1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 20 Middle Peasants
After bidding farewell to Qiu Zhongliang, Peng Gang carried cloth shoes with layered soles, dried fruit, sesame candy, and candied hawthorns that he had bought from the markets along the way into the house, and distributed these gifts to Peng Yi and Peng Min.

Peng Yi and Peng Min tried on the shoes. The shoes were slightly too big, but that wasn't a big problem.

When buying shoes for children, it's better to buy shoes that are too small than too big. If the shoes are a bit big, you can stuff some things in them, or they can still be worn when their feet grow up.

The two younger siblings happily received their gifts, their faces beaming with smiles they hadn't seen in a long time.

Peng Gang then distributed some dried fruit and sesame candy to his uncles. The three uncles were reluctant to eat them and unanimously put the dried fruit and sesame candy into their pockets, presumably to take them back for their children.

He sold his yard, along with all the furniture and livestock, to Qiu Gusan, who allowed him to stay for another month.

Peng Gang needs to clear out his family's stored grain within this month and set up a place to stay in Honglianping.

Time waits for no one. With the issues of the mountain area and licenses resolved, the only remaining problem to solve is people.

Compared to the issue of mountain property rights, the issue of people is relatively easier to solve. After all, the Qing Dynasty lacked everything except people.

Peng Gang grabbed two handfuls of dried fruit and sesame candy, stuffed them into his belt, and took the land deed that his long-term farmhand, Wei Shoushan, had mortgaged to him for the money he had been owed for slash-and-burn agriculture, and went to Wei Shoushan's house.

Wei Shoushan was not poor in Qingfeng Village. Although he worked as a long-term laborer for his family for many years, Wei Shoushan owned three acres of poor land and two mud-walled, thatched sheds.

However, the earthen walls of the shed were very thin, and the exposed gray-black dried bamboo strips could be vaguely seen where the mud had peeled off.

There were two rooms, one used as a warehouse and the other used as living quarters.

When Peng Gang visited, he didn't see Wei Shoushan, guessing that he had already gone out to do spring plowing, and that only his wife Zhao was at home taking care of their children.

Here, "a nest" is both a quantifier and an adjective.

Several children, barely clothed, crawled and rolled around in a dark thatched hut covered with tattered straw mats. They were filthy from head to toe, especially their palms.

Zhao sat down on a grass mound in the small courtyard, with a two- or three-year-old child sitting on her lap, his belly bulging, and she skillfully peeled bamboo shoots.

After peeling the bamboo shoots, Zhao used a machete to cut the old bamboo shoot roots into the drying basket containing the roots, while throwing the tender bamboo shoot tips into another bamboo basket.

I reckon the tender bamboo shoots are going to be sold, while the old, spoiled bamboo shoot roots are being kept for personal consumption.

"Aunt Shoushan, is Uncle Shoushan home?"

Zhao was so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice Peng Gang. Peng Gang knocked on the doorpost and asked.

Upon hearing this unfamiliar title, Zhao was taken aback. In her early years, she had fled south from Henan to escape famine and was sold by her father to Li, the head of Zijing Hall, as a concubine.

Later, Zhao and Wei Shoushan fell in love and eloped. They continued south and settled in Qingfeng Village, Guixian County.

There were many rumors about her in the village. In addition, she was an outsider among outsiders. No matter who the villagers of Qingfeng Village were, whether they were natives, newcomers or Zhuang people, she could not fit into any circle. Almost everyone excluded her.

The villagers either called her "Zhao from Henan" or "Big-Footed Zhao." Other married women in the village were usually addressed as "Mom," "Sister-in-law," or "Auntie."

This was the first time Zhao had been addressed as "Aunt Shoushan." It was a sign of recognition and respect, which she greatly appreciated.

"You've gone to tend the rice seedlings, Uncle Shan. Mr. Peng, please sit down for a while. I'll have my second sister call him back." Zhao stopped what she was doing, said to Wei Ermei in the room, and then moved a straw stool over, patted it down, and made Peng Gang sit down.

"No rush, I'll come find Uncle Shoushan later," Peng Gang said.

"It's no trouble at all. It's less than a mile round trip. My family only has so much land, it won't cause any problems." Zhao went into the house, found a clean bamboo tube, and poured a cup of water for Peng Gang.

