Chapter 88
The next day, Pei Liuniang left again.
Gu Ran actually noticed that Pei Liuniang was in a bad mood.
Pei Liu was originally a man of few words, but he became even more silent on the way back from the county town.
She seemed in a good mood when she went to the county town, and nothing bad happened there. Why did she suddenly become gloomy?
Seeing that she didn't want to explain, Gu Ran didn't ask any further questions.
Everyone has things they keep secret, just like she does. Since Pei Liu didn't say it proactively, probably because he felt it was unnecessary or unnecessary, Gu Ran just let her do it.
However, when she talked about returning to Qinghuai Village, her expression relaxed a lot.
Then let her go back!
After running around outside for so long and not being able to find her sister, she returned to Qinghuai Village to reclaim her own wasteland and relax at the same time.
"Xiaohua, Xiaohua, your grandma has returned to her hometown. It's my turn to take care of you these days!"
Gu Ran fed the cats and touched each cat's head from time to time.
Now the three little ones are more than four months old. Following their mother, Daju, they have learned to use leverage to jump up and down, and can successfully climb up the high walls and eaves of the house.
In other words, they can now leave the house at any time.
Although Gu Ran didn't want the three little ones to take risks outside, because according to common sense, cats that survive outside by hunting have a short lifespan, and can only live for about three or four years. But if they are domestic cats, they can naturally live to be ten or twenty years old if they are fed by their owners and their lives are guaranteed.
That's how long cats generally live.
However, wild cats are difficult to train and they are naturally adventurous. Just like Big Orange, he also made a living outdoors before meeting me. As a mother, I know the risks outside, but the three little ones don’t know, right?
If they like to run outside, Gu Ran won't be able to restrain them.
So the cats’ yards are not locked. They can run around outside as they like and come back when they are tired of playing.
Xiaohua and Xiaohei are fine because they are female cats and don’t like to move. They go out every day and will come back on the same day. But Xiaoju, as a male cat, is different. He always likes to follow his mother Daju around the world and is not afraid of not coming home for two, three, or even five or six days and nights.
Just look, after feeding today, we saw the big orange cat climbing up to the eaves, and the three little ones scrambled to follow it and climb up.
Seeing the fat and sleek cats climbing up the ground with such vigor and energy, Gu Ran, the grandmother, couldn't help but feel proud.
"Gu Erniang!"
"Is Second Mother home?"
Gu Ran was looking at his grandson with his head tilted back and his eyes squinted when a few noises were heard outside. The cats on the roof immediately ran away.
Gu Ran turned around and opened the door.
"Hey, you're home!"
"Yes!"
Outside the cottage, there was naturally a group of people sent by Village Chief Wu to clear the wasteland for her.
It is said that there are only two days of free time before the plowing horses are sent over, and one horse can plow three acres a day.
The first land to be opened up is seven acres, so naturally it needs to be cleared first.
In fact, out of these seven acres, only five acres are flat land, and the other two acres are mountainous land. It is estimated that they cannot be plowed by horses, so they can only be plowed by hand or by other means.
Because he could make more money not only from the land but also from other businesses, and had some assets, Gu Ran was not worried about not being able to pay the taxes, and he planned to deal with the two acres of mountain land later.
In addition to her family, the other two newly moved families also immediately chose the wasteland, as did the Shen family, and they were all behind her in line!
It is said that after that, there were still some young men in Xiaxi Village who had reached the age to be allocated land and wanted to open up more land. They also went to the village head Weng to register the land they wanted to open up, and this time they were also ranked last.
Among those who came to help Gu Ran, there were men and women, a total of five people, and the leader was Lin Erlang.
Gu Ran hired them for two days, paying each person twelve cents a day, and food was naturally not included.
Lin Erlang took them and waited for Gu Ran to take them to her wasteland.
Of course she was familiar with where Gu Ran's wasteland was.
So Gu Ran took them to the other end of his wasteland with the deed, and was about to show it to Lin Erlang. Then the other six people gathered around, looked at the deed, pointed at it, and gestured in front of them for a while. After determining the wasteland that each two people were responsible for, they dispersed again without any need for Gu Ran's command.
"Don't worry, Gu Erniang, we have done this countless times and we are familiar with it." Lin Erlang rarely spoke before going to work.
