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

Zhou Xue said aggrievedly, "Brother Yu and Sister Yue'an both have their own little savings, and Sister Shen Xi has one too. Many brothers and sisters in the village have saved up their own money. Sometimes when the peddler comes to the village, they can buy things they like."

Zhou's mother was truly shocked. In those days, only wealthy families would let their children carry money. Who in an ordinary family would dare to give money to their child? The fact that the children in the village could save money on their own showed that the villagers were truly wealthy.

She thought for a moment and then decided, "Then you can keep it yourselves, just don't waste the money."

"That's great! Thank you, Grandma!"

The two children quickly grabbed the money bag and ran into the house.

Madam Ye disagreed, saying, "Mother, they are still so young. How can you let them manage their own money? What if they lose it or spend it recklessly?"

Zhou's mother shook her head and sighed softly, "The children in the village all have money. They don't have money, and they feel inferior when they go out. Keep an eye on them for a while. As long as they don't cause trouble, just let them be."

She only has two precious grandchildren, so naturally she has to spoil them.

Since her mother-in-law had spoken, Madam Ye had no choice but to agree.

For the next two weeks, the children would run to the back mountain as soon as they opened their eyes, without even having breakfast. If the adults didn't remind them, they could work hard in the strawberry field all day long.

Ye thought her two children would only have a short attention span and wouldn't be able to keep it up for more than two or three days. Little did she know that they, along with the other children in the village, gritted their teeth and persevered for half a month, saving up almost an ounce and a half.

Seeing how hard the two children were working, Zhou's mother felt sorry for them, but she didn't say anything to tell them to quit.

Ms. Ye had originally opposed her children saving money themselves, but she no longer mentioned it.

It's really not right for her to take away the money that the children earned through their own hard work.

After a busy half-month of farming, the children were sent back to school. They were all dark-skinned and thin, but they were in good spirits and their relationship became even closer.

Zhou Ran saw this and was very pleased.

Once the first batch of strawberry jam was processed, the caravan carrying sweaters and strawberry jam set off again.

This is the caravan's first business trip this year.

Hundreds of horse-drawn carriages carrying goods marched out of the village in a grand procession.

Such a grand display truly astonished the Zhou family, and they finally understood why Shenjiazhuang was so wealthy.

The caravan had just left when the watermelon was about to lose.

Chu Heng and Shen Ying discussed it and decided to have the children go over and help for another three days.

The children took the opportunity to earn some more copper coins.

A hot summer day paired with a sweet and thirst-quenching watermelon is a unique treat.

Knowing that the children were working hard, Su Tai specially sent fifty watermelons to the school so that the teacher could share them with the children.

The children sat in a row in the yard, each holding a slice of watermelon. They would take a bite, say a word, and compete with each other to see who could recognize the most words. This sparked the children's competitive spirit, and the winner could get an extra slice of watermelon.

In such an atmosphere, the learning effect is doubled.

Chu Heng and Zhou Ran discussed it and decided to have students from different classes compete against each other, with the first place winner receiving a reward, which instantly boosted the children's enthusiasm for learning.

In this learning atmosphere, autumn harvest arrived in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Ran felt as if the last busy farming season hadn't been long, and now a new round of busy farming season was here!

This time it's grain harvesting, a major event concerning the villagers' food supply.

Even if the children don't earn money, they will still work hard.

By the time everyone had harvested the grain, the weather had turned cool. Shen Yi returned to the village with the constables, and was surrounded by villagers as they walked home.

Halfway there, he discovered his twins and called out to them.

The twins pulled Zhou Yi and Zhou Xue along as they ran, shouting, "Daddy! Daddy! You're back!"

Shen Yuean let go of Zhou Xue's hand and pounced on Shen Yi.

They got all dirty from playing.

Shen Yi didn't mind, holding her in one arm and lifting Shen Congyu up with the other, then glancing at the Zhou siblings, "They look unfamiliar, whose family are they?"

“These are Mr. Zhou’s son, Zhou Yi, and daughter, Zhou Xue.” Shen Yue’an pointed to Zhou Ran, who was not far away.

Zhou Ran hurried over to pay his respects, "Greetings, County Magistrate."

Shen Yi smiled and said, "Mr. Zhou, there's no need for such formalities. I've brought people back on business. You two get back to work."

Shen Yue'an was carried home by Shen Yi, gesturing and shouting to the Zhou siblings, "I'll come play with you guys later!"

Shen Yi looked at the little one in his arms with amusement, "You've gotten so dirty, aren't you afraid your mother will punish you?"

"Mother wouldn't!" Shen Yue'an proudly raised her chin.

The father and his two sons entered the house.

Su Tai's first words were full of disgust, "You're so dirty! Did you go playing in the dirt in the field again? Wash yourself clean before you come out."

The twins struggled to get off the bed and ran towards the bathroom.

Shen Yi asked with amusement, "I thought you were going to beat them up."

Su Tai said irritably, "It's just dirty. Compared to the trouble they caused before, I should be happy."

"Hahaha," Shen Yi laughed, then turned to get water to wash his hands.

Seeing that he was in a good mood, Su Tai asked curiously, "How's the coal business going?"

Shen Yi gave him a knowing look and said, "Lord Lu is cautious. He had someone test it for half a month and confirmed that the thing was indeed coal. He immediately wrote to inform the prefect, who personally led people over and studied it for another ten days before sending the memorial to the capital."

The imperial envoy arrived quite quickly. Our house has already been demolished and hollowed out. The good news is that there's plenty of coal underground; the bad news is that we're not getting our money back for the house.

"Huh? The government demolished our house and won't compensate us? What kind of logic is that!" Su Tai grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Although she didn't lack that little bit of money, whose money comes from thin air? How could the government officials be so shameless!
Shen Yi awkwardly touched his nose, somewhat helplessly, "Who told me to be the county magistrate? I have to set an example."

"Set an example?"

Shen Yi's expression gradually turned serious. "We suspect that the coal mine is very large, and we've already dug several dozen feet deep, like a bottomless pit. Lord Lu's idea is to start from our house and dig outwards to see how big the coal mine is. Do you think the nearby residents will agree to that?"

Su Tai shook her head without hesitation, "If it weren't for the fact that the place was a pond and it smelled so bad, I wouldn't have agreed to dig it!"

Shen Yi helplessly spread his hands, "Even someone as righteous as you thinks this way, let alone others. The court's idea is to solve it with money, but our county has to pay for it first. There are so many households involved, and it may also involve shops on the street. We might even have to move the county town. This kind of big matter is beyond our capabilities and we need the court to send people to help us. I have been busy with these things these days and can only come back once the autumn harvest is around."

Upon hearing this, Su Tai could only accept her bad luck. "I can let bygones be bygones regarding the house, but if the county offers land as compensation, you can't be so foolish as to give it away."

"I understand." Shen Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

He ate a meal at home, packed his winter clothes, and left again. (End of Chapter)