I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 162 A drop of kindness deserves a spring of gratitude

Shen Qijun suppressed a laugh: "I met an old man at the city gate who was selling a basket of chickens, saying he would use the chickens to buy grain..."

On the way, they ran into Uncle Sun Xing, who was delivering goods to Ping An Restaurant, and he took the old hen.

Dongfang Jin looked at the awkward Jun Qirui and smiled, "Okay, buy it whenever you see it in the future, and I'll reimburse you."

Liu Xi walked over and said to Dongfang Jin, "I'll move it; he's still too young."

Dongfang Jin knew that this guy loved his child and was a devoted husband: "You all move in together, come over for dinner after you're done, and then you can leave."

Liu Xi quickly waved his hand: "That won't do."

His wife repeatedly warned him not to take any more food or gifts, or she would make him pay.

Dongfang Jin knew his concerns. Every household here didn't have enough food to eat, and every time he came here to eat, he would get scolded by his wife when he got back.

His tone was somewhat serious: "Don't worry, there's enough food for you at my house. Don't refuse, or I won't pay the bill."

Upon hearing that he wouldn't be paid, Liu Xi exclaimed, "This...sigh..."

Seeing this, Jun Qirui suppressed a laugh and said to Dongfang Jin, "The magistrate said that there used to be a man surnamed Zhao who worked in the kitchen of the county government."

His family also received a lot of this stuff, as well as a large amount of ginger. They asked me to ask if you still wanted it; it's all piled up in the backyard of the county government office.

Dongfang Jin then remembered that several people who had worked with her to make sesame paste had gone to the capital, including Zhao Cai.

"I'll have Xiao Jun take him there later. Xiao Jun, do you dare go to the county government office yourself?"

Shen Qijun puffed out his chest: "I dare, Uncle Chenglin has already introduced me to Uncle Li and the others."

"That's good."

lunch

Four hot dishes, two vegetarian dishes, spinach and egg soup, rice, and steamed buns.

After finishing his meal, Liu Xi left, taking some food and a few things with him, feeling uneasy.

On the way, he looked at the contents of the cart: a bag of fine rice, a bag of fine flour, a piece of mutton, a piece of pork, a basket of pastries and a bag of candy, and a bolt of cloth for each person in his family, which he didn't want.

But he refused, and his benefactor wouldn't pay the bill... He's afraid his ears will suffer again when he gets back this time.

Thinking about it, she glanced back at the mansion, turned around, bowed deeply, stood up, pursed her lips tightly, and with red eyes, pushed the cart away in a long stride.

……

Gu Yumei washed the mushrooms: "I really didn't know these things were so delicious."

Jun Qixian said with a smile, "Stewed chicken is delicious, but I still prefer hot pot."

Looking at these things, Dongfang Jin smiled broadly and said, "If you like them, we'll keep more next year. Actually, we can grow these three kinds of wood ear mushrooms ourselves."

Gu Yumei held up a piece of wood ear fungus: "There are plenty of these in the mountains behind Shenjiazhuang."

However, these things all grow on those rotten logs, in clumps, especially after rain, when there are even more of them.

When Dongfang Jin heard her say this again, she continued, "This is actually a kind of fungus that grows on dead wood. I heard that it grows best on linden wood."

"Is there someone Sister Yumei wants to help?"

Dongfang Jin knew that she was intentionally or unintentionally fiddling with these things, and repeatedly emphasized that there were plenty of these things in the back mountain of Shenjiazhuang.

She knew that the three of them would never go back; her only wish was to repay the debt of gratitude.

Gu Yumei: "..." Somewhat embarrassed.

She hadn't expected Xiao Jin to be so sensitive.

After thinking for a moment, he nodded: "The Shen family in Shenjiazhuang are neighbors, but they are two houses away from Xiaojun's family."

His wife is very fertile, and she gave birth to twins every time.

Since marrying into the Shen family, she has given birth to five children in a row over the years, but every single one of them was a daughter.

Her eldest daughter is a year older than Xiaojun, she's thirteen, and last year she was sold to a wealthy family in Dong'an County.

