Water Ghost, God Hunter, Immortal Healer, and the Great Xia's Number One Martial Saint!

Having spent a lot of time with people like Li Lai, Li Xingdao could tell what they were thinking the moment they opened their mouths.

Li Xingdao is now working for Li Lai's family and has been recruited by him.

The seven brothers were a family. Now that Li Xingdao had done work for their family, Li Lai was clearly thinking of continuing to freeload off him, wanting him to work for Li Dajia again, and for him to work for his own family as well.

After all, his wife is now bedridden with a foot injury and can't move, so with one less person to work, life will be much harder.

Given that Li Lai is currently recuperating, the need for this "new workforce" is a natural progression.

However, Li Xingdao didn't speak as he thought this, but just looked at him with surprise:

"What tree-cutting work? I'm recuperating at Li Lai's house right now, busy preparing for the harvest. I don't have the energy to do anything else. I'm afraid if I don't recover well, the crops in the fields won't grow well."

"Don't worry about that. This time you'll only be cutting down trees, not transporting them, so it won't be that tiring. For every tree you cut down, we'll give you an egg as payment for your work. How does that sound? Once the trees are cut down, you don't have to do anything. You don't need to share them or help them grow branches. You just need to cut them down."

Hearing Li Xingdao's instinctive refusal, Li Nao smiled broadly and said, "Besides a tree and an egg, you'll also have to eat three full meals a day. Each meal will include two eggs, a fish, two ounces of chicken, and a large bowl of vegetables and rice—all you can eat."

Then, she said to him meaningfully, "Don't complain about the amount. Right now, you're relying on my second brother at home because his legs aren't fully healed. If you earn more food to take back, it will ease the burden on my second brother and help him recover faster."

"Don't you want your Uncle Li Lai to get better soon? If he gets better, your family can have some peace of mind."

Li Nao had already started referring to Li Lai as "your family" in his conversation, in order to make Li Xingdao feel a sense of belonging.

Hearing this, Li Xingdao sneered inwardly, thinking, "Just as I expected."

But the thought of cutting down trees stirred something within him, though he remained outwardly composed and spoke:

"Right now, your priority is to stay home and wait to harvest and cultivate the land. Everything else can be done on a small scale. It's not a good idea to go directly to work at the brick factory."

He shook his head dismissively, shaking it like a rattle-drum, then stretched his body, his face showing exhaustion. "Besides, I chopped down 10 trees for your family these past two days, I'm really tired, and I haven't recovered yet."

As he spoke, he shook his head and started to walk out.

Seeing this, Li Nao hurriedly said to him, "Don't rush off, let me finish. Besides all this meat, I'll also allow you an ounce or two of fatty meat every day. How about it, are you willing?"

"Fat meat? What fatty meat?"

As expected, Li Xingdao stopped talking, turned his head, looked at him with surprise in his eyes, and asked.

No wonder he reacted this way; in this era, rural people lacked oil and fat, and fatty meat was a rare and precious commodity!

As he spoke, he couldn't help but swallow.

"It's pork belly with alternating layers of fat and lean meat."

Seeing his reaction, Li Nao chuckled and gestured with his hand in the air, "As long as you're willing to work for the brick factory and guarantee to cut down 10 trees every day, I'll reward you with an ounce of pork belly!"

"If you cut down 10 trees in the morning, you'll be rewarded with an ounce of braised pork belly for lunch—we'll put it directly into your bowl!"

"If you cut down another 10 trees this afternoon, I'll give you an extra ounce of pork belly to eat; if you cut down 10 trees a day, that means I'll give you an extra ounce of pork belly to eat tonight!"

"Besides, the eggs and food from before still count. Would you like to go?"

As Li Nao spoke, his expression remained indifferent, looking at him calmly, clearly certain that he wouldn't leave.

Sure enough, upon hearing Li Nao say this, Li Xingdao couldn't help but show excitement in his eyes.

"Pork belly?! There really is pork belly?!"

Li Xingdao couldn't wait to speak.

Li Nao chuckled lightly: "Would I lie to you? It's the best-tasting and most fragrant pork belly."

"Okay, if there really is pork belly to eat, I'll make it for you! I'll go back and rest for a couple of days and then I'll go and make it for you."

Upon hearing this, Li Xingdao slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I'm not taking a couple of days off! I'll rest this afternoon and get back to work for you guys tomorrow, hahaha!"

"Okay, go back and rest first. I'll go to my second brother's house to call you in person tomorrow."

Upon hearing Li Xingdao's words, Li Nao laughed heartily and addressed him with a broad smile.

Li Nao waved his hand, and Li Xingdao swallowed hard, but said impatiently, "You have to keep your word and give me the pork belly! I'm leaving now, I'll see you tomorrow."

After saying that, Li Xingdao reluctantly touched his belly and left.

Looking at Li Xiaohua beside him, he sighed, lowered his head, and said nothing.

Li Nao poured himself a bowl of water and drank it, squinting as he pondered: his wife was injured and couldn't work, and his three youngest sons could only help out at the brick kiln.

Given the current output of the brick factory and brick kilns, manpower is indeed needed. If we can persuade Li Xingdao to fire more bricks before the grain harvest, and supply the wealthy households in the village to build their fortified villages, we can barely keep up with the demand.

Let that simpleton Li Xingdao help them cut down trees before the harvest, and then use the trees to plant crops when the harvest is ready. This way, he won't be idle and can also get some exercise.

The oil and fat he ate were replenished by pork, fish, and eggs, not to mention chicken. This way, he could build up his strength and have a better harvest.

As for Li Xingdao, that simpleton, whether he's tired or not, or whether he can handle it, what does that have to do with him?

It would be best to wait until they've fully recovered and are exhausted from working themselves to death, so that we don't have to kill them and go through the trouble of getting them back after we've already divided up the land.

Upon realizing this, Li Nao chuckled softly, feeling even more confident that he could persuade his second brother tomorrow.

With a smile on his face, he stretched, took the money from home, and set off to get a doctor for his wife.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Li Xingdao's eyes flickered as he walked back.

"Pork belly, one egg per tree, fish, eggs, vegetables, rice, all you can eat."

As Li Xingdao thought about it, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

With so many nutritious supplements to nourish their bodies, plus the constant tree-cutting for their brick kiln, judging from Li Nao's tone, there are probably many trees he could cut down.

In that case, wouldn't his way of making a living as a woodcutter have come about?

Most importantly, he no longer needs to transport the felled trees back like he does now, which saves him a lot of effort!

The woodcutter's long-standing struggle to level up has suddenly been solved!

"The path for a woodcutter to advance his career lies in cutting down trees for the brick kiln."

Li Xingdao's mind instantly stirred, his eyes filled with a brilliant yet restrained expression.

Thinking about her nonchalant performance in front of Li Nao just now, a smile involuntarily appeared on her face, and she walked back in a pleasant mood.

That's just how the world works; sometimes, the more you show that you don't want something, the more likely others are to give it to you.

If you act like you want it, even if I give it to you, I can't give you everything.

Things always need to be handled with a sense of proportion.

He felt he had performed quite well just now.

"A fool's appearance is a perfect talisman."

A smile involuntarily appeared on Li Xingdao's face.