The twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month, Doctor Yang hosted the engagement banquet for Yuan Man and Damai.
Afeng personally took charge of the cooking.
Zeng Jingliang, who had not left Kucheng Mountain since entering it, helped with odd jobs.
Zeng Jingliang was not slow at chopping vegetables, and his knife skills were excellent.
After tasting Afeng's culinary skills, the villagers licked their lips and exclaimed it was worth it.
How would they ever swallow their own household's pig feed from now on?
The women kicked off their shoes and hurled insults, "Things worse than pigs, even pigs know the hard work of being fed and try to grow meat. You've got nothing but skin and bones, and you dare to look down on pig feed? You should be grateful to have pig feed to eat."
The men covered their heads, allowing the women to slap them, who told them to have such foul mouths?
Sister Guihua took out a notebook and made a note for every gentleman present.
The men were not convinced.
Sister Guihua waved her hand, "Keep hitting them until they submit. Cooking pig feed is also hard work, isn't it?"
After the lively engagement banquet, Damai came to bid farewell to Tian Jing. She wanted to learn cooking from Sister Afeng and manage medicinal herbs from Doctor Yuan.
Tian Jing agreed. Damai was planning for her own future, so she had no reason to refuse.
Besides, Ouyang Lei was now in charge of Kyoto, so there was no shortage of manpower.
...
After the New Year passed, Kucheng Mountain became completely busy.
Busy with what?
Of course, with the back mountain.
The back mountain could finally be developed.
Each household was assigned a quota of strong laborers to clear paths in the back mountain.
Villagers from Wang'er also came to help.
With the case of the back mountain resolved, villagers from Wang'er Village could enter and exit Kucheng Mountain, but they needed entry permits.
Those without entry permits were registered.
Li Zhengguo said to the village elder, "I have already ordered custom items for you, and I have also borrowed the money for them."
"When they come for installation, you will have to pay for the installation fees yourself."
The village elder was very excited, "How much, what are these custom items?"
Li Zhengguo no longer played coy, "They're not expensive, only sixty thousand yuan. The custom items are called drift boats, where small rubber boats go down the stream with the current, very thrilling."
"You need to arrange some villagers who are excellent swimmers to keep a constant watch on the tourists. Anyone who falls into the water must be rescued immediately."
"When it's time for installation, the installers will tell you what precautions to take."
"You should quickly find an assistant, or train a young village leader. You can't keep up with these new things anymore."
The village elder's lips trembled slightly, "Will anyone really come to play with these?"
"Of course!" Li Zhengguo nodded, "If no one comes, County Magistrate Ji will arrange for people to come. As long as they find it fun, they'll spread the word when they go back, won't they? When our back mountain is fully developed, you'll have even more tourists. Don't worry, an investment of only sixty thousand yuan, can't you afford that?"
The village elder turned back to the village, "I'll go back and find an assistant right away."
...
Because labor was diverted to work in the back mountain, it was difficult to manage the greenhouses. Many villagers requested to lease out half of their greenhouses.
The village committee agreed. They could publicize it for them externally, but they wouldn't manage it for them.
The villagers were satisfied. Who in Kucheng Mountain wasn't envious?
Once it was advertised externally, many villagers' relatives came calling.
Ding Aihua, along with several other women, also came to Tian Jing to inquire about leasing greenhouses.
Tian Jing shooed them away, "My greenhouses have been handed over to the village committee for these past few years. You should find someone else to lease from."
Tian Lifu's wife lingered behind and quietly asked Tian Jing if Da Ya and the others were doing well.
Tian Jing was surprised, "Aren't Da Ya and the others your daughters? Why are you asking me?"
Tian Lifu's wife was stunned. Tian Jing didn't take them away?
Then who took them away?
Could it be human traffickers?
Three days later, Director Qi came to Kucheng Mountain to complain to Tian Jing.
