I, Zhu Youjian: the first prodigal son of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 65 Dig a fish pond and build a chicken coop!
Men and women match, work is not tired.

The whole village worked together, felling wood, moving wood and rocks, digging ditches, piling... Well organized, full of enthusiasm, everyone was full of energy.

Because this is their own field.

Especially when Widow Dong, the head of the village, picked up a load of hot porridge and appeared with her buttocks twisted, a group of old men worked harder, and even their waists seemed to be much tougher.

"The fences around every household must be equally strong and durable. Don't be afraid of hard work, you can earn a living!" Village head Li Zicheng is the strongest, and his voice is the loudest when he works.

Everyone knows that this Mizhi man is fair, and his boxing skills are quite extraordinary, so the villagers respect him.

"Village Chief, do you want to fence off Dong's sister-in-law's field?" Someone teased and said.

"In my opinion, there is no need to surround it. Anyway, it is next to the village chief's field, and the village chief can stay up for a few nights." Another person laughed.

"That's right, isn't it just piling, the village chief is the best!"

There was laughter at the scene.

Li Zicheng's black face was slightly hot, he laughed a few times, and chopped down a big tree with all his strength, his muscles were wriggling rhythmically, and he looked very comfortable.

Widow Dong lowered her head and smiled slightly, bit her lips lightly, and peeked at the village chief.

"Sister-in-law of Dong's family, you have to watch your fields closely, don't let the village head plow for you in the middle of the night..." A man laughed and said, "The village head is too strong, be careful not to give your field away It's broken."

"I have no experience! There are only badly earned cattle in the world, how can there be badly plowed fields..."

The villagers laughed loudly, and their sleepiness disappeared.

"Uncles, it's time to eat." Widow Dong blushed, put down her burden, and served porridge for everyone quickly.

Widow Dong is not very old, only in her early thirties. Although she is a peasant woman, she looks upright, fair and bulging, with three and a half children, and her life is very tight.

If it weren't for Li Zicheng and the villagers to take care of her, they would have helped her out after finishing her farm work, and her family's forty acres of fertile land would not have been able to take care of it at all.

Among them, Li Zicheng, the village head, helped the most.

"Let's put it aside for now, the big guy will cut down dozens of trees before eating." Someone laughed.

"Uh... let's drink it while it's hot," Widow Dong said generously, "There's fish soup today, people with slow mouths, be careful not to drink it!"

As soon as they heard that there was still fish soup, the men gave up one after another, dropped their axes, saws and other logging tools, and walked over dusting their bodies.

"Ah, it really is fish soup!"

Someone opened the wooden barrel, and immediately smiled, calling everyone to come and drink fish soup.

In the year of the catastrophe, it is simply too extravagant to drink a bowl of fresh fish soup in this foreign place.

"Village chief, come and drink fish soup." Hearing the villagers scrambling to drink fish soup, Widow Dong took a peek and found that the village chief Li Zicheng, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was still chopping down trees with all his might.

clap clap.

The ax fell on the hard tree, and sawdust splashed everywhere, and a lot fell on the village chief's thick hair, eyebrows and beard. Widow Dong felt distressed when she saw it, and couldn't help but yelled.

"Village Chief, Dong's sister-in-law's fish soup is so fresh, why don't you come and have a few sips?" Someone teased.

"Don't drink," Li Zicheng said in a low voice while swinging the axe, "Her family's life is very tight, and the three children are almost starving to death, save some fish soup for her to send back."

When the villagers heard this, their faces turned reddish, and they put down the large coarse porcelain bowls in their hands one after another.

"It's okay, you guys can drink whatever you want, there's plenty of fish soup!" Seeing that everyone stopped drinking, Widow Dong became a little anxious, "What I said is true, I can't do farm work, but I can fish... ..."

"The fish in the small river nearby are not as thick as the village chief's finger. Where did you catch the fish?" someone asked.

In southern Fujian, there are many rivers and lakes. Quanzhou and other places are even near the sea. Many people used to be fishermen.

