After fleeing famine, I have thousands of acres of fertile land

The workshop is on track now, and Ye Qing has time to take care of the village business.

Early in the morning, I followed Boss Ye to the mountain. The mountain looked completely different from last year.

Divided into several groups, each group cleaned up the area they were responsible for tidyly.

The charcoal kilns on the mountain have very few charcoal marks on the ground and are cleaned up very quickly. It seems that they are very good at management and it is worth learning from them.

"Grandpa, what kind of charcoal are you burning?" Old Man Ye is now in charge of a charcoal kiln, and his income will be divided according to the kilns in the future.

"I'm a master at making bamboo charcoal." Old Man Ye said proudly.

Ye Qing still remembers that it was his grandfather who first developed bamboo charcoal last year.

Seeing the well-organized appearance of the mountain, Ye Qing didn't stay long and went back to take care of the pond at home.

It’s time to harvest the lotus roots in the pond at home and my second uncle’s pond.

Everyone at home was busy, so this job was handed over to Ye Qing and Ye Xi. Both of them were able to handle it on their own, and the family was relieved.

When Ye Qing got home, the three Xu brothers had already arrived, helping to pick radishes and cabbages in the vegetable garden, with Li directing them from the side.

After finishing work in the vegetable garden, Ye Qing took a few people, including Ye Xi and Ye Xuan, and went to the pond.

Ye Qing now intends to train Ye Xuan and is preparing to hand over the task of finding customers for vermicelli to him.

More than half of the water in the pond was drained yesterday, and it is still waist-deep.

The people living nearby all came here to escape famine, and they have never seen how people in Wu'an City dig lotus roots.

Ye Qing went to the city several times to look for it, but couldn't buy a jumpsuit like the modern ones, so he could only go into the water and dig.

Ye Qing stood on the shore, wearing a thick cotton coat and a scarf, but still felt cold.

The three Xu brothers lay prone in the icy water, bent down, and pulled out the lotus roots one by one from the bottom of the water.

The person behind picked up the lotus root, shook it twice on the water surface, washed it briefly and put it into the prepared wooden barrel.

Ye Qing watched the three Xu brothers working in the water.

The water reached their waists, sometimes almost to their necks. They shivered in the cold wind, and their bones ached just thinking about it.

Ye Qing asked Ye Xuan to go home to get some firewood, bring a pot, and bring some ginger.

Light a fire and boil a pot directly by the water to make a pot of strong ginger tea.

After working for a while, I would call them up to warm up and drink some ginger tea to warm their bodies.

Ye Qing and Ye Xi also prepared lunch. In such a cold day, the people picking lotus roots could not bear to have no hot food.

The brothers dug out one acre of lotus roots in one day. After cleaning them, they weighed them and found that there were more than 700 kilograms.

Ye Qing looked happy as the output was this high in the first year, but he would not sell the lotus roots this year.

My brother is getting married soon, and I can make this dish for the banquet.

Ye Laoer's family kept some lotus roots for their own consumption and sold the rest, earning back the money from the pond.

Ye Qing paid the three Xu brothers double the wages for their hard work in the winter. The three Xu brothers happily took the money and went home.

We also caught more than twenty fish from the pond and kept them in the water until they could be killed during the wedding banquet.

Zhou brought several wives from her family to decorate the new house. She bought couplets and some paper-cuts to paste on them.

When Ye Qing returned home, he saw this busy scene. Ye Dalang was going to get married in three days.

The house was cleaned thoroughly, and the stone slabs in the front and back yards were washed with water.

Two big red lanterns were hung at the door, and red silk was hung on some trees in the yard.

After Ye Qing finished working on the pond, he hurried back to help. Several aunts and sisters-in-law also came to help.

Ye Dalang is still busy in the mountain. Today is the last day. Tomorrow half of the villagers will come out to help.

The day after tomorrow, the whole village will stop working, Ye Qing's workshop will also be closed, and everyone will come to Ye's house for a banquet.