Zhao had the typical features of a northerner; her exposed skin was already tanned dark, and she was so thin she looked almost unrecognizable. After Zhao stood up, Peng Gang noticed that she was quite tall, about 165 centimeters, taller than many men in the village.

Peng Gang sold all his land to Qiu Gusan, and the Wei Shoushan family was the most affected in the village.

The Wei family were originally tenants and long-term laborers of the Peng family, and they were able to barely make a living with the help of the Peng family.

With the Peng family's land and houses sold, the Wei family will find it difficult to rent land with a rent of only 40% in the future, and they will also lose their relatively stable income from being long-term laborers.

The Wei family is now worried about their future livelihood.

Peng Gang took out dried fruit and sesame candy from his purse and stuffed them into Zhao's hand, saying, "I bought these on the way to the market. Give some to the children to enjoy."

"The landlord's family has already taken good care of us, and I can't accept your things for no reason," Zhao said, declining the offer.

“How can you say it was for no reason? If it weren’t for Uncle Shoushan risking his life to go into the mountains to deliver a message to my family, my family would have been taken advantage of by Peng Xianzhong’s family long ago,” Peng Gang said.

Hearing Peng Gang say this, Zhao finally felt at ease accepting the dried fruit and sesame candy.

Before long, Wei Shoushan returned from the fields carrying a hoe and went straight to Peng Gang, asking, "Young Master, your maternal uncles have come to see me several times, telling me about your plan to open a kiln and burn charcoal in Honglianping, Pingzaishan. Is this what you've come for today, Young Master?"

“That’s right. My uncles say that you need a good charcoal burner. Uncle Shoushan used to be a well-known good charcoal burner in Zijing Mountain. That’s why I’m taking the liberty of coming here to ask Uncle Shoushan to be my charcoal burner,” Peng Gang nodded and said.

"I haven't completely forgotten my charcoal-making skills," Wei Shoushan said with some concern.

"You've heard a bit about my situation. The Dong family is kind and generous, and I'd be more than happy to be the young master's cook. But I'm worried that if I become the young master's cook, Zijing Hall will cause trouble for him."

“In Guangxi, each mountain has its own branch, and the branch on Zijing Mountain doesn’t even have jurisdiction over Pingzai Mountain, so I’m not afraid.” Peng Gang pulled out the land deed that Wei Shoushan had mortgaged to him from his sleeve.

"If Uncle Shoushan is willing to be my furnace master, I will hire him for 220 coins a day. For each kiln of charcoal produced, I will give him a cut based on the quantity and quality of the charcoal. The money Uncle Shoushan owed my family for slash-and-burn agriculture two years ago will be considered as a deposit for hiring him. What does Uncle Shoushan think?"

As Wei Shoushan hesitated, Zhao stepped forward and nudged his arm, urging, "Husband, what are you still hesitating for? Where else can you find such a good employer?"
Two hundred and twenty coins a day isn't low. Do you really expect our meager four and a half acres of land to support our family of six?

Zhao spent a year in Zijing Mountain, and she still remembers the wages for the different jobs in the mountain area.

Peng Gang's wages were very fair; ordinary mining sites wouldn't charge a cut for the furnace operator.

Wei Shoushan was a man who listened to his wife very much. With Zhao Shi whispering in his ear, Wei Shoushan quickly agreed, but he made a condition.

“As long as the young master can provide our family with a place to stay in the mountains, I am willing to sign a contract to work as the young master’s cook.”

Zhao was not well-liked in the village, and local thugs would often come to her door to cause trouble. Wei Shoushan was worried that Zhao, a widow and her children, would be bullied if left in the village, so he wanted to take his wife, children, and elderly parents to the mountain area.

Only in this way could he feel at ease working as a stoveman for Peng Gang in Honglianping.

“No problem.” The request was reasonable and not excessive, so Peng Gang nodded in agreement.

"Young master, please keep this land deed for now. We'll redeem it after we pay off your slash-and-burn wages," Wei Shoushan said, pushing the land deed back to Peng Gang.

"Young master, give me a few days. After I give up the land, I will go into the mountains with you."

Honglianping is a three- to five-day walk from Qingfeng Village. Since she had agreed to be Peng Gang's stoveman, she knew she couldn't continue cultivating her own land and had to rent it out.

(End of this chapter)