Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

At night, the emperor's secret guards gathered in the Hexi forest and witnessed everything that happened in the Chai family today. The leader of the secret guards said, "What you saw today must be swallowed into your stomach and you must not say a word to anyone. I will write a letter to inform the emperor." Make your own food, eat and rest, and I will be on duty in the second half of the night. They set up simple tents, eat and rest. They just need to guard the Chai family at the intersection.

An Ling went into the tent to write a letter and asked An Er to deliver it, "Remember to hand it to the emperor personally, and don't pass it on." "Okay, I'll remember it." An Er rode away on horseback and rushed to the capital without stopping.

At night, everyone fell asleep after a long day. Chai Zhen picked up Little Milk Bag and went to the east yard. In the open space, Little Milk Bag's little hands brushed the ground and the wheat flowed out. Soon it piled up into a mountain. Until the threshing was finished. "Grandpa, these twenty acres of land can harvest more than 20,000 kilograms." "I think it's not a small amount." Chai Zhen took Little Milk Bag back to the west room. "Go to sleep, Guoguo." "Yes, Grandpa should go to sleep too."

The prince secretly led Dahua to discover that many men in black had arrived. The prince's secret guards were no worse than the emperor's, if not better. He called the second secret guard and said, "Keep an eye on the Chai family and don't let anyone get close." "They just showed up today, there's no telling how many there are. I have to catch up and see what they're doing. You and the third secret guard will take turns day and night." "I'll go."

An Erhua went back to write a message. A whistle sounded, and a pigeon flew over, offering food and water. Erhua rolled up the message, placed it in a tube, and tied it to the pigeon's leg. "Go, take it to the prince." Dahua chased the black-clad man all the way to the capital, to the palace, and to the imperial study. Dahua withdrew, and he returned to the palace to report to the prince. Yeheng: "Go eat and rest. Come see me tomorrow night." Yeheng knew that his brother had also sent secret guards to Taohua Village. He figured he had to tell his brother about building a house there, openly. He had many assets, so why not keep it secret? Keep a low profile.

At dawn, Chai Zhen, Chai Ping'an, and Old Lady Li rose. They first arrived at the east courtyard. Seeing the massive pile of grain, the three of them... Then, regaining their composure, they picked up their skewer and spread it out to dry. Then, the three of them set to work. Wang Min couldn't get up early to work, so Zhang Baohua and Li Ru rose early to cook. Juanzi and Zhang Ying also rose to help. During the busy season, everyone focused on farming. Juanzi steamed egg custard for the children. Zhang Ying made flatbreads, Zhang Baohua cooked porridge, and Li Ru stir-fried vegetables. Soon, Old Lady Li joined in steaming buns and making flatbreads. Li Ru said, "Mom, let's have rice today. Guoguo said last night she wanted rice." "Okay, it doesn't matter what we eat. We'll all have white rice for lunch today." "Ru, go call Old Four and tell him to go to the county to buy tofu, fry some meat, and stew some meat." "Okay."

After a while, the fourth son got up, grabbed a large pancake, ate it, and rode away. Old Lady Li asked if he had any money for the fourth son. "Yes," she said. During breakfast, Chai Zhen said, "Chai Hua, Chen Jun, and Jia Le, after dinner, come with me to look at the land for the houses. You can choose yourselves." "Okay, Uncle Er," Chai Hua said. Chen Jun agreed. Jia Le went to call Uncle Gui and asked him to bring a ruler to measure the area. "Okay, Grandpa." Jia He went to call Xin Ge's family and increase the speed of the brick-making process. "Okay, I'll go right away," Chai Zhen said. "Master Li, take twenty of your brothers home to help with the harvest. Hong Ying, give each of them a bag of rice, a bag of white flour, and a bag of yellow flour. Give them some of the pig we slaughtered yesterday." "Okay, Dad, I'll go right away." "Uncle Er, I won't be polite. Thank you," said Master Li.

Old Lady Li called for Li Biaotou, who drove over with a horse-drawn carriage. It was packed, including half a loin of meat. "You can go back and divide it up. Families with more people will get more." "Okay, I'll listen to you, sister-in-law," Li Biaotou said. "Brothers, take the horses and go home." Xiaojing came over to drive the carriage, which was his own.

Sun Gui, holding a ruler and a pole, and Chai Zhen and the others headed north. Climbing the northern slope, they gazed at the boundless wasteland. The Chai family had cleared some land and planted spring corn. "It's growing well, the cobs are this big. Uncle, is this the yellow flour we eat?" "Yes, we should plant it this year and report it to the county magistrate. With a high-yield crop, no one will starve to death anymore." "Yes, we'll have water in case of drought," Chen Jun said. "This wasteland is not small. It'll take a lot to reclaim." "Yes, it's too big," Chai Zhen said. "If we want to develop this area, let's build a road here, connecting it directly to our road, all the way north." "Yes, straight south and north." "Let's also clear land to the south. Every household can grow more food." Sun Gui said. "Look where you're building your houses." "Chai Zhen said, "Jia Le, what do you think of the southeast side?" "Keep fifty meters on the south side, with the main road on the west side, and build it eastward and northward with these two sides aligned." Sun Gui whispered to Chai Zhen, "Second uncle, the prince wants it big, why don't we measure it after it's built." "That's right, this country belongs to the emperor, not to mention this little bit of land." "Jia Le, you build it as the prince thinks." "Okay, delete another 150 meters on the south side. The prince said when he left that he wanted it big." "Uncle, village chief, Jia Le will make the decision." Sun Gui: "You should make the decision. I don't know what the prince means. You have the final say." "Thank you, Uncle Sun." Chai Hua and Chen Jun, where do you want to build it? Chen Jun said, "Our house is to the west. Uncle Li Guang's house is further west and he is a local. His house is to the west, and I have two or three acres of land, which is enough for me. "Sun Gui said yes, what about Chai Hua? "I'll build next to Chen Jun, but mine needs to be bigger." "The young master is old enough, if he wants to live on his own, then he can." "Okay, let's go back and measure it there."

As they walked back, Sun Gui looked at a local family and said, "Wait a minute." Sun Gui knocked on the door. Old Man Wang opened it, looked at Sun Gui and said, "Come in, come in." "Daya's mother, please pour the village chief a glass of water." "Got it." Daya's mother brought the water and left. Sun Gui said, "Old Wang, you've made a lot of money this year, but you still live in a shabby house. It's time for your child to get married. Forget it, think about it yourself. If you need bricks, tell Chai Dong and he'll put a number on your list. I'm leaving now." Sun Gui walked out. "Where's your daughter?" "She's learning embroidery." "Good, that's good news. The child is grown up now. Give her more consideration. If you have anything to say, just tell her." "Go back." Old Wang saw the village chief off, still wondering what was wrong with him and whether he should build a new house. My daughter embroiders and earns quite a bit. My son is also learning carpentry and earning quite a bit. He also makes quite a bit from weaving baskets. We've saved some money this year, and today, after hearing what the village chief said, he finally figured it out. A house is needed so my son can get married, and my daughter can marry well. Tonight, I'll go talk to Chai Dong and ask him to help make bricks for his family.

Sun Gui measured with a cane, saying, "The east-west width will be divided between your two families, and the long width will align with this row." Chen Jun said, "Mine is narrower, Chaihua's is wider." You can just mark it out yourselves. I'll get you the house foundation certificate later. If you have your household registration documents, bring them here. "Okay." "Bring them when we get it."