Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

When we arrived at the county, there were people waiting at the gate of the yamen. The yamen runners saw us and came to help. They set up their stall and started selling vegetables. They set up two scales and weighed the vegetables before selling them.

A yamen runner came over and said, "The master wants to see you." Chai Zhen picked up Guoguo and carried her into the yamen. Outside, Jia He, Jia Le, Li Da Fa, and a young yamen runner helped. Jia He took a purse to put the money on the scale. Jia Le also took a bag to make it easier to collect the money and make change.

Li Dafa was also busy loading vegetables and moving goods, and the yamen runner was also busy greeting customers.

Zhang Qingshan had stayed behind today and asked the county magistrate if there were any unused houses in the county that had been confiscated from the previous magistrate and could be sold. There were also many shops facing the street that he couldn't use himself, so he could buy them and count them as income for the county government. Chai Zhen arrived. Zhang Qingshan said, "Second uncle, I heard from your subordinates that you want to buy a shop?"

Chai Zhen: "Yes, my family wants to open a shop. We often go out to sell things, so having a shop is convenient." Zhang Qingshan said, "The county is very supportive. To be honest, second uncle, everyone in our county government has pooled money to buy a house and rent it out to make money." Chai Zhen: "That's possible. It's not illegal." Zhang Qingshan: "Yes, I'm also worried that there will be too many people coming next year and there will be no place to live. More people means more business opportunities, and our county will be prosperous. Last night, everyone in the county held an emergency meeting, regardless of their official position. Let's raise funds fairly." Guoguo heard it, "Okay. Uncle Zhang, this is a business opportunity." Zhang Qingshan: "I learned this from you, Guoguo." The little kid smiled, hehe, he was obsessed with money. His little hands scratched his head, embarrassed.

Zhang Qingshan looked at Guoguo and thought, this little kid still has some shyness. She has so many expressions on her face, so clever and quirky. The more Zhang Qingshan listened to Guoguo, the more lively and intelligent he felt.

"Has Second Uncle had breakfast?" Chai Zhen asked, "Yes." Zhang Qingshan replied, "Let's go, then we'll talk about the price once we find something we like."

Taking the County Magistrate with them, the group headed out. The carriage was ready, and they boarded. Zhang Qingshan said, "It's not far." Less than half an hour later, the carriage stopped. The County Magistrate said, "There are two shops on this street."

Everyone descended, and the county magistrate stepped forward to open the door. "Come in and take a look," Guoguo said after a glance. "It's quite large." The county magistrate replied, "There's a courtyard inside, so the storefront is quite large." Guoguo looked around and estimated it to be at least a hundred square meters, too small for everyday items. It might be fine if it only sold food. "Let's take a look at the backyard," the county magistrate said. Chai Zhen said, "Let's go and see the backyard." There were three rooms, perfect for two or three people. Guoguo tugged at Chai Zhen's clothes, and Chai Zhen looked at Guoguo. "Want to buy it?" Guoguo nodded. Chai Zhen understood. It looked about 60% new. Chai Zhen asked, "How much would you sell it for?" Zhang Qingshan asked the county magistrate, "Old Jia, what do you think?" It should be at least ninety taels of silver. There was a well inside, and a small plot of land where they could grow vegetables or flowers. Chai Zhen said, "Let's go and look at the other place." "Okay, let's go," the county magistrate said. The other place wasn't far away; they walked a dozen steps or so and arrived. They opened the door and went in.

From a distance, they could tell it was a tall building! Two stories, "It also has a backyard, and this one is big. Let's go up and take a look." The family looked at it and thought it was quite nice, about 80% new, which pleased Chai Zhen. "Let's go take a look at the backyard," the county magistrate said. Guoguo thought the side facing the street had windows, which was a good idea. Chai Zhen picked Guoguo up and carried her downstairs. The staircase was at the corner, which looked quite good. The backyard was huge, the size of three or four households, like a three-story courtyard. It wasn't cheap to live in the middle of the street. There was room for everyone in the family. The county magistrate opened every door and said, "Take a look at them all." After looking around, the little girl made up her mind and decided to buy them all. She said to Chai Zhen, "Grandpa, can you tell me the price?" Chai Zhen said, "Sir, how much is this house?" The county magistrate couldn't make a decision, so he asked Zhang Qingshan. Zhang Qingshan said, "How much do you want it to sell for, County Magistrate?" At least five hundred taels of silver. Zhang Qingshan decided, "Considering the Chai family's contributions, I'll sell it for three hundred taels!" The county magistrate still felt it was too much; with the Chai family's contributions, giving it for free wouldn't be much. Zhang Qingshan was afraid of negative comments from the yamen, so he decided to sell it for three hundred taels. Chai Zhen couldn't argue and accepted the price. Guoguo: "Uncle Zhang, Guoguo also wants to buy the first shop we saw to sell grain, seeds, and vegetables. It will also be convenient for the people." Zhang Qingshan: "Okay, that shop is free. Buy this and take that. The emperor gave you the shop and land, and that shop will benefit the people of our county. The county magistrate has decided to give it away for free." The county magistrate was pleased to hear this. He had benefited greatly in the past two days and the previous day, including a good share of fresh vegetables. He had heard the yamen runners praise the Chai family and wanted to work for them. He also wanted to show his favor to the Chai family, so he said, "Okay, for the benefit of the county, I support what you said. Give it away!" Everyone in the yamen knew they would give it away.

