roccoschili Chapter 223 Digging a hole
Chapter 223 Digging a hole
"Marriage!" Gu Fengyue was annoyed: "Brother, what are you talking about? Chunlin is still young!"
"What do you mean by young? Your uncle Song said that after the Chinese New Year, Chunlin will be fourteen years old. It is the right age to discuss marriage. You are the only one who is not in a hurry."
Gu Fengyun stretched out his hand and explained everything to him one by one: "If you want to propose marriage, you need to invite a matchmaker, prepare betrothal gifts, match horoscopes, and hold an engagement banquet. Our mansion needs to hold it, and the Song family needs to hold it too. Which of these aspects does not need to be prepared in advance? The most important thing is that you have grown up and can discuss marriage. Do you still want to live in the mansion? We are talking about marriage, so you must prepare a house for yourself, otherwise, you will sleep on the street with others when the time comes."
After being scolded by his brother, Gu Fengyue suddenly felt that time was running out.
"Then according to this calculation, doesn't it mean that we have to wait two or three years before we can get married?"
Gu Fengyun glared at his brother in anger: "You know you have to wait, what else do you want to do if you don't wait? Chunlin is so young now, how dare you do that to him!"
Gu Fengyue was embarrassed: "Brother, I am not what you think..."
"Okay, you are honest and upright, just tell me whether you want to marry her or not?"
Finally, Gu Fengyue replied with one word: "I want to."
Gu Fengyun smiled with satisfaction, keeping his achievements and fame to himself.
"It seems that Chunlin has agreed to your request. You are so lucky, little brat."
"Hey hey hey."
Perhaps because their minds were full of their own marriages, the sadness of separation between the two brothers was not that strong. When Song Chunlin came over, he only saw Gu Fengyun smiling at him mysteriously, and Gu Fengyue smiling like a fool.
I hate it so much, I want to return it.
After seeing off Gu Fengyun's motorcade, Song Chunlin finally had time to ask Gu Fengyue, "What did you talk about with your brother? You were smiling silly."
Gu Fengyue didn't answer, but just touched his head and changed the subject.
"Do you want me to accompany you to supervise today?"
Song Chunlin shook his head: "No need, didn't you say that someone in the barracks has developed a simplified version of the compound bow?"
There was indeed such a thing. After thinking it over, Gu Fengyue decided to go and take a look at the simple compound bow first, so the two of them split up into two groups before dawn.
Song Chunlin jumped on to pick up his ox cart, and drove the cart to the vineyard with Uncle Ding. Today they were still setting up the scaffolding, but when they arrived, Old Man Ding also came, and with him came a group of his sons and grandsons.
When Song Chunlin saw the huge group of men, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "There are so many people!"
Old man Ding walked forward with a smile, pointed at a few middle-aged men and said that these were his sons, and the younger ones were his grandsons and great-grandsons.
Song Chunlin counted silently. There were really a lot of people in this family. There were four sons alone, and it was said that three more had gone out to pull things. There were twelve grandsons and great-grandchildren in total, and even then, not all of them had arrived yet.
As expected of old man Ding, who is blessed with many children, his fertility rate is comparable to that of rabbits.
But they were all a group of hardworking rabbits. Before Song Chunlin arrived, these people started drawing lines on the ground and compared the positions according to the blueprint. The warehouse was the warehouse, the hall was the hall, and there were seven or eight empty rooms. Song Chunlin reserved the three largest and brightest rooms, and he planned to leave the rest for Luo Chen's family of four.
Most of Song Chunlin's rooms are in the backyard, and the Luo family lives in the front yard. When he is not at home on weekdays, he just asks the Luo family to help clean the backyard.
Today we just simply drew the lines and didn't start breaking ground. Old Man Ding said that it was not yet time and we had to find an auspicious day to start breaking ground. So a group of people came and left in a hurry without even having lunch.
The racks for the grape seedlings were almost completed in three days, and most of the remaining courtyard walls were also built, so Song Chunlin announced that the workers didn't need to come the next day. When they heard that they couldn't come, they seemed very disappointed, but the food and lodging they had received in the past few days had made their lives much better, and they finally had some extra money on hand, so they didn't have to worry about money in the short term.
Song Chunlin settled everyone's wages, called the brothers Luo Chen and Luo Yi, and asked them to come again tomorrow to do some finishing work.
