Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

"We won't sell the milk today. Let the family have it." Li Ru was called over, and some was sent to her parents' home. The whole family had steamed egg custard with milk, scallion pancakes made with leavened dough, cold cucumber salad, and sweet, sour, and spicy pickled white radish. It was such a treat! The children had egg custard, Wang Min had egg soup, and everyone else had the same. No matter what they ate, it was all white flour, eggs, and milk. No one had a bad meal. Even the emperor wouldn't be better off than this! Of course, this couldn't be compared to the emperor, but in the eyes of the common people, this was a good life.

Little Milk Bag said, "Grandma, we're having white rice for lunch today. Delicious rice! Guoguo wants something sweet!" Grandma Li said, "Guoguo, tell Grandma how to make sweet rice." Little Milk Bag replied, "Grandma steams the rice, and Guoguo adds white and brown sugar to a bowl and mixes it all together. No need to cook." Grandma Li thought to herself, her Guoguo is the one who knows how to eat. Little Milk Bag slowly walked into his room and soon pulled out a bag of white and brown sugar, handing them to Grandma Li. "Grandma, remember to give Guoguo sweet rice!" Grandma Li said quickly, "Okay, Grandma's got it. Give Guoguo a big bowl of sweet rice! Kids, who wants sweet rice?" Several boys shouted, "Grandma, Huanhuan wants sweet rice too!" "Hengheng wants sweet rice too." "Yer wants sweet rice too, Grandma," Chai Ye said coquettishly, calling Grandma in a long, drawn-out voice. Xiaodong looked at Old Lady Li and said, "Grandma, Xiaodong wants sweet rice too!" Old Lady Li quickly decided, "Everyone gets a bowl of sweet rice for lunch today, and then some vegetables and rice." Before they even put down their bowls, everyone was already thinking about the next meal. Lu Xi looked at the Chai family, a joy she had never experienced before! There was no intrigue. Although they wore simple clothes and didn't eat the same as the rich families, and couldn't enjoy every meal with rich delicacies, she saw the happiness of their family! After breakfast, Lu Xi joined Wang Min and Li Ru in making clothes and quilts.

All the men went to the village entrance, and Jiale also brought his men to the village entrance. Sun Gui asked Xue Zhigai to build a village wall, requiring it to be of good quality, sturdy, and two bricks thick.

Soon, the workers came with tile knives, brick pullers, mud mixers, and large bluestones for digging the foundation. The young people moved the large bluestones, and a few old men arranged the stones, leveled them, and stabilized the foundation. They filled the gaps with mud, and then surrounded it with soil to make it level with the ground. Only then did they cover it with fired red bricks. All the men in the village came. Sun Gui arranged for the cooks and the butchers, and Chai Zhen and Xue Zhi watched over the construction of the wall. Even children came to carry bricks, but were sent to the school by the adults. "Study hard!" Xue Zhi: "Second uncle, why are you thinking of building a wall?" Chai Zhen: "Master Xue, you've seen how well our village is doing!" Xue Zhi: "Yes! Although the people in your village seem busy every day, they feel at ease while working, and the more they work, the more motivated they become. Life is getting better and better! It's like a paradise!" Chai Zhen: "Yes! On our trip to the capital, we saw everything along the way. It's hard to describe. It's not just for the safety of the entire village, but we're thinking of building a wall to make it safer. We should always be prepared for danger! This is just the idea of ​​ordinary people." Xue Zhi nodded in agreement. People were working busily. The women in the school had hot water on the table, and a few bowls of cold water were placed nearby. Anyone thirsty could sit and drink some water before working. Little Milk Bag asked Great Grandfather to pour her a bowl, and she drank half of it. Chai Ye drank half. The two of them ran off to play hand in hand, with Chai Zhen following behind, watching over the child. He occasionally did some work, mixing mud, moving a few bricks...

