Xiang Dejin's wife is petite and has a straightforward personality.
When I first met Jiang Zhi, my face was flushed, but I spoke like a string of beans: "Brother Dejin always said that when he was recuperating in the mountains, everyone was like a family."
It was only because my aunt stewed medicinal herbs for me every day that I didn't develop the aches and pains that often occur in damp weather.
“From now on, when Auntie and Xiaoman come to the city, they can stay at our house instead of staying at an inn. Our house is small, but we can make do with a few rooms.”
Jiang Zhi was very satisfied with this young wife. It seemed that Xiang Dejin's family had long taken a liking to this girl, which was why they urged him to get engaged and married so hastily. Now she was coming to the city to take care of Xiang Dejin's life.
Wu Hongmao and the others seemed to be quite familiar with Dejin's wife. When they heard that she wanted Xiaoman and Jiangzhi to come to the city and stay at her house, they joked with a smile: "I'm afraid that if Auntie comes too often and stays for too long, it will hinder you from having a baby. You'll end up chasing her away with a spatula."
Dejin's wife glared at him and retorted, "I heard from Dejin that Magistrate Zhang told you to hurry up and get married, or you'll be punished for being single."
There were many unmarried people in the house, and everyone laughed.
However, they are no longer worried about remaining single. They have been working in the county government for almost a year, and many matchmakers are arranging marriages for them. In the middle of winter, three of them have already gone on blind dates.
Dejin's wife wasn't a good cook, but she stewed all the rabbit and chicken that Xiaoman had brought, stir-fried some turnips, and sautéed some cabbage. She put them in a big bowl on the table, added some pickled vegetables, and cooked a pot of porridge. That was it.
A large group of people were having a lively and cheerful meal when Wu Hongmao inquired about the village's house repairs.
As soon as Xiaoman arrived, she told him that the whole village was building houses, which greatly surprised Wu Hongmao and the others.
They didn't find it strange that Aunt Jiang's family wanted to repair their house, because they knew that they had cooperated with the Huo family to make medicine and sold grain, so it was normal for them to need to repair a house.
Xiaoman was talking about the whole village, and the yamen runners, unaware of the truth, thought Xiaoman was just bragging and started collecting evidence.
Jiang Zhi nodded: "That's right. All twenty households that remain in Xujia Village will need to build houses. Next year, you will see the real village."
Everyone had the same thought: Aunt Jiang had to pay out of her own pocket.
Those wounded soldiers who had recuperated in the medical shed were well aware of the situation in Xujia Village.
In other villages, people leave, but most villagers return home after a trip elsewhere.
As long as the house is still there, and the broken tables and chairs are still there, the only losses are time and two seasons of crops.
Xujia Village is different; there are no empty houses, almost all of them have been burned down to the ground, and they have been completely destroyed by refugees.
Even after a year of hard work, there shouldn't be many families who could afford to build a few rammed earth houses, so no matter what Xiaoman said, no one believed her.
Jiang Zhi laughed and said, "In our village, we help each other build walls. We don't need to spend money to hire people, and we don't even take care of meals. The only thing each household needs is to buy timber."
Even if selling grain is extremely difficult, we can survive for another six months on oak, sweet potato noodles, and the fresh vegetables growing everywhere. We can get through this difficult time.
As long as you're determined to get things done, you can always borrow money or grain from yourself; there's always a way to overcome difficulties.
Hearing this, Wu Hongmao and the others finally understood: "Hey, the reason why Xujia Village can build houses like this is because it saves money and effort, but it also requires everyone to work together!"
During their year in the county government, they witnessed all sorts of troubles in the villages, from land disputes and homestead disputes to romantic relationships.
The peaceful and harmonious atmosphere in Xujia Village is truly a refreshing sight, a testament to their unity and friendship.
"Once this gets out, Magistrate Zhang will probably have to use Xu Family Village as a daily admonition when he holds court!"
Jiang Zhi waved her hand: "You should advise Magistrate Zhang not to use Xu Family Village to demand things of other villages. This village has few people and no large families, so my words are effective. If it were a village with several powerful and influential families, it would be difficult for ordinary people to make any significant changes."
She couldn't compare Xujia Village to those big villages. Being poor has its advantages, and being weak and isolated has its advantages too.
Being poor and destitute can be understood as being completely ignorant and powerless; naturally, one will unite with partners when one is weak and alone.
Wu Hongmao and the others took Jiang Zhi's modesty as an excuse: "Aunt Jiang underestimates herself. We have already heard from Xiaoman that Xu Genbao from your village brought some thugs to move the grain from your house."
In other villages, arguments and fights would inevitably break out, eventually escalating to the county government and being resolved as family matters.
My aunt is honest; she whipped the man so badly with a yellow thorn branch that he looked like a snake, and she reformed him without even going to the county office!
"Big things start from small things, but small things can be big!"
Jiang Zhi also had to admit that these people who ate at the county government office had good judgment.
Although Xujia Village is small, even the most honest people have their own personalities. He simply nipped the problems in the bud as soon as they started to emerge.
After discussing the house repairs, Wu Hongmao asked about the business with the Huo family, inquiring if there were any problems.
They spent a whole year in the county, and apart from selling grain, Aunt Jiang never once asked for their help. Don't be so formal.
Jiang Zhi didn't hide anything from everyone and said directly, "I've been discussing mosquito coil production with the Huo family for next year, and I also need to grow medicinal herbs. There's really nothing I need to trouble you all with."
"If anything happens with Magistrate Zhang, please let me know in advance."
I just asked Dejin on the way here, and Jiang Zhi mentioned pharmaceuticals.
Xiang Dejin said that once this year is over, and taxes are collected next autumn, Magistrate Zhang might bring up the matter of making medicine.
Pingchuan County is in dire need of reconstruction. Given the current economic conditions, Jiang Zhi believes that Magistrate Zhang will not be able to start making medicine for at least three to five years.
However, after Magistrate Zhang's several fabricated "transformations," Jiang Zhi believed that with Magistrate Zhang's skills and methods, even without connections, he would quickly create a project.
The group ate and chatted, and soon it was curfew time. Wu Hongmao and his men, being government officials, were not subject to any restrictions on their behavior, while Xiaoman and Jiang Zhi also stayed at Xiang Dejin's place.
The next day, Jiang Zhi did not go home, but instead took Xiao Man and followed the people from Huo Family Pharmacy to visit their medicinal herb fields.
Miss Huo also took us to see other medicinal herb warehouses, and we wandered around for several days without returning home.
Furthermore, the enthusiasm for house construction in Xujia Village remains unabated, and even shows a trend of intensification.
Xia Xiucai wanted to build a bamboo-woven mud wall, which would not require carrying soil, but only a large amount of wood and bamboo, and would not have much impact on the village's construction projects.
Therefore, the village only arranged for three to five people to go up the mountain to cut bamboo, while the rest of the work was done by three carpenters who were borrowed from the post station.
One wall is made of bamboo weaving, and the other is made of rammed earth. Everyone is working hard on both sides.
Bamboo woven walls require the entire structure to be made of wood. Large pieces of wood, about the size of a bowl, are grooved and drilled, and mortise and tenon joints are used to connect the individual wooden pillars to form the framework of the house. Finally, bamboo woven mud walls are used between the wooden pillars to separate the inner and outer rooms.
The craftsmen, chiseling away at the sounds of their chiseling, watched the villagers of Xujia Village rushing about carrying soil, their curiosity growing with each passing moment.
Why work so diligently for someone else when you have no money or food?
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