The Rebirth of a Farm Girl from a Military Family and a Cannon Fodder Princess

Chapter 92

Zisu chatted with the two girls, while Yu Zhe discussed the current situation and explored solutions with the Jiang brothers, Jiang Shichang and Jiang Shihua.

Jiang Shichang: "Lord Yu, what are your plans for the future?"

Yu Zhe: "I plan to stay in Wuliping for a month or so. If Zisu and her two children are safe and sound, I will take my elderly mother and young son back to my hometown!"

Jiang Shichang: "Is your hometown far away, sir?"

Yu Zhe: "It's quite far, about a hundred miles from here. If it's too far, I won't feel at ease leaving Zisu and the other two. I'll have to take them with me!"

Jiang Shichang: "Lord Yu, can't you stay in Wuliping? That way, you and Zisu and her two daughters can look after each other."

Yu Zhe sighed, "I also want to stay in Wuliping, but the excuse I made when I resigned was to go back to my hometown to farm. If I stay in Wuliping and people with ulterior motives find out, I don't know if they'll try to get me sent to a place like Yixian to be an official! Sigh, to be honest, going to a place like Yixian once is enough! I'm afraid I don't have the guts to go again!"

Jiang Shihua: "Lord Yu's concerns are valid. We must consider things more thoroughly to avoid giving others a handle to use against us and falling into their trap. Places like Yixian are definitely not safe to go to again; they are too dangerous!"

Under the cherry tree.

After the three of them talked for a while, Hua'er couldn't help but hug Zisu and burst into tears. Between sobs, she said, "Sister Zisu, how could this happen? How did our family end up like this?"

From living in luxury to almost being homeless, the stark contrast is difficult for even adults to bear. How much more so for a young girl like Hua'er? If Hua'er hadn't spent a few months in Wuliping before, she probably wouldn't be able to adapt to her current miserable life.

Zisu sighed, and after the girl had cried enough, she put her arm around her and comforted her, "My dear, there's no use being sad now. Just treat this as a trial in life. Don't be afraid, don't be scared, face it bravely. There's a saying that goes, 'A fine sword is forged through tempering, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold!'"

Often, hardship is actually a form of wealth, tempering your will, building your resilience, and enhancing your adaptability and survival skills. In the future, no matter what changes life throws your way, you can face them calmly without feeling like the sky is falling! Hardship can also be a form of capital, allowing you to grow rapidly and become a pillar of society! When faced with suffering, regret, complaints, or fear are all useless. Only by bravely facing it can you dispel the clouds, overcome difficulties, and survive this ordeal!

Hua'er thought for a moment, then took the handkerchief Zisu handed her, wiped her tears, and nodded with tears in her eyes: "Sister Zisu, I understand. I will definitely cheer up and bravely face the days to come!"

Yue'er was a little confused, but she obediently said, "Sister Zisu, I will bravely face any difficulties and will never complain! I will live happily even if I wear coarse clothes and eat sorghum rice!"

"Good children, I love you both!" Zisu hugged the two of them tightly and exclaimed sincerely. She then took out a purse, took out ten gold beans, and gave five to each of them: "Sew these gold beans into your clothes. Don't take them out unless absolutely necessary! Remember, don't tell anyone. Keep it a secret!"

Yue'er: "Sister Zisu, don't worry! Even if it's my mother, I won't tell her!"

Hua'er: "Me too, I won't tell my mother." She understood that the person Zisu was referring to as someone to be wary of was probably her mother. Among the masters of the Jiang family, only her mother was known for her fussiness and inability to endure hardship. If her mother found out about the gold coins, she might try to use them to buy food and clothes.

Zisu patted their hair: "Alright, I have to go now! If nothing comes tomorrow, I'll come to see you again! If not tomorrow, I'll come the day after at the latest. Be happy, and don't forget your morning runs and martial arts practice. Learn a few self-defense moves from the guards; they might come in handy someday!"

"Sister Zisu, I understand, I will definitely work hard!" the two said in unison.

After seeing Zisu and Yuzhe off, the Princess summoned everyone to work through the night to make coarse cloth clothes. Every woman was busy, even Hua'er helped with the sewing.

This time, there were ten servants accompanying the Princess and the Jiang family master to Peach and Plum Garden. The Princess's wet nurse, a personal maid, Yue'er's personal maid, three guards, the Second Madam's head maid, a personal maid, a rough-working old woman, and Hua'er's personal maid.

All the women worked together, using the ordinary coarse cloth that Zisu had brought, to make a set of coarse cloth clothes for each of their masters overnight. The servants' clothes were always the most ordinary kind, so this time there was no need to worry about that.

After breakfast, everyone slept for two hours before getting up again to continue making clothes. The fabric that Zisu brought was enough to make four sets of clothes and shoes for each person, and the princess planned to make all the fabric into clothes and shoes.

The princess even had her maids rummage through mud to make the finished coarse cloth clothes look as old as possible. Even the worst quality coarse cloth clothes would attract the attention of thieves.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye, and Zisu visited the Jiang family again at Peach and Plum Garden. This time, she brought ten simple flints and two bolts of coarse cloth. Two days ago, she had made a special trip to the county town to have a blacksmith specially craft twenty flints.

The flint and steel was something Zisu had read about in a book in her dream. The book described it as an ancient fire-starting tool, shaped like a curved sickle during its forging, and named for the sparks it produced when struck with flint.

A flint and steel striker consists of three basic parts: flint, tinder, and steel bar.

Flint: Generally produced in riverbeds, it is a hard stone that has been washed by river water and collided and rubbed against each other, and can produce sparks when it is impacted at high speed.

Artemisia argyi: The tender leaves of Artemisia argyi. It is a perennial shrub-like herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family. Its leaves are picked in late spring and summer, dried in the sun or shade, and then crushed into fluffy pieces by hand for later use.