However, where they are now, there is only a small river nearby, and the fish and shrimps in it are ridiculously small, unless they are too greedy to catch a few small fish and make a few bowls of soup, otherwise, who has the patience to catch fish!
"I am... In a shallow bay downstream, there are quite a few fish, which are as long as they are!" Widow Dong stretched out her two hands and made a rough gesture, which was about a foot long.

The big guys immediately became excited and asked where the shallow water bay was.

"Walk down along the Taoyuan River, about twenty miles away." Widow Dong rubbed her hands shyly and said with a smile.

Twenty miles... This is too far!
Everyone looked at Widow Dong's feet in unison, and found that a pair of shoes on her feet were worn out.

A few toes poked out pretty, covered with black mud...

During the Song and Ming dynasties, footbinding was popular among women. If it was a peaceful and prosperous age, it would be fine, but it would not be very serious if it caused the daughter's family to suffer some crimes.

However, in the time of war and chaos, men flee famine and fight desperately outside, and all the farm work at home is left to women. How can two three-inch golden lotus work in the fields?
Thirty or forty miles back and forth, just to catch a few fish to make soup.

Dong's sister-in-law, you have a heart...

"Just drink, everyone. It's nothing if I walk a few more steps. My family's [-]-acre field, if it weren't for the help of big guys, wouldn't be able to plant seeds at all..." Widow Dong was ashamed and anxious, and hurriedly told everyone to continue drinking fish soup.

"If I become a dog emperor, I will never allow women to bind their feet!"

When everyone was embarrassed, Li Zicheng, the village head, dropped his ax and strode over.

"Drink it all, just save a few bowls for the three babes." Li Zicheng said, he scooped up a bowl of fish soup first, drank it lightly, and wanted to groan a few times when he was comfortable.

The villagers hesitated and continued to drink.

"After drinking the fish soup and hot porridge, everyone will work harder and strive to surround all the fields today."

Li Zicheng finished drinking the fish soup, wiped his big hairy mouth, and said casually: "From tomorrow, we will dig the fish pond."

"Dig fish ponds?" The villagers' eyes lit up.

Yes, the water in the small river is too shallow, and the fish and shrimps can't grow big at all.

However, if we dig a big fish pond and draw the river water from the upper reaches, wouldn't we be able to raise fish?

Taiwan's Pengbao Island has a humid climate and fertile land. Whether it is growing vegetables, rice, or fruit, it will grow extremely luxuriantly. It is simply a treasured land of geomantic omen.

Everyone has just immigrated here, and the first thing to consider is the ration issue.

Now that the rations are guaranteed, should we raise some chickens, ducks, fish, poultry and pigs?
Tsk tsk, thinking about the good days ahead, these Hokkien foodies can hardly hold back their saliva.

"Village chief, start digging the fish pond tomorrow. After the fish pond is dug, you can organize the big guys to repair some chicken coops, pig pens and so on!" A thin man slapped his thigh and said loudly.

The crowd joined in.

Li Zicheng nodded slightly, grinned and said, "Don't worry, there will be fish ponds, chicken coops, pigpens, and duck sheds!"

"At that time, you have to take it easy, don't let the fat meat make you unable to work!"

Village head Li Zicheng laughed out loud, speaking confidently.

He has already roughly figured out that the fish pond will be dug at the east end of the village. Not only can fish and ducks be raised, but it can also be used as a water storage dam by the way. Water the fields.

As for the pigsty, there is no need to repair it specially.

Enclose the mountain forest behind the village, use local materials, build a high wall with stones and mud, and raise seven or eight big dogs to drive away wild animals, and then you can directly raise pigs.

'By the way, after a while, when the life of the big guy settles down, we must find a way to organize the villagers to practice martial arts. '

"This is a turbulent time, and the villagers can't protect their fields unless they practice their skills..."

……

Of course, these are the thoughts of the village chief Li Zicheng, and the villagers don't know.

Zhu Youjian, who was far away in the capital, naturally didn't know that the "Chuangwang Li Zicheng", who was fooled by him to the southeast coast, became a good village chief.

Otherwise, you will definitely be confused and sigh: "The world is impermanent, brother, take care!" '

(End of this chapter)