Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

Chai Zhen returned to his new home in the county. Several people picked all the vegetables in the vegetable garden and planted other vegetables. Jia Le built a simple stove, boiled some drinking water, and was drying it on the stone table in the yard. Li Dafa and the others made small stools to sit on.

Chai Zhen told Guoguo what he had done. Little Naibao jumped for joy, taking the money Chai Zhen had given her. "Grandpa is so kind! Guoguo just loves money!" Everyone in the yard laughed.

"Let's cook. After dinner, we'll buy groceries." Little Milk Bag brought out some dried noodles, while Jiale and Li Dafa prepared the gravy. With fewer people around, the meal went quickly. They enjoyed the fragrant braised meat noodles, and after dinner, no one rested. Little Milk Bag took out the blueprints and gave them to Chai Zhen. Jiale and the children went to sell vegetables nearby, while the others dug the foundations for the house, preparing to build.

The three courtyards were completely leveled. At the back were three suites, each with three bedrooms, and on either side were separate rooms. Facing the street was a large, two-story shopping mall, with a vegetable garden or flower bed in the middle. The well was an old, undamaged well that was still usable—the only good one, with excellent, sweet water. The blueprints were ready, and several adults dug the soil and laid the foundation according to them. The bluestone was still usable, so Chai Zhen laid the cornerstone and got to work. It was almost dark when everyone packed up and took the carriage home.

Chai Zhen carried Guoguo onto the cart, Jiale carried Chai Ye, and Huanhuan and Hengheng climbed aboard. The children settled in. Chai Zhen drove one cart, Jiale drove another, and the others rode horses. They all headed home.

The children were talking about how the vegetables had sold well today and how much money they'd made. The coins clattered, and there was even some change. Little Milk Bag said to his brothers, "Let's come back tomorrow to sell things." Huanhuan: "Sister, no, we have to go to school." Chai Ye: "Hey, I have to go too." Little Milk Bag was unhappy, saying, "It's boring to play by myself. I don't want to go to school. I haven't had enough fun yet." Hengheng: "Sister, don't you want to study medicine? Can you become a good doctor without hard work?" Little Milk Bag lowered his head and said nothing. He knew the truth; he couldn't learn without studying, but he was still young and wanted to play. He whispered, "I'll study medicine for half a day every day. How about learning in the evenings and selling things during the day?" Hengheng heard this and said, "Okay, let's sell things for a few days to make some money. We'll be rich, right? Sister, you're right, I'll come back tomorrow." Chai Ye: "I'll come too. I'm still young. I can learn in the evenings, too." Huanhuan thought he wanted to do the same. Chai Zhen listened to the children and tacitly agreed.

When they got home, Mrs. Li had already prepared the meal and was waiting for them. Jiale and Li Dafa went to feed the horses while the others washed and ate. The adults sat down to eat with their food, while the children ate around the stone table. Little Naibao, now a year and a half old, could eat on his own, using a small spoon. Chai Ye, a few months over two, also ate on his own: egg custard, millet porridge, white flour buns, and cucumber vegetables. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes were also served to the children.

The adults' steamed buns were wrapped in yellow flour, and they were incredibly fragrant. The men ate four or five at a time, along with two bowls of porridge. Since they couldn't afford white flour alone, they mixed the two. This was truly delicious food in the Great Yan Kingdom. There were all sorts of sweet potatoes and stir-fried potatoes. Two hundred veterans were well fed, and even those fighting on the front lines couldn't get as good and full as this. They were incredibly content, working tirelessly. All the money they earned from logging was given to Old Lady Li, who said it was her responsibility as a family. No one objected. Three full meals a day, everyone was happy. ...

After dinner, Chai Zhen announced that they would arrange for people to go to the county to build a house and dig the foundation tomorrow. Li Dafa selected forty skilled men to go to the county seat tomorrow. Xue Zhi would arrange for people to help with the work, and Jia He would arrange for carpenters to build window and door frames and prepare beams, purlins, and other wood. They would also haul lime on the way.

Everyone, go to bed early.

Little Milk Bag went to his room, and the children disappeared without a trace. They all went to the living room to wash up, then did some boxing and somersaults in the yard. Only when Chai Zhen came in did the children go to rest.

At midnight, Guoguo and Chai Zhen went out to the north. West of Yeheng Mansion, the Chai family had cleared a large expanse of wasteland to the northwest. Little Naibao took out a large plow and, with a whoosh, whoosh... began to plow. Chai Zhen saw that the field was quite large. It was about forty or fifty acres. His son had done no small amount of work, and he'd taken his share of the hard work. That's why Guoguo was plowing the fields. Even old oxen get tired. Chai Zhen plowed the fields with his hoe, struggling at the edge. He couldn't reach the corners. An hour later, the plowing was complete. Little Naibao put away the plow and said, "Grandpa, let's plant cotton. Sorghum can be planted at the edges, and cowpeas are fine, too." Chai Zhen said, "Okay, if you say so, let's plant cotton." Little Naibao's hands flew high in the sky, scattering the cotton seeds. A torrential downpour of spiritual spring water poured down, pelting the seeds into the soil. "Grandpa, it's done." Chai Zhen stood at the edge of the field, not a drop of rain on him. Looking at the forty or fifty acres of land, he thought to himself, "How fast is the planting?" Is this how farming works in the future? Amazing!

