Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 826: The villagers are greedy for profit
Although Ye accepted the request to be a judge, she had nothing to do early on because Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince had chosen to listen to Zhang Shou's advice and make peace with each other because of the difficult situation.
Even if Zhang Shou didn't come to see her and told her that she could go back, and just told her that the two bets were void, if she had followed her usual temper, she would have left immediately. After all, these idle people in the village made her unhappy. Even if there was no gossip, she must have been warned, but the piercing eyes were worse than gossip. How could she tolerate it on weekdays?
However, those noisy and rude children in the past would give way to her and greet her when they saw her taking Cao Qingqing out for a walk these days. This little change was much better than when she first came and watched from the side of the road or followed to watch the excitement. Just because Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince did this, she thought about it and decided to stay.
She was very curious whether Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince would really teach seriously and how they would teach.
In a place like Baijia Village, there is not so much difference between men and women. The women and girls in the village are all walking around outside, and she naturally takes Cao Qingqing with her for a stroll, so she often suddenly rushes to the courtyard of the village chief's house where classes are given, and listens quietly outside the door for a while.
So she knew that Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince were really overwhelmed at first, and the class was often chaotic. If the Fourth Prince had not brought Xiao Huasheng and Xiao Cheng with him, and finally convinced a group of parents, those children would have been in chaos. As for the situation where the children were punished with a ruler in the middle of the class, it was commonplace.
But even so, she still witnessed the two people's gradual progress from having no clue at the beginning, and even witnessed the scene of the third prince coming to see the fourth prince. Of course, that time, because Ah Liu was personally guarding a rooftop, she didn't know what the two brothers talked about. She just watched from a distance for a while and then left quietly.
But after the Third Prince's visit, Ye discovered that the Fourth Prince was more energetic. He would even review his lessons and concentrate on doing exercises during the breaks between classes, so much so that the children in the village who were attending the classes saw this and told their parents and elders, and thus Mr. Zheng's reputation as a studious person spread.
As for Zhang Chen, although he is not as studious as the Fourth Prince, and his teaching method is rather simple and crude, when he has nothing to do, he has been privately wandering around the village, inquiring about the production of farmland, the rent, the number of people in the family...If he were not too young to be an official, and the village chief deliberately confused people, and gave people all kinds of good ideas and bad ideas that claimed to make them rich, he would really be like the incognito inspector of the Eight Prefectures in the opera!
Because of this, Ye Shi ignored the fact that others were seeing Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince off today but not her, and she just came here with Cao Qingqing. She pretended not to notice the strange looks from the villagers.
The little peanut who led her in came to the Fourth Prince excitedly, leaned close to his ear and said, "You ate so many delicious foods before, and you didn't even say thank you?"
The fourth prince was shocked. Even though they were staying at the village chief's house, they did their best to entertain them, but the cooking skills of the villagers were really hard to describe. Even though the imperial kitchen in the palace was only so-so, he was in the Qianqing Palace most of the time, and the chef in the small kitchen was at least dedicated, which was nothing like the cooking of the villagers...
In order to show respect to their distinguished guests, they put a lot of oil and salt. The strong taste made it hard for him to swallow. He told them several times, but they still didn't change. He doubted what would happen if he ate it for a month. As for sugar, which is more expensive than salt... Sorry, it is unlikely to be added to the dishes.
After all, the maltose they gave to the children was bought from the peddler by Peanut and Xiao Cheng, and the children claimed that they could not eat it during the festival, so it was naturally difficult for them to eat anything sweet. He even missed Mr. Song's desserts.
Therefore, in recent days, he can be said to have lived on the various food boxes that Ye often ordered Cao Qingqing to send to him - it is said that this time, Ye brought a mother, a cook, and a shopping errand boy besides Cao Qingqing. Therefore, when Xiao Huasheng reminded him, the Fourth Prince, who was stunned by Ye's sudden arrival, immediately greeted her with a smile on his face.
"Sister Ye, thank you for your care these days! I heard that you are going to be a teacher at the girls' school in the future? I will definitely promote you when the time comes!"
This flattering little brat is really short-sighted... Thinking so in his heart, Zhang Chen also stood up, but his eyes were a little erratic, and he tried his best not to look into Ye's eyes. After all, although he didn't care much about Zhu Ying's matchmaking between him and Ye, and Ye's attitude towards him in the end, he actually had a big knot in his heart.
