Space Food Storage: Daily Travel

In the tidied courtyard.

Everyone was eating brown rice porridge, but it felt different from before.

Yes, this is where they will live in the future, and it is indeed different.

After dinner, the two village chiefs told everyone the news they had heard from Village Chief Lin.

The Chinese New Year is nearly two months away, and that should be the coldest time of the year. The most important thing now is to decide where to live. The temperature in the south should be around ten degrees in the morning and evening, and it will be hotter at noon, around seventeen or eighteen degrees.

It's still time to build a simple house before the ground freezes. Those who don't have time to make adobe can buy it, and those who have money can also build a brick and concrete house.

It's best to buy bricks and tiles for the roof, as I hear it rains a lot here. Thatched roofs need to be replaced frequently and leak. Now that we've found a place, it's not a good idea for us all to live together.

To build a house, you need to buy land. Gather at the village entrance tomorrow morning. Zhang Lizheng and Village Chief Lin will lead the team to measure the land.

Empty residential land cost two taels of silver per mu. A residential land with a house attached was more expensive, costing three taels of silver. Some of the better houses on the land attached to the house could be renovated and habitable.

In short, everyone should look at their own pockets to see how much money they have and how much they want to give. It all depends on themselves.

In addition, you have to set aside some extra money to buy some daily necessities in the town and prepare enough food at least until the next year's farming and harvest.

Of course, if there is really no other way, the villagers can also go to the county government to borrow grain.

Most of the people had no money, and many of them were silent.

Liu Daling pulled his nephew Liu Mang aside and whispered a few words to him. Liu Mang was delighted and thanked his uncle with a smile.

"Everyone, listen carefully. My uncle said that Liu Daling's family, considering that everyone just arrived and is short of money, can borrow five taels of silver from him. This silver was given by the rich people who were rescued, and there is also the reward from Yiyang City. All of them are taken out, a total of 200 taels. Anyone who needs to borrow, please come here to sign and put your fingerprints."

"I'll just say this: I'm lending you these five taels of silver. Next year, when the rice is harvested, each family that borrows the money must give you 50 kilograms of rice. How much help did Uncle Liu's family give us along the way? Without them, would we have been able to reach Fulai Village so easily? We've taken advantage of them! Don't forget your roots. If anyone agrees, come and claim it now. Time is running out for building the house, so make a decision early."

"Thank you, Uncle Liu. My family would like to borrow..."

"Thank you, Uncle Liu. My family also wants to borrow..."

“My family also borrowed…”

........................

Liu Daling sat next to the village chief. Whoever signed, stamped and put his fingerprint on the document would be given a five-liang silver screw. This was something his eldest granddaughter had discussed with them during dinner.

Of the nearly 60 households in the two villages, 40 borrowed money. These 40 planned to buy land and build houses. The rest planned to temporarily live in an existing house until they could scrape together enough money to buy one.

The village account still had 183 taels of grain left from the last grain purchase. After settling the bills at the government office and buying some more grain in the county town, I spent the rest, and now I have 170 taels left.

Liu Mang took out his little notebook and went with Village Chief Li. The total amount they owed the Liu family was more than a hundred taels! Even this money was earned to save them. He reported the bill to everyone and handed the 70 taels on the account to Liu Daling on the spot.

The village still has 100 taels of silver. Of this 100 taels, 50 taels must be kept in reserve. We don't know how much grain the county government will distribute in the spring, so if it's not enough, we have to use it.

The other 50 taels will be given out free of charge to buy tiles for everyone, and will be distributed equally to each household, including the 20 families whose houses are being repaired.

If the allocated tiles are not enough, just buy them yourself. 50 taels of tiles are definitely not enough for so many families.

In short, first buy the land, then buy the bricks and tiles, or the mud. Everyone works hard, and before the weather freezes, hurry up and get a place to live. If you have money, go bigger, if you don't, go smaller, and settle down first.

Everyone helps each other when it comes to labor, and when it comes to eating, everyone eats together before finishing the house. If there is not enough food, they will use the village money to buy it.

It was still the same group of women who were responsible for cooking.

After learning about the situation in the mountains, the young boy also wanted to go collect firewood. The old man would take care of the child and help with some things within his ability.

"Everyone should rest early and gather when you hear the gong tomorrow."

………………

Liu Yuhan was overwhelmed with emotion when he received the 70 taels of silver from his grandfather. The village chief was truly a genuine leader, worthy of being fair and civic-minded.

Liu Yuhan stuffed the money back to the two elders.

"Grandpa and grandma, keep this money. We also need to buy land and build a house. Why don't we buy land right here and rebuild it? Grandpa and aunt, dad and mom, big brother, what do you say?"

"This place is nice. It's spacious and not far from the mountains. It's a bit similar to where we lived in the north." Old Mrs. Jiang said, and Liu Daling nodded in agreement.

Mr. and Mrs. Liu Shihu, Mr. and Mrs. Liu Shinan, and Liu Yang also thought it was good. They thought the place had a good privacy environment.

There should be water in the mountains. We can bring the water down when the time comes, or dig a well. It would be even better if we could buy the surrounding area.

Liu Shihu took out all the money he had used to sew their clothes and gave it to the two elders. It was twenty-one taels in total. They didn't spend a cent.

Liu also took out 119 taels and gave them to the two elders. Old Mrs. Jiang looked at the silver in her hand. Adding the taels the two elders took out, there were a total of taels. They had never seen so much silver in their lives!

"Since everyone has decided to settle here, then it's settled. We'll buy the land tomorrow and start building the house right away. That way, we can feel at ease before the New Year."

"Big brother, third brother, please put more effort into building the house."

"Only when everyone works together can things be done well and life will get better and better. Let's all go and rest."

They temporarily lived in a small courtyard at the end of the village, which was quite far away from other people's courtyards. There were four rooms in total, plus a main room and a kitchen.

The house was simply cleaned up. The two elders had one room, the two couples each had a room, Liu Yuhan and his sisters Liu Yao and Liu Yun lived in one room, the eldest brother Liu Yang and a group of little boys slept on the floor in the main room, and Xiao Si and Xiao Wu lived in the same room with their parents.

There is no earthen kang here, only a tattered wooden bed that creaks when you sleep on it.

In addition to the straw and bamboo mats on the floor, Liu Yuhan also placed a waterproof sheet on the floor and added two old quilts on top of the straw mats for extra padding. He then covered each of them with a thick quilt, and at night, with the shabby door of the main room closed, they were able to sleep comfortably.

It’s better to buy land and build houses as soon as possible. Now that things are stable, it’s better to get a better one from the beginning. In short, they now have a source of money and are not afraid of what others say.

Seeing that the two sisters were fast asleep, Liu Yuhan entered the space and started his daily chores.

From the vegetable area, to the medicinal field area, to the rice fields, and the warehouses where things are piled up.

She always felt like she had forgotten something...but she couldn't remember it for the moment...