Gu Ran nodded.
With Village Chief Wu giving the order and Lin Erlang helping her keep an eye on things, she naturally felt relieved.
She was just a little worried about what to do with the three acres of land in the woods.
Because I often go in and out of the miasma forest, I know that the woodland inside is more fertile than the wasteland outside, otherwise there would not be so many shrubs and green plants growing there.
That is, if I have to go into the woods and cut down trees and clean up three acres of land by myself, how long will it take?
The forest land is not as good as the mountain land. The mountain land is rugged and cannot be plowed with horses, but the forest land is flat, so it can be plowed!
It’s finally my turn to use the horse to plow. I can’t let this opportunity go to waste, right?
So when Gu Ran saw Lin Erlang about to leave, he called him back, "Brother Lin, could you please ask if there's anyone in the village who's willing to go into the woods with me and help me cut down trees and reclaim land?"
"Enter the miasma forest?" Lin Erlang was stunned.
Gu Ran nodded.
"But the miasma forest is dangerous."
As the husband of Lin Ersao, Lin Erlang knew more or less that Gu Ran had gained a lot in the miasma forest, such as the mountain products he gave them from time to time, and the red mushrooms he had recently given to his wife to nourish her body. Even his own brother had openly and secretly asked his wife about Gu Erniang's abilities through himself and his wife, and told him to get along with her well. If possible, he would also like to learn how Gu Erniang could enter the miasma forest without any harm, and maybe he could even follow Gu Erniang into the miasma forest to get some mountain products out.
But with the warning from Village Chief Wu and the warnings from so many people who had accidents after entering the miasma forest, Lin Erlang also tried his best to resist entering this miasma forest. Now, hearing what Gu Ran said, his first reaction was that it was dangerous.
"As long as you follow me into the miasma forest and make sure you don't wander around randomly, there shouldn't be any problems."
After all, the woodland she had chosen was only three acres on the edge, not deep into the forest.
"Then..." Lin Erlang hesitated and asked again: "Then, how many people do you plan to hire? How much will the wages be?"
"Forty cents, and then, we need at least four people!" If there are too many, I'm afraid I won't be able to manage them, and if there are too few, I'm afraid I won't be able to finish the work.
"I'll ask for you."
"Hurry up, it'd be best if we could decide on someone within the next two days. I need to clear the land before it's my turn to use the plow horses."
The plowing horses were delivered two days later, and it would only take two days to plow five acres of land, so she didn't have much time left.
However, considering that the plow horse will stay in Xiaxi Village for some time and be used by each household in turn, Gu Ran plans to ask the Shen family to adjust the time. After she has reclaimed her own five acres of land, she will give it to the Shen family first. After the Shen family has used it, she will give her another day to reclaim the three acres of forest land.
"Hey!" Lin Erlang nodded.
That night, after Lin Erlang finished his work, he told Village Chief Wu about the Gu family hiring people to open up the miasma forest.
"Yes, she enclosed a few acres of forest land and planned to reclaim it." Village Chief Wu also remembered and nodded. "How many people did she plan to recruit?"
"Four," said Lin Erlang, "forty cents a day."
"Well," Village Chief Wu suddenly thought of something, "We need someone stronger to go in and do this!"
"Hey, Auntie, do you have a choice?"
"You go!" Mrs. Lin pushed her husband and said.
Mrs. Lin, who was more than five months pregnant, had a bulging belly. The Lin family did not restrict her from going out, but they did not allow her to go too far, so she just walked around their big house and rarely went to the small house of the Gu family.
When she heard that Gu Er Niang wanted to take people into the miasma forest, she immediately asked Lin Er Lang to recommend himself.
"I'll go?"
"Yes, you are strong and healthy, so you can definitely chop down the tree."
"But it's dangerous inside."
"What are you afraid of? It's just some land reclamation, right on the edge of the miasma forest. It shouldn't be too dangerous, otherwise Second Mother wouldn't have hired anyone to go in." Sister Lin patted Lin Erlang's shoulder and said, "Besides, Second Mother is my good sister. If you go, she will definitely not let anything happen to you."
Lin Erlang was helpless and turned to look at his mother.
Village chief Wu thought about how she had been envious of Gu Erniang's ability to find mountain products in the miasma forest and sell them for money. Even though her eldest son was interested in it before, she had not allowed him to bring anyone in.
