Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 69 Entering the Village
The refugees, long suffering from hunger, had been completely won over by three consecutive days of mixed-grain steamed buns, and their faces lit up with joy upon hearing the news. Some of the more astute ones had already knelt down and kowtowed, and the rest of the refugees followed suit.

Feng Chang stepped forward and handed Pei Qinghe several pages filled with writing: "These are the names, hometowns, ages and backgrounds of these twenty-five people. Please take a look, Sixth Miss."

Pei Qinghe glanced through it and praised, "You did a good job."

Feng Chang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and replied with utmost respect, "Thank you for your praise, Sixth Miss. From now on, we will go through fire and water for you, as long as you give the order."

Pei Qinghe smirked: "There's no need for this useless nonsense. I'll say it again: whoever dares to do evil, I'll kill them all. Think carefully about whether you want to live a good life or court death. That's up to you."

His tone was indifferent and casual.

The refugees felt a chill run down their spines. They stood up, lined up, and followed Pei Qinghe into the village.

Pei Qinghe pointed to the first thatched hut: "There is hot water in the hut, go take a bath and change your clothes."

The refugees were ragged and smelly, infested with lice and fleas. It was bearable in the open fields, but once inside the thatched huts, the stench was overwhelming.

With a taut face, Gu Lian, whose face was half-disfigured by a knife scar, shouted, "Take off your clothes in order and get into the bathtub one by one."

Feng Chang, standing first, quickly took off his clothes and entered the wooden tub. The water in the large tub was very hot; his skin was almost cooked. Feng Chang didn't utter a sound. When he came out, a layer of mud and ash had floated on the surface of the tub, along with many lice.

This is only the first wash; there's a second bucket of hot water next, and this time I have to scrub my hair too. It's not until the third bucket of hot water that I'm truly clean.

In front of each bucket, a woman stood watching intently. Anyone who was slow or didn't wash carefully would be scolded.

These feisty women from Black Bear Village, used to seeing men's bodies, looked down on these scarred and frail bodies and muttered to their faces, "I was thinking of picking one of them to be my son-in-law, but they all look useless."

"Let's eat our fill for a few months and then see."

Feng Chang's lips twitched, and he used a stern gaze to stop the refugees who wanted to engage in a verbal battle. These women before him were clearly different from the Pei family women. However, since they had settled down in Pei Family Village, they were not people they could afford to offend.

The sewage was carried out, and buckets of clean hot water were brought in. The hot water was changed three times before all the refugees were finally clean. Then, Gu Lian and her people brought over a pile of cotton-padded clothes.

These cotton-padded coats were bought from a clothing store in the county town. They weren't new, but they were all thick and had been washed and dried; you could smell the fragrance of soapberries.

As usual, Feng Chang led the way and was the first to put on a cotton-padded coat.

Gu Lian glanced at her disdainfully: "You're barely human now. Get out!"

Feng Chang was not annoyed, and said in a gentle tone: "Sixth Miss asked me to lead them, so I have to stay and keep an eye on them to prevent them from speaking or acting rashly."

Gu Lian curled her lips and turned to the other two women, saying, "Take out all their dirty, smelly, and tattered clothes and burn them."

After a busy half-day, twenty-five refugees with new looks appeared before Pei Qinghe.

Pei Qinghe then pointed to two thatched huts: "The new village isn't finished yet, so everyone is living in cramped conditions. These two huts are for you to stay in temporarily. Once the new houses in the new village are completed in a few months, we'll allocate two more huts for you here."

Feng Chang was about to kneel, but Pei Qinghe stopped him: "There's no need to kneel. From today onwards, you all have to work in the fields. Whatever you do, you will listen to Pei Jia."

At lunchtime, long queues formed in front of the five large pots. At a glance, the crowds were of all ages, almost entirely women. There were only five adult men, including Pei Jia, and more than twenty boys.

Feng Chang and his group of newly arrived refugees, though thin, were all men. Their appearance and queuing immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"These are the newly recruited refugees?" As usual, Madam Lu found fault with everything. "They're all so thin and frail. How can they cultivate the land? Let's not waste food." Madam Fang chimed in quietly, "A village always needs some men."

Her daughter-in-law has already married into the family and had children. The rest of you shouldn't be idle either.

Madam Lu could easily see through Madam Fang's little scheme. She pouted, about to say something sarcastic, but then caught a glimpse of Pei Qinghe out of the corner of her eye and immediately shut her mouth.

Today's lunch was sorghum rice, with each person receiving a spoonful of radish stew with meat. The sorghum rice had a slightly coarse texture, but when drizzled with the rich meat broth, the soft radish absorbed the broth and became exceptionally sweet, along with a slice of meat about half the size of a palm.

One bowl isn't enough? You can have another. If there's no meat, you can have a spoonful of meat broth and radish.

Feng Chang ate until sweat beaded on his nose. When he looked up, the refugees squatting beside him were almost crying as they ate: "I can't even remember the last time I ate like this."

"I'd rather die here than let anyone leave."

Looking at the Pei women, they ate just as much as the men. Some with big appetites even had a third bowl... Yes, these were the Pei Qinghe and Pei Yan sisters.

“A young lady like you is eating so much,” Madam Lu muttered disapprovingly. “Yan’er is already so tall. If she keeps eating like this, she’ll be taller than a man. She won’t be able to find a husband to live with her in the future.”

Pei Yan buried her head in her food without looking up: "My cousin Qinghe eats more than me. Grandmother doesn't dare to say anything, but she always criticizes me."

Enraged, Mrs. Lu slammed down her rice bowl.

Pei Qinghe frowned: "Let's eat! Why are you smashing the bowl!"

Enraged, Madam Lu picked up the bowl again.

……

“In about ten days, it will be time to harvest the winter wheat.” Pei Jia pointed to a sparse wheat field and sighed, “This is the first year of clearing the land. A few days ago, we encountered a rainstorm, and a lot of the wheat was destroyed.”

"What we need to do right now is to reclaim the wasteland. Originally there were only about ten of us, but now with you all, there are more than forty. The village has oxen, mules, and donkeys, and we have enough iron plows."

Feng Chang nodded.

Among the women working in the fields, there were a few familiar faces; I had seen them that morning when they were bathing and changing. The one in the lead was the woman with the scarred face.

Twenty-five refugees, pulling oxen and holding iron plows, shouted as they began to cultivate the wasteland.

After working for an hour, you can rest for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Warm water with salt added can quench your thirst and replenish your energy.

Pei Qinghe came to the edge of the field twice.

As evening fell, the group finished their work after a half-day of labor. Five large iron pots steamed with a fragrant aroma, filled with corn porridge, multigrain steamed buns, and pickled vegetables.

After Feng Chang finished eating, he came to find Pei Qinghe and said, "I want to discuss something with the Sixth Miss."

Pei Qinghe remained calm: "What is it?"

Feng Changdao said, "This afternoon, I carefully observed the land clearing and plowing. Some people did a lot of plowing, while others did less. I plan to start counting their work each day from tomorrow. It will be easy to tell who works hard and who slacks off."

(End of this chapter)