In the yard, the Miao brothers had already moved all the grain and piled it together in the open space in the front yard, waiting for Village Chief Zhao to weigh it. The first thing to come was the newly harvested peanuts, nearly 500 kilograms, which were cleaned cleanly after the dirt was removed and packed into five large sacks. After that came miscellaneous amounts of white rice, sorghum, beans, and corn, all of which were clean and of good quality. They were prepared by the Shen family for their own consumption during the autumn harvest. Each of them weighed several dozen kilograms, making a total of 700 kilograms.
Even the bag of flour hidden in the cupboard by Old Lady Shen was turned out, which made her very distressed: "It's just a small bag, and it's for making dumplings during the New Year..." Their family planted peanuts instead of wheat on the dry land this year, so the dumplings for the New Year depended on this bag of flour.
Thanks to the large number of people in the Shen family, they were able to leave so much surplus food. Even so, Miao Xing was still picky, complaining that the rice was not white enough and the noodles were not fine enough. He was only satisfied with the newly harvested peanuts. He pinched a few and handed them to Miao and Shen Qing: "These peanuts are not bad. I will help you carry them to the county town to exchange for mixed noodles. These 400 to 500 kilograms of peanuts can be exchanged for more than 1,000 kilograms of mixed noodles. If you save them, you can eat for half a year."
How can one keep all of peanuts, such a precious ingredient, for himself to eat? It would be generous if you could keep a few handfuls to fry and entertain guests during the New Year. The Shen family planted hard-to-grow peanuts this year in order to earn more money from selling them. Shen Zhuang is getting older, so they need to save money to find a wife for him. Miao Xing planned to take the grains to the county town and sell them for mixed noodles, sorghum or corn, which would be enough to last him two years.
How much can the two of them eat? In fact, the farmers don’t really need to eat just the main grain. They mix half of the grain with melons and vegetables, and cook sweet potatoes and potatoes together with rice and flour, which saves a lot of food.
Thinking of this, Miao Xing said again: "I didn't give you the sweet potatoes and potatoes. These two things are not as filling as grains. We have planted a lot of them at home. I will bring you a bag after we harvest them in a few days." These two things are the least picky about the land, especially the sweet potatoes, which can be planted on any piece of land on the mountain. They are not worth much, so of course we still choose the more expensive ones.
Shen Qing quickly thanked his uncle: "You don't have to sell all these peanuts. Take some back for Qiao Niang, Xiao Shan, and Xue Niang to try. I picked these myself, and they are very clean." Not to mention those who are older than Shen Qing. Qiao Niang and Xiao Shan are Miao Xing's children, and Xue Niang is Miao Wang's youngest daughter. They are all still young.
Shen Qing knew very well that he was able to escape from the Shen family so smoothly today only because of the influence of his two uncles. Although his two uncles had some selfish motives, they were dedicated to them and their daughter, and they were all good people. Shen Qing is grateful.
Miao Xing waved his hand. Shen Qing's words made people feel comfortable, but he was not ignorant. Shen Qing and his mother were in a difficult time. These peanuts were just a snack for his family, but they could be exchanged for food for Shen Qing and his mother. "How old are they? Why do they still need snacks? You two are in a critical time. Don't be polite to me. As long as you live a good life and take good care of your mother, I, as your uncle, will feel at ease."
As they were talking, Village Chief Zhao came with a scale and checked the weight of each item in front of everyone. Then the people of Shiqu Village carried them out and brought them to the house at the foot of the mountain.
Even though the Shen family was considered one of the more affluent in the village, they were completely plundered, with only some sweet potatoes, potatoes, bran and rice bran left. But crying and making a fuss was of no use at this time, and beating them was no match for them. The village chief was not very supportive of them, so the Shen family could only curse in their hearts. They cursed the Miao family, Shen Qing, and Village Chief Zhao who was not on their side, but they didn't think their own family had done anything wrong.
Someone who liked to pass on messages had already delivered a message to Liu the Hunter's family. When they heard that someone was willing to rent their old yard, Liu the Hunter's family was very happy, and the couple came personally to help clean up. That yard was where he lived before he got married. It was at the foot of the mountain next to the road leading up the mountain, making it very convenient for going up the mountain to hunt. But after getting married, she was afraid of living too close to the mountains, worried that the wild animals on the mountains would come down and disturb her husband and children, so she moved to Xiahe Village, a neighboring village where her husband lived.
He had hunted some large prey before and saved some money, so he bought a house and land in Xiahe Village. It would be a waste to leave this old house empty. It is also quite far away and it would be inconvenient to put some sundries there. Now being able to exchange 500 coins a year was like finding something for free, and the hunter husband was so happy that the couple hurried to Lantang Village.
This yard is not very old, but the house has been uninhabited for a long time, and it has fallen into disrepair quickly as it has lost its popularity. The straw on the roof has rotted. When Shen Qing and his companions arrived, Liu the Hunter and his husband were carrying new straw to repair the house.
