The two families on the mountain only briefly discussed who should be the village chief, but they hadn't come to a conclusion yet. They decided to wait and see what others had to say.
To be honest, Jiang Zhi didn't want to get involved in the village's affairs. Everyone was impoverished and struggling to make ends meet, and everyone wanted help.
But Zhang Juntou is right. If you don't stand on high ground, you'll be trampled underfoot.
The village chief position is a hot potato; they can't just desperately try to get it from him.
This was not kept secret, and soon news of Zhang Juntou's promotion spread throughout the village.
To Jiang Zhi's surprise, what should have caused a huge uproar remained as calm as still water.
No one suggested who should be the village chief.
It was already March, and every household was busy with farm work.
Tian Gui and several other outsiders learned intercropping and followed suit by setting up seedbeds and manure piles.
They were busy making a living and weren't very interested in who would be the village chief, since it wouldn't fall to someone from another family anyway.
Moreover, the outsiders only get close to Jiang Zhi's family. Xu Errui and Xu Xiaoman are too young and probably can't convince everyone, so they simply don't mention them.
Aside from the outsiders, Xujia Village also had local Xu family members. Xu Changshou had left, but he had two brothers.
However, the remaining two brothers had never gotten along well with their greedy younger brother, and they didn't even utter a sound when Xu Changshou was beaten and expelled.
With the village chief position vacant, Xu Changshou's two older brothers gathered together to discuss: "Second brother, we are from Xu Family Village, this is our territory, we can't let outsiders ride on our heads."
The two brothers are both quite old. They used to only focus on farm work and never even considered this option. But now it's different. The position is clearly out there, and they just want to sit down.
Xu Changshou's second brother did not reply immediately. He only tightened his thick clothes and coughed violently for a while before panting, "You and I are both dirt-covered people. Why think about such things? It doesn't matter who is the village chief. This mess is all we have. Whoever wants it can take it!"
Seeing his brother's deteriorating health, the elder brother realized that his younger brother, who was still freezing cold, was in poor health.
Knowing that his second brother had no intention of pursuing the matter, Xu Changshou, the eldest brother, also gave up on the idea.
After fleeing from disaster and witnessing life and death, everyone's mindset has changed.
Some seize the opportunity to advance their careers, while others simply want to live out the rest of their lives in peace and tranquility.
If the third brother, Changshou, hadn't been punished by being sent to another place for the sake of two plots of land, he would definitely have been the one to jump the highest in this situation, and he would have been the village chief.
As for his children and grandchildren... Xu Changshou's elder brother shook his head. They were all illiterate and couldn't speak a proper word. Even if you put them in the position of village chief, it would be like climbing a mountain of knives.
Not everyone in the Xu family is incompetent; some clever people have seen the awkward position of the village chief.
Xu Gensheng sat silently, while his wife, Pi, chattered incessantly beside him: "Husband, you should become the village chief. Grandpa and Uncle are the oldest in the Xu family. If they insist on making you the village chief, who would dare to say no?"
Xu Gensheng glanced at her and said impatiently, "What do you know, you silly woman? Zhang Juntou is still in the village. He can't just quit whenever he wants."
He just doesn't want to do anything; he'll just get all the benefits anyway.
Xu Gensheng could see clearly that the outsiders now had a very good relationship with Xu Errui, and even Xu Xiaoman could speak to Zhang Juntou.
Going out on your own will only get you caught in a trap; it's better to stay put, farm the land, build a few shacks, and live a quiet life.
What Xu Gensheng could see, Pi Shi didn't have the same eyesight, but she didn't dare to argue with her husband, so she could only shut up and think about going out later to gossip and complain to the other wives and mothers-in-law.
However, before she could even step out the door, Xu Gensheng warned her: "If you want to be as talkative as Yaozu's wife, I'll send you back to your parents' home! We're short of food at home, so you'd better go up the mountain and dig up some bamboo shoots."
The people of Xujia Village always dig for bamboo shoots in the spring; they only avoid eating the bitter bamboo shoots harvested in the summer.
