Chapter 130: Spring Festival Approaches
These past few days, I've poured too many words onto the page, leaving me utterly exhausted and with no desire to write more. Consider this extra chapter a testament to that weariness.
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Outside the window, raindrops pattered, relentless for three days and three nights.
Shuangqing City was draped in a persistent winter drizzle, yet inside the diorama box, not a single drop was to be seen.
Li Daoxuan calculated the timing; it was about time for rain. He retrieved a medical nebulizer and directed its spray toward the fields outside Gao Family Village, initiating a gentle downpour.
It was already late December in the seventh year of Tianqi (1627), and the footsteps of the Spring Festival were drawing ever closer.
The Spring Festival was, without question, the most important holiday in our dynasty.
Inside the diorama box, the villagers had already begun preparations for the New Year.
In previous years, due to the drought, no one had been able to enjoy a peaceful celebration. Even on New Year's Eve, they were still digging for wild greens and stripping tree bark, constantly worried about survival.
Gao Sanwa's mother chased him across the courtyard. “Sanwa, stop! Come put on the new padded jacket your mother knitted for you.”
Gao Sanwa was too busy playing hide-and-seek with other children. The nine-hall, eighteen-well layout of the Hakka Walled House made for a natural, top-notch maze, perfect for the game.
“I’m not cold! Don’t call me, Mom, they’ll catch me!” Gao Sanwa darted off, vanishing in a flash.
His mother shook her head, a fond smile playing on her lips. “In previous years, he’d be runny-nosed from the cold, crying every day for a padded jacket. Now that he has one, he won’t wear it.”
San Shier happened to pass by, chuckling. “Sanwa’s eaten more meat, his body’s grown stronger, so naturally, he’s not as sensitive to the cold as before. Madam San, don’t worry so much.”
Outside the fortress gates...
Two young men climbed aboard Solar Car No. 2.
Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu followed, standing beside them to instruct. “Listen carefully, this is the steering tiller. Turn left, and the car turns left...”
The two young men nodded quickly. “Got it.”
Gao Chuwu grinned widely. “You need to learn fast. When spring arrives, Wangjia Village will begin spring plowing, and one Solar Divine Car won’t be enough. We’ll need several shuttling back and forth.”
Zheng Daniu added, “The Heavenly Lord says Solar Car No. 2 will later be renamed the ‘Public Solar Car,’ specifically for transporting everyone between villages. As we visit more and more villages, the Public Solar Car will be incredibly busy.”
The two young men nodded emphatically, diligently following instructions. Solar Car No. 2 rumbled to life, moving awkwardly.
Next to Gao Family Fortress, the two “small villages” – the Short-term Workers Village and the Labor Offenders Village – were equally bustling.
In the Short-term Workers Village, the temporary laborers were cutting paper flowers, preparing for the New Year.
They hadn't been in Gao Family Village long, and the Heavenly Lord’s bounties they received weren't as plentiful, so they weren't as wealthy as the original residents of Gao Family Village. Still, their lives were vastly better than when they were in their own homes. Now, they even had enough money to buy red paper for cutting flowers to paste on their doors—an unimaginable luxury during the years of drought.
The most miserable were the labor reform convicts.
They had only basic necessities, no extra rewards. They earned no additional income from their work. At first, they had been perfectly content, just happy to eat, but seeing the newly arrived short-term workers grow richer than themselves, they suddenly realized that being a labor reform convict wasn't such a great deal after all.
Oh, if only they could atone for their sins sooner and move into the Short-term Workers Village...
Li Daoxuan watched, amused, constantly clicking the directional buttons to switch perspectives. Just then, he noticed a large group of people, some thirty or forty strong, approaching from the official road to the east.
They wore sturdy, fitted garments, their lower legs bound with ropes, clearly dressed for long-distance travel. Many carried heavy shoulder poles, laden with what appeared to be goods.
The leader was on horseback, carrying a bow and a waist knife, clearly a capable fighter. At first glance, Li Daoxuan felt something was off. He quickly grabbed his magnifying glass for a closer look and realized the mounted leader was not a man, but a woman.
She was powerfully built, a veritable tower of a woman, not pretty in the conventional sense... well... she was rather broad, with a large face.
Without the magnifying glass, Li Daoxuan hadn’t even realized she was a woman; he'd merely sensed her physique was a bit unusual.
The arrival of such an eccentric character immediately piqued Li Daoxuan’s interest. He locked his view on the group, watching them amble along the official road from the east.
The woman spoke, her voice just as robust. “Brothers, where are we now?”
A man behind her murmured, “Boss, we should be about thirty li from Chengcheng County seat.”
The woman chuckled. “Excellent! Little ones, pick up the pace. We need to reach the county seat before noon to move some goods during the midday rush.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than she exclaimed, “Oh? There’s a large fortress ahead, and two small villages beside it.”
Li Daoxuan thought: So, you’ve spotted Gao Family Fortress?
The woman’s spirits visibly lifted. “Excellent! Such a large fortress must belong to a wealthy family. And those two villages look quite populous. Let’s head there quickly; maybe we can sell a batch of goods.”
The group hastened their steps, moving swiftly towards Gao Family Village.
Li Daoxuan mused: From her words, she sounds like a merchant. Tsk, in this chaotic Shaanxi, could there really be merchants still operating? And a female merchant, no less. Even if your appearance is... well, *that*, surely bandits wouldn’t discriminate. Aren’t you afraid of being subjected to all sorts of indignities?
Soon, the woman led her merchant group into Gao Family Village.
Standing at the village entrance, a joyous expression spread across her face. “This village is incredibly prosperous, incredibly prosperous! Look, it’s still raining here, the villagers have fields to cultivate, and everyone is beaming with happiness. We’re definitely going to sell a lot of goods here!”
The men behind her were also thrilled. “Boss is right, these villagers clearly look wealthy. Our goods are sure to sell well.”
The woman cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted towards Gao Family Village, “Salt for sale! Top-quality goods! Twenty percent cheaper than official salt! Come and buy quickly, you won’t find this deal anywhere else!”
At her shout, Li Daoxuan understood: A salt smuggler!
That made sense. In these turbulent times, ordinary, legitimate merchants would have long since hidden away in county towns, trembling with fear. Only fierce salt smugglers would still be roaming about.
Salt smugglers were certainly no pushovers; as long as they didn’t encounter a large bandit army, they had nothing to fear.
“Salt for sale!” The woman’s bellow startled the villagers of Gao Family Village.
A crowd of villagers turned their gazes, watching the woman with strange expressions. The sentries on the fortress wall rested their chins in their hands, gazing at her with subtle, knowing smiles.
Seeing this reception, the woman immediately sensed something was amiss. She lowered her voice. “Everyone, be careful. This village is a bit strange; their smiles are... unsettling.”
A few of her subordinates behind her immediately placed their hands on their dagger hilts.
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