Chapter 530 Prepare to build another house [Thanks to the helmsman Taurus boss]
There is only one bamboo house with ventilation on all sides.
Moreover, there is only one bed made entirely of bamboo...that’s why it’s called a bed.
Just because this thing can't be called a bed.
It uses two thick bamboo poles, tied to the two walls of the house, and puts some thicker, broken bamboo pieces in the middle.
It's just a bed board.
A straw mat was spread haphazardly on the bed board, with a thin quilt thrown on top.
The color of this quilt is no longer distinguishable from its original background. Its blackness is similar to that of the clay pot used to boil water.
Definitely a giveaway.
Seeing Luo Xuan's hesitation, Old Min scratched his head and chuckled, "I'm really sorry, no one comes to visit me here all year round.
And I almost don’t stay here at night. So, it’s quite chaotic in here.”
Luo Xuan asked him, "I heard from people in Mengli Commune that you have been here since 1958. After such a long time, how do you usually cook?"
Lao Min pointed to the fire pit and said, "Well, sometimes I am here to cook some food.
Most of the time, I just eat whatever I find in the wild. It’s easy to use local materials and make a fire to roast them.”
Zhang Xiaoli asked curiously, "You waste so much time looking for food every day. Then don't you usually work in the production team?"
Old Min smiled bitterly, "Go ahead! It's just that the production team doesn't have much work. That means in April, everyone has to set fire to the mountains.
At that time, I will chop down trees for a few days. After burning the wasteland, if I encounter larger wood, it will not be completely burned.
Let’s collect it together again, then set a fire and continue burning.”
"After finishing these tasks, I will rest for 10 days and a half. The production team will come to greet everyone and go to the fields to plant rice seedlings."
Lao Min laughed and said, "Then it's just play... I've been playing for several months! I won't go to the mountains to help harvest upland rice until September.
Go to the paddy fields and harvest rice... After a year like this, you can even get through it."
Zhang Xiaoli also knows farm work.
Hearing this, he was very curious, "The climate here is so hot. Can't we plant it twice a year? Moreover, there are so many mountains and there is a lot of dry land on the mountains. Don't you plant corn and sweet potatoes?"
Lao Min was very helpless, "Plant two seasons? Why do you need to plant so much? If it weren't for the fact that they would go hungry if they didn't plant the land, they might not even want to plant it for one season."
"And people here don't grow corn and sweet potatoes very much."
Lao Min shook his head, "If you stay here for a long time, you will understand: grow corn and sweet potatoes here.
Not to mention all the hard work is in vain. Sometimes, even the seed money cannot be collected."
It is said that if you sow one chestnut in spring, you will harvest ten thousand chestnuts in autumn.
So here, what about crops like sweet potatoes and corn that are not grown with high yields?
Zhang Xiaoli looked at Luo Xuan and did not continue chatting with Lao Min.
These things will naturally be understood slowly after you settle down later.
Zhang Xiaoli was very concerned about Luo Xuan's feelings. She was unwilling to talk too much to a strange man for fear of causing Luo Xuan's dissatisfaction.
Although this is Zhang Xiaoli, she thinks too much, but she has such a personality...
No one can tell her fault.
Luo Xuan put away his luggage and took out two cans of canned beef and two dried mushrooms.
Then I took out the pots and pans I brought with me and prepared to light a fire to cook.
No firewood?
This is not a problem for Luo Xuan: tear down the bed!
Anyway, that "bed" was so dirty that people really didn't want to lie down on it.
Moreover, Lao Min has already said: He will not sleep here at night.
Luo Xuan estimated that he would sneak into a nearby village every night to discuss ideas, talk about ideals, and look forward to life with the girls who were about to be married.
There are some villages nearby, which are not in the same category as Namu and others. They practice "walking marriage" there.
Often girls who want to get married will build a very simple thatched hut out of wood and bamboo pieces outside the village.
If you meet a young student who is interested in her.
Naturally, he would run over and meet the girl.
If both parties fall in love, the man will go to the girl's house and help with farm work for four years.
If it develops to this point, the marriage between the two parties will be considered completed.
If two people spend a night together and don't feel anything, then they can go back to their respective homes and find their own mothers.
They just treated each other as if it was nothing, and nothing ever happened...
