Building a brick house is not something that can be done overnight, and Lu Qiqi was just telling Lu Dahai about this idea.
When Lu Dahai heard Lu Qiqi mention building a brick house, he assumed that she had seen the beautiful houses in Yi'an Village and was envious, which led her to have the idea of living in a brick house.
Building brick houses was something only wealthy families could afford; they simply couldn't come up with that much money, so they didn't take Lu Qiqi's words to heart.
However, when choosing a site for his homestead, he listened to Lu Qiqi and chose the foot of the mountain.
With so many outsiders living in their village, they inevitably have to deal with their neighbors. If conflicts arise, they will be the ones who suffer.
At worst, we can build some fences and set up some traps to prevent wild animals from coming down the mountain.
The tent was set up, and Madam Lu and Madam Li had also prepared the meal. People are in high spirits when they have a happy occasion, and Madam Lu even added a few extra bowls of rice to the meal this time. Everyone ate very happily.
After dinner, Lu Qiqi gathered everyone together to discuss their future plans.
Liu Tong said, "My master and I originally planned to go and stay with our relatives, but now that we can't, we have no choice but to settle here. Tomorrow I will take them to restaurants and eateries to find work."
Lu Dahai said, “It will take two or three days to measure the land and then draw lots to allocate it. I want to take advantage of this time to go up the mountain to cut down trees and build a wooden house, otherwise one tent won’t be enough to accommodate so many people. After the land is allocated and we get the farming tools, we can start cultivating the land. I heard from the village chief that it rarely snows down here in winter, so we can grow a crop to get through the winter.”
Li Changlong nodded, "Father is right, we'll go up the mountain to cut down trees tomorrow."
The Zhou brothers, who had been squatting on the ground with their heads down, also chimed in, "We'll go up the mountain to cut down trees too."
The Zhou brothers had considered looking for work, but they had no skills, and no one wanted to hire children. Even the land for their homestead was paid for by the kind-hearted villagers.
When they heard that Lu Dahai was going to go up the mountain to cut down trees, they all wanted to do their part.
Looking at the group of boys, Lu Dahai smiled. He knew that the Zhou brothers were all grateful and good kids. Many hands make light work, and it would be easier to get things done. "Okay, let's go together."
The Zhou brothers seemed to have gained approval, and smiles gradually appeared on their faces.
Lu Qiqi said, "I want to rent a storefront in the county to start a business."
Lu Qiqi wasn't worried about money. Besides having nearly two hundred taels of silver in her hand, she also found a piece of gold on the Tartar, weighing about ten taels.
With the hundred taels of silver notes left to her by Feng Yu'er, building a brick house was nothing; she even had money left over to buy another piece of land.
But she couldn't just sit around and do nothing; she was still thinking about building a brick house and sending Lu Yao and the others to school!
As soon as Lu Qiqi finished speaking, the tent fell silent as everyone turned to look at her.
Madam Li was the first to speak. Her expression was grave. "Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—merchants are ranked last. If you go into business, how will you ever marry well? Qiqi, this is no small matter. You must consider it carefully!"
Liu Tong wanted to retort, saying that every rouge shop and embroidery workshop that did business outside was managed by a woman, and some of these women were even more capable than men! But he opened his mouth but didn't say anything, after all, he was an outsider and it wasn't appropriate for him to interfere in other people's affairs.
Madam Lu was also a little anxious. She knew that Lu Qiqi was a woman of principle, but her ideas were a bit too ambitious. "Yes, since ancient times, it has always been men who do business outside, while women are out in the public eye. They'll be looked down upon!"
Lu Qiqi knew that Li and Lu were concerned about her, but she didn't take it seriously. She said, "At worst, I can spend some money to find a husband! Anyway, with money, it's easy to do anything."
After thinking it over, Madam Li decided that taking a son-in-law was a feasible option and said no more.
When Zhou San heard that Lu Qiqi was looking for a husband, her face turned bright red and she whispered, "Sister Lu, why don't you take me in? I don't eat much and I can still work."
Wednesday's words amused everyone, and Lu Qiqi was so amused that she laughed until tears streamed down her face. She said, "You little brat, you haven't even grown your hair yet, what are you thinking about all day?"
On Wednesday, after being rejected by Lu Qiqi, she felt a little sad and looked at Lu Qiqi with teary eyes.
Seeing his dejected expression, everyone found it even more amusing, and the heavy atmosphere gradually dissipated.
Even Lu Dahai didn't plan to stop Lu Qiqi from doing business anymore. He could just prepare more dowry for the two sisters and find them a husband later.
If all else fails, the Zhou brothers are also good options. He particularly likes the eldest, Zhou Yi, who is calm, quiet, efficient, and hardworking. He would feel at ease if he were to marry him.
Lu Qiqi was unaware of her third uncle Lu Dahai's plans; she was only thinking about what kind of business to start by renting the storefront.
In the afternoon, Lu Dahai led Liu Tong and his apprentice, along with the Zhou brothers, up the mountain to cut down trees. Li Shi and Lu Shi packed their luggage. Lu Qiqi tried to help but accidentally broke a bowl, and was then chased out by Lu Shi.
Bored out of her mind, Lu Qiqi had no choice but to take Wangcai into the space.
Upon entering the space, Lu Qiqi discovered that there were not many poultry and livestock left. On the way to escape the famine, they had to feed their own family and also provide food for the tigers. Now, there were only two hens, two sheep, and five cows left.
Lu Qiqi remembered that there were three big mountains next to the low mountain, and thought that she should let Xiaohua and the two tiger cubs out to find food on their own, otherwise she really couldn't afford to raise them anymore.
Seeing the poultry and livestock in the space, Lu Qiqi planned to find an excuse to go to the county town, and then release the poultry and livestock in the space, so that the cattle could be loaded onto a cart to haul timber, and the construction of the house would be faster.
Finally, Lu Qiqi went to check on her crops. The corn was all ripe, and she planned to harvest it and keep the corn stalks to make a roof.
The chili peppers were all bright red, and Lu Qiqi planned to harvest them all.
The radishes had grown taller, revealing their plump, white ends. Lu Qiqi picked a dozen or so, intending to use them to cook later.
Then she took the best-looking white radish, washed it with the stream water, took a bite, and found it crisp, sweet, and quite juicy.
While munching on a radish, Lu Qiqi went back to the small wooden house to get a bamboo basket. She remembered that there was a small grove of trees in the space, full of green fruits, which she guessed were ripe by now.
Upon arriving at the grove, just as Lu Qiqi had predicted, the green berries had turned red. Lu Qiqi picked one, popped it into her mouth, and it burst with juice, sweet and sour, and was very delicious. Lu Qiqi picked a whole basketful to take back to Lu Yao and the others to satisfy their cravings.
There was very little fruit available on the way to escape famine, so it would be good to get some vitamins.
Lu Qiqi released Xiaohua's family into the high mountains. The three tigers lined up and looked at her with reluctance, as if they were poor little abandoned creatures.
When Lu Qiqi saw that they had actually learned to deliberately play the victim, she chuckled, "You've gone to live in the mountains. I'll come to see you when I have time. Little Flower, you also need to teach Snowball and Rainbow hunting skills, otherwise they won't know how to hunt when they grow up, and you can just wait for them to freeload off you!"
Xiaohua understood. She didn't want to be sponged off by her parents; she was even thinking about enjoying her retirement early!
It growled at the two tiger cubs, and the two cubs followed it happily into the deep mountains.
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