After being beaten up, Chen Zhao became much more obedient.
From then on, he quietly served as an apprentice with Chen Tiantian and never dared to cause any trouble again, at least on the surface.
So they lived in peace for a while.
Mid-Autumn Festival soon arrived, and Doctor Li gave Yingbao a few days off so that she could go back home to celebrate the festival.
That afternoon, Jiang Quan came in a horse-drawn carriage to pick up his little cousin, and Jiang Jie was also in the carriage.
"Sister! Sister!" Jiang Jie jumped off the carriage to help his sister carry her bag, and said with a grin, "Mr. Wu gave me five days off this time, so I can relax at home."
Yingbao rubbed his head and asked, "How do you want to relax?"
"Brother Yuanbao said he wanted to go to the Sichuan River to catch fish, and when he returns to the county, he will bring it to his master to make fish sashimi."
Yuanbao also went to school in the county town, but he was not studying under Mr. Wu.
Jiang Sanlang found a private tutor for his nephew who had an extremely good reputation. It was said that several scholars passed the imperial examinations under his tutelage, including one who became a juren.
Yingbao: "Then let's go fishing. Second aunt also said that when I come back, we can go to Beishan to pick honey locusts. Then we can go to Beishan to have a look."
"Yeah." Jiang Jie climbed onto the carriage and helped his sister.
After the two were seated, Jiang Quan whipped the carriage and drove away.
At this time, Chen Tiantian came out of the pharmacy and stood at the door, staring at the carriage going away in a daze.
On the way, Jiang Quan told his little cousin about what had happened in the shop recently.
"A few days ago, a few thugs came to our shop and made trouble, saying they wanted protection money and would rob us if we didn't give them money."
Jiang Quan said angrily: "They also smashed several cans of preserved fruits."
Yingbao was not surprised at all. In her previous life, she was blackmailed by thugs even when she was selling ice water. It was no use going to the government office for help. The constables didn't care at all because they were in cahoots with the thugs.
Later, he spent a large sum of money to bribe a ruthless man to deal with those thugs, and only then did he settle the matter.
But she doesn't need to do this in this life, because she has Wu Daozi, the strongest backer to support her.
"Second brother, I asked you to send some fruit to the captain and Jin Wu and Cheng San every month. Have you done so?"
It would be better for the county magistrate to take care of it now and offer some incense to those constables first. If that doesn't work, then he can bring out the big official.
"Yes, they did. They even came to our shop once." Jiang Quan said, "But we didn't run into each other."
Yingbao: "Then find a chance for them to meet."
Their own offerings cannot be in vain, they should also do something.
Jiang Quan was in a dilemma. "How can we make them meet?"
"I'll go to the county town later and we'll talk about it." There are only a few gangsters in the county town, and some of them have inherited their father's business. Yingbao had dealt with them many times in her previous life.
It's easy to find those people.
"oh."
The little cousin always has ideas, and Jiang Quan doesn’t think there is anything wrong with asking for advice whenever he has something to do.
Anyway, he just needs to be a boy who enjoys the cool breeze. He has his elder brother and younger cousin to protect him, so he can be happy and relaxed.
Back home, Yingbao was warmly welcomed by the two dogs again. Jiang Wu had just returned home from the martial arts training ground and when he saw his sister and brother, he clamored to have a sparring match.
Chunniang said angrily, "Stop making trouble, go wash your faces, and dinner will be served soon."
The children ran to wash their hands and faces, and Jiang Sanlang helped his wife carry the bowls and set the table for dinner.
Today we had steamed fish, chicken with bamboo fungus, fried prawns, boiled eggs, cabbage and tofu, and cold cucumber. We also had a bowl of winter melon soup and a plate of sliced cantaloupe.
Chunniang also cooked a pot of golden ear porridge, adding lotus seeds and wolfberries.
The family happily had a reunion dinner, and tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival, and they will celebrate the festival with their uncles, grandparents.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is the same as in previous years, with people erecting bamboo towers and hanging lanterns, worshiping the moon first and then eating.
