Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Road Construction
That day, Kang He called Fan Jing into the house, brought out a box, and taught him to open it and look.
Fan Jing opened the wooden box as he was told, and saw five new knives of different sizes neatly placed inside, including a bone-cutting knife, a meat-cutting knife, a dividing knife, a boning knife, and a combination knife.
Brand new knife with a leather scabbard.
When Fan Jing saw these new knives, he couldn't help but take them out of their sheaths and try them out one by one.
The knife was forged solidly and sharp. Fan Jing could tell it was a good knife, no worse than the one Hu Dasan carried with him.
I've never used something as good as this when I went hunting in the mountains before.
I couldn't help but ask Kang He: "How much is it?"
Seeing that he liked it, Kang He smiled and said, "Give me an estimate."
Fan Jing shook the largest bone-cutting knife and said, "A common knife of this size and weight would cost at least eight hundred coins. A specially forged bone-cutting knife would cost over one string of coins. We also have four smaller ones. One isn't expensive, at least five hundred coins."
A complete set would cost at least three strings of coins. When they were apprenticing to the master, they both went to the ironworks to see it.
Kang He smiled and waved his hand: "It's not worth that much money. Five knives, including the scabbards and the box, cost a total of two strings of cash and four hundred coins."
After hearing the price, Fan Jing couldn't help but take another closer look at the knife. It was indeed not such a bad product.
He looked at Fan Jing: "How did you get it?"
"I went through Mr. Zou's connections. He introduced me to the ironwork, and out of respect for him, he didn't charge me a high price."
Kang He said: "I also went to inquire about it, and heard that the price was suitable, so I decided to do it."
Kang He packed up the box and handed it to Fan Jing: "From now on, you can use this new set. Although the old one can be used, it is not as convenient as this one."
Fan Jing nodded.
He pressed his fingertips on the box, slightly distracted.
When he was a child, he learned archery from an old hunter. His family did not agree, and the old hunter was not very willing to take a young boy as an apprentice. For two or three years, he could only use a broken big bow.
Before learning to shoot arrows, he first learned how to make a bow.
Later, he made a bow and arrow that suited his size, and when he became familiar with it, he learned the art of hunting.
If Kang He was there when he was learning archery, would he have prepared all these for him?
Fan Jing came to his senses and said to Kang He, "I've already gotten into slaughtering pigs and sheep. People in the nearby villages know I can slaughter pigs. Let's try it on our own."
Hearing this, Kang He said, "Isn't it too fast? I'm afraid Uncle Hu might have some ideas."
Fan Jing said: "This day will come sooner or later."
He followed Hu Dasan out three times and taught him how to kill pigs and deconstruct sheep.
After they went out, Hu Dasan taught him how to slaughter a pig. At first he just watched and shaved the hair after the pig was killed. Later he just went to drink wine and tea with others, and didn't care about the shaving or cutting of the hair.
He was just busy doing his job, and when he left, he would pay the master the money for slaughtering the pig.
Every time Hu Dasan went out, he would just go out for a drink empty-handed, and someone would do the work for him.
Fan Jing didn't care about the money from killing the pig. As an apprentice, it was his duty to do the work for his master.
But it's not a good idea for him to continue wasting time like this. He has to earn money to support his family.
Kang He did not follow them out, having not known all this before. After hearing this, he said to Fan Jing, "You went out with Uncle Hu just because of a word spoken by Hu Dasan's disciple.
It's not necessarily a bad thing for you to do it alone. If you can show your skills to those who want to slaughter pigs, they will think of hiring you when they need something in the future."
"But Uncle Hu is a bit unfair. You've only been apprenticed for a few months, and yet he's already giving you all the work. He thinks you know everything. If it were another apprentice, they'd probably only learn how to deconstruct meat and wouldn't even have the guts to butcher a pig."
"He really taught you, his apprentice, very easily."
In order to worship this master, all the necessary etiquette was observed in the family, and no one took advantage of him unilaterally.
Fan Jing said, "I don't mean to complain about him leaving everything to me. Killing a pig isn't a very tiring job. I'm just saying this to say that since he's willing to give me the work so early, why can't I start my apprenticeship sooner?"
Kang He was silent for a moment, thinking that it made some sense.
