On the Difficulties of Escape in Ancient Times

Except for the five houses for entertaining guests, which are white-walled, black-tiled and blue-brick houses, the rest have straw and mud walls.

Of course, many ordinary families now have straw and mud walls. As long as the craftsmanship is good, they can be warm in winter and cool in summer.

The downside is that after about twenty years, it will become dilapidated and unrecognizable.

The house here is nearly twenty years old. I don’t know if there is a problem with the craftsman’s skills or if they cut corners to speed up the construction.

The front part is easy to write about, but the mud wall at the back has a lot of cracks, and you can definitely see the sunshine and enjoy the rain in the house.

Anyway, it was definitely in disrepair, and she suspected that a strong wind could make the house shake and it looked like it was in danger of collapsing.

It just so happened that Xiao Xiao had extorted some money from the Gu family, and now she was using it.

Xiao Xiao said generously: "It's troublesome to repair it all, so we just rebuild it all."

Jiang Yu asked, "Do you have enough money?"

"Don't worry." Xiao Xiao told the story of how she had robbed the Gu family: "It's ill-gotten gains, so I don't need to give you any extra money. I won't feel bad if I spend it all."

Jiang Yu also nodded: "Yes, you may not be able to manage it for many years. It's better to use the money to build a new house. At least it can leave a good reputation."

"Otherwise, they will suspect you of embezzling money."

After he finished speaking, he stood up and walked out: "I'm going to find the craftsman. There are fleas and lice in this room. I also need to get some herbs to fumigate it."

After walking a few steps, he reminded her again: "Mother-in-law and her family are here. I'll have someone send some food over later."

He also deliberately avoided them so that it would be easier for his mother-in-law and others to talk.

"No need for you to send me off," Xiao Xiao waved her hand, "I brought some food from the mansion."

Besides, where is half of the pork left from the whole pig yesterday?

It’s not that Xiao Xiao and the others were reluctant to do so, but the doctor said that the children here haven’t eaten meat for a long time. If they suddenly eat a lot of meat and fish, they will most likely get diarrhea.

Therefore, the dumplings we had yesterday were made of mixed flour wrappers, with a little minced meat in the cabbage and tofu filling.

But for the children, this is already a rare delicacy. Looking at them today, they seem to be more energetic.

Xiao Xiao went to find Liu first.

Liu directed several maids to stew the meat and boil lard.

"San'er, are you okay?" When Liu saw Xiao Xiao come in, she first looked at her complexion. Her round face was rosy and pale, and she couldn't even say a word of worry.

Seeing that my daughter looked so good, I knew she couldn't have been frightened.

"Don't worry, mom. We are well prepared." Xiao Xiao asked her, "Now that you are here, what should we do at home?"

"It's okay, your future sister-in-law is here." Liu thought to herself: Such a big thing happened to you, and you don't let us come to see it, so we must come and look after the charity hall for you.

The Xiao family members all felt that it was a great thing that Xiao Xiao was favored by the Queen Mother, and it was a great honor for their ancestors.

Therefore, they were afraid that Xiao Xiao was too young to control so many people, so they sent Dabao to the Jiang family. The Xiao family asked the Lin sisters to look after the house, go around the shop, and have a meal at the Haiweilou.

Xiao Xiao chatted with her mother for a while and talked about the assassination incident she had experienced yesterday, but she definitely downplayed the details.

When Old Man Xiao came back, she told him what she was going to do: "Grandfather, I want to tear down all the houses and rebuild them. I also want to dig up the stinking ditch at the back to bring in running water. I want to build some sheds opposite the ditch to raise some poultry. If you have time, can you help me take a look?"

Old Man Xiao agreed immediately: "Okay, I'll bring my bedding and live here tomorrow." Old Lady Xiao quickly said: "Then I'll come over and keep an eye on it."

It's not that she can't leave the old man, but she has seen before that there are more than ten old women here, and she doesn't want her old man to lose his integrity when she is old.

After all, my family is now considered to be wealthy, and people call me old man or old lady when we go out.

Therefore, she is now worried that her old man is being targeted by someone.

Xiao Xiao just wanted them to have something to do, but didn't want them to get tired, so she quickly said, "That's not necessary. I've already chosen a manager, and there are six guards and twelve maids to take care of this place. We can just come and look around occasionally."

The stewards and guards were all selected by her from the manor.

When the capital city was in turmoil before, she had stayed at Madam Li's farm for a while and was familiar with the people there.

Therefore, since he needed people now, he spoke directly to Mrs. Li and asked for a few people to come over.

Of course, the people in Zhuangzi are willing to do so.

After all, on the farm, except for the head of the village who doesn't have to work, everyone else has to do farm work.

Spring ploughing and autumn harvest are just a few simple words, but it is the people on the farm who work hard in the fields all day long to achieve a good harvest.

But now that Xiao Xiao wants him here, he means he will be in charge. He doesn't have to do farm work and he can see his master often.

For the people in Zhuangzi, it was simply a blessing from heaven.

Therefore, they all listened to their grandmother's words, fearing that they would be dissatisfied with her and be sent back to the farm to work again.

Old Man Xiao then gave up and talked to her about breeding: "Let's build a few sheds first and raise the livestock."

In fact, Xiao Xiao really wants to be a lazy person and doesn't want to struggle at all.

It was only because the Queen Mother entrusted me with such an important task that I had to do my best. Now that I heard that my grandfather had made a good arrangement, I was really overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "It is said that having an old person in the family is like having a treasure. Fortunately, I have my grandfather here, so I don't have to worry about anything."

When Old Man Xiao heard his granddaughter's straightforward praise, he felt like he was about to float up. He tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth that were curled up, pretending to be indifferent: "We are old, and our vision is not enough. If there is anything inappropriate, just tell me directly."

He also reminded them: "But this is a good thing that the Queen has given us to make us famous, so we must do a good job..."

After Xiao Xiao heard her grandparents tell them to work hard in a very serious manner, she did not dare to be lazy in front of them and went for another walk.

When the maids said lunch was ready, she had someone ring the bell and asked the children to gather: "We will have three meals a day from now on. I have selected fourteen captains. You can find your captain if you have any problems in the future."

"I will have someone teach you needlework and how to read."

He also talked about planning to build a new house and raise livestock, and he made sure they felt involved and had a sense of belonging.

Xiao Xiao also did not forget to give everyone some inspirational words. Seeing those little ones looking at her with admiration and excitement, she was finally satisfied and waved her hand: "Let's eat first."

Hey, she has been talking too much these past two days and can’t speak softly. How about she ask someone to make a loudspeaker?

Lunch was brown rice and the dish was stewed pork ribs with potatoes.

Of course, each person only had one piece of pork ribs and a bowl of brown rice.

But this is already rich enough for the children in the charity hall.

Xiao Xiao and her friends had a small meal, braised pig heads and pig trotters, pork ribs stewed with tofu, and stir-fried lotus root slices, which tasted pretty good. (End of this chapter)