Chapter 166 We're finally living like human beings again!
(Thanks to reader 150124024432636 for casting 5 monthly tickets.)
Li Shiyue was obviously joking when he said that; for the past half month or so, the Zhao brothers, Youcai and Youtian, had really been working hard!
Not only did they organize the Zhao family to come to Liujiatun to work every day, but they also helped Li Shiyue allocate manpower, deciding who would do carpentry and who would do masonry. They even helped with the cooking every day.
So Li Shiyue said he would give the two brothers an extra sum of money as a thank you for helping out.
This method is the easiest and most convenient for Li Shiyue to manage.
After all, with more people, conflicts are bound to arise. By having the Zhao brothers in charge, people from the Zhao family would first go to the Zhao brothers to discuss any conflicts they might have.
This saved Li Shiyue a lot of time, as she was really too lazy to deal with these trivial matters.
As for the people from Lijia Village, she divided them into several groups: Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang were in charge of the women, Li Wangshui and Gou Laosan were in charge of the men, and Ma Zi and Wei Zi used to be in charge of the wood, but later they were in charge of the bricks.
In this way, all the tasks were delegated, and Li Shiyue only needed to give instructions on the progress, make decisions for them, and handle the procurement of supplies and disbursement of funds.
But these things alone were enough to keep Li Shiyue, Li Qiutian, and Li Xiatian busy.
She really needs someone who can read and do math to take over this job.
So she planned to build a school as soon as the paper mill was completed. At that time, she would send some people to build houses on the official road in front of Liujiatun. She also planned to repair bridges and roads, and repair the road from the village entrance to the river beach. Once the trade market opened, they could earn money right at their doorstep.
Therefore, her purpose in approaching the Zhao brothers, Zhao Youcai and Zhao Youtian, was to ask them to inquire whether they could find more people to do the work.
But to everyone's surprise, the two brothers knelt down before Li Shiyue without saying a word.
Fortunately, this was in Li Shiyue's own courtyard, while the banquet was set up on the other side of the riverbank; otherwise, how would Li Shiyue have explained it clearly?
Two men knelt down before her; anyone would think she was in the wrong.
To be honest, ever since the day Li Shiyue chopped off half of her eighth uncle's finger and declared that anyone who dared to disrespect her mother or provoke her would be chopped off again.
From Li Youfu and his group to the few remaining households in Wangjia Village, no one in Liujiatun dared to provoke Li Shiyue's family anymore.
Li's mother also told Li Shiyue that she and Zheng Meiniang were carrying basins to the river to wash clothes when they saw the second daughter-in-law of Eighth Uncle from afar. She was the woman who had learned the news from Zhou Lanhua and then told Eighth Uncle about it.
Li's mother didn't want to deal with such a scheming person in the first place, but who knew that they would meet face to face? The woman awkwardly called out to Li's mother, "Sister Chun, are you here to do the laundry?"
After a moment of surprise, Li's mother replied, "Yes, you just finished washing?"
When they got home, Li's mother said to Li Shiyue, "I reckon she doesn't want to talk to me, but didn't you just say the other day that if anyone disrespects me, I'll cut off their fingers?"
She must have been afraid of what you would say, which is why she forced herself to say that to me.
Therefore, the Zhao brothers kneeling on the ground right now have only made Li Shiyue's reputation worse.
Just as she was about to ask the two of them what was going on,
Before Zhao Youcai could even speak, tears were already streaming down his face. But if a beautiful and charming woman like Qin Tao were to act like this, it would be quite a sight.
But Zhao Youcai was short and fat, with a flat nose. When he cried, it was a sobbing, muffled cry, which made Li Shiyue feel bad.
"Hey, no, just say what you want to say, let's solve the problem together, don't act like this, I really can't stand it!"
Li Shiyue got up to help the two brothers up, but when she exerted a little force, they couldn't get up and looked like they were about to kneel on the ground.
