Chapter 182 Cutting Wood
Those who want to be near the exit choose to live in the front, and those who want to be near the mountains choose to live in the back.
The two families of Jiang Erye thought of building a workshop like Shen Qing, and chose a location at the foot of the mountain at the back.
The terrain at the foot of the mountain stretches upwards. As long as you are willing to put in the effort to level the land, the usable land is so vast that you can't see the end!
After dividing their respective areas, each household began to pack up their belongings and move to their respective locations.
But before that, all the men in their prime from each family, led by Carpenter Guan, went to the mountains to cut down a batch of suitable trees.
They went up along the river that ran through the entire clearing, and the trees they selected were also on both sides of the river. After cutting them down, they removed the branches and moved them directly into the river and carried them downstream without the trouble of carrying them down the mountain.
Most of these trees were used as beams for houses, and some were used to make suspension bridges and several wooden bridges leading to Shen Qing's place.
The river is wide and narrow, with the narrowest part being only one meter wide. They plan to build a wooden bridge in several narrow places, so that it will be convenient for people, livestock and vehicles to travel between the two sides, as well as for people living at the head, middle or end of the village.
Everyone in Qili Village has something to do and everyone is very busy.
At the same time, at the Cao family halfway up the mountain.
The slender Cao Junzhu looked at his younger brother, his brows slightly furrowed, and said disapprovingly: "Nonsense!
Qingzhu, let me ask you, who in our family can cultivate the land? What is the point of working so hard to open up wasteland?
Cao Qingzhu, a young man in a green robe, curled his lips in displeasure and muttered, "If we don't open up the wasteland, won't that make it easy for those people?"
Cao Junzhu didn't hear clearly and frowned even deeper. Just as he was about to ask, Mrs. Cao beside him spoke earnestly, "We have donkeys and servants at home, so what's wrong with reclaiming some land?
It's a good thing to have some land to grow some food, so we don't have to go out to buy it. Junzhu, you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt are until you run the household! Everything costs money. Our Cao family is different from before, so of course we have to be frugal to live."
"Grandma, are you trying to be frugal or are you trying to compete with the newcomers?" Cao Junzhu looked at Mrs. Cao with a deep gaze.
Mrs. Cao's eyes flashed guiltily, and she asked with a restless mouth, "You know everything?"
It's strange. Her eldest grandson never leaves the house and reads books and practices calligraphy at home every day. How did he know this?
But knowing this is just right, she straightened her back and said, "We arrived first, why should we give such a large piece of land to them? Wouldn't that be too cheap for them?
I've thought about it. We have three donkeys at home. After we clear the wasteland, we can rent them some crops. Then they can give us food as a gift. Wouldn't it be better not to spend money and effort to buy food?
"Grandma, what are you thinking? There's so much open space down there, why can't they just open it up themselves? Why do they have to rent our land and plant crops?
Besides, what does it mean to give them a bargain? Look at the Lei family. Whether we or others come, they still do their job honestly and hunt diligently. Although their life is not too rich, it is more comfortable than those outside.
We came here to hide our strength and bide our time, hoping to one day return to the important capital. But you and your younger brothers first looked down on the Lei family, then looked down on the newcomers, and now you are even losing sight of the main goal!" Cao Junzhu's tone turned stern as he spoke.
Cao Qingzhu lowered his head in shame and pursed his lips.
Mrs. Cao was unhappy and pulled her grandson over, shouting, "What? Now you don't even listen to me, your elder?
I don't know what book he read, it was all so filthy I forgot everything the book said about respecting elders. He even dared to criticize my grandma!
Cao Junzhu rubbed his nose, feeling indescribably tired.
Cao Qingzhu raised his head again, the shame on his face disappeared, and he moved closer to his grandmother.
Mrs. Cao made the decision and said, "Let's go! If your eldest brother doesn't agree, we'll do it. Once we've cultivated the land and harvested the crops, we'll let him know what it means to have an old man in the family, and he's as precious as a treasure!"
Anyway, the land she opened up belonged to their Cao family. Even if they didn't plant crops there, they couldn't let the land be taken advantage of by those lowly disaster victims.
Cao Qingzhu nodded in approval.
Big brother is close to Lei Dafu, so does he have to be close to those disaster victims now?
It's really a devaluation of oneself.
"Grandma, when are we going to open up the wasteland?"
Mrs. Cao smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, you don't understand how ugly it is when farmers fight over land. They quarrel and fight until their heads are broken and bloody. It's so embarrassing.
There are about ten households, and it takes at least ten days to half a month to find land to build houses. During this time, people are sent to the city to buy plows, shovels, hoes, etc.
I have a vegetable garden at home, and I have hoes and shovels, but they are very few, so I have to buy enough to start clearing the land.
But they were not in a hurry. No matter what, they would definitely be faster than the group of disaster victims who were busy and toiling because they were just waiting for the opportunity.
"Grandma is right, I think so too." He has seen too much in the capital!
If the flowers and plants planted by his family grow too lush and over the wall, the neighbor on the other side can cut them off. If the fruit trees he planted grow too tall, the neighbor can pick the fruits and blame his family's fruit trees for blocking the light.
There were so many trivial matters, and these were decent scholars. If they were a group of farmers, they would not quarrel in a polite manner, but would probably just start fighting.
"We'll just watch from the other side of the river. Once we've bought the farm tools, we'll go down and watch the fun."
"Grandma's good grandson, so great! He's on the same page with Grandma. Okay, then we'll go and watch the fun.
Weren't they united when they argued with us before? Let's see how they can still be united when they quarrel among themselves! "
*
The people of Qili Village are working together to build a wooden bridge.
Only by building the wooden bridge first can Shen Qing's family's livestock and belongings be transported to the other side without taking a detour, otherwise they would have to be pulled back to the entrance before they could cross.
On their side, there was a road created by the Lei and Cao families. It was difficult to walk or use a cart, but at least it was passable. On the other side of the river, there was overgrown weeds that were taller than people. It was difficult for people to walk through it, let alone use a cart.
Xu Hongmei was tying two pieces of wood, each as thick as her arms, together tightly, while she worriedly advised, "Have you really thought it through? It would be great if we could all be together."
Shen Qingjiang and Shui Jiangyu were also tying up trees. Hearing Xu Hongmei's concern, they comforted her, "It's okay. The opposite side looks scary now because it's deserted. It will look nice once it's cleaned up."
Li E murmured softly, "But cleaning up is more tiring than here."
Let’s not talk about anything else, just talk about the road. Nine families on their side built it together, which was fast and not tiring. But there was only one family on Shen Qing’s side, so how could it not be tiring?
Forget it, Shen Qing thought it over. If she continued, wouldn't it just be annoying? When her family was almost done, she would ask the brothers to help clean up.
It is more effective to speak with force than with words.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
