Shui Qing never expected that going up the mountain to burn stones would result in the creation of a small hill.
The hill may be small, and there's not much on it, mostly just miscellaneous trees and wild grass. For the villagers, it's just a place to chop firewood and gather wild vegetables, but for our family, it's a completely different story!
Having a mountain is equivalent to having land. You can plant the fruit tree that produces dried tangerine peel, plant he shou wu (Polygonum multiflorum) under the tree, and clear the land at the foot of the mountain to grow soybeans, red beans, mung beans, and other beans, or potatoes, corn, and other coarse grains. The grains produced are for human consumption, the vines are used to feed livestock, and the livestock manure, after being composted, provides nutrients for medicinal herbs, fruit trees, and crops...
Shui Qing looked at the old village chief with bright, sparkling eyes.
The old village chief truly understood her needs and was anxious about what she was anxious about! The hilltop that was to be punished was more practical and necessary for her than the fields!
The old village chief blushed slightly under Shui Qing's gaze, lowered his head a little, and sighed.
Hills are worthless. Their Shanshui Village has nothing else but hills one after another, covered with miscellaneous trees and wild grass. Basically, the village allocates hills to each household. The Ding family, who came later, didn't get any. But if they wanted, they could go to the distant, unclaimed hills to gather firewood and wild vegetables.
However, the nearby areas have all been allocated, and the unclaimed, barren mountains are far away, making it too tiring to travel back and forth, so no one in the village is willing to go.
Fan Qian and his sons harbored malicious intentions. It was indeed unfair to Hu Shuiqing to punish him with a worthless hilltop. However, fertile fields and good land all required the government to change the land deeds, and the only thing he could control was the hilltop.
The men in the village didn't care too much about success or failure; they deeply felt that Fan Qian and his sons were dishonest!
There's an old saying that it's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you. Fan Qian and his group are a perfect example of that.
"What's the point of fining a worthless hill? If you ask me, we should fine fertile farmland near water sources!"
"Yes, if it doesn't hurt or itch, they'll do it again next time."
"Old village chief, even if it's not fertile land, any more fertile land would do. What use is this hilltop?"
Fan Qianxin's heart tightened.
What, he's giving away a mountain and these people still think it's not enough?
Why don't they just rob it?!
He looked up at the old village chief and solemnly emphasized, "Old village chief, we've already made a deal, you can't go back on your word and change it!"
When the old village chief spoke earlier, he felt he had been cheated, but now, seeing the men in the village standing up for him and looking at him with disdain, he was afraid the old village chief would change his mind.
Compared to fertile fields, what is a hill? After visiting one, there are still five more. There are two nearby hills, which are enough for gathering firewood and wild vegetables. The ones further away are just sitting there, completely useless.
The old village chief looked at Shui Qing, who immediately replied, "I have no objection, I'll listen to the old village chief."
The hilltop was the most practical thing for her! Anyway, there were people, oxen, and donkeys, so it was easy to clear land, as long as the area was big enough.
The old village chief nodded in satisfaction and said to Fan Qian, "Alright, I remember Zhushan belongs to Fan Jin? Then compensate with the hill next to Zhushan."
Fan Dazhu's face lit up with joy. He tugged at his father's sleeve and whispered, "Dad, this is a good deal. That mountain isn't exactly close to our home, so we won't lose out."
Fan Erzhu was displeased and said in a low voice, "But that hill is close to Uncle's house. In this way, Uncle's land will become even larger."
Fan Sizhu was puzzled: "So what if Uncle's land is bigger? As long as we don't lose money, that's fine, right?"
Uncle Guan had a lot of land, but he didn't do much.
Fan Sanzhu looked at Sizhu as if he were a fool, but the decision was made by the old village chief, and even if he didn't want to, he couldn't do anything about it. Besides, he didn't want to exchange the mountain near their home for it.
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