0p0 Chapter 46, Year 4
Chapter 46, Year 4
"Little Yao Yao, Auntie's here! Did you miss Auntie?" Shui'er and Xiao He teased him.
"Little Yao Yao, quickly call me uncle, and uncle will give you candy."
Xiaoman, who is already 9 years old, has been frequently punished by her teacher to write the Thousand Character Classic recently, and hasn't come to play with Xiaoyao for almost half a month.
“Feng Dang Su Zilong, how old is Xiao Yaoyao? You’re already giving him candy. What if he chokes?”
Cai Jia Da Tou (Cai Zi He) said with a frown, looking like a strict parent.
"I know that the phoenix and the talent are a perfect match. If you ask me, can't I just tease Xiao Yao Yao?"
Xiaoman pouted and retorted, like a feisty little rooster.
Then the two of them started arguing. Jiang Ni was so annoyed by their argument that she picked up her child and left.
When the young generals saw Jiang Ni carrying the child away, they chased after her like arrows to stop her.
“Sister-in-law Jiang Ni, we haven’t played with Xiao Yaoyao yet. I haven’t played with Xiao Yaoyao for almost half a month. Let’s play a little longer.”
General Zilong spoke pitifully, his eyes seeming to say, "Please have pity on me."
"Yeah, yeah, I haven't played with him for many days... no, I haven't played with him at all."
General Zihe chimed in, his voice as clear and melodious as a nightingale's song.
"Alright, alright, have you two finished the homework assigned by your teachers? Don't wait until tomorrow to get a beating from the teachers again."
Jiang Ni's words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads.
The two of them became incredibly excited when Jiang Ni mentioned homework.
He said proudly, "I finished it a long time ago, otherwise I wouldn't have had time to come and play with Xiaoyao."
"Yes, yes, Sister-in-law Jiang Ni, we're done."
"Alright, alright, you guys play with him nicely, but don't make him cry, or I won't let you play with him next time."
Jiang Ni's words were like a royal decree, and the two nodded quickly.
"No, no, he's always as happy as a blooming flower when he plays with us."
The two people took Xiao Yaoyao from Jiang Ni's arms.
Then the four of them went off to play on the grass like happy little birds.
Yun Dan sat in the bamboo pavilion in the courtyard, watching this scene with a slight smile on her lips, but did not stop it.
Little Yaoyao is already 8 months old and can crawl slowly on the ground, just like a cute little caterpillar.
Previously, it was always Cai's youngest son, his cousin Shizi, and Xiaoman who played with him.
"Four years have passed in the blink of an eye, and I'm 12 years old now."
His martial arts skills have also reached a bottleneck; it's been half a year, and he's still stuck there.
Yun Dan has been having nothing to do lately. If this were modern times, she would have a mobile phone to play with, watch videos, read novels, and watch movies.
These days I'm so bored I'm practically bored out of my mind... Oh, right, I'm bored out of my mind.
The village has already made improvements where necessary, and several couples of people around the same age as Lin Jiang got married during the year.
The village is now:
Charcoal is made in the summer and sold in the winter. Every year, apart from what is used by the village, all the rest can be sold out.
The straw paper was also made in the summer for the village's own use and was not sold.
Yang Hualing works for two and a half hours every day. She has been in Sujia Village for two years and has more than 30 taels of silver in savings.
In Sujia Village, the work schedule is six days on, one day off, except during farming seasons.
If it rains, I go to work in the workshop; if it's sunny, I go to the fields.
If we calculate using the current time...
The daily work hours are:
From 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Soap is made all year round, and they even produced a osmanthus-scented soap, limited to 500 bars per month, with each bar wholesaled to rouge shops for 20 coins.
There are nearly 20,000 bars of stock in the basement of Sujia Village, and more than 2,000 bars of osmanthus soap in stock, so there is no need to worry.
There are already two waterwheels in the village, and even the three neighboring villages have one, and there is one in Fuzi Village.
The government has been following this matter closely, and has even come to Sujia Village, but Yun Dan has not paid any attention to it.
Since it didn't affect the village's funds, Yun Dan didn't want to get involved.
Anyway, the current soap business in the village is enough for the villagers to make a living.
We can proudly say that even though we no longer farm in Sujia Village, we won't starve to death.
However, the grain produced by the fields in Sujia Village has been upgraded and now yields one-third more grain than before.
Although those inferior fields are still inferior fields, they are almost comparable to medium-grade fields.
Yun Dan was sitting in the bamboo pavilion, drinking tea and thinking about things, when Xiao Yue came looking for her.
"Little girl, what are you thinking about?"
"Xiaoyue, you're here. Please have a seat."
While talking, he was also brewing and steeping tea.
That's right, Xiaoyue had a set of furniture from her previous life custom-made at a blacksmith's shop. It was incredibly expensive, costing Yun Dan over a hundred taels of silver.
