Wen Yi was looking up the hillside, and suddenly heard someone talking loudly not far away, and turned his head to look, but it was Steward Ye who was counting three or four strangers, and behind him stood a young family member, who was helping an old farmer in the village, and both of them stared at those strangers angrily.

Those people were all dressed in gray clothes, in their twenties to their forties, and they were dressed fairly neatly and decently, but their eyes were rolling around, and they were a little sneaky, which made people uncomfortable to look at. Each of them led a horse, tilted their heads to look around the houses, and stared at the villagers. Wen Yi didn't like their eyes very much, frowned, and avoided under the tree on the side of the road, blocking their view with the body of the tree.

Steward Ye said for a long time, asking those strangers to apologize to the old man, seeing that they looked at themselves and didn't pay attention to their own meaning, they were also annoyed, and said angrily: "I see that you don't seem to be decent people, if you look around, I will report to the official!" ”

As soon as these words came out, the people finally turned their faces to look at him, and one of the eldest said angrily: "What are you screaming?!" We're just here to look for someone, so how can we look around?! Don't get in our way! ”

Steward Ye said angrily: "I said a long time ago, there is no boy surnamed Liu here!" If you don't believe it, forget it, what are you peeking around?! ”

The man stared at him arrogantly and said, "Really? We've inquired, the boy was in the area last month, and someone saw it! ”

"Then ask the person you see!" Steward Ye said angrily, "How can there be someone like you?!" If you catch someone casually, you will ask, and if you can't ask, you will push people down, and you don't look at how old the old man is?! What if there's a good one?! ”

The men were silent, but they all looked unimpressed. The old farmer said angrily: "Uncle Ye, you don't have to say it, let this child go to my house to say hello and call my son and grandson." I have to ask clearly, who doesn't know that I, Old Man Wei, is the most honest?! If you say you haven't seen it, you haven't seen it! Why are you lying?! ”

Before Steward Ye could speak, the young man had already turned around and ran away, and the few people saw that the situation was wrong, glanced at each other, and quickly left. Steward Ye scolded at their backs, and then turned around and hugged Old Man Wei: "You go back and ask your children and grandchildren to take a closer look to see if it's really okay, this is old, it's not fun!" ”

Old man Wei responded with a smile, and when his sons and grandsons arrived with hoes and sticks, he scolded those people, and thanked Steward Ye for a while, before asking his children and grandchildren to help him go home.

Wen Yi watched everyone leave, and just called Steward Ye, Steward Ye looked back carefully, and hurriedly stepped forward to salute: "Yo, Miss Cousin, why are you here alone?" Purple Sakura didn't wait in front of you? ”

Wen Yi smiled: "Ziying is working at home, I walked casually, I wanted to go back, but there were many people over there, I was impatient to crowd with people, so I just looked at the scenery at the edge of the village." ”

Steward Ye looked at the hillside and didn't understand what kind of scenery there was to see in the bare place where he had only dug half of the tree hole, so he laughed dryly: "When the trees are planted on the hillside, the scenery will be good in a few years." Suddenly remembered something: "Yes, Miss Biao, the little one just came from the city, and the eldest young master asked the little one to tell Miss Table, saying that it was the news that he only got last night, and recently there are a large number of prisoners' families who want to sell them, and ask Miss Cousin if she intends to add a few people?" Because there are also people to be added to the hot spring village, so the master is about to send someone to ask, if you are interested, the eldest young master will ask at the same time. ”

Wen Yi hurriedly said: "That's what it means." Because of the small population of our family, Ziying was borrowed from my uncle and aunt, and now that Uncle Zhang has been promoted to be in charge, Aunt Zhang will also move in with him, and there will be not enough people in the family to call me. It's just that you are talking about the family members of the criminals, what is the situation? If it's a taboo person, it's better not to want it, and if it's a small thing to be naughty, I'm afraid that there will be something bad to do with it. ”

