The sound coming from outside was the sound of other children in the village starting to pick up ears of corn. From the sound, you could tell it was very lively.
Fang Xiaoxi nodded: "Then let's go out. Everyone has set out. We need to catch up quickly, otherwise we won't pick up as much as others."
Beibei was a little curious: "Why? Is there a rule about how many ears of corn one should pick?"
Fang Xiaoxi smiled and said, "Well, every child in the village has a set number of picks. They pick up a certain number and hand them in to the village. The rest belongs to their family. If you don't want to pick them up, the adults in your family will do it."
No wonder, every time when picking ears of corn, all the children in the village will participate, it turns out there is a task. However, this task should be set by the village, after all, those ears of corn are from the fields in the village.
Beibei was a little confused: "Whose quota are we occupying? Do we have to hand it in as well?"
Fang Xiaoxi glanced at Beibei. In fact, she had thought about this question before, so it was not difficult to answer: "You guys are counted as our family's guests after all."
So that's how it is. Mo Yunyao on the side asked curiously: "Do we have to pick up so many ears of corn too?"
Fang Xiaoxi nodded: "Theoretically, yes, but it's up to you guys. Let's go. It's too late. All the fields have been divided up."
There weren't actually that many ears of grain to be picked up in the fields. They were all left over accidentally when tying straw, or they were broken.
These children had nothing to do, and they could not do anything else, so they could only pick up ears of corn. A group of people set out with a basket in their hands.
The amount each person handed in was actually not much, only about 60 sticks. It should be enough for one morning.
As soon as the group of people left the house, they immediately formed a larger team. Someone in front of them was already shouting at Fang Xiaoxi, "Xiaoxi, you guys are here. Come on, let's go together."
When they got to the fields, everyone started to divide the land. Whoever had his own land would pick up the crops. After they finished picking up their own crops, they would pick up the crops for others.
Beibei looked at everyone busy and felt helpless. Suddenly he felt that it was meaningless. But since he was already here, he couldn't spoil the fun. For a moment, he did find some fun.
He was still very happy when he picked up the food left in the basket. However, time passed quietly and there were only more than twenty ears of grain in Beibei's basket.
Beibei felt a little embarrassed, and looked at Mo Yunyao beside him. There was even less in her basket. The main reason was that she had no experience. Unlike other children, who picked up ears of corn every year, she knew exactly where to find them.
These strangers, picking ears of corn for the first time, really relied on their eyesight. I thought it would be enough in one morning, but it was still not enough. Beibei felt a little embarrassed.
Looking at the group of children picking up ears of corn, he said, "How about I exchange your ears of corn for silver? One penny for a bunch, but if anyone wants to exchange, I won't ask for more, just sixty bunches will do."
Mo Yunyao immediately followed Beibei's footsteps and also exchanged copper coins. When the children from Fangjia Village heard this, they immediately came forward to exchange.
Anyway, they could always pick up the ears of corn, but the chances of getting copper coins were rare. So soon, the ears of corn that several people needed to hand in were all collected.
"Xiao Xi left and went home. I bought everything for you, and I'll go back to talk to you about something."
It was almost time for lunch by now, so they had lunch at Fang Xiaoxi's house, and then they headed towards the town, taking Fang Xiaoxi and the drawings she had drawn with them.
After signing the contract, they even went to ask Master Fang for help to witness it. It was successfully registered with the government office, and Caiyifang was successfully established.
The blueprints were ready, and the embroiderers were found, but what was missing was a shopkeeper. Beibei wrote a recruitment notice at the door, looking for a shopkeeper, and then he could open the business.
You need clothes to open a business, so the drawings were given to the embroiderers to start making them. When everything was ready, Beibei was very satisfied.
Just as Fang Xiaoxi returned to the gate of the county government office, she heard Qingyue looking for her: "Aunt Qingyue, are you looking for me?"
Qingyue looked at Beibei with a smile: "Just now, your classmates sent a few invitations over, saying that you are invited to a banquet in seven days!"
Seven days later? It takes so long, just send the invitation first. What kind of big shot has happened? It's so extraordinary.
Beibei took it and took a look curiously: "It turned out to be sent by Shi Feixian. He invited us to attend the Shi family's Qiuju Fatty Crab Feast. Besides me, who else is there? Who are they inviting?"
As he spoke, he began to check the remaining invitations, including those from Nan Nan, Mo Yunyao, Mu Yeyin, and Chu Shaoyang, all of which had been delivered.
Qingyue added, "Even the master and his wife have received invitations! It is said that this banquet is very large. Almost half of the people in the town will go."
