Jiang Zhi arranged the matters down the mountain and then left them to the group members, no longer caring about them herself.

Seedlings also need to be cultivated on the mountain, and rice seedlings need to be prepared down below.

The seedling garden has been prepared by Xiaoman. The unripe peas in a small terraced field have been pulled out. The soil has been soaked in water and then divided into sections and smoothed with wooden chips.

Jiang Zhi soaked the hybrid rice seeds she had specially separated in warm water and placed them on the kang (a heated brick bed) to germinate.

Once the rice grains sprout white dots at one end, they are ready to be sown into the muddy seedbeds.

The most dangerous thing is that birds can steal rice seeds.

This requires people to guard it, and scarecrows dressed in colorful strips of cloth are placed next to the rice paddies.

The little wild boar was startled because it was the first time it had ever seen a scarecrow.

With cotton and corn seedlings being cultivated, Xiaoman and Errui were in charge of the village this time, leaving all the work on the mountain to the women.

However, Xu Dazhu was able to work in the fields again; he sat and rubbed manure balls and pressed cotton seeds.

Jiang Zhi told everyone amusing stories about Xia Xiucai and Xu Gensheng from down the mountain, and everyone listened with laughter as they worked.

Neither of the two families mentioned the matter of Baicaotang selling medicine.

Xiaomanye is a farmer; medicine is just grass, and the idea of ​​exchanging it for money always feels like a distant dream.

These tangible lands are what they truly love and value.

Jiang Zhi didn't mention it either. Old Manager Huo said it would take three market days to get news, which would be ten days.

She was anxious, so she used all three taels of silver in her household to buy seeds and food.

Without money, one lacks courage and always feels uneasy; she couldn't wait to earn money.

However, even if I'm anxious, I'd rather wait a little longer than actually go to town to inquire about the results.

The more comprehensive the considerations of Huo Family Pharmacy, the greater the possibility of cooperation.

Now, she has put the pharmaceutical business aside and has to focus on farming.

The wheat has grown to thigh height, and at most waist height.

Unlike modern, improved wheat varieties, the varieties here are still very primitive.

The wheat ears are short with long awns, while the stalks are tall and thin, making them prone to lodging. This is quite similar to the foxtail grass, an ancestor of wild grains, which is also why the yield is low.

The days passed by busily, and the village's mutual aid group went very smoothly.

The farm work was done by one household after another, field after field, with dozens of people marching over the fields like a trampling machine.

However, some people refused to participate, feeling that they would be taken advantage of if they were mixed together like that.

Because it was said that participation was voluntary, Tian Gui and others did not force anyone, but they also made it clear in the village that the village would not care if any family lacked food in the future, and the village chief would not care either; the consequences would be borne by the family!

Ten days passed without any movement from the Huo family, and half a month passed without any movement either, but the farm work in the village was finally finished.

According to the agreement, once the farm work was finished, it was time to perform corvée labor.

Jiang Zhi went down the mountain and saw that every household had already planted seedlings, and his own early corn had undergone a second fertilization process.

Xu Errui pointed to the rice seeds that had just been sown in the village and said, "Uncle Tian and the others said that the rice should still be planted the same way as before, because they are afraid that the yield will be reduced if it is not planted well..."

Jiang Zhi nodded: "Okay, it's fine if they do it this way!"

Since they didn't know what kind of profit their hybrid rice on the mountain would yield, Tian Gui and his group didn't elaborate on their planting methods.

It was only when Jiang Zhi saw the planning drawings at Zhang Juntou's place that she truly understood the location where the post station was to be built.

On the slope outside Xujia Village, the official road runs through it. Their task now is to clear the trees off the slope and then fill it with sand and gravel to create several platforms.

The main building area is about 1,000 square meters, which is not considered large if it is built into a large post station for parking and feeding horses.

It's fair to say that finding a suitable flat area in these mountainous regions is quite difficult.

Fortunately, there are steps connecting the courtyards, so the platforms can be layered according to the terrain.

Jiang Zhi gathered Tian Gui, Xu Gen, and a few others, gave them a brief explanation, and then they began performing corvée labor.

However, for this kind of official task, the village head would normally need to be notified before construction begins, but now that Zhang Juntou is arranging it directly, it saves a lot of trouble.

Because of the previous refugees staying there, the shrubs and weeds on the slope had already been burned or trampled, and with the addition of shacks built by outsiders, the trees had already been cut down, making the land dry very quickly.

In addition, we need to build a platform, and after cutting down the trees, we will arrange for everyone to find stones.

This work was no longer divided by gender; everyone gathered different sized stone pieces from the mountainside to fill in the corners.

A few days later, in early April, a man and a woman came to the village.

First, she cried and sobbed as she looked for Xu Changming, and then she went to the construction site outside the village to find Jiang Zhi.

"Sister Jiang, where did my father and brother go?" The woman looked to be only in her early twenties, and her eyes were swollen from crying.

"Your brother and father? Who are you talking about!"

Jiang Zhi looked at Xiao Man, who had brought the people over, and gestured to him to tell him what was going on.

Xiaoman said angrily, "It's Xu Changshou's house. The person has already left. Don't come looking for Aunt Jiang. She doesn't know where the person is either. If you want to find them, go to the county government."

It turned out that Xu Changshou's daughters had come back looking for someone, but it was too late, and Jiang Zhi didn't know where the person was either.

Before she could finish speaking, the woman grabbed her, sobbing uncontrollably, "My father finally came back, but the villagers forced him to leave. How...how will his family survive?"

Jiang Zhi initially wanted to offer some words of comfort upon hearing that she was the daughter of Xu Changshou's family, and recalling Xu Yaozu, who had been sucking blood from his sisters.

But now that he was being forced out by the village, he immediately lost his composure and his face darkened: "If your father wants to die, no one can be blamed. How he lives is up to the county magistrate. If you want to find someone, go to the county government. Don't cause me trouble here."

"If I don't go to you, who else can I go to? You're the village chief, give me back my father!" Xu Yaozu's younger sister cried and shouted, demanding that he be returned to his father.

Jiang Zhi laughed in anger. This guy must have been so sucked dry that he's become numb. He's not used to being without parasites.

She didn't want to talk to the woman anymore, and pointed at the honest-looking man following behind her, saying, "Don't you want to live a good life? Do you have to come to Xujia Village to be a slave to make it comfortable? Take your wife back now. This is not her family home. Don't come here again."

Seeing that his wife was still trying to pull Jiang Zhi away, the man finally reacted, grabbed the woman's arm and dragged her back: "Let's go! Your father and brother aren't in the village, so even if they don't work, they won't beat you anymore."

Despite her crying and fussing, the woman still couldn't quite believe it: "It's really not here anymore?"

“They’re not here. If you want to ask, go to the county government. They’ve already settled down and been allocated land elsewhere, and they’re doing just fine,” Jiang Zhi patiently explained again.

The woman suddenly fell silent, wiped away her tears, and lowered her head to say to Jiang Zhi, "Thank you, Sister-in-law Jiang!"

After saying that, he left in a hurry, but in Jiang Zhi's opinion, his steps were too light.

What's going on?

Jiang Zhi suddenly realized something: she had finally shed the big label of "filial piety"!