Drawing Lots
Mǎn Bǎo was stunned, never expecting that the book would be confiscated one day.
After addressing his beloved disciple, Mr. Zhuang looked at Bai Shanbao and said solemnly, "If you want to eradicate all the bandits in the world, you need to do two things."
Bai Shanbao's eyes sparkled as he asked, "What things?"
"First, you need to study well, pass the imperial examination, or take the Mingjing exam." Only by passing the imperial examination can you quickly gain power and have the opportunity to strategize the elimination of bandits. Secondly, you need to learn martial arts. How can you go into battle without martial arts? "With your poor health, can you ignore the safety of your family and friends on the battlefield?"
Bai Shanbao felt that what the teacher said made sense and quickly asked, "Teacher, do you think I can pass the imperial examination?" My father is an imperial scholar, and my mother said that passing the imperial examination is very difficult.
"With your talent, as long as you study diligently, passing the imperial examination should not be difficult," Mr. Zhuang encouraged him. "Even if it's difficult, I would still say it's not." The old saying goes, "The student surpasses the master." "Perhaps you will be even more outstanding than your father."
Bai Shanbao also felt this way and was excited. He asked, "What about learning martial arts?"
"You will have to discuss this with your grandmother," Mr. Zhuang said. "Consider hiring a martial arts instructor or contacting an escort agency to hire a bodyguard." The cost is not very high.
For the Bai family, this amount of money was not significant.
As Mǎn Bǎo and Bai Shanbao walked out, Mǎn Bǎo kept urging, "You must inquire whether your family's bodyguard is capable of flying. If not, you should visit the escort agency and inquire again." "If we want to learn, we should acquire the best skills."
Bai Shanbao thought she made sense and said, "When I learn, I'll teach you."
"Good!" Following the principle of reciprocity, Mǎn Bǎo said, "When the time comes, I'll share my candied haws with you."
Bai Shanbao nodded eagerly, and the two of them bid farewell at the intersection.
Bai Shanbao also invited her, "Otherwise, you can come to my house to do homework, and we can talk together."
"Tomorrow, I have to return to experience the excitement." "My fourth brother is dividing the land today," Man Bao said.
Bai Shanbao was immediately excited and asked, "What land is being divided?"
"The permanent fields and the temporary fields." My fourth brother will be coming of age tomorrow, and my cousin reached adulthood some time ago, so they are dividing the land between them.
Many people in the village followed to see the excitement because dividing the land was a significant event.
The world has been peaceful for nearly twenty years, yet there are still people fleeing from famine in previous years. The fields left behind by those who fled were in chaos. If no one cultivated the land for more than three years, it would be reclaimed by the state.
The ownership of these fields was temporarily managed by the village head. If the land were still fertile and had good soil, it would be fenced off and managed by the village head within the jurisdiction.
Some village leaders clandestinely planted crops on the uncultivated land within their jurisdiction, while others were unable to cultivate and allowed the land to go to waste.
The village head of Qili Village belonged to the latter. Their family's fields were large enough to cultivate, even with an ox. They couldn't handle more land.
Every time a child in the jurisdiction reached adulthood, the village head would divide the land.
The divided permanent fields within the Qili Village area were quite fertile, with each person having twenty mu of land. It couldn't be bought or sold, but it could be inherited.
Of course, there were special circumstances under which it could be bought or sold, but it required registration with the county government. For instance, if a family member needed funds for a funeral or medical treatment, the permanent fields could be sold after verification and approval from the county government.
The temporary fields were forty mu and would be reclaimed by the state after death.
In Qili Village, there were many low hills, so the village head simply divided the hills into temporary fields.
The temporary fields of Zhou Laotou, Zhou Daliang, Zhou Erlang, and Zhou Sanlang were all on the hills, including the uncultivated land at the foot of the mountain. The measurements were not very accurate; they were estimated and divided.
In fact, the utilization of these temporary fields was not significant. It was said to be used for silkworm cultivation, but the villagers of Qili Village did not raise silkworms. They mostly planted hemp at the foot of the mountain, and the bags and clothes they used were all made of hemp.
Most of the mountains were used for tree planting.
No, they rarely touched the wild trees on the mountains. They let them grow as they pleased. If there were trees suitable for constructing houses or making furniture, that would be even better.
They didn't need to plant trees and could still harvest a wave of them.
Of course, if there were no trees on the mountain, Old Zhou would take his sons to find those tree species all over the mountains, transplant them back to their own mountain, water them for a period of time, loosen the soil, fertilize them, and once they survived, they could be left alone. As long as they controlled the wild trees nearby and didn't hinder their growth, it was fine.
When they became adults, the trees could be cut down to build houses or make furniture.
When Mǎn Bǎo turned one year old, Old Zhou planted several trees for her on the mountain. They also had trees, but Mǎn Bǎo felt that they wouldn't be sufficient when they matured.
Since her father's trees were not enough, he may not have anticipated having so many children. Back then, he didn't plant many trees, so now he needs to buy trees from others.
In addition to planting trees, bamboo could also be planted. For example, Zhou Erlang and Zhou Sanlang's temporary fields were filled with numerous bamboo trees. Every year, Zhou Erlang used bamboo for weaving. He would cut some wood from the ownerless mountain, but most of it came from their own temporary fields.
Upon observing the fields in the village, they appeared to be similar. After engaging in discussions at home over the past few days, Mǎn Bǎo realized that there were significant differences among them. She didn't know if her fourth brother's luck would be better and if he would choose a good piece of land.
When Mǎn Bǎo and Bai Shanbao reached the edge of the field, the village head had already led a group of people to inspect all the fields.
Then he said to the two adults, "Everyone just saw it." We plan to divide these lands into two parts. One part is twenty micrometers. Zhou Liang and Zhou Daliang, please come over and draw lots.
Zhou Sìláng and Zhou Dàliàng looked at each other and moved forward.
The village head took out a container containing two pieces of paper and said, "Whoever draws the red mark at the bottom will receive the first piece of land." If not, then they will receive the second piece of land.
The Zhou family carefully compared the two pieces of land and discovered that the difference was not very significant; the first piece of land was closer to the water.
With this in mind, everyone stared intently at the container.
Zhou Sìláng was nervous and looked at Zhou Dàliàng, "Do you want to go first?"
Zhou Dàliàng politely declined, "You go first."
"Okay," Zhou Sìláng replied without any politeness. "Then I'll go first."