Living in the mountains and forests as hunters

Chapter 57

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the day when local yamen began to operate normally after the new year, An Dalang's family was eating and doing their own work there. Dabao and Erbao were learning to write while An Dalang was sitting by the fire doing carpentry. The work is the cabinet and box ordered by the Wu family brothers. An Dalang is going to do some of the first work, and finally go to the Wu family's house to install it. After all, he is not an ordinary carpenter. He can work in other people's houses, and it takes a few days to do it. , he always wants to guard his own territory.After the Wu family brothers knew that An Dalang could still be a carpenter, they gave him all the work. Firstly, they meant to take care of An Dalang. Second, the wages An Dalang asked for were really not high, almost a cost , This made the Wu family brothers who had just bought bows and arrows and a big knife very satisfied. Wu Dalin was going to get married in the beginning of the new year, so they had to get a new house, no, originally they let Tie Dan live in the same house with Wu Dalin , Now why do you have to find another room, this way, the cost will be high, and there will be more things to buy, so you can save some.Zhao Yiyi was still sitting on the kang doing some embroidery, her hands were busy all the time.

At the same time, Zhao Yiyi kept calculating in her mind that she now has more than 4000 yuan in the shop. Thanks to those wolf skins, whether it is Zhao Yiyi or An Dalang, she has already put money in the shop. They have learned everything they can learn. Although they have spent a lot of money, they have the ability, which is the big deal. Even if one day the golden finger is gone, with these abilities, it is enough for them to live comfortably.

The news that the imperial court might summon the Orion to go to the deep mountains spread. Many Orion families who knew An Dalang, or were able to get in touch after turning around, sent leather to buy new bows and arrows. After all, An Dalang is here. Not to mention the low price, the quality is good, and you can use things to offset the price, which is much more convenient than the blacksmith shop outside.Even three or five machetes were sold, and ten or so daggers were sold out. In this way, Zhao Yiyi's shop had a big harvest, and even the family had more cash. After all, not everyone They were all exchanged for that thing directly, and many of them came directly with money.The whole 32 taels of cash and 760 copper plates in the money box in the box are the entire savings of this family, and they are also the largest number that An Dalang has ever owned.

"Da Lang, it's spring, and the house in our yard will start to rise, right?"

Zhao Yiyi was busy with his hands, and his mouth was not idle. He asked An Dalang who was doing his work, and what he said was the arrangement for the beginning of spring.

"Well, wait for the stone to be delivered."

Speaking of the house, An Dalang's eyes widened. This is something that neither his grandfather nor his father could do!It was actually done in his hands. With so much money at home and his own craftsmanship, it goes without saying that this house will definitely be good. It should be thick and strong, even the roof should be nailed with wooden planks, then add straw, paste it with mud, and finally add a layer of straw to ensure that the thick one will not leak at any time.

"Have you thought about how to do it?"

"What else can I do? Start from the north, face south, and get three rooms. I've done the math, and it will take up half the yard. It's about as big as our cave, and it's not too small to divide it into three rooms. The south side of the courtyard is further expanded, and a hut is built on the easternmost corner. Cooking is still here for the time being. When we think of a way in the future, we can make the south side more stable and bigger. The entrance is not smooth enough, and the road is not If it’s smaller, you have to do it slowly. The most important thing is, don’t you want to plant some vegetables on this east side? There must be some room left! Our house is on the east side, and Dabao and the others live on the west side , The room in the middle will be used as a main room, I will make some tables and desks, we are like those big families, we have a special place to receive visitors!"

The more An Dalang talked, the more energetic he became, as if there were already visitors from all directions at this time, but maybe he really had the ability to prophesy, and when he said the guests, he heard a faint voice calling the door outside, An Dalang Both Lang and Zhao Yiyi were startled, it was already getting dark, who would come at such a time?This is not the boundary of the plain outside, it is in the mountains!
An Dalang got up, comforted the two children and Zhao Yiyi who were sitting at the table, went to the door by himself, and shouted to the outside:

"Who is it!"

"Brother An? I'm a cousin of Wang Dade from Wangjiagou, brother-in-law of the third son of the Qin family. By the way, I'm also the brother-in-law of Xiangzi from the Zhao family. My name is Wang Daqi. I'm going to Xiaohu Village with people from the county today. It's over, come here to bother me for a night."

This self-introduction is amazing enough, Zhao Yiyi wanted to laugh when he heard it, but also, each village here has a small population, and most of them share the same surname. In this way, this marriage has become a mutual exchange of population between the villages. Big things, on the other hand, are the nearby villages and so on. Almost all of them can be related to relatives. As long as the relationship is revealed, you can always know which one it is. This person is putting his own relationship Wangquan said it again, and asked An Dalang to find the nearest one among them, so as to know who he is!

An Dalang also laughed, and he was even more amused. While opening the door, he said jokingly:

"That's great. My daughter-in-law is also from the Zhao family's nest, so we can be said to be brother-in-law."

As soon as he spoke, there were a lot of laughter at the door. It can be seen that Wang Daqi's gaudy greeting and An Dalang's jokes were also shocked, and it was because of this all of a sudden that An Dalang knew There were actually quite a few people outside, An Dalang held up a torch and looked outside the door, he was startled when he saw it, good guy, there are more than a dozen people, what are you doing here!Why did so many people take the mountain road to Xiaohu Village all of a sudden?

