Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 66 The Big Head Arrives

Calling the mountain is usually the job of the second-in-command. Since the head boss arranged by Muzhi Company has not arrived, Shui Laowu still has to do the work of the head boss, so he arranged Qu Shaoyang to call the mountain.

Qu Shaoyang raised the axe tied with red cloth in his hand and hit the sacred tree three times, muttering something as he struck.

"Mountain God, old man, please wake up, it's time for you to wake up.

We are going up the mountain and cutting down trees. Tell your boss that we are going to move the mountain and the trees.

Please open the gate, we are coming in."

After Qu Shaoyang finished knocking, the water crow knelt down and sorted the offerings, and the other wooden handles all knelt neatly in front of the sacred tree.

"Mountain God, old boss, we are going to cut down trees.

Please open the mountain gate so we can go in and cut down trees. Please bless us and make everything go smoothly.

When we have a peaceful and smooth season, we will come back to worship the old mountain god."

The water crow said something, and the other woodcutters followed suit.

Afterwards, the water crow rose from the ground, poured wine around the sacred tree, and lit paper money.

The woodcutters also stood up and went forward to burn paper. As they burned, they silently prayed to the mountain god, praying for peace, success and no accidents.

After paying homage to the mountain god, you can start sawing.

When felling trees, the wood gangs are very particular about felling the first tree.

Generally, people choose tall, big and straight trees, which indicates that logging will be smooth, auspicious and profitable this season.

Moreover, the first tree should be planted along the mountainside.

Water Crow had already selected a red pine growing on the hillside, and now he led his men over there carrying a large saw and other tools.

First, use an axe to chop the root of the tree to check for any rot or defects. If so, abandon the tree and choose a better one.

The whole mountain area is huge, with plenty of good wood. The carpenters pick the best ones and pluck the big ones when working.

"Okay, this is the one."

After making sure that there was nothing wrong with the tree, the Water Crow waved his hand, and two woodcutters came forward and started sawing the tree according to the Water Crow's instructions.

When sawing to a certain extent, you need to use an axe to cut a notch opposite the saw mouth, which is called "yaozao".

After the hawthorns are about to pass, the tree will make a "cracking" sound, and based on this, you can judge the direction and time of the tree's fall, and then call the mountain in time.

"It's falling down the mountain, it's falling down the mountain."

Amid Mu Ba's shouting, the red pine tree, which was as thick as a man could hug, fell headfirst down the mountain.

With a whoosh, the treetops fell on the snow, stirring up snow foam that flew high.

Everyone cheered, and then some thugs came forward with axes and curved-handled saws to cut branches and pieces.

"Okay, let's get to work, and be careful."

Water Crow waved his hand, and a group of woodcutters, carrying large saws, axes and other tools, dispersed to various parts of the mountain and started cutting wood.

Compared to working in a water field, working in a mountain field is safer, but of course more tiring.

Every day, just after the hour of Chou, he would shout, "Get up."

At this time, the woodcutters had to get up quickly, without even having time to talk or cough. They had to stuff Ula grass into their shoes and put on big socks in the dark.

Before everyone was dressed, someone shouted, "It's time to eat."

The food people usually eat in the mountains is cornmeal cakes, pickles, salted beans, radish soup, and sauerkraut soup.

The food will be better at the counter with a conscience.

If you go to a cheap store, you can see a few radish strips in the soup, which are almost enough to reflect a person's shadow, and there is no oil at all. After dinner, the leader led everyone out, walking ten or eight miles, and it was just dawn when they arrived.

In the coldest months of the year, the mornings are just the time when ghosts are baring their teeth, and the trees on the mountains are crackling due to the freezing.

The woodcutters wore dog-skin hats and old sheepskin coats. They kept swinging their axes and pulling large saws back and forth. They were sweating and steaming from their work.

As soon as you stop for a while, sweat will condense on the outside of your cotton jacket and trousers.

Especially the cotton trousers. After a day's work, the outside of the trousers would be frozen hard. When we returned to the big house, we had to warm them by the fire for a while before we could take them off.

More than half a month after the construction of the mountain site started, the people arranged by the Muzhi Company arrived at the mountain site.

There were four people in total, one of them was hugging a pretty and charming woman.

That was Haitai, whom they met on the road. After being served by her for so long, they decided to take her in as their concubine.

"Stop, stop. I'm the boss of the farm. Why do you start working before I'm here?"

A guy with pockmarks on his face, squinty eyes, thick lips, a lisp and a bit of a duck voice started shouting as soon as he arrived at the mountain field.

Shui Laowu was leading everyone to work when he suddenly saw Li Yongfu coming over with two people. He probably guessed that these were the people arranged by Muzhi Company.

"Second counter, who is this?" Shui Laowu asked deliberately.

"Oh, Liu Baotou, this is Guan Dabaotou arranged by Muzhi Company. He is a relative of the governor of the East."

As Li Yongfu spoke, he winked at Shui Laowu, signaling Shui Laowu to be careful with his words. These people were not easy to mess with because they had backers.

"Oh, it's Master Guan. My apologies. I'm Liu Dongshan." Shui Laowu bowed to the man named Guan.

Guan Shoushan glanced at Shui Laowu and didn't respond at all.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Who told you to start working when I wasn't here?

Do you still take me, a big boss, seriously?" Guan Shoushan scolded everyone with a cold face.

"Master Guan, this is the truth. We can only do more than a hundred days of work in the mountain farm each year.

As soon as the first snow falls, we have to start logging. Otherwise, when the spring comes and the weather gets warmer, the snow will melt and we won’t be able to do the work, which will delay our earning money.”

Li Yongfu was afraid that Shui Laowu would get angry and confront Guan Shoushan.

Besides, he is the one in charge of the counter after all, and he must come forward to explain this matter.

Guan Shoushan glanced at Li Yongfu. He had inquired about this man before coming here. He was the second cashier of the mountain field and the brother-in-law of the head cashier Qian Xiucheng.

Qian Xiucheng had a close relationship with the magistrate of Andong. Before coming here, someone advised him to pass through Shoushan and try not to conflict with Li Yongfu.

Li Yongfu is the second manager of the mountain field, representing Qian Xiucheng. He should be in the same group with Guan Shoushan. Those poor guys are the ones who need to be dealt with.

Thinking of this, Guan Shoushan nodded to Li Yongfu and did not pursue the issue of starting work early.

"Stop working, go back to the big house and give a lecture first. Anyone who doesn't listen will not be allowed to eat." Guan Shoushan looked at the wooden handles in front of him viciously and snorted.

When the woodcutters around saw this, they were all stunned and kept looking at the water crow.

"Let's go, then we can finish work early and go back to rest for a while."

The water crow waved to the woodcutters, and everyone stopped what they were doing, packed up their tools, and followed Li Yongfu and the others back to the big house.

Inside the big house, all the woodcutters were crowded together, and Guan Shoushan was standing in front of them.

"My name is Guan Shoushan, I am from the Manchurian Zhenglan Banner, and from today on, I will be the boss of this mountain area.

This is Yu Zhansong, also a Manchu. From today on, he is the second in command of the mountain field.

If I were not in the mountain area, he would have the final say."

(End of this chapter)