Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Storing firewood.
Niupi Mountain is connected with lush greenery. In the distance, there is a line of green smoke rising into the sky.
Zhuang Huiniang said, "Look at that smoke. I think someone is burning charcoal on the hilltop."
Niupi Mountain is endless and has many peaks, crossing several counties. The smoke has been appearing since autumn. It is the people who live on the mountain who are cutting wood to make charcoal, either to sell to the county or to burn at home for the winter.
Families like them who had no access to mountains would go to the nearest public hill to cut firewood for the winter, or to make charcoal. However, large-scale logging for charcoal making or trade that affected other people's firewood cutting was not allowed. If they were reported to the village, they would be subjected to hard labor, unless they went deeper into the mountains and forests where there were no owners but where wild animals might roam.
In short, it is common to see the blue smoke from burning charcoal in autumn and winter.
However, it was quite rare to see a line of ox carts at the foot of the mountain. Several drivers were squatting there conspicuously with their sleeves rolled up.
Ji Feng pointed and asked, "Whose ox carts are these? Why are there so many of them parked here?"
They were just curious at first, but when they went to the nearest mountain, they understood the reason.
An old man waved his finger and stopped them.
"Hey! The Qiao family is cutting wood and burning charcoal here. If you want to pick up firewood, go somewhere else!"
He was followed by many servants, some cutting wood, some chopping wood. At a glance, they sawed out many tree stumps, leaving a small bare space. On that space, they built several small earthen kilns with large bottoms and fires. The wood burned in the kilns, and baskets of charcoal were picked out.
The smoke they had seen earlier came from this hilltop. The wood had not burned completely to form charcoal, so the smoke was particularly thick.
"Qiao family? Which Qiao family?" Ji Xu asked.
The old man was thin, with a pointed jaw and a long neck. He wore a small hat and a fine cotton robe. When he heard this, his face turned arrogant.
"Who is the Qiao family? They are from the county. Go away and don't get in the way here."
He waved his hand to drive them away, and the servant carrying the charcoal basket was about to pass by to transport it to the ox cart waiting at the foot of the mountain.
Ji Feng said quickly, "This is a public hill. Why don't you let us in to collect firewood? The Qiao family can't be so unreasonable. I'll tell the village head!"
In fact, as soon as the Qiao family from the county was mentioned, Ji Xu knew that they were a wealthy family in the county. Ji Fu, the eldest son of the family, was the driver of the carriage for his family. He often heard Jin bragging about how rich the family was and that his uncle was the county magistrate.
Ji Xu was unable to stop Ji Feng from speaking, and saw the old man's disapproving expression.
"Treasurer? I didn't know a village chief could be in charge of my Qiao family's affairs. The county magistrate has ordered that this hilltop be guarded by the farm officer until the day of the heavy snow. Anyone entering the hilltop will be treated as trespassing on public land!"
"Mr. Tian! You come and take care of these people!" he shouted.
A man with slender arms and thin waist turned around from the busy place at the back. He had a cloth wrapped around his forehead. Even though it was cold, he was still wearing a cloth shirt. He still had a whip on his waist, which he had seen in the public fields before.
Jizhu immediately grabbed her sister's sleeve. The child was still timid after seeing him whipping the prisoners last time. Seeing him coming towards them, she whispered:
"Sister..."
Ji Xu stroked her and leaned against him. In his sight, the shadows of the trees swayed in the north wind, and his eyes were dark.
"Let's go now, let's go now." When Zhuang Huiniang saw this person for the first time, she said as if she was facing a great enemy.
He stretched out his hand from behind and stopped them from going far away. He walked a long way away, still stroking his chest with anxiety.
"Aunt, why are you so uneasy?" Ji Xu asked. It was the first time she saw Zhuang Huiniang's expression change so drastically.
Zhuang Hui Niang pointed to the side of the mountain road and coaxed the children, "There are some pine cones there. Go pick them up along the four sides and see who picks up the most."
After the children had dispersed, Fang lowered his voice and whispered in their ears:
"I know that man. He has killed people."
As the group headed towards a more distant hilltop, they heard Zhuang Huiniang narrate:
"My mother's family is from the Zhuang family in Yongle Township next door. I vaguely remember that when I was a girl, a family fled from famine and settled in our area. It was an elderly couple with a pregnant girl.
Because they were from a different family, some bad-hearted people would often bully and insult them, smash their roofs, and steal their things. Their lives were not easy.
Later, the girl married a local butcher, who also beat and scolded her day and night, and even her young son was not spared."
That year, Zhuang Huiniang married into Benguli. Later, during the New Year holidays, she occasionally returned to her mother's home and heard about the news. She said:
"But it's also a retribution in this life. I heard that a few years ago, the butcher's house was robbed and he lost his life in the fight.
His son chased the thief for ten miles and killed him with a butcher knife.
