Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

In Taohua Village, the autumn harvest is in full swing. The Chai family, with the help of veterans, is almost done harvesting and planting wheat. They'll be ready for the trip to the capital in a few days. Almost every household has a veteran helping out. Regardless of which family has more land, they harvest and plant quickly, and within a few days, the grain is in the jars. Only a few vegetables remain unharvested, and the sweet potatoes have been dug up, and almost every household has a cellar for storage. Every household in the village has given the veterans tons of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and cabbage. Sun Gui said that if everyone helps this year, the veterans will be able to support themselves next year. Actually, the veterans can support themselves now, earning quite a bit of money, but they just don't have much land. Reclaiming some more wasteland this winter will be enough.

Now, every day, the veterans are back to driving taxis—bringing people to the county town in horse-drawn carriages. Two cents per person, free for children. Fifteen carriages, every few minutes. There are also lumberjacks in the woods, and brickmakers have begun rebuilding their homes. Jiale is busiest, building houses and training special forces soldiers. He also has to take care of the veterans' food and shelter, and his own family too. His father is thin from herding cattle and sheep and cutting grass, and Jiale and Jiahe are also working tirelessly—they're incredibly busy. Building a wall around their house and Guoguo's greenhouse is also necessary, and the brothers are incredibly busy. Fortunately, the veterans are helping out.

Mrs. Li packed her things and prepared to go to Beijing. Huo Hua's wife was ready and came to the Chai family that day. "Sister-in-law, I'm ready. Whenever we go, I'll take a carriage."

Old Lady Li: "We'll leave in one day, tomorrow." Huo Hua's wife: "Okay, let's leave tomorrow." Jia Le picked more than ten veterans with high martial arts skills, and Li Dafa led the team to protect everyone. Jia Le and Jia He couldn't leave, so only Chai Ping'an went with them. Old Lady Li, Chai Ping'an, the eldest son's wife Wang Min, the fourth son's wife Li Ru, and all the grandchildren went, Huanhuan, Hengheng, the second son Chai En, and Chai Xiangyu. Zhang Qingshan assigned twenty knife-carrying yamen runners - these were acquaintances who often went to Beijing, to escort them, and wait for them in the county town tomorrow. The cotton collected by Old Lady Li's family filled five carts, and there was still a lot in the warehouse at home. Old Lady Li asked Zhang Qing to make cotton clothes for the veterans. There was a special room in the house for making clothes.

All the women in the village were welcome to come and make a piece of clothing for a fee, fifty wen a day. The Chai family harvested all the village's cotton, selling it to the Chai family for fifty wen per pound of seed-bearing cotton. Every household, except for their own flowers, sold all of it to the Chai family. Those who didn't grow flowers could buy from other families at the same price. Everyone who planted flowers had a good harvest, and those who planted more made a lot of money. Sun Gui sold twenty taels of silver, and still had more left to harvest, more than he could use. A few other families planted even more, and made even more. The disaster had little impact on the village; instead, everyone moved into new houses.

This year, the hemp harvest is almost over, and Sun Gui is still trying to get everyone involved. Everyone will earn fifty wen a day. Veterans are welcome to participate. Sun Gui and Jia He have agreed that Jia He will be the next village chief, and the two will take the lead. They will collectively retting the hemp, paying wages, and the remaining profits will be distributed to each household on a headcount basis. Jia He will manage the carpentry workshop, and now there are five apprentices. Apprentices earn twenty wen a day, and woodcutters earn a hundred wen a day. Veterans are actively involved. Those who have recovered from serious injuries are mostly doing what they can, keeping busy. Those who lost a leg are helping to boil water in the kitchen. The veterans are all hardworking, doing plenty of work even when sitting down, even breaking corn and grinding it into flour. No one is idle. The brothers Jia He and Jia Le are discussing building a house in the north courtyard.

If there are not enough people, go to the county to find people.

Old Lady Li saw that everything was almost ready at home. She cooked and ate early in the morning, then set off. Five carts of cotton, five carts of corn, two carriages for people, and seventeen veterans, each carrying a broadsword. At the village entrance, Huo Hua's wife was waiting, driving one carriage with her son and an old servant. Jia Le looked at her and said, "Auntie, the old servant shouldn't go. He's exhausted from the journey. Let the veterans take over." Huo Hua's wife thought about it and said, "Brother, you should go home. There's a lot of work to do here. You can help me." The old servant agreed, "Okay." Li Dafa took over as the driver. "Go!" The carriages sped off. There were thirteen carriages in total. One was for Sun Gui's youngest son, saying he should try to see the world. Zhang Qingshan had given him a travel permit and a household registration certificate. He also gave him a servant, skilled in martial arts, to look after Sun Qing. Old Lady Li agreed, saying, "Don't worry. We can't let the children miss the exam." The Chai family had one carriage for the people, and another for water, rice, flour, grain, vegetables, pots and pans, tents, bedding, and so on. There is also fodder for the horses. It is not easy to go out.

When they arrived at the county town, yamen runners with swords were waiting, following behind to protect them. Zhang Qingshan instructed them, "Protect everyone along the way." The runner said, "Don't worry, sir. We're all family, and we understand." Zhang Qingshan said, "Have a safe journey."