Chapter 18: How beautiful that would be!
Shen Zhiyi walked over to the source of the voice and walked back side by side with the village chief.
The light elongated the silhouettes of the old man and the young boy, creating a strangely warm atmosphere. Shen Zhiyi couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that the bricks that Lord Lu bought were left behind? Or did Brother Dazhuang and the others go with him?"
"You really can't hide anything from me, girl," the village chief said with a chuckle. Seeing that the men in the village had work to do during the cold season, and that so many families were able to survive with their savings, how could he not be happy!
"Apart from the few bricks used to build your kang (heated brick bed), the rest are piled up in the backyard. Lord Lu said to keep the bricks, and I was thinking, why don't we use these bricks to build a kang for every household in the village? That way, those who haven't had a chance to learn yet can practice. What do you think?" the village chief asked slowly.
Along the way, the villagers would greet them, and the village chief would always respond with a smile. Sometimes, when he saw someone, he would stop talking to Shen Zhiyi and turn to ask about that family's situation.
Perhaps only a village chief like this would think of using those bricks to build heated kang beds for every household in the village.
"Of course!" Shen Zhiyi said. "Big Zhuang's team will be too busy to handle it! It's good that more people learn, and they'll have another skill!"
“Girl, you…” Muramasa suddenly stopped, turned to look directly at Shen Zhiyi, and the emotion in his eyes immediately dissipated. He said with relief, “Let’s go! Let’s go look at the bricks!”
Shen Zhiyi understood the unspoken meaning behind the village chief's hesitant words, and since she was no longer used to working alone, she changed the subject: "That day I went to Yugou Village. The whole village had become tenant farmers, and even when there was nothing to do in the fields, they were all ordered to stay in the fields and pick up fallen empty wheat husks. So I..."
She recounted the events of Yugou Village in an organized manner, her gaze fixed intently on the village chief.
"You did the right thing," the village chief said earnestly. "I just thought that person was a bad person, but I never expected him to cause so much trouble!"
"I plan to teach them how to intercrop chili peppers and watermelons, so that they can help us when they sell chili peppers in the early stages. As for the watermelon variety, I want to make it a specialty of their village." Shen Zhiyi revealed her plans without reservation. "It will be easier to cultivate seedlings after we have a heated kang bed."
"Not only can it raise seedlings, but it can also hatch eggs," Shen Zhiyi said with a smile. "If Lord Lu goes back and quickly recruits people to collect night soil, then we won't lack fertilizer for the land! We'll also need to raise some chickens, ducks, and pigs, so we won't lack meat in the future!"
These words made the village chief laugh, and as he laughed, tears welled up in his eyes. He raised his hand to wipe away the tears, and with such imagination, he said, "How beautiful our village must be!"
"It will be very, very beautiful!" Shen Zhiyi gave an affirmative answer.
What people fear most is living without hope.
Today, their hopes are gradually being realized through their hard work, and it's wonderful to think about.
"Ruyi! Rabbit, rabbit..." Tang Huaya ran breathlessly until she reached Shen Zhiyi before she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Speak slowly, there's no rush," the village chief quickly said.
Tang Huaya was so anxious that her eyes were filled with tears. Her hand, which was gripping Shen Zhiyi's, was trembling slightly. She said in a choked voice, "Come with me to see it. It won't let us touch it and it's very fierce. It's completely different from usual!"
"Did it come into contact with the male rabbit during this time?" Shen Zhiyi asked as she walked towards Tang Huaya, only having time to look back at the village chief.
"You all go ahead and get busy, I have to go to the county in a bit," the village chief said, turning to walk back.
Tang Huaya led Shen Zhiyi straight into her house, where she had specially put up a straw curtain at the door to ensure that the temperature inside remained stable.
Hearing the noise, Tang Erleng turned his head to look over, his face still covered in sad snot bubbles. Tang Huaya naturally used a rag from the broken wooden table to roughly wipe his face.
"Sister... the rabbit hasn't eaten. If you reach out to touch it, it will bite your hand, and it hurts a lot." Tang Erleng finished speaking in a daze, looking at the rabbit's burrow with worried eyes.
In such a stuffy environment, the rabbit hutch didn't smell bad, which shows how diligently and thoroughly they cleaned it.
“Rabbits have a strong sense of territory. If you clean up all their things, their burrows won't have their own scent anymore, which makes them feel very insecure and can make them irritable,” Shen Zhiyi explained gently, then looked at the three neatly stacked burrows. “The rabbits didn't run away from their burrows, did they?”
"No, no! I look after them every day," Tang Erleng quickly replied. He was weak and in poor health, so he couldn't do any work and took on the task of looking after the rabbits, which made him cherish the job all the more.
"Then don't clean them up too often next time," Shen Zhiyi said gently to Tang Erleng, looking at Tang Huaya. "Besides that, the rabbits are very irritable right now, so let Aunt Zhao make a thicker glove out of scraps of cloth to prevent them from getting hurt by the rabbits again."
"No need! No need! The rabbit's bite won't hurt," Tang Erleng quickly replied.
“This isn’t just for you, it’s for all of us who came to see the rabbits,” Shen Zhiyi said earnestly. She had encountered children like this before when she did charity work on child psychological counseling, so she knew how to dispel their “unworthiness.”
