Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

Jiale came to Grandpa's room and poured him some tea. "Grandpa, have some." "Go ahead, son." Chai Zhen looked at Jiale. Jiale said, "After the prince left, he told me to come back and build a house. It should be extra large enough to accommodate ten thousand people. So I discussed it with Grandpa. The prince said there was a large wasteland to the west of the river or north of our house. I didn't go to see it. The prince said so." "Then let's go and take a look tomorrow and see what happens."

That evening, Chai Zhen called Chai Hua and Chen Jun and said, "I heard you two are planning to build a house here?" "Yes, Uncle." "Then let's go tomorrow and pick a location. We'll go together. Housing is a bit tight at home, and we need to build a few more." Chai Zhen said, "Just for the sake of it, let's go early tomorrow." "Okay," they said. "Go ahead and do your work," Chai Zhen said, and he left. He went to pick up Little Naibao. Outside, the children were running around happily. Little Naibao sat on Grandma's lap. She held the puppy in her arms, staring at them. The dog and the person stared at each other, the dog looking at the person with its coquettish eyes, while Little Naibao glared at the dog. Old Lady Li looked at the person and the dog and said, "That's a perfect match." Little Naibao stroked the dog's fur, and the dog's paws tugged at the person's clothes. Jiale stood nearby, laughing.

Chai Zhen came over to take a look and left. He went to find Sun Gui to discuss the house.

Back in the palace, Ye Heng and the Emperor were in the Imperial Study. Ye Heng said, "Royal brother, let's leave the child there first. Xiaodong studies very hard, but there's a lack of good teachers there. We can secretly send someone to teach him. We'll bring him back after arrangements are made here. It's dangerous to come back now, so I've left someone there to protect him. Here, the Chai family is honest and treats Xiaodong like their own son. He eats well and wears good clothes. To be honest, I don't want to come back, Royal brother. If you're worried, you can go and see him secretly. Old Master Chai treats Xiaodong like his own grandson, and the whole family loves him. I heard that he was bought from a human trafficker, and he suffered a lot in the past few years before he came to the Chai family to enjoy a good life. The food he eats now is not worse than what you eat. I've never eaten it before, and it tastes so good." "Let the Prince's tutor teach Xiaodong. On the surface, let him retire, but secretly. We'll find someone with good martial arts skills to teach him." "How about finding one from the Imperial Guards?" "Let the leader of the secret guards go. One is to teach, and the other is to protect." "OK." "We're looking for a teacher there. "Let last year's number one scholar do it secretly, it's not appropriate to do it openly."

So, secret decrees were issued one after another, publicly demotion, but secretly sent to Taohua County. The Regent sent a secret guard to deliver a message to Old Master Chai, saying that the teacher would arrive soon and that the room would just need to be prepared. "The Emperor also sent over a dozen secret guards to provide protection." The road to Taoyuan County was filled with the sound of horse hooves.

The crops were temporarily off the land, and that day, Sun Gui and Chai Zhen drove their horse-drawn carriage to the county town. The Chai family also had a carriage, and Old Man Chai was looking younger and younger. On the way, he and Sun Gui talked about village affairs...

The two men quickly arrived at the gate of the county government office and parked the carriage. Sun Gui stepped forward and said, "Please ask the yamen runner to tell them that Sun Gui requests an audience." One of them asked, "Are you from Taohua Village?" "Yes." "Wait a moment, I'll go in and tell the master." After a moment, someone came out and said, "The master wants you in. Follow me."

