Wei Zhan and Xiao Chengyu stayed at the Jiang family for two days.
On the third day, Cui Zhaochen prepared to take them back.
Wei Zhan was fine. He knew that if he didn't go back, he might be grounded for another half a year, so he got on the carriage obediently and waved goodbye to Hu Zi and the others: "I'll come again during the Chinese New Year!"
Xiao Chengyu refused to leave, and kicked, hit, and scratched the guards who were holding him, shouting for help at the top of his lungs.
"Ahh! Help! I don't want to go back! Wuuuuuuuu... I want to get down! I won't go back!"
The guards didn't dare to use too much force and accidentally let the young master escape from their arms.
Xiao Chengyu ran to Yingbao and hugged her tightly, "Wuwuwuwu... I don't want to go back, Sister Yingbao, please save me..."
Yingbao patted him helplessly, "So you don't want your parents anymore?"
Xiao Chengyu kept shaking his head, tears and snot streaming down his face: "No, no."
Ying Bao was speechless. She wiped his face with the hem of his clothes and coaxed him, "Then you go home first and come back to play with your brother Wei Zhan later, okay?"
"No." Xiao Chengyu held her tightly, sobbing and crying, feeling very aggrieved. "Mother won't let me."
Yingbao thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll give you a jar of peach juice. Take it back and let your mother try it. Maybe she will agree to let you stay here for a few more days."
Xiao Chengyu blinked, thought about it with his immature brain, and felt that it made sense.
Because peach juice is so delicious and helps digestion, he never gets stomachache even if he eats too much. My mother must like it.
"Well, then I want two jars." Xiao Chengyu began to put forward conditions.
He gave one jar to his mother and drank the other jar himself.
Yingbao: "Okay, two altars is fine."
As long as we get rid of this troublemaker, it will be fine even if we give him three jars.
Anyway, the peach tree next to the pupil spring in his cave has blossomed and borne fruit. The peaches are big, red and sweet, and very delicious.
In this season, peaches and grapes cannot be taken out. She is alone and cannot finish them all, so she can only boil them into peach juice or grape juice, and occasionally take out a jar for her younger brother to drink.
Boiling fruit juice alone could not solve the problem, so she brewed some peach wine and wine in the cave.
He had bought a jar of distiller's yeast in the capital, and with the jar compensated by the Xiao family, he could use it to brew a lot of wine.
When the wine is ready, you can take out some as gifts for others during the New Year or other festivals, or drink it at home.
Yingbao ran back home and brought two jars of peach juice to Xiao Chengyu.
Seeing Wei Zhan's resentful face, he gave him two more jars and then sent the two men away.
When they got home, Jiang Quan kept looking at his little cousin and asked her, "Where did you get so much peach juice?"
"I cooked it before and kept it in the house." Yingbao said calmly.
Jiang Quan suspected that his cousin was lying, but he had no evidence.
"Will you come to the county town with me?" he asked.
Yingbao: “No.” The shop in the county town can be run by my eldest cousin and second cousin, so there is no need for me to get involved in everything.
Besides, they are building a building near the shop recently, so it would be inconvenient to find accommodation there if I go there alone.
Jiang Quan shook his head regretfully and began to register the golden ear and white ear fungus that his little cousin had moved out.
Their shop mainly makes big money from golden ear and white ear fungus, and the rest is just small business.
However, this year's gourds are very popular, and many people go to specialty shops to buy them.
Most of the gourds grown by the villagers were given to Jiang Quan to sell, and every household made a lot of money.
Even several gourd-growing families in Xicun made a fortune from this.
Jiang Quan took a few baskets of mushrooms and a dozen gourds back to the county town. He was accompanied by his elder brother Jiang Cheng, Yuanbao and Jiang Jie.
Jiang Yunniang's family was also taken away by her eldest son Zhang Yukun. Before leaving, Jiang Liushi felt sorry for her daughter and secretly gave her twenty taels of silver.
The village gradually became busy, and every household went to the fields to pick cotton.
The same went for the Jiang family, the whole family went out to pick cotton.
Jiang Sanlang also hired more than 20 people from other villages to help with housework.
Chunniang and her elder and second sisters-in-law cooked at home and then brought the food to the fields for the hired workers.
After picking the cotton, they start ginning it.
Almost every household in Dongchen Village has a cotton gin, and the harvested cotton seeds can be ginned quickly.
Jiang Sanlang rolled the rolled cotton into rolls with oil paper, weighing five pounds each. He sent part of it to his own shop and prepared to spin the rest into yarn for weaving cloth.
At this time, the county government also sent people to purchase cotton and cotton seeds, preparing to transport them to the provincial capital.
The county government purchased a lot this time, and mobilized more than 20 to 30 mule carts. The whole journey was magnificent and quite spectacular.
Fortunately, cotton planting has become popular in Chuanhe Town, and many families are willing to sell their excess cotton and cotton seeds to the government, saving time and effort.
After the cotton harvest is over, the villagers begin to pull out the cotton stalks, tidy up the fields and prepare to plant wheat.
The Jiang family still hired people to do these tasks and provided them with two meals a day.
That day, Erni and Yingbao went to the field to deliver meals.
The food was packed in a wooden barrel, placed in a large bamboo basket, and carried by a pony to the cotton field.
When I was halfway there, I saw a woman standing on the side of the road.
The woman had messy gray hair, an old face, and her clothes were patched up with patches.
"Er Ni." The woman spoke, looking at Er Ni with tearful eyes.
Erni was stunned and looked carefully. It was indeed her biological mother Leng.
"Mom? How did you become like this?" Erni was shocked that her mother had not expected to become like this.
Leng took a step forward and untied a bundle in her hand, revealing two small clothes and a bundle of cloth belts inside.
"This is the little piece of clothing that your mother is making for you." She stuffed the small bundle into Erni's hands: "You are already ten years old, you can use it soon."
Erni held the bundle, bit her lip, and couldn't help shedding tears.
She touched Leng's rough hands and choked up, "Mother, why are you doing this?"
Leng hugged Erni and burst into tears, crying and saying, "It was my fault. I am sorry to your father, to you and Huzi. I regret it so much..."
Not long after she returned to her parents' home after being divorced by Zuo Cheng, she was sold by her brother to a shepherd in his sixties for two sheep.
The old shepherd was a cruel person. He often beat, scolded and humiliated her, did not allow her to go out, and forced her to have a child.
But for some reason, she never got pregnant.
The old shepherd felt that he had been wronged, so he ran to the Leng family to make a fuss and even fought with the Leng brothers.
But the old shepherd was no match for the young and strong Leng Dalang and was knocked down in a few strokes.
The old shepherd was carried back home and died a few days later.
The villagers helped bury the old shepherd, and Leng finally regained her freedom.
She did not return to her parents' home, but chose to stay and live alone in that shabby house.
Because there were several sheep at home, she sold two and kept the remaining two for breeding.
But a few days later, Leng Dalang and his mother came again and forced Leng to remarry.
This time, Leng was determined not to compromise and warned her mother and brothers that if they dared to force her, she would report to the police and say that the old shepherd was beaten to death by them.
Only then did Leng Lao Niang and Leng Da Lang become frightened and dared not harass her again.
"Er Ni, mother doesn't ask for anything. I just want to come and see you occasionally, okay?" Leng cried while hugging Er Ni.
She regretted her decision and thinking back on those years, she was really crazy and believed that her mother's family was the best, and ended up like this.
Erni nodded: "You can come whenever you want, but... don't be like before. Dad is married, Yan Runiang treats me and Hu Zi very well, you... just don't disturb them."