They took a liking to his twins, saying they wanted to find a maid for his daughter.

At first, they didn't want to sell, as selling a child is a bad idea, but they simply had no food at home.

The matchmaker said that the family was quite nice; their daughter was only six years old, not very old, and that Shen Ding's daughter wouldn't be bullied if she went there.

Hearing her say that, Shen Ding and his wife agreed.

At this point, Gu Yumei's voice choked up: "Even with his family in such dire straits, when the three of us were driven out of the village, his wife was still hiding from those people and secretly gave Xiaohui two steamed buns."

Hearing this, Dongfang Jin felt a pang of sadness. Selling one's children?

She couldn't understand it, but Gu Yumei's actions showed that she was a grateful person.

"If you want to help, then help, but don't show yourself. Let Xiaojun go secretly."

When Liu Xi delivers mushrooms next spring, he should have Xiao Jun take the fresh ones, as they are easier to distinguish.

"After they finish harvesting, they can either deliver it to Ping'an Restaurant in your county or bring it to our house, it's fine with them."

"Okay, that makes me feel better. Otherwise, I'll always feel uneasy."

Dongfang Jin was very satisfied with her idea. Ruyi was right. With a mother like that, her two sons would not be bad either.

The grace of dripping water is reciprocated by the fountain.

in the afternoon

Long Er led them in martial arts training, and this time Jun Qixian also joined in.

Jun Qirui looked at his cheerful and lively younger sister, then lowered his eyes. They understood what Prefect Yao had said; they wouldn't take a single penny of the Chen family's money.

Ningguta? I guess I'll just stay there for the rest of my life.

They went to great lengths to seize his family's property, and now what?

Considering that family's testimony, should we kill them? To silence them?

Haha, how much did that person ignore him in all his life? He didn't even know he had no sense of direction, haha...

He was now incredibly grateful that he had no sense of direction; otherwise, he, his mother, and his sister would already be victims of those assassins.

He was even more fortunate that he, with his terrible sense of direction, had wandered here and seen the smile on his mother's face. This was something he rarely saw before. She often smiled, but that smile was tinged with sorrow and sadness.

Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, but the longest night.

We made dumplings together for dinner.

Dumplings for the Winter Solstice and noodles for the Summer Solstice are essential foods for traditional Chinese festivals.

after dinner

Dongfang Jin entered the space, but Gu Chenglin wasn't home. She felt like something was missing from the house.

"Master, come quickly!"

"what happened?"

"I found a box of letters in a hidden compartment of this dragon bed."

Dongfang Jin walked quickly closer and saw a small mountain of things piled up in the yard.

She remembered the saying, "Some die of drought, while others die of flood."

She needs to send these things out as soon as possible.

She heard Long Er say that since Emperor Shengde ascended the throne, the national treasury of Donglin Kingdom had never exceeded 200,000 taels of silver.

No matter where the money went, it was all just patching up one problem by another.

At the time, she didn't believe it. How could a country's treasury have so little money to pay those people's salaries?

Look at this pile of stuff. Let's not even talk about the gold bricks; these gold ingots alone must be worth tens of millions of taels.

Ruyi pointed at those things: "Eighty million taels of gold ingots, three silver ingots worth eighty million taels each, not to mention that box of loose silver notes."

Dongfang Jin: "..." speechless.

What does "three 80 million taels" mean?

Wouldn't it be easier to just say over two hundred million?

I wonder what Emperor Shengde would think if he knew.

She really didn't want to give it all to him.

Ruyi raised her little head: "Give him the marked ones, and give him the rest little by little. You can't give him everything."

Dongfang Jin shrugged. She genuinely didn't want to give it to him; if she did, it would definitely end up in the national treasury.

If there is a disaster or hardship anywhere, it is inevitable that a new batch of corrupt officials will emerge.

She needs to use this money where it's needed, ensuring it goes directly to those who require it.

Hmph, she has the final say on this money!

Ruyi flew to her side without her noticing: "Your idea is good, but... you decide what to do."

But she didn't say what it was.

This spirit creature can play word games now?