Princess Zhaoning’s words made Chen Xiaobei realize that charcoal burning was not a sustainable business. Even the mighty Qingniu Mountain would eventually run out of wood within hundreds of miles, let alone Wugongling, which was only dozens of miles in radius.
After bidding farewell to the princess and leaving Wugongling, Chen Xiaobei and Guo Chuan began to discuss.
“Brother Guo, I want you to be able to earn some expenses by burning charcoal, but if the princess wants to hunt, you can’t touch the back mountain. Otherwise, if she can’t catch any prey, the princess will be angry.”
“Yes, if that’s the case, we’ll have to find another way out.” Guo Chuan couldn’t help but sigh. Although Guo Chuan didn’t have the concept of environmental protection at the time, he also knew that leaving a forest for the princess to hunt meant that at least ten miles couldn’t be touched.
“Brother Guo, I have an idea. Wugongling is only about thirty or forty miles from Xiaojia Town. Why don’t we go to town and see if we can find other businesses to do? By the way, Feng Xiaoyue runs an inn in town, so you can ask him.”
Guo Chuan nodded, “Thank you, Brother Xiaobei, for your guidance. After we move to Wugongling and settle down, I will immediately go to Xiaojia Town.”
After returning to Hetou Village, Guo Chuan immediately issued orders to pack up and prepare to move to Wugongling.
Chen Xiaobei was not stingy either. He opened all four acres of his warehouse, and Guo Chuan could take as much as he wanted.
Not only did he prepare enough dried meat, rice, flour, and oil for Guo Chuan, but he also prepared some tents for them in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Hetou Village now had more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages. In the past, these carriages seemed grand, but they were insufficient to help nearly a thousand people move.
The move alone took three days. After three days, things finally settled down, and Hetou Village regained its tranquility.
Chen Xiaobei could finally go and see his cabbage field again.
Everything was as he expected. The cabbages in the field had grown considerably and were ready for harvest, and the radishes had also matured.
After returning to the village, Chen Xiaobei found Chen Dayong and discussed with him about arranging for some people to harvest the cabbages and radishes.
Just then, Cui Hua rushed over. Seeing Chen Xiaobei, she said joyfully, “Brother Xiaobei, hurry and see Dachun. Dachun can stand up.”
What?
Chen Xiaobei was startled to hear this. Someone who had been lying in bed for so long could actually stand up.
He sprinted to Chen Dachun’s house.
When he rushed into the courtyard, Dachun was leaning on two wooden sticks, trying to move forward little by little.
Seeing Chen Xiaobei arrive, Chen Dachun’s face lit up with surprise, and he shouted, “Brother Xiaobei, look, I, I can stand up, I can stand up.”
Chen Xiaobei nodded vigorously, unable to help but wipe away tears. At this moment, Cui Hongyu also came out of the house, her face filled with emotion, “Brother Dachun can really stand up.”
Chen Xiaobei looked at Cui Hongyu, then at Chen Dachun, “What’s going on?”
Cui Hua, standing beside them, spoke rapidly, “It’s all thanks to Sister Hongyu. She came to give Brother Dachun acupuncture today. After a few needles, Brother Dachun said his legs felt a bit numb.”
“Sister Hongyu said they felt numb, which means his lower body has feeling!”
“I never expected that after Sister Hongyu gave a few more needles, Dachun directly wanted to get out of bed and walk. Seeing that he could stand, I immediately came to find you to share the good news.”
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei stepped forward and gave Cui Hongyu a gentle hug, “Thank you. If it weren’t for you…”
Chen Xiaobei didn’t finish the rest of his sentence, but Cui Hongyu knew that the latter half meant that if she hadn’t taken the risk to perform acupuncture, Chen Dachun would probably have been bedridden for life.
Chen Dachun was very direct and followed up on the topic, “Yes, yes, if it weren’t for Hongyu helping me with acupuncture, I probably wouldn’t be able to stand up in my life.”
Chen Xiaobei stepped forward, walked around Chen Dachun, and gently tapped his leg, “How do you feel now?”
Chen Dachun chuckled, “I’ve been lying in bed for so long, except for feeling a bit weak, there’s nothing else.”
“That’s good, that’s good. Don’t rush, take it slow.”
As he spoke, Chen Dachun dropped one of the wooden sticks, leaving only one, and slowly moved forward, leaning on it with both hands.
At this moment, Chen Dayong also arrived, as did Chen Daqiang and Chen Xiaowen. These village guard members also rushed to the doorway. Watching Chen Dachun stagger across the courtyard, everyone erupted in cheers.
Seeing the jubilant crowd, Chen Xiaobei was deeply moved. The villagers were truly simple and kind.
Second Aunt Xiu Mei busily called out to Cui Hua, “Hurry and prepare a feast. Everyone is eating at our house for lunch today. I’ll go get the wine.”
Chen Xiaobei looked at Hongyu, and Cui Hongyu nodded slightly.
In fact, Chen Xiaobei wasn’t in a very good mood, as Huang Ying had only left a few days ago. However, he couldn’t bear to dampen everyone’s spirits.
Returning to his own home, Chen Xiaobei took two large fish from the fish tank and returned to Chen Dachun’s house, handing them over to Cui Hua, as his contribution.
He then took Chen Dayong to his new house to move two tables over. Following Cui Hua’s suggestion, they sent out notices for lunch, inviting everyone to eat at Dachun’s house to celebrate.
By lunchtime, three large tables were set, and nearly forty people attended. Those who couldn’t make it were too shy to come, of course, and attendance was voluntary.
The village elder was also invited. Upon hearing that Chen Dachun could stand up, the elder’s beard bristled with joy, and he brought a jar of good wine.
With the dishes served and the wine poured, the elder raised his wine bowl and said to everyone, with great excitement, “Today, our Hetou Village has great news. Dachun can stand up, and a family is revived.”
“Come, let’s toast.” With that, the elder tilted his head and drank the bowl of wine in one gulp. The rest of the crowd also roared with excitement and quickly drank their wine.
After three rounds of lively toasts, while everyone was happily eating, the elder lowered his voice and said to Chen Xiaobei, “There’s something you need to consider carefully. Originally, the position of village captain was to go to Dayong. Now that Dachun is recovered, what will you do?”
This remark did remind Chen Xiaobei.
He hadn’t thought about this aspect at all, but the elder had already thought of it for him. It was obvious that Chen Dayong was doing a good job, and there was no reason to remove him and replace him with Chen Dachun.
Thinking of this, Chen Xiaobei said, “Dachun will have to start as an ordinary village guard member when he returns. He can’t directly become the captain again.”
The elder shook his head slightly, “You still don’t understand Dachun. Do you think he will accept it?”
Chen Xiaobei fell silent upon hearing this. Yes, Chen Dachun was the more assertive type. Could he accept starting as a village guard member again?
Thinking of this, Chen Xiaobei got up and went directly to Chen Dachun’s side. The village guards nearby quickly made way for him.