Chapter 4, Food Storage
Ou Yang has decided not to continue watching. He He Li is still a commoner and his family has no surplus grain. Fortunately, Ou Yang himself is a scholar and a registered citizen of the border area, a legitimate citizen of the empire, and can purchase miscellaneous grains at an unlimited price of 10 wen per pound. However, he needs to make a trip himself and also has to advance some money.
Hehe Li originally belonged to the Jurchens of Liaodong. His father had once saved the life of a ginseng merchant from Qisheng who was crossing the sea to collect ginseng skins. In gratitude, the merchant promised his unimportant concubine's daughter to Hehe Li. In the 18th year of the Republic, the imperial army destroyed Hehe Li's village, and the officer in charge of identification nearly executed him. Fortunately, his wife helped clarify the situation, so although he was still exiled, his treatment improved significantly, and he was granted commoner status. At the beginning of this year, the town established the 8th Jia, relocating over seventy households from various places, and Hehe Li was one of them. Fortunately, his wife helped clarify the situation, so although he was still exiled, his treatment improved significantly, and he was granted commoner status. At the beginning of this year, the town established the 8th Jia, relocating over seventy households from various places, and Hehe Li was one of them
Without a title deed, Old Hu is the most powerful in the village, which is also the reason he chose to live on 8 acres while serving as the agricultural official for two villages. The villagers on 7 acres would never sell him the firewood they cut.
The old man Hu, who had been following closely, said with a smirk: "The wife of Heheli is indeed a Han woman; our Han people are certainly more sensible than the barbarians."
"Returning to your words, my lord, I can usually hunt some small game, which is enough to last until the grain transport arrives at the end of the year." Hehe Li secretly glanced and then whispered, "However, I hope my lord can lend me some provisions for the hunting expedition at the end of this month, and I will return it all upon my return..."
Ou Yang had no choice but to visit each household himself. Old Hu had not completed his task and did not dare to return home, so he had to follow along.
The timber they felled must wait for the convoy from Lingxi Road to transport it away. The oak here is excellent material for shipbuilding, and like most slaves, it is the property of the royal family. The primary task of Ouyang is to manage these assets on behalf of the emperor and to regularly remit them in the form of timber for conversion into cash. In a sense, Ouyang can be considered an expatriate employee of the Royal Shareholding Company of the Huaxia Empire, while commoners are temporary workers, and slaves can only be regarded as production tools.
Originally, the last person to rise in this village was Hu Lanshan. This old man Hu, nearing 50, was a leper in his youth and had once attempted to seduce a good family's daughter, resulting in him being beaten nearly to death. Coincidentally, the court, in its efforts to expand its borders, had been exiling criminals for the past few decades, and thus he was demoted to a commoner and dispatched to the western regions. Previously, he was the only Han person in the village, serving as an agricultural official for two villages. Relying solely on the buying and selling of firewood from the villagers, renting out farming tools, and various gray incomes, he had surprisingly managed to largely escape physical labor, even supporting two foreign wives.
However, Hu Lanshan's good days have now come to an end. As long as the logging tasks can be completed on time, the timber merchant is like a local emperor in this small border village. Even if the commoners have certain personal rights, the timber merchant can easily fabricate a charge to execute them, and no one would care about their lives or deaths. Even if he is too lazy to concoct a charge, the timber merchant would only face a fine or receive a slightly lower score during evaluations.
The next family is the Heheli family. As commoners, the quality of the Heheli's house is noticeably much better than the surrounding slave quarters, yet in Ouyang's eyes, it can still only be considered a cattle shed. Looking at the rickety wooden door, Ouyang feels he could kick it down with one foot. If a larger beast were to invade the village, he believes that the only guarantee for most people would be the axes in their own hands
September 7, 30th year of the Republic
The grain in the village is primarily supplied by Lingxi Road, and the crops that the villagers cultivate themselves are mostly millet, which can only be grown once a year. Moreover, due to the poor agricultural techniques of the indigenous people, the harvest depends heavily on the favor of the weather. The empire also extracts taxes from this, and even selling firewood mixed with grass seeds and wild vegetables can only sustain them for half a year
Therefore, yesterday Ouyang assigned him a task, and today Hulan Mountain could only wait early in front of Ouyang's door. Upon seeing him get up, he hurriedly stepped forward to report: "My lord, each household has just harvested a crop of grain in July, so there should still be some stored grain available now"
Most people at the borders of this era are struggling for basic sustenance, so naturally, there is little entertainment. Ouyang, currently a bachelor in two lifetimes, can only sleep at night, thus he naturally spent an exceptionally healthy night going to bed early and rising early
To put it metaphorically, Ou Yang is like a bald Qiang who doesn't have to deal with any trouble from bears and doesn't have to do any work himself
Ouyang glanced at Heheli's wife and said to Heheli: "Your wife is quite clever. From now on, answer with 'yes', and if you dare to speak in a foreign tongue again, I will not go easy on you."
What is the remaining food supply?" Ouyang was very dissatisfied with his report. The physical quality of the people in this world seems to be slightly better than that of ancient Earthlings, but no matter how strong one is, a healthy adult still requires at least 1.5 pounds of food per day. Moreover, he was going out to hunt, and in this context, hunting is akin to small-scale military operations, with various tribes of the Di people themselves being significant prey. If the people accompanying him are not well-fed, Ouyang does not want to become the punchline of a joke where he goes out to hunt slaves and ends up becoming a slave himself. Furthermore, he was going out to hunt, and in this context, hunting is akin to small-scale military operations, with various tribes of the Di people themselves being significant prey. If the people accompanying him are not well-fed, Ouyang does not want to become the punchline of a joke where he goes out to hunt slaves and ends up becoming a slave himself
The door woven from thin branches and reeds was directly lifted aside by Heheli. Inside, it was approximately 20 square meters in size, with a fire pit dug in the center of the room, above which was an iron pot. Heheli's wife was adding firewood to the fire pit to cook.
