novelslam Chapter 45 Going into the Mountains to Harvest Timber
Chapter 45 Going into the Mountains to Harvest Timber
"I came here with friends before and discovered it by chance."
Li Xiangyang told another lie.
Actually, this place was discovered by an old herdsman in a previous life by chance. It is said that it was washed down from a distant hillside by a flood a few years ago.
"Oh well, let's not worry about that, let's just cut off a truckload and head back."
Li Xiangyang picked up an axe and walked over.
Li Xiangdong parked his carriage and followed through the snow. When he arrived at the stall of dead wood, he found that it was full of dead poplar and willow trees.
Li Xiangdong smiled.
Poplar deadwood is easy to burn and produces a large flame, while willow deadwood produces a stable flame, produces less smoke, and burns for a longer time.
Both types of wood are good.
Unlike dead poplar wood, which is not only difficult to ignite and produces a small flame when burned, but also generates a lot of smoke and tar, and can easily clog the flue if too much is burned.
Bang, bang, bang.
Without any skill, Li Xiangyang swung his axe and started hacking at the withered tree stump in front of him.
These are all meant to be burned, so there's no need to worry about whether the cuts are smooth or not.
Fifteen minutes later, Li Xiangyang removed a dead poplar tree trunk that was as thick as two bowls.
But in just a short while, Li Xiangyang felt his hands were getting numb.
"Sigh, it took me more than ten minutes to get one done." Turning to look at the still empty carriage, he suddenly felt a little nostalgic for the high technology of later generations.
"How long will it take to get this cartload of timber? If only we had a chainsaw or a chainsaw."
At that time, chainsaws had not yet been invented. Chainsaws existed, but they were only owned by state-owned forest farms, forestry bureaus, and other state-owned entities.
Ordinary families shouldn't even dream of it.
Leaving aside whether ordinary families could get chainsaw tickets, even if they could, a chainsaw alone would cost seven or eight hundred yuan, and it was very fuel-consuming during use.
Ordinary herders simply cannot afford to buy or use them.
"Brother, this piece of wood is good. Come over and give me a hand, let's get this back." Li Xiangdong stared at an extremely thick piece of dead willow wood on the ground.
He knew that such a thick dead tree couldn't be cut down with just an axe, so he went back to the carriage and got a large-bellied saw.
This large-bellied saw is also called a two-person saw.
It requires two people, one pulling one end, to operate. Although it's a bit troublesome, this is the only way to saw such thick wood.
"Coming," Li Xiangyang replied, placing the axe on the carriage and going over to help.
The two brothers each grabbed one end and began to struggle in perfect unison.
The outdoor temperature is still very low today, probably around minus 20 or 30 degrees Celsius.
However, they lit a fire nearby, and since it was dry and strenuous work, they actually started to sweat slightly.
2 hours later,
The carriage was finally filled with dead wood of all sizes, and both Li Xiangdong and Li Xiangyang were exhausted.
However, they dared not stop to rest, as staying outside for too long in this cold weather would cause frostbite, which would be troublesome.
I need to hurry home.
Before leaving, Wang Guiying gave them cornbread, but forgot to put it in her bosom and left it hanging on the carriage. Now it's frozen solid and can't be eaten.
The two brothers could only grab a handful of snow from the ground to eat to quench their thirst before driving the carriage back home.
Not surprisingly,
When the brothers Li Xiangyang and Li Xiangdong returned to the village with a cart full of timber, the villagers immediately surrounded them.
Someone immediately asked:
"Xiangdong, Xiangyang, where have you two brothers been in this freezing weather? And you brought back this whole cartload of timber."
Some outgoing people have already taken a look:
"Oh dear, this wood is all dead poplar and willow wood, it'll burn well."
"I didn't expect you two brothers to be so hardworking, going out to chop wood in this cold weather."
"No...no, I was just bored and went out for a walk, and chopped some wood along the way," Li Xiangdong laughed it off, without giving a direct answer.
After the previous incident where everyone in the team followed suit and went fishing and selling fish, he learned from his mistake and became much more cautious in this regard.
Think before you speak, and if you're unsure what to say, it's better to pretend you don't know than to say it.
Li Xiangyang stopped the carriage, pointed in the direction of the pile of withered wood, and said:
"The log is in that direction. Go across Zhahar Lake, then wade through the reed beds ahead, and you'll see a low hill. That's it."
The crowd chattered amongst themselves, all trying to find out where the dead wood was cut down so they could haul some back and store it, since it was free.
Li Xiangyang naturally knew this.
However, it doesn't matter if he tells them or not. Even if he doesn't, an old herdsman will pass by and find out in a few days, and then the whole village will know.
It's only a matter of time.
and,
A major snowstorm is coming soon, so it's good for the villagers to go and bring back more wood as soon as possible to prepare for the future and avoid freezing.
This is one of the few contributions he can make to this land and this village.
"Brother."
Li Xiangdong turned to look at Li Xiangyang, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes before disappearing.
He guessed Li Xiangyang's intention in doing so.
Anyway, there's still a lot of timber in that patch of dead trees, and even if we tell other people, we can't haul it all away.
Moreover, they only need to bring back one more truckload to feed their family for the winter, so it doesn't matter if others find out.
"Xiangyang, thank you, thank you so much." No one expected that Li Xiangyang, the village's notorious troublemaker, would tell them so readily.
So they all thanked them repeatedly.
Li Xiangyang didn't think that much about it; he just believed that people in this era were generally quite simple and honest.
There are naturally also people with bad intentions, such as Second Uncle, Donkey Egg, and Big Hair Iron Pillar.
But they are a minority.
They've been neighbors for decades, so as long as it doesn't affect their family, it's okay to help them if we can.
"My brother and I will be going again tomorrow or the day after. If you can't find your way on your own, you can come with us."
Li Xiangyang addressed the crowd again.
The news quickly spread throughout the team. Some people who knew the location quickly hitched up their horse-drawn carts and went to fetch the goods, while others who didn't know the location waited for Li Xiangyang to take them with him on his next trip.
Some people started to notice Li Xiangyang because of this incident, and began to talk about him behind his back, all thinking that he had changed for the better.
He was no longer the idle, good-for-nothing Li family scoundrel who used to loaf around all day.
Of course, Li Xiangyang himself was unaware of these things.
He couldn't believe that his image as a lazy bum who had been idle at home for over twenty years could be completely reversed just because he gave everyone directions once.
A good person who does good deeds all their life will have their true colors revealed if they do one bad thing one day.
A bad person might do bad things their whole life, but one day they might suddenly have a bad day and do something good.
That's how a prodigal son returns home.
This world is often just that crazy.
The next day, at 5 o'clock.
Li Xiangyang opened his eyes on time. He had gotten used to waking up at this time every day since his rebirth, and he didn't need to set an alarm clock at all.
Liu Xiulan was still sleeping with Li Doudou in her arms when Li Xiangyang tiptoed out of bed and got off the kang (heated brick bed). He noticed the kang wasn't as warm as he thought, so he added some more wood.
We have plenty of wood at home now, so we don't need to be too frugal.
Only after finishing all this did I push open the door and go into the middle room.
"Brother, come quick! Mom made venison soup, it's so delicious!" Li Xiangdong called out to him warmly.
Thump thump... thump thump thump...
Just as Li Xiangyang was about to sit down, the gate to the courtyard rang: "Who is it? Visiting so early in the morning."