Shen Qing used to pass by this small courtyard often when he went up the mountain. It could be said that he had some connection with the Liu family, but he had never been inside to see the inside of the courtyard. This was the first time he saw what the courtyard looked like. Because it is next to the mountain at the back and they are afraid of being disturbed by wild beasts, the wall of the courtyard is high and solid, even taller than a person. The yard is not small, probably because it is used by hunters to store tools and collect prey. There is also space in the front to build a wing room. Both the front and back yards are spacious, and together they are about half an acre in size. There is a large cellar in the backyard, but only three main rooms are built in the house, plus a straw shed at the gate, which was originally used to tie up animals.
The middle room among the three main rooms has the front part as the living room, and the back half is separated out to be used as the kitchen. The room on the east was used as a bedroom by Hunter Liu, and the one on the west was used as a storehouse.
The kang in the east room is ready-made, and there is a table and benches in the main room, which are quite sturdy, but there is no other furniture. The empty room makes it seem particularly spacious. After repairing the roof, Hunter Liu went to ask the Shen family for money and left his husband to entertain Shen Qing and Miao. He stood tall and strong at the gate of the courtyard. With the bloody aura brought on by years of hunting, the Shen family dared to make a scene and act like a spoiled child in front of the Miao family and the village chief. But when they saw the hunter Liu, they didn't dare to say a word and paid the money quickly with a painful heart.
The hunter husband took Shen Qing and Miao to introduce the house and helped to tidy it up: "...I asked my husband to check this kang before you came. The chimneys are all connected. It will be used in winter in two months. We just patched the roof. You can take a look first. If there is anything that is not fixed well, please let me know and let my husband fix it. Don't be polite."
Although Hunter Liu lived in a neighboring village, someone had already told him the gossip about the Shen family in just a short while. Hunter's husband looked at Shen Qing and Miao with sympathy: "If you need any help, just let me know. My husband is idle at home every day. If you still want to live in this house next year, you can pay the rent later..." After a pause, he added in a low voice: "It's better not to be too late."
Shen Qing wanted to laugh a little after hearing this, but he was more touched. This was the first time he met a stranger from the neighboring village. It was great to have such kindness. He was very grateful in his heart: "Thank you, we should stay here again next year. I will try to pay the rent on time."
The hunter's husband became happy again after hearing this.
Five hundred wen a year, Shen Qing calculated in his mind that if he worked harder and endured some hardships, he would definitely be able to earn enough. However, the best thing is to save more money, and add it to the compensation from the Shen family this time, and go to the village chief to buy a residential plot. If you can't afford to build a brick house, you can build a small house with mud yourself, which is much more secure than renting a house. However, I am afraid that I will not be able to save enough money in one year, so I will still have to rent a house next year.
Shen Qing was silently thinking about the future. Miao Xing and Miao Wang just happened to come out of the west room after helping to move things. They heard Shen Qing talking to the hunter husband and interrupted him, "Qing'er, what are your plans for the future? From what I saw at the Shen family just now, you didn't seem to be leaving on impulse. You must have a plan in mind, right?"
"I plan to chop firewood and sell it. I went to the county town before to secretly buy firewood and made some money, but I didn't let my family know." Shen Qing naturally made the request after careful consideration. He felt that the mother and daughter could survive on their own and would not starve to death, so he asked for it. He touched his waist. The Shen family said they had no land and refused to share the farm tools with them. The hatchet he used to intimidate the Shen family was still on his waist, and no one asked him for it, so it was just right for him to use it.
"That means being a woodcutter." Miao Xing sucked his teeth after hearing this. The villagers actually don’t chop much firewood. Generally, after the grain and straw were harvested from the fields, part of it was used as taxes, military pay and horse feed, and the rest was firewood for the farmers for the year. If that’s still not enough, picking up some dead firewood and branches while digging wild vegetables or cutting grass for pigs will do. Families with many children just send their children out to collect firewood, and they will have enough firewood for the whole year. Only those families with very little land, or just before winter, would really use axes and machetes to go to the mountains to chop some firewood.
But it’s different in the city. There is no land or mountains in the county town, and even a piece of firewood or a vegetable leaf costs money. But city folks are also particular and will chop the firewood they buy into strips of similar lengths. If it is good wood, such as fruit wood, it can be sold at a higher price. Shen Qing once helped his family carry rice to the county town to sell. When he saw someone selling firewood in the firewood shop, he took notice of him.
Later, taking advantage of the slack season during the farming season, he secretly went up the mountain several times to chop firewood and carried it back to the county town to sell. At first, he was unskilled and the firewood he chopped was not good. It was not dried enough and sometimes not enough to fill a whole load. In addition, people saw that he was a single boy and tried to lower the price for him, so he did not make much money. After a few times, he got used to it. Now Shen Qing is considered a veteran who knows the market rules. A whole load of firewood costs 40 cents, and a whole bundle of hay can be sold for 20 cents. No one can fool him.
Miao was making the bed in the east room. When she heard this, she said through the window, "No wonder you often go to the mountains. Sometimes you can even secretly bring back some food." But her tone was quite sad.
