Of course, Su Jinyao knew that it was impossible for the ox cart pulling the adobe bricks to run around the mountain, so the quickest way was to rely on manpower to carry it. However, in this way, it is indeed too labor-intensive, and it is estimated that the cost of light work is also a lot. Is there a way to transport the adobe bricks with minimal human consumption?

Su Jinyao asked Master Gu, "Is it okay to use a donkey to carry it?" Or if there is no special horse gang to walk the mountain road, you can hire such a team to carry it, and it can be much faster. ”

"What about that. Although there are many mountains on our side, there are no big villages in the mountains, and we don't want to go over the mountains to do big business, so there is naturally no special horse gang if the demand is small. Ordinary horses and donkeys are also not allowed to walk on mountain roads, and if they break their legs, a horse or a donkey will be completely destroyed. After Master Gu finished speaking, he shook his head again and again, probably blaming Su Jinyao for not having knowledge.

Su Jinyao had no choice but to say: "If I think about it again, if there is really no way, hire someone to carry it over the mountain." When the time comes, Master Gu, you should hire a porter to do the work. ”

Su Jinyao couldn't trust the people in the village, because she didn't see how many hard-working people in the village could really endure hardships and hardships. Probably Pingshan Village has always been poor, and it is also because these people live too comfortably. As long as they guard a few acres of land, enough for the family to eat and drink, no one will think about how to make money and come back.

So Su Jinyao was worried that even if they gave money to the people in the village, they wouldn't be able to work hard. On the contrary, it is easy to cause gossip, and it exposes her development of a small water shop (qíng) on this side of the mountain road.

Master Gu said: "Then it depends on the little owner's own meaning." But if you still want to hire a porter, it's better to decide early, and I'd better find someone in advance. If the time is too tight, the temporary people are afraid that the work will be expensive, and the work may be delayed. ”

Su Jinyao nodded and said, "I know, just think about this one or two days, if there is still no way, Master Gu, you can go and invite someone to come." ”

Master Gu agreed, and went to the side to see the helpers digging the foundation.

Su Jinyao stared at the big dirt pit for a while, because she couldn't think of any other way to easily transport so many adobe bricks.

Niu and Siping went to pack up the things at the small water shop, because the guests had already passed and there would be no more business today.

Xiao Cheng'er saw that Su Jinyao had been in a daze, walked over and pulled her clothes, and said, "Second sister, are you worried that you don't know what to use to transport adobe bricks?" ”

"Yes, if you hire someone to carry it, it will be time-consuming and laborious, and the salary will not be cheap." Su Jinyao found that she still missed a point, which was the transportation problem in the mountains.

Xiao Cheng'er tilted his head and thought about it, and suddenly said, "Our little black can do it." ”

"What?" Su Jinyao's eyes lit up, and she pulled Xiao Cheng'er and asked, "You said our little black?" The little goat? ”

After asking, Su Jinyao suddenly realized that she was really stupid, goats and goats should be goats that can climb mountains. The climbing skills of the ibex are even more defiant, almost ninety degrees vertical rock wall, they can climb up, let alone climb the mountain.

And listening to Xiaocheng'er's reminder, Su Jinyao seemed to remember a story she had read before, that is, when building the Great Wall, when she encountered a steep terrain, she used goats to carry bricks.

Thinking of this, Su Jinyao was so excited that she asked Xiao Cheng'er: "Then do you know who has goats in our village?" Aunt Niu's family has me. Who else has goats, let's rent them for use. ”

Xiao Cheng'er thought about it, and said the names of several families, and counted the total number of goats in these families, which could have ten in total.

Some of these people Su Jinyao have heard of it, and some have seen it, but they can't say which family has a good character and which one has a bad character. He pulled Xiao Cheng'er and said, "Let's go, let's talk to the (chūn) girl about this matter." Let's go back and rent goats separately, and whoever can talk to which ones will go to rent, and the price is negotiable. ”

The use of sheep to carry adobe bricks must come faster than a person, and it is no less than a person's back. Besides, most people raise goats for sheep (nǎi), and they also bring some wool sheared, and they really haven't heard of goats specially raised for work.