Steward Ye knew that although this young lady was young, she had an idea, and she could talk about these housework, so he smiled and said, "Miss Cousin, please rest assured, our eldest young master also said the same, so I have already inquired." Those prisoners are not small, there are more than a dozen of them! The biggest official, I heard that he is still a general! In addition, there are prefects and Tongzhi or something, which are said to be inseparable from the death of King Kang. We can't figure out these things in the officialdom. It's just that the officials and dependents who are going to be sold, in addition to the wives and concubines of the offending officials, and the slaves and maids in their families, there are hundreds of them! The older ones, forget it, I'm afraid that it will be difficult to be loyal to them, but those who are younger, ten or eight years old, have learned the rules and are easy to train, as long as they look honest, they can still buy and call. ”

Wen Yi listened to this, but felt a little pity for these slaves and maids who were sold, and felt that buying a few could save some effort to teach, and the slaves and maids sold by the government were generally not expensive, so she said: "Then let's do it, my eldest cousin is doing things, I am most relieved, but I am afraid that I will tire him." You said, when I have given my grandmother, I will go to him to discuss, if there is any inconvenience, I will definitely ask him for help, but now that things are busy, I have to do it after the holiday, and I ask my eldest cousin to spend the holiday at home. ”

Steward Ye responded with a smile, secretly approving in his heart, although this cousin is young, she is a well-eyed person, how can he not know how short of people around the Gu family's ancestors and grandchildren is?! When she was in need of manpower under the festival, she could still take care of her young master's body, but she was not a conscienceless.

Wen Yi didn't know what he was thinking, but secretly calculated in his heart: According to the current situation at home, as long as two or three girls are added, and one or two rooms of family members are enough, but after two or three years, if Xintian produces well, she has to think about buying a property again, and there will be more places to use people at that time, and she can't buy people temporarily, she has to make a good life and plan.

After thinking for a while, she saw Steward Ye greeting the servants of the Nie family who were passing by, and only then did she remember the reason why she stopped him, so she hurriedly cleared her throat and asked with a smile: "Speaking of which...... A few of the living people who just came...... What does it do? ”

"Said that he was looking for someone, what kind of young man surnamed Liu......" Steward Ye pouted, "There is no one surnamed Liu in several nearby villages!" Besides, our family has always hired people fairly, and children who are not yet adults will never be hired to do heavy work! A boy of this age eats a lot, and his strength is not as good as that of an adult, and it is not cost-effective to hire him, if he is told to do more, and his heart is not unbearable, it is as if our family is torturing the child. If you fall or get hurt, the trouble is even greater! These people came to ask about this, and they didn't know what to think! There was a disturbance in the previous group of hired workers, and now someone is stirring up trouble again! ”

Wen Yi felt that those people might not have come for hired workers, and the boy surnamed Liu had appeared nearby last month...... She thought of Liu Guanhai, and secretly said that those people were not here to find him? Thinking about it this way, she has counted it. The men were all dressed in the same clothes, fine fabrics, colors and styles, but they were wearing cloud shoes on their feet. Such a nondescript dress reminded her of the house slaves of some local wealthy families she had seen in her previous life. The servants of the Gu family would not dress up like this, but other people's families would, and the head of the family did not stop him, but felt that his face was bright. Just a few people, looking at that style, there is a bit of an identity like this.

Wen Yi was disgusted with the actions of these people in his heart, remembering the actions of the clansmen mentioned by Liu Guanhai, and remembering the person who came to report the news from Gu Zhuang at noon, the disgust deepened a little. Although she knew that this was someone else's family affair and she shouldn't care about it, she still had the heart to prevent those people from knowing Liu Guanhai's news. After thinking about it, she smiled and said to Steward Ye: "The farmers here are all kind and honest, I happened to walk around the village, and I was very relieved, if there were outsiders who didn't know the details, I would always be scared." Besides, there are many children and girls in the village, so you need to be careful. Our Uncle Zhang has something unexpected, and I ask Uncle Ye to mention him more. ”

