In ancient times, I just wanted to be a salted fish

Chen Ruotong smiled proudly: "Of course I can trust you, Third Brother, just tell me whether you want to go or not?"

Chen Sanhe said anxiously: "Go, of course I want to go!"

Old Man Chen also knew the story of his eldest granddaughter. He looked at Old Lady Chen, who pondered for a moment and said, "Let the third son go and explore the way first. If he can gain a foothold there, the second son must be allowed to go as well. People always strive for higher places. We can't keep the children at home. What future can they have? We must let them go out and try their luck. If they succeed, they will have a future. If not, it won't be too late to come back and farm! The family is busy now. The third son can't do much work, so he'll go. The second son is capable, so let's talk about it after we finish digging the canal. If the drought is serious, we can consider going to the provincial capital. If we can get by, we won't go because we are too old. It's hard to leave our hometown!"

Chen Ruotong knew this would happen, so she was not in a hurry to tell others that she owned 500 acres of farmland. Plans are not as fast as changes, and maybe one day the two old people will figure it out!

"Then Grandpa, would you like to go to my place with Third Brother to check on me so that you can feel at ease?"

Old Man Chen hesitated: "Xiaotong, from what you said, you don't plan to stay in Chenjiabao? You want to go to Pingyangfu City? Isn't our Chenjiabao good? You are a little girl, why don't you stay at home and go so far away to live alone, how can we feel at ease?"

"So let the whole family go to accompany me! Besides, if Wu Qiming can go to the capital to enjoy himself, why can't I, Chen Tong, go to the provincial capital to have fun?" Chen Ruotong took out her trump card.

Old Man Chen knew that his eldest granddaughter was angry with that ungrateful person. His granddaughter was willful and opinionated, and when she got stubborn, even ten oxen could not pull her back, so he gave up and said, "Alas! Grandpa will give in to you, my worried child. You and your third brother will go to Pingyang Prefecture first. When Grandpa finishes his housework, he will go to see you with your second brother. Is that okay?"

Chen Ruotong nodded repeatedly when she saw that there was a chance, "Grandpa, please don't lie to me. It's a deal."

Old Man Chen and Old Lady Chen smiled helplessly and shook their heads. They really couldn't do anything with their granddaughter as she had been spoiled since she was a child.

Old Man Chen continued, "You must dress as a man and not let outsiders know that you are a girl. Otherwise, it will be unsafe."

Chen Ruotong agreed readily and thought to herself: This is exactly what I want!

Chen Ruotong told Chen Sanhe the story she had made up and her current situation in Pingyang Prefecture: "Third brother, my male identity is Chen Guchuan, you can just call me Fourth Brother when the time comes."

"Your third brother is not stupid. He knows what to say and what not to say." Chen Sanhe said with a pout.

"Okay, Third Brother is the smartest. He will definitely become a good accountant." Chen Ruotong coaxed.

"I don't just want to be a good accountant, I also want to be a rich man!" Chen Sanhe put his hands on his hips, tilted his head and looked cynical.

At dusk, Chen Dahai and Chen Erjiang bought two carts of grain and put them in the warehouse. After dinner, Chen Ruotong took out three jade pendants and gave them to the three brothers, and then tempted them to go to Pingyang Prefecture City as soon as possible. Chen Sanhe was definitely going, Chen Erjiang was also tempted, and Chen Dahai was a little hesitant.

Chen Ruotong felt that her trick worked.

The next day, the villagers of Chenjiabao drove their ox carts to the town and county to buy food secretly. Anyone who had some extra money at home stockpiled a lot of food. As expected, two days later, the price of food rose.

The old patriarch stroked his long beard and said with a smile: "Jichang, if I follow your footsteps, I won't miss it!"

As a result, all the villagers in Chenjiabao felt that there would be a severe drought, so they spontaneously dug canals to divert water from the Hengjiang River into the village to prevent the coming of drought.

Ten days later, Chen Ruotong and Chen Sanhe prepared to set off and return to Pingyang Prefecture.

Chen Ruotong was dressed in men's clothes: a grey fine cotton shorts, black cloth shoes, her hair tied up in a long ponytail, thick and broad sword-like eyebrows drawn with an eyebrow pencil, and her skin tone darkened, looking like a handsome and heroic young man.

Chen Sanhe and she are dressed the same way, and if you don't look carefully, you might think they are twin brothers, but Chen Sanhe is half a head taller than Chen Ruotong.

"Little sister, you look more manly than your brother when you dress like this!" Chen Sanhe said jokingly.

"Wrong, Third Brother should call me Fourth Brother. I am a man now, don't call me the wrong one!" Chen Ruotong said seriously.

The whole family was reluctant to leave. Chen Jianshu patted Chen Sanhe on the shoulder and said, "Dad has already hired a carriage from the county escort agency yesterday. You can go to the escort agency to find Wang Biaotou. Take good care of your sister. When you arrive in Pingyang Prefecture, write a letter home immediately and don't let your family worry about you."

It was Chen Sanhe's first time going away from home, and he was both excited and upset: "Dad, I know, don't worry, I will take good care of my fourth brother."

Old Mrs. Chen hugged Chen Ruotong and choked up, "My dear, when can you come back? I miss you!"

"Grandma, I will come back to pick you up to go to the capital city to enjoy life." Chen Ruotong was also a little reluctant. The old lady loved her the most. She liked this old lady very much. After getting along with her for ten days, she really regarded her as her own grandmother.

The two brothers rode in an ox cart driven by Old Man Chen to the county town, then got on the escort agency's horse-drawn carriage and set off for Pingyang Prefecture.

This time we took a horse-drawn carriage, which was fully soft-packed and had thick cushions, so the mountain road was not too bumpy. The driver was a middle-aged man who knew Kung Fu, had a strong sense of responsibility, and worked hard to do his job well - protecting the two small employers.

Since the carriage only carried people and no goods, it could travel very fast, about 80 miles a day. When they arrived at Hengjiang, they hired a large cargo ship to carry the carriage across the river, and then went north again after landing. They stayed overnight and traveled during the day. There was nothing wrong along the way. When they arrived at Yushu Town, Chen Ruotong went to visit Shen Bing and his sister.

Shen Bing's cold had long since recovered. He was a little fatter and more energetic than before, but he couldn't find a suitable job. The young boy was skinny and in poor health. He couldn't do heavy work, and it wasn't his turn to do light work. He and his sister lived on the twenty taels of silver and the three bags of rice, but they couldn't escape the fate of begging.

Shen Bing was smart. He saw that Chen Ruotong was not a common man. So he decided to follow him, even if it meant selling himself as a slave, because he was his benefactor. So when he saw Chen Ruotong, he knelt on the ground and begged him to take him in and to sign a death contract.

Chen Ruotong also took their situations into consideration. Instead of letting them become beggars, it would be better to let them stay with her, train helpers from an early age, and back up her career.

Shen Bing gave the remaining food to Boss Qi and told him where to go. Boss Qi was also tempted and wanted to follow Chen Ruotong, but what about his brothers? He couldn't just abandon them!

Boss Qi led a few younger brothers to do hard labor in a landlord's house in Yushu Town. Although it was tiring, they could earn some money and no longer had to beg for food.