Now that Errui has returned, he brought up the matter of corvée labor in Xujia Village, which happens every year.
This time, Xujia Village once again took the lead and took the initiative to take on tasks, so Song Tingzhang from Lihua Town assigned him a section of the river cleaning work.
There is a river outside Lihua Town, but it almost dried up this year due to drought and low water levels.
Although there was heavy rain later, it was too short-lived, and a large area of riverbed is still exposed. The only way for the water to rise again is to wait until next summer's flood season.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, and seeing that even building earthen houses in Xujia Village could earn praise from Magistrate Zhang at any time, Song Tingzhang, who was eager to show his talents, also prepared to do something that could be written into the county annals.
He wanted to get people from several villages to dredge the riverbed, which would increase water storage and the river mud would also fertilize the fields.
This matter is neither a big deal nor a small one. The advantage is that no matter how much is done, it will not be left unfinished. The disadvantage is that once the floodwaters rise, nothing can be seen anymore.
To dredge the mud, you first have to move the stones. Xujia Village's task was to move the large stones to the side and clear out the small stones so that other villages could start building the river embankment and dredging the mud.
Although cleaning up rocks is a bit cleaner than digging mud, it's still not easy. The rocks range in size from as big as a cow's head to as small as a fist, and most of them are small pebbles of various shapes that can't be dug out or removed, so you have to pick them up by hand.
Jiang Zhi was excited when she heard this: "Collecting stone slabs! That's great! Quickly get all the wheelbarrows and carts in the village ready, and use the oxen and mules too, to carry those pebbles back to pave the road."
Pebbles have many uses, and they come in various sizes. It would be even better if river sand were available.
Large pebbles can be used to build ponds and repair irrigation ditches, while smaller ones can be used to pave roads. Moreover, the mosquito coil workshop is still located on a muddy ground.
Laying down small pebbles prevents people from stepping on them and creating small or large pits, and also prevents the water from flowing out when mixing the fragrant mud from turning into a runny mud that will stick to your feet.
Jiang Zhi did not appear this time. Er Rui, who had already been on official business several times, took the lead and first held a small meeting at the school to announce the matter of corvée labor.
Labor service is a form of forced, unpaid labor, with each household contributing one person. Xujia Village currently has twenty-six households, totaling twenty-four people.
When Errui persuaded the conscripts to do the corvée labor, no one said anything. In the past, they had to do it every year, usually for half a month or a month, or they would be paid a few hundred coins to a tael of silver for the work.
Since arriving in Xujia Village, the two years of corvée labor have been conducted close to home, which has made him very content.
The corvée labor involved cleaning the river, which is normal. In the past, we also had to repair the river embankments. It was warm to work in winter, but it was too cold to go into the water.
Xu Gensheng smacked his lips: "It's a pity we missed the opportunity. If it had been earlier, we could have caught stink bugs!" He was still regretting that he hadn't been able to eat them this year.
Xu Genbao remained silent; he had already eaten.
Xu Errui continued, "We not only need to clear the river channel, but also collect those suitable stones to lay out the mosquito coil workshop, so that we don't have to walk in the mud and water every day."
When everyone heard that pebbles would be used to pave the workshop floor, they immediately agreed: "That's a good idea. We can bring some back every day to pave the floor, and if it gets dirty with mud or powder, we can just wash it with water to clean it."
Xu Errui then announced his second decision: the pebbles brought back would be weighed and priced accordingly, essentially a purchase by the workshop.
Don't think too much about the money. One hundred catties of pebbles costs three coins. The largest stone is a human head stone, and the smaller ones are not limited.
It was also a disguised way of paying wages to those performing corvée labor, and everyone instantly became excited.
What's the meaning?
In the past, when people performed corvée labor, they had to pay for their own food and supplies. Now, they can earn money without paying anything.
Everyone's mind started working. Corvée labor was like going to work, so each family couldn't just send one person.
The village workshops have now stopped operating, the four houses have been repaired, and even the Shi family's pigsty is nearing completion, with only the installation of pig troughs remaining.
Everyone, adults and children, was idle.