Heiheli almost cried out again upon hearing this, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his wife tugged at the corner of his clothes from behind. A glance revealed that Ouyang was staring at him coldly, clearly indicating that if he made a sound, he would be subjected to at least twenty military canes. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, desperately trying to calm himself down, and then knelt down again, saying: "Yes!"
It was not only the Heheli family that was frightened by Ouyang, but also Hulan Mountain nearby. He realized that he had misspoken again. Old Hu himself was merely a commoner, and his sense of superiority over Heheli primarily stemmed from his lineage. In this desolate region, he actually dared not harm a commoner like Heheli. If a commoner were casually killed, the maximum penalty would be the loss of a cow; in cases of accidental death, the penalty would be even less. However, the instigator of this incident, who had incurred the resentment of the local authority, would have no way out. Thus, Hulan Mountain had no choice but to muster his courage and help Heheli with an explanation.
Hu Lanshan's explanation of the chaotic situation ultimately clarified matters. Ouyang's expression softened; he was not a person who enjoyed killing, but after more than two years in this world, he had inevitably been influenced to some extent—within the Empire, the Di Yi were not considered human. Even if he disliked killing, when he could potentially be implicated, resolving issues in the simplest manner became the primary choice.
You go to each household and inform them to prepare their weapons, and come to my doorstep in the afternoon for a demonstration of martial skills. This time, all provisions for those selected to accompany will be prepared by me.
To this day, the Empire continues to attack the Shengnvzhen tribes in Liaodong, and the captives are usually exiled to remote areas or made into slaves and servants for the nobility. According to imperial law, enslaving Han people is a capital offense, and the Di Yi are no exception. However, some Di Yi who have captured Han people as slaves often escape punishment due to the negligence of officials responsible for identifying Di Yi crimes. The 8 Jia, those directly offered to the imperial family, are particularly affected in this regard, as most officials are quite careless in their identification of captives offered to the imperial family. According to imperial law, enslaving Han people is a capital offense, and the Di Yi are no exception. However, some Di Yi who have captured Han people as slaves often escape punishment due to the negligence of officials responsible for identifying Di Yi crimes. The 8 Jia, those directly offered to the imperial family, are particularly affected in this regard, as most officials are quite careless in their identification of captives offered to the imperial family. However, once discovered, they are still to be executed; otherwise, Ouyang himself would also face punishment.
Hege Li just returned after feeding the livestock and hurriedly approached to greet Paijia. Having served the Moke lord back in his hometown, he thought that the Paijia lord would not be more difficult to deal with than the Moke, so he felt no fear at all
Having understood the situation, Ouyang naturally saw no need to adopt a stern demeanor and shout threats. Moreover, since she was a legally married Han woman, he would need to provide some care for Heheli in the future. The empire currently has no specific regulations regarding the mixed-blood offspring of Han and non-Han parents, but in the traditional view of the empire, having Han blood is considered cleaner than that of other non-Han people. If Heheli's children grow up, there is a possibility that they could further become citizens or even commoners of the empire.
You are truly fortunate. "Ouyang finally turned around with Old Man Hu and left. "Come to my doorstep in the afternoon as an alternative."
However, the so-called early rising is merely a comparison to one's own past. The sunrise in the Western Regions is relatively late. If one were to follow the routine of working from sunrise to resting at sunset, most commoners and slaves would have long starved to death. Therefore, by the time Ouyang crawled out of his warm bed, the other villagers of 8 Jia in Anxi Town had already been working for nearly an hour.
The Han woman? Just as Ouyang was about to leave, she turned around and glared fiercely at the Heheli family, her hand already resting on the hilt of her sword. "What is going on? Did you steal it?"
This left Ouyang feeling a sense of helplessness. He looked at several places, but none could provide enough provisions for ten days. It is expected that a batch of grain will be transported from the Lingxi Road before the New Year, along with the shipment of timber; this will be the last major harvest for most people this year. However, the amount of grain is not substantial, making it quite difficult to last until the next harvest.
Ou Yang walked over and picked up the grain bag placed beside him, frowning as he asked, "Is this all?"
Heiheli was frightened to the point of losing all color in his face by this shout, but he still mustered the courage to stand in front of his wife and children while shouting: "I am legally married! I am legally married!" His wife, like a hen, spread her arms wide to embrace their trembling children who were scared out of their wits.
Hu Lanshan stammered and could not answer at all. He knew that each household's food supply was only sufficient to last until the beginning of spring. However, he had no idea how much each household actually had, fearing that he would find reasons to extort them, and they would not tell him.
In the morning, the primary task of the men is to feed the public livestock with the stored hay, repair their own hay sheds, and maintain their production tools. After the women and children complete these tasks, they can return home for a meal and prepare for the next work. However, the single men can only go home to cook for themselves. Originally, they should spend the remaining work hours of the day chopping firewood and logging, as winter arrives early and is cold here, making firewood a necessity for life. If there is any surplus, it can be carried to town in exchange for some grain. The indigenous people, lacking proper leadership, did not dare to go to town casually, so they could only sell it at a low price to Hulan Mountain, the farmer in charge. During winter, this old man would periodically harness the village's only sled to go to town to sell the collected firewood, and then buy some cloth, grain, and daily necessities at high prices to sell to the villagers.