These things had nothing to do with their own family, and after they finished speaking, they started talking about other things.
Li Mai also told Zhao that they planned to pay for people to build houses themselves after the land was divided.
Zhao nodded, "You can make the decision now. But we should discuss it with the clan leader, right?"
Li Mai nodded. "Yes, I have to say."
The people sent by the government were taken by the Shi brothers to see the miserable state of the villagers' fields in Xishangou. They then came back to carefully inspect the village and the villagers' living conditions in the tents without curtains on the mountain. They were all saddened and said they would definitely report back to the magistrate truthfully.
Their lunch was also prepared by the clan chief's family.
In the afternoon, the clan chief finished distributing the grain to everyone and then took the government officials to see the address of the village they wanted to relocate.
Those people wrote it all down and then went back.
They came on horseback, setting off around 3 PM, so the return journey would be faster, and they could get back before sunset.
The next day, no one from the government came.
The clan chief arranged for people to help bury the deceased and the bodies of the four families of Zhou Ermao in the Zhou clan's cemetery.
If no other bodies can be found, a cenotaph can only be built for them.
In the afternoon, the village chief arranged for people to go to the area of the new village to level the ground and begin preparations.
Another group of people were arranged to go into the mountains to find areas with plenty of rocks, sand, and red clay.
Once these are finalized, we can retrieve them promptly when needed.
On the third day, the government officials still hadn't arrived. The clan chief told everyone to continue searching for more stones and bluestone slabs to pave the roads in the new village. These were suggestions from Zhou Quan.
Of course, Li Mai and Zhou Quan are still working hard on the planning map for the new village.
These past few days, Li Mai and Zhou Quan have been sleeping in the carriage every night.
However, after entering the carriage, the two of them would go into the space and draw at the table.
In the past few days, the two of them have been constantly communicating with the clan chief and the villagers, listening to everyone's expectations for the new village.
Some people said they hoped to plant a fruit tree in their yard, others said they wanted an osmanthus tree, and still others said they didn't want to plant trees but wanted to plant flowers and vegetables.
They record any ideas that come up.
On the fourth day, the planning map was completed.
There are five rows of small courtyards built in total, with ten households in each row.
Three rows of large courtyards were built, with six households in each row.
However, two families were different from the others: one was the clan chief's family, and the other was Zhou Quan's family.
Each of their families occupied two corners, one in the southwest and one in the northwest, because they planned to pay for and hire people to build their houses themselves, before any other houses in the village started construction.
The clan chief's family lived in the southwest corner, occupying two large courtyards. Zhou Quan's family lived in the northwest corner, occupying one large courtyard and an open space next to it.
However, in the row of small courtyards in front of his house, his family arranged for two more small courtyards, because he had three sons.
Zhou Quan's arrangement was for his parents to live in the large courtyard with Zhou Lei, because they were going to build a shack area there. Zhao Shi also wanted to grow some vegetables and scallions in the courtyard.
The small courtyard in front belongs to the Zhou brothers, Quan and Lin.
The new village is very well planned, with rows of houses arranged in a neat and orderly manner.
However, in the very center of the village, a large circular area has been marked out as a public activity space for the village. The Zhou Clan Ancestral Hall, the Study Hall, and the Clinic are built around it. In the center is a flat square paved with bluestone slabs, which can also be used by the villagers as a grain drying yard.
Surrounding the area are rows of stone tables and benches, where villagers can sit and chat, and drink tea. Those living nearby can also bring their meals and gossips here.
This public area also divides the village into four rows in the front and four rows in the back.
A stone wall is built around the entire village to protect it from wolves and to prevent water from flowing down from the mountain into the village.
Drainage ditches are designed along both sides of every road in the village. Poplar and elm trees, among others, are also planted at intervals along the roads to provide shade for residents.
After the clan chief saw this and checked the corresponding courtyards for each family, he found that there was an extra courtyard. Zhou Quan said that it could be given to the son of someone else.
The clan chief nodded, understanding.
In short, the planning is excellent. If such a village were built, it would be truly beautiful, but it would also be incredibly expensive.
He realized that Li Mai and Zhou Quan's plans were all aimed at making the place both aesthetically pleasing and convenient for everyone to live in.
After the villagers were summoned one by one to confirm their respective locations and to ensure that no one had any objections, the clan chief asked Zhou Quan to start calculating how much silver, wood, stone, bricks, tiles, and lime would be needed to rebuild the entire village.
After confirming that no one would make any further changes, Zhou Quan went back to calculate the remaining details.
On the fifth day, Lord Fu personally brought more than a dozen cartloads of supplies to visit the villagers.
They were told that 10,000 taels of silver had been allocated to Zhoujia Village to help the villagers rebuild the village.
Lord Fu also said that this area could be used as the address for the new village, and that once the houses are built, new land deeds would be issued to each family.
After all, once the houses are rebuilt and redistributed, the size of each family's home will no longer be the same as before.
Seeing the villagers' miserable state, Lord Fu sighed and told them to be patient. He said he would help gather all the people in the town who knew how to build houses to help build houses in Zhoujia Village, so that they could move into their new houses before the ground freezes.
The clan chief doesn't know if 10,000 taels is enough to build a new village. If it's based on the houses that need to be built, it's enough, but there are still roads to pave and walls to build. Once everything is finished, 10,000 taels might not be enough.
But ten thousand taels would be a great thing, and the clan chief and the villagers solemnly thanked Lord Fu.
Among the dozen or so cartloads of supplies they brought were thirty tung oilcloth tents.
Today, there are still twenty-four families remaining on the mountain.
The clan chief asked which family wanted a tent, and they could take one to pitch their own tent on the mountaintop.
Many families have gotten used to living in these large tents and don't want to move for the time being.
The Zhou Quan family and the Lin Caishu family were the first to receive two hats.
A tent like this can accommodate about ten people.
The Zhou family could all fit in, so they moved out of the large tent.
Lin Caishu's tent was next to theirs, and the two families became neighbors.
With their two families taking the lead, Zhou Daniu's family and about ten other families followed suit, setting up tents one after another next to Lin Caishu's family.
The clan chief's family also kept three hats, one for each member of the family.
As a result, there were fewer people living in the large tents, and the tents suddenly became more spacious. The families that were staying there were all elderly and didn't want to move. Staying together meant they could chat, so they didn't move.
Besides, people have already used branches and willow twigs from the woods to make doors and windows for their tents, which will at least protect them from the cool night winds and flying insects.
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