Steward Ye hurriedly said: "Miss Cousin, don't worry, even Brother Zhang doesn't care, and the little ones can't let outsiders mess around here!" The old man and the eldest young master handed over the Zhuangzi to the little one, and if something happened, the little one would not have the face to see the master! ”

Thinking of this, he couldn't bear it: "The little one just saw those people go out of the village, and he was afraid that they would stay nearby, Miss Cousin, you can do it yourself, the little one called a few people to catch up, see if they are gone!" Wen Yi nodded, he immediately turned around and left, only took two steps, and then turned back and said: "Miss Biao, don't go around alone, it's okay in the village, but it's hard to say outside the village, if you plan to go to the field, don't go far, there are two of us in the field, just call in trouble!" ”

Wen Yi responded, looked at his figure running away, pursed his lips and smiled, and then looked at the hillside, and suddenly felt that the bare dirt slope was much more pleasing to the eye. Even if it's a little far from the village, what does it matter? Up and down the mountain are the long-term workers of the Gu Nie family! Honest and powerful, they know the roots, if there is something in the main family, as long as they scream, they will come to help! Her family's situation is not what it used to be, and she used to have something to call people and couldn't find people, but now she doesn't have to worry anymore. In just a few days, the newly purchased male and female servants arrived, and the house no longer had to be separated from the inside and outside, and the grandmother's daily life was also attended.

Thinking of this, her gaze inadvertently swept over the three tall red maple trees, quite a little moved.

The farce of Cuihua Niang's beating of her daughter has not stopped, but more and more people have gathered to watch the excitement. Wen Yi saw that it was still early, and her grandmother would probably not have any instructions for a while, if she found out that there were really a lot of medicinal materials in the valley, and came back to tell her grandmother, she would be happy, right? She took a deep breath, lifted her feet and walked out of the village.

Along the way, a newly hired helper greeted her. Wen Yi smiled all the way, saw the eldest helper, and knew that he had prestige among his companions, so he said to him: "Tomorrow's holiday, please uncle tell everyone, go home early next morning, I have asked Uncle Zhang to prepare moon cakes, everyone remember to get them." ”

The gang of workers happily agreed, and said: "Thank you Young Master Nie and the eldest lady for their grace this year, I have already received a salary yesterday, and the big guy got together and discussed going to Chenjia Village to buy half a pig, and I will bring it back tomorrow at noon!" We haven't eaten meat for many years, thanks to the blessing of the eldest lady, the big guy can also open meat and taste pork! ”

Wen Yi smiled: "In this case, you just tell Uncle Zhang, I sent a message, add two more chickens to you, don't be too short of vegetables." ”

The helpers were overjoyed, and they came over to thank them, and some people wanted to kowtow, Wen Yi hurriedly stopped them, and asked them to work with a smile: "Take a rest when you are tired, eat a few more bites, and only when you have the strength to do your work, in the future, our land will be entrusted to everyone." The crowd was so excited that it took a while for them to disperse.

The old helper stayed behind and asked her, "Miss, is this going up the mountain?" ”

Wen Yi nodded: "It's just to go to the nearby valley and take a walk, I heard that there are a lot of medicinal herbs there." I'm a little curious and want to take a look. ”

The gang said: "It's not far, it's a strange place, you can't see it from the outside, it's pretty good inside, and there are no snakes and insects." If you have any command, call at the mouth of the valley, and I can hear you. ”

Wen Yi was more relieved, nodded, and walked up again, and after a while, she came to the red maple tree, and when she looked back, the helper was waving to her not far below, she smiled, and went along the path next to the tree.

I don't know if it's because there are more people walking, the path is not difficult to walk, all the way to the fallen leaves, and from time to time you can step on dry branches. Occasionally, a grasshopper jumped over the grass, Wen Yi carefully avoided it, but she didn't feel afraid, raised her hand to block the drooping branches, and secretly glad that there were no snakes on the tree today.

