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As Xiao Lihua stepped forward, everyone moved aside. Xiao Lihua still had some reputation in the Village. Originally, the villagers thought she was climbing the social ladder by marrying someone wealthy and making a fuss after getting married, looking down on her. However, Xiao Lihua had denied these claims, and since she had done good deeds for the Village and always acted generously, the simple-minded villagers believed she might have been wronged, which explained her mental instability over the years. With her bad reputation gone, only her good reputation remained. Xiao Lihua had previously helped Simpleton, and now as she approached, everyone wondered if she could help Simpleton once more.
Simpleton looked at Xiao Lihua, feeling a glimmer of hope rise within him. However, he moved his lips but said nothing. He thought that his family had already troubled Xiao Lihua more than once and felt they couldn't burden her again.
Sister Zhu said, "Xiao Lihua, what’s going on? Are you really going to stick your neck out?"
"Zhu Family, you've made Simpleton pay too much; your heart is too black. Taking advantage of the Villagers like this is definitely not right. Aren't you afraid of being spat on?" Xiao Lihua replied to Sister Zhu, thinking that this person truly didn't care about their reputation and was only interested in money.
Sister Zhu widened her eyes and said, "How is my heart black? My family has four acres of good Paddy Field! Just like that, those damned pigs trampled it. If we can't harvest food later, how are we supposed to live? Should we just starve? The remaining crops that survived will probably only be enough to pay taxes; you’re just standing there talking without feeling any pain!"
"Zhu Family, your Paddy Field is not top quality; it can only be considered average. Be careful not to sprain your tongue while boasting."
"Exactly! I see that the seedlings in that field can still survive about seventy to eighty percent. If you make Simpleton compensate for half of the yield all at once, how much profit do you think you'll gain?"
"That's right! Be careful not to overeat later!"
"Why did the pigs go trample Four Brothers' fields instead of theirs? Who knows what the reason is?"
"What reason? Good people get rewarded!"
The crowd chimed in with various comments, and none spoke in favor of the Zhu Family. They all felt that they were being excessive and almost ended up saying that the Zhu Family deserved to have their fields trampled by pigs. This not only infuriated Sister Zhu but also made Zhu Da unable to maintain his composure.
Sister Zhu glared at everyone and said, "If you keep making sarcastic remarks, I'll let my pigs trample your fields and see if you're good people or bad people! If you have the ability, don’t come asking me for money!"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. Sister Zhu might actually do something like that; it wasn't worth provoking someone as prickly as her.
Seeing this reaction, Sister Zhu proudly placed her hands on her hips and said to Xiao Lihua, "Xiao Lihua, if you're going to help Simpleton with money, then do so; if not, just stay out of it! I say your family is now one of the richest in the Village; helping with compensation should be easy for you. Why don't you just pay up?"
"There's no need, no need," Simpleton quickly said.
Xiao Lihua raised an eyebrow. She was wealthy, but she didn't want Sister Zhu to take advantage. Seeing her smug expression made Xiao Lihua want her to regret it later. She waved her hand at Simpleton, signaling him not to rush.
Xiao Lihua said to Sister Zhu, "Everyone says that your paddy field was damaged by less than half, yet you insist it was ruined by seventy or eighty percent. We won't argue with you about it; it's pointless to debate with someone like you. But don't think you can take advantage of this situation. I have a suggestion; let's see if it works out so that no one loses."
Sister Zhu frowned at the mention of Xiao Lihua's suggestion. She didn't believe Xiao Lihua had any good ideas. Last year, when she sold those piglets to Zhang Lianxiang, it ended up being a loss for her, and that was Xiao Lihua's doing. This time might be the same.
Simpleton hurriedly asked Xiao Lihua what her idea was, and the villagers chimed in with their questions; everyone acknowledged that Xiao Lihua was clever.
Li Gao also said, "Xie Si's Daughter-in-law, please share your idea."
