Chapter Fifty-Three: The Grand Undertaking

That night, as usual, Erniu slipped into Xiao Ding’s bed.

“Husband, how did you meet those twin sisters from the Mei family?” Erniu asked, resting her head on Xiao Ding’s chest.

Xiao Ding recounted the events of the day.

“Husband, why did they come looking for you?” Erniu pressed.

“They just happened to pass by. It was getting late, so they stopped by our place to spend the night,” Xiao Ding replied.

“Husband, do you really want to sleep with them?” Erniu continued.

“Nonsense. I was only teasing them. They were the ones pretending to be men,” said Xiao Ding.

Erniu was silent for a moment, then spoke softly, “Husband, if you really want to sleep with a woman, you can sleep with me…”

“Sleep!” Xiao Ding growled, exasperated.

Erniu fell silent.

After a while, she asked again, “Husband, is sleeping with twins different from sleeping with other women?”

Xiao Ding was utterly speechless.

The next morning, Xiao Ding and Erniu got up early to practice their exercises. Crawling out of their hut, they headed to the backyard to wash up.

Just then, they saw Mei Ruoshuang and Mei Ruoxue returning from outside the courtyard, swords in hand. Today, the sisters wore women’s attire: long white dresses, their fair skin glowing, making them look like ethereal maidens who had stepped out from another world.

“What have you two been up to?” Xiao Ding asked curiously, noticing that with them dressed identically, he could no longer tell which was the elder and which the younger sister.

“Oh, we went out early to practice swordsmanship. We didn’t want to disturb you in the courtyard, so we trained on the open ground to the west,” Mei Ruoshuang answered.

“Oh, did you sleep well last night?” Xiao Ding glanced at the donkey cart.

“It was fine, it was fine. Having a place to sleep is much better than sleeping out in the open,” Mei Ruoshuang said.

“That’s good. If you like, you can come with me to the backyard to freshen up…” Xiao Ding led the two sisters to the back.

After breakfast, the Mei sisters asked for directions, intending to ride to Mount Luoxia.

It was rumored that a divine artifact was hidden on Mount Luoxia, so surely many wanderers would be heading there. Xiao Ding repeatedly warned the sisters to be careful and not to take risks. The world of wandering heroes was full of treachery; if they couldn’t win a fight, they should simply run. Never try to stand their ground. If they had nowhere else to go, they could always come back and stay.

He also advised them not to dress so beautifully, as it would surely attract trouble.

Though Xiao Ding had never personally witnessed robbers killing for treasure or lust, he’d seen plenty of it in novels and dramas. Besides, when he was in the army in his previous life, he’d encountered all sorts of wicked people on missions.

“Thank you, Brother Xiao Ding!” The sisters clasped their hands, expressing their gratitude.

At Tang Yunzhi’s hut, they changed back into men’s clothing, deliberately making their hair look disheveled and dotting their faces with more than ten black spots using an eyebrow pencil.

After bidding farewell to Xiao Ding, Tang Yunzhi, and the others, the two sisters headed west.

Not long after seeing the Mei sisters off, Uncle Niu Er arrived at Xiao Ding’s house with more than ten people. Xiao Ding recognized them all; they were mostly the same villagers who had gone into the mountains to look for him previously.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. People who get along well tend to have similar temperaments or ways of dealing with others.

Xiao Ding led the group to the open ground to the west to survey the terrain, explaining each of the marked locations he had made the previous day. He told them it would be best if they could find another dozen or so people to help. With more hands, the work would go faster, and the wages would be the same as he had agreed with Uncle Niu Er.

He also reminded Uncle Niu Er to look for honest, reliable workers, not those who liked to slack off or cheat.

Since the road to town was still not fully dry, the ordered bricks and tiles could not be delivered yet. Today, everyone focused on preparatory work: clearing the foundation, digging for clay, cutting timber, and so on.

Xiao Ding fetched a basket and took Uncle Niu Er and two villagers up the hill. Along the way, Xiao Ding picked some wild fruits and put them in the basket.

