Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

The busy autumn season was over, and people squeezed in small jobs: brick-making, hauling clay, building houses, weaving—all done at night. The elders worked in the fields during the day, weaving at night, and cutting grass and twigs during the day. All this was delivered to Li Guang's home. Carpentry work had also begun. Thirty-five people, both from the Ministry of Revenue and from the village, had come to learn carpentry. A woodworking factory had been established, managed by Li Dong and Jia He. The Ministry of Revenue had no technical issues; Li Dong could handle them as soon as he asked. That day, all kinds of work in Taohua Village began, and the school was in session. All the students, without exception, arrived early, dressed in clean clothes, looking brand new inside and out. The children cleaned the large playground to the south. They also helped tidy up the tents lining the playground.

The school bell rang, and the children hurried into the classroom. The school currently has teachers: Sun Gui, Zhang Ying, Li Jingwen, Chen Jun, Chai Hua, Zhang Qing, and the top scholar He Shouyi. All the teachers were present today, and Sun Gui held a meeting to reschedule the courses. A hundred people gathered in a classroom, filling the entire room. Sun Gui started by saying, "This year, our emperor has granted us the imperial examination, which will be held after the autumn. We in the village will not be able to go. I hope the children will work hard, and next year someone from our village will be able to take the Tongsheng exam!" As soon as Sun Gui finished speaking, applause broke out, "Wow, bang bang bang..." The children were excited, and they were secretly working hard. Chai Xiaodong made a note to take the exam next year. Several older children were also eager to try. Sun Gui posted the schedule on the wall in front. He continued, "The cultural classes are taught by Mr. Sun Gui, Mr. He Shouyi, and Mr. Li Jingwen. Chai Hua is a martial arts teacher, Chen Jun is a medical teacher, Zhang Qing is a etiquette embroidery teacher, and Zhang Ying is a music theory and singing teacher. Wei Hao is a farming teacher—he studies in the fields without a classroom. Mr. Li is the painting teacher. Little Milk Bag and Great Grandpa were listening outside the window, wanting to go to school but not wanting to. "I'm still young, Great Grandpa." Guoguo looked at Chai Zhen, "Okay, Guoguo is still young, let's play for a few years! No school." ...

After the meeting, the classes were divided into two groups, big and small. Chai Zhen carried Guoguo out of the school gate. They were there to send his children Huanhuan, Hengheng, Wangwang, Mumu and Xiaodong to school. Chai Zhen pulled Chai Ye and held Guoguo and stood at the entrance of the village, "Grandpa, put Guoguo down." The little milk bag stood on the ground, looked left and right, "It looks great! The flowers are climbing up the wall, like a flower wall. It's beautiful!" Chai Ye jumped and ran around, "Sister, there are butterflies, come and chase them!..." "Yeah, I saw them, you catch them and I'll watch." She thought to herself, these are all children's games. She turned her head and looked at the main road in the east at the entrance of the village, "Grandpa, build a gatehouse at the entrance of the village. Our village has developed well, but we must also be prepared for danger in times of peace. What should we do when we encounter a disaster year? Build a wall in advance." "Okay, wait for Grandpa to talk to the village chief, build the wall first." The little milk bag asked again, "Grandpa, did General Ma's wounded soldiers, the seriously injured ones, send a letter to us earlier? He hasn't come yet. This time Guoguo asked housekeeper Ma to ask again, but, Great Grandpa, we have to build the house too. Chai Zhen: "Yes, block everything off and build here first." "Go home," Chai Zhen said. Pulling the two children along, they followed the main road, passing the river. Chai Zhen looked at the sand and said, "Guoguo, the watermelons have been harvested, isn't it time to harvest the peanuts?" Guoguo squatted down and pulled out a bunch of peanut vines with all her strength. "Wow wow wow wow..." "Hehehehe..." A bunch of "There are so many peanuts, and there are many small ones too. Great Grandpa, if they grow longer, they can still grow if the weather is not cold. Hug the melon vines together, cover them with soil and ferment them on the edge of the field. Sprinkle them on the ground next spring, plow the land, and plant." Chai Zhen picked the peanuts he pulled out, pulled out a few more bunches, and put them in his clothes pocket. "Go home." Little Milk Bag: "Cook them and eat them, add salt and pepper."

