You are my golden finger

The winter morning light dyed the sky with morning glow, making the clouds look particularly bright.

Lin Xijin was taking the children for morning exercises when the loud sound of gongs and drums made the children unable to concentrate any longer.

Knowing that the village celebration had begun, Lin Xijin waved her hand and told everyone to have breakfast before leaving. The boys responded while running to the dining room, grabbed two steamed buns, ate them, and slipped away.

Although Xijia and Xinlan also wanted to run along, they were girls after all and did not dare to disobey their sister, so they patiently ate breakfast before going out to join in the fun.

Jinan watched Xijia and Xinlan leave, and walked over to hold Lin Xijin's hand and drag her out. While dragging her, she kept mumbling, "Sister, sister, go! Go!"

Seeing Jin'an getting more and more lively after losing his original timidity, Lin Xijin couldn't help but pick him up and gently pinched his little face: "Okay, sister will take you to join in the fun!"

Putting Jin'an into the cart, he led Qi Po and Old Madam Shangguan, who also wanted to join in the fun, and headed towards Zhangshutou in a mighty procession.

Zhangshutou was already crowded with people. Amid the sound of gongs and drums, the dragon and lion dance team was already dancing. The children from the village were running up and down beside them. A few boys named Xingwen and Xingwu, who were learning martial arts, were also imitating the moves very much. The place was full of joy.

Lin Xijin was secretly proud of herself, it seemed that it was a wise move for her to ask the clan leader to form a dragon and lion team.

Jin'an's eyes were completely attracted by the dragon and lion dance team. He also spotted Xihui and Xinfeng and shouted "Brother, brother" loudly. But the boys were having so much fun that they couldn't hear An'an's shouting, which was quickly drowned out by the sound of gongs and drums.

The stage for opera was set up in front of the ancestral hall and the clan school, with colorful flags fluttering around it.

The joys and sorrows of the male and female actors have begun to unfold on the stage.

In front of the stage, the villagers had already brought their stools and sat down to watch the show. Most of the audience were old people and girls. The boys were running around following the dragon and lion dance team. The adults were probably busy preparing lunch.

There were many villagers from other villages who came to watch the show and enjoy the fun. Vendors doing business in the town also heard the news and set up all kinds of snacks and small commodities around.

The villagers of Shiziwo now have some money in their pockets. In this atmosphere, the adults are willing to satisfy the children's wishes and give them a few cents to sweeten their mouths.

The joyful laughter of children could be heard everywhere.

There is an open space not far from the ancestral hall and near the pond. The clan has cleared the land and paved it with bluestone. Usually, the clan members gather here to announce any events. Today, a row of tables, chairs and benches have been set up here, and several large stoves have been temporarily built with bricks and stones. The women are washing dishes and vegetables, and the adult men with cooking skills are preparing various dishes.

Lin Xijin watched everyone busying around from a distance and did not go near.

"Sister, sister, you are here. The owners of the restaurant and pharmacy in town are here, and the clan leader wants you to come over." Xihui ran over breathlessly.

Lin Xijin felt strange. She didn't invite them specifically, so why did they all come?

But it became clear upon thinking about it, since the small vendors knew about it, the two shopkeepers must have also heard about it.

Following the sunset, I walked to the reception desk at the intersection of Zhangshutou Road, and saw the two shopkeepers and their waiters sitting and drinking tea accompanied by the clan leader, and the village head was also there.

I greeted everyone one by one.

The two shopkeepers presented gifts - two plaques: one was for the reconstruction of the ancestral hall, with the words "Honoring the ancestors" and the other was for the completion of the school, with the words "Educating people with virtue and talent, and making the peaches and plums flourish". There were also four silver ingots weighing ten taels on a tray.

Lin Xijin felt helpless and could only sigh that these businessmen were too sensitive and too good at dealing with people. It seemed that her business would have to be tied to them in the future.

However, these two companies are sincere partners, and it is worry-free to cooperate with them.

