The skilled widow is busy farming

"Today, Xiuniang and my third brother, I and I went to the county government office together. The county magistrate came to us to inform us that we need to build a road. This is an official document from above and cannot be changed. It must be completed within the deadline, otherwise the county If your lord's black hat is not protected, we will also have to be promoted."

"Ah, these good days have only passed a few days, why are we building roads again? This will kill people."

The elderly villagers began to panic and started chattering among themselves.

No wonder the villagers were afraid. Every time the imperial court built roads, city walls, and river embankments, people were bound to die. In addition to beheading, they died of exhaustion, and all of them were strong laborers.

After the work is done, the whole village is full of old, weak, women and children. There is no way. The strong laborers are taken away to work. Once they leave, they will never come back. The old and weak will be left in the family. This life will soon plummet, and it will be difficult to turn around again. .

"Listen to me, we have to go to build the road this time, but Xiuniang has a good relationship with the county magistrate's wife, so she gave our village some preferential treatment and allowed our village to rotate people to build the road. We thought about it, and since it can't be avoided, we should do it Work, finish work early and finish work early. The village is in charge of food, and the county government is also in charge of food. Our village provides meat and soup, and the staff is rotated in three shifts in the morning, noon and evening."

"It can only be this way."

"The village obeys my arrangement. The first wave of strong laborers will come first. The work in the fields can only be done by young and old together. Don't separate your family and mine. The work of the county magistrate must be done first, and it must be done well. The old and women cook. , Is it possible to make a full meat tube?"

"to make."

"Don't be afraid, everyone. Our village has given you a lot of freedom and you can rotate. This is what I think. The first wave should be harder. Try to let the strong laborers work more. The weather is not bad. From now on, It’s even hotter and more unbearable, and we have to build roads and dig soil in the middle of the day, which is even more unbearable.”

"Okay, we listen to you."

Everyone had no choice but to agree, and there was nothing they could do if they disagreed. There was no discussion before the official document was issued.

"In this way, let's let the strong laborers come in the morning and afternoon. At noon, it will be hot for our older children to work with the slightly older women, so that the men at home can relax and take a nap. It just so happens that our ladies will bring food to them. , they will go home and farm in the afternoon."

"Okay, we listen to you."

After the people were selected, they began to discuss who would cook and who would work at noon. There was a reason why the children would come at noon, because there was less time to work at noon.

The morning and afternoon are longer. At noon, the strong laborers are allowed to take a rest and catch their breath, while the children, women and the elderly come in, so that both of them have time to rest.

The county magistrate also arranged it in this way. The personnel arrangement was slightly looser and allowed villagers to rotate. Otherwise, if they really fell ill and lacked people to work, and the work could not be completed, the black hat would have to be taken off.

We started killing chickens, pigs, and cows that night, and stewed the meat for everyone. We will start building roads tomorrow, and we will work morning and night. You can't run away, no matter how good the relationship between the county magistrate and you is, you can't He had to work, even if he said so.

Early the next day, everyone in Lijia Village got up before dawn. All the young, middle-aged and strong laborers in Lijia Village went to work in designated places.

This section of the road is quite bumpy, but it’s actually not that difficult. It’s narrow and not that wide. It’s tiring to move rocks. People in Lijia Village are united, so this work is no problem. If you switch to another section of road, it’s wider, and you can’t do it invisibly. There is more work.

Xiuniang gave her face to the county magistrate and sold it back, and brought back the benefits to the villagers.

"Hey, the road at this end is very narrow and easy to repair. It looks difficult but it doesn't take much effort."

Some men will immediately see the trick.It’s not really clear from the map, and many things require on-site investigation before you can know the actual situation.

"Don't yell. Xiu Niang told the county magistrate that she chose the most difficult road to support the Lord. If she said it would be better to go out, she would be gone. Instead, she sold Xiu Niang. Be careful that uncle will tear your bones apart."

"I'm bald, you think I farted."

"Work, finish early and go home early."

"Okay, here are a few people, let's move the rocks first." A group of men rolled up their sleeves and started to work.

At noon, a group of young and old women and half-grown children came to eat. It was the masters who ate, and the meat provided by Lijiacun Fuyu was the best.

The county government hadn't come yet, so they had to go from village to village to notify. Lijiacun, which was close, was the first to be notified, and the police also followed suit to supervise.

"Sir, you can join us for a bite. I also brought you wine."

"I'm afraid it's not good to drink just after arriving."

"Don't take a sip of the green plum wine. You don't have to work while we work. You can just eat meat and drink, serious braised beef."

"Well, your village is still smart. You can't run away from this job. It's right to start it early. The later you get, the more tired you will be. If you can't finish it, you will be sent to the army."

This means that there will be punishment for not finishing the work, and the villagers who cannot finish the work will be sent to the army.

The villagers' hearts trembled after hearing this, and they became more alert.

"You are tired and have to watch us. We have brought a deck chair at home. You two can take a rest while I go to work."

"Ah."

The policeman was also very happy. He just sat there drinking and eating meat and didn't care what the villagers were doing.

The strong laborers had been working for several hours in the morning, and the women who came to deliver the food gave them hot rice, soup, and all-day supply of sour plum soup, mung bean soup, and herbal tea.

Half-year-old children and women went to work together to carry out relay work. If they couldn't move stones, they could pave the road. They could also do small jobs and help carry gravel to pave the road. All these tasks were done.

The police officer saw that they were constantly changing jobs. He nodded slightly and said to his colleagues: "Lijiacun is still smart, no wonder they are rich."

"Of course. There are several imperial officials and three number one scholars from Lijia Village. They are very powerful. Don't offend us. The people provide us with good food and drink. Don't worry about so many. Anyway, every village has to complete the road construction. No matter what they do. Let’s do it, let’s just keep an eye on the progress.”

"Sure, I think the work looks pretty good. Lijiacun doesn't need to worry too much."

"No."

The two detectives ate meat and drank wine and paid little attention to the villagers.

But other villages started to build roads one after another, and their fate was not so good. If they didn't work, they would be whipped.

The county magistrate followed Xiu Niang's instructions and cooked meals for the workers. However, even if there was meat, it was not as good as the food in Lijia Village. This is also a good treatment.

Whether you like it or not, the work has started. Each village can rotate for a while. The strong laborers are allowed to rest at noon, but if someone comes to do the work, the work cannot stop. If there is no one in your village to replace it, there is no way. The strong laborers worked hard to death, and the county magistrate had nothing to do.

Xiu Niang attaches great importance to this road construction. She is afraid that the villagers will not be able to bear it. She personally follows the women to cook. There are many kinds of meals, solid meat, all pure meat. Herbal tea and sour plum soup are served in different varieties throughout the day.

Not only did they provide their own food, but they also provided it to neighboring villages. This made the villagers in the neighboring villages very grateful to Lijia Village. They ate no less meat and drank no less soup. They really had a mouth full of food and were busy working. strength.

Neighboring villages also watched what Lijiacun was doing. In Lijiacun, the women and children took turns doing the work at noon. They also followed suit and asked the men to lie down on the spot and take a nap. After a while, they would let them continue when the sun was not too hot in the afternoon. Do it, and then rotate it every three to five days, so that people can take a rest, not to mention that there is currently no one who is sick in Lijia Village.