"Okay, I got it. Don't rush to tell him about going it alone just yet. It's making him uncomfortable. I'll find a chance to talk to him. For now, you should just work with him as usual. If we want to go it alone, we still have plenty of things to do."
As I said before, I have to get a car and manage the stall. These things are very troublesome. If I'm lucky, I can do it this year. If I'm unlucky, I may have to wait until next year.
Seeing this, Fan Jing responded.
The next day, Kang He went to talk to Fan's father and asked him to ask Carpenter Wang, who was on good terms with him, to make them a cart that could transport goods and people.
He also gave him one string of money.
It doesn't cost much to build a cart. Even if you don't provide wood, it will cost no more than 800 coins at most.
Father Fan didn't want as much money as Kang He wanted. He said that his friendship with Lao Wang didn't require eight hundred dollars, and at most five hundred dollars would be enough to get everything done.
Kang He was easy to talk to, so he gave Fan Dad five taels of silver in half. Fan Dad took three taels and saved some money for himself.
Originally he said that he had saved money to buy a rickshaw, but he didn't expect Kang and the others to ask for it at this juncture, and he didn't have enough money at the moment.
When Chen heard that they wanted to take a taxi, she said that she would just take the remaining three taels of silver and Kang and the others didn't need to pay for it.
She knew that Fan Xin had set up a private school, and they both gave him big red envelopes, and also became his apprentice.
Kang He did not ask Chen for money. He said that if he hired a cart, the village road leading to their home would have to be widened to allow the cart to pass.
This is where big money is needed. Anything related to land is not easy. In the past, it cost eight strings of coins to buy an acre of wasteland.
But if there is no road, even if we take a cart, we can only go to the village main road.
Not only do you have to walk a distance to get home, but you also have to carry the cart back. You can't just leave the cart outside in the wind and rain. How can something made of wood withstand that for a few days?
Therefore, it is really inconvenient to just take a taxi without finding the way.
Not only does it cost money to build the road, but the trouble is having to negotiate with the people who have occupied the land.
The land along the way was not all owned by the Fan family, but also by other families.
This requires widening the road, which will occupy other people's land. If you don't have an explanation and don't discuss it with them in advance, how can they be willing to buy your business?
The family calculated that they had to occupy the land of three households in total, one with the surname Cheng and the other with the surname Jiao.
There is another family belonging to Mr. Shen, which is easy to deal with.
Normally, you get paid according to the market price based on how much land you occupy.
But some people can't stand others doing well, and they just won't let you use their land to widen the road, and they're always complaining.
You have to ask first to see if this is allowed.
As for Chen, she first went to ask Mr. Shen's family. The two families were on good terms, and Mr. Shen made money by selling salted ducks in their family. She asked them, and Mr. Shen's husband agreed.
In the summer months, the Jiao family came to fetch water for their family, and then used the stone mill to grind rice. They owed their family a favor, and seeing that the Fan family was doing well, they were willing to do them a favor.
Only the Cheng family was not negotiated.
That afternoon, Chen Sanfang came back from Cheng's house and was so angry that he couldn't even eat water.
"You didn't go, so you don't know how shameless the Cheng family is. It really pissed me off. If it weren't for the road expansion, I would have scolded them over there."
Seeing that Chen's face was red with anger, Kang He asked her what was wrong.
"I went over and told Cheng Minsheng in a nice and gentle manner that our family wanted to widen the road, and that we might have to take their land. We could either compensate them with money or land, and that was something we could discuss."
Chen said, "Cheng Minsheng was silent, but his mother started to get angry. She said that their land was very fertile and they relied on that little bit of land to produce food all year round. Now that our family has become rich, even the land they use to make a living is being taken away. Her words are very unpleasant!"
"I tried my best to persuade him, and he finally gave in a little. You know what he said? He said that his family's Cheng Dalang hasn't married yet. If we can settle this matter, then everything will be easy to discuss."
Kang He frowned: "What does she mean by this?"
Chen Sanfang is not a matchmaker, so how can she help their family get married?
Kang He glanced around and saw that the two girls were not around. Then he asked Chen Sanfang in a low voice, "What's the matter? Does she still like our Zhen'er?"
When Fan Jing heard this, his expression immediately changed: "No!"
"Humph, people still look down on us. I originally thought she was interested in Zhen'er, so I told her that Zhen'er was still young and would have to stay at home for a few years."
