Chapter 72
Now that the initial busy farming season has passed, many farmers who want to reclaim more wasteland will take this opportunity to rent farm horses and farm tools from villages that have been provided by the government.
Before renting, one must first look for a piece of land in one's own village, report it to the village chief, and then conduct on-site measurement and registration. After obtaining the signed guarantee of the village chief, the cadastral information can be taken to the village head where the plow horses and farm tools are rented. After the village head arranges for it to be sent to the county government for registration, the farmer will be allowed to pay a deposit and take away the plow horses and farm tools based on demand and the rental situation of the plow horses.
Farmers who rent plow horses are also responsible for the expenses of raising the horses during the plowing days. If the horses have an accident or the farm tools are damaged, they are also responsible for compensation.
However, the plow horses provided by government offices to the villages below are generally served by grooms. After being rented to the villages, they are visited from time to time to detect problems with the plow horses in a timely manner and provide treatment. Therefore, accidents rarely occur with plow horses. If many farmers do not want to be too tired, they will consider renting plow horses.
So according to the current rental price, compared to renting a carriage for a day, it is actually not expensive.
This was also one of the measures taken by the government to encourage farmers under its jurisdiction to reclaim large amounts of wasteland.
Because of the low taxes, the farmers here have enough food, and with the development of planting technology, growing rice, wheat and other crops is not as difficult as in previous years. After saving money, many farmers will rent plow horses and farm tools to reclaim a few more acres of wasteland for themselves.
This is also the reason why village heads in small villages like Village Head Wu, who have husbands at home, can afford to open a rice shop.
As the rice became abundant, grain merchants from other places liked to come here to purchase rice, and then transport it to various regions of the Dasheng Dynasty by water and land.
Accompanied by Village Chief Wu, Gu Ran selected ten acres of wasteland, all in front of the Dayu Forest, next to the original four acres of fields, and then extending into the forest outside the Dayu Forest, about three acres of land!
She was thinking of clearing some wasteland in front of the house so that everything could be gathered together and easier to take care of, saving her from having to run around everywhere.
Village chief Wu was looking after Er Niang's wasteland and had even driven into the woods. He had wanted to object, but when he thought about how this person had even dared to enter the miasma forest and nothing had happened to her so far, he was afraid that she wouldn't listen even if he tried to persuade her, so he gave up.
Thanks to Gu Er Niang, the people of Xiaxi Village are no longer as panicked about the miasma as before. In addition, they have seen with their own eyes that the windmill they built is effective against the miasma. Now, during the slack season, the villagers are looking everywhere for the wood that Master Huang wanted, and have even started building a windmill house at the designated location.
Thinking about the future when the village will no longer be troubled by miasma and will be as peaceful as other villages, the villagers of Xiaxi Village are more excited about the future than ever before.
As the village chief, she thinks more.
If the miasma is harmless, that means she can actively persuade others to settle in Xiaxi Village. Even if she goes to the county government office, she can also persuade more refugees sent here to come here.
Last year, only Gu Er Niang's family and the Shen family came to Xiaxi Village.
Although the arrival of Mr. Shen and his family in Xiaxi Village was an accident, it was still counted as part of the number of newly relocated households. Because the Shen family brought so many people, the county government did not assign anyone else after that.
If the environment in Xiaxi Village improves, there will be more people who will be persuaded to move to the village on their own initiative, and there will also be a greater chance of persuading the county magistrate.
She did not expect Xiaxi Village to be as prosperous as Donglin Township, but she hoped that the villagers could live more comfortably and the village could be more prosperous.
After Gu Ran selected the wasteland that he wanted to reclaim in Xiaxi Village, Village Chief Wu asked people to measure the place selected by Gu Ran with a ruler and insert stones to mark the boundary.
Using the surrounding mountains, rocks, trees and fields as reference points, they had someone write all this information clearly on the deed. After Gu Ran checked it and confirmed that it was correct, Gu Ran signed his name. Village Chief Wu also wrote his approval and went to Donglin Township to find the head of the village with the deed and the half-liang deposit given by Gu Ran.
After the village chief has processed the official red-stamped deed for Gu Ran's ten acres of wasteland, he will send someone back to Xiaxi Village. By then, Gu Ran will know the time arranged by the village chief to rent the plow horse and farm tools for her. She only needs to go to Donglin Township to pick up the plow horse and farm tools according to the time informed.
