Chapter 133 Construction Begins: Goblin Life - Setting Off, Building a House...
Of the last half-basket of chili peppers and a few bundles of cowpeas, Lai gave some to Mu and some to Blake.
Jack told him that Dr. Blake had been invited to make house calls in a very far place and had been gone for five days, with no idea when he would be back. Rye then told Jack to take the food home and eat it himself.
After browsing the shops in town for several hours, Lai successfully bought a series of tools, including a hacksaw, nails, and bags. Although he spent most of the money he earned from selling vegetables, it was all used wisely and not a waste.
Ray and Lamb each carried a blade of grass and made it home before the afternoon sun got hottest.
I ate the breakfast Linda prepared in the morning, and I wasn't very hungry when I got back.
For lunch, Lai made hand-pulled noodles, cooked them, rinsed them in cold water, added shredded cucumber, shredded carrot, chopped green onions, cilantro, and peanuts, and mixed them into a cold noodle dish, which she ate with Lamb.
The two of them ate a large bowl and felt very comfortable.
After that, Lai picked a watermelon, washed it, and put it in the well water to chill, planning to eat it after dinner in the afternoon.
"Brother, when are we going to build a house?"
"Everything is almost ready," Lai replied after a moment's thought.
"The day after tomorrow, but we have to stay there for three or four days before we can come back. Aishan is quite far away, and it will waste a lot of time going back and forth. So I plan to stay there for a few days each time I go, do more work, and then come back."
"Okay, bro, I'll go with you!"
"But there are some things I need to tell you in advance."
"What is it, brother? Tell me."
Lamb sat upright.
"Initially, I planned to hire Yiru and the others to help me with the work. So far, I trust them quite a bit. I don't need to pay them too much."
"Brother, I have no objection to whatever decision you make. I don't discriminate against goblins who live a good life."
Lamb stated.
“They do work very hard. But, brother, you can only hire them secretly. You can’t make a big fuss about it, or people will gossip about you behind your back.”
If he truly cared about this issue, Ray wouldn't have even considered hiring Iru and his group. But he would humbly accept Lamb's well-intentioned advice.
"Yes, I know that, you don't need to worry."
There wasn't much work to do in the afternoon, so Lai let Lamb take a watermelon back home. He planned to do some laundry and tidy up the house in the afternoon, and then go talk to Iru about it when it wasn't so sunny.
After a long period of busy work, the goblins' living standards began to improve dramatically after they returned from being hired to repair the tunnel.
First, let's talk about food.
After asking Lei to help purchase the seeds, Iru distributed them to his subordinates according to the number of people in each household.
Although it was a bit late to plant vegetables at that time, it was still better than having nothing at all.
Now, after a period of growth, the goblins are able to eat the vegetables they grow themselves.
The cabbage was tender, with a pinch of salt and some crumbly black dough balls. Although it lacked oil, eating these dough balls once a week was incredibly delicious for the goblins!
This method was taught to them by Iru's wife, Nana, who said it was convenient and filling.
Compared to other goblin households, the vegetable garden of the Iru family was exceptionally well-grown.
Their family caught the right time for spring planting, and with their usual careful tending, the vegetables in their garden are growing exceptionally well now.
Dozens of cabbages, each half a meter tall, and several pumpkin and loofah plants have produced large and good fruits.
The potatoes and sweet potatoes in the field were plentiful and ready to eat. However, Nana felt that they would grow bigger and more abundant in a while, so she strictly forbade any member of the family from digging up the potatoes and sweet potatoes.
They wait until autumn, when the villagers start harvesting potatoes, before digging them up and storing them.
This is the food supply for their family of seven for the winter; they can't afford to be careless.
Kai's two brothers have made guarding the vegetable garden their daily task.
They didn't want birds to eat the food their father and brother had worked so hard to grow, nor did they want it to be stolen by other wicked goblins. They weren't capable of hunting, but they often did what they could to help ease the burden on their family.
Secondly, there's the issue of hygiene.
With the Yiru family leading the way, the goblins began to pay attention to personal hygiene. They bathed at least once a week and could no longer smell the strange odor they used to have.
They've started using utensils like forks, spoons, and chopsticks to eat, instead of just grabbing food with their hands regardless of whether it's clean or not.
Even the processing of the five grains in their cycle has a fixed place.
Next, there are some issues related to daily habits.
Ever since Lai explained the difference between raw and boiled water to Nana, who had just given birth to a goblin, the Iru family has basically only drunk boiled water.
The benefits of doing this are obvious; at least the frequency of diarrhea has decreased significantly.
Nana also shared this knowledge with all the goblins she knew.
Some goblins who didn't mind the trouble also followed Nana's method. In any case, having a goblin take the lead was always a good idea.