Li Shiyue was so angry she almost laughed. She laughed twice and said, "Haha, okay, okay, okay, you don't want to get up, huh? Then don't get up."
Li Shiyue went back and sat down, wanting to see what the Zhao brothers were up to.
"Waaah, Madam October, I can't say this without kneeling down. I'm so regretful. My brother and I were heartless before, daring to rob you sisters."
Waaah... We're so sorry!
You still give us work to do, let us earn money, and even make us the leaders in front of our clansmen, sob sob... We, we are so sorry to you!
I'm not human, I'm not human...
At this point, Zhao Youcai's emotions must have gotten the better of him, as he raised his hand as if to slap himself in the face.
Li Shiyue rolled her eyes. She picked up the teacup on the table and splashed the water at Zhao Youcai.
"I have the utmost contempt for men who kneel down, cry, and slap themselves in the face!"
This is how it was when my father and mother divorced.
Upon hearing Li Shiyue's words, Zhao Youcai dared not move his hand and timidly lowered it. Then, he raised his face, his snot and tears covering his face, and looked at Li Shiyue in a fawning manner.
"Awake?"
If you're still not awake, there's still some in the pot.
Li Shiyue gestured with his eyes to the teapot on the table, indicating to Zhao Youcai who was kneeling on the ground to come over.
"Get up quickly, let's talk things out properly, don't give me this kind of treatment, I hate this kind of thing the most."
Thus, Zhao Youcai and Zhao Youtian helped each other to their feet.
Zhao Youcai hastily wiped his face with his sleeve, then bowed to Li Shiyue, who was sitting at the head of the table, and said ingratiatingly, "Madam Shiyue, we brothers just want to thank you!"
If it weren't for you, we would both be dead somewhere in the ditch.
Back then, we were bewitched and actually thought of robbing you sisters.
For the past two weeks, thanks to you, we've been able to maintain our standing in front of our clan. You don't know, we used to be so respected in the village..."
At this point, Zhao Youcai was about to cry again, but Li Shiyue could tell that this time Zhao Youcai was genuinely heartbroken.
If a short, fat man starts wailing in front of you, tell me, what should I do?
Finally, it was Zhao Youtian, the elder brother, who spoke up in a low voice: "Our parents died early. Back then, our grandmother couldn't afford to raise us. The clan asked each family to help give us some food, but food was expensive, and no family was willing to give it to us."
My grandmother led us from the village entrance to each household to kowtow, one kowtow after another, and that's how my grandmother raised us.
When they grow up, they'll have their own fields, and finally they'll be able to make a living.
But we still couldn't save any money. We would always have to pick a few extra vegetables from one family and steal a chicken from another. Over the years, my brother and I became the scum that everyone in the village disliked.
When the villagers encountered us on the road, they didn't even greet us, and instead spat at us.
The clan chief is kind-hearted and always calls on us to do chores, but we still don't have much money.
At the beginning of last year, my brother and I were disheartened and thought about making a big score, having a good New Year, and then we'd kill ourselves.
Zhao Youtian looked up, scratched his head sheepishly, and said to Li Shiyue, "Hey, we were blind to even think of robbing you, Shiyue."
We were so scared of you that we never dared to do it again. We went home living in fear, but who knew you would not only come to our door offering us work, but also make us the organizers.
Zhao Youtian thought about all the smiles the Zhao family had given him and his brother over the past two weeks. Even the clan chief had patted them on the shoulder and said they had grown up.
His nose tingled, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"We have to thank you. If it weren't for you, how could we live like human beings?"
"It's all thanks to you that we were given a chance, and now we can finally live like human beings!"
Zhao Youtian pulled Zhao Youcai, who was crying uncontrollably, down to kneel before Li Shiyue and kowtowed deeply to him.
After a moment of surprise, Li Shiyue smiled and said to the two brothers, "What's wrong?"
"You two haven't heard about my exploits in Liujiatun these past two weeks, and you're afraid I'll bring up my past misdeeds, are you?"
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