When it was Pei Liuniang's turn, Gu Ran wanted to accompany her back to Qinghuai Village.
Pei Liu refused.
The reason was the same as Gu Ran's excuse for refusing to take him into the miasma forest: if both of them left home, who would take care of the three little ones?
Xiaoju, Xiaohei and Xiaohua are still kittens. They can't walk properly and need someone to look after them at all times.
So Gu Ran had no choice but to stay in the cottage, while Pei Liu drove the donkey to Qinghuai Village alone.
The donkey cart was loaded with some things to be given to the Liu family. Gu Ran had heard that Pei Liu's fields in Qinghuai Village were rented to the Liu family. And considering that the wasteland reclaimed by Pei Liu's mother was probably also to be looked after by the Liu family, she took out some mountain products and dried goods and gave them to the Liu family as a favor.
Pei Liuniang originally wanted to refuse, but after Gu Ran talked her into it, she kept silent and watched her put the things on the bus and then sat on the seat.
"Remember, you must send the things to the Liu family. Don't lose them along the way."
"No." Pei Liu couldn't help but smile lightly and nodded in promise.
Gu Ran believed her for the time being, and seeing her walking further and further away, he thought to himself: It’s great to have a donkey cart, it’s faster than walking to go anywhere at any time.
After seeing Pei Liu off, Gu Ran teased the cats for a while, then sat on the porch under the eaves, watching the three little ones making noises in the sunshine of the patio, his eyes narrowed.
This view is very beautiful!
So in order to not waste such a peaceful afternoon, let’s make a delicious meal and enjoy it slowly!
Gu Ran stood up, went to the warehouse to take a look, and decided to have some pork tripe stewed with dried clams and water chestnuts.
Move out the stove and stew it in the patio for the afternoon. The pig's stomach should be tender before dark, right?
Fortunately, I bought a lot of seafood and dried goods when I went to sell leather before.
After Gu Ran took out the ingredients, he washed them one by one: a small piece of coix seed, a small handful of water chestnuts, and then some lilies and some lotus seeds with the cores removed.
This is the most commonly prepared health-preserving soup in Fujian. It can strengthen the spleen and stomach, remove dampness and wind, and is suitable for warming and nourishing people with deficiency of Qi and blood. The addition of lotus seeds and lilies can also have a calming effect, which is just right to relieve the irritability and insomnia symptoms caused by the scorching heat in summer.
Now that the ingredients are prepared, it’s natural to deal with the main ingredients.
Originally, half of the pig's stomach would have been enough, but I wanted to make more to store, so I used a whole one, and I also took more ingredients.
Pig's stomach is delicious but difficult to clean. You can only rub it with wood ash and then remove the excess fat. After it is completely clean, you have to rinse it with water.
In order to remove the fishy smell, it is best to add some ginger slices and cooking wine before boiling water and blanching the pig's stomach. If there are peppercorns, it will be even better.
After the pig's stomach is blanched, wash it, drain the water, cut it into strips and put it into the earthenware pot for stewing.
Then wash the dried clams, cook the Job's tears in a pot, add them in and mix them, then put them into a clay pot together with other ingredients, add water and put it on the stove.
The remaining effort is to burn firewood and watch the fire. Everything depends on time.
Since the food in the courtyard was simmering on a low fire, Gu Ran went to sit in the corridor, next to the small table that had been moved out. On the table were fresh fruits taken out from the space: lychees, star fruits, green dates, longans, etc.
Last year I didn’t have enough money to buy food, so this year I have to make up for it.
When it comes to seasonal fruits, vegetables, and meat, Fujian has a rich variety!
Gu Ran happily stole some free time on her day, beckoning the three little ones to play with her, and feeding each of them some warm goat's milk.
Seeing that Sanxiao only had something to drink, Daju also walked over slowly.
Gu Ran also poured some food into the big orange cat's food bowl without any discrimination. She looked at the four cats of the family running around her and petted whichever one she wanted, which made her feel like a winner in life.
Two hours later, the pig's stomach was stewed. Without even opening the lid, the air was filled with fragrance in the courtyard.
I poked the pork belly strips with chopsticks and they were very soft and had been stewed thoroughly.
Add a little salt and expensive pepper, mix well, take a bite, and the taste of the dried clams will break into pieces when you bite them. The flavor of the dried clams has permeated the pork belly strips, making them fragrant and fresh.
