Chapter 9
The sudden emergence of the refugee resettlement issue had kept Pang Zhishan busy for two days, leaving much unfinished work in the fields. Upon returning from the Shu family's house yesterday, the first thing he did was instruct his wife to prepare breakfast early for the next few days so she could go to work in the fields afterward.
Sure enough, after hastily finishing his breakfast, he picked up his hoe and headed to the fields, but before he could even step out of his house, he bumped into Xun Yi, who had come looking for him.
"Young Xun? Didn't you go to the county?"
Xun Yi nodded, "I got the iron materials and arrived home last night."
Pang Zhishan put the hoe down from his shoulder and suddenly realized, "That's right, you've been gone for two or three days now."
He opened the fence gate and invited Xun Yi in to sit down.
"Come, come, let's go inside and talk. I'll ask your aunt to pour some water."
"No need, Uncle Pang. I'm in a hurry to get back to forge iron. I just wanted to ask you something."
Last night I met Lin Xinghua and heard about the refugee resettlement from her.
Ten years ago, he and his sister fled famine from the Central Plains and received help from the villagers. When they heard that new refugees had arrived in the village, everyone donated equipment to take them up the mountain.
He wasn't there when everyone donated the goods, but now that he's back and knows about it, he can't just stand by and do nothing. He just doesn't know what the Shu family still needs after everyone's donations, so he's asking Pang Zhishan for help in figuring it out.
After hearing his purpose, Pang Zhishan patted him on the shoulder with emotion.
"Good lad, you've really grown up."
Pang Zhishan indeed had a lot to do in the mountains, so he didn't say much about the empty talk. After a moment of contemplation, he thought of what the Shu family needed most at the moment.
“There are a lot of weeds on the mountain, and I see that they are having a hard time hoeing and planting vegetables. But it is the busy farming season, and everyone’s farm tools are all busy. Why don’t you give them a hoe?”
"Okay." Xun Yi agreed without the slightest hesitation, as soon as Pang Zhishan finished speaking.
Ironware is not cheap; it has always been more expensive than woodenware and coarse pottery. Any one of them would cost several hundred coins, so other families in the village were really reluctant to give away a single farm tool.
What a relief! What a relief that Xun family lad is so capable. He opened a blacksmith shop in the village, which not only gives villagers a discount on farm tools and knives, but also played a significant role in helping the Shu family settle down!
Xun Yi agreed without hesitation, and Pang Zhishan was even happier than if he had gotten a free hoe.
When are you planning to send it over?
Xun Yi felt that he did not know the Shu family aunt and niece, so it would be inappropriate to rashly deliver a hoe to them. However, it was obvious that Pang Zhishan would be busy during the day, so he took the initiative to make an appointment with Pang Zhishan to accompany him up the mountain to deliver the hoe in the evening.
Having settled this matter, Xun Yi returned home to his furnace to light a fire and forge iron, then went off to busy himself with his own tasks.
...
Shu Wanxiu set her goals too high, so much so that she was devastated by reality.
Yesterday was a busy day, and the blisters on my hands haven't healed at all. Today, I started working again, but the pain made me stop to catch my breath several times.
Despite gritting their teeth and persevering, by yesterday's appointed time, they had only cleared most of the land.
She also burned the weeds to use as fertilizer and sowed some coriander seeds on the turned-over ground.
Carrying water up the mountain was no easy task. They only had one wooden bucket, which they couldn't carry on their shoulders. They had to lift it by hand, and each stretch of the mountain path required them to turn it back and forth five or six times. As a result, all the blisters on their palms and fingers were broken.
With seven or eight wounds, it's inevitable that the vegetables and rice will get wet, and every time it touches the wound, it's excruciatingly painful.
Fortunately, I didn't take a midday break today. After taking a shower at noon, I used the break time to wash the clothes I had changed out of, instead of leaving them for now.
After taking medicine for several days and with the improved diet in the past two days, Shu Shouyi has not had a relapse.
Seeing the injury on Shu Wanxiu's hand, he actually learned to take the initiative to find things to do.
Unfortunately, he was too young, and Shu Wanxiu dared not let him get involved in things that involved getting close to the fire pit, so she had to do it herself with a heavy heart.
But more than the pain she feels now, she is worried about what will happen in the future.
From a young age, her family didn't let her do much farm work. On one hand, they loved her dearly, and on the other hand, a person who spins cloth must not have rough hands, especially for the finest and most expensive fabrics.
After just two days of farm work, her hands were already rough and covered with many small cuts. Over the years, even if she saved enough money to buy a loom, it would be difficult for her to weave silk like she used to at home.
Shu Wanxiu was preoccupied and absent-minded even when cooking dinner. She picked up a bowl to serve the porridge as soon as she saw the rice in the pot bloom.
Shu Shouyi, who had been thinking about food, couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, aren't you going to put in some wontons?"
"Oh, yes, we should let it go."
She poured a spoonful of porridge back into the pot and added the previously prepared flatbread.
