Chapter 13： corvee affairs

  Chapter 13 Corvée

  Zhao Liya and Deng shi listened to the strange things about the Gu family to the limit!

That's all, when I heard Aunt Li Shiyi say that the Gu family never served corvee, and that people from the village worked for their family, Zhao Liya's heart was moved, and she hurriedly asked: "Aunt Shixi, do we all have to serve corvee here? What's going on, can you tell us about it?"

  She actually forgot about this matter, so she must find out and make plans early.

   Doing corvee service, it’s time-consuming, but it sounds like it’s hurting your health.

  Anything that hurts the body is an absolute big deal for Zhao Liya.

Aunt Li Shiyi smiled and said, "If you asked, then I'll tell you. Generally, the government has major projects to do, and they will allocate service in winter, but not every year. But, is it different in Yancun? , Every household in Yan Village must perform corvee every year, at least twice, and sometimes in years with many things, the number of times is more.”

   All in all, the lives of exiles are cheap, and the government can use them as coolies, and they can be used whenever they want. As long as they are not intentionally killed, no one will care even if they lose their lives in the process of serving corvée.

  However, who can tell if it was "intentional"? Even if it was intentional, who would speak up for a criminal? Isn't it just how the government records it?

  Zhao Liya's heart sank, and Deng's face turned pale.

  Only Zhao Lixiang, Zhao Lin and Ms. Zhao Lin didn't know the dangers of life, and they were still giggling and rushing to help put the sliced ​​radishes in the dustpan.

  Miss and brother’s clear and cheerful laughter made Deng and Zhao Liya feel even more panicked.

   "Aunt Eleven, then, is there no way to get rid of this corvee?"

   Ruan Sanniang and Aunt Li Shiyi both laughed.

  Ruan Sanniang: "Hey, look at what you said, what in this world can't be solved with money?"

  Aunt Li Shishi: "That's right, if money can't solve the problem, then it must be because there is not enough money to make it right."

  Zhao Liya gave her mother a comforting look, and she felt a little relieved: "Well, we will have to work hard to save money from now on."

Aunt Li Shiyi sighed: "That's not true! I don't have much money in my hand, and my heart is not stable. I think your family is kind-hearted and capable. When this house is built, you should think hard about saving money. money."

   "Well, what Aunt Eleven said is true."

  Zhao Liya agreed with a smile, and talked about other things, while quickly thinking about making money in her mind.

  The next day, Zhao Liya and Hu Ling went to the Gu family to talk about grocery shopping, and asked the Gu family if they had any vegetables to sell, and finally ordered the Gu family to deliver some beans, peppers, bitter gourd, ginger, onion and garlic after seven days.

  Other people who sell vegetables go to Zhao’s house to ask, but only Zhao’s family comes to buy them on their own initiative. The second sister-in-law Gu consciously earned back some face, and she boasted a few words proudly.

   Boss Gu's eyes darkened, and he sneered slightly.

  He understood what the Zhao family meant, as long as they didn't try to bully them, they would be happy to give the Gu family some face.

  Uncle Ruan Gui and the others are serious and down-to-earth in their work. The Zhao family pays enough wages. Every lunch is enough white rice, two vegetables and one meat. Everyone is very satisfied with the food and works harder.

  Start from home every day before dawn, and don't leave work until the dusk is thick.

   Just like that, the houses and yards were all built in just half a month.

  Uncle Ruan Gui and others became friends with the Zhao family. Uncle Ruan Gui even invited the Zhao family to Zaihu Village on the sixth day of next month to attend his father's 60th birthday banquet.

  Zhao Xiang readily agreed, and said that if Uncle Ruan Gui didn't dislike him, he could write birthday characters and couplets for Father Ruan. But Uncle Ruan Gui was so happy, he smiled and thanked him again and again, and even said that on the day of the birthday banquet, the boy at home would come to pick him up in person.

  Thanks to the imperial court, the Lingnan area is too popular for exile and relegation by the imperial court. Not only are there exiled prisoners, but also countless officials who have been demoted from the imperial court.

  And these officials have left a good official reputation in the local area, and some of them are even revered and respected by the local people as saints.

   Therefore, most of the local people will not have any prejudice against exile and denigration of this group of people. They believe in their own personal experience and what they have seen with their own eyes.

  In the past half a month, everyone has seen what kind of people the Zhao family are.

  After Zhao Liya keenly noticed that Uncle Ruan Gui and others had a good impression of her family, she consciously or unconsciously guided them to further deepen their affection for her family. By the way, the news that his father was the number one scholar and was a minister of the Ministry of Rites was also "inadvertently" revealed. Uncle Ruan Gui was always in awe when he found out.

  People who are good at reading can win the admiration of the world no matter where they are.

  Zhao Xiang offered to write birthday characters and birthday couplets for Uncle Ruan Gui's father, and Uncle Ruan Gui was of course happy.

   And Zhao Liya, while sincerely making friends, also wanted to find a backer for her family.

  The new house was completed, and a high fence nearly three meters high tightly surrounded the entire courtyard. The main house and the east and west wing rooms in the courtyard are two-story structures, with blue bricks and black tiles, very grand.

In addition to a large patio yard, there is also a not-small backyard. In the backyard, a tall and spacious shed is built. One side is against the courtyard wall, and the other two opposite sides are brick walls. One side is empty and the top is covered with thick fir bark. .

The chicken coop and the duck coop are less than the height of one person. They are built next to the sheds one by one. They are nailed with bamboo and wood and covered with fir bark. The ground is about 40 centimeters above the ground. The door is for chickens and ducks to enter and exit the shack.

  In this area, it is no problem to raise twenty ducks and thirty or forty chickens.

  Lingnan is humid, and houses are basically two-story. People are more accustomed to arranging bedrooms, granaries, and food storage rooms upstairs, which can avoid moisture intrusion, and can better avoid poisonous snakes and ants. Food is also drier and easier to store.

  One thing does not bother the two masters, and the follow-up chores such as tidying the ground in the courtyard and building the shed are all done by Uncle Ruan Gui and the others.

  Uncle Ruan Gui ordered a few young and middle-aged people to stay and work.

  With them, installing doors and windows, picking up furniture, and purchasing other daily necessities all save a lot of trouble.

  There are local people here, and the businesses seem to be much more talkative, and they don't dare to ask for prices to deceive people.

  Zhao Liya also said that she wanted to plant some fruit trees, so she asked Uncle Ruan Gui and the others where they could buy fruit tree saplings?

  Uncle Ruan Gui and the others laughed at the time, "You don't need to buy this. We have a lot of them in our village. We will bring you any fruit tree seedlings you want!"

  Zhao Liya is overjoyed and thank you.

  The next day, when Uncle Ruan Gui and the others came to work, they really brought the fruit trees.

  Zhao Liya planted two papaya trees and one jackfruit tree in the yard, and planned to find out if there were any sweet-scented osmanthus trees and magnolia trees next year and plant two more.

  (end of this chapter)