Chapter Five Negotiation

  My old man's home is in a small mountain valley in a neighboring county not far from here. My old man also has the surname Yang, but this Yang is different from my mother's Yang. The Yang of my father is the surname given by our ancestors, that is to say, it was not originally this surname, but later the emperor or nobles gave it to their subjects as a surname. After many years of development, this old ancestor also expanded into a large family, although it is different from those big families, but it's still good.

  Many years ago, due to war, our ancestors brought this family to escape the disaster and came to the nearby area. They encountered rioting soldiers again, and as a result, a large group of people was scattered. On my father's side, there were dozens of people who settled down in a mountain valley not far away. Because it was a mountain valley, except for wild beasts, it was truly a paradise on earth, where no soldiers would plunder or bandits would come, but it was just too poor.

  "So, Dad, how did you end up here?" Yang Heng felt puzzled, since that place was so great, but how did his old man get there? It seemed like he remembered his dad being rescued by his mom.

  "Heh heh, this." "Sorry to say it, but your grandma is here to tell you that your grandpa, who is also your dad's father, when your dad was 15 years old, your grandma passed away. At that time, the world was in chaos, and your grandpa remarried your current grandma, and gave birth to a younger uncle of yours the next year..."

  "Alright, don't say any more, Ying'er, don't say any more." Old Dad was painfully holding his head, perhaps he was resentful of his father. If it weren't for the kindness of Old Mom, then Old Dad would now...

  "Grandpa, grandpa, I'm still here." Yang Heng rarely had a hint of sympathy, it wasn't easy for the old man either. "But grandpa, what can we do if we go back?"

  "Go back, you're thinking of this, it won't do, go back we don't have fields, how will we live? I said going back was just a moment's anger. I think it's better to find someone to mediate." "Isn't there any wasteland there? We can reclaim it." "What about the place to live?" "There must be some ownerless wood, temporarily build a shed and that's settled." Yang Heng said helplessly, he believed that in this era, there would definitely be barren fields, just depends on how you reclaim them.

  "There is indeed, but that place is not easy to open up. There are many wild beasts on the mountain, and they will come down from time to time. The place is very large, our ancestors have been trying to open it up for nearly a hundred years, but there's no way to do it. Can you think of a way?" Old Dad said uncertainly.

  "This is great, Ah Ye, have you forgotten what we do? We are blacksmiths! We can make some good tools ourselves and it will be much easier." Yang Heng became excited.

  "Yes, husband, let's just go to your hometown, we can't take this anymore. After I find my uncle, we'll think of another way." The old lady also chimed in. These past few days the old lady has been worried sick, one thing is the problem with the house, and another is Yang Heng's illness.

  "Let me think again." "Don't think about it, Ah-yeh, just say it, how much wasteland can be reclaimed in our hometown?" Yang Heng became anxious. "Let me think, there are several hundred mu of land, all of which are ownerless and have some messy trees on them. According to what they said, under this layer of soil is a stone slab, so the tree roots grow very quickly. If you cut it off here, it will grow back quickly over there, and it's often damaged by wild beasts, posing a great danger to people. That's why it's not successful after many attempts at reclamation." The old man said helplessly. "Is there a river nearby?" "Yes, and there is a river right next to the forest I mentioned. But you can't just put water directly into the ground, you need to use manpower to carry it, and then how much land can be irrigated?" The old man was very helpless.

  "That's even better, we can make some machetes and whatnot, that'll do. Ah, Grandpa, the mountains, forests, and rivers over there haven't been occupied by those nobles, have they?" Yang Heng suddenly became worried, if after arriving at their old home, they found that not only could they not cut down trees, but also couldn't cultivate the land, and even the river water couldn't be used, then that would be a real disaster.

  "Don't worry about that, the desolate mountains and wild ridges over there, who would want to go there for anything? Even if they wanted to chop firewood, it's still too much trouble. Outsiders can hardly get in, and locals need at least four people to chop firewood together, otherwise they'll run into wild beasts." Old Dad said with certainty.

  "That's good, Uncle. How much iron do we have left at home? Can't we start forging tonight? We should get things done as soon as possible." Yang Heng also became anxious, looking up at the sky which was still early, and recalling that his old man had taken on urgent work before, working overtime to forge in the middle of the night.

  "Is the iron enough? There are still dozens of catties, but what tool do you want to make, young man?" Why did Old Father ask this question? This iron was something that Old Father could work with, but he only knew how to make some commonly used styles. As for tools for opening up new land, he really had never made any before. Yang Heng could recall this from memory.

  "This style of machete, we'll make four, and when the time comes, each of us will use one. It can be used for chopping firewood and also for defending against wild beasts, and there will still be one left as a spare." Yang Heng then started drawing on the ground with a tree branch, drawing a large machete with a thick back blade commonly used for exploration in later generations. Yang Heng's idea was that with this body, relying on frequent ironwork, he would no longer be afraid of wild beasts.

  "Hmm, this is good enough for chopping firewood, but it's still not enough for chopping trees." "Then let's make another one." Yang Heng drew the shape of another axe.

  "This will do, but what about the shovel?" Old Dad just wouldn't stop, "This one, four of them together, should be enough, right?" This time Yang Heng drew a spade shape, a hoe head shape, and an iron trowel shape.

  "Hmm, it's okay, just make sure you have the energy to work tonight." Old Dad said with confidence, but looked at Yang Heng's body with concern, not wanting him to collapse while working.

  Yang Heng patted his chest with his fist, "Don't worry, Grandpa, I'm fine." "Heng Er, are you sure this is okay? You've just recovered," his mother asked worriedly from the side.

  "Don't worry, mom, I'm fine. I went out for a walk and my body feels like it's fully recovered." He had indeed recovered, and Yang Heng now felt that his soul was very stable, just like an old car that had just been fitted with a new control chip. At first, he needed to get familiar with each part of the vehicle, but once it got going, everything would be perfectly harmonized.

  "Yes, wife, look at this little scamp, now he's so robust! When I first came here, I wasn't as sturdy as him. This is all thanks to your prescription, I must thank you for that." The old man said sincerely to the old lady, and shook his fists in her direction.

  "Silly, I'm going to prepare the stove." The old lady smiled and scolded lightly, turning her head to walk towards the back, "Go on, young man, aren't you supposed to work? Hurry up!" Old dad also urged Yang Heng to get ready.