After walking about seventy or eighty steps, the terrain slowly descended, and a row of bushes suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking the way, Wen Yi turned along the path under her feet, and suddenly opened up in front of her, and a large area of flowers and plants of different heights appeared in front of her.

Under the sun, the fragrance spread, Wen Yi took a deep breath, and there was a feeling of warmth and stability in her heart. She stepped forward, walked through the flowers and plants, and recognized several medicinal herbs: tonka, asters, and atractylodes...... There is also a former Hu at the edge of the valley at the junction with the woods......

She couldn't recognize all the herbs, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the herbs on her grandmother's usual prescriptions could be found here, and her heart was full of joy. It's just that she added another puzzle - the way these herbs are cultivated seems to be a little strange?

A light breeze blew, a rustle sounded in the flower meadows, and the fragrance overflowed again. Suddenly, Wen Yi paused, and her head turned in one direction - she seemed to hear someone talking.

The voice was faintly inaudible, Wen Yi Xunsheng walked over, and when the wind stopped, she found that the sound came from a small forest, and the owner of the voice was not unfamiliar, it was the little girl Xunwen who introduced the villagers of the Cao family to the Gu Nie family.

“…… The man was drunk, and lived in the village. The little one didn't know which room of the Gu family he was, and what he was here to do, but I heard that it seemed that he was here to deliver a message, and looking at the situation in the Gu family's courtyard, it didn't seem to be a good thing. When Steward Zhang helped the drunk to the neighbor's house, his face was not very good-looking! Later, after he went out, the little one followed, and he wanted to find an opportunity to investigate, but overheard him muttering in a low voice: 'The six rooms are like this, why do others still refuse to stop?!' It's really not even a day of peace of mind! ’”

Wen Yi's eyes widened in surprise, and she stopped in place to listen.

Next was Luo Mingmin's voice: "It seems that the big families are almost the same, your Liu family is like this, and their Gu family is not much better!" ”

In response to him, Liu Guanhai's voice said: "The widow's family has always been sad, and her family has no men, and she has no support in the clan." In that case, I'm better than her. Xunwen, you pay more attention to the situation of the Gu family, if anyone comes to the door, remember to tell me, in case something happens, I can also help in time. "Stop," you say...... When will the work in the field be completed? Do their grandparents and grandchildren have a good time this Mid-Autumn Festival? ”

"Yes, of course! The little ones asked the uncles, and they all said that they could be busy. The Gu family intends to hire them as long-term workers, so everyone is not worried. My mother also told me to go back to the reunion dinner tomorrow, saying that it was ...... The village wants to scrape together money to buy half a pig ......" Xunwen hesitated a little when he said this.

Luo Mingmin scolded with a smile: "Look at what I'm doing?!" If you want to go home, just say it! Just give you half a day off, go back tonight, and come back the morning after tomorrow! ”

Xunwen was pleasantly surprised, and thanked him loudly, Luo Mingmin scolded again: "Don't patronize and thank me, there are still a lot of herbs that haven't been picked, the old man should talk about me again when he sees it, come and help!" ”

"The old man has seen it a long time ago!" An old man turned out from behind the grove, carrying a big bamboo basket on his back, with white hair and white beard, his spirit was very refreshing, and he seemed to be smiling on his face, "It's a pity that you are a few young offspring, and your eyes are worse than my old man!" The words are heard, and they don't know it! ”

Liu Dongxing and Luo Mingmin were hurriedly carrying the medicine basket that was originally placed at their feet, and they were stunned when they heard the words, the former followed the old man's gaze and found that Wen Yi was standing not far from them, and the expression on his face was clearly telling people: She heard the conversation just now!

Wen Yi never expected to encounter such a situation, her whole body was numb, she only felt very embarrassed, and she couldn't say a word.

(The backstage is really pumping today...... ）