Chapter 54: Do Things One by One

"What's the matter? Have you finally cleared your mind after a good sleep? Do you want to go back on your word?" Diao left the door half open, looking alert.

"Auntie, what are you talking about? We were a little anxious and disturbed your rest. It was wrong of us, but you can't call us animals!"

A man in his thirties, tall and strong, walked out of the crowd, with an aggrieved look on his face.

Diao immediately closed the door a little tighter.

She recognized that this man was a bandit who came to surrender. Although he claimed to be a citizen of Yuzhou, no one could tell what kind of person he was, so she had to be more cautious.

"Beast? What beast..." Diao was a little confused. She thought for a long time before she remembered the complaint she made when she got up. She couldn't help rolling her eyes.

But there was no time to explain, and I heard people shouting at once.

"Auntie Shen, you really can't blame us for this! The twelfth lunar month is almost here, how can we not be anxious? After all, this is our first year in the north, we can't spend it in the wind and snow..."

"And that land! Even if I get the relief food, if I don't reclaim that wasteland soon, I'll always feel so empty inside!"

"But how and what to plant? Someone has to make the decision, right?"

"As the saying goes, a word spoken is as good as a nail! How can we go back on our word? Don't worry, old lady. Just do as we agreed before. If anyone from the government comes to question us, we'll find a man to take the blame. But in our village, you always make the decisions!"

There was a lot of noise in her ears. Diao pondered for a while with a serious face before she finally understood the meaning of the words.

The emotions are not sobering up, but completely over the top!

Who knows what can be planted in such a cold weather...

Fortunately, she still remembered her granddaughter's previous words and replied with a straight face.

"What's the point of being anxious? We have to deal with things one by one. The most important thing right now is to make sure everyone has a roof over their heads. Otherwise, if there are just two more snowfalls, the village will lose half its population."

"Repairing this house requires everyone's concerted efforts. Those with skills can contribute their skills, and those without skills can contribute their labor. It's like a race against time. The sooner we can finish it, the better."

"Of course, if you feel that you can just take care of your own little piece of land and don't want to get involved, I won't force you. But don't mention me becoming the village chief anymore, and just live your own lives..."

As soon as they heard that Diao was going to give up, someone immediately stood up to express their opinion.

"Since you have recognized your aunt as the village chief, you must obey my orders. I, Gong Er, have nothing to say. I will organize my brothers to repair the houses door to door!"

It was the man who spoke first. He turned around and left, but before leaving, he asked a strange question.

"Are we going to repair only our yards, or will everyone in the village have to do the repairs?"

Diao glanced at the maid who was leaning against the door and listening, thought for a moment, and replied.

"Let's repair every courtyard where people live. It doesn't matter if there are just a few rooms... If we lend a hand today, who knows, someone else might be willing to lend a hand someday."

Gong Er's eyes suddenly lit up, and he responded very straightforwardly: "Hey!"

It is said that Mrs. Shen only looks difficult to deal with, but in fact she is tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Otherwise, how could she have tolerated Mrs. Li for so long?

As expected!

No one can refuse a village chief who does things in a generous manner!

Especially the Shen family, who are capable, cruel, but also have just the right amount of kindness.

You will never go wrong if you follow this kind of person.

Gong Er led a few brothers away, and the rest of the people looked at each other and were unwilling to fall behind.

Some said they could do bricklaying, some said they could do carpentry, and some said they could butcher pigs...

After being looked at sideways by everyone, he explained that because he could kill pigs, was not married, and his parents passed away early, he had developed good cooking skills and could help cook for everyone while the house was being repaired.

Everyone's eyes softened when they looked at him, especially the older women, who looked at him as if they were sizing up their son-in-law.

A young man who is only in his twenties, has no family burden and has a skill to rely on. He is extremely rare in this border area where there is a shortage of food and clothing!

While the maids were asking the young man about the situation, they were secretly watching Diao, fearing that she would have a strong competitor. Everyone knew that the eldest daughter of the Shen family would be thirteen after the Chinese New Year. It was time to find a husband.

Who was Diao? Could she not see through their little tricks? She immediately closed the door in anger.

There is absolutely no idea that I should be kind to others after becoming the village chief.

Still doing my own thing.

Everyone stood outside and sighed, then quickly left.

The men went to chop trees and dig mud, while the women looked to see if they could find some wild vegetables to add to their food.

Although we received relief grain from the court, it was not enough to last a whole season, so we still have to worry about the future.

The Shen family is also discussing this issue.

"It's winter now. No matter how anxious we are, we have to wait until spring to plant. But the relief food we received will only last us three or four months. How are we going to make it until the summer harvest?"

Chen Chunxing splashed the water he used to wash his face into the corner of the wall and said with a smile, "Grandma, have you forgotten that I have a boss, and I'm sure you won't starve."

Of course Diao would not forget, she just didn't want to mention it!

Deliberately put on a stern face.

"You are the one who should not forget. Your grandma is now the village chief. You must have heard what those people outside said just now..."

"They asked me to make a decision. What decision could I make?"

"Let alone those outsiders, even our family, with six people and six acres of land, not only do we have to hand over half of the harvest and return the relief grain...if the harvest is even poor, it will be a waste of effort!"

The more Diao talked, the more upset she became. She refused to cook breakfast and preferred to save a meal.

"Who says we have to grow crops in the fields?" Chen Chunxing said slowly, then went into the kitchen, took out the flour left over from yesterday, looked at it for a few seconds, and put it back.

I want to eat, but I don’t know how to cook.

You can only summon teammates with your mind!

"What do you mean? If not grow crops, what should we grow?" Diao hurriedly chased after him.

"Just plant whatever you can plant right now."

"It's so cold, at most we can grow some winter vegetables... but the government won't accept them, so we can just grow as much as we can eat at home in the yard."

Diao was a little disappointed, as she thought the eldest girl could have some good ideas.

"Who says that if you grow vegetables, you have to eat them yourself?" Chen Chunxing was helpless.

Her grandmother is actually quite smart, but she has been staying in the village for too long, so she needs help getting started on many things.

"Let me ask you, in Lin'an in the past, how much did winter cabbage sell for per jin?"

"About six or seven cents, and even more than ten cents when it was expensive. It's something we grab easily in the countryside, but I didn't expect city dwellers to like this fresh bite..."

Although the Shen family was a farmer and had been working on the land for a long time, they did not work for themselves, so they had never thought of doing business. Even after being led by Chen Chunxing to the city for a walk, Diao Shi only expressed her feelings casually.