The next morning, two constables came to the door, saying they wanted to take the people from Lijia Village to Laobing Village in Qingshui Town.
The constable rode ahead on horseback, with Lu Qiqi following behind, gripping the reins. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Qiqi asked, "May I ask, constable, why is this village called Veteran Village?"
Seeing that Lu Qiqi was pretty and could ride a horse, the yamen runner found her quite interesting and began to talk to her, “The veterans’ village is full of veterans who were injured in battle and became disabled. The imperial court has arranged for them to live out their old age here. The imperial court has allocated land to them and they don’t have to pay taxes. If you’re new here and don’t want to clear the land, you can rent some of their vacant land.”
Lu Qiqi thought for a moment, "Isn't this just a nursing home that the imperial court arranged for these veterans?"
Qingshui Town is an hour and a half away from Luzhou County. It takes half an hour to reach Laobing Village by donkey cart and horse.
The constables led them to the veterans' village and then left.
Lu Qiqi saw several veterans sitting on the stone bench under the camphor tree at the village entrance. One had lost his left hand, another his right leg, and the third was blind in one eye and missing his foot.
Lu Yao felt scared and shrank into Lu Qiqi's arms. Lu Qiqi patted her head and said, "Don't be afraid. They are fighting on the frontier. They became like this to protect us. They are all heroes!"
Lu Yao was still a little scared after hearing this, but when she heard Lu Qiqi say that they were heroes, she obediently nodded.
Sitting under the tree, Zhang Weiguo heard two little girls riding tall horses calling them heroes, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud.
This is the first time someone has called them heroes!
You know, ever since he lost an arm, the most common thing he's heard is people calling him a cripple. Their veterans' village is even called the "crippled village" by outsiders.
With Li Shoucai's help, the village chief got off the donkey cart and walked up to Zhang Weiguo and the others, saying, "I am Li Mu, the village chief of Li Family Village. Our village is made up of refugees from other places who came here to settle down. Please take care of us in the future, and please forgive us if we cause any trouble."
Zhang Weiguo stood up and said with a smile, "Brother, you're too kind. Our village is full of rough men who have served in the army. If there's anything you need from me, Zhang Weiguo, just let me know!"
After saying that, he laughed and said, "But with only one arm, I'm probably not of much use, but I can still show you the way."
The village chief was naturally happy to hear that Zhang Weiguo was willing to lead the way. They were newcomers and didn't even know which way to go after entering the village. Having someone to guide them was a good thing and would save them a lot of trouble.
The village chief laughed and said, "Then thank you very much, young man!"
Zhang Weiguo waved his hand and said boldly, "Everyone, follow me!"
The people of Lijia Village followed Zhang Weiguo into the veterans' village. As soon as Lu Qiqi entered the village, she dismounted and took the reins from Lu Yao.
The village of veterans is flat and open, with plenty of wasteland. The grass on the ground is growing vigorously and is lush and green, almost half a person tall.
As you continue along the way, you'll see many ponds connected to ditches, which will save a lot of effort when used to irrigate crops.
Looking around, there are also rows of emerald green mountains stretching endlessly. If one of these mountains could be used to grow fruit trees, that would be perfect.
Lijia Village is located in the north, surrounded by land and forests, making it very convenient to gather firewood.
In the future, chopping firewood in this veterans' village will likely involve climbing mountains, but even so, it won't stop the villagers from liking the new village.
Zhang Weiguo walked ahead as a guide, introducing the village to the villagers of Lijia Village, saying, "The houses where we veterans live are to the east."
The houses in Veterans' Village are different from those in Yi'an Village, which have white walls and green tiles. The houses here are all wooden houses with tiles on top.
Zhang Weiguo said, "There's a river not far to the west. Our village is upstream. Everyone be careful not to pollute the water. If the villagers downstream come looking for trouble, don't blame me for not warning you!"
Liu Tong walked ahead and said, "Brother Zhang, don't worry, we will be careful."
The villagers following behind nodded in agreement.
Everyone was overjoyed to see so many ponds. "That's great! We no longer have to worry about not having water and not being able to grow crops."
"Yes, look, there are still a lot of aquatic plants in the pond! We can even raise ducks in the pond in the future!"
Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with anticipation for the future and couldn't wait to get to work in the fields.
Zhang Weiguo led the people from Lijia Village to an open space, pointed to the low hill closest to the open space, and said, "Old Soldier Village doesn't have any extra houses for you to live in. It's still early, so you can take advantage of the afternoon to go up the mountain to cut some wood and build a temporary shed to settle down first. You can build your own houses later."
The village chief thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "We understand. Thank you so much, young man, for today."
Zhang Weiguo waved his hand and said, "Brother, you're too kind. We're neighbors now, so we should help each other out. You guys go ahead with your work; I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."
After saying that, Zhang Weiguo walked towards the village entrance.
Lu Qiqi glanced at the open space, which was perfect for setting up tents. She walked over to the village chief and said, "Village chief, if we put up the tents we got from the Tartars, we'll have a place to live! Tomorrow, we can have the villagers go up the mountain to cut some timber to build houses."
A glint of light flashed in the village chief's eyes. How could he have forgotten about the tent? He really was getting old and senile.
The village chief laughed, "It's good that you reminded me. After lunch, I'll have Shoucai and the others set up the tents! The rest of you can choose your homesteads, and once you've chosen, I'll take them to the government office to register. After we're settled, we'll measure the land and then draw lots to allocate it!"
After the village chief left, Lu Qiqi went to Lu Dahai to discuss the matter of choosing a site for their homestead.
When Lu Qiqi found Lu Dahai, Lu Dahai was directing Li Changlong and the others to put the tent back together.
Lu Qiqi called out to her third uncle and then said, "Why don't we choose the plot of land in front of the low hill when we choose a house site? That plot of land is spacious and there is a stream next to it, so it will be convenient for Third Aunt and the others to wash clothes in the future."
Lu Dahai thought about it for a moment, but still felt it was inappropriate. He said, "That place is nice, but it's almost out of the village. Everyone is gathered together and moving towards the center of the village. If we move to the foot of the mountain, what if wild animals come down the mountain?"
Lu Qiqi laughed and said, "Don't worry about that. There are so many of us, including our family, Liu Tong and his apprentice, and the Zhou brothers. We can build a wall around the yard and then we won't have to worry about wild animals coming down the mountain."
Lu Dahai instantly grasped the key point: building a wall?!
Lu Dahai felt that Lu Qiqi was too young to understand the differences between the North and the South, so he explained to Lu Qiqi, "Qiqi, there is a lot of rain in the South, and mud houses are probably easy to break. You see, the old soldiers' village is full of wooden houses, probably for this reason."
Lu Qiqi knew immediately that Lu Dahai had misunderstood. Of course she knew that there was a lot of rain in the south and that adobe houses were prone to collapse, but she didn't want to build adobe houses. She smiled and said, "Third Uncle, let's not build adobe houses, let's build houses with blue bricks and green tiles!"
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