Well, now that we have the main dish, let’s stir-fry some garlic water spinach and we can start eating.
After finishing the meal in the afterglow of the setting sun, Gu Ran washed up and prepared to go to bed.
There was little entertainment in Xiaxi Village at night, and lighting candles was not only expensive but also tiring for the eyes, so she usually digested her food after dinner, washed up, and then went to bed.
That's just fine.
The original owner's blood-deficient body has improved a lot after more than a year of conditioning. At least he has gained weight and his qi and blood have improved.
Gu Ran touched his face. He was originally skinny, but now he had gained some flesh and looked fairer and rosier.
It seems that my skin has also been taken care of by myself.
Women naturally love beauty, and they will naturally feel happy if they can make themselves look better.
It turns out that no matter where you are or when you are, eating well and sleeping well are the best beauty and health products.
Of course, now that the weather is getting hotter, all mosquito prevention and cooling measures must be taken.
Before going to bed, Gu Ran first burned mugwort in the corner of the room. After fumigating the entire room, he lowered the tent, then took a wooden basin in, poured out ice cubes from space No. 10 to cool down the temperature in the room, and then got into the tent, lay down, pulled up the thin quilt, and fell asleep quickly.
But I didn't fall asleep for long before I heard scratching at the door outside and a low meow.
There are three little ones.
Why did they come to my room? Didn't Daju bring them with him?
Gu Ran was just about to get off the bed and bring the three little ones in, but then he smelled the pungent smell of moxa in the room, hardened his heart, and ignored it.
The smell in the compartment is so strong now that even if the three little ones are allowed in, they will immediately run away in disgust. It would be a waste of time to open the door.
Sure enough, after the three little ones scratched for a while, they saw that Grandma Gu inside ignored them. After meowing pitifully for a while, the big orange cat came over, picked up the little black cat in its mouth, and walked towards the cat house.
Seeing this, Xiaoju and Xiaohua also trotted after them.
Hearing that there were no more cats meowing outside, Gu Ran fell asleep peacefully.
However, he was woken up by the meowing very early the next day. When he opened the door, the big orange family was squatting at the door. They rushed in when they saw the gap in the door, and Gu Ran couldn't stop them.
Only the big orange cat seemed much more stable after becoming a mother. Just when she wanted to stretch out her claws, the cat head that had poked into the room smelled the scent of incense, hesitated, shrank back, and continued to squat outside the door.
Gu Ran leaned over and rubbed the big orange cat. Turning back, he saw the three little ones sniffing here and there, meowing non-stop, obviously very excited. In the end, they kept raising their little heads to look at the couch and even jumped up to jump onto it.
Seeing Gu Ran go back into the house, they turned around and approached him, meowing warmly and inviting him to kiss them.
Gu Ran picked them up one by one and put them on the couch. As soon as he let go, the two little ones jumped excitedly on the couch. The remaining Xiaohua cried fiercely under the couch, as if urging Gu Ran to put her on quickly.
When Gu Ran finally carried Xiaohua to the couch, he saw the three little ones stretching out their front paws and purring at the milk. He couldn't help but wonder: Where did these little kittens learn to love climbing on the bed and playing so much?
Of course, I learned it from Pei Liu.
Pei Liu came back at dusk the next day. Because she said she would be back in Xiaxi Village the next day, Gu Ran specially prepared a portion for her when he made dinner that day. As a result, Pei Liu missed the meal.
At that time, she had finished washing up. She heard the sound of wheels at the back door and guessed that Pei Liu had returned. So she pushed open the back door and saw Pei Liu getting off the donkey cart.
"Pei Liuniang, you're finally back?"
Pei Liu looked at Gu Liuniang who suddenly appeared before him, nodded and smiled: "They are back, and they gave us gifts in return."
"Really? What is it?"
Gu Ran quickly went over to take a look and found that they were also some mountain products and dried goods, but they were different from the types he had sent out. He couldn't help but chuckled twice.
To some extent, this can also be considered as resource exchange!
When Pei Liu was moving things to the warehouse, Gu Ran asked, "Have you had dinner yet?"
"Yes, the Liu family gave me a few big buns, which I ate on the way." Pei Liu smiled lightly and glanced back at Gu Ran.
"oh!"
Gu Ran nodded.
Well, considering Pei Liuniang’s big appetite, all the rice we cooked can only be saved for tomorrow.