He had just finished giving the order when an old woman came over surrounded by the crowd. Song Chunlin saw that she seemed to have something to say, so he stood still and waited for her to speak.
The old woman seemed to not know what to say. After hesitating for a long time, she stammered and asked Song Chunlin in a low voice, "Young Master, do you need any help? Although I am old, I can still do some simple work. I don't ask for thirty cents a day. Ten cents a day is fine, or no wages are fine. Just provide me with a meal."
As if she felt that this request was a bit excessive, the old woman's face turned red and her eyes also turned redder.
"To be honest, young master, I have an old partner at home, my son and daughter-in-law were killed by the barbarians, and my grandson was also taken into exile and has not returned yet. Now the family is supported by me alone. I just want to have a meal even though I have no money. Young master, please be kind and give me something to eat."
As the old woman said this, she wanted to kneel down, and Song Chunlin quickly stepped forward and helped her up.
"Old man, please stand up and speak. I am a junior. How can an elder kneel before a junior? Let me think about your request. Otherwise, you can go back with them first. Where do you live? If I have a job suitable for you, I will come to you. Is that okay?"
Seeing that he had agreed, the old woman said, "Oh, yes, yes, thank you very much, young master. Young master, you don't know that since eating the food you brought back, my husband can now walk a few steps. I only hope that I can bring some food back to my husband so that he can have a full stomach and get better faster."
So that's how it is. Song Chunlin understood. He added spiritual spring water to all the food he prepared every day. The old lady's husband's good health might not be due to having a full stomach, but thanks to the spiritual spring water.
The people around him echoed, "Yes, yes, my kid has never had a full meal since he was born. Now he can fill his stomach every day and even has the energy to walk."
"Well, if I have enough food every day, I will have enough energy to walk."
Since Song Chunlin agreed to the old woman's request, he thought about it and wondered what other work he could assign to her?
Hearing everyone discussing meals, an idea suddenly occurred to him. He immediately ordered the old woman and three other women to come here in a few days to cook for the people who were building the house. He would provide the ingredients, seasonings and kitchen utensils, and these people would only need to cook.
Seeing that the job was really done, the old woman thanked Song Chunlin profusely. The three people who were chosen were also surprised. They had just wanted to help the old woman, but they didn't expect to have such a pleasant surprise.
Those who did not make a choice were not discouraged. After all, this young man looked like a man who would do great things. Look at such a large field of seedlings. They had heard that this thing was called grapes, the same grapes from the Western Regions.
It is said that grapes are as expensive as gold, but this young master has planted such a large piece of them. Moreover, after only a few days, it can be seen that the seedlings are growing well. When they are ripe, they don’t believe that this young master will not invite people to pick them. Now they should leave a good impression with the young master and make himself familiar to him. Will he forget them when good things happen in the future?
Uncle Ding felt that it was impossible. Based on his observations over the past few days, he found that this young master was always kind in his treatment of others. He was not like those rich kids who looked down on common people like them. Moreover, he was generous and the food he prepared was delicious. There were only benefits and no harm in following such a person.
When Uncle Ding thought of this, he took a deep look at the Luo brothers. He finally realized that the Luo brothers were smart and knew that it was better to strike first.
After letting Uncle Ding send the people away, Song Chunlin brought the Luo brothers to the place where the house was being built and pointed to the square blocks on the ground to show them.
"Look, this is your future house. This is the living room, this is the kitchen, and this is the toilet. Ah, I also need to prepare a water tank for you. This place is still a bit far from the water source. Tsk tsk, getting water is still a problem."
Although the Luo brothers did not know what a water tank was, they knew it was a rare item as soon as they heard the name. Upon hearing this, they waved their hands and said that they could fetch water by themselves and did not need a water tank.
Song Chunlin smiled and said, "This water tank is not only prepared for you, but also for me. Do you see those rooms at the back? They are my rooms. I will come and stay here when I am free. You also have to prepare my water for me. Remember?"
Hearing that this was prepared by the master himself, the two brothers nodded hurriedly to show that they understood.
The day when the wall of the vineyard was completed was a good day for breaking ground. Old man Ding came with his family in a grand manner. This time, Song Chunlin got to see all his descendants. Wow, the house was full of people. The Ding family was really fertile. The number of people alone was almost as many as that of a production team. No wonder he said that his family could take care of everything. This was his confidence.