Zhang Qingshan: "Let's go back. Get the property transfer certificate." The county magistrate handed the key to Chai Zhen and said, "Welcome, second uncle, we are all here to congratulate you on your move!" Chai Zhen: "Okay, when the shop opens, everyone is invited to come. Come to our house after the warm-up." Chai Zhen locked the door, and everyone walked back to the first shop, got in the car, and returned to the county government office.

After a while, the transfer formalities were completed and Chai Zhen handed over the money: three hundred taels of silver.

It was almost noon, and Zhang Qingshan had the logistics staff prepare a meal for everyone to eat together. The yamen runners outside brought the food. Everyone rushed to deliver the food. Working for the Chai family meant food, drink, and money! Of course, it came with hard work. Everyone knew that. The yamen runners worked their tails off, and the money wasn't easy to come by. You just need someone to take the lead, and the Chai family happened to be the ones leading the charge. They were content.

In the afternoon, many yamen runners came to clean the house. Guoguo was happy.

He was happy to make friends with everyone. "Go, go!" A group of people rushed over with brooms and rags. Chai Zhen had no choice but to follow.

More people means easier work. In one afternoon, the dust and walls of both houses were swept clean. Guoguo told everyone to take away all the tables, chairs, and benches. The runners were delighted. Some were still usable. The kang (kang) was removed to be renovated for heating. The entire house was empty, with only four walls—no, three to be exact. Chai Zhen: "Everyone, go back. I'll thank you another day." "Okay, Second Uncle, we're leaving." After a trip to the front lines, all the soldiers and runners called Chai Zhen "Second Uncle." Why? The reason was simple: the higher-ranking officials called Chai Zhen "Second Uncle," and they were all one level younger. Younger? It seemed like they were on the same level, but the name made a difference. Hahahaha! Chai Zhen thought about it later and laughed.

Little Milk Bag returned to the house, waved his little hand, and plastered the whole house. He said, "Tomorrow, have someone paint the walls thinly, so they'll have white walls. The walls need to be smoothed out." Chai Zhen said, "The work Guoguo left behind is a big worry for Grandpa. Grandpa is worried that you won't grow tall." Guoguo fell silent when he heard this, worried about growing taller herself. Guoguo then said, "Mix lime and yellow mud and apply it to the ground outside the yard. When it rains, mud won't stick to your shoes." "Grandpa, I've got it."

"Go home." Chai Zhen locked the door and picked up Guoguo. There was a carriage parked outside the door. Jiale came to pick them up.

I won't be selling anything today. I'll come back in two days. I'll tell everyone the address. After packing up, Sun Gui had already returned to help with the sales. He'd packed three large baskets of brushes, inkstones, and paper. Jia Le and Jia He loaded them onto the cart, and everyone got in and headed home.

Li Dafa drove the cart, saying, "We sold a lot of things today and made a lot of money. After the New Year, we need our soldiers to grow more food and vegetables and build greenhouses." Jiale listened to the soldiers and said, "Your work will be indispensable."

……

They chatted and laughed all the way back to Taohua Village. After delivering Sun Gui's purchases to the school, everyone went back to their homes. Sun Gui said to the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, "Lock the gate for the night and go to bed early." "I've got that, Village Chief."

Old Zhang knew that the New Year was coming soon, and the things here were related to the affairs of the whole village. The village chief had instructed that if something happened, he should ring the bell. Although there were still people on duty at night,

The whole village was patrolling, and they still had to keep a close eye on the gates. In particular, many soldiers had come to the village, all of them had fierce faces, and they didn't look like good people. Ordinary people had never seen them before, so they were all very cautious. The village chief said that they should not provoke them unless necessary, so as to avoid trouble. The people were assured that they were not bad people, but wounded soldiers with disabilities who could not go to the battlefield and defend the country. The villagers were also asked to get along well with each other and take care of them. Some had a broken leg, some were missing an arm, some had lost an eye, and some had lost a hand. Some had no strength in their legs and could not walk much. In short, they all had injuries, just big or small. However, ordinary people didn't know about them yet, and they just looked scary. Sun Gui thought about taking it slow.

……