In the past, during a leisurely winter with drizzling rain, everyone would gather around the fire, chatting and gossiping.
After working on this for two years, this diligence had become a habit, and I couldn't sit still for even ten days when I had nothing to do.
It's just picking up stones in the riverbank; anyone, young or old, can do it.
The stones are heavy, so they weigh down the scales. You can easily collect a thousand catties a day, which is worth thirty coins...
As the people attending the meetings dispersed, the village became excited again, with everyone preparing hoes, carrying poles, and baskets.
Prepare a cart if you have one, and a basket if you don't.
Xu Genyoucai had finished brewing a kiln of oak charcoal on the mountain, but it hadn't come to fruition yet. At this point, he also had to go out to perform corvée labor.
He led out two oxen, and Xu Genbao and Xu Gensheng tied the two flatbed carts used in the workshop together to make an oxcart.
Originally, the work in Xujia Village needed to be done first. Song Tingzhang arranged it for Xu Errui, thinking it would take at least two days for Xujia Village to bring the person out of Lihua Town.
Everyone knows about corvée labor; you can delay it as long as you can. I didn't expect the main force to arrive the next day.
This time it was truly a large group, with young and old from Xujia Village all mobilized.
Since the piglets hadn't entered the pen yet, the stone monkey brought his family along. The older sisters were skilled at bending over to pick up the green oak branches, and even faster at picking up pebbles.
As soon as the people from Xujia Village arrived, Errui went to report to Song Tingzhang first.
Old Song hurried to the riverbank to take a look.
On the dried-up riverbank, hundreds of people spread out, each carrying a basket or hamper. No one urged them on, no one stood idly by; everyone frantically filled their baskets with stones.
"Village Chief Jiang, what are you doing again?" Song Tingzhang asked Jiang Zhi and He Xiang, who were also bent over digging in the ground.
Jiang Zhi tossed a pebble, smaller than an egg, into the basket, straightened up, and asked in surprise, "Didn't you see I led a team here to perform corvée labor?"
Song Tingzhang pointed at Nini and Caixia next to Jiang Zhi, as well as the crybaby Leizi: "These people can't even walk steadily, are they also performing corvée labor?"
Nini has dug a hibernating little crab out from under a rock, making the crab so angry that it bared its teeth and blew bubbles.
Caixia was laughing foolishly beside him, while Leizi was so frightened that he hid behind the basket.
Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Of course, we should learn to do collective work from a young age!"
To be honest, today is a rare sunny winter day with no wind, perfect for taking the kids out to play.
Nini and Caixia usually live in the mountains, so they rarely have the opportunity to play on the riverbank, turning over stones and sand. They had a lot of fun.
Old Song was speechless upon hearing this absurd logic, and could only remind him, "These are all heavy tasks, not for playing around. Do you think you can just use children to join in the fun?"
Errui quickly came over to explain: "Chief Song, we are all busy with work over there. It's fine for these children to play around. We have already moved a few stones over there. Please come over and give us some instructions on how to place them properly."
He invited Lao Song to make an appearance.
Not far away, several men from Xujia Village were pushing a large rock toward the riverbank.
Several households with more people had already started loading the stones they had collected onto the truck, and were just waiting to load one truckload to take the rest back. They were so busy walking back and forth that they could barely keep up with the pace.
Song, the village head, stared in disbelief: "Is this corvée labor or picking up money?"
Xu Errui didn't say that this was both corvée labor and making money; the workshop didn't cost much, so it was a win-win situation.
On the other side, Jiang Zhi was also picking up stones, but she slowed down as she picked them up.
She held up a small clam shell, slightly larger than her thumb, and examined it closely.
These small river mussels all died of drought in the summer; the meat inside is long gone, and there are intact shells everywhere in the sand and among the rocks.
"He Xiang, He Xiang, help me collect clam shells, collect as many as possible, make sure they are intact."
Upon seeing the small river mussels, Jiang Zhi immediately thought of mussel shell oil, a skincare product that was once a favorite among ordinary people and was considered the best treatment for dry, cracked hands and feet.
Small river mussels
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