Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

Chai Zhen woke up from a nap and thought it would be more appropriate to take the grain to the county government office to sell it. It would be easier to sell it to the government. His family only had two horse-drawn carriages, which couldn't carry much. He decided to go to the county town to look after his own house and ask the county magistrate to take it, so he could have an excuse.

When it was daybreak, Chai Zhen told Guoguo his idea. Little Milk Bag: "Let's do as Grandpa said." Chai Zhen: "Okay, let's get up. After we go out for dinner, we should still go for a walk in the county to see the new houses and shops." Little Milk Bag: "Okay." He sent his family outside.

Old Lady Li got up early and built a thatched hut by the river. She started selling milk again, using it for her family and a few patients. She sold the rest. A large bowl cost a penny. Ma Xiaohong brought a bowl every day for Li Guang to drink. The five cows were fat and strong, and they were milked daily, sometimes even at night. Her family drank some, and the rest was shared with the veterans.

Mrs. Li, sympathetic to the veterans who had been injured and disabled while defending their country, made sure they had good food. The veterans were not lazy and eager to work. Seeing this, the Chai family was willing to spend money to feed the veterans.

Chai Zhen told his family they were going to the county. Old Mrs. Li asked Li Ru to cook for the others, and Wang Min also helped. Chai Zhen drove the cart. The children wanted to go, so he sent them outside to look around. Jiale was worried about following, so Li Dafa found five more people and rode along. After breakfast, the group headed to the county.

There were two horse-drawn carriages, one for people and the other for food and vegetables, both covered tightly with tarpaulins.

Chai Ping'an was busy clearing wasteland and farming at home, planting small plots by hand. A winter's worth of cow and sheep manure had accumulated in the fields. After the oxen had plowed, they planted. The soil was just moist enough. Old Lady Li and Li Ru helped. Jia He, still injured in the leg, sat down to work. He directed the carpenters, who were making a waterwheel. The whole county needed it, and even other counties wanted it. More were needed, so Sun Gui recruited ten veterans willing to do the carpentry work. There were now twenty-nine carpenters, and even with that, there were over two hundred lumberjacks.

Many trees felled west of the river, prompting a surge of people to cut down the wood. Small branches were used for firewood, while larger, thicker ones could be made into stools and wooden frames. Locals kept the branches in their backyards, sending all the wood to Li Guang's carpentry workshop, where the yard overflowed with lumber. Women and children gathered branches and planted small plots. No one was idle; the elderly, in addition to farming, also cut brambles and made baskets at night. Chai Zhen planted watermelon seedlings on the riverbank beach. Those who wanted to plant a lot did, and those who made money last year planted again this year. Of course, Little Milk Bag also brought out a lot of seeds. There were also melons, peanuts, and cotton planted on the wasteland. Last year, fewer people planted, but this year more did. They cultivated small plots of cotton on the wasteland. The plots were small, but numerous, and in total, the village had a significant cotton crop. Sun Gui visited the village and found hundreds of acres of cotton. Sun Gui's face was filled with smiles, as he saw the villagers planting more and more crops in the spring. The more they planted in the spring, the more they would harvest in the fall.

Grapevines sprouted along the back walls of every household. Pruning and planting helped the original vines survive, and with continued care, they thrived. Every back wall was covered with fruit trees, lining the main road. Flower beds were built not far from each other, and they were planted with flowers. Surrounding the flower beds was a half-bricked paving, perfect for walking, keeping shoes clean and mud-free. But that's a story for another time... Six months later, the entire scene unfolded before everyone.

Chai Zhenjiale drove the carriage for an hour before reaching the county. The road, which had been repaired by the county magistrate, was now open, but still difficult to travel. It took only half an hour to reach the county.

The carriage arrived at the new home in the county town, no need to unlock it. The house collapsed. The carriage stopped at the backyard gate, and everyone got out. Little Bao looked at the new home and sobbed! "My house!" Huanhuan, Hengheng, and Chai Ye saw Guoguo crying, and the three children also burst into tears. Chai Zhen said, "What are you doing? Don't cry. Let's tear it down and build a new one." He picked up Guoguo and whispered, "Don't cry. Let's redesign and build a new house." Little Bao was immediately relieved. "Yes!" He thought, "Yes, let's build a new house." The vegetables were fine and growing well! Guoguo gave the order, "Everyone, get to work, pick the vegetables." The four children all started working. The land was unaffected by the surrounding houses, and the vegetables were growing well. The spinach and garlic planted in the winter had grown into sprouts, and the leeks were also green. Chai Zhen went to check on the shop. When he arrived, it was clean. The house was gone, and the good bricks were neatly arranged, with half bricks also piled up. The dirt piled up everywhere, swept clean. Just waiting to build the house. Someone had already helped, and it was all ready. The intact furniture in the warehouse was piled together, and the broken tables, chairs, and benches were placed neatly on the firewood pile. "Let's build it!"