At noon, Sun Gui arrived and said, "After lunch, take a short break. Everyone will eat in the school, and there's plenty of meat and vegetables!" "Okay," everyone said, happy to have meat again. They walked back in groups of three or two, not forgetting to bring back their tools and place them neatly on the left side of the school entrance. The simple cafeteria was set up with tables, tea, steamed buns, and rice, along with bowls of meat and vegetables. Six bowls per table, seating six people. A row of tables lined the grounds under the shade of the trees. People washed their hands, sat down, and drank tea. It was so comfortable! Lifting their bowls to eat, they ate a mixture of fat and lean. "Delicious!" Some ate rice, some ate steamed buns. Many children gathered around the table, and the women in the kitchen served them food. "Eat, the hope of Taohua Village! Eat more!" Sun Gui said, "Give the children more meat." One woman said, "Yes, Village Chief. We serve rice to any children who come." Sun Gui said, "Yes, that's right. These children are our future! Everyone should care for them!" "Children, sit down and eat. This is your home. There's nothing to be restrained about in your own home." ... Many women came to help with the cooking, asking no money, just the food. Even if they didn't have food, they would still help with the chores. Sun Gui said, "Eat anyway, everyone gets food. Now, if anyone in the village asks to cook at the school, many women will come, whether they are paid or not." They knew the village had good welfare, no need to worry about money. If they were sick, there were doctors to see them, free of charge, covering only the cost of medicine. Those in less fortunate circumstances received help from the village, not to mention that over the past year or so, even the poorest households had improved. Sun Gui had arranged suitable work for them so they could earn money, and he had even given them some money recently! No one was short of money. No one cared whether the village chief paid them or not, they all worked. The school had several large pots, enough for the entire village, and the women always arrived with vegetables, never empty-handed. Gradually, everyone came to eat, and afterward, they helped wash the pots and dishes, sweep the floor, and clean up. Some stayed to continue cooking dinner.

Now let's talk about the Chai family. For lunch, each person had a large bowl of sweet rice, mixed with brown and white sugar. "Sweet and fragrant! Delicious!" Guoguo said. "Delicious!" Lu Xi also said. Xiaodong: "Delicious, just sweet and fragrant!" Chai Zhen: "Yes, this rice is just good!" Today, only the Chai family is here; everyone else is at school for lunch and hasn't come back. Little Milk Bag: "Grandpa, the rice is different because it's watered by the spiritual spring water!" Chai Zhen: "Don't say anything when the whole family goes out. It's just rice we grow ourselves, it's no different. Just know it in your heart." Everyone in the family has felt younger and more beautiful recently. Anyone who asks about it says it's because they eat well and feel better. Even Lu Xi feels better! They eat sweet rice, drink tea, and eat a few bites of cilantro. After the meal, there are fruits: apples, pears, peaches, and a large watermelon, all cut into pieces. Since soybeans, there has been tofu. The Chai family has stir-fried spicy tofu and kimchi with meat. Fried eggplant with meat, braised pork, and stewed pig's trotters. Xiaodong ate one each. The braised pork elbow was perfectly tender, and Chai Zhen ate half of it. ...

The family took a nap at noon. The men were out building the village wall, Wang Min was at home looking after the children, Xiao Nai Bao and Chai Ye stayed home, and Old Lady Li and Li Ru took sacks and baskets to work in the fields. They picked cotton, cowpeas, and mung beans, and other odd jobs.

When they reached the field, Li Ru said, "Mom, look! So many cotton plants have bloomed! They're all white and in clumps. There's so much!" Old Mrs. Li replied, "The cotton is growing well. Pick the big ones first. Let the small ones grow a day longer, and then come back tomorrow. Let them bloom and fluff up, and let them dry in the sun." Li Ru listened as she began picking cotton. Soon, the two large sacks couldn't hold any more. Li Ru said, "Mom, let me take you home. You pick them and put them in the basket, and I'll take them home." Old Mrs. Li said, "Okay, go ahead." Li Ru carried the two sacks of cotton on her shoulder pole and headed home.