"What's the matter? If we set off in the morning, wouldn't we be able to reach Zhao's house by now? Why are we here?"

An Dalang saw that there were so many people, he didn't dare to open the door for a while, he was afraid that some bad person would harm the women and children in the family, so he hurriedly changed the subject, wanting to inquire about something, but fortunately, Wang Daqi was the fastest, so he answered immediately After speaking, he also said the purpose:
"What else can you do? The nobleman's ankle is twisted. Didn't I hear that you seem to have set up a resting place here, so I came to the door directly."

Hearing this, An Dalang was relieved. He knew that since the cave was completed years ago, some people from Zhaojiawozi helped him to make his name known. This person was right to know, so he hurriedly said :
"I can't find it! It's hidden, I'll take you there."

As he said that, he opened the door and walked out, and then quickly closed the door. Although it sounds like nothing serious, but after all, he is weak on his own side, so he had better be careful.

Fortunately, those few people also wanted to resettle earlier, without thinking too much, they went directly to the newly completed place under the guidance of An Dalang, and saw several rooms inside, a spacious hall, and neat bedding , I finally breathed a sigh of relief, I finally don’t need to sleep in the wild, even if it is a relatively safe mountain forest, sleeping in the wild is not at ease!Not to mention that they brought noble people with them, and they didn't dare to go casually.

An Dalang led the way and went back, but the dozen or so people were busy again, some of them were busy lighting the fire over there, Wang Daqi even lit the kang room by room, only one person was obviously inconvenient. A man dressed as a middle-aged scribe sat down on a stool in the middle of the hall, and talked with that thick man of about forty at the table.

"Unexpectedly, there is such a place in this mountain. It looks a little rough, but it makes us a lot more convenient."

The middle-aged scribe looked around. Although it was a bit blurry due to insufficient light, he could still get a rough idea of ​​it. It was obviously newly made tables and chairs, earthen walls, and a room illuminated by torches. He felt very sorry for this place. Somewhat curious, he has never lived in such a cave,

"My lord doesn't know. Speaking of which, this thing often happens in the mountains. The hunters in the mountains go to the deep mountains to hunt. They often go for a few days. In order to have a resting place at night, they often build a tree in the mountain or a cave. Put some commonly used rice, grain and firewood in case you don’t need it. Because of the deep and dense mountains and forests, the houses made by different people are always in different places, and hunting is not accurate. Who knows which direction to go, so for mutual Convenience, I agreed that such a place is shared by everyone, and anyone who is inconvenient can directly go to the nearest resting place for accommodation, food and use, the only thing to do is after eating and using, do not forget to put those It is enough to replenish the rice grain and firewood. Later, even the herb pickers and the passers-by in the mountains also knew this rule, and they could rest in such a place in times of crisis. Which one of us who came out of the mountains would not Know this! How many people have been helped in such a place!"

The middle-aged man listened to the explanation of the man next to him, his face showed some surprise, and he exclaimed:
"Sure enough? Such a kind and simple people have a little taste of Datong. It's rare, really rare."

After hearing what the scribe said, although he couldn't understand what the scribe said, he could still hear that it was a compliment, and he felt very proud in his heart. He grinned and continued to show off happily:
"However, this place is different from the deep mountains. Speaking of it, this is just the place where An's family hunts. The nearest mountains are just his family's hunters. It doesn't have to be like this. It's just that this place happens to be in the middle of several villages, not far away. There are always people passing by the trail where we came, and An Dalang is a real person. These days, he walks around the villages, helping to sell some goods to the county town to earn some money. After collecting some money, I tidied up this cave and made a resting place for people to come and go. People around us have heard about this, and whoever didn’t praise him with his thumbs up, saying that he is safe? Da Lang is a good guy."

"It's really good. This is also a major event to do good deeds. I'm here for the first time. It's a blessing to have such people under this rule!"

Just as he was talking, the kang over there had already been lit and heated up, and everyone came over in a hurry, and wanted to invite the scribe to live in the first single room on the left. There are still six heated kangs, and I know it is enough to live in, so I agreed to it. I have confirmed the place, but I don’t want to go right away. I want to talk to the rough man, listen to the things in this mountain, and learn more. The situation, he has not been in office for a long time, and he is not very familiar with his subordinates. It is rare to have such an opportunity now, how can he let it go, it is hard to beat all four hands, without the cooperation of his subordinates, he will not be able to hold the position securely!
It was the rough guy, careless, who knew what the scribe was thinking, turned around and asked about the meal,

"Can you see the rice grains?"

"Boss, I saw it. There are two catties of broken rice in the box, and the stove is also on, cooking porridge! It's just that there is a little less of it. There may not be enough for us brothers."

It was Wang Daqi who answered, his brows were twisted into a circle on his face under the firelight.No matter how you look at it, it's funny, but at this time his stomach is still ringing in cooperation, and now those tired men who have just been busy can't help laughing, this Wang Daqi, as long as he stays with him, Then don't worry if there are no jokes to watch.

(End of this chapter)