There were eleven rooms in the backyard, and it would take a long time to clean all of them. Since it was already late, Ang Lee decided to clean half of the rooms first so that it wouldn't affect his rest. Kun Xiong and Fei Yu would clean the three east rooms, while he and Teng Ya 'er would clean the three main rooms.
The light at night wasn't good, so in order to clean the rooms smoothly, Ang Lee lit a bonfire in the middle of the backyard. As a result, the entire backyard was lit up.
At this moment, there was a crackling bonfire outside the house, and everyone was busy inside the house. After nearly an hour of hard work, the three main rooms and the three east rooms were all cleaned. Everyone sat around the bonfire and roasted the roe deer meat.
The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the bonfire roasted the roe deer meat. Looking at everyone's happy expression, Ang Lee's mood couldn't be described as bad. He used less than half a month to let him and his family live a comfortable life, and it seemed that a better life in the future wasn't far away.
"Big Brother, I never thought that the black fox and sable's skin would be so valuable. In the future, as long as we hunt often, we won't have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of our lives."
"Big Brother, are we still going to hunt in the mountains tomorrow?"
Ang Lee lightly smiled and softly said, "We have to tidy up the ancestral house for the next few days. After a while, we will go hunting in the mountains."
Obviously, Ang Lee wasn't in a hurry to seize more wealth. Settling down his own life was the most important thing. In addition, he was still a little worried about beating up An Qingzong. For this reason, he had to pay attention to this matter and inquire about the situation in Liucheng County.
The fragrant roasted roe deer meat was quickly cooked. Ang Lee, who was in a good mood, chewed on the roe deer meat while telling everyone the story of the Three Kingdoms.
What Ang Lee didn't expect was that not only Kun Xiong and Fei Yu were very interested, but even Teng Ya 'er was very fascinated. This was far beyond Ang Lee's expectations. This was enough to show that in the Tang dynasty, where people valued martial arts, regardless of gender, old or young, everyone was interested in military affairs.
If the story of the Three Kingdoms was written into a book, it would definitely be popular. However, there was no copyright protection in the Tang dynasty, and there was no subscription share. Even if it was written, there wouldn't be much profit. It would just be copied by people and increase its popularity, causing Luoyang to become expensive.
"It's getting late, let's sleep first. We will continue to tidy up the house tomorrow."
"Yes, Big Brother."
There were three rooms in the main room and the east room. However, the room in the middle wasn't occupied, so there were only four rooms that could be occupied. In order to have a better rest, the four of them each had their own room. Kun Xiong and Fei Yu stayed in the east room, while Ang Lee and Teng Ya 'er stayed in the main room.
In the guest room of the Governor's Mansion in Liucheng County, Censor Yan Zhenqing was pacing back and forth. The attendant beside him was staring at the flickering candlelight in a daze.
Yingzhou was a bitter and cold place. This year, there was a snowstorm. Along the way, Yan Zhenqing saw that the lives of the people were very poor, but the food in the Governor's Mansion was extremely luxurious. This made him very surprised.
"The banquet is so luxurious. The people who are eating are the people's hard-earned money."
Yan Zhenqing frowned slightly. He didn't feel comfortable eating this meal.
"Censor, you are right. This subordinate also didn't expect the Governor's Mansion to be so rich. It seems like An Lushan isn't as simple as we thought."
"That's right. This An Lushan is polite on the surface, but his mouth is full of empty words. If you don't speak much, you won't feel it. Once you hear more, you will feel it."
Yan Zhenqing paced a few more steps. He suddenly turned around and said softly, "You've been walking around the Governor's Mansion for half a day. Did you discover anything?"
"Censor, this subordinate has always been followed closely behind. There are many places in the Governor's Mansion that people are not allowed to enter. However, this subordinate discovered that there are many guards in the Governor's Mansion. There are a total of 300 elite guards. They are all An Lushan's private soldiers."
Yan Zhenqing frowned. "A Governor's Mansion actually has so many private soldiers. Are there many people who want to kill him? Or is he hiding something and is afraid of assassins?"
"Censor, this subordinate also discovered something. This subordinate saw that the servants and private soldiers in the Governor's Mansion have a very sumptuous meal. It's much better than the food we eat in the corridors of the Imperial City. The officials of the Tang dynasty are actually inferior to the servants in the Governor's Mansion."
"An Lushan treats them so well. How can these servants and private soldiers not be loyal to him? It's just that, this wealth …" Yan Zhenqing had a feeling in his heart.
"Censor, our every move is under An Lushan's surveillance. What should we do?"
Yan Zhenqing paced around the room. After thinking for a while, he said softly, "Tomorrow morning, this official will pretend to send you to Youzhou. After you leave the city, go to the guest house ten li southeast. Have the three soldiers I left behind split into three groups. One group will go to the Pinglu army camp, one group will enter Liucheng County, and the other group will explore outside the city. Remember, we have to shake off An Lushan's men. Come back in three days."
"Yes, Censor."
After the attendants left, Yan Zhenqing was still pacing around. He had a very bad premonition. An Lushan seemed to be hiding many unknown secrets under his kind appearance. He even felt that the death and disappearance of Li Wu and the other generals were related to An Lushan. Of course, this was only a kind of intuition. At present, there was no evidence.