When Lao Min saw the canned food that Luo Xuan took out, his eyes lit up, "Oh, this is a good thing. I remember when Ala was a child, he always ate freshly grilled steak..."
Luo Xuandan replied calmly, "Sing the song of whichever mountain you are on."
I saw a lot of oxen on the top of the mountain this morning. Why don't you go and cut off a piece? Let's have a freshly grilled steak...how cooked do you want it?"
Old Min chuckled, "Oh, I don't dare to do that to death!
Those scalpers are all raised by the people in the village. How dare I touch a hair from them?"
Luo Xuan was a little surprised, "Aren't those cows raised by the production team?"
Lao Min shook his head, "No. It's different here than in the mainland... There's no way to manage it in the production team. On the dozens of hills near these places, there are cattle breeding models everywhere."
The hills in this area are quite big.
The area of any random mountain is estimated to be several square kilometers.
This does not mean that the circumference of these mountains is that big. You must know that mountains stand upward, not flat ground.
If these hills were spread out, it would not be unusual for the area to exceed 10 square kilometers.
So there are only 2,300 people in a production team.
Do you want to rely on the collective strength of the members to manage dozens of hills?
That is impossible.
Lao Min quietly approached Luo Xuan and said in his ear, "In the past, we used to let the collective manage these cattle. But when there was a shortage of food, one of them would fall to death today, or another one would die of illness tomorrow."
It’s hard on the mountain! You’ll know after you go up the mountain and experience it a few times.”
Lao Min smiled and said, "In that kind of difficult environment, no one would bother to follow those scalpers and do nothing all day long.
Let those guys in the village stare at the cow's butt every day... Is that possible?"
Luo Xuan thought about it and felt that Old Minyan was right:
There are many hills here and the area is large.
Those people in the village, let alone they like to drink and sleep in.
Even if they are very diligent, they can't keep an eye on the cattle every day...it takes a lot of effort to go up and down the mountain!
If it's windy or rainy, the people in the village might go to the mountains and stare at the collective property?
Not to mention the troubles caused by weather changes to the mountain residents.
Just the presence of snakes, ants, mosquitoes, leeches and wild beasts can make people unbearable.
"Ignore him!"
Luo Xuan told Lao Min, "Go and dismantle your broken bed! There is no firewood now, and we are just waiting for the firewood to make a fire."
Lao Min looked at Zhang Xiaoli,
Somewhat worried, "I don't care if I tear down this old bed. But how do you sleep at night?"
Luo Xuan replied, "I think your house is dirty and messy. I guess there are a lot of fleas in it, right?"
How is it possible for us to live in such a shabby house?"
Old Min blushed, "How many fleas are there! I bet there won't be more than 100."
Luo Xuan laughed angrily at him, "That's it, do you think it's too little?"
Old Min smiled and said, "I'm afraid you haven't been to the stockade to experience life, have you? If you take a nap, I can guarantee that when you wake up the next day, there will be no intact skin on your body."
If you keep too many cattle, sheep and dogs, there will also be more fleas.
This is unavoidable.
What green prairie looks infinitely beautiful?
Haha... Only after I went there did I realize that gadflies, mosquitoes, and fleas, these inconspicuous little guys, can really bully people and make life worse than death!
"You are new here, so I'm afraid you don't know how casual and lazy they are here."
Lao Min said, "And they don't have any concept of numbers... When they do things, they can make you angry to death."
Luo Xuan said, "Go and do your job! If you are very gloomy, then no matter what you look at, it will be gloomy.
Maybe you can't stand the way people here do things... But you and I are going to live here for a long time, so I advise you to look at the positive and sunny side!
"Over time, you may find that they still have unique advantages."
Lao Min nodded, "Maybe you are right."
While talking.
Lao Min was dismantling the bed board.
The removed bamboo pieces are easy to burn.
Since Luoxuan's rice is stored in a space, it is not convenient to take it out for cooking.
So Luo Xuan first boiled water and started cooking mushroom soup.
When Old Min saw Luo Xuan, when he used a match to light a fire, he just rubbed it on the phosphorus piece of the matchbox.
Then he said, "Classmate Luo Xuan, please use it sparingly. You just came here with matches, and you think they are not that valuable."