However, this year is different from last year, because Nanpo is no longer home to just the Jiang family, but more than 40 households.
Every household hangs lanterns and sets up an altar table at the door, and then releases river lanterns after dinner. It is quite lively.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yan Ru took some nephews and nieces to Beishan to pick soapberries.
Not only can soapberry be used to make fragrant pancakes, but the soapberry seeds can also be peeled into crystal clear soapberry rice.
Jiang Quan carried a long bamboo pole with a sickle tied to one end. When he saw a soapberry tree, he went over to cut the soapberries and let his younger brothers and sisters pick them up under the tree.
These soapberries grow on tall soapberry trees. The trunks are covered with sharp thorns and cannot be reached without a long bamboo pole.
Yingbao picked up a lot of soap beans and quietly put them away, preparing to grow some seedlings in the cave.
The outer wall of their village has never been built, which is a big hidden danger.
The soapberry tree is full of poisonous thorns, which can not only protect against bandits, but also against wild beasts. After growing the soapberry seedlings, she planted them in a circle around the village just in case.
Even if something unexpected happens in the future, with this layer of protection, the villagers and I will be safe too.
The plots in the novels should be as far away as possible. I just want to live a peaceful life with my parents and brothers.
"Sister! Yoyo ran into the woods!" Jiang Wu shouted and tried to chase after her, but was stopped by Yuanbao.
"You can't go in." Yuanbao held on to his little cousin tightly, "There are wolves in the woods."
Not only were there wolves, but there were also other wild animals that could harm people. It was very dangerous for a three or four-year-old child to go into the woods.
Yingbao was also anxious and shouted a few times: "Yo Yo! Yo Yo!" There was no sound in the deep woods.
Seeing this, Jiang Quan climbed up a tall tree and looked around. He vaguely saw a few deer running away in the distance, followed by a tall and strong deer wearing a leather saddle.
"Oh no, Yoyo ran away with the deer."
Jiang Quan got down from the tree and said to his little cousin, "We can't catch up."
If Uncle San and the others were here, perhaps they could chase after them.
But they were all children of a few years old, and he was the oldest. But he didn't dare to go into the mountains alone.
As for Second Aunt, she is just a woman. How could she run into the forest to chase a deer? Even if she wanted to, she couldn't catch it.
Yingbao felt sad for a while, then let it go. "Let it go. Even if there's a leather saddle tied to Yoyo's back, I don't know if it will hurt it."
Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu both had tears in their eyes.
They have had Yoyo with them since they were born and have long regarded it as a family member.
But Yoyo just ran away like that, and they were sadder than anyone else.
Yingbao saw her brother crying and comforted him, "Don't be sad, maybe it will come back after a while."
Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu curled their lips, wiped their tears, and nodded.
"Why don't we go back to the village and call for help?" Erni said, "Since the deer are here, they will definitely not leave for a while."
Yingbao shook her head: "No, what if Yoyo gets hurt?"
Not everyone cares about Yoyo's life or death. She would rather let Yoyo go than see it being hunted by the villagers.
A few people picked soapberries for a while and filled the backpacks they brought, but Yoyo didn't come back.
Seeing that it was getting late, Yan Ru said, "Go back. Let your father and others come over to see us tomorrow."
Yingbao and her brother nodded, and walked down the mountain, looking back every step of the way.
The next day, Jiang Sanlang, Jiang Erlang and several villagers went to Beishan to look for the deer, but they didn't find any after two days of searching.
After returning, Jiang Sanlang had to tell his daughter that Youyou had really gone with the deer herd.
Yingbao was no longer sad and said, "Just let it go." It must have been led away by the doe in the herd.
Alas, it’s also my fault for not finding a deer wife for it earlier.
Jiang Sanlang patted his daughter's head and said, "When Dad is done with his busy schedule, I will go into the mountains and catch one for you."
"No." She never wanted to raise deer again.