However, some goblins felt that doing so was unnecessary, and that they had very few containers in their homes that could store water, making it impossible to implement.
Having very few household items is indeed a big problem.
Even for the Yilu family, this kind of life was considered quite good. It was only after Yilu brought back that iron pot that they acquired a large earthenware jar for holding water.
They couldn't make it themselves; and no one was willing to sell to these unpopular goblins. So they usually just dug a hole out of wood, made some simple repairs, and used what they had.
The goblins now lead a very leisurely life, spending most of their time watching over their own little plot of land and hunting. They basically live a life where they don't bother each other.
A long time ago, Iru promised to help Kai build a wooden house for her to live in alone. Now that she has some free time, she spends a little time every day preparing wood.
The place where their family lives now is far too small.
Two adult goblins, three half-grown goblins nearing adulthood, and two mischievous little goblins. Seven people slept in the same room.
Winter is alright, as you can keep warm by huddling together, but now it's the sweltering summer, and resting every night is torture.
Kai had been sleeping on the chair in the living room for a long time, and Iru finally made up his mind to build another wooden house near the house for his three children who were about to come of age.
One more thing worth mentioning.
Yilu spent most of the silver coins he had saved up from working for more than a month to buy this iron pot, which greatly improved the lives of his family.
When Nana cooks, she no longer has to worry about burning the earthenware pot or cleaning it every time.
The benefits of iron woks are obvious.
It boils water faster, basically achieving hot water freedom; it can also be used for stir-frying, greatly enriching the family's dining table.
Iru's next plan is to buy more kitchen utensils, at least a kettle. Then, in the fall, he will hunt a lot of game to prepare for the winter, which is just months away.
Not only his own family did this, but Iru also constantly encouraged other goblins to stockpile food as early as possible, so that they would not have to rely on grass roots and tree bark to get through the winter like they did last winter.
“Yiru”.
"Mr. Lei!"
Iru put down his tools and greeted Lai with a smile.
How have you been lately?
Lei would routinely inquire about their living conditions.
"It's great! The food we planted in the spring has all grown up, and now we can eat our fill every day."
"That's good."
"Is there some good news coming here again?"
Yilu asked proactively.
Every time Lai comes over, something good happens, and Iru is overjoyed that Lai comes more often each month.
"It's not exactly a good thing, but there are some jobs that will require you to find some goblins. I'll pay them one silver coin a day at market price, plus two meals. Each time we go out to work, we'll need to camp for a few days, so you'll have to bring your own camping gear, food bowl, and water bottle."
Lai explained the main points to him, and Iru was visibly pleased.
Who is the employer?
"I."
"That would be even better! How many people do you need?"
"We need five for now. We'll meet at the foot of the mountain at dawn the day after tomorrow and set off."
"well!"
"I'll prepare the tools and such."
"good!"
Iru escorted Laiyi to the foot of the mountain, and not long after returning home, goblins, having heard the news, came over.
"Iru, is that Lord Victor? Does he want to see you?"
Yilu glanced sideways at this old fox.
"You have the sharpest eyes."
"I'm just concerned about everyone's safety."
The goblin smiled obsequiously.
"Alright, after dinner, have the goblins who want to go out and work come over for a meeting."
"Okay, okay, okay!"
After descending the mountain, Lai went straight home to pack his things. As for the final situation with the goblins, he left it to Iru to handle. As long as no major problems arose, he would not interfere in any way.
The day of departure arrived quickly. Ray had already arranged for Neil to stay at Gug's house that night. He packed the necessary supplies and tools and set off.
On the way, they picked up Lamb from Hagrid's house, and unexpectedly, his older brother Brian came along as well. He said he was worried about the two of them, and besides, he knew a lot about woodworking and could be of great help.
Linda had originally planned to go with her second brother, Reese, but since Farah was about to give birth, Linda asked him to stay. That way, if Farah suddenly went into labor, someone could quickly bring the midwife over.
"Let's go, let's set off."
Brian took the job driving the wagon, while Ray and Lamb sat by the side of the wagon bed.
"Are all the tools and stuff ready?"
Brian asked.
"Yes, everything is ready."
"Did you bring a hacksaw, an axe, and other tools?"
"I brought them all."
Besides these things that weren't publicly known, Lai also stuffed a lot of things he felt he needed to take with him into his storage space.
We must adhere to the principle of "being prepared for any eventuality".
"Brother, you even brought a pot and a huge bag of vegetables!"
Lamb said exaggeratedly.
"This should be our food rations for the next few days. Don't bring too much; you can just eat wood when you get there."
Brian interface.
In the Hagrid household, Lamb was the most prone to causing trouble, always making a ruckus. Even the most honest Brian sometimes couldn't help but say a few words to him.