When you stay here for a long time, you will know that it is not easy to go out and buy a box of matches."
Luo Xuan chuckled, "Don't worry, I brought plenty of matches. And I even brought several lighters."
Lao Min's eyes shone, "Really? You still carry a gasoline lighter? Then don't waste this lighter."
You know, giving those girls in Miaozu a lighter will make them happy..."
Lao Min looked at Zhang Xiaoli behind him,
After all, I still didn’t have the guts,
The words were too explicit, "Luo Xuan, you are also a smart man... As a man, hey hey hey... you know."
Luo Xuan ignored him.
Use some worthless gadgets to deceive those big girls?
Grab the bamboo shoots!
Lao Min turned around and went out.
He reached out from under the eaves outside, took out a dry and dried pheasant, and cleaned it carefully.
Chop it again, chop it, and throw it into the mushroom soup.
It takes a lot of time to cook the air-dried chicken well. The three of them would squat in the room, making soup and chatting.
"Luo Xuan! Luo Xuan, come out quickly and get your food."
Namu carried a bag woven from her own homespun cloth on her head. Inside was Luo Xuan, the ration for the past half month: 14 kilograms.
Zhang Xiaoli’s share of rations,
A girl named Na Li carried it and pulled it over to Luo Xuan and others.
People here don't seem to have the habit of carrying goods on their shoulders, nor do they have the concept of using backpacks.
When carrying something, it is almost always carried on the head.
Luo Xuan and Lao Min came out of the house and took the food before they could start cooking.
This is really a veritable "waiting for the rice to be cooked".
"Namu, can you go back to the village and find some people to help?"
Luo Xuan said, "This house is too small to live in. I want to build three new bamboo houses on that flat land a little ahead."
"I'll pay those who help."
Luo Xuan added, "Look, how much is appropriate for each person to pay for a day's work?"
Namu shook her head, "It's just to help build a bamboo house. That job is quick and easy. You don't need to pay me, as long as you can take care of their food."
Luo Xuan chuckled, "Then you go back to the village and find someone to help.
I will take care of their lunch and dinner today. But these houses must be built before tonight."
Namu was shocked, "You actually gave them two meals?"
Now it was Luo Xuan's turn to be surprised: When someone comes to build a house for him, let alone take care of two meals, even if he takes care of three meals a day.
Isn’t that normal!
Old Min smiled and said, "Classmate Helix, you probably don't know yet, right? The people here only eat two meals a day.
I usually have a meal around 10 a.m. and another meal at 4 or 5 p.m.”
There are actually quite a few places where you can have two meals a day.
Including outside the Great Wall, on the Loess Plateau.
During this period, they only had two meals a day.
Luo Xuan looked at the sky and estimated that the time now should be around 10 o'clock in the morning.
So Luo Xuan looked at Lao Min and said, "We're hiring someone here to help with the work. You should know the specific market prices, right?"
Lao Min nodded, "I know. Okay, let me take care of this matter, and you can leave it alone."
When asking others to help with work in rural areas, every place actually has its own set of mature unspoken rules.
This kind of thing is not explicitly stipulated, but everyone unanimously agrees and acquiesces to this market trend.
No matter whether it is to pay them any amount of wages; or to ask them to take care of their meals, hand them cigarettes, etc.
It all has a market price.
If anyone pretends to be generous and extravagant rashly, he must pay a high salary.
If you treat these working people to a meal, the food is really good.
People who work are naturally happy.
But that person,
You will be secretly cursed by other people!
For example, if you hire a craftsman and the day's wages are eighty cents, no one should pay him one dollar.
Otherwise,
This is considered to be driving up wages and sabotaging the market...it will be attacked by people in groups.
"I think it's better to give them two meals today."
Lao Min looked at the sky,
He opened his mouth and said, "Classmate Luo Xuan, you have to be mentally prepared! Here are 10 girls to help you work... After two meals, I am afraid that at least 18 kilograms of food will be eaten by you."
People in this period generally have a large appetite.
Especially when eating other people's food, they are very harsh.
Today in the stockade, a total of 28 kilograms of grain were brought to me. At this time, more than half of it was killed!
That's why Old Min felt sorry for Luo Xuan: In one day, 18 kilograms of grain were killed.