After Shen Zhiyi resolved the matter, she and Tang Huaya left the house together. Just then, Aunt Zhao came over with a familiar bundle, which she obediently took.
"Auntie, I didn't forget to come and get it," Shen Zhiyi said with a smile.
"You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Come and eat with us." Aunt Zhao pulled Shen Zhiyi towards the main house.
"I've already eaten! I have something to do, so I'll have to go now!" Shen Zhiyi said hurriedly. If this continued, she would have to buy less food for the house.
Shen Zhiyi hurriedly left with her bundle, afraid that she would be left behind again, after all, she couldn't handle Aunt Zhao's ability to handle things!
The dark clouds loomed over the sun, which was already rather cold, creating a low and oppressive atmosphere.
With nothing to do that afternoon, Shen Zhiyi went back to her room to check on the preservation of the seeds. After all, no matter how dry and carefully protected they were, it was impossible to completely prevent the occasional dampness.
She carefully picked out two seeds that didn't look right, moved an old earthenware jar filled with fertile soil from the yard, carefully buried the seeds in it, and then watered it thoroughly.
Even if the temperature is not suitable, seedlings can still be successfully raised and survive the seedling stage using a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed).
However, looking at the various broken clay pots piled up in the corner of the room, given the possibility of a cold snap next month, they cannot be moved out yet, otherwise they might not survive.
"Chen girl, are you home?" Grandma Qin's voice rang out from outside.
"Yes, I'm here!" Shen Zhiyi replied, and walked out of the house.
"I see you didn't even close your gate!" Grandma Qin said with slight disapproval, pulling Shen Zhiyi's hand and trying to lead her outside. But reason prevailed, and she asked first, "Is everything alright at home? If not, let's go."
"I've finished all my business." After Shen Zhiyi finished speaking, she was led away. "What happened that made Grandma so anxious?"
"It's not just that old man, but also my forgetful son..." Grandma Qin said indignantly, quickly pulling her wandering emotions back, "Your village chief told your uncle about making you the main brick before he went to the county, but he only told me now! That's why I rushed over to find you."
Shen Zhiyi had indeed heard the village chief talk about the bricks this morning, but she didn't expect to become the "person in charge of the bricks." She asked in surprise, "What about the kang (heated brick bed)?"
"It's up to you to decide," Grandma Qin replied.
This heavy responsibility came out of nowhere, and Shen Zhiyi asked, "Has Grandpa Village Chief returned?"
"No! Even if he comes back, this is how it will be arranged." Grandma Qin said, patting Shen Zhiyi's hand encouragingly, "Don't be afraid, girl, we're all here for you."
"Okay." Shen Zhiyi stopped being coy.
As soon as they sat down at the village chief's house, Grandma Qin carefully unwrapped the things wrapped in burlap in front of them. Several pages of paper filled with writing were neatly tied up and then sewn into a booklet with strips of cloth and hemp thread. The booklet was then handed to Shen Zhiyi with warmth.
"I'm entrusting this village roster to you," Grandma Qin said solemnly.
Shen Zhiyi solemnly accepted it, looking at the crooked but carefully written words, as if she could see the village chief's painstaking efforts through them.
This is a responsibility handed to us, and also a sign of trust.
The roster contains an overview of each household, allowing Shen Zhiyi to quickly grasp the information and achieve optimal allocation. Excluding the group that went to the county town with Lord Lu to set up the kang (heated brick bed), forming a new kang-setting team wouldn't be difficult.
But who says it has to be one team? What about two teams, three teams? What about men and women working together?
The question lingered in Shen Zhiyi's mind. Farmers were concerned with having enough to eat and wear; things like being different or not were not that important.
Lord Lu serves the high-end market, so she will fill the low-end market. Each person gets one coin for each time they play on the kang (heated brick bed). A team needs at least three people, one of whom is suitable for women.
Shen Zhiyi deeply understands the principle that it is not scarcity but inequality that is a concern. The answer to how to select candidates and how to form a team lies entirely in this roster.
Having made up her mind, Shen Zhiyi said, "Grandma Qin, let's call everyone who's still in the village to gather in front of the ancestral hall. Men and women alike must come."
"Alright!" Grandma Qin said, taking out a gleaming bronze gong from the house and handing it to the man standing next to her. "Shitou, did you hear what Chen girl said? Hurry up and get things started."
As soon as he had the gong in hand, Li Shitou went out and started banging it. The whole village craned their necks to listen because of the noise: "Everyone come to the ancestral hall! There's something important to say! Everyone who can walk must come!"
With such a call, the area in front of the ancestral hall was soon filled with people, and the sounds of conversation, both loud and soft, could be faintly heard from all directions.
This was the first time Shen Zhiyi had stood at the front of the ancestral hall as the person in charge, and a feeling welled up inside her made her nervous. Could she really do it? Could she really do it?
"Everyone's here," Grandma Qin reminded her, giving Shen Zhiyi a loving smile. "Don't be nervous, you'll definitely do well, even better than your village chief grandpa."
The tension vanished instantly. Shen Zhiyi nodded confidently, stepped forward, and spoke her mind: "Everyone, please be quiet and listen to what I have to say next. First, there's the bricks that Lord Lu sent..."
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