Therefore, Su Jinyao estimated that if she rented a goat to work, the family who rented the goat would be equivalent to an extra income, and the price would definitely not be too high. What's more, hire more than a dozen people to work, and you have to take care of someone's meal at noon. However, if you rent a dozen goats to work, and let them out at noon to eat grass by themselves, you can just add some bean cakes when you come back at night, and you can also worry about it.

In this way, another big problem was solved, and Su Jinyao's heart (qíng) was much broader.

As soon as I discussed this matter with the (chūn) girl, the (chūn) girl smiled and said, "I said why did your family make a lot of money to build a new house in such a short time?" It turns out that your sister and brother's heads are too good. This method of using goats to carry adobe bricks has been thought of for you, and it is normal for your family to be rich. ”

Su Jinyao pushed (chūn) Niu and said, "You, tease us again." No kidding, hurry up and help me think, which families said in the past, can you rent goats for us to work? How much should I pay for this price? ”

(chūn) Niu knew that Su Jinyao was in a hurry to get down to business, so she didn't make trouble. After thinking for a while, he said, "This goat is not a human, so it must not be calculated according to the price of a person." You said that you would bring the sheep out in the morning and use it, give five cents a day for one sheep, add food in the evening, and send it back when it is fed, I guess these people can do it. Anyway, they have to let the baby drive the sheep to the mountains to graze during the day, although you work with the goats, but you still care about the forage and give money, they will definitely agree. ”

Su Jinyao was stunned for a long time before she said, "It's too cost-effective to give five cents a day." Let's rent it, if it doesn't work, rent it for a long time, and if it doesn't work, ask them if they sell it, let's buy the sheep. Anyway, in the future, when our small water shop is opened, we will have to carry things, so we can't rely on your Siping every day to pick it. ”

When she heard this, she punched Su Jinyao and smacked her, "Your man is a goat." It's cheap and good. Alright, let's go back now and find those few rental goats. Siping stayed a little longer, and he went back with Master Gu. ”

Su Jinyao nodded and went back with Xiaocheng'er and (chūn) Niu.

Along the way, I was still studying which ones to rent goats. And according to Su Jinyao's meaning, if you can't rent it, you can buy it. Anyway, the Su family has built a new house now, and the old house has been torn down, and the yard is bigger. The adobe bricks of the old house can also be used to build a sheepfold and a horse shed, and it is also convenient (tǐng) to raise some domestic animals at that time. If it weren't for the fact that pigs are too edible and smelly, Su Jinyao would still want to raise pigs.

After thinking about it, Su Jinyao said again: "Otherwise, don't talk about renting yet, just say borrowing." Anyway, we won't borrow it in vain, and we still have to show it when we return it to others. As for those who are not good at talking, first say that it will definitely not work, and then talk about rent, so that there is room for the other party to agree. ”

The reason why Su Jinyao first said "borrow" and then "rent" was because not everyone in the village looked at money. Some people are just very realistic, and their hearts are good. As long as someone says they are in trouble, they will still help if they can. If you meet such a person, as soon as you open your mouth, you will say that you are going to "rent" a goat, but it seems that the Su family is stingy, and they do not remember the kindness of others, and they have to talk about money first in everything, which is sad (qíng) and hurtful.

Aunt Niu's family must be such a good person, the Su family built a house, and their family helped a lot. Their goats are also easy to handle, and Xiao Cheng'er said that he will definitely be able to handle it when he goes out. Aunt Niu's family has a female goat and two baby goats, and the baby goats are bigger than their little black, so they must be able to work.

Su Jinyao also said: "Xiaocheng'er, why don't you ask by the way, if the two little goats of Aunt Niu's family are sold, let's buy them back, and we will have to use them to carry things in the future." If Xiao Hei grew up eating their female goats (nǎi), we will be good to their little goats, and they will not be hungry or tired, nor will they eat sheep (ròu). ”

Xiao Cheng'er agreed, and went directly to Aunt Niu's house without going home after going down the mountain. Before leaving, he said: "When I went to Aunt Niu's house, I passed by Gazi's house, and they have a male goat and a female goat. I stopped by and talked to their family to see if they could borrow their sheep. ”

Su Jinyao nodded, and let Xiaocheng'er go. If Aunt Niu's family's one, two, and three goats plus the two goats of the Gazi family can be borrowed, plus their little black will be six goats. These six goats carried adobe bricks up the mountain, which was at least worth the work of four or five porters in a day. Even if other people's sheep can't be borrowed or rented, they can stay for a while, so that they won't be unable to work without materials on the construction site.

