Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

At dinner, the Chai family was large, and so were the cooks. All the women, except Wang Min, came to the kitchen to cook. A large pot was set up by the door. Some were making pancakes, some were frying vegetables, some were stewing meat, some were steaming buns. Old Lady Li was making pastries. Little Naibao said, "Grandma makes it." Old Lady Li learned how to make them. She often made them for her family. Old Lady Li was making date cakes and bread. Bone soup was also brewing, wafting its fragrance. Ye Heng sniffed it out. It was heavenly! The Chai family lived well. If only every household in the country were like this. The Chai family didn't wear silk or satin, but they were clean and tidy. Though their coarse cloth clothes weren't fancy, they were energetic, their faces bright and cheerful, and they even volunteered to serve in the army, fearless of death. Such people are rare. In his sixteen years, he had never encountered such a family before. Even the wealthy families in Beijing couldn't compare. He had been wandering around the village these past few days, and every household was full of energy; not a single quarrel or quarrel was heard. I heard from the villagers that everyone was rushing to work. The village chief arranged for everyone to be paid, regardless of age or gender. Children could collect firewood and cut grass, and the villagers would collect the money. The villagers had to take it. The elderly had their own work, weaving straw sandals, straw hats, straw raincoats, straw fans, and so on. No one in the family would do anything without work. There were no lazy people in every household. Even the children, when adults called for a break, refused to work and instead worked together. They went to school at the age of five, and after school they would go out to collect firewood. No one would say they were working too little, but rather that they were too young to play at home. This little kid could feed the chickens, collect firewood, and sweep the floor. He would even recite the lessons taught by the teacher as he walked. He could also sing. Zhang Ying learned the songs from the little girl, and repeatedly tried to listen to the songs and play the tunes. He taught the children every seven days. Ye Heng would hear the singing while walking along the country roads. "Walking on the country road, the shepherd boys' songs are echoing in the air. Wow, wow, wow, they are singing..." It sounds so good, but he has never heard it before.

Dinner began. Ye Heng took a sip from his bowl of bone soup with a spoon and exclaimed, "Delicious!" Fresh and slightly spicy, a large bone was delicious. He picked up a leavened oil pancake and ate gracefully. The weather had warmed up, and Little Milk Bag and the other children had moved their meals outside, all under the shed. Li Ru held her. The nine-month-old was old enough for porridge, so she fed her pork rib soup and rice porridge. She cried out in delight. Ye Heng looked at her. This little girl was so clever, so soft and tender, so pretty, like a doll in a New Year painting. She was white and plump, with big, bright eyes, like a clear spring, like pearls and agate. It was as if her eyes could speak. He smiled at her, and Little Milk Bag smiled back, calling out, "Brother Ye, delicious." Ye Heng said, "Eat well. After dinner, I'll take you horseback riding." Little Milk Bag chuckled. Li Ru gave her more millet porridge than bone soup. After a while, the little one stopped eating and said, "Mommy, I'm full." Old Lady Li took her in her arms while Li Ru ate. Juanzi also fed Chai Ye. He added an egg to his millet porridge, and he ate a piece of date cake, a few sips of pork rib soup, and a few pieces of meat. He was completely stuffed. After the children finished their meal, Old Lady Li took them for a walk outside, saying, "Don't run. Walk slowly. You just finished your meal." "Okay, Grandma," the children said in unison. Old Lady Li smiled. A lantern hung outside the gate, illuminating a large area. The little one said, "Brother Huanhuan, go get the ball. Let's play football." "Okay." Huanhuan went home to get the ball. Chai Xiaodong, that's Xiaodong, Chai Zhenqi's name. Xiaodong dragged Huanhuan home to get the ball.

A group of children were chasing and playing with a ball on the field outside their home. Little Milk Bag wanted to walk too, asking Grandma to pull him along. Grandma Li said, "You're still young, you can't walk too much. Little Milk Bag wants to chase the ball and play." She acted like a little adult, saying, "I can't walk, I can't run, I can't run while watching the ball." Grandma Li was laughing to death as she pouted, "You even made up a rhyme." "Grandma, let me hold you." Ye Heng finished eating and came out, saying, "Grandma, let me hold Guoguo." "Okay, you." Ye Heng took Little Milk Bag and said, "Brother will hold you. I can run faster. Let's go chase the ball." "Okay, okay." "This child just loves to make noise. Okay, it's good to make noise." Grandma Li sat nearby and watched. Chai Ping'an came out a little later and sat next to Hongying. She said, "This is what it means to enjoy playing with your grandchildren. It's endless fun."

