In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 492 The Shock of the Cao Family

Whether they are villagers from Chenjia Village or workers who come to work in Chenjia Village, they have all experienced hardship. Therefore, although they are living a good life now, they will never look down on others because they are poor or poorly dressed, because they were not much better off than others in the past.

Cao Qiang glanced at the clean floor inside the shop, then at his muddy shoes. Instead of going inside, he stood outside and answered the shop assistant's question: "We're not here to buy furniture, we're here to find someone."

"Find someone?"

The shop assistant wasn't too disappointed when Cao Qiang said he wasn't buying furniture, but instead asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for my son, Cao Shui."

Cao Qiang said, "He told me that after I came to Chenjia Village, I could come to this furniture shop to find him."

Cao Shui?

The waiter was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "So you're Brother Cao's family! Brother Cao doesn't work in the shop, but I can take you to him. Come with me."

With that, the shop assistant walked out of the shop and gestured for Cao Qiang and the others to follow.

About fifteen minutes later, the waiter arrived at a house in the Chen family's residential area, knocked on the door and said, "Brother Cao, Brother Cao, open the door quickly!"

"coming!"

A sound came from inside, and soon the door opened. Jiang Xiaobai, standing behind the door, looked at the furniture shop assistant and asked in surprise, "Dong Wang, what brings you here?"

"Someone is looking for Brother Cao."

The shop assistant named Dong Wang pointed at Cao Qiang and his three companions and said, "They are Brother Cao's family members who have come to seek refuge with Brother Cao. You should quickly call Brother Cao out."

"what?!"

In the front yard, Cao Shui, who had just heard the noise, dropped his wooden stick to the ground. He rushed to the door and saw his family, whom he had been longing for day and night.

"Father, Mother, Little Brother, Little Sister."

Cao Shui looked at Cao Qiang and the other three with a look of surprise and delight.

"Big brother!"

"Brother Shui!"

Cao Qiang and the other three also called out Cao Shui's name with great joy, their faces showing expressions of ecstasy.

It's hard for others to imagine how Cao Qiang and his three companions made such a huge decision, going so far as to walk hundreds of miles from the villages near the county town to Chenjia Village.

If Cao Shui hadn't described Chenjia Village so beautifully in his letter, and if their families hadn't been struggling to make ends meet, Cao Qiang and Yin Xiaoniang would never have made the decision to come to Chenjia Village.

During the two days from their departure from the county town to their arrival at Chenjia Village, Yin Xiaoniang and Cao Qiang endured a great deal of hardship. While the caravan members had horses and wagons for transportation, they had none and could only rely on their own two feet to walk hundreds of miles.

In addition, they also had to take care of two children, and occasionally carry them on their backs while traveling. After walking hundreds of miles, both Yin Xiaoniang and Cao Qiang visibly lost weight.

Fortunately, their perseverance paid off. After walking hundreds of miles, they finally arrived at Chenjia Village and met their eldest son, Cao Shui.

"Father, Mother, come in quickly."

As Cao Shui led his family into the courtyard, he thanked Dong Wang, saying, "Dong Wang, thank you! I'll treat you to a meal another day."

"It's nothing, Brother Cao, you're too kind."

Dong Wang smiled and waved his hand, wisely leaving without disturbing Cao Shui's reunion with his family.

Jiang Xiaobai, Jin Yin, and the other two in the courtyard smiled and congratulated him, saying, "Brother Cao, congratulations! Your family has come over, and you can be reunited with them now!"

"hey-hey!"

Cao Shui smiled and introduced Jiang Xiaobai and the other two to Cao Qiang: "Dad, Mom, these are my colleagues Jiang Xiaobai, Jin Yin and Xu San. I was able to stay in Chenjia Village thanks to their help."

"Hello, thank you for taking care of Shui-ge'er."

Cao Qiang said with an honest and simple expression.

"Uncle Cao, you're too kind. Brother Cao was able to stay because of his own efforts, it has little to do with us."

Jiang Xiaobai waved his hand, not taking credit.

Cao Shui was able to stay in Chenjia Village, partly because of his own efforts, but the most crucial factor was his hard work and skillful hands, which allowed him to quickly learn some of Master Liu's crafts.

"Anyway, thank you all."

After expressing his gratitude, Cao Qiang looked closely at his parents, younger brother and sister, and said with some sadness, "Dad, Mom, you, Xiaoyun and Xiaozhu have all lost a lot of weight."

"It's okay."

Cao Qiang said with a smile, "We only lost weight because we ate poorly while traveling these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Cao Shui remained noncommittal.

He knew his family's situation very well and was aware of what they usually ate, so he didn't believe Cao Qiang's words.

However, he didn't dwell on that matter. Instead, he asked, "Father, how did you get from the county town to Chenjia Village?"

"We came here with a caravan..."

Cao Qiang recounted in detail how he came from his village to Chenjia Village. After listening, Cao Shui couldn't help but admire his father's resourcefulness.

These days, traveling far from home is never an easy thing, especially for ordinary people. Bandits and highwaymen who may suddenly appear outside the city at any time can easily leave them with nothing but their money and their lives.

His own father had the idea to travel with the caravan and rely on its protection to safely reach Chenjia Village. It must be said that this idea was very wise.

"Brother Shui, what kind of work are you doing in Chenjia Village? Are you making any money?"

After discussing the journey, Yin Xiaoniang looked at Cao Shui with concern and asked.

“I learned some carpentry skills from Master Liu in the village.”

Cao Shui replied with a smile, "Now I am one of the workers in the Chenjia Village construction team. In addition, I also help Master Liu's furniture shop, which is the Qiaoshou Furniture Shop you just visited, to make some furniture. I can earn about one or two taels of silver a month."

There really is a tael or two of silver!

Yin Xiaoniang and Cao Qiang exchanged a glance, their expressions filled with shock!

To be honest, they had always been skeptical of what Cao Shuixin said. There was no way around it; an income of one tael of silver a month was simply too astonishing. In their limited knowledge, even a wealthy farmer with twenty or thirty acres of land would find it hard to guarantee that he could earn one tael of silver a month.

They knew their son; he was just an ordinary man. How could he earn so much money?

"Uncle and aunt, you still don't believe me."

Noticing the unusual behavior between the two, Jiang Xiaobai said from the side, "Brother Cao's carpentry is excellent. Master Liu has praised him more than once, and even Chen Hou, the foreman of the construction team, often says that Brother Cao's carpentry is good. It's true that he earns one tael of silver a month, and he might have earned even more in the past."

"is it?"

Yin Xiaoniang and Cao Qiang asked with some doubt.

Jiang Xiaobai, Jin Yin, Xu San, and the others nodded seriously.

Upon seeing this, Yin Xiaoniang and Cao Qiang finally believed the fact that their son could earn one tael of silver a month, and their hearts were filled with boundless joy.