(chūn) Niu said, "Jin Yao, you can go with me for the remaining three families." You're more clever than I can talk, and the price is negotiable. ”

Of course, Su Jinyao couldn't let (chūn) Niu do all these things alone, so she said, "Let's go, you just lead the way." ”

(chūn) Niu took Su Jinyao to ******'s house first. This house looks poor, and the house is also old, and there are only two and a half rooms. The yard is not small, but the front yard is covered with a sheepfold and a pigsty on one side, and there are a lot of sundries piled up on the other side, and some places are not cleaned often, and even weeds have grown.

(chūn) Niu whispered to Su Jinyao: "****** is a widower, and his daughter-in-law has been gone for four or five years, because she had a difficult birth when she gave birth to her youngest son. He was alone with his children. The children are all boys, and they can't clean up the house, so they make the house like this. However (tǐng) is capable, often going to the town to find odd jobs to make money, and the eldest son of the eleven-year-old family is responsible for farming and tidying up the house; The eight-year-old second son looked at the younger son, and he had to feed the pigs and sheep, dealing with the guozi (rì). is usually very careful, and he is reluctant to spend money, saying that he wants to save money for his three sons to marry daughters-in-law. ”

It's really not easy for such a person. It is estimated that if it weren't for Su Xiangui's broken leg and his inability to work to make money, the Su family's previous (rì) son would be stronger than this family.

With that, he arrived at the door. The courtyard gate was open, and a little boy of four or five years old was squatting in the courtyard and playing with mud, (shēn) getting dirty.

(chūn) Niu called out at the door: "The third boy of the Wang family, is your father at home?" What about the eldest brother and the second brother? ”

The three boys didn't raise their heads, so they said, "My father and eldest brother went to the ground." The second brother is doing laundry in the backyard. ”

Since there were no adults in this family, Su Jinyao and (chūn) Niu glanced at each other, so they decided to go to other people's houses first, wait for other people's houses to say yes, and then come back here to borrow goats.

(chūn) Niu said: "Three boys, then tell your father, come back to be home in a while, etc., we will come back in a while, and look for him if we have something." ”

The third boy still didn't look up, still picking at the mud on the ground, and his mouth made a "hmm".

(chūn) Niu and Su Jinyao were just about to turn (shēn) to leave, when they heard another boy's voice after (shēn): "Fourth aunt of the Li family, you have something to do with my father?" "This one should be ******'s second son.

(chūn) Niu and Su Jinyao turned (shēn) back, and (chūn) Niu said, "Well, I want to borrow your goat for a few days." So I want to discuss it with your father. ”

"Then use it, you don't need to discuss this with my father." The second boy put down the wooden basin in his hand and said, "This sheep is usually raised by me, and I can call the shots." Fourth, if you want to use it, take it away. In the past, I raised this sheep to squeeze the sheep (nǎi) for my brother to eat, but now he doesn't eat (nǎi) anymore, so you can use the sheep as you like. ”

Su Jinyao and (chūn) Niu didn't expect that this second boy of the Wang family would be so easy to talk to. Originally, looking at the situation of the Wang family, Su Jinyao still thought that if his father ****** asked for money, she could give more. After all, their Wang family's sheep borrowed to carry bricks, which is a great favor to the Su family (tǐng), and it is also appropriate to give more money.

But now that the two sons of the Wang family are so generous, Su Jinyao and (chūn) Niu glanced at each other, and they didn't know what to say.

The second son of the Wang family asked again: "The fourth aunt of the Li family, when will this sheep be used?" Do you need me to bring the sheep to your house, or will I help you drive them for a day? ”

When to use it? (chūn) Niu looked at Su Jinyao.

