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Liu Decai’s expression was not good. Finally, he chuckled:
“Village head Ye, I’m just voicing my doubts.”
“After all, the things are right here. How they’re divided, there has to be a reason, right?”
“You say it shouldn’t be divided, then it shouldn’t be divided. You say it should be divided, we have no complaints, right?”
Village Head Ye glared at him but didn’t speak.
Old Man Ye sneered: “You’re right about everything. Decai is just like your father, always wanting a ‘reason’!”
Ye Caiping finally found the memory related to Liu Decai.
Liu Decai’s father was the one who fought with Old Man Ye thirty years ago.
It was Liu Decai’s family’s turn to irrigate their fields, but they went to visit relatives that day.
Old Man Ye thought time was of the essence and told the Chief to irrigate his land first.
When Liu Decai’s family returned, they saw that Old Man Ye had irrigated first and demanded an explanation.
They argued and ended up fighting, eventually pushing Yan Fang, who was pregnant at the time, causing the original owner to be sickly from birth and almost die.
Because of this incident, the two families developed a feud.
Liu Decai’s father died years ago, and Liu Decai inherited his father’s contentious and troublemaking nature, becoming a notorious troublemaker in the village.
Ye Caiping coldly glanced at Liu Decai. Not getting a share during the division of the cassava with the village was already in her plan.
Since she had taught them the method, she needed to gain a good reputation.
If she get a share, it would be seen as a bad deed instead of a good one.
In this era, to leave the village, one must build a good reputation.
Now, thanks to Liu Decai’s disruption, their family’s kindness to the village became even more apparent.
“Caiping,” Village Head Ye walked over and said softly, “You were wronged today, but you did the right thing. Don’t worry, uncle won’t let you suffer any losses.”
Ye Caiping: “??”
Village Head Ye turned around and loudly said to the villagers, “Come, come, line up to get your cassava!”
The villagers hurriedly scrambled to form lines. Two long queues formed, creating a bustling scene filled with noise and chatter.
“Erdan, you’re not 12 yet? Go register with Uncle Daquan!”
“Who says my Erdan isn’t 12? Look at him, tall and strong, he looks like a 13 or 14-year-old!”
“Go back and get the household registration book! Hurry, hurry!”
Upon hearing that they needed to go back for the registration book, those who initially wanted to sneak in their older kids quickly made a run for it, heading to Uncle Daquan’s side.
Village Head Ye watched the chaotic yet orderly scene with satisfaction, nodding approvingly.
Before long, after half an hour, all the villagers were carrying a bag of cassava, their faces filled with joy.
Families with fewer members received around 60 to 70 pounds, while those with more members got about 50 to 60 pounds!
As the crowd began to disperse, the chief’s wife walked over to Ye Caiping with a smile:
“We’re able to get so much cassava thanks to you. This is to thank you.”
Saying this, she stuffed a cloth bag into Ye Caiping’s hand.
Ye Caiping opened it and saw it was a small bag of brown rice: “Auntie, you don’t have to.”
“Take it, take it. It’s only two pounds of brown rice. We got over fifty pounds of cassava! No matter how you calculate it, we got the better deal.”
The villagers who were about to leave stopped in their tracks. Zhuzi’s wife said, “Auntie’s right, we got so much cassava thanks to you. I have to thank you too.”
“Me too!”
“Me too!”
The crowd erupted in laughter.
Ye Caiping couldn’t help but look at Ye Lizheng, who smiled and nodded at her.
So that was it! He hadn’t let her suffer a loss!
Ye Caiping took the small bag of rice: “Alright, then I’ll accept your kindness.”
The villagers returned home, immediately spreading the cassava out in their yards to dry. The entire village was filled with the joy that only a bountiful harvest could bring.
Just as Ye Caiping and Yan Fang returned home, they saw Zhuzi’s wife and Tie Niu’s wife coming together.
Each of them held a small bag of brown rice.
Zhuzi’s wife said: “Caiping, it’s all thanks to you that my family received over two hundred pounds of cassava.”
“My family got over three hundred pounds.”
Each person gave two pounds of brown rice, and the other gave three pounds. Ye Caiping politely declined a few times before smiling and accepting.
She poured the rice into the wooden bucket and returned the bags to them.
At that moment, a thin, seven or eight-year-old boy walked in, carrying a bag of brown rice in his hand. “This is from my family. Thank you, Aunt Caiping, thank you, Grandpa Ye.”
Du Shi looked at him with a curious expression: “Hu Xiaosi, this rice looks like it weighs three pounds, did your mother tell you to give it?”
Hu Xiaosi opened his mouth, looking a little troubled.
Ye Yong stepped forward, frowning: “Mother, don’t make things difficult for him.”
He took the bag of rice, casually grabbed a small handful and put it into the bucket, then returned the bag to Hu Xiaosi: “We’ve received your gratitude. Go back now!”
Hu Xiaosi, understanding, left.
Ye Yong turned to Ye Caiping: “I’ll make up for the missing rice by chopping some firewood.”
Ye Caiping said: “Make up for it? While I told everyone about the method, it was you all who dug and picked the cassava. You have the right to decide on these gifts. Besides, you must have a reason for doing this, right?”
Ye Yong hesitated for a moment before saying: “This family is quite poor. They don’t have any strong laborers, and they only rely on two women to support them.”
“Since they are struggling, we naturally can’t take too much. Just grab a little bit, as a token of appreciation.” Ye Caiping said.
Old Man Ye smiled and said: “That’s right.”
Ye Caiping thought back to the little boy.
Hu? That must be Hu Xiuxiu’s family.
From what Ye Yong said, Hu Xiuxiu’s father was gone, and her family was supported by Hu Xiuxiu and her mother. The seven younger brothers were all young children.
One after another, villagers came to offer their thanks. Most brought brown rice, three or four pounds, no matter how much, or one or two pounds, no matter how little. Some brought two eggs.
The most generous family sent a full five pounds of brown rice, because they had a large family and had to dry the most cassava, a full one hundred and fifty pounds.
There were several very poor families, with old, weak, sick, and disabled members. Ye Caiping just grabbed a handful of rice and returned it to them.
She had to help those in need, but she also had to take something as a gesture.
She took what she should take, and gave what she should give.
Otherwise, people would think that their things were easy to get, and she would have more good things in the future, but they wouldn’t be free.
By afternoon, almost no one came.
Yan Fang and Du Shi looked at the buckets of brown rice on the ground, their eyes filled with joy and smiles.
Old Man Ye said: “I estimate there are about two hundred pounds.”
Ye Daquan grinned widely: “Just now, Liu Decai said our family can’t take a share, which really annoyed me… Although we had no intention of getting a share with the village, it still made me angry.”
“But it seems that everyone understands the situation. This brown rice, though only about two hundred pounds, is dry. The cassava is wet, and after drying, it shrinks by half. So, in a way, it’s like our family has received an extra share.”
Ye Caiping calculated and found that, except for about ten stingy households, almost the entire village had sent gifts of thanks.
This showed that the villagers were still simple and understood the value of gratitude.
Note:
Characters
Other Characters:
Heigou – Ate poisonous roots
Heigou’s mother
Doctor Zhao
Zhao Facai – Neighbor
Village Head Ye- Sometime Ye Lizheng (Lizheng is a title that refers to Village Head/Chief)
Ye Bajin – Village Head’s Son
Fubao – Village Head’s Grandson
Tie Niu and Zhuzi – two women who helped Caiping
Ye Bajin – Son of Ye Lijeng
Liu Decai
Places:
Qinghe Village: FL’s Village
Li Family Village
Great Zhou Dynasty
Niutou Mountain