Chapter 90 Hunting Mission

Charcoal was also part of the corvee labor.

Every household has a share.

The Zhao family was new this year, and since it was the Gu family who assigned the tasks, it was natural that they wouldn't be given any advantage. Perhaps knowing that even if they were given a larger workload, it would be useless, as the Zhao family wouldn't care at all, the Gu family didn't deliberately make things difficult when assigning tasks.

It's only about 30% more than other families.

This is normal for newcomers.

Zhao Liya also knows how to make charcoal, but this time she didn't say that she could do it, nor did she plan to do it.

This is too troublesome. You have to find a place to dig a kiln, or rent a charcoal kiln from someone else in the village, and then you have to chop charcoal wood.

The charcoal firewood was not randomly cut; the government had specific requirements, usually oak, elm, lime, lychee, or pine.

There are regulations on tree species and wood sizes.

The tree needs to be cut down, carried to the side of the charcoal kiln, cut into the required length, dried for four or five days, then loaded into the kiln and lit.

After the kiln is lit, the fire cannot be interrupted and must burn continuously for five to seven days before the kiln is sealed.

After sealing the kiln, it takes more than seven or eight days for the fire to die out naturally and the wood to turn into charcoal.

Then they opened the kiln, took the charcoal, and sent it to the government.

This process is time-consuming and laborious. Zhao Liya doesn't want to do it. What else can she do with this time?

The sugarcane fields have just reached the final sprint stage, so we need to keep a close eye on them. We can start harvesting and making sugar in December.

This was their first pot of gold, and the whole family took it very seriously. If they didn't go there every day, they would feel uneasy.

So Zhao Liya found a few families in the village and bought carbon from them.

Everyone was eager to do so and nodded in agreement very happily.

We need to burn charcoal at home anyway, so burning more is just a matter of convenience.

The government wants this kind of good charcoal, and one hundred pounds can be sold for fifty to sixty cents.

Zhao Liya's family had to deliver 1,200 kilograms of charcoal this year, having placed orders with four families. It was agreed that the charcoal would be brought back to them after it was burned, and they would inspect it and confirm it was correct before paying. The Zhao family would also deliver it to the government office themselves.

Someone offered to help send it directly to the government office, but Zhao Liya declined.

People will never feel at ease if you don't hand something over in person.

Who knows if someone else has tampered with the device? Even if they have genuine good intentions, what if someone else with ulterior motives tampered with it secretly? Wouldn't that leave you with no way to defend yourself?

Lin Mo and Yu Xiaofang were also impatient with the task of burning charcoal, so they paid money to buy the charcoal they were assigned.

The game in the mountains was plentiful at this time of year, and the two of them went into the mountains more often.

Sometimes he comes back after five or six days.

Lin Mo’s archery skills are really good, and he knows how to set traps and traps, so he always gets a lot of rewards every time.

There are no deer in the south, but there are muntjacs and wild sheep, which are prey with very delicious meat. There are also pheasants, which, although small in size, are also very popular.

There are also wild boars. If you hunt one and sell it, you can earn several taels of silver.

November came in a blink of an eye. After checking the charcoal and handing it over to the government, Zhao Liya and others all breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that at least this year's tribute task had been completed. At least they could relax for a few months and have a good New Year.

As for what will happen next year, that is next year’s matter, we will talk about it then, and don’t consider it now!

"Our sugarcane will be harvested soon, and now we have the time to focus on it!"

"Our sugarcane is growing exceptionally well. Each one is perfectly round and straight. It's so pleasing to the eye. I'm sure it will be excellent for making sugar!"

"Yeah, sugarcane is super sweet!"

Everyone was in high spirits.

They tried to cut a few and brought them back. Everyone tasted them and said they were delicious.

Sugarcane is sweet and can also be used to make chicken soup, which is fresh and delicious with a unique fresh and fragrant aroma. The chicken is also more tender and sweet, and the more you eat it, the better it tastes.

Unexpectedly, at this time, the Gu family came to the door again.

"What? Going into the mountains to hunt?"

The Zhao family was stunned.

Boss Gu said impatiently, "This is a temporary request from the county. We have to leave tomorrow. This kind of mission has happened before."

Neither Widow Qu nor Luo Shuyan said anything, which showed that Boss Gu had said this before and was not lying.

But, isn’t it a bit too rushed to leave tomorrow?

In the evil feudal society, the officials wanted to have wild game for the New Year, but they could not force ordinary people to do such a thing, so the convicts naturally became the best choice.

Anyway, the lives of fugitives are not their lives, so it doesn’t matter even if they are thrown into the mountains.

But civilians can't.

Zhao Liya said, "Brother Lin Mo and Brother Xiao Fang are more familiar with hunting. Why not wait for them to come back before going? Wouldn't that give us a better chance?"

Boss Gu sneered, "How can this kind of thing wait? Aren't you all quite skilled? Hurry up and get ready. We'll leave early tomorrow morning. No further discussion! If you don't want to go, go talk to Yu Gongcao yourself!"

Boss Gu said this and left coldly.

Go to Yu Gongcao and tell him that it is impossible.

Yu Gongcao had a good impression of them, but it was all based on interests.

Yu Gongcao's wife liked to get a bargain, but she wasn't overly greedy. Even if you gave her a head of garlic, she would be delighted and would not ask you for two or three heads of garlic after receiving one.

Of course, she would be even happier if you sent her something nice from time to time.

However, if you go to their house and say you don't want to go into the mountains to hunt, that would be "too ignorant", and Yu Gongcao would be the first to be disgusted.

Zhao Liya and Hu Ling decided to go into the mountains with the young and middle-aged people from several families in the village tomorrow.

Widow Qu went out for a walk around the village and found out everything she needed to know.

There were fifteen families in total who went into the mountains to hunt this time, with about thirty-four or thirty-five people.

Of course the Gu brothers wouldn't go—they weren't stupid! They wouldn't ask for trouble.

The people who went to other places were all young and middle-aged, but Zhao Liya still decided to go as well.

Otherwise, if Hu took over alone, she would be worried, and her family would also be worried.

Even though both of them were going, the whole family was still worried, but they also understood that if the two of them traveled together, they could look after each other, which was much better than going alone.

That night, the family chattered and talked a lot.

Luo Shuyan steamed sugar cakes and cooked glutinous rice overnight, boiled eggs the next morning, and also grabbed a lot of red dates and carefully wrapped them for them to take with them.

These are foods that can quickly replenish your energy and can be stored even in winter, so they are great to bring with you.

When they set out the next day, they unexpectedly found Hulu and Baldy in the team. Leader Hu glanced at them coldly and said nothing.

Even if these two guys are here, they are just losers and it is unlikely that they can do anything.

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(End of this chapter)