The pastoral life of the grass tribe chief

Lu Yao came down from the poultry farm in the tea mountain, just as Zhuo Weijun arrived.

"I'll go."

Lu Jiming took Lu Lide's waders and raincoat and went with Lu Yao and Zhuo Weijun to catch and weigh the fish.

Lu Lide rode his motorcycle back to the village first to attend to matters concerning the village ancestral hall. Later, he would also be going to his mother's parents' home with his parents.

After catching the fish, Lu Jiming saw Wang Xiurong worshipping the local deity at the crossroads, so he went over and stood beside her with his hands clasped together, chanting incantations.

On the first and fifteenth of each month, Wang Xiurong would pay homage to the local deity at Wumutang.

When Lu Yao and Lu Jiming were young, they often came to pay respects to the local deity with their mother, but this became less and less frequent after they started school.

However, when passing by, one would offer three prayers and pick wild fruits such as sour vines and golden peaches as offerings.

"I was watching the construction of the ancestral hall in the village."

After paying his respects, Lu Jiming gave Lu Yao a few words and then drove Wang Xiurong back to the village.

After returning home, Wang Xiurong changed into a grayish-purple dress, looking gentle and elegant, and went to her mother-in-law's house with her husband and parents-in-law.

Lu Yao cut grass to feed the fish, then rode his bicycle back to the village.

In the warm spring of March, before the actual rainy season, everyone is working overtime to catch up on work, otherwise, once the rainy season arrives, they won't be able to get any work done for more than a few days a month.

The walls of the ancestral hall have been built, and the walls of the surrounding houses are being built.

The property rights of the surrounding houses still belong to whoever owns them; they were simply requisitioned by the village collective.

The cost of building materials is also paid by myself, and it's cheaper to buy them together with all the other building materials.

Other old houses can also be rebuilt, with all expenses paid by the homeowner, but the project can only be scheduled last.

The ancestral hall is located here, and its reconstruction cannot be done in a way that would affect the feng shui.

In Fengli County, new buildings can be rebuilt on the original sites of old houses.

The procedures are simple: take photos of the area around the old house to avoid conflicts with neighbors, apply for registration at the township government, and the township government will send someone to verify the information. If there are no problems, construction can begin.

Dry land is also an option, but the application process is slow, and sometimes it may take two or three years to get approved.

The red line for arable land must never be crossed.

When Lu Yao arrived in the village, Lu Jiming was standing under a big tree on the hill behind the village with a group of elders, "giving pointers".

Longchong Peak belongs to the Lianhua Mountain Range.

The mountain behind Maotian Village is one of the three major branches of Longchong Peak.

The tombs of the Lu family ancestors in Maoyuan Township are located on this auspicious site of this branch line. The limestone tombs from the previous dynasty are still as good as new, and the two stone lions still look majestic.

All the feng shui masters who have examined this ancestral tomb say that it is a true feng shui treasure land where mountains govern people and water governs wealth.

As long as this ancestral tomb exists, the descendants of the Lu family in Maoyuan Township will never lack people, talent, or wealth.

The descendants of the Lu family in Maoyuan Township also firmly believe this.

Lu Yao didn't go up to join the fun; instead, he chatted and boasted with a few construction workers.

He enjoyed the atmosphere.

It reminded him of the time when he was a child and went with his father to build houses.

His older siblings were in school, his mother was busy with farm work, and his grandparents had a large group of grandchildren who couldn't take care of him all. He was also mischievous, so his father had no choice but to keep him by his side.

He was at an age when even cats and dogs would look down on him. While others had a hundred thousand "whys," he had at least a hundred million.

The elders were also quite troubled, but they couldn't resist his sweet talk, so they could only answer patiently. If they couldn't answer, they would just lash out at him.

Sometimes I laugh so hard at my own nonsense that I almost fall off a high place, or I burn my hands and feet with my cigarette butt, or I hit my finger hard with a hammer, the pain of which is indescribable.

"I dared to sleep on a grave mound when I was fifteen. Many people who went to irrigate the fields at night were so scared that they ran away crying for their parents."