However, the food that Ye asked Cao Qingqing to deliver was not for the Fourth Prince alone. Each time, two boxes were delivered, each with a sufficient portion. Although the Fourth Prince had a fierce face and a vicious mouth, he would often give him a little more of his own portion. So he couldn't just eat other people's food for free just because Ye had a grudge against him.
However, poor him, when Zhang Shou left him in Baijia Village, he was a pauper and couldn't even afford a thank-you gift.
Therefore, Zhang Chen coughed and stepped forward to express his gratitude, saying: "Thanks for your help these days, Miss Ye. Otherwise, it would be ok for an adult like me, but I'm afraid that Zheng Yan, a child, would not have been able to bear it long ago." If he couldn't bear it, he would starve to death. Moreover, there was a table full of food in front of him, but he was so picky about food that he starved to death!
The fourth prince was immediately furious: "Hey, Zhang Chen, why are you using me as an excuse? When other people's food boxes were delivered to you, did you always lick them clean?"
Zhang Chen wanted to use the Fourth Prince as an excuse, but he didn't expect that the Fourth Prince was unwilling to suffer any loss and directly exposed the fact that he was a big eater. But this brat should understand clearly, if he hadn't been thirsty every day in this village and had to chase after those little kids, how could he be so tired that his appetite increased by more than double than usual?
Isn't it good to have a clean plate? Zhang Shou would say to his students, "Who knows that every grain of rice on the plate is the result of hard work? When you first received the food box sent by Ye, you devoured it and wanted to eat the whole plate!"
The angry Master Zhang wanted to retort immediately, but before he could say anything, he heard Ye's cold voice: "It's a good thing to have a good appetite. After all, you get up early and go to bed late every day, and you talk a lot and do a lot. I thought that you might not even stay for three days, let alone a month, and would go back directly."
"How is that possible? A man should have a beginning and an end!" The fourth prince raised his head slightly. Seeing that the children around him were eating heartily, but the adults were not bothered to discipline the children and were secretly looking at them, he said with a serious face, "Although our bet is void, we still have to do it, otherwise I will not have the face to go back to see my third brother!"
Zhang Chen was too lazy to argue with the Fourth Prince this time. He glanced at the village chief who seemed to want to get close to Ye. His look frightened the man so much that he lowered his head in panic. He smiled at Ye and said, "Miss Ye, are you here to see us off? You've been here for so long in the winter. It's time to go back and prepare for the New Year!"
"We celebrate the New Year every year, so it doesn't matter if it's one day earlier or later." Ye smiled, then looked at the village chief and said, "I often go to your classes these days, and I found that some girls are quite spiritual. I plan to pick a few to take home and do something."
When these words came out, not only the village chief who looked up was surprised, but even the villagers who pricked up their ears to eavesdrop were stunned. Although they talked about Ye behind her back, she was at least the daughter of an official who almost became a princess. If she worked for the Ye family, wouldn't that be a very good place?
Before Zhang Chen and the Fourth Prince could even react, the others rushed over in a hurry. However, when they were still three or four steps away from Ye, Cao Qingqing stepped in front of Ye, holding a slingshot in one hand, with a stone bullet already loaded, and raised her hand to fire a bullet.
At this moment, the others suddenly changed color and retreated in a hurry, while the village chief looked at the stone bullet embedded above the doorpost of the house and took a deep breath.
"Everyone, move away and talk. No noise is allowed in front of my young lady!" Cao Qingqing had a fierce expression on her face, but with the fierce power of her stunning attack just now, no one dared to ignore her words. However, the impatient people still hurriedly shouted, "I wonder which girl Miss Ye has set her eyes on!"
"Will you sell her to me if I tell you?" Ye asked casually with a raised lip. Seeing the embarrassment of the people around her, she said calmly, "I didn't ask for her name, so how can I remember so many names? Bring all the girls in your family here so I can take a look. I should be able to recognize them."
In an instant, dozens of men and women in the village were scattered like birds and beasts, leaving only a group of boys still eating. Faced with such a scene, the village chief who painstakingly designed this farewell banquet felt that he was completely ignored. However, his family in Baijia Village could not be called a landlord, but only well-off, so although he could not help but complain in his heart, he was also tempted.