After the dishes were cooked, the porridge was served again. As Shu Shouyi ate, he cautiously looked up and asked, "Auntie, can we have porridge with eggs for dinner tomorrow?"
Shu Wanxiu took a moment to answer, "Yes."
She had planned to put the food on for dinner tonight, but she forgot.
"From now on, I will drink egg porridge every day until all the eggs are eaten."
It is no exaggeration to say that even before fleeing the famine, Shu Shouyi had never eaten so many eggs in a row. Upon hearing this, his emotions were not just excitement, but more accurately described as euphoria.
He wiggled his bottom on the stool, gulped down the porridge, then jumped off the stool and ran around the shed twice. Not satisfied, he hopped and skipped back to the front of the house.
Shu Wanxiu was about to tell him to slow down and not run too far when she saw him stop and, as if he had seen a flood or a ferocious beast, tiptoe back step by step.
"What's wrong?" Shu Wanxiu's tone became tense because of him.
Shu Shouyi didn't answer until he turned around and ran back to hide behind Shu Wanxiu, then stammered, "There... there's someone."
Who could have frightened the child like this?
Shu Wanxiu immediately put down her bowl of porridge and reassured her, "Don't worry, Auntie will go and take a look."
She appeared to get up and walk steadily in that direction, but in reality, she was panicking inside.
The sun is about to set. What if a villain suddenly appears halfway up the mountain?
Fortunately, after taking two steps, she heard a series of crisp footsteps, accompanied by Village Chief Pang's cheerful voice: "Shu girl? Is Shu girl here?"
Shu Wanxiu's heart, which had been in her throat, instantly returned to normal, and she answered loudly, "Yes!"
He changed his small, shuffling steps to long strides as he went out to greet the village chief. Sure enough, it was Chief Pang, but he was accompanied by a tall young man.
Hmm...not only is he tall, he also looks very strong.
Shu Shouyi's fear was indeed well-founded; normally, Shu Wanxiu would avoid men of that size.
However, with Village Chief Pang accompanying them, the visitor was naturally considered a guest.
So, despite feeling a little apprehensive and not knowing the other person's identity, she still warmly invited him to sit in the main room out of respect for Village Chief Pang, and she went to fetch stools and pour water.
"Stop, stop what you're doing."
When Pang Zhishan spoke, Shu Wanxiu obediently stood still.
Seeing that the person was standing still, Pang Zhishan continued, "You know how many households there are in our village. I introduced most of them to you yesterday. There is only one household that you haven't met because you've been out running errands these past few days."
Pang Zhishan tilted his head to the left and gestured with his chin, saying, "Look, this young man's surname is Xun."
"He lives at the foot of the mountain and runs a blacksmith shop. You'll find out later that he makes the best ironware in the surrounding area. If you need to buy any ironware, just go to him. He can give locals a low price."
Shu Wanxiu nodded seriously and remembered what this person looked like.
“He couldn’t make it over yesterday, so he specifically asked me today what your family still needs.” Pang Zhishan said, pointing to the land outside. “I thought, you have so many weeds to clear and vegetables to plant, so I asked him to bring a hoe over.”
Xun Yi was a man of few words, and in this situation, he didn't know what to say. He simply handed over the hoe in silence after Pang Zhishan finished speaking.
After receiving a 'hurry up and take it' look from Village Chief Pang, Scholar Shu Wan took the new hoe with both hands.
"Thank you, Brother Xun... thank you, Village Chief Pang." Shu Wanxiu said, her thin, sallow face flushed red as she expressed her gratitude.
Unbeknownst to anyone, she had gotten so used to calling people "uncle" and "elder brother" that she almost addressed them as being a generation older than her.
Xun Yi did not pay special attention to her pauses in her speech, but simply nodded slightly and said nothing more.
Pang Zhishan, however, seemed quite pleased with himself. He put his hands behind his back and looked her over again, mentioning the discovery he had just made while passing by the house: "You've cleared another piece of land today?"
"Yes, I planted some coriander. My aunt gave me a lot of seeds for winter vegetables, and it would be too late if we didn't plant them soon."
Holding the sturdy wooden handle in her palm, Shu Wanxiu thought: With this new hoe, the process of clearing land and planting vegetables will surely be much faster.
This reply made Pang Zhishan think that Shu Wanxiu was a shrewd person. He glanced at the direction she had come from and saw the pot on the hearth and the bowl of porridge on the stove, so he didn't say anything more.
"You can continue with your dinner; we'll head back now."
Pang Zhishan turned around, and Xun Yi followed him.
Shu Wanxiu held the hoe handle and watched them walk away, silently memorizing the appearance and characteristics of this benefactor surnamed Xun: tall, strong, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, not talkative, and one of the best craftsmen in the surrounding area.
Oh, and his blacksmith shop is located at the foot of the mountain.
She suddenly remembered the wisp of smoke she had seen at the foot of the mountain that morning... It wasn't cooking smoke at all; it must have been the blue smoke coming from the blacksmith's furnace.
A note from the author:
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