Who do you think his son is? He is the one we just met, the Tian Shaofu, Zhuang Gaiyi."
Later, the villagers praised him as a filial son who was able to avenge his father even though they were not blood relatives. It was also because of this action that he later became capable and the county magistrate recommended him as the field steward.
However, most of the people in the Zhuang family were secretly afraid of this man because he came back that day covered in blood-stained clothes, which was very scary.
Zhuang Huiniang was also frightened when she heard this, so she hurriedly pulled the person away from there, saying:
"Since we've assigned him to guard the mountain, he can only go further away and collect firewood elsewhere."
Thinking about the Qiao family occupying the mountain to make charcoal, Ji Xuyin nodded, "It can only be done this way."
However, this distance is more than ten miles away.
The mountain road was still rugged and difficult to walk on. We finally found a relatively flat public mountain area. There was no time to cut down trees, so we could only pick some dead branches and bundle them up. The children picked pine cones and carried them down the mountain before dark.
The second half of the day is enough for one trip.
If we were at the nearby hilltop before, we could make several trips back and forth and even chop down some dead trees for firewood. Unlike now, all the effort is spent on walking.
We could only pick up a little and pile it under the eaves. There was almost no change, and it was not enough to survive the winter.
Now that I have just bought some cotton quilts and bedding, I am short of money and have no intention of buying firewood. Besides, there is enough firewood in the mountains, so there is no need to spend money to buy it. After all, I don’t live in the county.
The next day, they sisters and the Chen family went into the mountains again. The Qiao family was still building a kiln and burning charcoal. When they passed by, they saw branches and pine needles all over the ground. Some were blown down by the north wind, and some were cut down by the Qiao family and were not used.
"Look at the garbage all over the floor. It would be much easier if we could just go in and pick it up right here." Ji Feng said after taking a look.
Then they saw Jin coming out carrying a load, with a large bundle of firewood on each end. She was smiling and jokingly said to the old man who had stopped them yesterday:
"Manager Li, I'm leaving now. Come to my house when you have time."
Following behind were Ji Yuan and Ji Zhi, both carrying bundles of firewood they had just picked, and turned their faces away.
Even Ji Huhai followed behind with a small bundle on his back. When he passed by them, he snorted and raised his head.
Jin said from the front: "Not everyone is like your grandfather, who has a say in Li Guanshi. Those who are incompetent can only go the long way around and go somewhere else."
There were piles of firewood in the main house, not only in the firewood shed but also under the eaves.
Jin glanced at the neighbor next door. The firewood at the foot of the wall was pitifully small, and she couldn't help feeling proud.
"Let these three young men be proud for a few days. After the Qiao family leaves, they can compete with me to see who can pick up firewood faster!" Ji Feng pointed and walked away angrily.
After picking up the firewood and about to go down the mountain, the sky was getting dark, so everyone quickened their pace.
But Wang Mazi in front threw away the firewood on his back and sneaked into the nearby hill occupied by the Qiao family.
His son Wang Li stamped his feet anxiously, but did not dare to call him loudly, for fear of disturbing the farmer who was guarding the mountain.
"Aunt, don't go..."
Wang Mazi said, "Don't be afraid. It's getting dark. The servants of the Qiao family have all gone back to the county. I'll go in from this side and pick up some of the branches they've cut down. I'll be out soon and won't be noticed. You wait here for me and don't make any noise."
His family was poor, so he not only cut firewood for his own burning, but also had to walk thirty miles every now and then to carry it to the county to sell and earn a few hard-earned dollars.
The couple has been worried for a long time because they were not allowed to enter the mountain for the past two days.
Seeing Wang Li circling around in a panic because of his grandfather, Zhuang Huiniang sighed, "The Qiao family wants to occupy the mountaintop until it snows heavily. Isn't this going to kill anyone?"
Before he could finish his words, Wang Mazi's screams were heard from the forest.
Wang Li shouted "Ah, old man" and was about to rush in, but he saw Wang Mazi being dragged out with his arm twisted like a chick, and behind him was Tian Shefu's figure as unshakable as a mountain.
Just as he stepped inside, Mr. Tian came out from nowhere and grabbed him, almost breaking his arm.
Wang Mazi begged for mercy, "I'm not a thief! I'm from Bengu Village down the mountain. I sell firewood for a living in the winter, and I was tempted to come in and pick up some branches from the ground... Miser, please spare me this time. If I have to work hard, my wife and children at home won't be able to survive the winter."
Because I heard that if a thief who stole grain from public fields was caught by the farmer, he would not only be beaten, but also be sent to do hard labor. However, they were not allowed to enter the forest where they had always been able to enter freely.
Wang Li saw this scene and thought about it, and he was so scared that he started crying and begged, "Don't arrest my grandfather..."
I saw that his back was bent due to the heavy bundle of firewood on his back, and he didn't even bother to wipe away the tears streaming down his face.
