The daily farming life of the black-bellied young lady

Chapter 10 Repairing the Pond

With a vegetable garden, Chu Ying gets up early every day to water it carefully, and the wheat field is not dry due to the previous rain, so she will water it when it is dry. The wheat field is chosen because of its drought tolerance.

Chu Ying has been concentrating on making the quilt for the past few days, and when she went to pick cattail velvet, she also brought back one or two longer logs. With the quilt, she could no longer sleep on the ground, and it was time to make a bed.

After bringing back enough wood, Chu Ying first erected four logs of about the same length in the room, and beat them down heavily with a stone axe. The other 4 logs were placed in their respective notches and tied with straw rope.

Then spread the wood on the finished wooden shelf, and also fix it with straw ropes. Chu Ying sat on it and moved it without collapsing. It seems that it is still quite stable. Chu Ying put the unused clay pots and firewood under the bed , which saves some space.

Put enough cattail leaves on the wooden bed, and then use thin wires to wind the cut reed stems together one by one to make a reed mat. Although the workmanship is rough, it looks complete.

Lying on the wooden bed, Chu Ying felt the pride of being a modern person for the first time.If you have more time, maybe you can make a mattress. The more Chu Ying thinks about it, the more she feels that it is a luxury. When she first came here, she didn't have anything, but now she has enough rice and warm clothes, which is already very good.

Just to pay taxes, Chu Ying felt a pain in the brain when she thought about paying taxes. It is almost winter and the money has not yet been settled.

But only when I got to the city did I realize the cruelty of reality. Where there is a place to live, either I dislike my small size, or I dislike my lack of strength. Putting on the backpack, looking around.

When I arrived at the place where I bought the clay pots last time, although I didn't see any stalls, I saw that Hu Da seemed to be talking to someone.

"One tael, that's all the work. If I wasn't busy, I would have done it myself. Not much more."

"Hu Da, it's not that you don't know. It's also called short work. You have to cut the bamboo first, right? This is a perennial bamboo, so it's not so easy to cut, and the roots are intertwined underneath, so it's hard to dig. You have to dig one person deep. It took a lot of time. The bamboo that was cut and the soil that was dug out had to be disposed of.”

"At most 1 tael 2, lunch is included. It will be finished within 5 days."

"Hu Da, at least 1 tael and 4 yuan, and if you want to finish the work within 5 days, you need to hire more people, and you need to add 3 yuan. One tael and 7 yuan, I am still reluctant."

Chu Ying understood it from the side. Everyone has a big project and needs someone to do it.

"Hu Da, one and two halves, the work will be completed within three days, and you can find someone to come today. Give me the job." Hu Da and another contractor saw what Chu Ying said, and they all laughed.

"Little baby, go home and play in the mud, don't talk big."

"I can start doing it right now, and my brother and a few others can come later." Hu Da looked at Chu Ying with a serious face.

"Little baby, you have to know that the bamboo is twice as thick as your thigh, and it has to be dug a person deep. It's not a person as tall as you. The soil and bamboo dug out will be transported to the waste in the suburbs. Hey, this isn't a kid's play house."

Chu Ying knew that if she had work to do, she should not be afraid of hardship or tiredness. "Uncle Hu, you don't believe me when I say it, so I'll do it first. In the evening, you can see if I can accept it, whether I can accept a penny from you, and if I can accept this job, then 1 tael and a half, within 3 days Do it for you."

"You little baby is very talkative, Hu Da, you still have to look for me tomorrow. I'll go first."

"Okay, why don't you want free labor?" Hu Da looked at the contractor who had gone away, thinking that he would let the doll do the work first, and if it worked, he could save 2 renminbi and two days of time, and if it didn't work, he could find the contractor again.

"Then I'll let the villagers lead the conversation first. Then I'll come to you." Chu Ying went to the gate of the city and watched Grandpa Li tell the story for him to relay, thinking that Brother Wang should be able to organize people well.

When Chu Ying arrived at Hu Dachu, she followed him to a large backyard. Sure enough, most of the yard was covered with bamboo, and it was perennial. The roots were very thick, and it was really laborious to cut.

"It seems that you didn't bring anyone with you. You need to use this machete first. If you want anything, just tell me. When it's time for dinner, someone will bring it over."

"Hu Da, do you have Flint?"

"You want to burn them all? What if the crackling is making noise at the master's house? And you can't burn them all."

"Don't worry, I won't disturb others, I have a use for it." Chu Ying took the fire folder, opened the small cover on it, and blew hard, some sparks appeared.

Chu Ying picked the biggest bamboo first, cut a small hole with a machete at the bottom of the bamboo, piled some bamboo leaves at the root of the bamboo, lit the bamboo leaves, and slowly waited for the fire to burn the roots of the bamboo to crisp. The roots were almost burnt, Chu Ying kicked it a few times, and the bamboo fell down.

When Big Brother Wang came with four other people, Chu Ying had already burned 4 bamboos.

"Chu Ying, what kind of job are you asking me to lead so many people?" Chu Ying looked at the five strong men including Big Brother Wang.

"Cut the bamboo first, and then dig the ground. It needs to be dug one person deep, and the bamboo and soil have to be disposed of. 1 tael and a half, 3 days, not including today. Do you want to do it?"

Five people get one and a half taels of money, except for the money for processing bamboo and soil at that time, each person can also get 5 taels of silver.

"Do it, we've brought all the guys, come here, everyone, hurry up." Qian Yong rolled up his sleeves, picked up the machete and prepared to strike.

"You let them leave the thick bamboo, and I will deal with it. You chop the rest. When you cut a piece, send two people to dig the soil. The cut bamboo has to be cut again. If it is too long, it is not good luck." .” Chu Ying stomped out the fire on the bamboo roots, and instructed the process with Brother Wang.Because I am still too young, my words don't carry much weight, but Brother Wang is different.

Chu Ying held the bamboo tightly, causing the bamboo to fall to the side where no one was.Cutting bamboo is actually not a difficult task. What is difficult is digging the soil. The roots of the bamboo are intertwined, and it takes a lot of effort to dig them up.

Fortunately, the ones called by Big Brother Wang were all physically strong. After Big Brother Wang told them what Chu Ying said, several people also understood, and they worked in a muffled voice, occasionally saying a few words to remind the bamboo to fall. if.

Everyone is cutting bamboo piece by piece in a carpet style, but Chu Ying is picking big bamboo, so pay more attention to the fallen bamboo.

At the beginning, everyone was not very familiar with each other, but then they gradually became active, "Chu Ying, why are you acting like a bamboo mouse, you are playing around here and there."

"I can't help it. Who told the big bamboos to grow indiscriminately?" Chu Ying looked at the piles that had been piled up on the ground, thinking that Grandpa Li must come here, and if the progress here is fast, Grandpa Li must be asked. Find some ox carters.

(End of this chapter)