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墨書 Inktalez
Returning to the Village, they first went home to put everything back in the house, stored away the silver notes and contract documents, locked the door, and then headed to Wang Dashan's house to check on the children.
As soon as they entered, they saw Stone and Wood playing marbles together. The marbles were made of clay; with some water mixed into the clay, they were kneaded into round and solid balls. This was taught to them by Xiao Lihua, and now all the children in the Village were playing with them. Xiao Lihua had become an almost mythical figure in their eyes; they used to be afraid of her, but now they thought she was great. It just goes to show how simple a child's world can be.
"Xie Fourth Uncle, Aunt Xie, you’re back!" Copper Coin exclaimed as he stood up from where he had been trying to flick a marble into a hole but missed. Upon seeing Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua, he immediately shouted out.
Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua responded with smiles. Xiao Lihua took a small paper bag from the basket and handed it to him, saying, "This is pine nut candy and malt candy. Take it and enjoy, but don’t eat too much at once; otherwise, you might get cavities."
Copper Coin cheered and ran over to take the paper bag, thanking her before calling Stone and Wood over to share the candy.
Stone and Wood greeted their parents and then ran off with Copper Coin to eat candy together.
Zhang Lianxiang came out of the house and saw the three children huddled around a small stone table unwrapping the paper bag. She said to Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua, "You come here just to bring things all the time. Candy is expensive; you don’t have to keep buying it for the kids. It’s better for them to eat some rice instead; that will help them grow taller."
Xiao Lihua laughed and replied, "Kids love candy when they're young. Once they grow up like us, they won’t care for it as much. How much can they eat anyway? Copper Coin is so sensible; I really like him. I love giving him candy. If you want him to grow taller, I can bring him some meat too."
"You’re getting more and more talkative; I’m not the one providing for you," Zhang Lianxiang chuckled. She was happy that Xiao Lihua cared for her own child.
Xie Youshun asked if Wang Dashan was home.
Zhang Lianxiang sighed and said, "He’s at the village chief’s place dealing with that bridge issue. Today there was another disturbance in the Village. Wang Bo's Second Daughter-in-Law had a quarrel with her mother-in-law. Aunt Wang angrily called her a disaster from Shangqiao Village and said she wanted to send her back home. That Second Daughter-in-Law is quite fierce herself; she threatened to hang herself or throw herself into a well, causing quite a stir in the whole village."
"What happened in the end?"
Xiao Lihua asked, knowing that Wang Bo was the old man who drove an ox cart when going to market. She hadn’t expected that his family also had a Daughter-in-Law from Shangqiao Village. It made sense; life in Shangqiao Village was good, so girls willing to marry into Xiaqiao Village would likely end up with good families there. Wang Bo's family had oxen; their life should be decent.
Zhang Lianxiang continued, "Normally people would try to mediate these things, but at such a critical moment like this, nine out of ten people in the Village harbor resentment towards Shangqiao Village. Everyone is simmering with anger; they would rather take it out on a Shangqiao daughter-in-law than calm down. If it weren’t for that well being something everyone needs water from, no one would care if someone jumped in. In the end, Sister Yang managed to talk her down before anything tragic happened. However, because of this incident, resentment towards Shangqiao Village has intensified among the villagers; many have gone to see the village chief about it, including Copper Coin's father."
Xiao Lihua thought about how just being away for half a day had led to such an incident. If they didn’t repair the bridge soon and things continued like this, there might really be a serious problem one day. In summer, people's tempers flared easily; at that point, it would be impossible to contain it all.
Xie Youshun looked at his daughter-in-law and thought that it was truly a great thing for her to repair the bridge. With such a daughter-in-law, he felt a warm current flowing in his heart, as if there was light on his face, and his back was straighter.
Zhang Lianxiang asked, "When you went out today, did you encounter any wild beasts on the road at the foot of the mountain? You all are quite brave to go without anyone else. Look at Wang Bo and the others; they haven't dared to go out recently, fearing they might encounter wolves again like last time."
Since that incident where someone was bitten, the people of Xiaqiao Village have become even more timid. Even when they do go out, they no longer dare to take Cattle with them. Only a group of men armed with knives, sticks, and bows would venture out. They haven't encountered wolves again, but out of four or five outings, they heard wolf howls two or three times, which frightened them so much that their calves cramped up. The villagers prefer not to go out if they can avoid it.
Xiaqiao Village is becoming a closed-off village; how could everyone not be frustrated? Especially for families like Wang Bo's who rely on going out to earn money, their frustration is even greater.
Xiao Lihua said, "Fortunately, we didn't encounter anything on our way, but that road is really difficult to walk on; it's full of pits and stones."
"That's right. It's been years since anyone walked that road. If it weren't for all the stones on that road, it would probably be overgrown with weeds by now. I originally thought I would never walk that road in this lifetime; I didn't expect to be back on it again. Who knows how long we will have to keep walking? It's truly worrying," Zhang Lianxiang sighed.
Xiao Lihua said to her, "Sister-in-law, don't worry; we won't have to walk for much longer. The bridge will be repaired soon."
"What did you say? The bridge will be repaired? Does that mean Shangqiao Village is willing to contribute money?"
Zhang Lianxiang's eyes widened as she grabbed Xiao Lihua's hand and asked excitedly; this is a big deal. However, her smile quickly faded as she sighed and said, "Even if Shangqiao Village is willing to contribute half of the Silver, the bridge won't be repaired anytime soon. Our village has been drained of its resources; some families are even in debt. It's quite difficult for each household to immediately come up with two or three taels of Silver. By the time we gather enough Silver, who knows what year or month it will be."