On such a windy north day, the thin old jacket was too small for her. The shin guards on her legs exposed her ankles, and she was still wearing straw sandals.
Seeing this, Zhuang Hui Niang and her group stopped and felt worried for the small people like them.
"A strong and powerful man like Mr. Tian was supposed to guard the public fields to scare off thieves. It's only right for him to catch thieves and make them do hard labor. But after all, this hill doesn't belong to the Qiao family, so how can you occupy it? You've given the Qiao family an extra job of guarding the hill for nothing. If he gets lost at night, it would be easier to let him go." Ji Xu tried to speak for the sake of the child, in a good tone. He didn't dare and didn't want to offend the other party.
Zhuang Gaiyi's face was expressionless. He lowered his head and asked, "She said you were lost?"
Wang Mazi quickly admitted, "Yes, yes! It was dark and I couldn't see the road clearly!"
He felt the force disappear and he was released. His legs had already gone limp from fear and he collapsed to the ground.
"Since you are lost in the dark, leave before daybreak."
After he finished speaking, he went into the makeshift thatched hut, carried a bow and a small cloth bag on his back, and went into the mountains, not staying here.
Wang Mazi was so frightened that he barely recovered. Zhuang Huiniang was also confused. "What did he mean by that?"
Ji Xu said, "It means we can go into the mountains to chop wood at night."
"Really?" Wang Mazi, who was sitting paralyzed, was very worried. If he could chop firewood nearby and walk ten miles less, he wouldn't have to worry about carrying back only a little firewood in a day.
So, during the day, the servants of the Qiao family occupied the mountain to make charcoal, and at night, Ji Xu and his men went into the mountain to chop wood, avoiding the sight of the Qiao family. They worked in full swing, with all the men in each family joining in the work, chopping trees and raking pine needles, each with their own division of labor.
It would be easier to chop down trees with an axe, but there was no such thing at home and the Chen family did not buy one, so she sharpened the hatchet and used it as a makeshift.
After several days of this, her hands were covered with blisters, but it was important to store firewood before the snow came, so she gritted her teeth and picked out the blisters with a needle tip, wrapped her hands with a cloth strip, and still went to chop firewood at night.
The two younger sisters felt sorry for him and wanted to take over, but they were too weak and the cuts they made looked like they were made by bird pecks. Without wasting time, Ji Xu asked them to do some work like holding torches and picking up branches.
Both the Chen and Wang families were there, and among them, Ji Xu was a young woman who was weak. Even if the tree was cut down, it would be difficult to transport it back. She could not carry the long trunk at all. If she cut it into small pieces in the mountains and transported it, it would take an unknown amount of time.
"Just cut down the trees one by one, and I'll help you carry them home." Wang Mazi said, and his wife Cao also nodded with a smile.
As for the farmer, he often took his bow and went into the deep mountains where wild beasts roamed, and he was rarely seen at night.
One evening, Ji Xu went there and saw him cutting a wild rabbit with a dagger in front of the straw hut and roasting it over a fire. She took a look at it while he was cutting wood. The rabbit meat seemed uncooked and had blood in it, but he still put it into his mouth.
Zhuang Huiniang became more and more frightened when she saw this from afar. She just kept chopping wood and didn't dare to look any further.
Wang Mazi and his wife helped carry these thick and long trees down the mountain and placed them in the open space in front of their house.
"Don't thank me now. If it weren't for you, his arm would have been broken. How could he have cut down trees and carried them at night? The whole family wouldn't have survived this winter."
Cao brushed off the crumbs on her body and said that she was grateful from the bottom of her heart. You know, Wang Mazi had stolen cucumbers from Tian before. Although she picked them and gave them back when her family had cucumbers later, she was still in the wrong. She knew that this was just a favor between the children because they played together, and it was not because of the adults' face.
So even Ji Xu felt embarrassed to eat the coins he brought.
Wang Mazi wanted to pick it up and eat it, but she pulled him away with a stern look on her face.
"One, two, three... twenty, twenty,
"Sister, we have twenty tree trunks piled up here! That's more than enough!" Ji Feng counted them in front of the house and clapped her hands.
Recently, her sister has been chopping wood in the first half of the night, and gets up to play dice after a short sleep. In the morning, she has to go to Shengchang to do business and make money. She can only catch up on some sleep when she comes back in the second half of the day. She was really worried that her sister's body could not bear it, and she hated that she was too weak to help. Now that she has finally finished chopping the wood, how can she not be happy.
Ji Xu also felt at ease. With these twenty trees and the chopped branches at home, he could slowly saw them and chop them into firewood in the future. It would be enough to fill the eaves of the house, even higher than the windows. He would not have to worry even if the mountains were blocked by heavy snow.
Jin was dumbfounded every time she woke up these days. Why was there more and more firewood next door?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