Beibei rolled his eyes when he heard that: "Half of the people in the town should be able to sit here. Everyone can brag, forget it, we'll talk about it later."
Fang Xiaoxi narrowed her eyes and thought of something: "Beibei, does this kind of banquet have very strict requirements on clothing?"
Beibei glanced at Fang Xiaoxi in surprise: "Why? You want to go? Then I'll take you with me."
Fang Xiaoxi shook her head: "Forget it, I'm not interested. But I think this is an opportunity. If you dress nicely, seven days will be enough for our Caiyifang to make one or two nice clothes. It will also be a good publicity."
Beibei is also a smart person. He understood immediately after Fang Xiaoxi said, "You are smart. The Shi family is holding a banquet, and we will dress up to attend. By the way, we can recommend our clothes to the ladies in the town. Smart."
"Then design a piece of clothing for each of us. It would be best if it could show the temperament of each of us."
Fang Xiaoxi said, "Okay, I'll go paint now. My brother will be home tonight, right? Then I'll go back with him."
Beibei frowned and said, "Master Fang hasn't been home to rest for two days. My mother has prepared a room for him to rest in the county government office. If he doesn't go back, you can just live in the county government office."
I have to say, because of the opening of Caiyifang, the relationship between the two people seemed to have become a lot closer.
It was not difficult for Fang Xiaoxi to draw clothes that suited their styles. After all, she had been with these people for a few days and had some understanding of their personalities.
It took her three hours to finish the painting. When she looked up, it was already evening. Beibei sat beside her: "It's done. This is your dinner. Eat and have a rest."
Fang Xiaoxi knew that her eldest brother would not be coming back tonight: "Then what about my parents..."
Before he finished speaking, Bei Bei explained: "I have sent someone to inform your parents that you will be back tomorrow. I also brought you something from your home, which is an invitation from Shi Feixian."
Fang Xiaoxi was a little surprised: "I have an invitation too?"
Beibei nodded: "Who said it wasn't! I asked around and found out that every student in our class has an invitation. It looks like it's really lively."
So that's how it is. Fang Xiaoxi laughed: "Now that I think about it, I am still benefiting from the academy. Take a look at these clothes. They may be useful."
Beibei had actually been watching Fang Xiaoxi. It must be said that Fang Xiaoxi was very serious when she was drawing, which made Beibei feel much better about her.
"Yes, I was watching it all the time, especially mine. I like it very much. Thank you."
This was the first time that Beibei actually thanked me. As expected, everyone likes beautiful things: "Okay, I'll take mine back and let my mother help me make it. You can ask the embroiderer to make yours."
After distributing the drawings, Beibei left with them, while Fang Xiaoxi started to eat and rest after eating. The next day, she took the drawings home and asked Fang's mother to help her make clothes.
The old lady's troubles had subsided, and Fang Xiaoxi's life returned to peace. Every day she made clothes and carried medicinal herbs, and time passed quite quickly.
Nan Nan's business was also doing well. At least the whole town no longer needed threshers for the time being. This was all thanks to the work of the carpenters under Tong Ruyu.
Tong Ruyu looked at Nan Nan and said, "I plan to sell the thresher to the city. They probably haven't made it yet in the city, at least not so quickly. What do you think?"
Nan Nan thought about it and nodded: "Okay, but I can't go with you, so you better be careful."
The yamen runner who went to report has returned and said that the prefect has already received the drawings and will make arrangements, so he sent the person back.
Mu Yexiao didn't care much. Anyway, he had already sent a letter to the capital, so the court would probably act quickly. As for the prefect, it didn't matter if he acted quickly or slowly.
Time flew by and it was the day before the banquet. On that day, a large group of people came to the gate of Xianyou Town. The luxurious carriage was something that the people in Xianyou Town had never seen before, so of course there was a heated discussion.
Everyone knew that this was a distinguished guest from the capital, and those who received the invitation were looking forward to tomorrow's banquet even more, as they were sure they would be able to see some good things.
The Shi family became quite lively with the arrival of this group of people. Shi Feixian's parents stood at the door to greet this group of people.
"Brother, you are finally back, come in quickly."
Shi Chengyu invited people to his home. His eldest brother was no ordinary person. He went to Beijing to take the imperial examination many years ago and won the top spot. After that, he stayed in Beijing to be an official.
This is a rare opportunity to return home with my family. Shi Chenglin looked at Shi Chengyu and asked, "Is the ancestral hall ready? When are we going to worship our ancestors?"
Shi Chengyu quickly answered, "Everything is ready. We can go the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is the welcoming banquet I prepared for my eldest brother."