Everyone crowded at the main hall of the Taoist temple to offer incense, including the Shi family. Old Lady Shi instructed got her son to make others give way and all the Shi family members hurriedly offered incense and left.
She then told her family members, "In the future, maintain contact with this girl and listen to her opinions. It won't be wrong."
Previously, some of the Shi family members would not agree on this.
Now, even Mdm Niu was feeling a little apprehensive.
After all, the old immortal had already manifested, and it was her who made him do so.
This meant that the old immortal liked his disciple very much, so she did not dare to be a demon anymore.
All of them hurriedly nodded. "Yes."
Previously, those who came from the county town or from other places did not believe it much, but now, they all believed it.
This was how the news spread.
Not only did the people in the county town know about the old immortal's manifestation, but even people from other places started hearing its rumours.
Shi Qingluo asked her people to close the main door of the Taoist temple and leave before dinner time.
There were fruit peels and other rubbish on the floor and the public toilets weren't clean anymore.
She realised she had forgotten about it.
"Let's write a notice tomorrow and paste it on the door. No littering.
"There were also human traces to suggest that some people plucked our corn and chilli in the backyard."
It wasn't that others discovered that corn and chilli were edible, but they were similar to tourists who would randomly pluck flowers and plants in scenic areas.
Fortunately, when Shi Qingluo realised that some people had gone into the field this morning, she let Dumby guard it.
Therefore, they didn't suffer much losses, but still had to prevent this from happening in the future.
She couldn't always rely on her goose to stay here and guard it forever.
"We need to find a few people to specially guard the Taoist temple and the corn and chilli in the backyard."
Xiao Hanzheng nodded. "Indeed, we need to."
He added, "We can either find a few people in the village or county town to guard it."
Shi Qingluo thought for a moment. "Let's start looking from our village first. Aren't there a few hardworking elderly people who have no family members? Why don't we invite them to guard the Taoist temple?
"They just have to open and close the main door and clean up the Taoist temple every day.
"They would also help to water the fields in the backyard and remove the weeds."
"We'll provide food and accommodation and give them some remuneration every month."
She had seen a few elderly people in the village who were quite pitiful.
They farmed to maintain their livelihood but did not have the physical strength to sustain for the day.
They could only work for other villagers to exchange some food or dig wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.
There were shelters and nursing homes in the modern era.
But the lonely elderly people here could only wait for their deaths.
For those who stayed at home as they were unable to work and were despised by their daughters, as long as their characters were fine, she was prepared to let them do some chores in the workshop in the future.
Her grandfather had always told her not to despise old people.
After all, ageing was a journey that everyone would go through.
She had to respect the older generation, who had lived by their wisdom.
In the past, Shi Qingluo also received support from many old experts and farmers. In addition, she was mainly brought up by her grandparents, so she had always been more compassionate towards the elderly.
It was undeniable that some old people were disgusting, but she also agreed with the saying that "it isn't old people that became bad, but that bad people became old".
There were also orphans.
She would adopt some so long as it is within her capability.
But she couldn't take in orphans aggressively.
Those in power would not be concerned if she took in all the elderly people, but if she adopted all the orphans, they would be concerned if she were grooming them to rebel against their society.
In ancient times, she could not achieve everything she wanted to do in one goal.
She could only do it step by step.
She shared her thoughts with Xiao Hanzheng, who reached out and hugged her.
"Do what you wish to then.
"After we return to the village, I will discuss with our chief about letting the elderly people to guard the Taoist temple.
"We can also raise the village orphans in the Taoist temple. Just say that you want to accumulate blessings for the old immortal."
His little wife dealt with bad people harshly but still had a pure heart that touched him.
Shi Qingluo leaned into his arms. "Okay, I'll leave it to you."
She asked, "Do you want to find a study assistant?"
Her young husband had to take his next imperial examination soon.
It wouldn't be convenient for him if he didn't have one or two study assistants or servant boys.
Xiao Hanzheng nodded. "I'm going to look for a middleman to buy two servant boys.
"Let's also buy a few young women or married women for our house too."
Their family had been quite busy recently, and it was time for them to add more manpower.
With a slave contract, they would feel more assured while grooming them.
"Alright, you can settle this too."
Shi Qingluo knew that in ancient times, slavery was legal.
Although she did not feel good about it, their house was indeed short of manpower.
If the person they bought back did a good job and was loyal, they could release her contract and return her freedom in the future.
As for changing the current situation of human trafficking, she really didn't have the ability to do much yet.
Xiao Hanzheng knew that his wife wasn't interested in buying slaves. "Okay, I'll go and take a look."
The two of them watered their corn and chilli before returning home.
After dinner, Xiao Hanzheng went to the chief's house.
The chief's face was filled with relief and gratitude after hearing his words. "You and your wife are really good."
He also felt uncomfortable and sympathised with the elderly people's livelihood in the village.
He helped them as much as he could, but he did not have the capability to support their day-to-day needs.
Now that Xiao Hanzheng and his wife wanted to let these elders and orphans do some work and provide them with food, accommodation and wages, it was definitely a good deal not available elsewhere.
"Alright, I'll arrange it."
The chief took over the matter, "Those who don't live up to expectations and are lazy, we can't take pity on them."
Xiao Hanzheng visited the chief mainly to hint at this, "Alright, thank you, chief!"
The chief smiled lovingly, "I also want to thank you and your wife on behalf of the lonely elderly people in the village."
He asked, "When can they start working?"
Xiao Hanzheng said, "They can start tomorrow."
The chief nodded and said, "Then I will go and ask now."
"Alright, then I will have to trouble you to make this trip."
After Xiao Hanzheng returned home, the chief also went to a few of the elders' homes.
After discussing, he shortlisted six people.
Then, he went to their houses one at a time.
When these six elderly people heard about this, they were all very excited.
They did not expect to receive this great deal, so they naturally agreed without hesitation.
This news spread quickly in the village.
All of them couldn't help but praise Xiao Hanzheng and his wife for their righteousness.
People from other villages also envied Xiaxi villagers.
In addition, not only did Xiaxi village have saltpetre mines that the villagers could extract and sell, their cement workshop was also very popular.
Therefore, many families from other villages in Nanxi county wanted to marry their daughters to Xiaxi village.
If they couldn't marry into Xiaxi village, they would marry into its surrounding villages. Shi Qingluo still didn't know that as she led their village towards prosperity, many bachelors in their village were fetching a higher market value.
In some cases, a man was begged by many families to marry their daughters.
The next day, the chief brought these six elderly people to the Taoist temple.
Although they were dressed in mended clothes, their attire was clean and tidy.
Shi Qingluo knew that they were hard-working at a glance. The chief did his job well.