The eldest sister-in-law became rich by farming in the mountains

"Lao Geng, if you have any difficulties at home, please tell me. Although I am not rich, as long as I have something to eat, I will never let you go hungry. If you die like this, how can I face you brothers in my afterlife!"

The old man, who was clearly over 50 years old and had experienced many vicissitudes of life, burst into tears like a child after saying these words.

Xiong Laowu sighed softly, patted Village Chief Zheng on the shoulder, then slowly pointed to his empty trouser legs and said in a hoarse voice: "My old bones are useless and a burden. Without me, Dong Ni and her daughter can live a better life."

Only then did Xu Yingtao notice that one of the old man's trouser legs was empty, and her heart tightened.

Seeing this, Xiong Dongni could no longer control her emotions. She suddenly knelt down in front of her father and cried hoarsely: "Dad, I only have you and Xiao Douzi now. If you leave, who will protect us mother and daughter? Dad, look, I can now make money by picking ghost buns for Aunt Zhou. Our life is getting better. How can you bear to abandon us? How can you be so cruel!"

A little girl, about three or four years old, also stumbled into Xiong Laowu's arms, holding the old man's clothes tightly with her little hands, calling out in a childish voice: "Grandpa, don't go, don't abandon me and Mom."

Tears flowed down Xiong Laowu's wrinkled face. He closed his eyes, hugged his granddaughter, and promised while crying: "Okay, Grandpa won't leave. Grandpa will watch Xiaodouzi grow up and send Xiaodouzi to marry..."

Xu Yingtao suddenly realized that when Grandma Zhou said she wanted to transfer the job of picking litchi fruits to someone else, she actually meant it to Xiong Donni.

When they left Xiong's house, a bright moon was already hanging in the sky. Mrs. Zhou was afraid that the road would be unsafe, so she insisted on accompanying Xu Yingtao and the others back home.

"Cherry, don't take it to heart. Grandma didn't mean to hide anything from you, nor did she want to take credit for your work. She just thought that you and the Xiong family didn't know each other, so it didn't matter whether there was an introduction or not." Mrs. Zhou explained.

Seeing this, Zhao immediately seized the opportunity to show off in front of her mother-in-law: "That's right, my mother made it clear to Dongni from the beginning that the ghost buns were bought by other nobles, and she took this opportunity to give me an extra five cents a day."

"You talk too much!"

Zhao chuckled and quickly shut up.

Xu Yingtao took Mrs. Zhou's arm and said with a smile, "Grandma, I told you a long time ago that you can make the decision on these matters. You don't have to tell me specifically. After all, I have to thank you for taking care of these things for me, otherwise I would not be able to cope with it."

Mrs. Zhou felt comforted by these words, and the topic naturally turned to Xiong Donni's life experience.

"Donni is Xiong Laowu's daughter who came late in life. He was in his thirties when he had this daughter. When he came back from the war, he found out that his wife had died of illness two years ago. Donni lived on help from the village."

Zhao added at the right moment: "It mainly depends on our family."

"No one will think you are mute if you don't speak!"

Zhao covered her mouth with her hand.

Mrs. Zhou continued, "Later, when Dongni was fifteen, a matchmaker came to propose marriage. The man was indeed a good man, but unfortunately, she had a short life. After her husband died the year before last, her in-laws disliked the fact that Dongni gave birth to a girl, so they sent her and her back home. Your grandfather remembered how difficult it was for Xiong Laowu, and I felt sorry for Dongni, so I thought I could help her as much as possible, so I gave the job to them."

As Xu Yingtao listened, she couldn't help but feel a surge of sadness in her heart.

A weak woman in her early twenties, after losing her support, has to bear the hardships of farm work alone, take care of her young daughter, and face criticism and pressure from the outside world. One can imagine how difficult such life is.

Mrs. Zhou sent Xu Yingtao and her family to the gate of the courtyard, watched them go into the house and light the lights, and then she felt at ease and took her two daughters-in-law back home.

The old man, who used to feel sleepy when it got dark, was now sitting on the doorstep weaving baskets in the moonlight. Mrs. Zhou asked her two daughters-in-law to go back to their rooms first, and she walked over to sit next to the man and began to pound her sore legs.

"I'm old. When I was young, I could walk dozens of miles without feeling tired. But now, my old legs can't bear it even after walking a few steps."

Village chief Zheng put the basket aside and skillfully helped his old wife massage her legs.

The moonlight poured down, covering the world with a layer of soft silver gauze and illuminating the sad face of the old man.

Mrs. Zhou sighed and advised, "Boss, if you want to lend the money, just lend it. I won't say anything. But you have to set aside the head tax of one tael and eight cents for ten people in our family."

Village Chief Zheng said something irrelevant: "Old lady, Yingtao is full of ideas. Do you think she can help us find a way out together with the villagers?"

Mrs. Zhou wanted to punch him: "I think you are crazy. No matter how many ideas you have, she is just a girl in her teens. There are nearly 500 people in the village. What can she do? Even if the county magistrate comes, there is nothing she can do!"

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Zheng could only smile bitterly, and the only sounds left were the croaking of frogs.

At the same time, Xu Yingtao sneezed with a "A-choo".

Jiang was frightened when she saw this, and asked nervously, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Xu Yingtao smiled and shook her head: "It's probably Grandma Zhou and the others who are talking about me. By the way, mother, what do you think of what I just said?"

Before Jiang could speak, Xie Bai said quietly, "Sister-in-law, when mother took us to borrow money from every household, only five families were willing to lend. Now you want to make money with the whole village. It's a bit too generous."

"Hey!" Xu Yingtao couldn't help but pinch his face, "You are a vengeful kid. Right now it's not a question of whether I am generous or not, but if I don't do this, our family's livelihood will probably be lost."

It's not that she likes to meddle in other people's business. She just wants to help those who are poor. She has no choice but to do so.

Sooner or later, the business in the town will be unsustainable. By that time, everyone else will be poor and only her family will be rich. It would be strange if others were not jealous.

No matter how time and space change, the bad habit of hating others for what they have and laughing at others for what they don't is always rooted in human nature. Good people like her grandparents and the Zheng family are a minority.

That was why she would take a long detour with her three daughters when she closed her stall every day and went home, for fear of arousing the jealousy and covetousness of others.

But if everyone is tied to the same boat, everyone will work together to safeguard common interests, and even feel grateful to her family for being the first to get out of poverty.

Besides, their family, consisting of orphans and a widow, also needs the protection of the village.

Therefore, common prosperity is the right path.

Even though Xu Yingtao and Xu Yingtao analyzed the pros and cons with them, Xie Bai still felt a little uncomfortable.

Rubbing the cheek that Xu Yingtao had pinched, Xie Bai sighed silently.

What else can we do? Of course, it’s my sister-in-law who has the final say.