Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 54 Ethnic Status
In the evening, Beijiwu came out of the house to get some fresh air.

Jiang Rong is working with Gao Conglian, Li Hong, and Li Bing; the four women are working together to build a large water vat.

The water vat is about 1.2 to 1.3 meters high and 1.5 meters wide. It is a grain vat that was intended to be used to store grain.

The urn that invites someone into its trap.

Four skillful women are pressing the last edge with their palms.

The process of making this water vat is similar to kneading dough. A bottom is made at the bottom, and then long strips of clay are placed around the edges. Through continuous pressing and rubbing, the clay is made smooth and integrated with the rest of the clay.

Although they lacked the kind of self-rotating support device, the four women almost finished processing it in a day.

It may take quite a while to start the fire and roast the meat, but there's nothing else to do today.

Xiulan and Xianglan were preparing dinner in the house, while Xidan and Jiangcao were feeding the cows and chickens and taking care of the eleven-month-old baby.

Bored, Beijiwu took a stick and went for a stroll in the back mountain.

Perhaps because I've been hunting a lot lately, I didn't encounter any large prey during my half-hour walk, only some wild birds and insects.

Beijiwu's home is at the westernmost part of the village. To the west are some low hills. After crossing a few hills, you can reach another main road and enter the territory of Jinzhou Garrison.

To the north lies the Beiyuan Garrison, which defends against nomadic tribes. However, this garrison has been attacked and killed seven or eight times since its establishment, and the rulers of each dynasty could not rely on these men.

They're the kind of people who are useless in crucial moments and have no presence in peacetime.

Just like women, they were either sold by the rulers or forcibly taken.

The local military and civilians had long been accustomed to the rule of the nomadic tribes. Although Emperor Wen of the dynasty had come to govern this area, many people still followed the nomads to Youzhou or went to the grasslands.

Bandits pass by like combs, soldiers pass by like fine brushes, and officials pass by like shavings. The common people and ordinary people on the frontier are actually more afraid of those in the imperial court than of those people, who are more ferocious than man-eating tigers.

There are still many powerful forces around Wenchao. Beijiwu wants to live a peaceful life, but he is still confused about the future.

This neither-good nor-bad situation, where one can only wait and see how things develop, is causing some anxiety for Arctic Martial Arts.

"Forget it, let's develop this place first. In this era without guns or cannons, as long as we can make a thousand bows and arrows, we'll be fine."

"The Hu people are skilled in horsemanship and archery, and more than half of the adult males are archers. It is actually very easy to recruit soldiers and horses, but how to feed several thousand people is a problem."

"Let's solve the food problem first. We can talk about other things after we've stored up some food. At that time, we can decide whether to live on our own, form our own faction, or join someone else."

"Going south or north is fine, the key is being able to fight."

Beijiwu picked up a stone and broke some of the rubble with a little force.

Various kinds of stones can often be found locally.

Volcanic rock that can be used as a building material.

Limestone that can be burned to produce lime.

Flint, used for starting fires.

These are basically the three types of stones that can be seen everywhere.

You can find some iron ore and coal, but the quality isn't very good.

When Beijiwu returned home, he smelled the aroma of pork.

"Sir, the meal is ready."

Ginger Grass, who catches bugs in the backyard, smiled when she saw Arctic Warrior.

Beijiwu looked at the little girl, who was covered in dirt and whose face was stained with sweat and dirty sleeves.

"Go back and wash your face and hands, and get ready for dinner."

"Yes, sir!"

Jiang Cao stood up and followed Bei Jiwu back into the house.

The main room was still steaming with heat. Now it was used as a kitchen, and the inner room was used as the main room for conversation.

Or you can just say it outside; there's no need to come inside.

Jiangcao fed the insects she caught to the chicks. Of the two baskets of chicks she had initially caught, only one basket remained, as many chicks had died within a month.

The surviving chicks still looked like chicks, but their size had increased two or three times.

Eagles are often seen in this area, and to prevent them from swooping down and eating the chicks, the two little girls take turns watching over them.

If an eagle dares to fly down, it will be shot dead on sight.

Beijiwu walked out of the kitchen and went to eat in the yard.

It was still a bit hot. Beijiwu took off his shirt and sat on a stool, looking up at the grapes and gourds on the trellis. "The grapes are already black. Pick them tomorrow morning. They're fully ripe and perfect for making raisins."

