Chapter 69: The Sin of Gender 69
"Shuangshuang sister, my grandpa asked me to come over and tell you that the court-sent soldiers have escorted the refugees here! Now all those refugees are gathered at the marketplace, waiting to find some work. Grandpa wants you to hurry up and gather, so everyone can go together to pick some workers!"
After shouting loudly, Da Hu turned around and ran off again, probably to notify others.
Upon receiving this good news, Qin Shuangshuang’s mood lifted instantly. She was getting fed up with spending every day weeding in the fields, and now she was finally about to be freed.
Qin Shuangshuang hurried back to her family’s tent, changed into some outdoor clothes, and called her mother and Miao Miao, Yaoyao. When she came out, she happened to meet her master, Fang Zhongyi. Fang Zhongyi wasn’t as strong as Qin Shuangshuang and didn’t have as much land as she did, but he also had over a hundred acres of land, so he also needed to hire some farmers.
The atmosphere in the border city was more open-minded, with fewer rules. Here, widows remarrying or couples divorcing weren’t looked down upon or gossiped about. With Fang Yaoyao residing at Qin Shuangshuang’s place every day and Fang Zhongyi being Qin Shuangshuang’s master, the two families were close enough that Fang Zhongyi didn’t particularly avoid suspicion as he used to and directly chose to live next to the Qin household, making daily interactions more convenient.
Qin Shuangshuang and her group reached the marketplace. Qin Shuangshuang didn’t want her mother staying cooped up at home all the time; the outside world was so vast that one ought to explore more to make life worthwhile!
After spending several months traveling from Qin Family Village to the border city, Qin Family Village’s people had long been accustomed to women showing themselves publicly, and the gender barriers had also relaxed a lot. Plus, they were unconsciously influenced by the open-minded atmosphere of the border city, and their thoughts had changed a lot.
Even Mrs. Bai herself, after a few months on the road and seeing various local customs and beautiful scenery outside the disaster area, had come to enjoy going out. So when Qin Shuangshuang suggested it, she changed her clothes and went along, instead of making excuses as she once did in Qin Family Village.
When they arrived at the gathering place, the village chief and others were already waiting there. Those gathered were families who had opened up more land, and along the way, the people they met looked at Qin Shuangshuang’s spirited group with envy in their eyes!