Crossing the famine, I am a poor fish, and my descendants have to work hard

After the bamboos were transported to the camp, they were placed in a wide area.

Now everyone has nothing to do, so they are going to remove the bamboo greens, which means using a hatchet to peel the bamboo.

Why go to Zhuqing?

One reason is to prevent slipping. The bamboo is too slippery and it is not safe to stand on it.

Secondly, the density of bamboo green is high, which is much larger than that of bamboo flesh. The two shrink differently. If the bamboo green is not removed, the bamboo will easily crack. If it cracks, water will enter the bamboo tube and the bamboo will bear much less load.

This is a very time-consuming task, mainly because you have to clean each one of them. It is meticulous and troublesome.

Fortunately, there are many people in the village. In the village of more than 500 people, excluding the young ones who have work to do and the old ones who can't do it, there are more than 200 people who joined the ranks to go to Zhuqing.

Some held hatchets, some held kitchen knives, and there was less than one knife per man or woman. Some had one knife per person, and some had one knife per two people.

It was originally a troublesome task, but with the absolute advantage in numbers, the task was completed in less than an hour.

After removing the bamboo greens, Zhao Yuanzhen was afraid that they would lose moisture if left for too long, so she did not do anything about it.

Start to light a fire and put the bamboo on the fire to roast. This step is to carbonize the bamboo and form a carbon protective film to make it more durable.

When the bamboo is almost cooked, just leave it there for later use.

Because the bamboo rafts they made were used to cross the Yellow River, and there were no rocks or bumps or anything like that.

If you use a bamboo raft following the current, you need to bend.

The bow and stern of the bamboo raft should be bent and lifted up to make it easier to fold and unfold and to pass various obstacles.

It was already past seven o'clock.

After finishing the meal, everyone went to rest so that they could get up early tomorrow morning to build the bamboo raft.

Qian Xiaohui cooked the white fungus and bird's nest while making dinner.

I sent it to Zhao Yuanzhen after dinner.

Of course, they ate it, too. After digesting it for a while, they went to practice swordplay.

Zhao Yuanzhen continued reading the book.

The next day everyone got up early.

Except for the women who cooked, the elderly, and the children who could not work, the rest of the people went to help build the bamboo raft.

First, put bamboos of similar thickness together, then cut them into about 12 meters in length and 3.5 meters in width. This will form the shape of a bamboo raft.

Finally, cut the remaining bamboo into about 3.5 lengths to make crossbeams. A bamboo raft has an average of 4 crossbeams, excluding the bow and stern, each with 1 meter, and the middle 10 meters with an average of 2.5 meters of crossbeams.

Hemp ropes are used to fix the beams and bamboo rafts.

People in the north would plant hemp stalks in the fields and twist hemp ropes when they have nothing to do in winter.

Twist the thin hemp rope into a thick hemp rope, and then use the hemp rope to firmly fix the bamboo raft and the beam. After the hemp rope is wet, its toughness will be better.

It took only a short while to make one.

Zhao Yuanzhen checked it carefully and found nothing wrong.

Everyone prepared to carry the bamboo raft to test the water. They chose a long bamboo pole to use as a pole for paddling.

Several young and strong men carried the bamboo raft and followed Zhao Yuanzhen, heading towards the Yellow River in a mighty manner.

Because the ferry was washed away, we had to choose a shallow beach to put the bamboo raft. After choosing a good place, we found tools on the shore and hammered a thick wooden stake to moor the boat.

The bamboo raft was placed on the shallows, and several people took off their shoes, rolled up their trouser legs, and went down to put the raft away.

Not many people can swim, mainly because there were no big rivers in their hometowns before, so basically no one knows how to swim.

After placing the bamboo raft, tie the rope on the raft to the wooden stakes and moor it.

Zhao Yuanzhen took two people onto the bamboo raft, then untied the rope and started paddling.

They didn't know how to do it at first, and Zhao Yuanzhen's arm was injured, so she could only teach them verbally.

They slowly figured it out on their own, and finally mastered some skills.

First, use a pole to support the shore and send the entire bamboo raft into deep water. Two people slowly cooperate and row the bow left and right.

Gradually, I became more and more skilled, and finally reached the other side in 20 minutes. I also found a shallow beach where I could get on and off the boat.

After the boat stopped, Zhao Yuanzhen took another person down, put the wooden stakes for mooring on this side in place, and hammered them in.

Then we boarded the boat and headed back.

On the return trip, the skills were very proficient and it only took about ten minutes to get back.

Although both of them were very nervous and scared when they first got on the boat.

This is the natural fear of water that people who can't swim have, which is normal, but once you learn how to row a boat, you'll feel very proud.

Now they not only know how to build boats, but also how to row them.

The craftsmen of this dynasty were all very skilled. Their skills were not generally passed on to outsiders. Even when accepting apprentices, they would be very selective in finding the ones they liked, and would even charge fees or accept gifts before they were willing to teach them their skills.

Now Sister Qinghe taught them how to make bamboo rafts and row boats without reservation.

It is truly selfless dedication to the village.

The people waiting on the river bank saw them coming back, and their hearts finally settled down.

"It worked, we succeeded!"

"Aunt Qinghe is so amazing, she can do anything!"

"Yes, Auntie is amazing. She knows a lot and taught us such an important skill selflessly."

"That's right, sister-in-law is a blessing to our village. If there is any problem in your family in the future, just tell us and we will definitely go to help."

