190 Repairing the Wall

Scribe Tu sat in the carriage and rang the gong. He shouted along the street, “Folks, quickly gather at the county government gate. From today onwards, we will start repairing the city wall.”

An old man with a head full of white hair and a wrinkled face opened the door and said to the scribe, “Scholar Tu, where would you get the money to repair the city wall? Even if we go to work without money, where will we get the money to buy materials?”

Scribe Tu looked at the old man and smiled happily. “Chief Tong, Lord Zhou took out all the silver his wife had saved. There’s even the gold rewarded by His Majesty!”

“Pfft!” Clan Leader Tong spat at the scribe. “His Majesty rewarded it to Madam. Don’t lie to this old man. Why should His Majesty reward a seventh-grade official’s wife with silver?!”

Scribe Tu narrowed his eyes and said proudly, “You don’t know about this! Lord Zhou’s wife is a first-grade National Madam Protector. ”

Clan Leader Tong grabbed Shi Yu’s hand excitedly. “Scholar Tu, is that true? You’re not lying to me?”

Scribe Tu raised his hand and said, “I swear!”

Clan Leader Tong said happily, “Alright, in that case, let’s go repair the city wall. We’ll do it for free!”

When Li Yu got up, she realized that Zhou Jia had already woken up. She heard Xiaoyu whispering to Old Madam Liu in the courtyard.

Li Yu put on her dress and walked out of the room. Xiaoyu looked at Li Yu and winked. “Madam, why don’t you sleep a little longer? Young Master instructed us not to wake you up before he left.”

Li Yu poked Xiaoyu and smiled with a red face. “Wretched girl, you were chattering like a sparrow outside. You woke me up long ago.”

Xiaoyu hugged Li Yu’s hand and giggled. “Madam, please forgive me. I’ll set the table for you now.”

Old Madam Liu steamed buns for breakfast, cooked mixed grain porridge, and made two dishes. After Li Yu ate, Yang Wei came back with the title deed and handed it to Li Yu. “Madam, Young Master bought the wasteland outside the eastern city. Madam, today, the government office is filled with people who signed up to repair the city wall.”

Li Yu took the title deed. “How much does Young Master pay per day to hire someone to repair the city wall?”

Yang Wei said with heartache, “Ten copper coins a day, and food is not included. More than a hundred people have signed up and construction has already begun. More than a hundred people! The daily salary is also quite a lot. Sigh! I’m afraid we will need to top up more with the money at home.”

Seeing Yang Wei’s heartache, Li Yu smiled and said, “Little money-grubber, there’s still the silver you found in the bandits’ pockets. Sigh! Young Master has used up all the silver at home. We have to earn money quickly. Let’s go and see the wasteland first. We have to open the land as soon as possible and plant the winter wheat.”

“Yes, I’ll go get the car.”

Li Yu brought Yang Wei out of the house. When they arrived at the eastern city gate, they saw that construction had begun in full swing on the eastern city wall.

Li Yu rushed out of the city and walked for half an hour before arriving at the wasteland at the foot of the mountain. She picked up the hoe and dug in the wasteland. After digging a few places, Li Yu realized that the soil of the wasteland was a little flat. She carried the hoe and walked around the wasteland, but she didn’t find any water source.

She thought to herself that it was inconvenient to irrigate here. It was no wonder there was such a huge wasteland near the county city.

Li Yu looked up at the mountain and realized she could only go up and see if there was a water source. If there was no water on the mountain, it would really be troublesome.

Ruyi and Manager Ouyang followed the mountain bandits who came to pick them up.

After going up the mountain, Ruyi felt that the mountain was not steep. They walked for a day and rested on the road for a night. The next day, when the sun went down, they walked through a pass and arrived at the Tiger Head Stronghold.

The Tiger Head Stronghold was built on the flat ground of a mountain. At a glance, the terrain of the Tiger Head Stronghold was much better than that of the Green Dragon Stronghold.

Ruyi felt that the Tiger Head Stronghold relied on that pass. As long as they sent people to guard that pass, it would not be easy for the people outside to fight their way in.

After entering the lair, Ruyi saw that Guan Hu, the head of the Tiger Head Village, was tall and had a loud voice. One could tell at a glance that he was extremely powerful.

Manager Ouyang and Guan Hu agreed on the day to deliver the food and left the mountain with Ruyi.

After Li Yu looked at the wasteland, she asked Yang Wei to send the cart home and walked towards the foot of the mountain. She planned to go up the mountain to see if there was any water source. Also, the wild animals on the mountain were delicious at this time of year. She could catch some wild animals and go home.

Li Yu cut a long wooden stick at the foot of the mountain. As she walked, she knocked on the grass to prevent snakes and insects from coming out. Li Yu was very disgusted by these soft and cold things.

As she walked up the path, she didn’t even see a pheasant, let alone other wild animals. On the way, they encountered a few half-grown children picking wild fruits on the mountain. There were chocolate vines, myrtle, and a few types of wild fruits that Li Yu had never seen before.

The children looked at Li Yu curiously. Li Yu smiled and asked them, “Little kids, do you know where there’s a ditch nearby?”

The younger ones cowered behind the older children. A round-faced boy boldly pointed to the path on the left and said, “Walk over there. There’s a cave not far away. There’s water in the cave.”

Li Yu saw that the children’s clothes were all patched up. It seemed that they were all children from poor families. She smiled and thanked the boy before walking towards the path the boy pointed out.

After walking for half an hour, she saw a small cave the size of a small square table. A thin stream flowed out of the crack in the cliff and into a bowl-sized hole in the cave. Li Yu realized why there was no water at the foot of the mountain. There was also a funnel here. She decided tp go down the mountain first and hire someone to dig a pond before guiding the water down the mountain. Thinking that autumn was about to arrive, Li Yu was not in the mood to hunt in the higher mountains.

Li Yu stood on the mountain and saw a village at the foot of the mountain on the left. She wanted to go to the village to hire some villagers to help develop the land. After thinking about it, she quickly walked down the mountain.

When she walked into the village, she saw a mule cart parked by the side of the road. A few little girls with tears on their faces were curled up in the mule cart. The mule cart was surrounded by villagers in tattered clothes and a crying woman.

Not far away, a man in tattered clothes with red eyes grabbed a seven or eight-year-old girl with one hand and walked towards the mule cart. Behind him, a woman held the hand of a crying little girl and stumbled after the man.

The woman was panting from the chase, and her face was filled with panic and helplessness. She pounced over and grabbed the man’s hand, begging non-stop, “Please don’t sell the child. We’ve survived the disaster. Seeing that our days are getting better, Da Ya and Er Ya can help the family work. Please, I’m begging you.”

When they were about to reach the front of the mule cart, the man’s heart softened. It was unknown if it was because of the woman’s sorrowful cries or because the two children were crying silently that the man could not bear to part with them. The man stopped in his tracks. The woman rushed over and held the two little girls in her arms. A little girl behind also pounced over and hugged the woman. The four of them cried loudly. The helplessness and despair in their voices broke the hearts of the onlookers!

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