Xiao Lihua explained, "Last year was a good harvest; every household reaped plenty. I remember that Sister Zhu's family harvested fourteen dan of rice from four mu of land. This year seems promising as well, but even if it's good, it will likely be similar to last year—around fourteen dan of rice. How about this: you can rent your four mu of land to Simpleton's family for thirteen dan of grain or the equivalent in cash for rice? Then Simpleton's family can farm the land. What do you all think?"
Everyone was stunned by Xiao Lihua's proposal. Some who weren't very sharp couldn't quite grasp whether this idea was beneficial or not—who would gain and who would lose?
Sister Zhu's mind raced; she felt like her family might be getting a good deal. After all, working hard might yield only thirteen or fourteen dan of rice, but now they could receive that without any effort—it seemed like a guaranteed profit. However, she thought if Simpleton had to pay her seven dan of grain, that would be even better for her, though she knew he wouldn't agree.
"No way! What if this year's harvest is better than last year? Wouldn't my family end up losing?"
After considering it further, Sister Zhu still refused.
Simpleton remained silent; he thought Xiao Lihua's idea was decent but felt a headache coming on at the thought of having to come up with so much grain or money all at once. If the Zhu family made him pay seven dan of grain, at least he could wait until the rice was ripe before paying.
Xie Youshun suggested, "Let's wait until harvest time and see if it's better than last year! That way we can also assess how much damage your land has sustained."
Zhu Da saw Xie Youshun open his mouth, and he also said, "Big Tiger Lady, let's go with Sister Four's suggestion!"
Zhu Da thought to himself that the Xie couple was definitely going to help Simpleton out. Their family wouldn't benefit from this; although this year was said to be a good harvest, it certainly wouldn't be as good as last year. Whether they could get thirteen loads of grain was uncertain. Getting that much at once while saving effort was a good thing, and he didn't want to offend the villagers too much.
The village chief also said, "I think Sister Si's idea is quite good; let's do it this way! Zhu Family, what do you think? This should be fine."
Sister Zhu knew after Xie Youshun spoke that her plans for Ruyi were not going to work out. Once the head of the household and the village chief spoke, she decided to go along with it, saying, "Since both the village chief and my husband have said so, let's do it! Thirteen loads of grain; once we harvest the new rice, we want two loads, and the remaining fifteen loads should be converted into silver for us! We need it immediately!"
Simpleton immediately worried upon hearing that they wanted silver right away. He thought he would have to borrow money again, but since this was the best solution to the problem, he could only accept it. Besides borrowing money, there really wasn't a better way.
Seeing that the matter was settled, everyone began to disperse. They were also afraid that Simpleton would ask them for loans; no one had much extra money on hand, and even if they did, they didn't want to lend it out.
Xiao Lihua said, "Simpleton, do you want to cultivate this land? If you do, we can lend you silver; when the time comes, you can pay us back. If you don't want to cultivate it, then just transfer the land to us. After all, this land is adjacent to ours; it's convenient for farming."
Simpleton replied, "That won't do, niece-in-law. This time we owe you and Youshun a favor, but we can't trouble you again. Moreover, my pigs have trampled your land; I still have to compensate you!"
Xiao Lihua looked at this man who suddenly seemed ten years older and thought about how spirited he had been last year. In just one year, all misfortunes seemed to have fallen upon him. She felt sympathy for him and wanted to help him out.
"Simpleton, we're all from the same village. You said Youshun is your nephew; I'm your niece-in-law. There's no need for you to feel embarrassed about borrowing our silver. And don't worry about those pigs trampling our land. How about this: when the time comes, just let us use two mu of paddy field as payment for the silver we lend you. You can pay us back with rice once it's harvested."
With Xiao Lihua saying this, Xie Youshun chimed in from the side, thinking that his wife was truly kind-hearted.
Seeing that this couple was sincere, Simpleton finally agreed. He thought these two were really good people and had helped him once again. He could wait until after harvesting the grain; aside from paying taxes, everything left could go to them!
The village chief wrote a rental contract for both families because villagers renting land from each other required a written agreement due to past conflicts. Once it was finished, Xiao Lihua smiled and thought that Zhu Family would surely regret it in the future; with this contract in place, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
Yang Cao said, "Li Hua is truly kind-hearted."
