Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

At daybreak, Chai Zhen was the first to rise, followed by Hongying. After washing up, Chai Zhen headed north to the land. He had visited the land that night and could see a vast expanse of lush green from afar. He quickened his pace and stood at the edge, where the crops stretched as far as the eye could see. His great-granddaughter wondered, "Since they're planted at this time, this crop won't be susceptible to the cold. This is wheat seedlings!" Chai Zhen looked at the land.

I went to the kiln factory again. Several little guys had arrived yesterday. He asked the general to send them home to rest. The village chief also came over. Chai Zhen said, "Gui, come and sit down. Add five more people to work at night. All three kilns are open. These five people will work the night shift. You arrange it!" Sun Gui said, "Okay!" "During the day, we will take out the mud bricks and hang them to dry. The night shift is to watch the fire. In addition, we have to gather people to deliver firewood. You remember the list and pay them. Each person is 20 coins a day. Ten people will dig the soil today. Whoever wants to make bricks in the village, you count them and line up. You can get one ox cart for each family, and 50 coins a day for the human cart. Let's set the rules for the time being. The kiln can be used freely, but only in our village." "Sun Gui thought what his second uncle said made sense, so he did it.

Chai Zhen continued, "Gui, have you ever thought about this? The man in the prefecture gave 500 taels of silver as a deposit, which shows that it's a lot. Our two families can't make much in a month." Sun Gui hadn't thought about this? He couldn't say much, because this was the job Ping An gave him. Now listening, he asked, "What do you think, uncle? Tell me." Chai Zhen thought about it and said, "The people in our village are not living well. They have no motivation. They just want to survive and are confused. This state of affairs is not advisable in the long run. It will become more and more desolate. Look at our village. It will gradually become desolate and will go to extinction!"

Gui, you have made great achievements. You should open a school in our village. Let our children learn some knowledge, go out and see the world, and improve the environment of our village. I also want us to work together to make hemp rope. There will be a market. I think the market will be good. The village chief was very excited. He stood up and bowed with both hands and said, "On behalf of the whole village, I thank Second Uncle!" "Okay!" I will go and inform the whole village now. No one can be left out, adults and children. Let's have a meeting! I'm leaving, I'm so happy!" The village chief kept walking and laughing, saying, "Good news! Good news!" Just as he reached his door, he heard someone calling him, "Village chief, someone is coming from above." The village chief looked at the person he knew, and said, "Who is it? Where is he?" The villager said, "At the entrance of our village. He said he is here to collect the public grain." "I know, you can go back." Sun Gui went home and told his wife and son, "I have weighed 700 kilograms of millet at home and packed it up, ready to pay the public grain. Quan, go to Chai's house and tell your uncle Ping'an." After that, he took the gong and went out.

At the entrance of the village, the village chief spotted a large horse-drawn carriage and stepped forward, saying, "I am the village chief. May I ask who you are?" A yamen runner pulled out a grain collection book and declared, "I am the clerk of the Taohua County yamen, and I am here to collect this year's public grain." The village chief then asked, "Is Lord Zhang Qingshan in good health?" Another yamen runner replied, "Uncle Sun, Lord Zhang Qingshan is in good health. When I came, he asked me to see you and ask how Aunt Zhang was doing." Sun Gui said, "Go back and tell Lord Zhang Qingshan that Zhang Qingshan is doing well and that I will visit him soon." The clerk was stunned and dared not say anything more. He pulled the yamen runner aside and asked, "What's going on?" The runner replied, "You didn't know you were late. This is Lord Zhang Qingshan's son-in-law." The clerk said nothing more, only that he was collecting public grain. The village chief ordered the carriage to stop at the village square. The yamen runner led the horses out and fed them. The village chief said, "You got up so early to come here, you must not have eaten yet. Go home, have some food, and rest for a while. I will inform everyone that the public grain is due today." "Okay." "The two of them went to the village chief's house with the village chief.

Zhang Qing cooked, and his wife served the meal to the yamen runners. The village chief rang the gong to inform everyone that it was time to pay their grain tax. Sun Gui marched through the village, shouting, "Pay grain," banging the gong. He reached the square, stopped, and sat down to rest. He was exhausted from this early morning. He just waited for the grain to be weighed and collected.

Chai Ping'an received the news and called his sons over. They weighed out 700 kilograms of millet and put it into six sacks. His three sons carried the loads, with Chai Ping'an following behind. Old Lady Li went to Chai Xin's house and told his eldest and second brothers that one mu of land yielded 70 kilograms of millet. His family had only one household registration book, so Chai Xin's father and his family didn't get a share.

There was a scale on the carriage. Soon two yamen runners came. The clerk found Chai Ping'an's column and shouted, "Chai Ping'an, 700 catties of public grain." He wanted to add a catty but didn't dare. Another yamen runner watched the weighing and said nothing. "Check." The village chief looked at the clerk and wrote it down. He said, "Go home safely. This year's public grain has been paid!" Soon more people came to pay the public grain. It was not until dark that all the taxes were collected. There were only 50 households, according to the household registration book. There were two families sharing one household registration book. These were two brothers. The two yamen runners left after dinner and didn't stay anymore. The village chief gave each of them two taels of silver and said, "You have worked hard in our village. Come back and have a cup of tea." The two left happily!

The clerk on the way didn't say anything bad; the villagers were good. Although they didn't collect much, the village chief gave them quite a bit in the end, and he was very satisfied. All three meals today were delicious. Zhang Qing had given them a lantern, which was very thoughtful. Later, when the grain collectors gathered together and happened to talk about it, they realized that the village they had arrived at was the best. The yamen runner reported to Master Zhang, saying that his son-in-law and daughter would come to visit him in a few days, and Zhang Qingshan was very happy.

Chai Zhen spent two days stringing together hemp ropes, and finally made ninety ropes, twenty meters long, three-split ropes. The whole family was delighted. Little Naibao even stood on Great-Grandfather's lap, with Chai Zhen supporting her. With a strong kick of her legs, she stood straight. Little Naibao was delighted to finally stand up and see the whole family.

The next morning, Chai Zhenhe worked on the six-split rope, adding ten meters to the field. Thirty meters long, he finished three in the morning. Everyone was delighted. Such thick and long ropes! This is the rope for tying carts! In the afternoon, he finished five more.

Chai Zhen asked Li Guang, "Father-in-law, can you weave baskets?" Li Guang said, "Yes." "Then you will do this work tomorrow. We will sell it, and you will calculate the cost. You can decide the price. Work half a day, sleep half a day, and pull hemp stalks at night. Don't get too tired. If you are tired, take a half-day break." Li Guang said, "Okay, I understand." "Thank you, second uncle."

The village chief was also very busy, asking from house to house, who wanted to come and make bricks? Zhang Bingquan from the Zhang family, and his two grandsons, Zhang Ming and Zhang Liang. Ten people were gathered and went to the brick kiln. Five people were called back during the day to come at 1:00 pm to work the night shift. Each old man had a kiln, and Qin Han, Kong Ziwu and his son were added. The village chief went to the poorest family, a father and son, Mao Lao Da and his son Mao Xiaoshuan. The young man was seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing thin clothes, and shivered with cold when he went out. Sun Gui went to his house and found the clothes that Sun Quan had worn a few years ago and put them on, and then went to the brick kiln. The village chief called the five boys back and asked them to come at 1:00 pm to work the night shift.

A few old men, each watching over a kiln. A few more were assigned to dig the soil, following the oxcarts. They were told to be careful. Those watching the kilns, carrying bricks, and hauling the soil were all working furiously. The old men felt younger. The village chief asked Chai Dong to take care of it and then left for the village square.