"This Qu family member actually said that Zhen'er was petty and not suitable for their Cheng Dalang. On the other hand, Xiang Xiu worked for a wealthy family, so she has some experience and is a generous person. She should be able to manage household affairs."
Chen Sanfang was humiliated twice, but he didn't spit in anyone's face. His temper has improved a lot in the past two years.
"The Cheng family is as poor as ours used to be. A few years ago, Cheng Dalang went to the front and came back with a broken leg, and he walks with a limp. The court paid compensation, but the family didn't even mention using it for Cheng Dalang's medical treatment. Instead, the old man took the money and gambled it away in the city."
After the couple had a great time, Old Man Cheng ran away. It has been three or four years since then, and he has never come home. Who knows whether he died outside or found another home, but he has never been seen again.
As for Cheng Dalang, because his family is poor and he is lame, he has never been able to get married. He is almost thirty years old now.
Madam Qu asked the matchmaker to tell her, but she felt that having a boy was too great, and she wanted him to come from a good family, be virtuous, capable, and filial, and also have a generous dowry.
If anyone has a boy or a girl and doesn’t curse after hearing this, he would go crazy.
Not to mention official media, even private media are unwilling to visit their home.
Chen Sanfang said, "This scoundrel has the nerve to ask me to talk to my sister-in-law about this marriage. I'm afraid if I open my mouth, someone will chase me out with a broom!"
"Why don't they take a look at themselves in the mirror? What a mess they are! They still look at Xiang embroidery. They are capable and knowledgeable, but your family is so poor, how could they let you raise pigs and grow vegetables? You are really unlucky to fill their hole!"
After hearing this, Kang He felt that the Cheng family was too shameless.
It would be fine if the other two families didn't agree, and they could take a detour. But the Cheng family has a large piece of land there, so they have to go through there no matter how they go around.
Kang He said, "If it really doesn't work, I'll go and persuade him again."
Chen Sanfang said, "This man is greedy and shameless. Don't let him get mad at you."
Two days later, Kang He went to Cheng's house with a bag of malt sugar and a piece of smoked pork.
Cheng's mother, Qu, was sitting on the kang, picking her teeth with a bamboo stick. When she saw a tall young man coming, she got off the kang and went out to see that it was the son-in-law of the Fan family.
When Qu saw Kang He, he looked serious and strong. She had heard from the villagers that he was very capable.
In the past, she had not had much social interaction and had never met anyone. But after seeing them in person today, she found that they were worthy of the praises given by others.
Qu thought to herself that Mr. Fan's family didn't even have a son-in-law, and they had no assets, yet they still accepted a son-in-law like this.
They have to find a good one no matter what.
When Kang He saw the person, he politely called her "Ms. Qu".
When Qu saw Kang He, her attitude became more friendly: "Why did you bring so many things?"
"I came here to apologize to my wife. The marriage you suggested to my mother the other day was really unfortunate. My mother went to ask my aunt, and she said that Xiangxiu is highly regarded by her master, and they want to arrange a marriage for her.
"Our family has been blessed by the master's kindness over the years, and we deserve gifts. It would be difficult for a family like ours to disobey the master's wishes."
Qu Shi couldn't listen, she snorted inwardly and changed her expression: "I'm afraid that your uncle's family has now opened a private school, the sons are promising, and the daughters are working for wealthy families. The host family's intention to arrange a marriage is fake, but they really look down on my family."
Kang He said in a good temper: "My lady, that's not true. If it was really as you said, why would I come here to apologize today?"
"You know why in your heart. It's fine if Fan Shoushan doesn't like our family, but if your family is really willing, I'm willing to give in and marry your Fan Zhen'er."
Kang He smiled slightly and said, "Madam Qu, we are from the same village, not outsiders, so I will just say a few words from my heart.
Our daughter, Zhen'er, is a well-behaved girl. She's been chosen by someone, and our family is happy. But she's still young, and her family won't promise her off until she's eighteen. That's what her mother told our daughter, Dajing, before she passed away. If we promised her off earlier, Dajing would definitely refuse.
"I think Madam Qu also knows what kind of personality our Dajing has. If he makes trouble at home, it will be fine. But if he goes to the family of his fiancé, who knows what will happen."