Arctic Martial is planning his winter snacks. When he lived alone before, he spent a lot of time making some delicious treats, such as meaty dried fruit.

Now that we have female slaves, we should definitely let them do the work.

Li Hong smiled and said from a few meters away, "Yes, sir, tomorrow the younger ones will pick the grapes first, and we older ones will make the grain jars first, and then we'll help each other when we have some free time in the afternoon."

Beijiwu looked at the rice bowl that Li Hong was holding.

Li Hong and her younger sister brought over dinner together.

The children in the neighborhood were all looking at Li Hong and the rice bowl she was holding.

Li Hong placed a pot of pork soup on the table, filled with exposed pork ribs, steaming hot.

There was a lot of meat; the earthenware bowl, which was about the width of two palms, contained only some broth at the edge, with the meat piled up in the middle.

Arctic Wu has a large appetite; he can eat meat but won't eat steamed buns.

A bowl of meat weighs at least three or four pounds, but even including the bones, it's not much.

Li Bing put down a bowl of steamed buns. The bottom of the bowl contained porridge, and the top had two white steamed buns.

The rest of the people continued to eat steamed buns made from mixed flour, with some cheap grains added.

Gao Conglian brought over a bowl of stir-fried eggs with chives.

"Alright, you guys go inside to eat. We'll call you if anything comes up."

Arctic Warrior drove away a group of female slaves who had planned to follow him for meals.

Li Hong and the others hurriedly replied, "Yes, sir."

When the group of people usually ate with Beijiwu, they ate their own food, at most enjoying their own mixed flour buns and porridge while smelling the aroma of meat.

This is already very good. It's good enough to have enough to eat; we shouldn't be thinking about eating meat.

Beijiwu picked up his chopsticks and began to eat meat in large bites and drink soup in large bowls. He made sure to eat at least two kinds of meat, eggs, and milk first, and then he could finish the rest later.

After Bei Jiwu sat there eating alone, Li Hong and the others returned to the kitchen to serve themselves.

The food inside wasn't fully cooked yet, so everyone sat on the haystacks in the kitchen or opposite the stove, helping to watch the fire.
There are two pots at home, and two stoves side by side, one large and one small. The large one is used for cooking rice, stewing, and making soup, while the small one is used for stir-frying.

"Each person eats one steamed bun first."

Li Hong lifted the lid of the pot, took out the mixed flour buns that had just been heated for a while, and distributed them to a few little girls who had nothing to do.

"Okay!" Li Bing wasn't a little girl, but she happily agreed.

These steamed buns were made in the morning and can be kept for a day or two.

When I have nothing to do, I tend to make extra steamed buns.

Most of the time, I cook for Arctic Wu while I'm cooking for him, which saves a lot of firewood.

Beijiwu ate outside with his mouth covered in oil, while the women inside dipped their steamed buns in the oil from the pot.

Instead of cooking porridge, the large pot was used to stew wild vegetables, along with leftover pork bones from Beijiwu's previous meals, quickly creating a greasy pork bone stew.

No one was in a hurry to drink the porridge anymore; instead, everyone got a large bowl of pork bone stew.

Jiang Rong and Gao Conglian were squatting on the ground eating when their youngest son, Gou'er, tried to squat down to drink milk. As soon as he got close to his mother's arms, Gao Conglian glared at him.

"Have a meal!"

After being glared at by its mother, the puppy quickly opened its mouth and started crying.

However, no one paid attention to the baby's tantrum.

This era was very unfriendly to children. Children from poor families had to be sensible, otherwise being beaten and scolded was a common occurrence.

Whether it's a little girl, a young woman, a grown woman, or a married woman, including a boy eating meat and drinking soup outside, no one gives her an extra sip of milk just because she cries.

The puppy stopped crying on its own after a few minutes and sat down on the side, eating its mixed flour bun with a pitiful expression.

Gao Conglian fed the puppy millet porridge only after she had eaten her fill.

Although the eleven-month-old baby tried to reach out for milk several times, he was sternly refused each time by Conglian.

The puppy will definitely go back to his home in the future. Gao Conglian still has to have a child with Beijiwu, so she won't keep taking care of this Ai family child forever.

(End of this chapter)