The two men walked leisurely to the back hall and met Zhang Qingshan. "No need for formalities, sit down." "Serve the meal." The three of them ate first, and then tea was served. Sun Gui said, "Father-in-law, there are several people in our village who want to settle down and apply for house sites." Zhang Qingshan said, "You can take it if you think the road is straight. You can measure the house sites and write them down. Come here to record, register and stamp them. That's it." Chai Zhen whispered, "Sir, one of them is the Regent, who also wants to build a house. It's large, so I came to talk to you." Zhang Qingshan thought about it and decided that since the Regent was building a house here, he should just agree without interfering. He said, "Sun Gui, the prince can build as big as he wants. It's up to the prince. The prince's affairs will be decided, and we should not interfere. Just do whatever is needed." Sun Gui: "I know how to do it." He handed over a bundle and said, "This is the clothes that Ah Qing made for you. Let me bring it to you." Zhang Qingshan took it and said, " Son-in-law, when you approve the house this time, please measure it out for me. I'll have time to build it this winter. I'll go back and forth wherever your mother wants to stay with Qing'er. I'll live with you all, and Dad can work here until he's old. I told the emperor last time, and he agreed, so we just want the reward." Zhang Qingshan took out gold and gave three hundred taels to Sun Gui and five hundred taels to Chai Zhen. Chai Zhen said, "My lord, this is what you deserve. I can't accept it." Zhang Qingshan said, "This is all brought by your family. You have enriched the whole country, and I have also benefited greatly from it. Brother Chai, please accept it. This is what your family deserves, and the whole village will benefit from it." Chai Zhen also accepted the three hundred taels, saying, "I'm the same as my brother Laogui. After all, my lord is the one who worries about me the most." "You should take what the emperor rewards you. Our emperor has given it to us, and every family in our village has it. Thank you very much, my lord." Zhang Qingshan agreed with Chai Zhen's approach. "Do you have anything else to say?" Sun Gui replied, "That's all." He then continued, "To the north of our village, there's a vast expanse of uninhabited wasteland stretching for hundreds of miles." Zhang Qingshan said, "Anywhere further north, it's not under the jurisdiction of Pingjin Prefecture. Any further north and west, it's under the jurisdiction of Datong Prefecture. There's no road from Taoyuan County." Sun Gui replied, "Our village wants to reclaim wasteland further north. South is also fine." Zhang Qingshan replied, "If your village reclaims wasteland haphazardly, you won't harvest grain for three years, even in bad years. I've already told the prince that in good years, we'll harvest 30% of the public grain. If you're willing to sell more, the state will buy it at a fair price." Sun Gui and Chai Zhen both agreed, saying it would be good for both the people and the country. Zhang Qingshan replied, "That's what I was thinking. I'll prepare the above memorial, submit it, and then inform the people. I'm telling you now so you can act in advance. The people can't just grow more grain and not earn any money." "I think with good policies, we can encourage the people to reclaim more land and grow more grain, which will increase their enthusiasm," Chai Zhen said quickly, "Okay, okay."

Sun Gui saw that it was almost time and said, "Uncle, let's go." "Let's go, let's walk around the street." Zhang Qingshan said, "Have some tea, so you don't get thirsty on the way." "Okay." "Okay."

After leaving the yamen, Chai Zhen and Sun Gui said, "Gui, there are many houses to be built in our village this time, so let's go and look at the tiles in advance. We need blue bricks for the roof. We have earned so much gold today, so we are confident." Sun Gui: "Okay, yes, let's order it in advance. We need it a lot." The two drove the carriage to the kiln. Sun Gui shouted, "Is the boss here?" The young man ran to find the manager. If there was no more work, they would not be able to survive. The young man shouted happily, "Boss Gu, is there anyone looking for you?" "Boss Gu: "What can I do for you?" "Someone is looking for you. It seems there is a big job." Boss Gu hurried out and said to the door, "Please come in, I'm inviting you in." Sun Gui and the other man followed. Boss Gu asked the servants to bring good tea, saying, "Please have some tea, may I ask why you are here..." Sun Gui said, "We came to see if we have blue tiles for the roof?" "Yes, yes. We have the best blue tiles made in the county. How many would you like?" "Sun Gui: "We want a lot, I'm afraid we don't have enough." Shopkeeper Gu: "We are a big kiln factory. As long as you tell us how much you want, we will have it. We can work overtime to burn it, and the quality is guaranteed." "If you want more, it can be cheaper." "How much is one piece?" "One tael of silver is one thousand yuan. If you want more, we can give you an extra fifty yuan for every one thousand yuan." "The best green tiles, we also burn green bricks, one tael and two cents of silver for one thousand yuan." Sun Gui and Chai Zhen looked at each other, and Chai Zhen said, "We want a lot of green tiles, we can..." Shopkeeper Gu: "Green tiles are one tael of silver, I'll give you 1,100 yuan, is that okay, you two? No less, the soil is not easy to get." "Okay. Let's order 100,000 green tiles first. When the green bricks are needed, come back to the shopkeeper and tell him. Give me a deposit of 20 taels of silver first, and we'll write a receipt." "Okay, it's my duty. "Shopkeeper Gu ground the ink and quickly wrote the receipt, and received a deposit of 20 taels of silver. One hundred thousand green tiles plus 10,000 for the head. Chai Zhen took out two ingots of silver, each worth ten taels, and handed them to Shopkeeper Gu. Both parties signed and stamped. There were two copies, one for each party. Sun Gui said, "Shopkeeper, we will come to pick it up soon." Shopkeeper Gu: "We will get to work right away. We will not delay your work. You can come to pick it up anytime." "Please have some tea, both of you." "No, you guys are busy too. We have things to do. We will not disturb you anymore." "Goodbye, both of you." Shopkeeper Gu personally saw them off.

