheng Huan coughed and said, "It's almost time. Let Uncle Zhang pack up and go back with us."