Chapter 71 Reverence for Nature
There are five saws and five axes in total. You choose the tools yourself at the beginning. Axes are faster for cutting small trees, but saws are more efficient for cutting big trees. Both have their advantages and disadvantages, and it depends on what you are familiar with.
But generally speaking, a saw is better than an axe.
Shunzi was quick and grabbed the saw, but Qin Yao was a little slower and was left with only the axe.
Ding Wu was mainly responsible for supervising the work, walking back and forth in the woods to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to slack off.
Before we went up the mountain, the housekeeper said that the number of trees cut would be counted, and the top three would be rewarded. If the number of the bottom three was much lower than the average, their wages would be deducted.
Therefore, once they arrived at the destination, everyone picked up the tools in their hands and started working immediately. They wanted to be rewarded, but were also worried about falling behind and being deducted money.
Qin Yao thought to herself, these ancient people were more shrewd than each other, and they would never suffer any loss.
When Qin Yao felt Shunzi's pleading gaze, she simply gave him a gesture to move, then she picked up the axe, selected a medium-sized fir tree, and swung the axe.
Even if she has not eaten pork, she has seen pigs run. She has seen woodcutting many times, but this time she did it herself. It was just like chopping firewood. The only difference was that the firewood in front of her was bigger than ordinary firewood, but there was no difference in essence.
Shunzi had no other choice, so he pretended to saw the tree, but in fact he secretly watched how other lumberjacks worked, and followed their example. In the whole morning, he only sawed half a tree, and surprisingly, he didn't come last.
The fastest one was a big bearded man who was holding a saw and specialized in sawing big trees. He had just finished sawing one tree before Ding Wu called for dinner. He kicked the tree with his foot and rolled quickly on the ground, leaving his sweat shirt there. There was a loud "boom" and the tree fell down.
Qin Yao saw it clearly. The tree originally fell in the opposite direction of the bearded man, but when it fell, it actually changed direction and fell towards him.
Finally, the bearded man threw his sweat shirt to the ground and quickly rolled to the opposite side, and the tree then fell down successfully, pressing down the sweat shirt.
Ding Wu didn't understand what was going on, so he walked up and pointed at the sweatshirt and asked curiously,
"Why did you leave your shirt behind when you ran?"
Big Beard's nickname is Big Beard. He dusted off his sweatshirt and put it back on, explaining:
"The tree has a spirit. When it falls, it will chase people. Only by leaving behind objects with a similar scent to mine can it be deceived."
Ding Wu was surprised, "Is it true?"
The bearded man grinned and told him to try it himself and then he would know.
Ding Wu glanced at the tree on the ground that was thicker than his thigh and waved his hands repeatedly, "I'll just forget it."
At the same time, he summoned Qin Yao and the others and told them to be careful before the tree fell.
Qin Yao was holding a bowl of vegetable soup and two coarse flour buns that the Ding family servants had distributed to her, when she suddenly had an interesting idea - tree sliding.
Later she actually did it, just to test the bearded man's words.
Strangely enough, when she deliberately tried to conduct the experiment, the tree fell straight down in the direction she kicked it.
When she gave up the experiment, she was almost hit by the tree that fell back.
It was because Qin Yao reacted quickly, otherwise she would have definitely been injured.
Moreover, they cut down trees separately, each in one place, so as not to affect others or accidentally hurt their companions. Once they were hit, it would be too late to call for help.
"So, this is Schrödinger's tree spirit?" Qin Yao muttered with lingering fear, and decided to still have awe for nature.
Before five o'clock, everyone stopped felling trees and used axes to cut off unnecessary branches and trim the main trunk.
As soon as five o'clock comes, we finish work on time.
Qin Yao cut down two logs today.
Shunzi finally learned how to cut wood today. In the afternoon, he finally sawed down a tree, using the method of Big Beard, and did not get hurt.
The most common ones are the big beards, one in the morning and two in the afternoon, a total of three.
The least they had was one, so Shunzi and Qin Yao were in a safe position, and their ten cents wages for today were secured.
Whether you will be deducted money next time depends on your performance afterwards.
Logging is a very physically demanding job. Qin Yao was not full after eating the lunch she had. She did not prepare any water, and Ding Yuanwai's family would not provide water. She was so thirsty that she and Shunzi had to run down the mountain to drink a sip of the spring water flowing down the mountain.
This back and forth took a lot of time. Ding Wu looked a little unhappy at the two of them, but he didn't say anything on the first day.
Just before leaving work, he specifically reminded me: "Remember to bring a water bottle tomorrow."
"Yeah, sure." Shunzi agreed with a smile.
Qin Yao touched her rumbling stomach and just wanted to run home and eat.
Xiahe Village was close, and Qin Yao couldn't wait for Shunzi's slow pace, so she said to Shunzi, "My home is far away, and it will be dark later and I won't be able to see the road. I'll go ahead."
Shunzi had just let out an "Ah?" when Qin Yao had already strode forward, leaving him no chance to stop her.
Qin Yao suddenly turned around and added: "By the way, you don't have to wait for me tomorrow, we'll meet at Ding Mansion."
After saying this, he sped up and left Shunzi far behind.
Alone and without having to worry about her companions, Qin Yao walked to Liujia Village in more than two hours, and entered her home with the last rays of sunset in the sky.
The four children immediately surrounded her. Qin Yao forced a smile and sat down in the main room, just wanting to eat.
Liu Ji brought over a half-pot of porridge that had been warming on the stove and placed it in front of her, along with a bowl of steaming vegetables and pickled melons.
Qin Yao poured the vegetables into the porridge pot, stirred it, and took a big mouthful.
The four of them, father and son, gathered around her and were very surprised to see her eating at a speed like a starving ghost.
"Mom, didn't you have enough for lunch?" Sanlang asked with concern.
Qin Yao nodded randomly until she finished half the pot of porridge, and then she felt her rumbling stomach ease up.
Qin Yao put down the empty pot with a bang and wiped her mouth, "Finally I'm alive!"
"What kind of work are you doing? Why are you so hungry? Mr. Ding's family doesn't even give you a bite of food?"
Liu Ji took the pot to the sink to wash it while looking at the hall. "If it's so hard, let me do it. It would be better for you to rest at home."
"No need!" Qin Yao raised her hand and made a 'stop' gesture, "It's just that I'm not well prepared today, the first day. I'll be fine tomorrow."
"Please prepare a kettle for me and fill it with boiled water. I will carry it with me to drink."
Liu Ji responded with an "oh", washed the pot, and then came to the main room and squatted in front of her to ask curiously, "Madam, what do you do? How is the salary calculated?"
Qin Yao replied briefly: "Two meals a day plus ten cents for lumberjack work."
Liu Ji's expectant look instantly disappeared when he heard the word "logging". He said "oh" and stood up, walked behind her and massaged her shoulders.
"My dear, you have worked hard. Let me give you a massage to relax you."
Qin Yao responded with a "hmm". Her massage force was moderate and her skills were pretty good.
But when has Liu Laosan ever been so diligent and considerate?
Something must be wrong when things are out of the ordinary!
(End of this chapter)