The head of the village thought that this was the first wedding in the village since the famine, so he prepared to celebrate it.

And he hasn't had a rest since he started burning charcoal.

Zhou was busy as a whirlwind, making new clothes for everyone in the family.

My eldest brother’s wedding quilt is also ready, and we are just waiting for everyone to help make the bed tomorrow.

Ye Xuan also came and helped run errands and buy things, so he didn't have to walk there himself, but drove a mule cart to buy things.

Li and her two daughters-in-law were in charge of the kitchen. They hired a special chef to prepare the banquet. They made a menu and bought all the dishes needed at home.

Li checked the menu for the final time and unexpectedly missed two pork elbows.

Li was panicked for a moment, and Wei quickly comforted her, "Mom, there's still time. I'll ask my brother to bring two tomorrow morning. Do you want to order other meat?"

Li also ordered some pork belly, which can be used when cooking. It doesn’t matter if there is more, as he can eat it later.

Zhou asked several sisters-in-law from her natal family to help Ye Dalang make a formal dress. The previous one didn't match the bride's wedding dress, so she made another one temporarily.

The Zhou family's daughters-in-law are all blessed, with parents-in-law above them and children below them. Moreover, their families are prosperous and harmonious, so it is most appropriate for them to help make clothes.

Several students were having a day off today, so they swept the route they would take on their wedding day.

After sweeping the floor, I even didn't let go of Wangcai and Heizi at home. I caught them all and gave them a bath to make sure they were in good spirits.

The family invited the village head's eldest son Ye Fang to be the prime minister, and all subsequent arrangements would be under his command.

Ye Dalang was a little absent-minded the whole day. His mind was completely on getting married, and his mind was full of Wei Xin's face with her hands covering her mouth and giggling.

I was teased several times by my brothers in the same group for this, but I couldn't help but think about performing well when I got married.

The next day, everyone who had a day off came to help, especially the sisters-in-law from the same family, who all came to help wash and cut vegetables.

Several elders from the clan were also invited to the house to discuss how to welcome the bride.

This was the first time Ye Qing had seen this scene, and he was shocked by the ancient ritual. The matchmaker's words and the parents' intentions were really not just simple talk.

Ye Dalang got up early in the morning and followed Old Man Ye to worship their ancestors in order to invite them back for the wedding banquet.

After the ancestor worship, I was even busier. I had to invite people from every household to have a drink. This was to tell the whole village that I was getting married, and also to let the villagers know that my wife was Wei Xin.

Five tables were set up for dinner, for the helpers. No one drank alcohol, as they had to get up early the next day.

After the helpers left, Boss Ye took Ye Chenming to sleep in the yard, with a yard full of food to prevent animals from eating them.

Ye Qing went to wash up, and she and her fifth brother would go to welcome the bride early the next morning.

Zhou was still checking at home, afraid that she had missed something and it would not look good tomorrow.

Before daybreak, Ye Lao Da's family got up. The people from the village who came to help also came, and they changed into new clothes along with the people who went to welcome the bride.

The ox cart was cleaned thoroughly and the ox hair brush was smooth.

Each cow had a big red flower hanging on it, and everyone was in high spirits as they set out for Ji Village together.

When we arrived at Ji Village, the sun had just risen. The sunshine was bright and shining on the land, warm and dazzling, dotted every corner like stars.

When we arrived at the village entrance, we set off firecrackers first and then continued walking forward.

When the villagers heard the sound of firecrackers, they came out to block the road to ask for candy. The more people came, the sweeter the life would be.

Ji Cun was making money by selling charcoal in Kaoshan Village. Those who got the news gave face to the Ye family and said some auspicious words.

The whole scene was lively and festive. Ye Dalang brought a lot of candies and gave them out whenever he heard someone congratulating him.

The children in the village were the happiest. They followed the convoy, saying auspicious words and watching the fun.