Chapter 330 Repayment
After leaving Jinqiu County, head west, then head north at the fork in the road and pass a stone bridge...

After walking for about half a day, Xia Mingyue and Zhuang Cui arrived at Zhaojiazhuang at noon.

Because the government had previously made great efforts to suppress bandits and destroyed the Blood Eagle Fort in one fell swoop, there are no more bandits causing trouble in this area now, and there is peace everywhere.

However, Zhaojiazhuang still retains the habit of having young and middle-aged people patrolling around the village twelve hours a day.

The patrolmen soon spotted an unfamiliar carriage approaching the village, and quickly recognized that the people riding in the carriage were the two ladies who had hidden in the village that day and avoided a disaster.

These two...

One of the young men scratched his ear and thought for a long time before slapping his forehead. "I remember you seemed to be Madam Xia and Madam Zhuang?"

"That's right." Xia Mingyue and Zhuang Cui got off the carriage.

Xia Mingyue said, "We came here today to find Zhao Lizheng for something."

"Looking for the village head uncle." The young man pointed the way and said, "Go along this road, the fifth house is..."

"Forget it, I'll lead you there."

The young man withdrew his arm that was pointing the way, carried the wooden stick he used for patrolling on his shoulder, and walked in front to lead the way for Xia Mingyue and Zhuang Cui.

The group arrived at Zhao Lizheng's home.

Zhao Lizheng was also very surprised to see that the visitors were Xia Mingyue and Zhuang Cui. He invited them into the main hall and told Zhao Sanlin to pour some tea.

"I heard from Xiao Shi that Madam Xia and Madam Zhuang wanted to see me for something?"

"That's right." Xia Mingyue said, "Thanks to the help of Li Zheng Zhao and the people of Zhaojiazhuang, my wife and I were able to avoid the search of those bandits and save our lives. This time, I came here to thank Li Zheng Zhao and the people of Zhaojiazhuang."

"These flour, rice, cloth, etc. are all gifts from me and Madam Zhuang. I hope that Chief Zhao will not despise them and share some with everyone."

Zhao Lizheng was watching the coachman unloading bags of things from the carriage in the yard. The bags had piled up into a small mountain, and he felt a sudden sense of regret.

He had thought that Xia Mingyue and Zhuang Cui would come to Zhaojiazhuang again to express their gratitude, but he did not expect that the two of them would bring so many things.

The land in Zhaojiazhuang is barren, and the villagers have little means of making a living. Most of them live in poverty. They can only eat white flour during festivals, and on weekdays they eat sweet potato and black flour.

With so much rice and flour, every family can get several kilograms, which is enough for food and drink during the New Year.

Zhao Lizheng stood up and bowed to Xia Mingyue, "Thank you, Madam Xia and Madam Zhuang."

"All of this is to express my gratitude. If Zhao Lizheng wanted to say thank you, it would be inappropriate."

Xia Mingyue smiled and said, "If Zhao Lizheng really wants to thank you, why not wait until I have organized the business of Zhaojiazhuang? It won't be too late to say it then."

The livelihood of Zhaojiazhuang? Li Zheng Zhao was stunned for a moment, "What does Madam Xia mean..."

"I have carefully looked at it recently. Although there is a lot of land near Zhaojiazhuang, most of it is barren, with sandy soil and sloping land. Whether it is wheat or corn, it is very difficult to survive. It is also very difficult to manage on a daily basis. I can only grow a lot of sweet potatoes."

Xia Mingyue said, "Although sweet potatoes are very easy to grow and have a high yield, they don't taste good when used as a food to satisfy hunger. They become boring after a long time and are difficult to sell, which makes most people in Zhaojiazhuang poor and not wealthy."

"So I want to discuss with Zhao Lizheng whether he is willing to let the villagers learn the skills of making vermicelli from me, and make all the excess sweet potatoes in each household into vermicelli and sell them to the outside world. This way, we can also make more money from the sweet potatoes."

"For some high-quality land, you can also consider planting some sandy grapes. This type of grape is drought-resistant and easy to care for, and the quality of the grapes is also quite good. When the time comes, whether you sell the fresh grapes directly or make wine with the excess grapes, the profit will be good."

"What does Zhao Lizheng think?"

Zhao Lizheng nodded when he heard this. "Madam Xia's idea sounds good, but what Madam Xia said just now is very right. Our Zhaojiazhuang is indeed too poor. Many villagers may not have the extra money to learn how to make vermicelli and grow grapes."

"And I'll say this even if you don't laugh at me, Madam Xia. The poorer people are, the more afraid they are to try new ways out. They are afraid of losing money, and they can't afford to lose money. Even if I tell everyone now that there is such a way out, I'm afraid not many people would be willing to do it."

"Zhao Lizhang probably misunderstood what I meant." Xia Mingyue said with a smile, "I just said that I could teach everyone how to make vermicelli and grow grapes, but I didn't say that these would cost money."

No need to spend money?

Zhao Lizheng was stunned. "Mrs. Xia is going to teach us in Zhaojiazhuang how to make vermicelli and grow grapes for free?"

"Yes." Xia Mingyue nodded very seriously. "Not only can I teach you for free, but I can also help you find ways to sell it in the future. You just need to study hard, do it seriously, and make the vermicelli well."

Zhao Lizheng opened his mouth again in astonishment, and after a while he asked, "Madam Xia, is this to repay Zhaojiazhuang?"

"Yes." Xia Mingyue nodded again, "Besides that, I also want all kind people to get the rewards they deserve."

"But kindness is not something that exists for rewards."

“But if there is no reward, even the most fervent kindness will eventually cool down. The person who gives kindness may not ask for anything, but the person who receives kindness can also give.”

Xia Mingyue said, "This is encouragement, and more importantly, recognition. This way, when people are kind-hearted, they will have something to look up to and rely on, and they won't be afraid."

Zhao Lizheng was silent for a long time, and finally nodded slowly, "Madam Xia is right."

"Then I will have to trouble you a lot in the future, Madam Xia." After saying this, Li Zheng Zhao bowed deeply to Xia Mingyue. After he stood up, he said, "I have some ideas about teaching everyone how to make vermicelli. Madam Xia, you can listen to them."

"Zhao Lizheng, please speak."

"Although the people in Zhaojia Village are all decent and hardworking, and will not cheat or cheat, some are skillful and some are clumsy. If everyone follows Madam Xia to learn how to make vermicelli, it is inevitable that the quality of the vermicelli will vary due to their different personal conditions, which will be troublesome."

Zhao Lizheng said, "So I'm planning. Since Madam Xia wants to support our Zhaojiazhuang, I might as well set up a workshop and let those who are willing to come and work learn the craft from Madam Xia. Those who can learn can stay and make vermicelli, and those who can't can do other odd jobs. This way, we can ensure the quality of the vermicelli and ensure that there is work to do."

"And this workshop doesn't belong to me alone, but to the entire Zhaojiazhuang. Every household only needs to pay a little money to become one of the owners of this workshop."