The Whole Village Thrives After Adopting a Lucky Girl

Wei Zhan and Xiao Chengyu spent two days at the Jiang family house.

On the third day, Chui Zhaochen prepared to take them home.

Wei Zhan accepted this bravely, understanding that if he didn’t return, he might be grounded for another six months, so he obediently boarded the carriage, waving goodbye to Huzi and the others: “I’ll come again during the New Year!”

Xiao Chengyu stubbornly refused to leave, kicking and punching the guard who was holding him and crying out for help.

“Ah ah ah! Help! I don’t want to go back! Wuwuwu… I want to get down! I’m not going back!”

The guard didn’t dare to use force, and the young master slipped out of his arms in an unguarded moment.

Xiao Chengyu swiftly ran to Yingbao, hugging her tightly: “Wuwuwu… I don’t want to go back, Sister Yingbao save me…”

Helplessly, Yingbao patted him, “Don’t you want your parents anymore?”

Xiao Chengyu shook his head firmly, his face wet with tears and snot, “No, I don’t.”

Yingbao was speechless, used the hem of his clothes to wipe his face, and coaxed him: “Then you go home first, and come play with your brother Wei Zhan later, okay?”

“No good.” Xiao Chengyu clung to her, sobbing and whimpering, feeling terribly wronged, “Mother won’t allow it.”

Yingbao thought for a while and said: “Then, sister will give you a pot of peach juice, you take it back and let your mother taste it. Maybe she will agree to let you stay here for a few more days.”

Xiao Chengyu blinked, and with his undeveloped mind, he felt that it made a lot of sense through his immature thoughts.

Because the peach juice was too delicious and could help digestion, even when he was full it didn’t harm his stomach or cause pain, surely his mother would like it.

“Then, then I want two pots.” Xiao Chengyu began to bargain.

One pot for his mother, and the other one would be for him to drink.

Yingbao: “Fine, two pots then.”

As long as she could send away this little troublemaker, even giving him three pots would be fine.

After all, the peach trees next to her Pupil Spring had already blossomed and fruited, producing peaches that were large, red, and sweet.

At this time of year, she alone could not finish eating the peaches and grapes and she couldn’t bring them out to share, so she had to cook them into peach juice or grape juice, occasionally bringing out a pot for her brother to drink.

Merely cooking fruit juice could not solve the problem, so she also brewed some peach wine and grape wine in her cave.

In Beijing, she had once bought a pot of yeast, and with the pots compensated by the Xiao family, she could brew a lot of wine.

When the wine was ready and the holidays came, she would bring out some as gifts, or keep the rest for family use.

Yingbao ran back to her house, brought two pots of peach juice for Xiao Chengyu.

Seeing Wei Zhan looking at her reproachfully, she gave him two pots as well, and then finally managed to send the two of them off.

Returning home, Jiang Quan was constantly eyeing his little cousin, pestering her with questions: “Where did you get so much peach juice?”

“I boiled it earlier, stored it in the house and didn’t take it out.” Yingbao replied calmly.

Jiang Quan suspected his little cousin was lying, but had no proof.

“Are you coming to the county seat with me?” he asked.

Yingbao: “No need.” The county store was managed by the two elder cousins, she didn’t need to involve herself in everything.

Moreover, the store side was building a house recently and accommodation would be inconvenient if she went.

Jiang Quan shook his head regretfully, and began to record the golden and silver mushrooms that the younger cousin had moved out.

Their store mainly made big money from the golden and silver mushrooms, and everything else was trifle.

However, this year’s gourds were surprisingly fruitful, drawing many people to the specialty store to buy.

The gourds grown by the villagers were basically sold by Jiang Quan, and every household had earned a good amount of money.

Even a few households in West Village that grew gourds had made a small fortune because of this.

Jiang Quan took a few baskets of mushrooms and dozens of gourds back to the county town. Accompanying him were his elder brother Jiang Cheng, along with Yuanbao and Jiang Jie.

