After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

After the family left Shenjiazhuang, Zhou's mother, who had been wearing a bitter face, had changed her expression and was full of anticipation.

“Son, I see that everything in that courtyard is new, and it’s a brick house, even better than the house we live in in the prefectural city!”

This surprised Zhou's mother the most. She thought the houses in the village were just so-so, but when she arrived at Shenjiazhuang, she realized that she was too naive. Almost half of the families in the village were renovating their houses, and they were all brick and tile houses. It was clear that they were really rich. However, if they weren't rich, they wouldn't have so many children going to school.

The more Zhou's mother thought about it, the more active her mind became. "Son, if you work hard, you can save half of the hundred taels a year. Then you won't have to worry about your two grandsons' big events."

The reason she was so desperate was because her family had no money left and she couldn't see a future.

Ye Shi excitedly added, "Mother, it's not just half. I just chatted with two girls in the workshop, and they said that Mr. Chu eats breakfast with them, but he cooks his own lunch and dinner. However, the grains, meat, and vegetables are all given to him by the villagers. He can't possibly eat all of it by himself. There's nowhere to spend money in the village, so he saves all the money he earns. If you calculate it this way, Mother, we can save even more money."

There are also workshops in the village hiring. If possible, my daughter-in-law would like to try working there. I heard the daily wage is between sixty and eighty coins. You can do the math; that would add up to almost two taels of silver a month.”

"Are there really that many?" Zhou's mother's eyes lit up, wishing she could go back and ask her carefully right now. Then she slapped her thigh in frustration, "If I were in better health, I would like to try it too."

Zhou Ran was both amused and exasperated. "Mother, you should just forget about it. Take good care of yourself and you won't have to worry about anything. Yi'er and Xue'er will go to school and study with everyone. If you feel bored, you can go to the workshop to talk to someone. You don't have to do any work."

He was extremely satisfied with today's trip, and his anxiety finally subsided.

The next morning, Zhou Ran moved all his belongings to Shenjiazhuang.

Shen Ying called over two village women to help, and the things were quickly packed up.

Shen Ying said, "It's even colder here than in the prefectural city. Winters are tough. Our way of keeping warm is to burn stoves. The stoves are outside, and once they're lit, the house gets much warmer. We also wear thick cotton-padded coats and wool sweaters, and cover ourselves with thick cotton quilts. You can talk to the villagers about these things. If you don't understand anything, feel free to come to me."

In addition, during the busy farming season, almost every household in the village has to work in the fields, and the school children also have to participate. Therefore, the teacher can rest for a few days, and the tuition fee remains unchanged.

"You can still rest?" Zhou's mother was surprised. With a tuition fee of one hundred taels a year, she thought she would have to teach regardless of the weather.

Shen Ying laughed heartily, “Of course! Even oxen and horses have their time to breathe. How can we let the teacher keep giving lessons? Our village has three busy farming seasons every year, in March and April, June, July, and September. Each season lasts about ten days to half a month.”

"That's not short either!" Zhou's mother exclaimed repeatedly.

After the family finished settling their belongings and stepped out of the yard, they saw Chu Heng coming out of the neighboring yard.

Zhou Ran asked, "Brother Chu, is class about to start?"

Chu Heng nodded, "Brother Zhou, let's go together. I'll introduce you to the children."

Zhou Ran quickly brought her two children along as well.

Ye helped Zhou's mother stroll around the village. When they arrived at the workshop, the sound of children reading aloud was gone, and it was much quieter.

Qi Yan saw them and immediately greeted them with a smile, "Auntie, Madam Zhou, are you officially moving in today?"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law nodded in unison.

Zhou's mother couldn't wait to ask about the work in the workshop.

Qi Yan smiled and asked, "Does Auntie want to go and do some work?" Zhou's mother was a little embarrassed. "My health is a burden, and I can't do anything. But my daughter-in-law can. I'll ask around for her so that we, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, won't be idle and have a hard time."

"That's true! Especially in winter, when there's nowhere to go outside, we like to work in the workshop. We all gather together, have hot snacks to eat, a stove to keep warm, and we can chat. I could stay there all day without any problem."

Zhou's mother and Ye's mother were captivated by the idea, especially since the workshop offered food and would save on their own rations—it couldn't be better.

"Good child, quickly tell your aunt what kind of work is done inside, and what my daughter-in-law can do?" Zhou's mother looked at Qi Yan expectantly.

Qi Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Shen Yi's family has a cooperative relationship with the herders on the ice plains. They collect tens of thousands of sheep every year. Some of the sheepskins are tanned into leather, which is warm and comfortable, and some are made into wool yarn, which is woven into wool sweaters and wool pants that can be worn next to the skin and are especially warm. These things are usually sent to the capital to be sold for money."

Everyone had their own tasks, such as sorting wool, spinning yarn, and weaving. Basically, you just sat there all day, and someone kept track of how much work you did. If you were capable, you could do more and earn more; if not, you could do less. It was fair.

Zhou's mother nodded repeatedly, "That makes sense. In that case, my daughter-in-law can give it a try, and I, this old woman, can go along and help her out."

After the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law reached an agreement with Qi Yan, they returned home satisfied.

Not long after I got back, the village woman who delivered the vegetables came over.

Logically, the villagers should only be responsible for Zhou Ran's food and meat, but there was no place to buy or sell in the village. Zhou Ran explained the situation to the village chief, who said that the cost could be deducted from his tuition. The village chief asked for two taels of silver as a token gesture, and asked the villagers to prepare meat and vegetables for Zhou's entire family.

As Mrs. Ye was preparing to cook, she was both happy and confused to find three kinds of vegetables she had never seen before, six eggs, and a piece of pork belly in the wicker basket that had been delivered.

I need to go find Qi Yan again to ask her how to cook those dishes.

Zhou's mother was only interested in the pork belly, but she didn't expect that the three dishes she cooked would be eaten so heartily.

"What kind of dish is this? I've never seen it here before," Zhou's mother asked curiously.

Zhou Ran seemed to be deep in thought, while the two children were already eating non-stop.

Ye replied, "The white ones are cauliflower, the red ones are tomatoes, and the green ones are cabbage. The old ladies in the village said that everyone in the village grows these vegetables now, so we can grow some ourselves. I was thinking of planting some around the edge of the yard."

"This is good, this is good!" Zhou's mother has spent her whole life working the land, so she would definitely be happy to be able to grow vegetables.

After the Zhou family settled down in the village, Shen Ying specifically went to talk to Su Tai about the situation.

Su Tai said, "We have plenty of goat milk and cow milk at home. If they want any, they can come and get it every day, or we can have someone deliver some to them."

Shen Ying relayed the situation to Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran, along with Ye Shi and her two children, personally visited to express their gratitude.

This was also the first time the family had met Su Tai.

Knowing that Su Tai was the wife of the county magistrate, the two of them were very cautious in their words and actions.

The two children, however, were quite natural and outgoing, occasionally stealing glances at the twins writing large characters. (End of Chapter)