But now, if Gu Er Niang took the initiative to hire someone to go in, that would be a different matter.
"If you're not afraid, feel free to try."
The ancestors of the Lin family moved to Xiaxi Village four or five generations ago, and no one has dared to enter the miasma forest. It might not be a bad idea to go in and take a look.
Mrs. Lin pushed Lin Erlang again.
Lin Erlang looked at his wife, saw her signaling with her eyes, then moved her eyes to her abdomen, and gently stroked it with her hand. He understood and could only nod reluctantly.
Then we have found one person, and there are three candidates left!
"Hasn't there been a new lone family move into our village recently?" Village Chief Wu said. "I think he's quite strong and sturdy. He's new here and hasn't found much work yet. Go back and ask him about the miasma forest and see if he can earn the wages he's looking for."
"That uncle surnamed Li?"
"That's right."
"Okay." Lin Erlang nodded, "We need to find two more people."
"Didn't your cousin take on the hunters a few days ago and want Second Lady Gu to take him into the woods?" Village Chief Wu advised his second son, "Ask him if he wants to go. Also..." Village Chief Wu glanced at his second daughter-in-law, "Ask Jinling's family too, to see if Uncle Yang is willing."
"Okay, I'll do as my mother wishes."
While Lin Erlang went to look for someone, Gu Ran also went to Shen's house with a basket of things.
Firstly, he wanted to discuss with the Shen family about the replacement of the plow horses, and secondly, he wanted to hire guards from the Shen family.
Because the only family in the village that has a horse-drawn carriage is the Shen family, I guess there are people in the Shen family who can ride horses.
Pei Liuniang had said before that she could ride a horse. At that time, I thought it was her turn to use the plow horse to open up the wasteland, and Pei Liuniang was there, so I didn't hire a rider. Now that Pei Liuniang is not here, I can find someone temporarily.
So while others were helping to pick up the wasteland, Gu Ran came to the Shen family to discuss this matter with Mr. Shen.
After hearing this, Mr. Shen readily agreed: "That's perfect. Our family also needs to reclaim some land, so it's okay for us to take the lead first." He then even agreed to hire a rider.
The Shen family has been very well-behaved since they moved to Xiaxi Village. Although the Shen family has not been seen doing any business, it is said that Mr. Shen has purchased a lot of land in Donglin Township.
They were originally a wealthy family, and now they make a living by renting land and working as tenant farmers. Judging from their food, clothing, housing and transportation, they are not short of money.
"Don't worry, Second Lady Gu. Our family used to have hundreds of acres of fertile land in Suzhou. Many of our servants have worked with plow horses before. They are all experienced and will definitely help you cultivate your wasteland."
Shen Dalang also said with a smile.
Last time, he got Gu Ran's red mushroom to nourish his wife. Now that his wife is well, he can stay at home and take care of his daughter with peace of mind. He was worried about the miasma, but now that the miasma problem has been solved, he can't live too comfortably.
After getting the assurance from the Shen family father and son, Gu Ran left with peace of mind.
By the time Lin Erlang had questioned everyone one by one, it was two days later, and the five acres of wasteland had been cleared.
The plow horses and farm tools were sent to Village Chief Wu by two young men from Donglin Township, who then asked Lin Erlang to deliver them to the small house.
Gu Ran looked at this horse, which was shorter than an ordinary steed, and after receiving instructions from Village Chief Wu, he led the plow horse into the bamboo shed. Fortunately, there was an extra shed when the livestock shed was built in case of need, and it could be used now.
After feeding the cat the grass and water prepared in the morning, he came out to thank Village Chief Wu.
"Are you going into the miasma forest tomorrow?"
Gu Ran nodded.
"When you bring people in, be careful and pay attention to their personal safety. I'll help you watch over this wasteland outside."
"That would be great."
With the old masters of the Shen family and Village Chief Wu helping her, she probably won't have to worry about the wasteland not being able to be developed.
Although he knew that the person entering the forest this time included Village Chief Wu's second son, and was afraid that Village Chief Wu wanted to do him a favor, Gu Ran still gladly accepted her kindness.