Jiang Yunniang’s family was also taken away by her eldest son, Zhang Yukun. Despite feeling pained about parting with her daughter, before leaving, Jiang Liu secretly gave her twenty taels of silver.

The village also gradually became busy with every household going to the fields to pick cotton.

The Jiang family were the same, the entire family worked on picking cotton.

Jiang Sanlang also hired about twenty people from other villages to help with the family’s work.

Chunniang and the eldest and second wives stayed home to cook, delivering the food to the fields for those hired workers to eat.

Once the cotton was picked, it was time to start ginning.

In Dongchen Village, almost every family had cotton ginning machines, and the cotton seeds harvested were quickly ginned.

Jiang Sanlang wrapped up the ginned cotton with oil paper, five pounds per roll, and sent a portion of it to their own shop, with the remaining part prepared to be spun into yarn for weaving cloth.

At this time, the County Government also dispatched people to purchase cotton and seeds, to be transported to the Prefecture City.

The County Government’s purchase was quite extensive this time, involving twenty to thirty mule carts. The procession was grand and truly spectacular.

Fortunately, cotton farming had become widespread in Chuanhe Town, so many households were willing to sell their surplus cotton and seeds to the government, saving both time and effort.

After the cotton was harvested, the villagers began to pull up the cotton stalks, tidy up the fields, and prepare to plant wheat.

The Jiang family still hired people to do these tasks, taking care of their two meals a day.

One day, Erni and Yingbao went to the fields to deliver food.

The food was packed in wooden buckets, placed in a large bamboo basket, and carried on a small horse to the cotton field.

Halfway through their journey, they saw a woman standing by the roadside.

The woman’s hair was white and disheveled, her face was old and wrinkled, and her clothes were patch upon patch.

“Erni.” The woman called out, her tearful eyes looking at Erni.

The momentary surprise on Erni’s face gave way to recognition. Her mother, Mrs. Leng, stood before her.

“Mother? What happened to you?” Erni was shocked to discover her mother was in such a dilapidated condition.

Mrs. Leng took a step forward and unwrapped a parcel in her hand. Two small clothes and a packet of cloth strips were revealed.

“Your mother sewed these for you.” She handed the small parcel to Erni: “You’re already ten, you’ll be needing these soon.”

Erni held the parcel, biting her lip, her tears flowed uncontrollably.

Touching Leng’s rough hands, Erni choked up, “Mother, why are you doing this to yourself?”

Mrs. Leng held onto Erni and began to sob loudly. Through her tears, she cried, “It was all my fault, I’ve wronged your father, and Huzi, and you. I’m so full of regret…”

After being abandoned by Zuo Cheng, she returned to her natal home, only to be sold by her brother to a man over sixty, for the price of two goats.

This older man was a brute, frequently belittling and humiliating her, refusing to allow her to go out, and forcing her to bear children

However, for reasons unknown, she failed to conceive.

Feeling cheated, the old shepherd confronted the Leng family for compensation, resulting in a fight with Leng’s brothers.

The fight was unfair, with Leng’s young and robust brother easily overcoming the old shepherd, who passed away a few days later.

The villagers helped bury the old man, and Mrs. Leng finally regained her freedom.

She did not return to her maternal home but stayed in the dilapidated house, living all by herself.

With a few sheep left at home, she sold a couple and kept the rest for breeding.

However, just a few days later, her elder brother and mother came knocking on her door, forcing her to remarry yet again.

This time, Mrs. Leng was adamant about her refusal, threatening to report them to the authorities for the old shepherd’s death.

Only then did her mother and brother fear her, and stopped endangering her peace.

“Erni, your mother doesn’t want anything, just wishes to see you once in a while, can I?” Mrs. Leng cried, holding Erni.

She was full of regret and began to reflect on her past. She had been so convinced that her family was the best option, but had ended up in this tragic state.

Erni nodded, “You can come if you want, but… just don’t be like before. Father has already remarried. Yanru Mother is very kind to Huzi and me. You…you just don’t have to disturb them.”