Because we need 200 such small cups and 50 silver pots, anyway, as Yun Dan said, I have space, I'm not afraid of having too much.
Now every household in Sujia Village brews tea, all thanks to Yundan using her salesman skills from her previous life to get everyone to drink tea together, although the tea leaves are not the same as those from her previous life.
The shopkeeper in the county town said it came from outside the region, and a tael of it costs 500 coins.
Yun Dan was so angry that she almost beat up the shopkeeper; even robbery isn't done like that.
Little did they know that the journey from beyond the borders to the Spirit Kingdom involved passing through two other countries, making it already quite cheap.
"Xiaoya, Xiaoyue, they're having tea." A few more friends arrived.
"You're here, have a seat," Yun Dan said.
"We've come to tell you that Old Master Song in town is having a celebration tonight. He's hired a lot of acrobats and opera singers to perform. Do you two want to go?" the hunter boy, Xiao Hei, said to them.
"Good news! Could it be that this old master Song has stolen some girl and taken her as his concubine?" Yun Dan asked.
Xiao Hei's face darkened when he heard Yun Dan say that.
"What nonsense! I heard that Old Master Song is almost 70 years old, which is considered a long life, and he's a very kind person."
My dad once told me that about 30 years ago, when he was a child, he ate some pancakes that Grandpa Song had given him.
How could he possibly do such a thing? All the elders praised Old Master Song for his kind heart and compassion.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have lived this long." Xiao Hei explained earnestly.
“Little girl, don’t talk nonsense. My grandfather also said that Old Master Song was a great philanthropist,” Afu added, explaining.
"Oh, I see. So why is Old Master Song having a wedding?" Yun Dan asked curiously.
"It seems that Old Master Song's grandson gave birth to a daughter last night." Xiao Hei scratched his head.
"It must be very lively there. Let's go take a look. It's been a long time since we've been to town," Xiaoyue said excitedly.
"But we have to go tonight, so we have to tell our parents, or ask them to take us. I don't know if they'll agree," Xiao Tao said with some worry.
"It's alright, we can call our older brothers. Those young men will definitely bring their wives, and then we can go together," Yun Dan comforted her.
"Great idea! Let's talk to them when they get back. Everyone, go home and cook dinner now. Let's eat early tonight," said Gou'er.
Well, everyone scattered in a flash, leaving Yun Dan shaking her head in disbelief.
Sister-in-law, eat early tonight. We're going to town to watch acrobatics and opera, and we'll buy you and Xiaoyao some clothes while we're at it.
Jiang Ni was busy carrying Xiao Yaoyao on her back, while Yun Dan and her eldest sister, Da Ya, were also helping out.
When Lin Jiang's older cousin returned, Da Ya told them that she was going to town that night to watch a theatrical performance.
To Yun Dan's utter astonishment, both Uncle Lin and his wife, as well as Lin's parents, were going.
Even though we're living in ancient times, we still get subjected to their public displays of affection.
Yun Dan's anger was like a raging fire. "Men only slow down my sword-drawing speed," she thought, and decided to ignore them.
The Song residence was incredibly lively tonight, and the stage was enormous.
Standing outside the Song residence, one can hear the sounds of various gifts being given inside, rising and falling like a symphony.
As the banquet drew to a close, the opera troupe took to the stage, and the performers first sang a poem celebrating a birthday.
The melodious singing seemed to have a magical power, drawing everyone at the table to the stage, where villagers quickly crowded around to watch the performance.
Villagers from other villages, drawn by the sound of the opera, flocked to the stage as if attracted by a magnet.
After the birthday poem was sung, the performers left the stage.
Immediately afterwards, another actor took to the stage and presented a performance of "Eternal Reunion." Old Master Song listened with a beaming smile, and his crimson jacket made his face glow even more.
After the curtain fell on "Eternal Reunion," the sound of gongs and drums resounded on the stage.
A short while later, five people walked out from both sides of the stage and presented a performance of "Light and Clever Play".
This show was the most popular among the audience, especially the children, who flocked to the front of the stage like a tidal wave, cheering loudly for the clown who was doing somersaults.
When Old Master Song and the Song family saw the crowded place, they were overjoyed and couldn't contain their happiness.
The cheers and jubilation of the people were like surging waves, one higher than the next, which undoubtedly proved that the family's daughter had given birth to a daughter.
After watching the somersaults, Yun Dan changed to a bowl-balancing act. After the bowl-balancing act, there were fire-breathing and spear-wielding performances. After all the acrobatic acts were over, they switched to opera singing.
Tonight, the town is bustling with activity, brightly lit, and teeming with people. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares and shouting create a joyful symphony.
"It feels like it's been such a long, long time since I've felt this lively."
Yun Dan thought to herself, a look that only she could understand appearing on her face.
As the play ended and the audience dispersed, Yun Dan and her group of children, each holding a candied hawthorn skewer, sat in the cart, enjoying their treats as the donkey cart slowly made its way towards Sujia Village.