Qu swallowed her saliva when she heard this. She knew Fan Jing's bad temper. Everyone in the village knew how fierce he was.
But she was no fool, and she said immediately, "What do you mean by that? Don't try to scare me. To be frank, you just don't want to do it. If you don't want to do this or that, don't even think about us getting involved in your affairs."
Kang He said, "I was just speaking frankly, but you misunderstood me. What I meant was, if you really like our Zhen'er, then you should wait for two years. Then everything will be fine."
"But I thought about it again and felt that it was a bit inappropriate. Brother Cheng is not young anymore. If he waits for another two years, wouldn't it be a waste of two years? Besides, doesn't Madam Qu want to hold her grandson sooner?"
"My suggestion is that you sell me that acre of land. I will give you a red envelope as a thank you, so that you can get a good deal on the land. You can use the money to find a good partner and get Brother Cheng married soon. Wouldn't that be a good idea?"
Kang He said, "Of course. If Madam Qu really doesn't want to, then there's nothing we can do. It will be more troublesome for our family, so we won't do this."
After saying this, Kang He stopped coaxing people and left.
Cheng Minsheng saw Kang He leave and limped into the house: "Mom, I think this Kang guy is not someone you can easily mess with, so why not just do as he says and sell the land to him.
No one in this village is interested in me. If someone was willing to marry their son or daughter here, they would have come here long ago. I still have to look for someone outside, but that requires money."
Cheng Dalang lowered his voice as he spoke: "I'm really worried about it."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Qu glared at the man and said, "You just agree to whatever they say. If they want to open the road, they have to beg us. So we have to do whatever they say."
"Look at that Kang guy. He's not at the mercy of anyone. If he really doesn't make a living, our land won't sell for a good price."
Qu refused to listen, saying that Cheng Dalang was waiting, and that the Fan family would come to ask for help later.
This matter did not take long. In the early winter month, Qu waited and waited, but there was no sign that the Fan family would come to visit again.
She was already feeling anxious, and at this moment, there was another important matter happening at home.
Under Cheng Dalang's repeated urging, Qu had no choice but to go to Fan's house with a thick face.
"Broadening the road is a happy thing. When Sister Sanfang mentioned this earlier, I didn't understand it at first, but then I thought about our fellow villagers. It's only right that I help them when they're in need."
Qu said a lot of nice things with a shy face.
Chen Sanfang had long been annoyed with Qu. She had refused his request before, but now she was asking for help from others. This kind of person was the most despicable.
She came over with someone begging, thinking there must be a reason for this, and said angrily: "What are you talking about, Miss Qu? I thought you didn't want to, and our family didn't plan to make a way. It's really unfortunate that you come now."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Qu panicked. "Oh, I'm not very good at speaking, and I made Miss Sanfang think the wrong way. The road needs to be wider so the car can pass more easily."
"I was just stupid before. Sister Sanfang and I thought about many things, but I just couldn't figure it out. Now that I've come to my senses, I'm really regretting it. I can't eat during the day, and I can't sleep at night. It's a terrible feeling."
After hooking up with Qu and begging for mercy for a long time, Chen Sanfang finally felt relieved and hummed, "What does Miss Qu want to do?"
"According to what Sister Sanfang's brother-in-law said, we will sell that acre of land to you."
Chen Sanfang did not respond immediately, and only discussed it with Kanghe when he returned home.
According to Fan Dad and Chen Sanfang, since the other party has agreed, they might as well buy the whole piece of land. Doing so would be too expensive.
Kang He got to know the Cheng family's temperament, and it wasn't a good one.
If I don't buy it out and get the land deed right away, they will definitely cause trouble in the future. It's pointless to have such a relationship with them for a long time.
The family thought about it and felt that it made sense, so they went to negotiate with Qu about the price of the land.
The land of the Cheng family cannot be said to be fertile, but it is good land. According to the market price, one mu of good land can be sold for fifteen strings of cash.
The measured land was only seven-tenths, which still cost ten strings of cash and five hundred coins.
Qu asked for eleven strings of cash, but the Fan family naturally refused. After some discussion, they decided to sell it at this price.
However, Kang He still gave a red envelope as he was told and added an extra 100 yuan.
"It's strange that Qu is so straightforward. He's not as unreasonable as before. Could it be that he has changed his personality?"