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves... and wheels rolling was heard, and a pair of carriages and horses came. Chai Zhen looked at the couple, and the fourth child came up on a fast horse and dismounted, "Grandpa, Grandpa, Guoguo!..." The fourth child was very dark, and Chai Zhen, Little Milk Bag and Chai Ye looked at him for a long time, and at the same time, they laughed,... Chai Zhen said, "No wonder he didn't recognize his own family until he got close, hahahahahahaha - cough cough... Why is the fourth child so dark!" Little Milk Bag almost laughed himself into death, "Daddy, mom wouldn't recognize you either, why are you so dark?" The fourth child complained, "It's because we're working on the mountain and getting sunburned!" Little Milk Bag felt embarrassed, "Daddy, you didn't even know to wear a straw hat, it's okay, Guoguo will apply the facial wipes on you, it will be fine after a while. Daddy is handsome even though he's dark!" Little Milk Bag quickly said something obedient, and took the fourth child's hand. The fourth child picked up his daughter and put Chai Ye on the horse with his other hand, "Ye'er, sit well, hold on to the handrail." "Hey," Chai Ye smiled happily and sat on the horse. The fourth brother took the reins and headed home. The caravan moved slowly behind. Jia Yu asked, "Has the autumn harvest finished?" Chai Zhen replied, "It was just finished yesterday. Every household has probably planted. Those who want to plant their small plots can do so. Those who don't want to can just let the land rest and grow over the winter." The fourth brother said, "It's still too late. I wanted to come back to help with the harvest, but I was walking slowly and didn't make it back in time." Chai Zhen replied, "It's okay. There are plenty of people in the village, and everyone is helping each other. The harvest is going very quickly." ...

Chai Ye puffed out his chest on his horse. "Sister Guoguo, look how proud I am! I can ride a horse now." When they reached their home, Chai Zhen opened the west gate. The fourth child, leading the horse and holding Guoguo, entered first. The clatter of hooves… The fourth child looked around the yard and said, "Can't you come in, Grandpa? The team's already packed!" Li Ru was making quilts and clothes. Hearing a familiar voice, she threaded her needle onto the ball of thread, walked out, and saw Guoguo in her arms. She said, "Guoguo, come to Mommy." Li Ru didn't even glance at the fourth child. She watched the carriage enter the yard and walked over to pick up Guoguo. The fourth child stared at Li Ru, his eyes sharp, but Li Ru wouldn't look at him. The little milk bag looked from his mother to his father. "Hahahaha, Daddy, what did I say? Mommy really didn't recognize you!" the little milk bag said unkindly. After hearing what Guoguo said, Li Ru finally looked at the dark-faced man. "Ah!" Li Ru pursed her lips, staring at the fourth child with wide eyes. "You, you..." The fourth child: "It's me, Ru, I'm the fourth child's Jiayu! I'll take you with me when I go to the capital again. I can't let you not recognize me! I'm so angry!" The fourth child shouted, "I'm Jiayu! Ahhhhhhhh." The whole family heard. Old Lady Li walked closer and looked at the fourth child. "Are you my son?" The fourth child: "Mom, am I that hard to recognize?" Everyone in the yard looked at the fourth child and laughed! The fourth child: "My son has been working in the mountains and has been on a long journey back, exposed to the wind and sun." Old Lady Li went to the kitchen to pour some water for the fourth child. "Drink it! You've suffered!" Old Lady Li turned and went back into the kitchen to cook. The four women in the Chai Xin family were all there, helping with the stewed meat and noodles. Soon, the meal was ready. Old Lady Li handed the fourth child a bowl of noodles. "Eat, we'll talk after you eat." The fourth child's eyes were red, and he lowered his head to eat. Li Ru went to boil some water, and let him take a bath later. She also took out a change of clothes.