However, the next day, when the people Lin Erlang brought gathered outside the cottage, Gu Ran was about to tell them the precautions and handed each of them two masks that he had made early in the morning and a sachet of medicine to repel snakes and insects. However, they were still surprised to see the people he brought.
"You..., you are not..." Gu Ran thought he had seen it wrong and looked at one of them and said "you" for a long time.
The man was also quite surprised.
When Lin Erlang came looking for him a job, he had heard that it was Second Mother Gu from Xiaxi Village who hired the person, but he hadn't paid much attention to it. Until now, when he saw the person in front of him and saw her shocked face, he was also quite surprised. After realizing what was going on, he immediately regained his composure: "It's you, Second Mother Gu!"
"It's you, Li..." Even though Gu Ran has always been very rational, he still stuttered out of control.
"Uncle." Uncle Li interrupted.
Gu Ran opened his mouth but didn't say anything else. He forced a smile and said, "It's Uncle Li!"
"Do you know each other?" Now it was Lin Erlang's turn to be surprised.
"We once had a friendship," said Uncle Li.
Gu Ran smiled at Lin Erlang and said, "That's right. When did Uncle Li come to Xiaxi Village? Why haven't I heard of him?"
Uncle Li remained silent, and it was Lin Erlang who spoke up for him. "Not long ago, maybe a while ago, my mother said that Uncle Li had just arrived, and since it was the busy farming season, she was worried he wouldn't be able to find work. Since he was willing to follow us into the miasma forest, she called him over. I didn't expect you two knew each other, which is even better."
It is dangerous to enter the miasma forest, but on the one hand, with Gu Er Niang who is familiar with the forest, safety is guaranteed. On the other hand, you can earn forty cents a day, which is a very high wage and worth the trip.
Therefore, neither Wu Dalang nor Uncle Yang shirked their responsibility.
Gu Ran suppressed his surprise and drove his donkey cart into the Dayu forest in full view of the village chief Wu and others who were reclaiming the land.
"This, is Second Lady Gu entering the miasma forest today?"
"I heard they've chosen three acres of wasteland and plan to cut down the trees and weeds before starting the project!"
"She still dares to bring people in?"
"What are you afraid of? Gu Er Niang has been in that forest for over a year, and nothing has happened!"
"Too!"
When they were about to enter Dayu Forest, Gu Ran stopped the donkey cart and taught them to wear masks, roll up their sleeves and trouser legs, and then wear medicine bags.
Lin Erlang and the others knew that the miasma was very powerful, so they naturally did not dare to take it lightly. They looked at the miasma forest where they had never set foot before, swallowed their saliva, and then quickly followed Gu Ran's instructions, took all their things with them, and followed her into the forest, one step deep and one step shallow.
In fact, the wasteland chosen by Gu Ran is less than sixty feet into the forest.
Because he understood the villagers' fear of the miasma forest, Gu Ran planned to start from the inner edge of the wasteland. As he cleaned up the area, he would move closer to the outer edge of the forest and the village. He guessed that they would not be so afraid anymore.
It can also keep the danger to a minimum.
In order to clear the woods as quickly as possible, Gu Ran had already prepared the tools and pulled a donkey cart in to bring in the tools: two saws, an axe, a hoe and a sickle.
The saw is naturally used mainly to cut trees, the axe is used to split rocks, the hoe is used to dig up tree roots, and the sickle is naturally used to cut down bushes and weeds in the forest.
Ever since she learned that she had to reclaim the three acres of forest in Dayu Forest, Gu Ran had inquired about the way the people in Xiaxi Village reclaimed the forest. They usually used axes to chop the land first. So she immediately asked Master Huang to make these two double saws in advance, but it cost her more than ten taels of silver.
Seeing Gu Ran take out a double-hand saw, they were still confused. It was not until Gu Ran called Lin Erlang, selected a smaller tree, and each of them took a saw and quickly cut down the wood that they became interested and started to work in pairs, taking the double-hand saw in the same way.
In fact, Gu Ran had carefully observed the three acres of forest land he selected from Dayu Forest.
Because it is near the outer edge of the forest, the trees are sparse and there are naturally not many plants. They are not even as thick as the trees in the inner forest. Most of them are thin and young, so there is no need to cut down too many trees.