After asking someone to witness, signing and sealing the deed, and getting it, Chen Sanfang felt a little strange on the way back.
Father Fan said, "Maybe there is some difficulty."
After a few days, everyone knew why the Cheng family changed their minds and was willing to humble themselves and ask for help.
Cheng Minsheng brought a young man back to the village from outside. Qu proudly advertised him everywhere, saying that he was the husband her son brought back.
Everyone was curious and went to see, even Chen Yushun went to the Cheng family.
Needless to say, he really brought back a boy who looked to be about twenty years old.
When people came to Cheng's house to watch the fun, he came out to invite them to drink water. Not only was he eloquent, but he was also surprisingly healthy.
He has fair skin, delicate features and a good figure.
Kang He observed the man carefully and saw that he was talkative and cheerful, so he didn't seem to have been abducted.
There was no trace of oppression and helplessness in his eyes.
This is rare.
Fan Jingjiao, Kang He and Yingla came to watch the fun, took a look at the man and left it alone.
I wanted to go back and find the way, but when I turned around, I saw Kang He's eyes fixed on me, looking at me intently.
At this moment, the young man happened to see this and came over leisurely with a bowl of water: "I just came and didn't know which relative this young man is from. Please don't blame me if I don't know how to call him."
As he spoke, he handed the bowl of hot soup in his hand to Kang He, raised his head and smiled warmly at him: "It's cold, have some hot soup, and come inside and sit down."
Before Kang He could open his mouth, the soup bowl was suddenly taken away by a hand at his side.
Fan Jing drank all the soup in one breath and handed the empty bowl to the young man.
The young man froze in his place, and it took him a while to come back to his senses. He stammered, "Still eating?"
Seeing this, Kang He took Fan Jing's hand and said to the boy, "Thank you very much, but it's not necessary. We are fellow villagers. We heard about Brother Cheng's happy event and came to see him.
Please congratulate Brother Cheng on our behalf, and be sure to come and enjoy the banquet when the time comes."
After saying that, he said goodbye and quickly left with Fan Jing.
Kang He couldn't help but tease Fan Jing: "You are so thirsty? If you had told me earlier, we wouldn't have gone to Cheng's house to watch the fun."
Fan Jing ignored him and walked ahead.
Kang He grabbed the man's hand and said, "Don't drink vinegar if you've already drunk the water. Be careful not to overeat."
Fan Jing retreated and said, "You talk too much. Go and find someone else to be your matchmaker."
Kang He couldn't help laughing: "Okay, then you go to another village to kill pigs, and I'll go with you to propose marriage."
The Cheng family just kept shouting but didn't hold a banquet. At first everyone thought that they sold the land for the banquet, but later they found out that the boy was bought from outside and all the money from selling the land was used for this, so there was no money left for the banquet.
When they heard that there was a flood in Qiantian Township in another county, some families sold their children, and some people who had lost their homes and land went to find someone to sell their property to in order to make a living.
It was heard that this young man was from Qiantian Township. He had suffered a disaster and fled to their county. He wanted to find a place to live and ran into Cheng Dalang.
The men in the village all said privately that Cheng Quezi was lucky. He was still unmarried at his age, but he got such a good wife. They were all very envious of him.
The woman and her husband said that the boy was not a peaceful person and must be a fox spirit from the mountains. They saw him flirting with strong men.
In short, the village was bustling for a while, even overshadowing the Fan family's plan to widen the road with a cart.
The Fan family did not investigate the matter in detail. The whole family rushed to expand the land and occupied the land of the Shen family and the Jiao family. They first agreed on the land price and would pay compensation based on how much land they occupied.
A lot of money was spent on building this section of road. The family didn't want to hire someone else and spend more money on labor, so they did the widening of the land themselves.
Fan Shoushan and Zhang Jingui also came to help when they had time.
Even Chen Sanfang's second brother from her mother's side, who hadn't had any contact with this side for several months, could no longer sit still after hearing how good his sister's family was. He changed his attitude and came over to help widen the land and said he wanted to renovate the house. He was very cordial.
In the late winter month, families in the village began to slaughter pigs in preparation for the New Year. This gave Kang He and Fan Jing an excuse to tell Hu Dasan that they wanted to go it alone.
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