Chai Zhen went to the brick kiln and found the owner, Gu, who was in charge of the kiln. "Would you like to buy bricks?" Chai Zhen said, "Yes, my house has collapsed. I need to build a new one. I need a place to live." Gu said, "Okay, our county magistrate said we can't sell them too high. It used to be one thousand yuan per tael of silver, but now it's one thousand, two hundred yuan per tael of silver." Chai Zhen replied, "Okay, I'll take one thousand, two hundred yuan per tael of silver." "The bricks and tiles are the same price. How much do you want?" Chai Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Let's order one hundred thousand bricks and one hundred thousand tiles." Gu's eyes widened. "So many? Fine, I'll make them for you. When do you want them?" Chai Zhen said, "The sooner the better." Gu said, "Five days later. One thousand yuan later. Keep delivering bricks at that rate." Chai Zhen said, "Okay." The two of them wrote a document on a stone table in the yard, each inscribing their names. Quality must be guaranteed. Shopkeeper Gu said, "Don't worry. We're an old kiln, so you can be assured of the quality. If any brick is faulty, we'll just replace it." Chai Zhen took out a deposit and handed over ten taels of silver to Shopkeeper Gu. "The total will be a little over one hundred and sixty-six taels. Let's round off the decimals and make it one hundred and sixty-six taels. I'll pay one hundred and fifty-six taels after we deliver the goods." Chai Zhen said, "Okay." Shopkeeper Gu sent Chai Zhen away and immediately gathered his men to begin hauling clay and making bricks. ...

Chai Zhen went to the county government office again. When the gatekeeper saw Chai Zhen, he shouted from a distance, "Second uncle, are you looking for our master?" Chai Zhen: "Yes, could you please help pass the message?" The gatekeeper: "Okay, I'll go right away, second uncle, please wait a moment." The gatekeeper ran in and reported at the door of the hall, "Report to the master, the second uncle from Taohua Village is looking for you!" Zhang Qingshan was stunned, and quickly got up and walked out,... "Second uncle, please come in! If you have something to say, just ask someone to pass on the message. Why bother you to come in person. Come in," Zhang Qingshan made a gesture of invitation and followed Chai Zhen into the county government office. After entering the house and taking a seat, Zhang Qingshan had tea brought. "Uncle, have some tea," he said. Chai Zhen drank the tea, put it down, and looked around. Zhang Qingshan understood and said, "Everyone, please leave and do what you need to do." With only the two of them left in the room, Chai Zhen finally said, "I still have some grain at home. We can use it as seeds or grind it into flour." Zhang Qingshan, remarking on this good news, said, "Great! How much do you want, Uncle?" They were all sensible people, so he couldn't just take it for free. Chai Zhen said, "The disaster has caused such great harm to the people. I have surplus grain at home. I don't need to earn more money, but it's also earned through hard work. I've discussed this with my family. Four cents a pound of grain. Is that okay, sir?" Zhang Qingshan thought it was too cheap and quickly said, "Yes, Uncle, you are such a good man. You helped me solve the plane crash." He then asked, "How much grain do you have?" He stared at Chai Zhen with wide eyes, as if he couldn't wait for it. Chai Zhen smiled and said, "How much does your Excellency need?" Zhang Qingshan heard it and said, "The more the better, take as many as you can. Our county needs to buy it, and other counties also need to buy it. Besides our county, other counties also need it! Second uncle, don't worry, I don't make money, and we will do whatever you say." Chai Zhen: "Our family just provides grain, and your Excellency will do it. Your Excellency will find a car to go home to take it. We don't have a car at home now, so we have to make two as soon as possible. You still have to find a car for us." Zhang Qingshan: "The car is easy to talk about, I'll find you." Chai Zhen: "You can also sell some cows. The cowshed at home is made of straw fans and sticks. The cows are not injured. I'm thinking of seeing where they are needed." Zhang Qingshan asked: "Second uncle, how much is a cow?" Chai Zhen: "A cow in our village costs ten taels of silver, and it's also ten taels for takeout. It's more convenient for the people in our county if it's cheaper." "Okay! Second uncle is righteous. There are eighteen villages in our county, big and small, and now there are seventeen. Hey, there is a small village with too few people, so I merged two villages. How many cows can your Second uncle provide?" Chai Zhen: " How many do you need, sir?" Zhang Qingshan thought for a moment and said, "A village needs at least three cows, and a small village should have at least one, so we need more than forty." Chai Zhen said, "Okay, forty cows then. I'll come tomorrow, so we don't need a car." Zhang Qingshan said, "Okay. Second uncle, wait a moment. I'll go get the money from the county magistrate!"

The county magistrate said, "Forty oxen would also cost four hundred taels. I wonder if the oxen are strong?" Zhang Qingshan replied, "I didn't think much of it. They should be quite good. I saw the oxen working in the fields in Taohua Village. They were all fat and strong, pulling the plows with great energy. Besides, a good ox can cost fifty or sixty taels of silver, so I don't think it's too bad!" The county magistrate replied, "Indeed. The Chai family is easy to work with." The county magistrate readily produced silver ingots, each weighing ten taels. Zhang Qingshan replied, "Take the silver and pay a deposit first." The county magistrate then produced several more ingots, placed them in a bag, and said, "Here is one thousand taels of silver." Zhang Qingshan accepted them.

Returning to the living room, he handed the money to Chai Zhen with both hands and said, "Here's one thousand taels of silver. Four hundred taels are for the cows, and six hundred taels are for the grain. The shortfall will be supplemented later." Chai Zhen took the purse, glanced at it, and said, "Okay, I'll be back now and deliver tomorrow." Zhang Qingshan escorted Chai Zhen to the gate and watched him walk away before returning to the yamen. He gathered the staff, prepared a carriage, and sent people to each village to count how many cows they wanted to buy and collect the money. For the grain, everyone had to contribute three cents, and the county government would supplement one cent. Each village would send two people. Zhang Qingshan understood that some families couldn't afford much, so the government would supplement some of the money. The yamen also needed to be renovated. Look at the county government—it's all money! We can't just keep living in thatched huts; we need to build a house. ...