Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 37 Human Resources
Not long after lunch, Aunt Zhang came over.

It's not too hot on the mountain as long as you're not working. A group of women are working in the yard, building a shed together.

Aunt Zhang walked in, smiling, and asked, "What's going on here?"

Xiulan and the others were bundling the dried tree branches on the ground, arranging them in a three-vertical-one-horizontal pattern.

Tie it slightly with rope, and then weave it between the three vertical frames, just like weaving cloth and making winnowing baskets, using the same principle.

The knife that Beijiwu obtained today is now being used to chop firewood and trim tree branches.

"We need to build another shed. There's not enough space inside the house, so we need to put the firewood and cattle outside. We also need to build a chicken coop tomorrow."

Xiulan was already overwhelmed with work, but there was no trace of distress on her face as she smiled and recounted the troubles of the past two days.

Aunt Zhang originally came to help make clothes, but she happened to be free these past few days.

"Let me help you." Aunt Zhang had nothing to do and was too embarrassed to leave directly, so she came over to help.

After sitting down together to secure the wooden structure for the roof, Aunt Zhang looked around.

Two children were tending to the chicks in the cowshed, finding insects for them to eat.

Summer is the season when there are many insects, especially in the wheat straw piled up outside.

Aunt Zhang asked, "Where did you buy these chicks? How much did each one cost?"

Xiulan didn't know either, and replied, "The gentleman bought it, I didn't ask."

Aunt Zhang said with a smile, "We still have two chickens at home. We'll hatch ten chicks for you next year, but it's too late this year."

Xiulan rarely felt valued by her family, especially by her parents.

Even though it was just a few words, and we didn't talk about many unrelated things, it just felt different.

"No need, these are enough to feed them. It would be good if half of them survive."

Aunt Zhang advised, "At first, you can't feed them cold water. You have to use boiled water and some millet to feed them. Keep them indoors for half a month before letting them out into the chicken coop."

Families who raise chickens will accumulate a lot of useful and useless experience on their own.

What's useful will continue to be used, and what's useless will continue to be useless until things start to change.

"it is good."

Xiulan wrote these down and continued working.

Regardless of whether Xiulan is a married daughter or not, she is now a woman.

As a woman who left the Zhang family, Aunt Zhang began to pass on the knowledge of her generation to the next generation of women.

These could be summaries of experience in cooking, housework, and cleaning, or life experiences, or successful or unsuccessful cases of raising chickens and ducks and taking care of children.

Xiulan, Xianglan, Li Hong, Li Bing, and even Gao Conglian and Jiang Rong were all listening.

How to raise chickens, how to feed chickens, and how to protect chickens from wild animals.

There are also rumors about how to take care of cows.

Old Zhang doesn't own any cattle, but he knows a lot about raising them.

As an essential helper in traditional agriculture, the fact that Old Zhang's family doesn't have cattle doesn't mean that Aunt Zhang didn't raise cattle when she was a child or young.

You may not have it now, but you may have had it briefly in the past.

While Beijiwu was fast asleep in the house, the women chatted and then worked together to build a new shed that was two meters high, four meters long, and two and a half meters wide.

Xiulan and Libing climbed up the earthen wall using baskets and chairs, stood on the wall to catch the straw that people below the shed were passing to them, and then spread it on the empty shelf.

The shed is slightly higher than the earthen wall and allows for ventilation in the middle. Currently, it is mainly used for sunshade and storing firewood, with rain protection as the primary function.

There is a large forest behind the house, so there is no need to worry about wind and rain blowing from behind.

The shed was covered with sand and straw, and some heavy wood was placed on top to weigh it down.

There were many people, all the tools were ready, and there were quite a few capable workers. When Beijiwu woke up and came out to pee, he saw Aunt Zhang, Xiulan, and Xianglan moving things in a newly built shed.

Urination is urgent, so Arctic Warrior goes to the toilet to relieve himself.

No matter how many times you look at a rural toilet, excrement is excrement, and you just can't stand it.

Fortunately, I can use the toilet at night, so I don't have to go to the bathroom in the dark in the middle of the night.

The more pots and pans the better, Beijiwu thought as he left the toilet and looked at the newly built shed. He decided that the women in his family would play with mud and make pottery here in the future.

Li Hong walked over and spoke to Bei Jiwu.

"Sir, the shed is set up. We'll set up two more sheds tomorrow and the day after, so we can store even more things."

The current three rooms and two sheds are not enough; Li Hong feels that two more are needed.

With a large family, the more rooms the better, and the more rooms needed after having children, the more rooms will be required.

Beijiwu said, "Hmm, why didn't you call me when you were setting up the tent? I could have helped out."

Li Hong smiled and said, "Sir, you're busy from morning till night, you must be exhausted. Save your energy for the housework. We can manage the chores around the house."

Upon hearing this, Beijiwu suddenly remembered something.

"Yes, if you have nothing to do, you can make more bottles, jars, water tanks, and grain urns. Don't worry about the food; there will definitely be enough to eat."

"Yes, sir!" Li Hong believed that Beijiwu was a capable man who could definitely solve the problem of food.

Beijiwu then said, "Give Aunt Zhang five chicks to take with her. It's easier to raise them if they're spread out. If they're all gathered together, they're more likely to die."

"Yes, sir!" Li Hong didn't hesitate to use the little bit of food, and obediently poured rice for Aunt Zhang as a thank you for the day.

Beijiwu walked into the house, pondering the question of what to eat.

In reality, there was no shortage of food at all; it was just that they had been influenced by Li Hong and others to believe that their family was lacking food.

There is grain in the cellar...

There were about a hundred catties of wheat, several hundred catties of millet, and two bags of buckwheat and soybeans.

The reason we didn't mention it was because we had enough food and forgot about it.

With fresh wheat and millet to eat, people are too lazy to dig into the cellar to get food.

Besides the grain, there were also four or five taels of silver, which were silver that he had picked up from the ground when he encountered villains while scouting the road.

Another reason is that they don't want to reveal the location of the cellar.

But there's no need to hide it now. If something really happens, with so many of us in the family, it's impossible to keep it a secret.

Whether to run away or go to the mountains, or honestly pay taxes and live a quiet life.

There's no rush about the cellar. The family has 20 to 30 catties of grain a day, which adds up to about 100 catties a month. Now, with 1,000 catties of grain, we have enough to eat after paying taxes.

Bei Jiwu has already seen the benefits of having more people. The women in the family are all capable workers, whether it's farm work, housework, or making small commodities.

They could easily have stayed home weaving and making various goods, then carry them to the city to sell.

If you encounter bad guys on the street, you can also earn some extra money along the way.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill in the evening, they closed the door and went to sleep.

Beijiwu still slept on the kang with the married woman, while several little girls and children slept in the haystack near the stove, with a group of chirping chicks in a basket beside them.

A few chicks died the next day because they couldn't adapt to the new environment, but it was alright as long as they didn't all die.

Xianglan and Xidan buried the chicks in the vegetable garden together, and then cut some grass to take home to feed the cows.

After finishing their meal, Beijiwu set off again, walking from the small path to the main road, and from the main road to Hutou Town in the middle of the official road.

(End of this chapter)