The bamboo forest in the village has been burned down, and the bamboo shoots that had just sprouted were dug up by people. It is impossible for there to be any bamboo this year.
But there are still bamboo shoots to dig up on the mountain. If you're tired of eating cabbage from the ground, a bamboo shoot can add a touch of freshness.
Although Pi was also a gossip, she was afraid of being sent back to her parents' home and even more afraid of going hungry, so she could only keep all the words in her mouth to herself.
Xu Errui and the others took care of the farm work, so Jiang Zhi Church stopped going down the mountain and pretended not to know about the village chief's choice.
Inside the medical tent, Li Laoshi was running around helping Inspector Zhang pack his belongings and prepare the horses.
Most of the wounded soldiers had left, and Xu Dong had returned to the city to open his clinic. Apart from a dozen or so ordinary soldiers, there was no one else there.
As a result, Li Laoshi, who had been just hanging around doing odd jobs, is now being put to good use.
Zhang Juntou is going to the county government to formally accept his post and then recruit more people.
Li Laoshi blinked: "Master Zhang, no one is going to be the village chief in Xujia Village. Could you tell Magistrate Zhang that it would be better to let Sister Jiang take over for a while?"
He knew very well that Errui was still very inexperienced, and if there were any troubles in Xujia Village in the future, only Sister Jiang could keep them in check.
Zhang Jun's face darkened: "What are you saying? What kind of woman runs a household? Don't meddle in this!"
Zhang Juntou went to the county government office, and Xujia Village returned to peace. Every family was busy working, but a storm was quietly brewing.
It's March now, and the mountains are lush and green with spring flowers in bloom; all the grass has already sprouted.
Image from the internet
Jiang Zhi also began the busiest days of the year.
However, unlike last year when we had to dig up kudzu roots and grind oak powder every day to fill our stomachs, this year we have to take care of the crops before collecting herbs.
The wheat on the mountain has already sprouted joints, and the grass inside is growing wildly.
Chunfeng, Jiangzhi, and Qiaoyun weeded the slope every day.
The wheat seedlings grow in clumps in the field, requiring them to be pulled up one by one. They also need to be hoeed before the vines bloom, otherwise the number will increase year by year.
On the ground were clumps of goosegrass, a sight that made one's scalp crawl.
Jiang Zhi was somewhat confused.
The sudden appearance of the seedlings can also be understood as the seeds with fluffy barbs being blown in by the wind, caught on clothes while working, or brought over by sticking to the fur of other animals.
So what's the deal with these goosegrasses?
This hillside used to be covered with thatch and shrubs, but after being burned by wildfires and then planted with crops for a year, the once sparse goosegrass suddenly sprouted up.
As its name suggests, goosegrass has a well-developed root system and its stems and leaves are as strong and tough as ox tendons, making it impossible to pull up from the ground.
The most critical issue is that the massive grass roots are intertwined with the wheat roots, not only competing for nutrients but also making it difficult to even weed.
While the grass was still small, Jiang Zhi and his two wives squatted in the wheat field, using the tip of a knife to pick at the grass roots under the scorching sun.
The early spring sun was so strong that people were only wearing light jackets, and at noon their skin felt burning hot.
Someone once asked online why farmers "hoe the fields at noon," don't they know the sun is very strong?
Sunbathing is stupid!
They could have chosen to work in the morning or afternoon when there was no sun!
They didn't know that wild grasses like goosegrass wouldn't necessarily die even if they were hoed and dried immediately.
If you weed in the afternoon, it's like turning the grass over; it will still grow.
Of course, this is also a matter for ordinary people.
In autumn, Jiang Zhi could turn the goosegrass into medicine, but unfortunately, it's not the right season for medicinal use now.
But there's a grass-eating pig, and the family also needs to raise grass-eating chickens and rabbits, so grass is very useful.
Peppa lay lazily sleeping by the field, just waiting for a bunch of grass to be delivered to her side to eat.
It's not that it's lazy; it's just that the wheat field is already off-limits to it.
Clean and cut into small pieces, boil and drink the decoction to relieve joint pain, alleviate rheumatism, and is effective for sprains and bruises.
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