So when Pei Liu moved the things into the warehouse and sorted them out, he saw Gu Ran coming up with a basin of things, and then he directly opened the lid of the ice storage and put the things down.
"What is that?"
"Rice," Gu Ran replied, "I thought you'd come back for dinner, so I cooked your portion. Since you've already eaten, this rice will be for tomorrow."
You can make fried rice or rice balls.
Hearing that Gu Ran had anticipated his return and even prepared dinner for him, Pei Liu smiled happily with the corners of his mouth raised, and the dimples on both sides of his cheeks were sweet.
She even remembered to save food for me!
Seeing that Pei Liu was in a good mood, Gu Ran probably thought that this trip back to Qinghuai Village would go smoothly. He casually asked, "Sixth Sister, what would you like to eat tomorrow?"
"I eat whatever you cook."
"good."
So Gu Ran decided to make rice balls!
She remembered that she had just bought a lot of dried seaweed, and there was so much leftover rice, just enough to make rice balls.
So what flavor should the rice balls be?
Of course, it’s plum rice balls.
She made a lot of green plum jam and dried green plums last year, and this year she also bought a lot of green plums from people in the village to make jam and dried plums.
There is only one can of green plum jam left, and there are not many dried green plums left, so they can be used now.
After taking out the dried green plums, cut out the dried plum flesh and chop it into pieces. Chop the dried seaweed into pieces, then add the chopped green plums and sesame seeds, add a little salt and fish sauce and mix well.
Then steam the leftover rice, roll it out, add some vinegar, salt and pesto sauce, stir well, and mix it with dried green plums, dried seaweed, etc.
Finally, while the rice is still hot, grab a ball of the mixed rice and roll it into a rice ball. To make it look good, wrap it with dried seaweed.
The sour and sweet plum rice balls are simple to eat, but refreshing and appetizing. They are perfect for the hot summer when you have no appetite.
Pei Liu felt the same way while eating rice balls.
"So, Second Mother, when you entered the miasma forest, these were the rice balls you brought with you as food?"
Gu Ran was holding a rice ball and savoring its smooth and fragrant taste. When she heard Pei Liu ask this, she knew she had misunderstood, but nodded anyway.
"That's right."
In such hot weather, rice balls with vinegar and salt are not easy to go bad, so compared with other foods, they have the advantage of being easy to carry. No wonder Pei Liuniang thought so.
I think the reason why people in neighboring countries first added vinegar to their delicacies was to allow rice to be stored for a long time.
"I'll make some extra and go into the miasma forest with you, okay?"
Gu Ran was stunned, and his first reaction was to shake his head, "No."
"Why not?" Pei Liu asked, not waiting for her to explain, and continued to ask: "You want to go into the mountains to hunt big game for Xu San, but if you rely on those traps you made to catch the prey, don't you think the chances are too slim? Could it be that you plan to go into the mountains and guard it forever?"
What Pei Liuniang said makes some sense.
The traps she set were all of the sit-and-wait type, where she could only wait for the prey to fall into them and then go and collect them.
When luck is good, you can get a harvest in four or five days. When luck is bad, you may not see any prey for ten days or half a month.
Especially the big beasts.
She only hunted three or four last year.
If he wanted to sell the big thing to Xu San, it would depend on whether the trap in the mountain had such good luck. So although Gu Ran wanted to make this deal, he also insisted on selling it if he had it, and did not intend to just catch two bamboo rats and give them to Xu San.
It is now the seventh, and there are only seven days left until the middle of the month when Xu San will harvest.
If you can catch a big beast in the remaining seven days, you can earn at least more than twenty taels of silver. If you can't catch it, then this big business will be lost.
Gu Ran couldn't say that he wasn't shaken.
"But, if you follow me into the forest, Liuniang, will we definitely be able to catch the big beast?"
"Of course." Pei Liu asked Gu Ran to wait, and he went back to the room and retrieved two spears, javelins?
Gu Ran looked at the two spears with sharp arrowheads embedded at one end with a surprised expression. Are they javelins?
"These are javelins. I bought them from a hunter in Qinghuai Village after returning." Pei Liuniang lifted the two javelins with ease. "With these javelins, we can proactively search for large beasts. If we see prey, we can just throw them and get it."
"Then why don't you buy a bow and arrow?"
Since he is a hunter, he must have a bow and arrow.
"The hunter wants to use the bow and arrows for himself and won't sell them." It was too late to find a craftsman to make bows and arrows, so when Pei Liu saw a javelin, he thought it would be fine to use it for the time being.