After greeting the clan leader and other people in charge of reception, he brought the two shopkeepers and the village head home and invited them to have tea.

The two shopkeepers talked about the sources of their information, and it turned out that they all got the information from the guests.

The two also blamed Lin Xijin for not inviting them and being unfriendly.

Lin Xijin had no choice but to surrender and said that she would tell them immediately if anything happened in the future, and then the topic was changed.

After chatting for a while and drinking a few cups of tea, they took a few people to visit the winery, medicine workshop and greenhouse. The two shopkeepers were very happy. The better Lin Xijin's business developed, the more money their masters would make, and the more wages and bonuses they would get.

Who would complain about having too much money? Right?

Soon, Xijia and Xinlan came back to report that the banquet was about to begin, and they were all waiting for Lin Xijin to arrive and preside over the opening ceremony.

When they arrived at the camphor tree, except for the main table which was left empty, the other tables were already full of clan members. The clan leader saw Lin Xijin coming with the village head and two shopkeepers, and hurriedly led them to the main table.

Xijia and Xinlan happily ran to the table next to them. It turned out that the table was reserved for Lin Xijin's family.

Seeing that everyone in the family was seated, Lin Xijin felt relieved.

When everyone was seated, a burst of clanging gongs and drums sounded. When they stopped suddenly, the clan leader said excitedly with a trembling voice, "Today is a happy day for my Lin family. With the joint efforts of everyone, our ancestral hall has been rebuilt, the clan school has been newly built, and the pond has been renovated. Our children will be able to go to school in the spring of next year, and we can raise fish and ducks in the pond. Good days are yet to come for everyone! All of this was done by Jin'er with the money she earned from selling medicine and using her medical skills! Now let's toast to Jin'er!"

Another round of exciting gong and drum sounds rang out, with the momentum of the Ansai waist drum. The tribesmen sitting there stood up and shouted loudly: "Thank you! Thank you!"

Lin Xijin was completely overwhelmed by this scene, but as an old monster who had lived for more than a hundred years, this scene was not difficult for her.

She raised the wine bowl with her little arm calmly and said calmly, "Fellow villagers, our village has recently built roads, ancestral halls and clan schools, and dug deeper ponds. These are the results of everyone's joint efforts. As the saying goes, 'When people are united, they can move mountains.' As long as everyone is willing to work hard, our lives will get better and better! I toast to everyone!"

After taking a sip of wine, he announced his plan to collect firewood. He would charge 10 cents for every 100 kilograms of dry firewood, and he could also ask for food. He would collect it before the New Year. The villagers were excited again, thinking that they would be able to eat meat during the New Year.

Then the head of the village and the shopkeepers gave their blessings, and after that... there was nothing after that, only the sound of chewing and the clattering of bowls and chopsticks.

Nine dishes and one soup, the portions were quite filling. In addition to two bowls of vegetarian dishes, the other bowls had meat, and four bowls were all meat. Many villagers had never eaten such a feast in their lives, except for the last time they had eaten it at Lin Xijin's house. Everyone was very satisfied with the meal.

Except for the table where Lin Xijin was sitting and the table where her family was sitting, who ate slowly, the food on the other tables was cleared away quickly and replaced by a new group of diners.

The villagers from other villages who came to join in the fun were not invited to a banquet, but a small bag of candy and wedding cakes was prepared, with two cents of wedding money in it. Both adults and children could get one with the receipt issued when entering the village.

Naturally, more people came to join in the fun the next day.

After lunch, he gave tea, melons and fruits to the head of the village and the two shopkeepers before sending them away.

Before leaving, the restaurant owner secretly told Lin Xijin that there would be basically no problem in buying the mountain.

The villagers were still watching the opera and the dragon and lion dance performances. Grandma Feng had already gone for her lunch break, and Grandma Qi also took Jin'an to rest.

The other four kids were still playing outside and hadn't come home yet. Lin Xijin didn't care and went to sleep.