Xiao Lihua smiled and said, "It's just that we speak too quickly. With a good-hearted person like you, sister-in-law, you will definitely help."
Upon hearing this, Yang Cao also laughed and said, "That's true. But Li Hua, you just mentioned borrowing two acres of land. What does that mean? Didn't you say you would have Simpleton and the others repay you with the grain they harvest?"
Simpleton also looked at Xiao Lihua. He had wanted to ask earlier but felt that Xiao Lihua wouldn't trick him, so he didn't ask in front of so many people.
Xiao Lihua explained her plan; she wanted to raise fish in the Paddy Field.
"Raising fish in the Paddy Field? Can that work? Won't they eat the rice?" Yang Cao exclaimed in surprise; it was the first time she had heard of such an interesting idea.
The village chief's eyes lit up upon hearing this; he thought it might actually be feasible.
Xiao Lihua continued, "It can work. Sometimes there are fish in the small ditches where water flows out; why can't we raise them in the Paddy Field? Plus, they can help eat pests, which will allow the rice to grow better. In the end, we could have a thousand or eight hundred fish per acre. Not only will we earn from the rice, but these fish can also bring in quite a bit of money. Village chief, if we're going to raise them, we should do it soon; now is the right time. However, let's not mention it to the villagers. If they want to raise fish, they'll naturally follow along; if they're timid, then forget it. We don't want them blaming us later if their fish don't do well."
Upon hearing Xiao Lihua mention that raising fish could be very profitable, Simpleton became excited at the thought of having a thousand or eight hundred fish per acre and being able to pay off his debts! He immediately told Xiao Lihua that he wanted to raise fish and asked Xie Youshun and the others to take him along.
The village chief hesitated a bit, but Yang Cao supported the idea. Xiao Lihua had made quite a bit of money this year; she believed that as long as it was Xiao Lihua's idea, it would definitely be profitable.
Xie Youshun said to Xiao Lihua, "Let's raise fish in our Paddy Field."
The village chief asked, "Where will we get so many fish fry?"
Xiao Lihua replied, "Don't worry about that, village chief. We have ways to get them; we'll have as many as we need."
Xie Youshun wondered why when he went to Zhao Linting's place, he heard the servants talking about fish fry so seriously. It turned out that his daughter-in-law had already thought it through; she truly was a goddess of wealth.
Mu Tou clapped his hands and said, "I want to raise little fish! Mom, I want to raise little fish! I want to grow them into big fish, and then eat the braised fish you make! And steamed fish! And tofu fish! And..."
Shi Tou patted his head and said, "You little foodie! Mom, I want to eat sauerkraut fish!"
The grandchildren of Simpleton were also clapping their hands nearby, creating quite a lively atmosphere.
Xiao Lihua said to the village chief, "Chief, if we can raise fish in this Paddy Field and do it well, it will be the first of its kind. When the county hears about it, it will be a good thing."
As soon as the village chief heard this, he immediately understood and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's raise fish. If anyone in the Village wants to join in, let them do so. But we shouldn't rush them."
The village chief thought that even if they didn't succeed, it would only be a small loss of money. However, if they succeeded, it could elevate their status in the eyes of the county. Xiaoqiao Village would truly prosper!
On the way home, Yang Cao said to Xiao Lihua, "Once the fish are really raised successfully, you might offend the Zhu Family again."
Xiao Lihua smiled and replied, "She brought it upon herself."
Xiao Lihua had not forgotten that her arrival in this world was also related to Sister Zhu. Over the past year, Sister Zhu had always been at odds with her; let her know that going against her would not lead to good outcomes!
Soon after, Xie Youshun's family contacted someone who sold fish fry. On the day they released the fry into the water, everyone in the village came out to watch. Seeing so many fry being released and hearing what they said, many people were tempted and began buying fry themselves. In the end, statistics showed that more than half of the village had purchased them.
Sister Zhu looked at the fry and glared at Xiao Lihua, thinking to herself that she would not let this go easily!
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