"You don't know how crazy Tian Lifu's wife is. She was rolling and crying outside the Women's Federation, insisting that we sold her three daughters. Then some concerned citizens called the police. When the police came to investigate, they added another six months to the sentence of Tian Lifu and Tian Yongyi's couple, saying their original sentences were too light. The entire second branch of the Tian family wishes they could eat her alive. Oh, and Tian Ping is divorced, did you know?"
Tian Jing shook her head, "I haven't heard anything. I rarely pay attention to the Tian family's affairs."
"Oh my!" Director Qi clapped her hands and told Tian Jing about Tian Ping's situation. It turned out Tian Ping was caught in bed by her husband, and went to the Civil Affairs Bureau to divorce him that very day. The next day, her husband married a young woman. This made many people understand what had happened. Tian Ping returned to the Tian family. Her uncle wanted to drive her out. She took a pen and paper, writing words and asking the onlookers to read them for her. She said if the Tian family didn't take her in, she would sue her grandfather and her aunt. The reason was her voice and her lack of freedom in marriage. Tian Yongren, feeling pity for her, took her in, but insisted she work in the fields, as the family did not support idlers. Tian Ping agreed, but after a few days of field work, she refused. She said her elder sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law didn't work in the fields, so why should she? Tian Yongren didn't know whether to hit or scold his niece. The Tian family quarreled incessantly every day. Tian Yongren was waiting for his second brother to deal with the second branch of the family. Tian Lifu's wife's commotion, which resulted in an extended sentence, angered everyone in the Tian family except Tian Ping. "...You say, is this a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice? How did Tian Lifu's wife's brain work? Oh, and someone called not long ago asking about the situation of Tian Da Ya's three sisters, and I responded truthfully."
"It's fine!" Tian Jing said with a smile, "Someone took a liking to their capabilities and recruited them for work."
"That's good, that's good. Those three poor girls, you don't know what happened when I rescued them from the Tian family..." Director Qi chattered on for a long time before leaving. Tian Jing gave her some vegetables, and she was very happy, saying she especially loved eating vegetables.
...
Mother Li took her grandsons to the county town to study again.
Zeng Jingrong, who had been away for some days, arrived with a team: "Tian Jing, what do you think about moving my special team to that mountain range?"
Tian Jing smiled slightly, "Why are you asking me? This is your special team's business."
"Well..." Zeng Jingrong waved his team members away, "The higher-ups said they want you to be the deputy captain. Actually, given your rank, you're more than qualified to be the captain. I know you don't like dealing with all sorts of troublesome matters, so they changed it to deputy captain for you. You just need to be stationed here. When you have time, you can check on the team's training. You'll also see Hao Hao and Xiao Bo. Ran Ran can also start systematic training early."
At first, Tian Jing was annoyed to hear that she was assigned to the special team. But being able to see her sons in the special team made her very tempted. This Zeng Jingrong, no wonder he could be the captain of the special team, he understood people very well. "Okay, I accept. But I don't like to be flamboyant."
"I know, I know." Zeng Jingrong, somewhat nervous, smiled, "Everyone's identity in the team is confidential, they wouldn't dare to say anything. You can go and see them when you have time. We will build a road into the mountain from elsewhere, and it won't conflict with the development of your back mountain."
Not long after Zeng Jingrong and his team left, Li Zhengguo returned. "Why did Zeng Jingrong come to our house?"
Tian Jing explained the matter to her husband.
Li Zhengguo sighed, "I knew it. Once you're exposed, you belong to the state."
Tian Jing glanced at him, "You exposed Hao Hao and the others, and then I was exposed?"
Li Zhengguo passed the buck, "It was Hao Hao and the two of them who wanted to join the army. They felt that they couldn't contribute as ordinary civilians, but they could contribute as soldiers."
Tian Jing retorted, "Then why didn't you try to persuade them?"
Li Zhengguo quickly defended himself, "In that situation, if I had tried to persuade them, Hao Hao's and Xiao Bo's emotions and pride would have been hurt."
"Alright! You have a point."
"No, I don't have a point, my wife's words are the point."