Chapter 13: Corvée

Zhao Liya and Deng were so upset when they heard about the weird things happening in the Gu family!

Everything else would have been fine, but when Zhao Liya heard Aunt Li Shiyi say that the Gu family never performed corvee labor and that it was the villagers who worked on their behalf, her heart moved and she hurriedly asked, "Aunt Li Shiyi, do we all have to perform corvee labor here? What's going on? Can you tell us?"

She had actually forgotten about this matter and had to find out more about it so that she could make plans early.

Serving as a laborer is not only time-consuming, but also very harmful to your health.

Anything that is harmful to the body is a big deal to Zhao Liya.

Aunt Li Shiyi smiled and said, "Since you asked, I'll tell you. Generally, when the government has major projects to complete, they assign people to perform labor service in the winter, but not every year. However, your Yan Village is different. Every household in Yan Village must perform labor service every year, at least twice. Sometimes, in busy years, the number of times is even higher."

In short, the lives of exiles are worthless, and the government can use them as coolies whenever they want. As long as they are not intentionally beaten or killed, no one will care even if they lose their lives while performing labor service.

But who can say for sure whether it was intentional? Even if it was intentional, who would speak up for a fugitive? Isn't it just the way the government records it?

Zhao Liya's heart sank, and Deng's face turned pale.

Only the brother and sister Zhao Lixiang and Zhao Lin were completely unaware of the danger of their survival. They were still giggling and rushing to help put the cut radish strips into the winnowing basket.

The clear and cheerful laughter of the young lady and brother made Deng and Zhao Liya feel even more upset.

"Aunt Eleven, then, is there no way to exempt this corvée labor?"

Ruan Sanniang and Aunt Li Shiyi both laughed.

Ruan Sanniang: "Hey, look at what you said. In this world, is there anything that money can't solve?"

Aunt Li Shiyi: "That's right. If money can't solve the problem, then it must be because there isn't enough money and it's not being used effectively."

Zhao Liya gave her mother a soothing look and felt a little relieved: "Is that so? Then we have to work hard to save money from now on."

Aunt Li Shiyi sighed, "Of course not! I wouldn't feel safe without a little money. I think your family is kind-hearted and capable. Once the house is built, it's time to think of ways to save money."

"Yes, Aunt Eleven is right."

Zhao Liya agreed with a smile and talked about other things while quickly thinking about how to make money in her mind.

The next day, Zhao Liya and Hu Ling went to Gu's house to talk about buying vegetables. They took the initiative to ask Gu's family if they had any vegetables to sell. Finally, they made an appointment to have Gu's family send some beans, peppers, bitter melon, ginger, onions and garlic seven days later.

Other families who wanted to sell vegetables would go to the Zhao family to ask, but it was only the Zhao family members who came to buy from her family. Mrs. Gu felt that she had earned some face and boasted about it with some pride.

Boss Gu's eyes darkened and he sneered slightly.

He understood what the Zhao family meant. As long as they didn't try to bully them, they would be happy to give the Gu family some face.

Uncle Ruan Gui and his colleagues worked diligently and conscientiously. The Zhao family paid them well, and every lunch included enough white rice, two vegetarian dishes and one meat dish. Everyone was very satisfied with the meal and worked even harder.

I leave home before dawn every day and don't leave until dusk.

In this way, the house and yard were built in just half a month.

Uncle Ruan Gui and others also became friends with the Zhao family. Uncle Ruan Gui even invited the Zhao family to go to Zaihu Village on the sixth day of next month to attend the banquet for his father's 60th birthday.

Zhao Xiang readily agreed, and said that if Uncle Ruan Gui didn't mind, he could write a birthday character and couplets for Old Man Ruan. This made Uncle Ruan Gui very happy, and he kept thanking him with a smile, and even said that he would ask his son to pick him up in person on the day of the birthday party.

Thanks to the imperial court, the Lingnan area was very popular with the court for exile and demotion. Not only exiled criminals came here, but also countless officials who were demoted from the court.

These officials left a good reputation in the local area. Some were even revered and respected by the local people as saints. After their death, temples were built to worship them and they were worshipped forever.

Therefore, most local people actually have no prejudice against exiled or denounced people. They believe more in their own personal experiences and what they see with their own eyes.

Everyone has seen what kind of people the Zhao family are in the past half month.

Zhao Liya keenly noticed that Ruan Guishu and the others had a favorable impression of her family, so she intentionally or unintentionally guided them to further deepen their favorable impression of her family. By the way, she also "inadvertently" revealed that her father was a top scholar and had served as the Minister of Rites. When Ruan Guishu and the others heard about it, they were all in awe.

People who are good at studying will always be admired by others no matter where they are.

Zhao Xiang offered to write birthday characters and couplets for Ruan Guishu's father, and Ruan Guishu was of course happy.

While Zhao Liya sincerely wanted to make friends, she also wanted to find a backer for her family.

After the new house was completed, a high wall nearly three meters high surrounded the entire courtyard tightly. The main house and the east and west wing rooms in the courtyard are all two-story structures with blue bricks and black tiles, which are very imposing.

In addition to a large patio, there is also a large backyard with a tall and spacious shed built in the backyard. One side is against the courtyard wall, and the other two opposite sides are built with brick walls. One side is empty and the roof is covered with thick fir bark.

The chicken coop and duck coop are less than one person tall and are built next to the shed. They are made of bamboo and wood and covered with fir bark. They are suspended about 40 centimeters above the ground. Two wide wooden boards are nailed together and placed at the doors of the chicken coop and duck coop to allow chickens and ducks to enter and exit the sheds.

With this area, it is no problem to raise twenty ducks and thirty or forty chickens.

Lingnan is humid and most houses are two-story. People are more accustomed to arranging bedrooms, granaries, and food storage rooms upstairs. This can prevent moisture from invading the body and better avoid poisonous snakes, insects and ants. Food and other items are also drier and easier to preserve.

In order to avoid having to do two things at once, all the subsequent chores such as tidying up the ground in the yard, building sheds, etc. were also done by Uncle Ruan Gui and his men.

Uncle Ruan Gui then selected a few young and middle-aged people to stay and work.

With them around, installing doors and windows, picking up furniture, and purchasing other daily necessities saves a lot of trouble.

With the presence of locals, merchants tend to be more approachable and don’t dare to charge exorbitant prices.

Zhao Liya also said that she wanted to plant some fruit trees, and asked Uncle Ruan Gui and the others where she could buy some fruit tree seedlings.

Uncle Ruan Gui and the others laughed at that time, "No need to buy these, we have plenty in our village. Whatever fruit tree seedlings you want, we will bring them to you!"

Zhao Liya was overjoyed and thanked him.

The next day, when Uncle Ruan Gui and his men came to work, they really brought the fruit trees with them.

Zhao Liya planted two papaya trees and a jackfruit tree in the yard, and planned to look for osmanthus trees and magnolia trees next year to plant two more.

(End of this chapter)