"Yes, Auntie, if you have something to say, please talk to us. We will all go."

"Yup!"

"Okay, I got it. I'll call you next time. Let's go back and have breakfast, and then finish making the rest of the raft."

Zhao Yuanzhen asked everyone to go back.

"Let's go back!"

The village chief left two people to watch over the raft, which had already been tied to the mooring stake. They just had to watch to make sure it wasn't rowed away.

When I got home, the meal was ready.

Qian Xiaohui specially cooked millet porridge, boiled a few eggs, heated up steamed buns, and made two delicious pickles.

After dinner, everyone continued to make bamboo rafts.

By noon, all six bamboo rafts were completed.

Everyone carried the remaining five bamboo rafts to test the water.

A group of people went to the Yellow River in a mighty procession.

When other refugees saw that they had made the bamboo raft themselves, they all came over to watch.

Zhao Yuanzhen looked at the refugees following over and said nothing, just let them watch.

Then they started to launch the bamboo rafts to test the water, with each raft carrying two people.

We rowed back and forth across the Yellow River.

All six bamboo rafts were successful and there were no problems at all. It was almost noon now, and their village could not cross the river today, but they could take a ferry tomorrow morning.

Zhao Yuanzhen looked at the refugees scattered everywhere on the shore, all waiting to cross the river. The previous boatman only had a small wooden boat, and the fare was very high.

Everyone is waiting for the ice to freeze.

Some of them were wearing tattered clothes and shivering with cold.

Some of them were wearing thicker clothes but didn't have much luggage. Of course, there were also villages like theirs where the belongings were well preserved and they had luggage and supplies.

Zhao Yuanzhen suddenly had an idea. He could not leave this afternoon. Why not take people on the ferry for a fee?

Zhao Yuanzhen quickly walked to the side of the village chief.

"Second Grandfather, look at all these refugees, they all want to go to the other side of the river."

"Yes, the weather is getting colder and colder. I don't know how cold it will be when the river freezes. Fortunately, we have you in our village."

Zhao Yuanzhen was sweating. She didn't come here to seek praise.

"Second Grandpa, what I mean is, since we're not going to cross the river today anyway, why not charge people to cross the river?"

"You mean we should send them there for a fee?"

"Yes, with so many people here, we can make a lot of money. Besides, it can also be considered as accumulating good deeds!"

"Well, that's a good idea. Okay, then how much should we charge?"

"It costs 5 wen per person, and each person can carry no more than 50 jin of things. For a horse-drawn carriage, it costs 25 wen per carriage, and the things on the carriage cannot exceed 200 jin. If it exceeds, it will be charged 100 wen per 5 jin. A horse costs 10 wen, and a cow also costs 10 wen. They need to lead the cow themselves and place the cow and horse properly, and they cannot damage the bamboo raft.

A handcart costs 20 wen, and it cannot exceed 200 jin. The main thing is to keep the weight balanced, otherwise there will be too much cargo on one side, the weight will be unevenly distributed, and it will be easy to capsize. The standard of 100 wen for 5 jin can also be used for consignment cargo. "

"Yeah, not bad, not bad, your answer is very reasonable."

"Well, it's better to separate the horses, people and cargo on the rafts. That way we'll be safer."

"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say."

The village chief then called a brief meeting and told everyone about Zhao Yuanzhen's proposal.

Everyone agreed. This is a profitable business, and everyone is willing to do it.

The village chief then sent someone back to the village to get a scale, move a few tables, and find a few people to keep accounts.

Soon, a carriage came with a table, a scale, etc. There were no stools, so everyone moved a few large stones or found a wooden box to sit on.

Zhao Yuanzhen planned an area next to the wooden piles for mooring boats.

The tables were set up, three tables, one for registering livestock, one for registering cargo wagons, and one for registering people, and each table was equipped with two rafts.

There are two people at each table, one is responsible for keeping accounts and the other is responsible for collecting money.

There were not many literate people in the village, so Zhao Yuan's family sent out four people.

Zhang Zijin and Qian Xiaohui were in the same team. Zhang Zijin was in charge of accounting, while Qian Xiaohui was in charge of collecting money. They were in charge of the ox-drawn carts and the carts.

Li Zhijuan and Zhang Xinshu are in a group. Zhang Xinshu is responsible for accounting, while Li Zhijuan is responsible for collecting money.

The village chief's son, Zhang Wudao, and another person in the village who can write are in charge of the goods.

The pens, ink, paper and inkstone were all provided by Zhao Yuanzhen. The village would pay for them in the end anyway.

The village chief quickly divided the remaining labor force into four groups. One group was responsible for a table, and the last group was responsible for paddling the bamboo raft. This group consisted of 4 people who could take turns paddling the boat back and forth.

Then he took out the gong, struck it and started business.

The refugees watching found that they had actually started to ferry people across the river, and it was not expensive, only 5 cents per person. They all came to line up.

This is not crossing the Yellow River, this is saving lives. On this side of the Yellow River, there are either Jin people or conscripts. There will never be peace here. Only by crossing the Yellow River can we find a place to settle down.

So everyone hurried over and lined up to cross the river.

Many people cross the river alone.

Zhang Xinshu and Li Zhijuan's team are extremely busy.

There was a long line of people waiting in line after paying their fees. Zhao Yuanzhen saw that there were few people on the carriage side, so he sent another bamboo raft over. With these three bamboo rafts, the speed of ferrying people increased a lot.