Sun Gui and Chai Zhen caught their carriage and arrived at the busiest street. They bought chicks and piglets. As the carriage reached the streetside, they saw a cow for sale—it looked quite good. Chai Zhen approached and asked, "Brother, why are you selling such a good cow?" "My child is sick, and I don't have money for medical treatment. I'm selling it to save him." "What's wrong with your child? Can you tell me?" "Well, a while ago, he caught a cold and had a cough. It hasn't gotten better for a long time. The doctor said it's tuberculosis. We still want to see him. We don't want him to die. Please buy this cow. It's in its prime." The old man kowtowed repeatedly. Chai Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Which village are you from? Is it far from the county town?" "We're from Shangyuan Village. It's not far, just an hour's drive." The oxcart was slow. Chai Zhen thought. Then he asked, "Do you have anyone else in your family who can work?" "You don't have to sell the cow. Work for my family to earn money and pay for my child's medical treatment. Do you think it's feasible?" The old man who bought the cow

He was very happy to see that there was a solution. He said, "I have three sons. The youngest one is sick. The eldest and second sons are both capable." Chai Zhen said, "Now there are water trucks in the village. You can keep the cow to farm. You can also earn money by plowing other people's land. You can get paid for plowing an acre of land. You can also earn money by transporting people to the county town. Bring a worker to my house tomorrow to work, and bring your sick child as well. I have a doctor at home who can see the child. My home is in Taohua Village. When you get there, go to Chai's house and someone will tell you. Go home, old man." "Okay, I'll go back right away and tell my family the good news." The old man took the cow and hurried home. He was ready to go to Taohua Village to see the child.

Chai Zhen said to Sun Gui, "Let's go back." "Yes, we have done all the important things today, let's go back." Sun Gui drove the carriage.

The horses galloped briskly along the way, arriving home at the end of the afternoon. The two men, having eaten their rations along the way, weren't hungry. They asked everyone they met, "Who's raising chicks? Come to the school and buy some?" The chicks were unloaded from the cart, and Sun Gui began selling them. Chai Zhen drove the piglets directly to the Hexi pig farm, where they were cared for by three village staff who knew how to raise them. There was a house and kitchen nearby, and they would stay if they had nothing to do. Each person received a hundred coins a day, provided with accommodation, and ate their own food and grew their own vegetables nearby. The three of them could also take turns resting. The village children, when free, would cut grass for the pigs and receive money, ranging from ten or twenty coins to three or five coins, so they could earn enough to pay for their pens, inkstones, and paper. Even children as young as five or six could earn two or three coins, and both boys and girls were treasured by their families. There were fewer people who favored boys over girls. The village head had announced at a meeting that men and women were treated equally in our village. Families with many daughters struggle to farm their land. Just tell anyone in the village and many people will come to help. You told me, and I told him, "It's even better now. The village system is better. Large plots of land are cleared. If you need to plow, just tell the village chief and you'll have oxen and plowshares." Everyone is encouraged to cultivate more land. Every household can use oxen to plow, greatly reducing labor. No family despises daughters; they are truly their mothers' treasures. Chai Zhen crossed the river west and called out, "Laoma, Danniu, come unload the cart." All three ran out, lifted the baskets, and the old water buffalo said, "We have so many piglets! We've just built over ten new pens." Together, they put the piglets into the pens. Now there are over a hundred pigs, big and small! Hahaha!" They laughed heartily. Chai Zhen said, "Don't be happy too soon, old buddy. Where's the food? Go home and ask. If anyone has pig feed, send it over to feed the pigs. Let me tell you first, there's no money for this." "It has to be sent even if you don't pay. Whoever has it should send it over. Whoever doesn't will have nothing to eat when the meat is distributed." Chai Zhen said, you guys have to worry about it.

