Chapter 239

Shuiqing was discussing personnel arrangements with Fan Jin and Bai Manshan.

With twenty-three people from four households, they could temporarily stay in the houses vacated by Jiang, He, and Hu. However, long-term, it was impractical. They needed their own residences for convenience and comfort in daily life and work.

Bai Manshan, not considering himself an outsider, took a big gulp of mung bean soup and straightforwardly said, “My suggestion is to avoid using bricks and use adobe walls instead. This reduces the number of trips needed.”

Transporting potatoes to Bai Family Manor, he calculated, could be done at most four or five more times within the next half month. Any more trips would increase the risk. By the end of July, transporting bricks and tiles might attract less attention, but there was still a risk.

Thus, it’s better to minimize trips. Four households need four houses. With the thirty or so carts in your village, the required gray tiles could be transported in one or two days.

If bricks were used for the walls, it would require at least ten more days of trips, with two or three trips each day.

In a year of disaster, people struggling to find food would certainly be envious if they saw brick houses being built.

However, tile roofs are necessary here due to the frequent rains. Even if not used this year, they would be needed next year. Without tiles, constant replacement of thatch roofs would be required, consuming labor.

Shuiqing’s family already has a lot of work pending. Saving manpower for other tasks would be beneficial.

Fan Jin estimated the progress of the Ding family’s perimeter wall, “If everything goes smoothly, the wall can be finished in ten days. Then we can start making adobe bricks and digging drainage ditches.”

“Yes, these preliminary tasks can be started whenever there’s free time. But from what I calculated, your schedule is very tight,” Bai Manshan said.

He continued, “Assuming these men return by the end of July, they’ll need to build their own houses. This involves making adobe bricks, transporting gray tiles, digging drainage ditches, and laying foundations for beams. In August, they’ll start plowing fields for the next potato crop. With over a hundred acres to plant, plus taking care of the medicinal herbs on the mountain, I heard you’ve found Dioscorea and Fallopia multiflora that need to be planted? Next month, you’ll also start sending people to the prefectural city to sell rabbit meat?”

Bai Manshan marveled at the sheer amount of work the family had to do, feeling a bit guilty for taking up so much of their time. But the need to transport potatoes to Bai Family Manor for their 200-plus mouths was unavoidable. Fortunately, Shuiqing and Jin understood and didn’t hesitate to let him use the manpower.

Shuiqing, wanting to ease Bai Manshan’s burden, said, “The planting is almost done, and there aren’t that many vines to plant. Afterward, we just need to collect yam seeds, which can be done by one person.”

That one person would be Fan Jin, who also had the task of scattering Fallopia multiflora seeds—recently purchased several tens of pounds from the market, ensuring both mountain peaks were covered. Compared to planting vines, scattering seeds was much more efficient. In the natural growth of the forest, as long as enough seeds were scattered, some would thrive.

This freed up others for different tasks.

As for selling rabbit meat, “There aren’t many rabbits ready for market. Initially, trips to the prefectural city will only be needed once every ten days to two weeks, taking half a day for the round trip, so it’s manageable.”

Bai Manshan nodded, feeling reassured.

After their midday nap, the returning men didn’t idle away the afternoon.

The eighteen men spent the entire afternoon making many ground spikes and placing them around the perimeter of the high ground where they lived.

It’s better to be safe than sorry. Extra layers of protection provide extra security.

These spikes wouldn’t be lethal but could puncture shoes and feet, significantly reducing any intruder’s ability to attack.

The spikes were placed on the outermost perimeter, and everyone in the household was repeatedly warned, as were the villagers, to avoid accidental injuries. If anyone ignored the warnings and chose to walk there, there wasn’t much else that could be done.

Qin Yilin watched enviously.

The Ding family lived at the back of Shanshui Village. It was quiet and spacious, ideal for drying medicinal herbs.

However, in unstable times, she was worried, especially since their household was small with a daughter.

That’s why she actively supported the proposal to build a perimeter wall and cooperated diligently.

A protective wall could block many dangers. At the very least, it would prevent large groups of evildoers from breaking in. If they tried to climb over one by one, they could be dealt with individually.

As Qin Yilin thought about it, she suddenly considered whether she and her husband should take some time to prepare more toxic and irritating medicinal powders!

Fish have their fish paths, shrimp have their shrimp paths. The water is clear, so they found an empty space to build walls and set traps to attract buyers for horses. She could fully utilize her expertise to make more medicinal powders!

Although Shuiqing and Yanqiu both said they would have Jiajia move in with them, if evil people were to attack or break in, they would have to be dealt with, right? Otherwise, keeping them around would just cause trouble.

With their plan in mind, Qin Yilin and Ding Heli immediately agreed. During the day, they packed dry rations and went into the mountains to search far and wide for poisonous herbs.

Jiajia continued making dried yams at Shuiqing’s house, and in the evening, the two of them returned home together.

With Qin Yilin and Ding Heli gone, but with the help of Hu’s mother, Yan Qiuxing, and others, there was no need to go up the mountain for grafting, so everything was still fine.

The process of making dried yams was not complicated—wash, steam, and cut, mostly physical labor, but Hu’s mother handled it skillfully.

Yan Qiuxing replied that Zhaodi was also used to doing such work, quickly picking up the technique and cutting evenly after a few tries.

Ding Jiajia mostly monitored the fire and the duration of steaming.

The five of them cooperated seamlessly.

Shuiqing and Fan Jin each had their responsibilities—one bought goods at the market, the other did the work, maintaining their usual harmony.

In the following days, everyone was busy.

The men who went out gained experience the first time, and with the roads becoming drier and easier to travel, their round trips shortened significantly, usually returning to the village before noon on the fourth day.

After a nap, they could still help build their own adobe walls in the afternoon—the more they saw outside, the more anxious they became, wishing to finish building the entire village’s walls overnight!

Otherwise, even when going out, they couldn’t rest easy about their wives, children, and elders at home, fearing that evil people might break in during their absence, causing them constant worry.

The men from Zhulin Village were delighted to hear about the adobe tile houses being built for them.

Even if they only had half a day upon returning, the eighteen men were unwilling to waste any time and quickly dug trenches and made adobe bricks, eager to finish building their small homes.

Though adobe brick walls and tiled roofs were comfortable to live in, they still wanted homes of their own.

Li Dani and the other five women used their spare time in the mornings and evenings to cultivate a large vegetable garden around their homes. Some of the seeds were provided by the Eastern household, and others were gifts from the women of the village.

They had a good relationship with the Eastern household and were very warm towards them.

They were also told that potatoes could be grown in the vegetable garden, which could serve as both a vegetable and a staple food in winter—delicious and filling.

They planted a lot of vegetables, took good care of the garden, and lived their lives diligently.