Chen Ping’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at his grandfather, clearly not believing such words would come from him.
Chen Anbang, however, continued smugly, “Cui Fugui spent his whole life as a doctor, and he has quite a fortune, worth at least a few hundred taels of silver.”
“Cui Hongyu, with her looks, could fetch a good price at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.”
“When that time comes, our family will be renowned in all ten miles around. What kind of woman couldn’t you marry then?”
Hearing his grandfather’s words.
Chen Ping fell into deep thought.
His father had died young, and his mother remarried early. Chen Anbang and his wife had struggled tirelessly to raise him to adulthood.
Although his grandfather Chen Anbang was the village head, and he himself was the village guard captain, these were the only two positions in the village that received stipends from the county.
However, the village guard captain’s position was essentially unpaid, with the county only providing two hundred copper coins annually.
The village head’s situation was slightly better, receiving thirty copper coins a month, but this income was far from sufficient.
Furthermore, some copper coins had to be set aside for the village guard team members, as no one would work for free.
Thus, Chen Ping often had to take on odd jobs.
Now that a shortcut to wealth and prosperity lay before him, Chen Ping naturally became tempted.
“Grandfather, are you sure Cui Fugui will give us all his property then?”
Chen Anbang chuckled dryly, “Don’t worry, I have my ways. He’ll have no choice but to comply then.”
Chen Ping gritted his teeth, “Alright, I’ll do as you say, grandfather.”
“I’ll call everyone together for a meeting today and hand over the captain’s position to Chen Xiaobei.”
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei returned home to a sight that surprised him. Chen Qiao’er ran up to him, holding a wild egg, and exclaimed gleefully, “Brother, look, the wild hen has laid an egg!”
Chen Xiaobei followed the direction of Qiao’er’s finger. In the corner of the yard, two wild hens were tied up.
Each hen was tethered by a three-foot rope to one leg, which was then tied to a wooden stake.
This arrangement gave the wild hens some room to move without running around aimlessly.
Ah, and some dry grass had also been placed nearby.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei staring intently, Cui Hongyu stepped forward and explained cautiously, “This morning, the two wild hens kept fluttering around, so I had to untie them. I didn’t expect such a surprise harvest.”
Seeing this, Chen Xiaobei’s mind stirred.
When he was young, there were many professional chicken farmers in the neighboring village, with densely packed iron cages housing numerous chickens that laid many eggs daily.
In this era, the hatching rate of chickens was very low, making it difficult for people to raise them.
If he could capture a batch of wild chickens, it might be a shortcut.
With this thought, he stepped forward and gently hugged Cui Hongyu, “You did very well. Since the wild hens are laying eggs, we’ll keep them. I’ll catch more later.”
He then took out a bag of meat buns, “I brought these back from the county. Try them.”
Cui Hongyu shook her head and directly handed the meat buns to Qiao’er, “I’m not hungry. Qiao’er should eat them.”
Chen Xiaobei looked seriously at Chen Qiao’er, then at Cui Hongyu. He squatted down and said to his sister, “Qiao’er, sister-in-law needs to accompany you at night and work during the day. What do you think of her?”
Qiao’er smiled and looked at Cui Hongyu, “Sister-in-law is good. Sister-in-law is the best to Qiao’er.”
Chen Xiaobei gently patted her head, “Will you share half of the meat bun with sister-in-law?”
Qiao’er nodded, “I’ll give it all to sister-in-law. Qiao’er isn’t hungry. Qiao’er won’t eat any.”
Saying this, she handed the meat buns back to Cui Hongyu.
Cui Hongyu felt an inexplicable pang in her heart.
Growing up, at home, her father always ate first before she and her mother. Although her father was a renowned doctor and seemed amiable, at home, he acted like an emperor.
Cui Hongyu held back tears and gently patted Chen Qiao’er’s shoulder, “Qiao’er, be good. Sister-in-law isn’t hungry. I’ll save the buns for you.”
Chen Xiaobei stood up, looked at Cui Hongyu, and said earnestly, word by word, “You must eat this bun today. From now on, when we buy buns, you and Qiao’er will each have half.”
Cui Hongyu was about to explain, but Chen Xiaobei interrupted her domineeringly, “Don’t say anything more. What we eat and how much we eat, I’ll decide.”
Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiao’er sat side by side under the large locust tree, happily eating the meat buns. Seeing the smiles on their faces, Chen Xiaobei smiled.
As long as they were happy, his heart felt sweet no matter how tired he was.
Just as he was immersed in this warmth, he heard a cough from the courtyard gate. Chen Ping had arrived.
Chen Xiaobei quickly went to meet him, handing him a meat bun, “Brother, you came at the right time. Have a bun.”
Chen Ping waved his hand, “I ate enough in the county town. I can’t eat any more.”
Hearing this, Cui Hongyu couldn’t help but giggle.
After she laughed, realizing she had been impolite, she quickly led Chen Qiao’er back into the house.
Chen Ping ignored this. He looked at Chen Xiaobei with a smile, “I came to discuss something with you.”
As Chen Xiaobei gestured for him to sit down, he replied, “Brother, there’s no need to discuss. Just make the decision yourself.”
Chen Ping nodded, “I’ve been thinking, and I want you to be the village guard captain.”
Chen Xiaobei was stunned.
He was currently trying to rebuild everything and only wanted to make a fortune to provide a good life for Cui Hongyu and Chen Qiao’er.
However, he had no interest in officialdom.
“Brother, I’m not cut out for it. Besides, you know what I’m like. Who in the village would listen to me?”
Chen Ping smiled slightly and patted his shoulder.
“I will, Da Ming will, Xiao Bo will, and Da Qiang will too.”
“We’ve eaten your buns, dare we not listen to you? I’ll make them spit them out.”
Da Ming and Xiao Bo were the two who accompanied him to the county town today.
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei quickly waved his hands, “Brother, I didn’t mean it like that. I just feel that you all work hard, so I bought you some meat buns. I wasn’t trying to win people over.”
Chen Ping shook his head, his expression serious, “I didn’t mean it that way either. My grandfather reprimanded me harshly when I returned. He said I lacked responsibility. Mountain bandits entered the village, and I didn’t even notice. Grandfather said I wasn’t fit to be the captain.”
“I also asked Da Ming and Da Qiang, and I think you are the most suitable person for this captaincy.”
Saying this, he stood up and shouted towards the outside, “You all come in.”
Da Ming, Xiao Bo, Da Qiang, and others filed in from outside.
Including Chen Ping, there were a total of eight members of the village guard team, all present today.
Chen Ping looked at the assembled group and asked loudly, “Are you willing to let Brother Xiaobei be the village guard captain?”
The several people shouted in unison, “Willing.”
Now it was Chen Xiaobei’s turn to be bewildered. What was Chen Ping up to?