Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 34 Be prepared for danger in times of peace
Beijiwu carried grain into the courtyard.

"I need to find something to hold the grain. I also need to bring over five shi of grain. I have to make that trip."

Beijiwu put down two baskets of grain. One shi (石) is 120 jin (斤), and this time ten baskets would be about 1200 jin (斤).

The family of ten eats about 20 kilograms of grain every day, with Beijiwu eating more.

Ten bushels would only last for two months, but we had already accumulated quite a bit, and with the addition of some wild vegetables, grains, wheat bran, vegetables, and game, we should have no problem.

Li Hong happily said, "Okay! Let's put it on the ground first, let it dry in the sun, and then bring it inside."

Beijiwu thought it was indeed simple, so he collapsed on a nearby open space.

"Let's go, let's keep moving the grain!" Beijiwu laughed heartily, full of energy.

Old Li and his family didn't dare say anything to Master Wu, but they all glared at Li Hong a few times.

Beijiwu urged, "Hurry up! Get the grain over here quickly so you can go home and cook. Don't miss lunch."

Not even a meal was provided. Aunt Li was furious and refused to acknowledge her two daughters, as if she had never given birth to them.

Beijiwu urged the three of them to bring over the remaining five shi of grain.

"That's all the amount I'm asking for. You can enjoy the rest yourselves, but try to be careful with your food. These past few years have been tough for us."

Beijiwu said in a friendly tone, "Alright, let's go, don't get in the way here."

Old Man Li finally breathed a sigh of relief. His family had harvested more than 20 mu of grain this year, but Beijiwu only took the 10 shi of grain he had given them and didn't touch their harvest.

"Uncle Wu, we're going back." Old Man Li then looked at Li Hong and Li Bing, who were sweeping grain in the yard. "Daughter, Dad's leaving."

Beijiwu immediately corrected him, saying, "A daughter who has been sold is no longer your daughter. Stop trying to build a relationship with her all the time. Get out of here. Remember to make sure your son works hard and is diligent in the future so he can find a wife more easily."

The three members of the Li family left their home in the Arctic region looking disheveled.

It's good enough that this son-in-law didn't rob their family; how could they expect him to help his brother-in-law!
After the three members of the Li family left, Beijiwu looked at the summer sun.

"Let's cook."

"Yes, sir!" Li Hong replied happily.

The ten bushels of grain basically solved the food crisis and put the women of the family at ease.

Beiji Wujin lay down to rest behind the house, having taken off his clothes.

Not long after, Li Hong came into the room and said, "Sir, it's hot at noon, let me spread out a mat for you."

Beijiwu stood on the bed, walked to the bedside table and sat down, looking down at Li Hong who was climbing onto the bed and kneeling to spread out the mat.

In the past ten days or so, Li Hong has been eating and sleeping well, and she has been tidying up and dressing up every day. She is obviously more energetic than when I first met her.

Perhaps it's because she gets watered every night, but she's become much more radiant and charming, and is increasingly exuding the aura of a mature woman.

Suddenly, Beijiwu had a thought and leaned against the wall, pondering something.

Li Hong glanced up and saw Bei Jiwu sitting there deep in thought, as if pondering something important.

Seeing this, Li Hong smiled, made the bed, and quietly left without disturbing the man who didn't want to do that kind of thing.

Arctic Martial did have some ideas at first, but as he thought about them, his mind wandered elsewhere.

Li Hong's allure and radiance surpassed even those of big stars, and Beijiwu's mind conjured up images of embellished beauties from later generations.

This was originally just a random thought unique to a transmigrator, but Beijiwu, having run out of money, suddenly connected these thoughts with money and came up with a groundbreaking idea.

"I'm pretty good at drawing, so why don't I make money from it?"

"If I were an artist, I could paint a beautiful woman with big breasts, a big butt, and high looks that people in this era could not even imagine. I don't believe that people's aesthetic sense is really inconsistent."

Making money while satisfying personal hobbies—this is perfect for Arctic Martial Arts.

Farming is too slow for making money; you can work yourself to death and still not save a penny or two. "Even if I can only draw in black and white, I can still draw ancient beauties, sword immortals and heroines that exceed their imagination. In short, I'll give these unsophisticated people a little shock!"

"But this is a frontier region, there probably aren't that many rich people buying this, right?"

After thinking for a few minutes, Beijiwu finally decided to give his hobby and idea a try, since he could borrow some writing materials from Wen Caizhu anyway.

Currently, we lack the tools to implement this idea.

Unable to sleep due to the midday heat, Beijiwu pondered what he should do.

The millet and grapes will take a while to ripen, the tools at home need to be prepared, and the new cowshed and house need to be built.

You can cut down the woods behind the house, build a yard around the back to raise chickens, cultivate a vegetable garden, or build another house against the existing wall, thus saving the need for a wall.

Now the villagers go to the mountains to find food, hunt animals, and find medicinal herbs that can be exchanged for money.

In a generation or two, the mountains outside will be bald.

If it were a hundred years from now, it would be very difficult to see even one tree.

We are still in an era where the population has not exploded. This area is the dividing line between nomadic and agricultural peoples, and most of the population consists of military personnel.

How to protect ourselves in the future is a big problem.

Arctic Martial can run away or fight back, but it's the people around him who are difficult to deal with.

"We need to find a place in the mountains. Even if we don't develop there, we can quickly take people there if something happens in the future, so we don't have to search for a place when things get complicated."

Beijiwu hadn't thought about it for long when he smelled the aroma of meat.

"Haven't you finished eating the pork yet?"

Beijiwu walked out of the bedroom and looked at Jiangcao, who was tending the fire.

Li Bing weighed the pancake in his hands, constantly manipulating the sticky dough with both hands, and finally stuck it to the edge of the iron pot.

"This is the last bit of meat; we'll have some cured meat to eat during the Chinese New Year."

Li Bing smelled the aroma of meat, and a natural, happy smile appeared on her face.

Beijiwu nodded and said, "Okay, make more. From now on, three bowls of porridge and three flatbreads for each meal."

Li Bing nodded happily, "Yes, sir!"

Young Jiang Cao hurriedly grabbed a stick and started a fire, showing some usefulness.

Beijiwu felt hot inside the house, so he went outside and saw Gao Conglian washing clothes under the grape trellis, and Jiang Rong making brick molds.

Li Hong, along with Xi Dan and Xiu Lan, were tidying up the wheat, picking out the clods of earth and stones mixed in with the wheat from Old Li's house.

Xianglan had already tethered the cows in the newly built wooden shed and brought water for the cows that were lying down to rest.

Seeing his men working, Beijiwu walked to the grape trellis with satisfaction.

Beiji Wu pulled over a stool and sat opposite Gao Conglian, taking off his shoes and putting his feet into the washbasin.

"Wash my feet while you're at it."

Gao Conglian, who was squatting on the ground washing clothes, looked at the spirited Beiji Wu and said shyly, "Yes, sir."

While enjoying the young woman washing his clothes, Beijiwu watched his ten-month-old baby, who was already holding onto his mother and leaning against her, looking at his mother.

I don't know why, but I feel more comfortable.

"Wash your toes clean." Beijiwu taught Gao Conglian how to make himself a little happier, and then said with a smile, "We should raise more chickens at home in the future to nourish my body."

(End of this chapter)