Old man Ding was quite prestigious in the family. After a series of complicated ceremonies, Song Chunlin took the hoe and dug the first piece. After that, he had nothing to do. The descendants of the Ding family took over all the work. Even the hoe in Song Chunlin's hand was snatched away. A group of men were digging the foundation with great effort. The scene was quite spectacular.
Because the yard to be built is very large and there is a huge septic tank, even if all the Ding family members work together today, it will take two full days to dig.
Lunch was prepared by Aunt Wu, the old woman, and three other middle-aged women. The ingredients were provided by Song Chunlin's space. People here are not used to eating rice, so what they brought out were noodles, but not pure wheat flour, but flour mixed with corn.
The people here had never eaten corn and didn't know what cornmeal was, but the young master said that this yellow stuff was edible and delicious, so everyone believed him. They worked hard for the whole morning and steamed three full steamers of steamed buns at noon.
The side dishes were spicy and sour shredded potatoes, stir-fried rapeseed, stewed chicken with mushrooms, and a dish of cold cucumber salad. The fruit after the meal was still watermelon.
Old man Ding had eaten watermelon before, that was a gift from Uncle Ding. Now watching the host cut one big watermelon after another, he was so happy that his face was beaming with joy. He held the watermelon tightly and refused to let go. He even didn't want to eat his meal. Everyone had to persuade him to eat a steamed bun and a chicken leg.
Old Man Ding's sons munched on big steamed buns and ate dishes they had never seen before, and felt that this was a truly divine day.
Some curious people even asked Song Chunlin: "Young Master, are these shredded potatoes the same potatoes that the government ordered us to grow?"
Song Chunlin nodded: "Yes, don't you have this over there?"
The man shook his head: "Not yet, this thing is rare. The government said it is drought-resistant and has a high yield, but the quantity is small now. We have a large family and a lot of land, so it's not our turn yet."
Song Chunlin understood. Transportation was inconvenient in ancient times, so the current speed was already considered fast. As long as it became popularized, everyone should be able to plant it quickly.
Thinking about his own fields of corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and cotton, which were already growing very well and would probably mature in a month or two, Song Chunlin counted on his fingers and figured that if he could harvest all of these things, he should be able to return to the capital before the New Year... maybe.
The foundation digging work lasted until the evening, and there was still the huge septic tank left, which was too much to do. Old Man Ding took his children and grandchildren home, and Aunt Wu also followed Song Chunlin's ox cart back to the city.
Luo Chen and Luo Yi were guarding the city gate and saw Song Chunlin and others from afar. Today they were responsible for helping Song Chunlin inspect those plots of land to see how the crops were growing. If things were as expected, it would be time to fertilize those fields.
This time, Song Chunlin planned to continue to look for the brothers and women in the courtyard to apply fertilizer. They were responsible for these fields from the beginning, so they would be more familiar with the fields if he used them again.
"Master, can those corns really be eaten? And those cotton flowers, can they also be eaten after they are grown?"
In the past two days, Luo Chen, Luo Yi and Song Chunlin have become familiar with each other, so he also put forward some of his own opinions on what Song Chunlin grows.
In their opinion, the things planted by Song Chunlin were quite rare. Not to mention the corn, even the cotton, they didn't know what kind of flowers it was or what they were used for. But they were very familiar with the potatoes and sweet potatoes, because the Agricultural Bureau in the city had previously promoted these two crops, saying that they had extremely high yields, and if they were well cared for, it was possible to produce 1,000 kilograms per mu.
It's a pity that their family has no land, otherwise he could apply for some potatoes and sweet potatoes and plant them in the fields, so he wouldn't have to worry about having no food to eat next year.
Speaking of food, Song Chunlin also remembered it. He asked Luo Chen to take the carriage to the carriage shop, and he took them home. He left a bag of rice, a bag of flour, a few pieces of bacon, and a basket of eggs for their family. Thinking that children need to eat vegetables to grow, he left a basket of various vegetables. The two brothers were amazed by the dazzling array of vegetables.
Finally, Song Chunlin did not forget to refill their water tank with spiritual spring water. Before leaving, he hugged the little girl and played with her for a long time before putting the child down.