As for the area that occupies the largest area, it is still the weeds and bushes. Gu Ran originally considered whether to burn them out, but for the sake of caution, he rejected this approach.
Gu Ran planned to clear one acre of forest land a day. He first told them the scope of the forest land to be cleared today, inserted bundles of mugwort on the edge, lit them and smoked them to drive away poisonous insects, snakes, scorpions and other things that might come from outside.
While the other four people first cut down the trees in the one acre of land they were responsible for, Gu Ran also used a hoe to dig out the tree stumps one by one along with the roots and branches under the soil.
Get rid of the small ones, and let them dig up the ones that cannot be gotten rid of.
After cutting down all the trees in the visible acre of land, they harvested the shrubs, cut the weeds, and finally gathered them together and piled them at the edge of the field.
With five people working on one acre of land, they can catch up with the progress in one day.
Gu Ran paid for lunch for the four people he invited.
But he didn't dare eat it in the woods, so he left his tools on the ground and returned to the donkey cart to finish the job quickly.
Gu Ran also came prepared: drinking water and food were all packed in wooden barrels and transported together in a donkey cart.
Taking into account that they would be doing rough work and specifically selecting those who were strong and had large appetites, Gu Ran prepared mostly meat and rice.
The weather at the end of August was very hot, even if it wasn't warm, I felt hot and tired after working for a whole morning.
So in addition to bringing a stove to boil hot broth, Gu Ran also brought some cold drinks - since people eat a lot of meat, they can cool down and relieve the greasiness at the same time.
Drink hot soup, eat meat and rice with big mouthfuls.
Finally, have a bowl of lemon tea to cool down and relieve greasiness, which makes you feel refreshed.
The four people regained their energy after the meal. After a short rest, they immediately put on masks, got off the donkey cart, and walked to the half-cleared forest to start working.
When the golden sun set in the west that day, and they were moving the felled trees and weeds and shrubs aside according to Gu Ran's instructions, Uncle Yang asked, "Second Mother Gu, you can use these trees as firewood, don't you want them?"
"I was thinking of moving later. Uncle Yang, do you want it?"
Gu Ran actually planned to put it into the space when no one was around, which would be quick and convenient.
"Can you give me some?" Uncle Yang asked embarrassedly.
"Okay, everyone, you're not afraid of danger and have followed me into the woods. It's so hard. A few bundles of firewood are nothing." Gu Ran said generously, "Brother Wu, do you want any? Second Brother Lin? Uncle Li?"
Lin Erlang and Uncle Li shook their heads, while Brother Wu said, "Let Uncle Yang take more. He's the only man in his family, so it's not convenient for him to collect firewood on a regular basis."
Uncle Yang is Jinling and Yinling's father.
Uncle Yang had three daughters. The eldest daughter was married off early. Besides him, there were only Aunt Yang and two sisters, Jinling and Yinling, in the family. No wonder Lin Erlang said it was inconvenient for his family to collect firewood.
So everyone moved the many cut down trees onto the donkey carts, and only left the miasmic forest after the carts were full.
After today's experience, they safely left the miasma forest. The four people took off their masks and breathed a deep breath.
Since there is firewood for Uncle Yang's house on the donkey cart, we naturally have to go to Yang's house first.
Gu Ran glanced at the three acres of reclaimed wasteland and couldn't help but smile. Then he drove the donkey cart to Yang's house in the village where smoke was curling up, and moved all the trees on the donkey cart to the backyard of Yang's house.
"Thank you for your help." Uncle Yang thanked them gratefully.
"It's not a trouble. I will have to trouble you again tomorrow, Uncle Yang." Gu Ran said.
"Don't worry, I will be there on time tomorrow." Uncle Yang laughed.
Aunt Yang and Yinling, who had come out to check on the guests after hearing Dad's laughter, came out and were surprised and happy to see the pile of firewood in the backyard.
After Gu Ran said goodbye to them, Wu Dalang and Lin Erlang also went back home. As they walked away, she looked at Uncle Li, who had suddenly fallen silent, and asked, "Uncle Li, Li Jieguan, why are you here in Xiaxi Village?"
That’s right, the newcomer to Xiaxi Village, Uncle Li, who shocked Gu Ran, was none other than Li Jieguan, the official who had escorted them to Qingyi.
How come Li Jieguan was sent to Minzhou?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
