Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 47 People's Hearts Are Settled

On their way back to the village, the group caught another lynx, about the size of a lamb.

As we approached the village, we saw people transporting mud.

"Chieftain!" Li Niu, pulling the cart, greeted Beiji Wu humbly.

Beijiwu said, "Get to work!"

"Yes, clan chief!" Li Niu obediently continued working.

Beijiwu said to Beitianbiao, "Take the lynx and wild birds to my house for cooking. We'll make a pot of meat soup to eat together today. Have your wife go and help. The rest of you, clean the stone mill and put it at the west end of the village near the river to grind the wheat!"

The group quickly agreed, as they were all hungry.

Beijiwu carried the stone trough home, and Beitianbiao followed him in with his prey.

Everyone in the house was busy with chores, so Beiji Wujin called out, "Have you cooked yet? Make a lot today, so we can all eat together."

The villagers who were building houses were overjoyed when they heard this.

"Good Le!"

"The clan leader is providing meals!"

Li Hong walked over, her expression grim, and said, "There's not enough food at home for several meals. There are over a hundred people, and one pot can't cook enough food for them."

"Then make a few more pots," Beijiwu said nonchalantly. "This is game we hunted on the road; let's stew a couple of pots of meat and have some!"

Li Hong looked at her prey on the ground, still feeling helpless.

This meat, weighing less than 100 pounds, is far from enough to fill the stomachs of about 100 people.

This meal would require at least two baskets of grain.

At this moment, Gao Conglian and Jiang Rong came over and pulled Li Hong, saying, "Sir, we're going to cook."

Beijiwu laughed and said, "Go ahead, let me see how this house was built."

The village has more than 140 people. If they consume two catties of food a day, that is about 300 catties, and 10,000 catties a year.

One shi of grain is 120 jin, which is close to 1,000 shi of grain.

Currently, the granary holds less than 400 shi of grain, and each household also needs to reserve seeds for next year, so the stored grain is still less than 400 shi.

The remaining shortfall of one or two hundred bushels is easily met; all that's needed is to harvest the remaining millet.

However, if everyone were to eat the food from the Beiji Wu family, Li Hong believed that her family's food supply would definitely not be enough.

Arctic Martial Arts doesn't have this kind of trouble, nor does it feel like others are taking advantage of it.

What belongs to others is public property, and what belongs to the public is private property.

As long as other people still have food, they are not just eating the Arctic Wu family's food.

The current focus is on cultivating everyone's awareness and understanding that they are all working for the government.

Eating at a communal table is not conducive to individual ambition, but it's perfect when combined with Arctic Martial Arts' fists, so there's no need to worry about a lack of drive.

Collective cooking can save more fuel and labor, allowing women to earn work points by weaving cloth, twisting ropes, and making straw sandals.

Improving communication can also strengthen a sense of collective identity.

It also makes it easier to convey orders, improves the quality of food, and helps adults and children stay healthy.

Whether it's fighting a war or defending against an enemy, a strong physique is essential.

The excess fuel can be used to boil water, raising everyone's awareness of health.

If the food and drink of more than 100 people are managed in a unified manner, a group of excellent logistics personnel can be trained in the future.

After meals are provided, the amount of tax paid can be discussed; everyone's goal is simply to have a full meal.

"Clan leader!"

While Beijiwu was supervising the work, several children ran in quickly.

"Chief! We saw two wild boars with lots of piglets offering food in the wheat field outside!"

Upon hearing this, Beijiwu picked up a hoe and went outside. "Where?"

A little child shouted, "In my field!"

"Where do you live?" Arctic Martial roared. "Say it clearly!"

The child quickly replied, "It's on the north side of the village!"

Beijiwu rode a horse directly north of the village. When he got close to the village entrance, he dismounted and walked quickly to the nearby fields to look for traces of wild boars.

The nearby wheat fields had been harvested several days ago, and now five one-meter-tall gray wild boars were foraging in the fields with more than ten piglets.

A wild boar that is one meter tall is already quite large; even a sow can weigh two or three hundred kilograms.

After resting for more than ten seconds and catching his breath, Arctic Wu quickly ran towards the wild boars.

The pigs, big and small, nearby saw a two-legged creature running towards them and scattered in alarm.

But some large wild boars that couldn't run stood in the ground, quietly watching the two-legged creatures approach. The distance of over a hundred meters was reduced to one or two meters.

The sow protecting her piglets opened her mouth and bit down hard on Arctic Wu.

Arctic Wu slammed down his hoe, the very hoe he had just used to dig through the mud, and plunged it directly into the wild boar's neck, causing the heavy old sow to scream in agony.

