Last time, in a rush, I only buried him hastily before going to the prefectural city to handle the indenture. After that, I didn't return but went directly to Shanshui Village.

Now that I've finally managed to come back, I must pay my respects and burn some paper money for the deceased.

Hong Daniu and the others received the incense, candles, and paper money, their cracked hands trembling uncontrollably, and the eighteen men wailed loudly.

The men from Shanshui Village turned their backs and wiped their eyes with their sleeves.

As they set off again, the entire team remained silent, a somber and oppressive atmosphere hanging in the air.

Pulling an empty cart, the return journey was noticeably faster. After exiting the small road and turning onto another mountain path, Bai Manshan was stunned when he saw a group of people rushing out in front of him, holding machetes and kitchen knives.

Was it because they were targeted from the start?

...

Shanshui Village is now thriving and bustling with activity.

In just three days, the miscellaneous trees in their respective areas were cut down, the weeds were cleared, the stones were moved, the ground was dug up, and hundreds of adobe bricks were made. The efficiency was incredibly high.

The Zhang family and the Fan family, who were originally taking their time, became anxious and embarrassed when they saw the progress of other households in the village. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and catch up.

Shuiqing's family doesn't need to participate in building the village wall in Shanshui Village; they only need to take care of their own area.

Her location was on higher ground, providing natural protection, so there was no need to build a wall. However, just to be on the safe side, she and Fan Jin decided to build some fences to block the gaps in the lower ground.

Fences are easier to build than walls, and require less work; a large family can finish one in two days.

The Ding family was preparing to spend money to hire people. They originally planned to wait for the men from Shui Qing's family to return and then invite them. During their conversation, Li Dani and the other four asked them if it was okay.

They are strong and can cut down trees, dig holes, and build foundations; they can do all the work that men can do.

Qin Yilin was delighted to hear this; wasn't this perfect?

There was no need to wait for those men to return; they directly hired five people to help, paying them thirty coins a day.

Her family is small, only three people. The old village chief assigned her the shortest section of road in the whole village. Moreover, considering that her family were not farmers and were not very good at digging pits and making adobe bricks, he took care of her and assigned her a road with flat terrain.

Qin Yilin roughly calculated that with five more capable workers, and with He Li and her helping out, the job should be completed in less than half a month.

He happily led five burly women to the section of road assigned to the Ding family.

“What’s the use of doing a good job? The Ding family hasn’t even started construction yet. If some refugees take advantage of the chaos to come over, they can just come in through the Ding family, right?” Zhang Chunhua shouted at the others.

Her mother immediately chimed in, "Chunhua is right. Even if we build it up and install the front and back doors, it won't make a difference. The Ding family's section of road is empty; it's wider and easier to get in than the main gate."

She's been exhausted for the past three or four days! While her husband is lying at home, she and her daughter and son have been working day and night, so she had to find an excuse to slow down!

"Didn't Sister Hu say that day that she was waiting for her son to come back and help? You heard it too. What's there to argue about now?" Aunt Li felt that Zhang Baldy's family was really troublesome, always making a fuss.

Instead of arguing outside, you should go back and take charge of your own household and get people to work with you. That's the right thing to do!

Aunt Zhang said with her neck stiff, "That might just be Sister Hu being polite. Only the Ding family has the thick skin to take it seriously."

Besides, Hu Wenhua and his family still have several batches of potatoes to deliver. Will they be able to come and make adobe bricks anytime soon? If they're slow, it's useless no matter how fast we work!