Chai Zhen finished his words and got on his horse-drawn carriage to go home. Old Lady Li cooked him a bowl of noodles, then went to the barn and found a few bags of sweet potatoes and rice bran. She drove the carriage back to the pig farm and unloaded them into an empty room, saying, "This room is for storing grain."

"We're short of manpower."

Chai Zhen drove the carriage back, unloaded the horse, led the horse into the stable, fed it with soybean hay, yellow flour steamed bread, and water, and said, "Eat more, old friend, and lie down to rest after you finish eating." Chai Zhen took a bath again, changed into clean clothes, and went to find Xiao Naibao.

Old Lady Li was holding her little granddaughter behind the house, planting vegetables. A ditch had been built there, allowing the vegetables to be watered. She was watering cucumbers. Li Ru, holding her little baby, led several children. Xiaodong had gone to school. Huanhuan was holding Chai Ye, while Hengheng walked alone. Wang Min, who was about to give birth, was strolling around the fields or sewing. Old Lady Li wouldn't let her work in the fields. Zhang Baohua was picking cucumbers. Chai Zhen came over and took Guoguo, saying, "Do you miss Great Grandpa?" "Yes," Huanhuan, Hengheng, and Chai Ye all said they did. "Great Grandpa, you're fine." "Good." Great Grandpa bought you some candy. You'll be home to eat it later. Zhang Baohua saw the tomatoes were red and shouted, "The tomatoes are ready to eat." "Pick them," said the little kid, "and mix them with sugar." Grandma Li smiled and said, "Okay, let's let you kids satisfy your cravings first." "Mom, the eggplants are so big, shall we pick a few?" "Pick them," said Grandma Li, "Pick all the edible ones and take them home. We'll cook tonight: stir-fry eggplant with meat, salad with cucumbers, tomatoes with sugar, and stir-fry potatoes. Make more so everyone has enough." Huanhuan pulled Ye'er and soon took out two big pumpkins from the field, each holding one, shouting, "Look at the big pumpkins." Grandma Li smiled and said, "My grandsons have grown up and know they can be picked. Okay, take them home." "Yes, grandma." The two boys ran home with the pumpkins. Chai Zhen looked at them and said, "Walk slowly, you little brats are grown up and useful now." Sweet potatoes and soybeans were planted by the dike. "The beans are coming in, and they'll be ready to eat soon." Chai Zhen, holding little Naibao, went to the field to look and said, "Hengheng, follow Grandpa." Huanhuan and Ye'er ran after them, chirping and chasing, with little Naibao also shouting. Chai Zhen was beaming. The field wasn't far away; from a distance, he could see a golden expanse of crops, almost ripe. The setting sun shone on the wheat seedlings, a golden glow. To the north and west, everything was lush green, the crops flourishing. This year, the Chai family had reclaimed all the wasteland, planting soybeans. Along the edges were cowpeas, sorghum, pumpkins, and small patches of millet. The spring corn was now in ear, a delightful sight. Only a few villagers were reclaiming wasteland in the north. Most were heading south, where the soil was more fertile. Sun Gui was planning to install two more waterwheels in the river, setting them up in the south. There was more land in the south. This year, a large expanse of wasteland had been reclaimed. It was getting dark when Chai Zhen said, "It's time for the kids to go home." "Okay, Great Grandpa." Little Milk Bag, though eleven months old and still unable to walk, spoke fluently. "Great Grandpa, the wheat is almost ready for harvest. We need to prepare sacks. Do you have sickles?" "Yes, over twenty." "Hey, don't tire Grandpa out. I'll let the big machines harvest the wheat." "Guoguo, we have quite a few people at home now. We can harvest the wheat ourselves. It won't take a few days." "Okay, then. Wait until Grandpa finishes harvesting, and I'll thresh the wheat." "Okay." On the way, Little Milk Bag met people heading to the fields to clear wasteland, and he called out from afar, "Hello, Grandpa, Daddy, Uncle Li Biaotou, and brothers. Get some rest tonight. We'll harvest the wheat tomorrow." "Okay." "Okay, we'll get to work tomorrow." They walked back, carrying their farm tools. Along the way, they chatted about what they needed to prepare for tomorrow...