When Li Ru got home, she found a large cloth, spread it on the ground, and poured the flowers out to dry for two days before packing them. Afterward, Li Ru took her load of two sacks and headed back to the fields. She spent the entire afternoon picking and carrying flowers home. Li Ru made several trips, finally carrying the cowpeas and Old Lady Li the mung beans. They returned home to cook. It was almost dark, and Wang Min had already prepared the meal.

After dinner, the men worked in the yard, threshing corn. The children gathered around, chattering and bustling, the atmosphere was lively. Chai Zhen, Jia He, Chai Ping An, Jia Le, and Jia Yu packed their bags, sack after sack, filling the barn like a mountain. Old Lady Li and Li Ru took the corn cobs and cobs to the firewood shed in the northeast corner to burn as fuel. The mountain of corn cobs revealed just how much corn there was. There was no more room, so Chai Zhen asked Guo Guo, "Guo, can you put all this grain in your space?" Little Milk Bag replied, "Yes, Great Grandpa." Chai Zhen said, "Then I'll put some of it in your space; it's safer." "Yes, Great Grandpa." With a wave of his hand, Little Milk Bag gathered the rest, and the floor cleared with a swish. Several people pushed the machine to the north corner, covered it with a cloth, and swept the floor clean. Old Lady Li heated up some water for everyone to wash and rest. Little Milk Bag said, "Grandma, you wash it yourself. If Guoguo doesn't want to wash it, you should wash it, Mommy." Guoguo ran into the house and secretly took out a set of pajamas for Mommy and placed them next to the pillow in Li Ru's room. There were also Jiayu's pajamas. They were all gorgeous and beautiful, made of silk. Little Milk Bag called Chai Ye away and said, "Brother, you're old enough to live in the same room with Daddy. Go live with Brother Huanhuan." Chai Ye was unhappy. Grandma Li said, "Ye'er, why don't you live with Grandma?" Chai Ye thought about it and said, "I'll live with Brother Huanhuan and Brother Hengheng." Grandma Li said, "Okay, you three can live in the new room. Jiale can live in your second brother's room, and let the children live in the new house." "Alas," Jiale said, pretending, "With a grandson, my son won't be close to me anymore. I'm so miserable!" Hahahahahahahaha, the children laughed at Jiale's antics.

Old Lady Li saw that the house was full, and she thought, "We need to build a new house! Jiale still has no place to live when he gets married!" Old Lady Li made the beds for the children and left.

A glass door has been installed on the entrance. The floor is red tiled, with a double bed, a table, and two chairs. To the north is a wooden staircase for easy going up and down. The curtains were designed by Little Milk Bag and made by Zhang Ying. It's like a beautiful two-story house. The only problem is that going to the bathroom is inconvenient; you have to come down, so you can carry a small chamber pot at night. Chai Zhen wanted to live upstairs, but Xiaodong didn't feel comfortable, so he didn't go. Today, Chai Hua and Chen Jun are moving in. They're both happy, living in a new, high-rise building. The bed is thickly made, with a new quilt and cotton. Li Jingwen is envious. "Oh, I'm old, and it's inconvenient to go upstairs. I want to go too," Little Milk Bag thinks of elevators in the future. "Oh, it's not good without electricity!" Li Jingwen hears, "What?" Little Milk Bag, "Ah, ah! Nothing." Little Milk Bag looks for her great-grandfather, and Chai Zhen picks her up. Little Milk Bag turns her face toward Chai Zhen's arms, burying it, almost... He whispered, "That was a close call!" Chai Zhen caressed the little nipple and said, "It's okay, Guoguo! Don't be afraid!" He then said, "Mr. Li, take a rest. You've been tired all day." Li Jingwen: "Yes, it's getting late." Chai Zhen carried Guoguo back to his room. The three little guys were in the same room, having fun. Lu Xi went to check on them, got them all to lie down, and covered them with blankets. "Go to sleep!" After taking good care of the three little guys, Lu Xi went to wash up and rest. A happy life always passes quickly!