Arctic Wu released his grip, looked at the sow who had run away with the hoe, and then looked at another sow nearby.

The injured sow's screams terrified the other sows, who fled in panic. Arctic Wu quickly ran over, pounced on one of the sows, and grabbed its leg.

The 300-pound sow had just dragged the 140-pound Arctic Warrior a few meters forward when Arctic Warrior steadied itself on the wheat field and used its immense strength to hold back the sow, who could only run on three legs.

The large sow frantically turned around to bite Beijiwu, but Beijiwu had already stood up, grabbed the two pig legs with both hands, and slammed the two- or three-hundred-pound sow against the wheat root on the ground.

boom!
The wild boar, which had been thrown to the ground, let out a miserable cry. Arctic Warrior threw it twice more before finally abandoning the badly injured boar that could no longer run.

By this time, the other wild boars had all run away, and the nearby villagers were all standing at a distance watching the Arctic Wu display its might.

Aunt Beitian and others who were digging for stones on the edge of the village looked at Beijiwu standing there and had a direct understanding of how terrifying this fierce man was.

Beijiwu shouted, "A few men, carry these two pigs back for a special meal! We're having pork today!"

The pig with blood flowing from its neck won't make it through the day, but the 300-pound old sow can live for a couple more days.

Several elderly men who were digging came over, looking at the wild boar that had been rammed to death, and then at the wild boar lying on the ground.

"Chieftain...you're really amazing!" An old man didn't know how to compliment Arctic Martial.

Beijiwu dusted himself off and said casually, "Two pigs are harder to deal with than six people. The rest of the pigs ran away. I'll go out and check on them when I have time, so they don't come back and wreak havoc on the crops!"

A group of people nearby dared not speak, and carefully lifted the pig from the ground onto the cart and drove it away.

After killing the two pigs, not only was the food problem solved, but everyone also worked with renewed vigor.

Aunt Beitian and the other women in the village were truly afraid of this fierce man.

When Beijiwu returned to the courtyard, he found that there were too many people working; the courtyard and the house were full of people.

Is it too crowded to cook here?

Upon hearing this, Gao Conglian said, "It is a bit crowded. There's only one pot, so it's not convenient to go anywhere else."

Beijiwu looked at the pigs in the yard and then at the dozens of people working to build the house.

There's no extra space outside, unless we find another place to cook, or we stop building the house.

Beijiwu had long had the idea of ​​expanding his residence. Looking at his room, which combined the main hall and kitchen, and then at the yellow earthen walls across the street.

Beijiwu walked into the house and scooped a ladle of water from the bucket with both hands, splashing it on the wall.

Li Hong asked, "Sir, what are you doing?"

Beijiwu splashed another ladle of water on the wall and then put the ladle down.

"Break this open up, so we can cook in the backyard, and it'll be cooler there too."

Beijiwu shouted to Li Bing, "Bring me a hoe."

"Okay!" Li Bing returned with a hoe shortly after going out.

Beijiwu picked up a hoe and dug a hole in the wall of his house in just two or three minutes.

The cave entrance began to widen, and Beijiwu obtained a room with a draft.

What was originally one courtyard has become two, especially the back courtyard which is now a wooded area, allowing for easy expansion.

After the space was expanded, the women cooked in the backyard and cleaned up pig bristles together.

Pig hair and pigskin can be sold for money, pork can be rendered into lard, and pig bones can be used to make soup that can be eaten for a long time.

The women boiled water in the backyard to scald the pig hair, and Beijiwu did the work of slaughtering the pig and dividing the meat.

In the afternoon, more than ten kilograms of pork were cooked.

The others also brought steamed buns and noodles, and each family contributed some food. The whole village, young and old, ate a good meal together.

After a lively and enjoyable meal, the villagers went home to rest, ready to return to work the next day.

Everyone was more tired and busier than before, but they didn't have to worry about paying taxes, wild animals, or food. They got along much better with each other, and there were more smiles on their faces.

It was indeed slavery. The villagers said it was the slavery of Beijiwu, and they weren't wrong about it at all.

Everyone was forced into labor by Arctic militants.

Arctic Wu doesn't care; he just wants to establish a slave system where he is the sole ruler.

The rest of the people didn't care either; opposing Arctic weapons involved taking on enormous risks, and most people were unwilling to take such risks.

In fact, quite a few people have already sided with the Arctic Army and supported its rule.

Beiji Wugan is much better than Beitiangen. When Beitiangen was the village chief, everyone suffered a lot. Now that Beiji Wugan is the village chief, everyone is a bit more tired, but not so desperate.

(End of this chapter)