Ye Heng was holding the baby, running and kicking the ball, with a group of children chasing after him. Xiaodong pulled Chai Ye along and followed. Haha, haha. Soon, more people came from the village, and the children followed and ran after them. The adults were talking on the side. "This prince is not arrogant, and he has a lot of fun playing with the children."

The children were sweating profusely as they chased and played. Ye Heng laughed heartily; he hadn't had so much fun in years. "Come on, boys, stop chasing the ball," he said. They all ran after him. Little Naibao, in his arms, laughed heartily, saying, "Brothers, come chase me." "Catch me and you'll get candy." "Okay, chase Guoguo, you'll get candy." "Run!"

After the night class ended, the martial arts students arrived and followed the practitioners, some doing horse stances, some doing boxing, some practicing sparring. In the distance, some were sparring with weapons. A little girl followed behind, diligently practicing every move.

Late at night, Little Milk Bag called over to Brother Xiaodong and said, "Go under the table in my study and get some candy for these little friends." A moment later, Xiaodong returned with a large bag of candy. "Brother, give it to you," Xiaodong said, handing each child two candy sticks. The children giggled, "Thank you, brother," and dragged their parents home. "Goodbye, brother. See you tomorrow," Little Milk Bag also shouted, "See you tomorrow." "That was fun." Ye Heng carried her home, a large group of them following behind, shouting, "It's time to go home and sleep." Old Lady Li said they were all going to pee before returning to the house. Hahahaha...

Ye Heng summoned Chai Zhen and spoke with him alone in the room for a long time, inquiring about the situation regarding the bodyguards escorting food to the front lines. "Thank you, Grandpa Gaoyi." "Well, it's nothing. We just had some food at home, and the county magistrate and the villagers all pooled it together. It's just for an emergency, but it won't be of much use." "That's not true, Second Grandpa. You did a great job. I'll investigate thoroughly. We won't let the soldiers at the front go without food." Ye Heng bowed deeply and offered to commend the Chai family. Chai Zhen knelt and kowtowed, saying, "My family doesn't seek credit, and the common people don't want to be officials. I beg Your Highness not to commend me." "Very well, if your family needs anything in the future, come to me in the capital. I'll do my best to help as long as I can." Ye Heng pulled out the jade pendant hanging from his waist and said, "This is my jade pendant. It has my name on it. Bring it to me." "Very well," Chai Zhen put it away. "I have to ask for a plaque to commend your family." "Prince..." Chai Zhen looked at Ye Heng, not knowing what to say, "Second Grandfather, you don't have to call me Prince. I'm young. Call me by my name, Ye Heng." "I'm too arrogant, old man. I'll call you Ah Heng." "Okay." Chai Zhen said, "It's getting late. I'm going back to sleep. You should get some rest too." "Okay."

Ye Heng watched Old Man Chai walk away and said, "Come out." A man slipped in silently from outside, clad in black, revealing only a pair of bright eyes. "Master." "Take this letter and deliver it to the Emperor personally. Bring twenty men with you. Safety is paramount." "Yes, Master." "Take this, and you can have the palace gates opened. Go." The man in black turned and left. With a whoosh, he was gone. Ye Heng walked out, his flying knife reaching the gatehouse. He could see clearly from a distance. All around was quiet, with only the croaking of frogs and crickets to be heard. He ducked into the small building.

Little Milk Bag suddenly opened his eyes, his spirit flew out, and the whole area within a radius of five miles could sense it. Little Milk Bag muttered softly, "What did my brother do tonight?" A group of men in black had walked out of their village and rode away on horseback. There was only a bed, a table, and a stool in the small building. Little Milk Bag thought, I have been with the prince for the past few days, and he is a good man. He must have some arrangements. The only things that happened in his family that were related to the outside world were the delivery of food to the front line. And then there were some things he saw at home. Little Milk Bag thought, why not tell this prince the process of making glass, and see tomorrow. He hugged his little milk bag and felt his closeness.

Little Milk Bag closed his eyes and fell asleep. Ye Heng tried to sense what was going on, but he looked around but saw nothing. Although this house was not a pavilion, it was the best in the village. He had never seen anything like it on the doors and windows. It was bright but not drafty. The windows in the main hall were made of transparent cloth, but it was different from cloth. It was not a kang or a step-out bed, but simple, comfortable and fashionable. He had never seen a table before. He had never even seen a clothes drying rack. He would ask the carpenter from the Ministry of Works to come and see if he could make one tomorrow. After making up his mind, he went back to rest.