"It's not just about chopping firewood. It was only when I was selling the autumn crops last year that I realized I could make so much money from selling firewood." Shen Qing touched his nose. Firewood was free in their village, so he had never thought about it that way. If I hadn't realized it so late, and if I hadn't been busy working in the fields at home and hadn't had time, I wouldn't have been able to save just a few hundred coins.
It sounds like a good livelihood - at a time when a strong laborer could only earn one or two hundred coins a month doing odd jobs, a load of firewood could be sold for forty coins, which was a very high income. But what is Miao worried about? Why is Miao Xing still sucking his teeth?
Because being a woodcutter, although the income is high, the risks are also extremely high! Otherwise, everyone in the village would go to sell firewood. Who would leave the opportunity to make money? Country people are very hardworking and willing to work hard. The last thing they care about is their energy!
The first thing is that we cannot cut down trees near the village, we have to go deep into the mountains. Because the trees near the village are the common property of the entire village, every family uses trees from the nearby forests to build houses and make furniture. It would be fine if you only chopped some firewood occasionally for your own burning, but if you chopped firewood all day and sold it for money, wouldn't all the trees near the village be cut down soon? The villagers will also feel unbalanced and unhappy: Why should you cut down all the trees in the village and make money for your own family?
Besides, there are not many trees near the village, and they cannot withstand being cut down every day.
It is hard to go deep into the mountains. Firstly, the road is long. Not every man can carry a load of firewood weighing more than 100 kilograms and walk such a long mountain road. Furthermore, there are often wild animals in the deep mountains. Not to mention encountering a tiger or a blind bear, even if you encounter a wild boar, you will probably never come back. In addition, the mountains are sparsely populated, and if you sprain your ankle or get injured, no one will hear you even if you cry for help.
Not to mention the weather issues. What should I do if heavy rain occurs when I have cut half of the trees? What should I do if it snows or hail? There's nowhere to hide! If you catch a cold, the medicine will cost a lot of money. So although everyone in their village goes to the mountains and lives off the mountains, they only stay in the mountains near their own village and never go deep into the mountains.
Logging itself is a dangerous job. The old people all said that the trees were very old and some of them had become spiritual. If you wanted to cut it down, it would hate you and would fall towards you when it fell. If this happens, will you still be alive?
So now that Shen Qing says he wants to be a woodcutter to make money, how can Miao and Miao Xing not be worried? But I wanted to persuade her but didn't know how: Miao Xing couldn't support Shen Qing and her son, and if he kept interfering in Shen Qing's business, wouldn't that be annoying?
And since Miao herself has no ability to earn money and has to rely on her brother for support, she doesn't know how to persuade him.
Shen Qing could see their dilemma and consoled them, "Mom, uncle, don't worry, I know what's going on. I've been wandering around in the mountains since I was a kid. Although I didn't chop wood before, I often went to the mountains to pick fruits and dig out bird eggs. I'm very familiar with the mountains. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to eat so much. I would starve to death if I only relied on the soup given by my family."
That's true. Although Shen Qing was in a hurry to make money, he was not someone who didn't know the importance of things. He brought his mother out to live alone. If something really happened in the mountains, how would his mother survive? Just for this reason, Shen Qing cannot but cherish his life. They separated so that they could live better, not to die outside.
He had indeed been hanging around in the mountains since he was a child and was very familiar with the mountains. After Shen Zhang passed away, Shen Zhigao's attitude towards them mother and son changed drastically. Other members of the Shen family also changed their faces. Even the two younger generations, Shen Zhuang and Shen Xiaojuan, dared to humiliate them mother and son. They do the hardest work and eat the worst food. The number of rice grains in a bowl of rice soup can be counted on ten fingers. It is so thin that it is no different from water. When Shen Qing was eleven or twelve years old, he was growing up. He couldn't stand the hunger, so he ran to the mountains to find food.
At first, I ate wild fruits that were so sour that they made my teeth turn sour, raw shepherd's purse and water celery, and stuffed everything I could eat into my mouth. Some aunts and grandmothers in the village would give some cucumbers from their own vegetable gardens and wild fruits picked from the mountains if they felt sorry for the children. Later, after living in the mountains for a long time, Shen Qing began to expand his diet and started to find bird eggs to roast and eat. Shen Qing was well-known for his bravery in the village. When he was a child, several boys in the village wanted to steal the roasted bird eggs he had left for the Miao family. The ruthless Shen Qing chased them for two miles with a wooden stick as thick as his forearm.
From then on, whenever there was a kid who wanted to bully him or steal his things, Shen Qing would fight back without caring about his life. As I said, the aggressive ones are afraid of the stupid ones, and the stupid ones are afraid of the desperate ones. When Shen Qing gets ruthless, two or three guys joining forces cannot beat him. His reputation for being a tough guy spread, and really scared those guys.
But there are only so many things near the village. Other kids coming to steal bird eggs are just greedy, but Shen Qing relies on these to fill his stomach. There is no way they can eat enough, so he can only go deeper into the mountains.
"I have to thank Father Liu for this." Shen Qing glanced at the hunter husband.
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