Chai Zhen carried Guoguo home, went into the space, took a bath and went to sleep. The two drank the spiritual spring water and slept soundly until dawn.

When I woke up, everyone was in the room.

Chai Zhen asked Guoguo to carry the food into the house, and the living room was filled with it.

After breakfast, Zhang Qingshan arrived with his carts and horses. There were ten carts, and the veterans helped load them. Finally, they covered them with tarpaulins and tied them with hemp ropes before heading back.

Chai Zhen arranged for Ping An to plant cowpeas and sorghum together, and told them to plant in the fields beside the fields and not to go in.

Then they led the group to the county town. They all rode two horses to a horse, with forty people in the front and a carriage behind. The children rushed to get on the carriage, and Jiale drove the other carriage. The other carriage also carried vegetables and grain.

Halfway through the journey, they switched to Chai Zhen, driving the cart. Jiale followed behind. Little Naibao quietly released the forty cows, and Jiale slowly followed behind, herding them. Not far away, they encountered Zhang Qingshan's convoy. Seeing so many fat and robust cows, Zhang Qingshan smiled and said, "Jiale, I'll take you to the county government gate and someone will pick you up." Jiale said, "Okay, I understand, sir."

Zhang Qingshan led a convoy to transport grain, and it took five trips a day to complete the haul, which yielded 300,000 kilograms of grain, enough to last until the autumn harvest. The county magistrate looked at the amount of grain and wondered how the Chai family could possibly have so much. He wondered when he could go and see how much land they had to cultivate to produce so much. It wasn't until they arrived at Taohua Village that they understood the source of the food. The Chai family cultivated so much land that the abundance of grain was unsurprising.

The county magistrate gave the money to Zhang Qingshan and sent it to the Chai family. When Guoguo received the money, she sighed.

On the first day, Zhang Qingshan arranged for the distribution of grain at the yamen gate according to the population counts compiled by the village heads. Seventeen villages gathered, and those without vehicles used the yamen's vehicles to deliver the food. Cattle were also distributed, with the entire village pooling their funds to purchase them. The villagers returned home with the grain and the cattle, all beaming with smiles. The yamen runners worked tirelessly for three days until the distribution was complete. Zhang Qingshan said, "Everyone, take a day off," and he returned to Taohua Village.

That evening, Zhang Qingshan brought the money to the Chai family, and Little Milk Bag took it. The total sale price was 1,600 taels of silver. "That's too little!" Zhang Qingshan was stunned. He didn't know what to say, but after thinking for a moment, he said, "Guoguo, ahem, if you go to the county next time to buy land or a house, I'll give you a discount." Little Milk Bag thought this was a good deal and said, "Thank you, Grandpa Zhang. Guoguo will remember this." Zhang Qingshan nodded repeatedly. They then discussed the waterwheel issue, aiming to manufacture more and send them to each village. Chai Zhen said, "Just tell the village chief," and he didn't say any more. ...

Zhang Qingshan wandered around the village, observing the changes it had undergone over the past two months. The villagers were full of energy and enthusiasm, and the atmosphere was positive. The river flowed slowly northward, and a large pond stood by the river, where the entire village drew its water. Zhang Qingshan stood by, gazing at the water. A steady stream of people came to fetch water. Several elderly men passed by and greeted Zhang Qingshan. Zhang Qingshan asked, "Old man, the water is so clear!" Old Man Li replied, "Sir, this water is specially filtered. Look ahead, the riverbed is lime, further back, sand, and nearer, wood ash. Layer by layer, the water is clear here. These pools were dug deep to remove impurities." Sun Gui turned and saw his father-in-law approaching as the elderly men left to cut brambles. Zhang Qingshan: "Gui, you've managed the village well. Since you didn't take the exam, will you regret it in this life?" Sun Gui: "Dad, I can live a stable life here thanks to you. Although I'm not an official, I live a good life. There's no intrigue and conspiracy. I'm content. Not everyone can live a peaceful and smooth life." Zhang Qingshan: "You think clearly, and so do I. If you don't want to move up, just be a county magistrate here and bless the peace in this area. Dad will be content too. Gui, nothing is easy. If you arrange to build the waterwheel, Taohua County will have to install new waterwheels. People in other places will also come to buy them. Every village in Taohua County must install them. You should hurry up and build the waterwheels."

Sun Gui: "Okay, how many do you need?" Zhang Qingshan: "I've talked to Second Uncle Chai, and he told you to set the price." Sun Gui: "It's been a disaster, and it's been hard on the people. Twenty-five taels of silver per waterwheel, okay? I have to pay for the work here, so we'll make a little less. How many do you need?" Zhang Qingshan: "Twenty for now. We'll figure it out if it's not enough." Sun Gui: "Okay, Dad, ask around, I'll arrange it right away." Zhang Qingshan: "Go ahead." Zhang Qingshan followed the river to the south, where it turned east and formed a small stream. He followed the river east to the village entrance. Outside the village, on both sides of the road, along the riverbank, people also planted vegetables and other crops. The stream flowed neatly, with bricks stacked neatly. Straight on east...

Water brings prosperity! Hard work brings wealth! ...