His two daughters-in-law were very fertile, but they only had two grandsons and five granddaughters. It was difficult to support too many people, and girls would consume the dowry. Thinking of this, he felt that sending them to work in the Ye family was the best way out - of course, they were not as good as the two young masters in front of him who were of too noble a status.
However, Zhang Shou's warning was in front of him, and there seemed to be someone wandering outside the village, who seemed to be following the two to secretly protect them, so he did not dare to play too many tricks, so he asked his granddaughters to come in front of him to serve him. However, she was also spoiled by his daughter-in-law, so she was not good at serving others, and she was driven away by Zhang Chen and the fourth prince within two days.
Therefore, at this time, he had no choice but to ask shamelessly: "Miss Ye, I have a few half-grown girls at home, do you want to..."
Before the village chief could finish his words, Ye sneered and said, "The girls in your family are lazy, greedy, and talk behind people's backs. They are talented, but they don't study hard at all. You should keep them for yourself."
Zhang Chen couldn't help but laugh when he heard Ye's words without giving them face. Even the Fourth Prince couldn't help but laugh. After all, although they lived in the village chief's house, they were very attentive to him, but too attentive. Even girls who were only eight or nine years old were dressed up in front of them. Who couldn't see the meaning?
The village chief's face turned purple after hearing Ye's sharp words. However, his thick skin was the result of years of experience. He smiled awkwardly for a while and then stepped aside as if nothing had happened. But in his heart he had decided to give his two daughters-in-law a good beating when he got back.
If they hadn't talked nonsense in front of their daughter, how could those little girls talk nonsense outside and be caught by Ye? They still want to go to the city to eat delicious food and drink spicy drinks, it's just wishful thinking!
The Fourth Prince, relying on his young age, took the opportunity to pull Ye aside and asked in a low voice: "Sister Ye, are you really planning to pick someone to serve at home?"
Ye Shi didn't care at all that the Fourth Prince called her Sister Ye so familiarly. She glanced at the village chief who was leaving in a hurry, and then said calmly, "That depends on them. If they follow you to learn to read and write, but only want to be a maid in a wealthy family for a so-called good future, my family has several farms besides the house in Tongzhou City."
"If they can read and write because they don't want to live a monotonous life here and want to go out and see if there are other things women can do, then..." She paused, then smiled and said, "I will introduce them to the girls' school."
Zhang Chen couldn't help but relax his brows after hearing this, and then he took the initiative to ask, "If you want to pick a girl to go to the girls' school, there is one who used to be quiet and didn't say a word every day... Well, that girl doesn't attract much attention, she doesn't hand in homework, and doesn't ask questions. I don't know her name, but once when I accidentally glanced at her, I found that her handwriting is pretty good."
At this point, Zhang Chen did not notice Ye's surprised look, nor the Fourth Prince's strange look, and said to himself: "It can be seen that the characters are not written by a beginner. She is not like the kind of person who has never read a book, does not know a single big character, and cannot write a single character. She just comes and goes quietly every day. I think she is quite special, and I plan to tell Ying when I go back..."
He forced himself to change the address: "Tell the young master's wife." Although he called out these three words much more reluctantly than Lu Sanlang, he still said them.
This immediately attracted the Fourth Prince's ridicule: "Zhang Chen, you are amazing. You actually noticed this... I didn't even notice it! Are you always paying attention to girls because you see that Teacher and Senior Brother Lu both have wives?"
Being teased by the Fourth Prince again, Zhang Chen was immediately furious: "Get lost, I don't have the time for that! That little girl looks very ordinary, I just looked at her a little more because she was strange! One of the saddest things in the world is that a pearl is covered in dust. Foolish people can stay here for a lifetime, but people like you and me will get nervous after staying here for a month! I just looked at her, she doesn't look like a swallow!"
Seeing the Fourth Prince suddenly become speechless, Ye couldn't help but laugh out loud. She was always cold and rarely smiled, but when she smiled, even Cao Qingqing couldn't help but look at her a few more times. After laughing, she nodded and said, "Master Zhang has a good eye, I think she's not bad either."