"Tch, you haven't met me. Back in my village, there was an old man who squatted in the graveyard like you to scare people. I sneaked up behind him, called him 'You dead ghost' in a sweet voice, and scared him so much that he fainted. He didn't dare to go out for days."

"There used to be many beggars who liked to sleep in haystacks and straw piles. One time, I went to gather straw before dawn, and a beggar was lying there. I thought it was straw, so I picked him up. The beggar was sleeping like a log, and he only woke up when I picked him up. We were facing each other, staring at each other, and then we both screamed in fright. When I realized what was happening, I threw the beggar down and ran away. I didn't even realize I had lost my shoes. I had nightmares for several nights in a row."

Hahahaha.

"Stimulate."

"If it's a female beggar, then it's a different version."

"You think everyone is like you, as long as they're female?"

"Third Brother has already evolved to the point where he can be a hole."

"Lu Yao, your Uncle Yimin said you're good at treating illnesses. I've been having backaches, leg cramps, and other pains lately. Are there any herbal remedies I can drink?"

"You don't need to ask him. Just work less overtime at night and you'll be fine."

"Are you a man? If you were a man, you wouldn't stand for it."

"Lu Yao, you know about traditional Chinese medicine, what kind of medicinal wine can enhance male virility and nourish the kidneys?"

"Chives."

"Get lost, how can you say such idiotic things?"

"That's what the experts said."

"If experts told you to eat shit, you'd eat it?"

"As long as it can enhance male virility and nourish the kidneys, you'll definitely eat it the fastest and the most."

……

"Look what I dug up!"

Suddenly, Lu Changping's joyful voice came from the pond.

"Holy crap, that turtle is huge."

A construction worker exclaimed in surprise.

"You can see clearly from this far away? Are you hurling insults indirectly, you old bastard?"

Another construction worker said.

"You don't know? This old guy is farsighted. He can't even see what his wife looks like, but he can see those widows clearly from miles away."

"Don't talk nonsense, kid. My wife was mixing cement and she heard me. I'll have to sleep in the living room tonight."

"Oh? I forgot my sister-in-law was here too."

"If he dares to go after a widow, I dare to go after a handsome man."

My sister-in-law came over carrying cement, put it down, and went to look at the handsome guy and the turtle.

"Judging by its carapace, it's definitely an old turtle."

"It's been at least forty or fifty years."

"It should weigh over 30 kilograms."

"Quickly bring it up, this is our village's guardian beast."

"How long has it been since you cleaned this pond?"

"It hasn't been long. The fishpond is cleaned every three years, so I don't know if it was never discovered or if it crawled in from the wild."

"My family won the bids twice in a row. Last time, the pond wasn't cleaned either; it's been almost six years since we cleaned it. We haven't stocked it with fish all these years; we only use it to grow duckweed and water hyacinth. My grandson also released baby turtles a few times, but they shouldn't have grown this big."

"It must have come from the wild."

"Have you noticed that when I used to build houses here, there were very few swallows? This year, there are so many birds and animals."

"Now that you mention it, it's true. I just noticed that there are a lot more bird nests in the trees behind the village than in previous years."

"Birds and animals are very intelligent. They will only build nests, lay eggs, and raise their offspring in a place where the environment is good."

"We can no longer allow outsiders to come here to fish with electricity, hunt birds, or dig for medicinal herbs."

"This should have been done a long time ago, especially for those who go fishing at the reservoir. They drive through villages without looking where they're going and have almost hit people several times."

"What should we do with this turtle?"

"What do you mean, 'how to deal with it'? You want to make soup?"

"That's not what I meant. I meant, where should we keep them?"

"Doesn't Ayao's pond have net cages and good water quality? We can put them there for now, and put them back in once the pond is ready."

"Like in a city park, build a stone pier in the pond and put some baby turtles in it so they can rest and sunbathe."

"You can also release koi fish and grow lotus flowers."

"I'll cover the cost."

"Ji Ming is still the most generous."

"Ah Yao, we'll keep you in the net cage for now, you don't mind, do you?"

No objections.

……