"Hehe, bro, you know I don't have any bad intentions."
Lamb grinned.
Brian cracked the whip, and the mule cart began to move steadily forward. Once they left the village and reached the foot of the low hill where the goblins lived, Brian stopped the mule cart there.
"Haven't they arrived yet?"
Lamb asked.
With a long stride, Lei stepped off the truck bed.
"Don't worry, I'll go take a look."
As Lai walked further up the mountain, he heard rustling sounds coming from the bushes. By the candlelight, he saw that it was none other than Iru and the others.
"Iru, why are you hiding here?"
Iru also saw Laiyi and beckoned the other four goblins who were also hiding there to come out.
“I saw from afar that it wasn’t you driving the cart, and I was afraid of scaring the villagers, so I hid here.”
"Alright, get in the car."
"good."
Iru pulled his luggage out of the bushes, and the other four goblins obediently followed behind him; two of them seemed to be familiar faces.
The goblins boarded the vehicle one by one and sat at the back, their luggage neatly arranged in the corner.
"Let's go."
The whip cracked again, and the mule cart began to move.
The truck bed was quiet; no one spoke.
"Don't be so formal, we can chat."
Lai eased the tension.
But the goblins looked at each other, and not one of them uttered a word.
"Ahem, bro, what kind of house are you planning to build?"
Lamb touched his head, a habitual gesture he made after putting out a fire.
His hair was burned off in the fire, so he simply asked Linda to cut it into a buzz cut. He looked much more energetic, but the sudden short cut made his scalp feel a bit cold.
Lamb couldn't stand this kind of scene and took the initiative to speak up and break the awkwardness.
"I have blueprints, would you like to take a look?"
"want!"
Lei took out a neatly drawn design diagram on a thick piece of kraft paper, which included the materials needed for construction, their quantities, and further reinforcement and insulation methods.
Lei's money was well spent.
Lamb gazed at the beautiful wooden house by candlelight and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
The mule cart was loaded with goods and moved slowly. It took them a leisurely journey until dusk before they finally reached their destination.
Ray fetched water to cook, the two goblins went up the mountain to gather firewood, and Brian led Lamb and Iru to cut wood to build tents.
Because he would be coming here to work frequently in the future, Blair set up both tents very sturdily.
Rye bought a large, thick piece of canvas. Once the main framework was built, he simply covered it with the canvas and secured it.
Due to limited resources, they could only make do with sleeping on animal hides on the ground tonight. Tomorrow, they could saw some planks and make a simple wooden bed. At least that would be better than sleeping directly on the ground.
A campfire was quickly lit, and Lai set up a makeshift stove to boil water for everyone.
Dinner is easy to solve tonight; Lai steamed over thirty mixed-flour buns before leaving. Tonight, we'll just cook a hot soup with the cabbage and potatoes we brought, and then heat up the buns.
Actually, the vegetables we brought weren't that many; we'd have to rely on hunting for our next meal.
After a flurry of activity, it gradually got dark.
After washing their hands, everyone gathered around the campfire and ate vegetable soup and steamed buns.
When Ray hires someone, he never skimps on their food.
The vegetable soup was very generous with its ingredients; most of the pot was filled with potatoes and vegetables, making it very filling. Plus, they were generous with the seasonings and oil, so the goblins couldn't stop eating it.
They used wooden bowls and spoons that were temporarily carved after they were confirmed to be working with Yilu.
The materials aren't particularly refined; they're rather rough, but at least they're presentable enough to earn a decent living.
Lai actually wanted to cook meat, but the conditions were too limited, and he hadn't caught any prey yet. For him, serving cabbage and potatoes to everyone who helped him was a bit too bland.
Brian and Lamb didn't feel that way. They ate two large steamed buns with the hot vegetable soup and the pickled vegetables that Lai had brought, chewing them with relish.
The goblins had absolutely no idea whatsoever.
They usually cook vegetables by simply boiling them in water with a little salt. Oil and soy sauce are practically nonexistent. And what they eat are fluffy, soft steamed buns.
A simple cabbage and potato soup brought tears to their eyes.
"You've all had a long journey today, so let's rest after dinner and start working again tomorrow morning."
"That's what Lei said."
"There are eight of us in total. We'll split into groups of four and take turns keeping watch. That way, one group can stay on watch while the other can rest. Then, the four of us will be divided into two smaller groups to keep watch for the first and second half of the night, respectively."
"good!"
No one had any objections to Ray's arrangement.
The construction of the log cabin had been delayed for a long time, but preparations for construction have finally begun.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 11:53:07 on April 6, 2024 and 17:58:57 on April 7, 2024!
Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Orange is not grapefruit 20 bottles; 10 bottles; Yuanxu 4 bottles; Xinyu 3 bottles;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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