Su Jinyao said, "Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow." We had to use it early in the morning, borrowing goats to carry some adobe bricks up the mountain, but it might take several days. Don't you really have to discuss it with your dad? ”

The second boy shook his head and said, "It's okay, I can call the shots." If you use me to drive the sheep, I can go, but I have to take my brother with me. ”

Su Jinyao nodded and said, "Then thank you." If I use you, I'll call my little town to call you. ”

"Okay." The second boy readily agreed.

Su Jinyao and (chūn) Niu had nothing else to do, so they had to go to the next house. Su Jinyao originally thought that Xiao Cheng'er was a very sensible and smart child, but now that she sees the second son of the Wang family, he should be about the same age as Xiao Cheng'er, and he is so sensible. Is it really the children of the poor who are in charge of the house early?

(chūn) Niu also breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I have long heard that the Wang family is easy to talk to, and it seems to be true." ”

Su Jinyao smiled when she heard this, and said, "It's not that people surnamed Wang are easy to talk to." It's not good to have almost a family with the surname Wang in our village. ”

(chūn) Niu was stunned, and then she remembered Su Jinyao's third aunt Liu Wang, and then thought of Dr. Wang and Wang Qiuhong. He smiled and said, "This Wang family and the other family are not the same family. That is from the Wang Dafu family, and this one seems to be from the Wang Dashan family. A rich family and a poor family can see the difference clearly. ”

Su Jinyao nodded and asked, "It would be nice if the next family was so good at talking." ”

(chūn) Niu pouted and said, "Maybe you guessed it, the next family is really easy to talk to." With that, the (chūn) girl pouted. In that way, you can tell at a glance that you are saying the opposite.

While walking, (chūn) Niu introduced Su Jinyao: "This family's surname is Zhou, and there is such a family in our village whose surname is Zhou, originally had two sons and two daughters. I heard that the eldest daughter of the Zhou family ran away with a man from a foreign country a few years ago, and the Zhou family couldn't raise their heads for a long time. Later, the old couple of the old Zhou family passed away, and the second daughter also married to another village and never came back, leaving the Zhou family with two sons. One is still single, and the other is doing well, but he never cares about his brother. What we are going to is this week, he took advantage of the death of his father and mother, and the two sisters were not at home, so he took up the house, the land and the family wealth left by the old couple. With a little money, it is easy to marry a daughter-in-law, so their family raised pigs and chickens, and last year the daughter-in-law gave birth to a pair of twin sons for him, and she was afraid that (nǎi) would not have enough to eat, so she raised two more female goats. ”

When Su Jinyao heard this, the corners of her mouth twitched, and she felt that her character was really not good this week. My parents are gone, and my two sisters are not at home, so it stands to reason that brothers should rely on each other for their lives. If the two brothers have their hearts together, it is estimated that this (rì) son can live a more prosperous life. Now he has a daughter-in-law and a child, but he has left his brother alone.

However, this is also someone else's business, and Su Jinyao just listened to it and made a fuss, and she didn't have the heart to care. Even if she knows the family's (qíng) situation, when she opens her mouth to borrow a goat for a while, she can find the right topic.

(chūn) Niu said, "But I think this week is good to talk to." His family's sheep were also eaten (nǎi) for his two sons, who are now one year old and don't eat much (nǎi) anymore. Besides, sheep (nǎi) is not always available, and now the ewes do not produce (nǎi), and they have to eat grass and feed, you say that you take the sheep to work, and go back to add two meals of concentrate to him, he will be able to agree as soon as possible. ”

Su Jinyao nodded and said: "Such a person is indeed 'easy to talk', as long as it is beneficial, everything can be done." ”

"Well, it's up ahead. I'm going to knock on the door. (chūn) said, pointing forward. The two of them came to the gate of a house.

This week, everyone didn't look very wealthy, and the courtyard that was originally three rooms was separated by adobe in the middle. You don't have to think about it to know that the other room next to it should be Tuesday's house.

The (chūn) girl walked to the door and knocked on the door, shouting, "Sister-in-law of the Zhou family, I am a (chūn) girl, and I have something to do with you." ”

"Hey, here we are." A young woman's crisp voice replied, and then a woman in her twenties, small (shēn)形 (jiāo) stepped out.