After finishing her meal, Ding Xiang walked alone on Chenghua Avenue. The midday sun was unbearable for her. There were shady spots on the mountain where she could find some shelter, but there was nowhere to hide on this road.
As she walked, she noticed that some saplings had been planted on both sides of the road ahead, and the spacing between the saplings seemed to be quite uniform, obviously planted in this way after some calculation.
It seems the lord has also noticed this problem and has already started planting trees along both sides of the road to provide shade. But what are those barrels for? They're square and made of bricks.
Those bins were garbage bins that Ed built on both sides of the road to provide fuel for the future Taoyuan Village's water boiler bathhouse. However, Ding Xiang certainly doesn't know that now.
Without looking at the strange, seemingly unfinished barrels anymore, Ding Xiang continued forward and stopped at the entrance of Taoyuan Village.
"Should we go check on Elm Stump?" Ding Xiang muttered to himself.
Let's forget about it! We're all in the same place now, so we can come anytime. We can go another time! The sun is too strong; let's get to Alice's place as soon as possible!
Windmill Village This was Ding Xiang's first time here, but when she arrived at Windmill Mill, she didn't know which way to go.
Because the road only goes this far, but she is still very clever. The houses in the distance can guide her, and she only needs to walk to the houses.
She soon arrived at Windmill Village, where Old A Qi was resting in the shade of a big tree at the village entrance. It was much more comfortable here than the work sheds in the valley.
Not only is there no sun here, but a cool breeze also blows from time to time, making it a great place to escape the summer heat.
" Grandpa Aqi, you're resting here!" Ding Xiang was the first to see Old Aqi resting under the tree.
Old A Qi opened his eyes and glanced casually at the person who had come in.
"It's Alice! Yes, it's cooler here." Since arriving here, the old man's health has improved considerably, and his voice is much louder; he no longer appears weak as he did in the valley.
"Hehe!" Ding Xiang laughed. Alice it is! She didn't want to explain.
" Grandpa Aqi, here's some bread for you. Your teeth will have no problem eating it." Ding Xiang handed a piece of bread to Old A Qi.
"Oh, Alice, thank you, but how come you've gotten so fat?" Old A Qi took the bread and looked at Ding Xiang before asking.
Old A Qi's health has indeed improved a lot since coming here, but his eyesight has deteriorated, and he still couldn't recognize who was who after a long time.
" Grandpa Aqi, she's Sister Ding Xiang, how could you be mistaken?" Alice ran over from not far away.
"hehe!"
Now it was Old A Qi's turn to feel embarrassed. He quickly wiped his eyes and looked at it carefully again. It really was Ding Xiang. He didn't recognize someone he used to know after only a short time.
"Oh, it's Ding Xiang! No wonder Alice got so much bigger in just one day. I'm really getting older. Thank you for the bread. What brings you here today?"
" Grandpa Aqi, I've come to see you. Are you doing alright here?"
Upon hearing Ding Xiang's question, Old A Qi's somewhat cloudy eyes seemed to instantly clear up.
"That's wonderful! We have food and drink, land to cultivate, and the lord even provides free seeds and free farm tools."
The land in Old A Qi was cultivated by everyone together. In the first year, Ed gave Windmill Village a lot of benefits. They only needed to pay a portion of the taxes, and Ed provided everything else.
" Ding Xiang, look, those pillars and water troughs were specially built by the lord to flow water to the farmland. The lord is so kind. This way, everyone doesn't have to work so hard to irrigate their fields by fetching water from a distant river."
"Yes, Lord is indeed a very kind person." Ding Xiang also agreed wholeheartedly.
" Sister Ding Xiang, let's go talk under that tree over there." Alice had met Ding Xiang before when they were eating together, and she also had something she wanted to say to Ding Xiang.