Pushing open the door of the main room, Ang Lee saw three busy figures in front of him. Kun Xiong and Fei Yu were tidying up the courtyard. Ya 'er was removing the garbage from the west wing. On the open space near the east wing, a pile of roasted deer meat was being roasted over a bonfire.
"Ah, they really don't miss the cooking and work. Wow, it smells so good."
Ang Lee rolled up his sleeves and walked to the bonfire.
"Big Brother, you're up."
Ya 'er and the other two also walked over.
Ang Lee nodded slightly. "Let's eat first, then find some people to help."
"Big Brother, clean up the house. The few of us are enough."
"Isn't it just two courtyards? There's no need to find people to help."
Ang Lee tore off a piece of deer meat and said, "Big Brother is rich now. There's no need to be so frugal. Also, Big Brother wants to find people to help. Not to clean up the house, but to expand the ancestral home."
"Big Brother, the ancestral home is already big enough."
"Two courtyards, more than a dozen rooms. We can't even live in all of them."
Ang Lee smiled and told them the plan he had been thinking about all night. Ang Lee said that he wanted to expand the ancestral home. In fact, the main point was to build a large courtyard on the open space on the west side of the ancestral home. Inside, he could casually build some sheds for livestock to live in so that the prey he hunted could have a comfortable place to stay.
In addition, he could also cultivate a vegetable field. When the weather warmed up, he could plant some fresh vegetables and fruits to replenish the vitamins his body needed.
"Big Brother, is it okay to build a courtyard wall in such cold weather?"
"It's okay. Let's build a temporary one first and rebuild it after spring plowing. Kunxiong, go and find people. Also, open a small door at the west end of the front and back courtyards to make it easier to enter the west courtyard."
"Yes, Big Brother."
"Fei Yu, continue to clean up the house. Little Sprout, take a break and cook. Make sure that all the villagers who come to work can eat their fill."
"Got it, Big Brother."
The three of them busied themselves while Ang Lee leisurely held a brush and drew on a piece of paper. What he drew was naturally a map of the ancestral home. Every room was clearly marked. In addition, he drew a large courtyard on the west side of the ancestral home. With the addition of this large courtyard, the rectangular ancestral home became a square. The locations of the sheds and vegetable fields in the courtyard were also clearly marked to make it easier for the villagers to work.
Li Kunxiong quickly invited more than 30 villagers from the village and promised to give them wages. However, the villagers said that they only wanted a full meal and that it was too distant to ask for money. Moreover, every family in the village had this rule when building a house. This kind of deep friendship made Ang Lee very moved.
"Dalang is really capable. He not only redeemed the ancestral home but also expanded the west courtyard."
"In my opinion, since Dalang was injured, his little brain has become much brighter than before. Look at how good this drawing is."
"You don't understand. This is called the blessing of the ancestors. Dalang's father is a great philanthropist in the village. His ancestors have accumulated virtue."
Everyone praised Li An as they got to work.
The materials used to build the courtyard wall were soil, broken stones, and hay. Although the materials were simple, as long as they could be used, it was fine. Ang Lee did not ask for high-quality courtyard walls. Moreover, the mud walls built in winter would freeze before they were dried. When the ice thawed in spring next year, the courtyard walls were likely to collapse.
However, the courtyard wall was urgently needed at this time. Even if it could only be used for one winter, it had to be built. Anyway, the cost was very low and did not cost much.
The villagers of White Wolf Village were very simple. They worked very hard and did not need to be supervised. No one was lazy. This kind of excellent simple work made the construction progress of the courtyard wall very fast.
Ang Lee gave some advice from time to time and repeatedly told the villagers that the courtyard wall only needed to be used for one winter, so that they could speed up the construction.
"Big Brother, according to the current progress, the courtyard wall can be built by this evening."
Li Kunxiong put down the tools in his hand and wiped the sweat on his forehead.
Ang Lee looked at the courtyard wall that had been built to the height of half a person and nodded with satisfaction.
"Kunxiong, the courtyard wall can be built today. Tomorrow, the construction of the shed will be handed over to you."
Li Kunxiong patted his chest and said, "Big Brother, don't worry. Leave it all to me."
Ang Lee smiled faintly and called the villagers for lunch.
For lunch, other than noodles and soup, it was all meat. This made the villagers who were working very satisfied. When they worked in the afternoon, they naturally worked even harder.
In the evening, the walls of the courtyard were completely completed. The villagers, who had been tired for the day, went back after dinner. Li An, on the other hand, led his family to walk around the western courtyard.
"Big Brother, this courtyard is so big. It's even bigger than the front courtyard and the back courtyard added together." Little Bud pouted and admired the newly built West Courtyard.
Ang Lee smiled and gently stroked Little Bud's head. He pointed to the surroundings and said, "Here, and here. Tomorrow, a row of sheds will be built. Red deer and roe deer can all be raised here. In the north, there will be a few fields. During the spring plowing, vegetables and fruits can be planted there. Also, the land under our feet, next year, a pavilion will be built."
"Big Brother, how about planting a few peach trees beside the pavilion?"
"Sure, Little Bud likes it. We'll plant a dozen trees. Haha."
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