Uncle Niu Er looked at him curiously, saying the wild fruits were so sour and astringent as to be inedible—why pick so many?

Xiao Ding smiled faintly, saying he wanted to see if they might have some other use.

After reaching the top of the hill, Xiao Ding pointed to the open space, “Uncle Niu Er, do you think we could build a house here?”

“Of course we can, but it’ll take some effort. First, we need to make a proper road up the hill. If you want a brick house, all the materials will have to be carried up from the foot of the hill. Though the hill isn’t tall, hauling bricks and tiles is hard work. As for clay, timber, and stone, those can be sourced locally,” Uncle Niu Er replied.

Xiao Ding now had a clear idea. He and the others checked out the two caves, especially the one with water trickling out.

“Uncle Niu Er, do you think there’s a spring inside?” Xiao Ding asked.

“Looks like it,” Uncle Niu Er said, though he wasn’t sure. He took a pickaxe from one of the villagers and struck the cave’s entrance a few times, knocking off only a few fragments—the rock was still solid.

He wanted to keep going, but Xiao Ding quickly stopped him, worried the pickaxe might break. Iron tools were valuable to ordinary villagers in this era.

Xiao Ding thought to himself that he should find time to have a batch of farm tools made. He’d be hiring workers in the future, so sooner or later he’d need to prepare agricultural implements.

Xiao Ding fetched a large stone, lifted it high, quietly channeled his spiritual energy, and smashed it against the small opening where the water flowed. With a thunderous crash, he broke a gap in the mouth of the cave.

Uncle Niu Er and the two villagers were secretly impressed. No wonder this fool could slay wolves and bears—he really possessed some brute strength.

Xiao Ding smashed the stone several more times, opening a gap about two feet square.

Uncle Niu Er squatted down, stuck his head inside, and dug with his pickaxe. The water immediately began flowing more abundantly.

“There really is a spring!” Uncle Niu Er exclaimed.

Now that there was a spring, Xiao Ding had another plan.

If the spring was strong enough, he could dig a drainage ditch to channel the water halfway down the hill and construct a reservoir there. The animals in the woods—pheasants, wild rabbits—could drink from it, and he could even raise fish in the pool.

He could also dig another ditch leading directly to the foot of the hill, with a reservoir for household use and irrigation of the newly purchased wasteland. Once that reservoir filled, water could be drawn to the thin fields south of the village. With irrigation, those lands would become fertile in a few years.

Just then, Uncle Niu Er dug a little more, and the water gushed out faster, sending up a fine mist.

“Uncle Niu Er, let’s pause a moment…” Xiao Ding stopped him and shared his ideas, though he left out the part about raising fish.

Uncle Niu Er fully supported Xiao Ding’s plan, as did the other two villagers, who were delighted.

Back down the hill, Xiao Ding went home with Uncle Niu Er, where they discussed the plans for the land and the hill in detail. Xiao Ding even drew blueprints for him.

It was a massive undertaking. According to Uncle Niu Er, it would take at least a year to complete. Xiao Ding thought that was too long.

Winter was approaching, and winters in this era were much harsher than in later times. Once the ground froze, construction would be impossible until the spring thaw.

To speed things up, the only solution was to hire more workers.

Xiao Ding decided that before the cold set in, he must have at least eight rooms built and one or two greenhouses erected for growing vegetables. That way they could use the greenhouses to grow off-season vegetables and earn money even in winter. The spring water would need to be directed down the hill to supply the greenhouses.

Uncle Niu Er calculated that at least fifty workers would be needed: about fifteen for building the house, another fifteen for the greenhouses and clearing the wasteland, and the remaining twenty to build the road, dig drainage ditches, construct reservoirs, and clear the spring.

The rest of the project would have to wait until after the New Year, when spring arrived. No matter how many people they hired, the work couldn’t be finished before winter, especially as the supply of building materials could not keep pace with construction.

With all the plans set, Xiao Ding and the Tian family, who had been listening nearby, were filled with anticipation for this grand undertaking.