Beautiful Peasant Girl: The Young Marquis's Beloved

Liu Xu didn't have many friends, just a few of them, and including the young children, the total number did not exceed twenty.

But she brought a lot of people and, of course, a lot of things.

Yongshun Prefecture is different from the north. Even in winter, there is still a lot of green shade on the mountains.

When Han Duoduo brought Xiao Yan here, He Lei had already returned.

They were all children from farming families, and building a stove and making a fire were easy for them.

Seeing that only Xiao Yan was there, Liu Xu raised her eyebrows slightly. Yan Yi actually let Xiao Yan out alone, which really surprised her. And Liu Xu had no idea that Yan Yi was hiding in the dark at the moment.

"Little brother, don't be shy, come and sit down!" Liu Xu greeted him warmly.

Han Duoduo and He Lei went to Zhongwei to hunt.

Xiao Yan had lived in the palace since he was a child. Even when the emperor went hunting, he could only wait in the tent. Although he had experienced escape before, this kind of outdoor dining experience was the first time for him.

The children here were the same age as him, and the youngest was only two years old. Unlike the children in the palace or even in the capital, there were no maids, servants, or old women here, and everyone did everything themselves.

They didn't care so much about the distinction between men and women, and the girls didn't wait there in a squeamish manner.

The older boys moved stones to build a stone stove, the girls helped collect firewood, and the younger ones sat there to take care of the babies.

No one disliked the young children for being in the way, and they would ask from time to time whether the children wanted to eat or not, and took care of them more attentively than the maids and old women, which made people feel warm inside.

Xu Zeyu and his friends had never had such an experience before and found it very novel. They wanted to go and help, but Liu Xu refused.

"Cousin, don't you want your clothes anymore? Just sit there and watch them. Give some of the food in the basket to the younger ones and don't let them run around. This is the mountain after all." Liu Xu refused with a smile.

Xu Zeyu looked at Liu Xu, who was dressed in a cotton-padded jacket, and then looked at himself, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes.

He sighed helplessly: "Okay!"

"Let me go with you!" Xiao Yan looked at the clothes on his body and felt that Liu Xu would not refuse.

"Little brother, just come with my cousin!" Liu Xu shook his head and refused.

"I also have a cotton coat, so you can go!" Xiao Yan said hurriedly.

"You are weak! Okay, it's also important to take care of these little guys!" After saying that, Liu Xu ran away with Xing'er without waiting for their reply.

The two boys who stayed behind to look after the baby looked at each other, both feeling somewhat helpless. They were the oldest among the boys, of course, except for He Feng who was in charge of safety. They felt... a little embarrassed.

Shuisheng, Tieniu, Goudan and Liu Chengjie are the same age. The four of them are responsible for moving stones to build the stove, while Taoer, Erya, Xing'er and Liuxu are responsible for finding dry firewood.

The men worked quickly, and soon they had a fire, burning with stream water brought by Tieniu. The children had already drunk half of the tubes of soy milk that Xing'er and his sister had brought in bamboo tubes.

Soon, He Lei and his companion came back. Due to the short time, they only shot two pheasants and three rabbits.

There was a stream not far from them, and He Lei quickly took the pheasants and rabbits away to deal with them. Fortunately, Liu Xu and the other two had daggers with them, otherwise they would have to go back to get knives.

Soon, the smell of meat came from the forest. He Lei led the boys to grill meat, using the barbecue ingredients that Liu Xu brought from home. It smelled very good. Yan Yi almost couldn't help exposing himself.

The others sat together, eating, drinking hot water and chatting. Occasionally, the barbecuer would come over to eat something and then go back to watch the fire.

"Whose idea was this mat? It's very thoughtful!" Liu Xu asked while eating dried meat.

Erya said, "That's what Tieniu said, but the mat belongs to Chengjie's family, his house is closer to here."

"Second Madam Meng repeatedly reminded us not to break it. We picked up all the stones underneath when we came here." Tao'er finished the snack in her mouth and took over the conversation.

"Xu'er, can I ask you a favor?" Goudan suddenly asked from the other end.

"Tell me about it." Liu Xu responded.

"Sister Tao'er and Erya have both entered the workshop, why don't you give us brothers some advice?" Goudan scratched his head, a little embarrassed. The other three also looked at Liuxu with fiery eyes.

Liu Xu asked in confusion, "No, aren't you going to school after the New Year? What else do you want to help?"

The income in the village is good this year. She had heard from Liu Dahai before that families with good conditions are preparing to send their children to school, even if they cannot pass the imperial examination, at least they can learn to read. These people are all on the list.

"That's what I said, but I still don't know if I can enter the school or not." Gou Dan'er sighed and said, "I've asked around. The teacher will test me before I can enter the school."

"There's also the question of an assessment. Didn't Liu Chengming go directly there before?" Liu Xu was a little surprised. No one in her family went to school, so she had never paid attention to it.

"I'm not sure. Besides, we're a little older and don't know what we'll be tested on."

Liu Xu felt that Goudan must want to study very much, otherwise he wouldn't ask so many questions.

"But Shuisheng should be fine since Uncle Dong will teach him." As they spoke, several people looked at Shuisheng with some envy.

Shuisheng said, "How about you guys come to my house sometime every day? I'll teach you what Uncle Dong taught me?"

The three people's eyes lit up, and then Liu Chengjie hesitated and asked: "Won't this delay your studies?"

"Uh... probably not. I also have time to rest."

"Okay then, let's make an appointment and come together then!"

"Then it's settled!"

The few of them settled the matter in this way. During this period, Liu Xu did not interrupt. Although there were many people in their family who could read and write, Uncle Dong was still the one who had the most achievements.

Liu Xu said, "Then you should focus on studying first, and we can talk about other things later."

Several people nodded.

After that, the matter was not mentioned again. The children ate, drank, played and made noises on the Beilin Slope, and did not return home happily until noon.

Several younger children in the Xu family found it very interesting and pulled Liu Xu in a coquettish manner, asking when they would come again.

Xiao Yan and Xu Zeyu were filled with emotion. Today, they finally understood that the children of farmers were much more capable than they had imagined.

Not only can they work in the fields, they can also cook, wash clothes, and take care of children, both men and women. They are even more interesting than them when playing.

They also learned from them that Dongsheng Kingdom was not as wealthy as they thought, and that people were so poor that the whole family had to share one pair of cotton trousers in winter; they knew that many people could not even get enough coarse-grain porridge; they knew that the silver they had once casually rewarded was enough for a family of eight to eat for a year.

I also learned from these boys and girls that Liujia Village could be what it is today, with everyone having new clothes, every household having meat to eat, and every family having extra money, all thanks to Liu Xu, a seven-year-old girl.

It was she who came up with the method of growing mushrooms with Xing'er and her siblings. Not only did she teach the villagers, she also personally found buyers for them. The entire Liujia Village was transformed in just over a month.

Later, Xu Ruolan built a workshop so that the women and children in the village who stayed at home could earn money.

It is said that this year, the daughters-in-law of Liujia Village returned to their parents' home with great pride. The married girls came back and lamented that they married too early.

Taoer also reminded Liuxu to be prepared, as someone would definitely come to ask for help later.

In fact, Liu Xu already had a premonition in her heart that even if the married wives could keep it a secret, those married girls would not be able to keep it a secret when they came back.

Fortunately, she has other plans, but she won't mention them for now.