Seeing Lidong getting up to leave, Chen Xiaobei added, "By the way, tell Dayong and the others that I've bought the seeds. They can come to my place to pick them up after dinner."
Chen Xiaobei sat in the shade of the tree, waiting. Before long, several villagers carrying bamboo baskets appeared in the distance. Bamboo baskets were quite practical for going into the mountains in those days.
Upon seeing Chen Xiaobei, these men's faces lit up with radiant smiles.
"Chief Xiaobei, the five of us are enough. If you need more hands, just call us!"
Chen Xiaobei smiled and nodded, "That's plenty, let's go. I'll show you the way."
First impressions are always deeply etched in memory.
Chen Xiaobei, of course, remembered the place where he had caught his first wild pheasant.
He navigated through winding paths and, even without markings, found the spot accurately.
Chen Xiaobei arrived at a patch of grass, pushed aside the foliage, and found a thick layer of chicken droppings on the ground, at least half a foot deep when poked with a stick.
Fortunately, some time had passed since the pheasants had last been there, so there were no fresh droppings.
The accumulated droppings were mostly dry, so the smell wasn't as strong as expected.
With a significant reduction in the odor, the villagers felt less hesitant to work.
After arranging this task, Chen Xiaobei hurried back home. He had another important job today: watering the fields. When Dashun had entrusted the fields to him, he had specifically mentioned that they needed frequent watering due to the high temperature.
Five days had passed since the last rain, and he had to check on them.
He left the village and headed south, circling the foot of the mountain until he reached Chen Dachun's fields.
To Chen Xiaobei's surprise, the fields were damp, clearly having been watered recently.
Chen Xiaobei looked around. Someone was in the nearby fields.
It was Chen Xiaobo.
Evidently, Chen Xiaobo also saw Chen Xiaobei and waved enthusiastically at him.
Chen Xiaobei walked over, a hint of doubt in his voice, "Xiaobo, you watered Dashun's fields for him, didn't you?"
Chen Xiaobo chuckled, "Yes, yes. Since our houses are next to each other, I saw his field was dry, so I watered it as well."
Chen Xiaobei was at a loss for words for a moment, but he knew that if this continued, it would create a bad precedent in the village, where everyone would rush to do his chores.
"Brother Xiaobo, thank you, but I need to be upfront. This is a one-time thing, please don't do it again next time. I don't like it."
Chen Xiaobo was momentarily taken aback, seemingly unable to understand why, as he came to fawn over Chen Xiaobei, he received such a response.
Seeing his bewildered expression, Chen Xiaobei said earnestly, "Although I am the chief, I, like all of you, come from generations of farmers. I don't want to be the chief and have everyone do all my tasks for me. Over time, the villagers would surely gossip about me. Don't you think so?"
Chen Xiaobo hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded, "You're right. I didn't think it through."
Returning home, Chen Xiaobei pondered deeply and decided to address this matter openly that evening.
After dinner, Chen Dayong and others gradually arrived at his house to pick up the vegetable seeds.
Chen Xiaobei didn't distribute them immediately. Instead, he gathered them together and led them to the large locust tree in the center of the village.
There were four or five village guards on duty that night, and with Chen Dayong's group, there were over a dozen people.
Of course, Lidong and Chen Xiaobo were also specially summoned by him.
Lidong was confused by Chen Xiaobei's actions and looked at Chen Xiaobo with a bewildered expression, "Did you make a mistake?"
Chen Xiaobo shook his head slightly, "I don't know why I was called here either."
Clearly, he hadn't yet realized the gravity of his actions in Chen Xiaobei's mind.
Chen Xiaobei cleared his throat, looked at everyone present, and slowly began, "I've gathered everyone here today because I want to say a few unrelated things. Of course, this has nothing to do with our village guard team."
Upon hearing this, Lidong breathed a long sigh of relief, happy that it didn't concern him.
"Since I became the chief, everyone has given me a lot of help. For that, I must thank you all."
Hearing his thanks, Lidong quickly replied on behalf of everyone, "Chief Xiaobei, you are too kind."
Chen Xiaobei's expression, however, became serious, "I'm not being polite. It's that some things should be discussed openly. Like today, I was going to water Dashun's fields, but when I got there, Brother Xiaobo had already watered them for me."
Lidong and the others looked at Chen Xiaobo in surprise. No wonder Chen Xiaobei called you here; it was to praise you.
Chen Dayong eagerly said, "Chief Xiaobei, just let us know if you need anything in the future, and we'll all come to help."
Chen Xiaobei shook his head and looked at Lidong again, "This afternoon, when I asked you to find labor for me, I made it very clear that I would pay the going rate."
After speaking, he took out two copper coins from his sleeve.
He handed them to Chen Xiaobo, "This is your payment for watering the field today."
Chen Xiaobo was dumbfounded, looking at Chen Xiaobei with utter disbelief, "Chief Xiaobei, I, I was just helping. How can I accept your payment!"
Chen Xiaobei, without further ado, pressed the two copper coins into his hand.
Holding the two copper coins, Chen Xiaobo felt at a loss.
At this moment, Lidong understood. Chen Xiaobei didn't want to be indebted to anyone.
And everyone present was silently calculating. It seemed that from now on, they couldn't casually get involved in Chen Xiaobei's affairs. If there was a disagreement, his family would give them copper coins. Helping someone work had turned into asking for money, which felt inappropriate.
As the saying goes, problems that can be solved with money are not problems at all.
Therefore, Chen Xiaobei solved a major issue with two copper coins.
After resolving this matter, Chen Xiaobei held up the cloth bag he was carrying.
"Alright, back to the main topic. Today, I will distribute the seeds to everyone."
Chen Dayong and the others received their seeds with great excitement.
Seeing their joy, the village guards who hadn't participated in this activity felt like they were missing something. If Chen Dayong and the others could plant, why couldn't they?
The guards surrounded Chen Xiaobei again, clamoring that they also wanted to grow vegetables.
"Alright, alright. Next time I go to the county town, I'll bring more," Chen Xiaobei said, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, in Qingniu Mountain.
Chen Ping and Sanqiu were hiding in the bushes, quietly waiting for the wild pheasants to return to their nests.
Chen Ping lacked patience. As soon as the pheasants returned, he eagerly threw out his net.
The net missed, and the flock of pheasants scattered in panic.
Chen Ping was unwilling to give up and chased after them with his net. Fortunately, it was getting late, and the wild pheasants had poor eyesight. In the end, one of them couldn't escape and was caught in his net.