Chai Zhen directed the carriages, unloading them one by one. The northeast corner was fully unloaded, but a few remained. Chai Zhen thought, "Let's go, take them to the East Courtyard." The following carriages were pulled directly to the East Courtyard and unloaded in the northwest corner. All the carriages were parked in the East Courtyard, with the horses resting against the north wall. "Second Grandfather," Chai Zhen looked at them, but didn't recognize them. "Who are you?" "Second Grandfather, I'm Li Biaotou!" Chai Zhen examined them carefully for a long time. "What's wrong with you? Are you following the Fourth Brother to open up the mountain?!" "Second Grandfather! We're back again!" Chai Zhen finally recognized them. Twenty bodyguards had left, and eighteen returned. They all helped with the work, driving stakes, setting up troughs, feeding the horses with water, letting them eat first, and spreading grass on the ground so they could rest. Once everything was done, everyone returned to the West Courtyard. They washed and ate. There were thirty carriages in total. Some were still unloaded, with mats on the front. The horses were led out. Some went directly to the river, grabbed a change of clothes, and found a deserted place to bathe. Soon, everyone was chatting and laughing, washing off the dust of their journey. Tea was set out on the courtyard table, cooling! Everyone gulped down bowls of water in one gulp. Little Milk Bag brought out a dozen large watermelons and had Grandma cut half for the table. "Eat! Let's eat first, then we can talk about anything else," said Old Lady Li, feeling sorry for everyone. Bowls of noodles were placed on the table. The large tent in the courtyard provided a comfortable shade. Everyone ate happily. "It's so delicious!" "It's been so long since I've had soup!" Old Lady Li listened. "Just tell me what you want to eat. Thanks for your hard work!" Chai Zhen listened and saw that the fourth child had finished. "Oh, I'd better go by myself. The child is tired." He went out to find Sun Gui. When he reached the school, he said, "People from the capital have arrived again, and our caravan of eighteen people has returned. Let's kill a few pigs. Oh, the journey is long. It will take over a month to get here. It's going to be hard work!" Sun Gui went back, said a few words, and then came out. He said to Chai Zhen, "Let's go together." He called a few more young people along the way. "Go get Zhang Laosan, he's an expert at butchering pigs!" Chai Zhen said as seven or eight people came to the river. "Kill a few more pigs and give some to each family. They've all been suffering lately, so they need to replenish their energy!" Sun Gui also said, "Of course they need to replenish their energy and eat better! I've lost weight!" The young man was delighted to hear this. "Hurry up and eat some meat! I'm craving it." "Haha, you!"

Five people were working at the farm. Seeing the village chief, Chai Zhen, arrive, they asked, "What's going on?" Sun Gui replied, "Good news! We're slaughtering pigs to improve the village's food supply." They looked at the pigpen and asked, "How many pigs are there?" "One hundred and twenty. More in a few days. The two sows are about to give birth." "They're breeding quickly!" "We villagers work hard. We provide adequate pig feed, so they're raising them well!" They glanced around and said, "Let's get to work!" The old farmer herded five pigs over. Chai Zhen said, "Let's go—let's slaughter them by the east weir of my house!" Sun Gui said, "That's fine. We can't boil water by the river." They herded the five pigs to Chai's house, heading east toward the south weir. They tied up the pigs' hooves. Zhang Laosan raised his knife and cut. "Neat, Laosan. Good. One pig didn't suffer. It's dead." The blood flowed into the pit. The five pigs were killed in a few minutes. Old Lady Li heated water, and the men used it to pluck pig hair, throwing any inedible items into a pit. Sun Gui led the people from the capital to the school to set up tents and rest. He instructed the gatekeeper, Old Wang, to heat water for everyone. Sun Gui asked Zhang Qing to find a few women to cook for them. "Remember to tell everyone that they'll be paid twenty wen a day for their meals." Zhang Qing nodded. It wasn't cold yet, and there weren't many straw fans, so they'd just make do. The millet harvest had just started today, along with the stalks. It would only be for a few days. Someone said it wasn't a problem, and since it wasn't cold, it was fine. Sun Gui said, "No, you've suffered all this way. You can't get to our house and not rest properly." He said he'd look for more later. An ox cart arrived, carrying a large load of hay, mattresses, and quilts. Little Naibao had already taken out his military tent! The fourth brother helped them set up one, and they'd all be there. "Two to one!" The school had several in the warehouse, and these were enough. It was on the south side of the playground, surrounded by trees and flowers, and it was shady and cool, neither too hot nor too cold! The fourth child told them to zip up the tent after entering so that mosquitoes could not get in. After the tent was set up, everyone went in to sleep.

Soon, five women arrived. Sun Gui said, "Keep your voices down; they're tired." "Don't worry, Village Chief. We understand!" "Whoever has vegetables can bring them and pay for them!" "Village Chief, no money needed. It's their duty. They're all working for our village. Don't worry about it. They're growing their own crops and don't have to pay for them. I'll take care of it." Sun Gui said, "Okay! You won't be disappointed. The meal is ready. If you need anything, just let me know. The meat will be here soon. You can get the rice and flour from the warehouse." The women went home to pick vegetables. The fourth man looked at them and said, "I'll make another trip and bring some more rice and flour, along with the meat." "Okay." Sun Gui brought in a few more tables and benches and placed them against the wall. Gatekeeper Old Wang brought hot water and placed it on the table.

A short while later, Jiayu arrived with his oxcart, unloading rice, white flour, and yellow flour into the warehouse. He also brought half a pig and some bones. "Make some soup!" Sun Gui replied, "Yes, bone soup is always delicious!" "Uncle, I'm going home now." Sun Gui replied, "Let's go back and rest. We're exhausted from the journey." "Okay, I'm leaving." "Pa..." With a whip, the oxen began to move slowly.