"Well, can you use it?"
"Of course, I once cut branches in the mountains and made simple spears to hunt." Pei Liu said proudly.
Have you ever hunted in the mountains?
Gu Ran looked at Pei Liuniang with some surprise. It seemed that when Pei Liuniang was exiled to the countryside from the Pei Mansion, her life seemed quite difficult. Wasn't it hard to imagine?
After Pei Liuniang repeatedly explained that she also had hunting experience, Gu Ran was finally persuaded and decided to take her into the mountains to hunt the big beast that Xu Sanyao wanted.
Since this is the case, we must naturally be fully prepared.
Like ordinary hunters, it would take ten days to half a month to hunt in the mountains. During the days when they are away, the Daju family has to ask someone to take care of them. In addition, the mugwort fumigant for repelling insects in the mountains, food, masks, medicinal wine, etc. must be prepared in advance.
Later, we asked Lin Ersaozi to come to the small house. In addition to taking care of Daju's family and feeding the donkey, we also asked her to help dry the dried goods and leather when the weather was good. We paid her twelve cents a day.
As for the masks, Pei Liuniang was good at needlework. After she had to go into the mountains on New Year's Eve, Gu Ran taught her how to make masks. So at this time, she was fully responsible for sewing ten more masks per person, fumigating them with medicinal herbs and drying them, and then carrying them with them as a backup.
The food was left to Gu Ran.
In order to make it more convenient, Gu Ran also specially made a bamboo curtain for the bamboo rice balls: he shaved the bamboo strips left over from making the donkey shed, cut them into thin strips, polished them smooth, and tied them together one by one with noodle thread. A strip about twelve inches wide and fifteen inches long would be enough.
Boil the bamboo curtains in water and dry them in the sun before use.
You can use this bamboo mat to make rolled rice balls. Spread a large piece of dried seaweed on the bamboo mat, then spread a layer of rice, and then spread a layer of meat slices, fish slices, eggs, cucumber shreds and other seasonings on it, and then start rolling it up from one side.
If you want the rice ball not to fall apart, you must pay attention to rolling it tightly. After rolling it, it will be a strip. Then use a knife to cut it into small pieces, and it will be a rolled rice ball.
In order to vary the ingredients, Gu Ran made rice balls with different ingredients, some with rice alone, some with glutinous rice mixed with rice, and some with just glutinous rice balls. As for the ingredients, there are shredded pork, dried shrimp, and red herring, with the main focus on rich flavors.
After finishing, while discussing with Pei Liuniang who would take what, Gu Ran tried to put most of the food and rice balls into her own bamboo basket: she could use the bamboo basket as a cover, so that the prepared rice balls and food could be quietly put into the space compartment, so as to avoid them going bad quickly at Pei Liuniang's place.
Pei Liuniang obeyed Gu Ran's advice and naturally agreed.
Just like that, after everything was ready, they handed the key to the cottage to Lin Ersao, and then the two of them went into the miasma forest under the watchful eyes of Lin Ersao.
By this time, Pei Liu had already realized the harm of miasma.
In fact, after arriving in Fujian, he had already heard some rumors about miasma harming people. The Qinghuai Village where he was exiled was surrounded by such a large wild forest, and no one dared to go there alone.
Unlike Xiaxi Village, which is right on the edge of the miasma forest, Qinghuai Village is a sparsely populated village, even more desolate than Xiaxi Village. It is also far away from the forest. The hunters in the village will not go to the miasma forest, but to the small hills and forests near the village. These are some shallow mountain forests that have been explored by hunters. So although he has heard and seen it, he has never experienced it personally.
It was not until I came to Xiaxi Village and saw the miasma with my own eyes that the harm it caused became real to me.
But Gu Erniang's windmill greatly reduced the threat of miasma. During this period of time, he had followed Pei Liuniang in and out of the miasma forest many times. Now that he was fully equipped, he had nothing to fear even if he had to go into the more dangerous deep mountains.
Because, as he said, he once lived in the mountains and forests.
When he was trapped in the No. 1 Thief, the initial selection of the killer reserve and the final selection for the battle were to throw them into the wilderness and forests, and the survival of the fittest would take place. He was one of the few outstanding ones.
Therefore, the miasma forest was no problem for him, and he even felt like a fish in water.
Soon, they found their first prey.
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