When Cheng Yue saw the twenty men in front of her, all of them looking excited, and then saw the village head's satisfied smile, she understood perfectly well that they had been brainwashed by the village head.
Seeing that only Zhang Dajiang from the Zhang family had come, Cheng Yue immediately understood what the village head meant. She sighed inwardly but said nothing.
Once everyone had arrived, Cheng Yue and Chen An went to the open space outside the courtyard, with Chen Lin and his two siblings following behind like little tails.
The village headman said, as if taking credit, "Cheng Yue, I've found all the men for you. They're all honest and hardworking lads from our village, guaranteed to get things done quickly and well!"
"Brother Chen An, sister-in-law, just tell us what you need. We may not be good at much else, but we're definitely good at building chicken coops!"
"Yes, the storage is built very solidly, it won't collapse even in heavy rain!"
"Pah, pah, pah! Nonsense! Why are you saying it's raining heavily?"
The village head glared at them, saying, "Who's so careless as to say something like 'it's raining heavily' in front of everyone?"
Twenty years ago, in July, there were ten days of torrential rain. Houses collapsed, dikes broke, and water levels rose sharply, causing many deaths in their village. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.
If they hadn't lived halfway up the mountain, the entire village would probably have been washed away, and probably not a single person would have survived.
Realizing he had misspoke, the man quickly spat out three "pui" sounds.
The others had a vivid memory of the flood; they were about ten years old twenty years ago and knew how desperate it was.
Especially Chen An, whose father died in the same way.
If his mother hadn't forced his father to go out in the rain, how could his father have died? And died so tragically.
When the body was found, all the bones in the body were broken, and the face was scratched beyond recognition by tree branches.
Cheng Yue sensed Chen An's emotional fluctuations and squeezed his hand tightly. Chen An snapped out of his daze and forced a smile.
Cheng Yue had a memory of a flood, but she didn't know that Chen An's father had died in this way. Seeing that everyone's mood was not as high as before, she had no choice but to change the subject and talk about serious matters.
"The chicken and duck coop will be built on that open space over there. I've already marked the four corners with sticks. In a bit, I'll use thin hemp rope to string lines and cover the coop along those lines."
Then build the courtyard wall up to the height of one person, and add a partition wall in the middle, and erect a shed on the west side of the roof..."
As Cheng Yue gestured, she explained that the house was surrounded by open space, so it could be built anywhere.
However, she plans to rebuild the house before this winter. The current yard is too small and will definitely need to be expanded. She can only move the chicken and duck coop a little further away to avoid not having enough space when building the house.
After saying that, Cheng Yue took out a bundle of thin hemp rope. Liu Chunlai took it and called Zhang Dajiang and the others to tie the rope around the wooden stick.
After the group surrounded the area, they realized that the open space was huge. How many chickens and ducks could they raise there?
However, while everyone thought about it, none of them asked the question. They just took their wages and focused on doing their jobs. They would build whatever size the workers were asked to build, and nothing else was something they should worry about.
The village head looked at it for a while and said, "This land is not bad. We just need to clear away the weeds before we build on it, especially the brambles. We have to dig them up by the roots."
Apart from the courtyard where Cheng Yue and the others lived and the surrounding dry land, everywhere was covered with weeds that were half a person tall, and there were also many brambles. These things could not be cut with a sickle, lest a hard stubble remain and prick your foot.
Speaking of brambles, Chen An added, "Just dig up the brambles and bring them to the yard. I'll weave a few baskets for them later."
Chen An learned his skills from his father; he could do some carpentry, and basket weaving was a piece of cake for him.
The baskets woven from wicker are sturdy and can be used for a long time, so villagers generally don't throw them away easily.
Since he can't do anything else anyway, he might as well find something to do.
Liu Chunlai chuckled, "Sure thing, Brother Chen An, how about you make one up and send it to me? All my family's secrets have been exposed."
Zhang Dajiang kicked him in the butt, "You're such a troublemaker! I sent you here to do the work, and you're already ordering your brother Chen An around to weave baskets for you before you've even started!"
Chen An smiled helplessly, too lazy to pay attention to Liu Chunlai. This guy was always grinning and never serious. If you said one thing to him, he could say ten.
If you keep going like this, you might as well not do any work at all.
It's just a basket, I'd give you ten if I wanted.
Liu Chunlai rubbed his bottom, and seeing Chen An's expression, he knew he had the basket in hand. He immediately bent down and started pulling weeds.
Cheng Yue hurriedly said, "Don't pull out these weeds. It's such a big area, it's too much trouble to clean it up. Just clear out the tall ones."
When raising chickens and ducks, a few weeds are nothing; they can peck at them and maybe even find insects or grasshoppers for a treat.
Hearing Cheng Yue say this, everyone ignored the shorter ones and went to dig up brambles.
The village head said worriedly, "With so many chickens and ducks, we have to keep a close eye on them. This is the mountain after all, and there are plenty of weasels and snakes. We don't want them to get into trouble."
Cheng Yue nodded in agreement. She had considered free-range methods, but it was this idea that led her to decide to build a wall around the enclosure.
She felt safe raising them in captivity, otherwise she would always be worried that one day her chickens and ducks would be wiped out, and wouldn't she be at a loss?
The village head had only said a few words because he thought Chen An and Cheng Yue didn't have any elders to guide them, but now that it seemed the couple had a plan, he didn't say anything more.
Seeing a group of men working hard, he felt satisfied and at ease. He shouted for everyone to keep up the good work, and then went down the mountain.
After watching the village head descend the mountain, Cheng Yue went to the kitchen and boiled a large pot of water, adding a handful of rock sugar. Everyone drank the sugar water and had more energy to work.
After cooking the sweet soup, Cheng Yue called Chen Lin and his two siblings to take the bowls out. Just as they stepped outside, they saw Zhao Xiangxiu leading Cuicui up the mountain.
"Cheng Yue, how come you're so fast?" Zhao Xiangxiu clicked her tongue in amazement. Over there, a group of men were bent over, clearly about to build a chicken and duck coop.
Cheng Yue said yesterday that she wanted to start a breeding business, and people started working on it first thing this morning. She really didn't delay anything.
No wonder they can make money; they're incredibly hardworking.
Cheng Yue teased, "Isn't this so you can have something to do as soon as possible and get paid sooner?"
Once Zhao Xiangxiu accepted the matter, she didn't dwell on it and said with a smile, "Then thank you very much, Sister Cheng Yue!"
Cui Cui, however, pursed her lips somewhat embarrassedly and said sincerely, "Aunt Cheng Yue, thank you! Here are some dried vegetables, please accept them."
Her mother told her about this yesterday, and she was both excited and nervous. She couldn't sleep all night, tossing and turning. This morning, she dragged her mother to her mother's house to express her gratitude.
Unfortunately, the chicken and duck eggs were sold yesterday, and there's nothing good at home to offer but some dried vegetables, which Cheng Yue might find unappealing.
The little girl had dark circles under her eyes and yellowish whites, but her eyes were exceptionally clear and full of gratitude.
Cheng Yue patted Cui Cui's head, took the dried vegetables from her hand, and said gently, "No need to thank me, Auntie will thank you later! Raising chickens and ducks is not easy, you'll have to put in a lot of effort!"
Cui Cui was surprised by Cheng Yue's gentle tone and blushed as she excitedly replied, "No trouble at all, I like it!"
After saying that, she caught a glimpse of Chen Lin's silly grin out of the corner of her eye, and her heart started pounding, her ears turning red.
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