Steel bar: shaped into a curved sickle to form the main component of the flint and steel. A piece of leather is inlaid inside the curved steel bar to make a small handbag. Two pieces of iron are inlaid at the opening, one of which is magnetic and automatically seals the opening when not in use, preventing the flint, moxa wool, and other items inside from being lost or getting damp.

A flint and steel can also be threaded with a nice rope and hung on the waist as an ornament, and it is not easy to lose.

At that time, steel bars were extremely rare and expensive. In order to forge these twenty flints, Zisu not only gave the blacksmith the method for forging flints for free, but also paid five hundred taels of silver.

Ten flints and steels, one for each of the Jiang family's masters.

The Zisu family also had ten flints: Zisu, Yu Shi, Grandma, Yu Zhe, Yu Han, Shangguan Yi, Shen Laihui, Aunt Li, Xiangli, and Yingtao, one for each of them.

Yue'er accepted the flint and steel and asked curiously, "Sister Zisu, what is this and what is it used for?"

Zisu: "This is a flint and steel, much better than a regular flint and steel. No one can predict what might happen in the future, and if we end up in the deep mountains and wilderness, starting a fire won't be easy. With this flint and steel, everything will be much easier! You each get one, and take good care of it; it's best not to lose it! With fire, we won't have to worry too much no matter where we are!"

Jiang Shichang: "Zisu is absolutely right. Remember this, you can't lose your flint and steel! With them, no matter where we end up, we'll have the basic necessities for survival. If we lose them, and we're stuck deep in the mountains, we won't be able to cook anything. If we encounter a pack of wolves, lighting a few fires will scare them away! In short, flint and steel are extremely important, everyone remember that!"

The children all nodded vigorously, and Yue'er said, "I'll tie it with a rope and hang it around my neck!"

The flower nodded: "I'll wear it around my neck too!"

The eldest princess said, "Don't hang them all around your neck. You can sew one or two into your clothes. A cunning rabbit has three burrows, that way it's safer!"

Jiang Quan: "I wear it in my hair as an accessory!"

Jiang Quan was the eldest son of the princess, and he was three years younger than Zisu.

Everyone shared their opinions and came up with a variety of ideas.

Zisu continued, "Your Highness, I suggest that each of you make a small bundle out of coarse cloth and carry it with you at all times. Inside the bundle, put a change of clothes and shoes, and also a small cloth bag. In the bag, put a handful of roasted soybeans, a handful of rice, and a few taels of silver. If anything unexpected happens, you can just grab the bundle and go, so you won't be caught without anything!"

The Eldest Princess: "Hmm, that's a good idea! Let's do it that way!"

After seeing Zisu off, the eldest princess gathered everyone together and quickly made small cloth bags and bundles using the coarse cloth Zisu had brought. Even the youngest, Yue'er, was no exception, though hers wasn't a bundle, but a small backpack.

This was Zisu's idea. Backpacks were a novelty at this time, and if an adult carried one, it would be very conspicuous and easily attract attention. Only a few-year-old child could carry one without drawing so much attention. So Zisu sewed a small backpack for her younger brother and cousin.

The inspiration for this backpack comes from a dream I had, and from a backpack that Shangguan Zhihua sewed in my previous life.

Zisu returned home and then went to the old clan chief's house.

The old clan chief said happily, "Oh, it's Zisu! Please come in quickly. Sixth Grandfather just boiled some salted peanuts. Come and have a taste. If you like them, take some back with you for Yi-ge and Han-ge!"

Zisu: "Thank you, Sixth Grandpa! The salted peanuts that Sixth Grandma cooked are the best in all of Wuliping. I love them, and I'm sure my brothers will love them too!"

While eating peanuts, Zisu talked to her sixth grandfather about Shangguan Chengfeng's family and why her uncle had resigned from his official post.

Grandpa Liu sighed, "Alas, this family is too vicious and shameless! Fortunately, they were expelled from the clan long ago, otherwise, they would have brought shame upon our ancestors! Zisu, don't be too sad, this family will get their comeuppance sooner or later!"

Zisu: "Sixth Grandfather, Heaven is blind, allowing this family to gain power. These past few days, I've been uneasy, feeling like something terrible is about to happen. I've come today to ask the old clan chief to help safeguard some money, just in case!"

The old clan chief said, "Alright, no problem! Sixth Grandfather has a secret place where he hides things that no one but your Sixth Grandmother knows about!"

Zisu placed a coarse cloth money bag on the table: "Sixth Grandfather, there are three thousand taels of silver notes here. Please keep them safe for me. If you encounter any difficulties, you can take some money from here to help you in an emergency."

The old clan leader was taken aback: "Zisu girl, why are you giving me so much money? What if you accidentally lose it? Besides, even if Shangguan Chengfeng's family were to target you, they wouldn't go so far as to confiscate your property, would they? Aren't you overthinking giving me so much money?"

Zisu: "Sixth Grandfather, it's not that I'm overthinking it. Look at the situation. The Emperor has suffered a stroke, and the Empress is seriously ill. The Shangguan Chengfeng family, taking advantage of the Rong'an Prince's Mansion, are acting arrogantly. My uncle was even forced to resign! Even the title of Princess has been stripped, and the Princess's Mansion and the Jiang family have had their property confiscated! Who knows if my title of County Princess will be stripped in the future? Who knows if Xiaoshitan will be the next to have its property confiscated?"

Upon hearing this, the old clan chief was immediately startled: "That's right, the Shangguan Chengfeng family is so vicious, what wouldn't they do? Very well, I'll keep this money for you. Don't worry, once things have calmed down, I'll return every penny to you! If anything serious happens, I'll find a way to get the money back to you later!"