Chapter 207 The Craftsman Comes Back
Lei Dafu had been standing quietly and calmly by the side, and with his father and second uncle looking at him for help, he finally began to explain: "We can't give up our hunting skills. If our family only relies on one source of income, life will still be tight. If that happens, it will be meaningless for Aunt to help us.
Astragalus is very profitable now, but what if one day or another it doesn't make any money, or the harvest is very poor? We have the skill of hunting, and life will only be a little harder than before, but it won't be impossible.
And you also said, mother, that the villagers have dug up all the astragalus this year, and it takes two years for the astragalus to grow. That means they won't have any astragalus harvest in their own fields next year. The mountain is very big, but there's no need for us to dig it all up. It's enough for us to live a good life.
The most important thing is to have a good harvest every year. I think this is what Auntie is planning as well."
Liu Cuihua suddenly realized!
No wonder Astragalus is so profitable. Only their Lei family goes up the mountain to dig it. Before, they only thought about their own safety. But let alone seventy cents per catty, even at ten cents per catty, how many people would risk their lives to dig it up the mountain.
Shen Qing felt that the Lei family needed money, and the astragalus could be sold for money. However, she was so greedy that she wanted to get rich overnight and dig up every piece of forest.
Although she couldn't dig it all out, this idea was wrong!
She said, "Yes, we are still men hunting. I will take the second and third brothers, as well as my daughter and niece to dig astragalus. We will dig as much as possible, but we won't force it. Shen Qing said that the astragalus will be finished in October, so we will dig until late September.
The rest will be kept for next year, so we can store mountain products in the coming days.”
There are still more than twenty days until the end of September. Assuming that each family earns two or three taels of silver a day, each family will have an income of at least fifty or sixty taels!
If you are still not satisfied with so much money, I really don’t know what to say.
When Lei Qiutian heard about the mountain products storage, he said excitedly, "That's great, Auntie. I promised Xing'er to take them up the mountain to collect mountain products. Can I take them with me then?"
Lei Chuntian also advised: "Mom, the children in the village have always wanted to go to the mountains. They are so envious when they hear us say that there is more food in the mountains. Let's take them with us!"
This time, not only the girls looked at Liu Cuihua expectantly, but the boys beside them were also waiting with anticipation.
If the sisters can bring their playmates from the village to the mountains, they can bring the men from the village to the mountains to hunt!
Unexpectedly, Liu Cuihua responded readily, "Every household is building a house. They are very busy now. The house will be completed in ten days at most. You can take them with you then."
How can people who live in the mountains not go up the mountains in the future?
Instead of letting them run around ignorant of the danger, it is better for us to lead the way, at least we can avoid many detours.
And she wanted to give something back.
Chun, Xia, Qiu and Dong cheered so much that they almost jumped up and down, and they couldn't wait to go down the mountain to tell Feng Xing and Feng Tao the good news.
On the other side, Boss Lei said to his son and nephew, “When the weather gets cold and the meat is easy to store, take the men from the village into the mountains;
All the game they hunted was then divided equally, so they could store up some meat for the winter during their first year."
In the past, he would not have dared to say so. After all, hunting was their means of livelihood, and the reserves before the New Year affected the lives of the three families!
But this year is different. Food for the winter has been bought, and it is even better and more than before. Clothes have also been purchased. The money spent has decreased, and the money saved has increased.
Hunting is no longer related to the survival of the three families and their daily lives, so their mentality is naturally different from before and they are much more relaxed.
Fang Ting and Ma Pandi were thinking in their minds that after they got the prey back from hunting, they would tan the leather and select the best and most expensive ones to make two sets of warm clothes for Shen Qing from head to toe.
As an outsider, Shen Qing hopes that they live well. They are not relatives but are better than family. Although they are outsiders, they also hope that her life will be more comfortable...
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The people of Huludu soon learned that once their house was built, the women of the Lei family would take them up the mountain to pick wild vegetables and fruits.
The men of the Lei family took them hunting together, and all the prey were divided equally!
The men were happy but also a little embarrassed. This was clearly taking advantage of the Lei family. However, the Lei family insisted on dividing the profits equally no matter what, so in the end they had no choice but to rush the matter.
Everyone in the village is extremely motivated!
After making adobe bricks for five days, Mr. Jiang Erye, Mr. Jiang Sanye, Mr. Zhao Laoda and Hong Ming went out of the mountains to the city to look for skilled craftsmen.
The Guan family has already collected enough bricks and tiles, and the foundation has been dug early, so they can build the walls. The family making adobe bricks will have about five or six days to finish, and another seven or eight days will be enough for the Shen Qing family, as the foundation of the Shen Qing family has already been laid.
Since Shen Qing's family and the brush workshop are both planning to install floor heating, they went to the city today to invite craftsmen, providing them with food and lodging. After they arrive, they will first install Shen Qing's floor heating, and only after that can Shen Qing's family officially build the house.
By then, the Guan family's house must have been built, and then the kang and stove would be built for the Guan family, followed by each family behind, and it would take no time to complete the whole process.
It was already dark when the craftsmen were invited. The thatched huts they lived in were built early, and their meals were provided by the family they worked for.
The further they walked, the more remote and rugged the road became. The six craftsmen comforted themselves all the way that the old men looked kind and must not be bad people.
Then he thought about the generous amount of silver given and that it had been delivered to his home in advance, so he certainly wouldn't be trying to kill them for money - compared to the silver given, it would be of no benefit to harm them who were penniless.
After the drawbridge was lowered, the donkey cart carried them in. The drawbridge slowly rose behind them. It was pitch black all around, with heavy shadows in the distance. The six people felt their hearts in their throats.
I stumbled along the way, it was pitch black and I couldn't see anything clearly. The more I walked, the more nervous I became, as if I had entered the mountains and wilderness described by storytellers and book changers, and a deadly monster might jump out at any moment...
Suddenly, torches lit up ahead and a fire started.
The surroundings were illuminated, with piles of adobe bricks, messy tools, and simple thatched houses... The six people felt extremely relieved when they saw them!
That’s great, there’s a fire, not some wild monster!
Jiang Ying brought hot wild vegetable and smoked pork noodle soup to the six people, and they all burst into tears.
That shouldn't be the case. No matter which family hires a craftsman, they will provide him with food. As a skilled craftsman in the city, he must have seen the world. How could he be so moved that he wanted to cry just by a bowl of noodle soup and not much smoked meat?
Six craftsmen: ...Woo woo woo, familiar food, which other animal besides humans can make it!
It was cold in the mountains at night, so the bedding was all provided by Shen Qing - her family had already made new quilts and mattresses, and all the old ones were discarded to be used by the craftsmen.
After eating the hot and juicy food, they felt warm all over. After riding on the donkey cart for several hours, the six craftsmen felt very sleepy under the quilts.
Early the next morning, the six of them went to Shen Qing's house to make earth dragons.
Many families in the village put down their work and went to see what the ground dragon looked like.
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