Zhao Tiedan carefully extinguished the lamp that had been burning all night. Looking at the nearly empty oil, he knew it was time to go buy some goods today.
"Wife! I'm off to work, you stay home and take care of the kids! Tell me what you want to eat!"
"You old man, isn't today your day off? Do you have to be so diligent? I've never seen you like this when I'm taking care of the kids."
Zhao Tiedan's job was as a laborer in the river channel, mainly digging and transporting soil. It was all about physical strength and hard work, and in the past, no one would have liked this kind of worker.
But things are different now. The new magistrate did not arbitrarily change the old laws. On the contrary, he made them more lenient. Not only were the taxes reduced, but the dredging of waterways could also be replaced by corvée labor.
In addition, the virtuous magistrate was kind to the people and personally distributed his family fortune to supplement their wages. They had meat to eat every meal and no shortage of three meals a day. Although the work was hard, under such conditions, they could take two or three days off a month. It was really a good deal!
For Zhao Tiedan, who is already forty-three years old, being able to rest should be a good thing. However, as a person, he felt that he had already owed Master Daocheng a lot. If he were to continue to cheat and only think about comfort, how could he live up to that?
So today he decided to go to work again, while the rain hadn't completely stopped for several days, he would do whatever he could! His wife didn't say anything more, she just put a raincoat on him and then took their two-year-old child and one-year-old child with her.
This is also a result of responding to the Qingmang policy of having many children. After worshipping the statue of the god of many children and drinking the talisman water, it is easy to get pregnant. Both children are boys, and they are chubby and strong!
"Then let's bring half an ounce of braised pork, since I'm craving some."
The thirty-two-year-old woman spoke with anticipation in her eyes. Zhao Tiedan felt no reluctance, smiled and agreed, then picked up his tools and went out.
The weather is still not great today, with a light drizzle, but work can still proceed, as the transport roads built by the martial arts instructors are not too slippery.
There were others who shared his thoughts; they were all old neighbors in the same neighborhood. They greeted each other and talked about when the work would start today, when the project would end, how their lives were going, and how their children were crying.
The journey to the city outskirts wasn't entirely by foot; a special carriage would take you there. This was a great favor, but you had to remember the time, as it was only available at fixed times, and the departure time was unpredictable.
Zhao Tiedan and his companions were lucky; they spotted a few empty seats on the bus that was about to leave. Although the bus was wet, no one complained, because that's how the conditions were. Some rooms were damp, and it was like that every day.
The carriage swayed slowly along the road, with people in straw raincoats and hats leaning against it, their clothes emitting a mixture of sweat, water, and earthy odors that filled the air.
Some people looked tired, some looked expectant, some rubbed their shoulders, some touched their bellies, but none of them complained.
Some idle men brought some grain liquor, a cheap liquor produced by the Mou family. It was brewed from the stalks of blood rice, and its color was like red plums. It tasted spicy in the throat but also warmed the body. They used to get through the rainy season with this liquor.
Zhao Tiedan managed to get a sip; his rough, cracked palms were the perfect container, and the clear, cool liquor in his dark hands was incredibly enticing.
Zhao Tiedan drank it all in one gulp. The burning sensation in his throat and intestines quickly brought a rosy complexion to his face, and he also felt a sense of spiritual satisfaction.
The rain was no longer so cold, and a group of people leaned lazily against each other, singing folk songs that belonged to the youthful land. The music, mixed with local accents and dialects, echoed along the road, not in the rain, but in the soil.
Their lives are naturally different from those of the singer of this first song, but the song has been sung to this day, and they sing it with a leisurely mind, and people in the future will continue to sing it.
They had no expectations for the afterlife; they only looked forward to the present and to tomorrow.
After the horse-drawn carriages arrived, people spontaneously took their shifts according to the previous procedures, and then went to the corresponding places to dig soil and haul stones as needed.
From the edge, it was a project that couldn't have been completed in just one or two years, with lines that stretched to the horizon and indentations that were distinctly different from the surrounding area.
Who could imagine that the boulders and soil piled up in the crevices of the distant mountains were the result of more than two years of hard work by the Qingmang people, carried out by tens of thousands of Qingmang people, and dug out by hoe.
From the newest part of the riverbed that has spread out from this huge pit, the roar of the river can already be heard; they are about to succeed and create the next Qingmang Lake.
According to Master Dao, they created their own lake and dug out their homes. In the near future, a new town will rise here, and those who participated in the river excavation will be allocated land to build houses.
They are working for themselves now, which is working for their future selves. At that time, they will have houses, fields, and fish to catch in the lake.
To have enough to eat, warm clothes, a new and not dilapidated house, children who can grow up happily, and to die peacefully—that's a life I never dared to dream of.
Could this be true? It must be true! Zhao Tiedan believed in this future because it was what Master Dao said, and Master Dao had made a promise to Huang Yulang three years ago for the Qingmang people of Subai City after the disaster, bringing them money.
They will have enough to eat, they will no longer be slaughtered like pigs and dogs, they will become rich, Qingmang will get better and better, Master Dao has done it all!
Zhao Tiedan had never seen such a good person before. No, they were like a god. Only a god could do things that he wouldn't even dare to dream of.
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