Xiao Lihua replied, "Shangqiao Village doesn't need to contribute Silver; it's unrelated to their village. This Silver doesn't require our villagers to pay."
"Huh? Then what exactly is going on? Is there a kind-hearted person willing to help our village repair the bridge? Who is it? Tell me so I can thank them!"
Zhang Lianxiang said excitedly. She knew that some wealthy individuals would build bridges and roads for good deeds; Xiaqiao Village must have encountered such good fortune.
Xiao Lihua smiled and said, "Thank whom? We will also need to use that bridge when it's done; as long as the villagers don't say anything bad about me when the time comes, that's enough."
Zhang Lianxiang took a while to process this and pointed at Xiao Lihua, stammering as she said, "Are you saying that you are the one providing the Silver?"
Xiao Lihua nodded and said, "It's our family matter, Sister-in-law, quickly close your mouth, we're about to go in."
Zhang Lianxiang immediately shut her mouth and said, "Are you kidding me? To repair a bridge, including labor and materials, it costs four to five hundred taels! Where are you going to get that much Silver? Even if I’m worried about you trying to make me laugh, you shouldn't joke about something like this!"
"Sister-in-law, I'm serious. We really need to repair the bridge. If you don't believe me, ask Shitou's father."
"Sister-in-law, it's true. We plan to build a bridge."
Xie Youshun affirmed his wife's words from the side.
Zhang Lianxiang supported Xiao Lihua and said, "Oh no! I feel a bit dizzy. Help me out! What on earth is going on? Where did you get the Silver? That's four to five hundred taels! When you split from the family, you didn't even have ten taels of Silver. How could it have turned into five hundred taels in such a short time?!"
Xiao Lihua recounted the prepared explanation, saying she sold a pickled vegetable recipe and planned to use the money to repair the bridge for the Village. After hearing this, Zhang Lianxiang was somewhat skeptical, but since the couple both said so, she had no choice but to believe them. Grabbing Xiao Lihua's hand, she was at a loss for words. That was five hundred taels of Silver; if it were her, she certainly wouldn't be willing to spend it. She would take her family to live in town or the county instead of repairing any bridge. Yet here was the Xie couple doing just that, and she suddenly felt a bit ashamed.
Xiao Lihua regretted saying it so early; she only wanted to make Zhang Lianxiang happy. Instead, she was held onto tightly by Zhang Lianxiang, who looked at her with admiration as if she were a hero, making her feel uneasy all over. She could only tell her they were going to the village chief's house to share this good news so that everyone in the Village could be happy too. Zhang Lianxiang immediately agreed and insisted on going along; this was a big event after all, and she wanted to see the excitement and find out who in the Village would dare speak ill of Xiao Lihua afterward.
The three children had been listening nearby and jumped with joy upon hearing about the bridge repair, clamoring to go along.
After locking the door, the three adults and three children headed toward the village chief's house.
Upon arriving at the village chief's house, they saw dozens of people standing in the yard. The spacious yard was packed full of men from various households in the Village who could be considered heads of their families; there were no women or children present. When they entered, everyone wore serious expressions as if there had just been an argument. Upon seeing Xie Youshun and his family arrive, several faces turned even darker.
This is how it is in rural Villages; when there are serious matters to discuss, they prefer not to involve women and children, believing they would only complicate things.
"The men of the Village are discussing important matters here; what are you women and children doing here? Are you here to watch a show? Go back home."
Zhang Shuitao blocked the doorway and spoke with a sharp tone.
Xiao Lihua saw Zhang Shuitao looking at her and knew it was directed at her. She thought to herself that Zhang Shuitao really had it out for her.
Zhang Lianxiang said, "What brings you here? We are here on important business, to bring good news to the Village. Unlike you, a bride from Shangqiao Village who only looks for faults in others. Why didn't you hide today? You are the last person who should be here; you should be back in Shangqiao Village persuading those villagers."
Seeing many people's eyes fixed on her, Zhang Shuitao shrank her neck. She had been hiding inside but had quietly come out to go to the restroom. Upon seeing them, she couldn't help but throw out a couple of remarks, which ended up causing trouble for herself.
"You say you brought good news; what good news could it be? You aren't planning to build a bridge for the Village, are you?" Zhang Shuitao said with a pout.
"You guessed it right; it is about building a bridge!" Zhang Lianxiang replied, feeling relieved.
When everyone heard it was related to building a bridge, their displeasure vanished, and they looked at Zhang Lianxiang with hope. Wang Dashan had already walked over to his wife.
Xiao Lihua let Xie Youshun go talk to the village chief. At such times, men should take the lead. Xie Youshun was a pillar of strength; she could relax and enjoy being a little wife.
When Xie Youshun told the village chief about their plan to build a bridge, the village chief and the villagers were overjoyed upon confirming that this was true. When they heard that this idea came from Xiao Lihua and that it was funded by selling her Secret Recipe, their gazes towards her changed completely.
Zhang Shuitao's face turned red and pale as she looked at Xiao Lihua, unable to believe that this was the same woman who always seemed jealous and irritable.
The news about building a bridge in the village spread quickly like a refreshing breeze, bringing joy to people who were feeling restless in the scorching heat.
The author has something to say: Thanks to Lin Si for the landmine.
Is this kind of chapter considered a transitional chapter? Do you all hope I write it out? I'm used to having some suspense in every chapter, but suddenly this chapter has none; I really don't know if it counts as a transitional chapter~~~
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