MTLNOVEL Chapter 335: 335. Lucky enough
Ultimately, everyone confidently stepped forward and secured a spot to enter the valley, gaining the right to buy houses inside, while the people from Li Village without any skills could only watch with envy.
Who could blame them for only knowing how to farm and nothing else?
However, upon reflection, the fact that they could come to Hua Village was already fortunate enough, and everyone felt relieved.
One should be content; compared to the villagers who had passed away, they were already very lucky.
To quickly settle Li Laosan and his group, they wasted no time in registering and purchasing houses.
Hua Yunxiang and Luo Song were roped in by Hua Chengtian to help with the registration.
As for silver, Li Laosan and Liu Kai weren't lacking. Not only did they have some savings at home, but the loot from the beasts who plundered after they were rescued was evenly distributed to them by the village chief of Hua Village, and they truly had silver in their hands. Li Laosan and his group were genuinely grateful to the village chief and the others.
Whether it was grain or silver, the amounts were considerable, and they distributed it without hesitation. In such difficult times, it was like being saved by a living Bodhisattva; who else could do that?
Li Laosan and Liu Kai wanted to buy ready-made houses. Of the other three families, aside from Li Daming's, the other two planned to build their own. Although exhausting and without a place to rest for now, they could save nearly half of the silver this way.
Li Daming had been an apprentice at a pharmacy in the town, knew some words, and was familiar with medicinal materials, considered a special talent, perfect to stay with Doctor Sun.
After everything was arranged, it was already late afternoon. Perhaps due to unpleasant memories of the mountains, the people from Li Village seemed unwilling to live up there.
In the end, Hua Chengtian arranged for them to settle on a large open field near the inner valley. This area connected to a bamboo forest, where the tall bamboo blocked out almost all sunlight, making it unsuitable for farming but decent for building houses, with ample space.
However, the construction wasn't haphazard. For safety's sake, the foundations were measured uniformly, allowing enough space for a family to live but not overly spacious.
The houses couldn't be compared to those in the inner valley, whose designs hadn't changed much from their old houses, albeit with much smaller courtyards.
Here, it was possible to fence a small courtyard and build a three-room main house with two side rooms. Though the space was smaller, having their independent space was good enough, much better than living in caves.
Having paid the silver and bought houses, Li Laosan, Liu Kai, Liu Daming, and Hua Chengtian's master directly moved to the inner valley to choose houses. Since all the houses were the same, there wasn't much to choose from; they finally chose four adjacent ones in a row.
The rest was up to them to handle on their own, told that if they needed anything, they could trade with families in the village. Helping the master tidy up a bit, the weary Hua Chengtian finally went home.
That's human nature; when away from home, you feel full of energy, but once in the comfort of your own house, a sense of security makes you go limp, wanting only to lie in bed and have a good sleep.
In fact, when Hua Chengtian arrived home, aside from his wife and mother who had returned with the second son, everyone else was sound asleep.
After eating the food his mother and wife had specially left for him, Hua Chengtian couldn't resist falling asleep, sleeping straight through to the next day.
When he woke up, the sun was already high, and seeing the fresh clothes prepared by his wife at the bedside, Hua Chengtian couldn't help but smile broadly.
This is what life should feel like, how great!!
"Awake?" Qi Shi teased him, seeing her husband grinning foolishly as she entered.
"Now that you're up, hurry and wash and eat. You're the only one who hasn't eaten, and everyone is waiting outside."
The news that they returned with so many things was known throughout the village, causing many to visit early in the morning.
Hearing that people were waiting outside, Hua Chengtian quickly climbed out of bed, got dressed, washed up, greeted the clan elders and relatives in the courtyard, and had a belated breakfast in the kitchen.
Once full, he had the energy to do anything; there was more to be busy with.
Finding salt and successfully refining it was a major event. As an important figure, he had to be present; otherwise, Hua Laohan would have traded away everything they brought back.
But seeing so much, Hua Laohan had a new idea, though there was no rush.
"Yong Clan Elder, Huai Clan Elder, Li Clan Elder," Hua Chengtian looked apologetically at the elders.
"Rest well, must be tiring, right?" Hua Chengtian's presence made the elders' eyes light up, looking at him favorably.
Some things are enviable; although Hua Man had only one son, that one son was worth many others, so accomplished.
To actually find salt and refine it himself, this news made these old fellows very happy. If they had wine, they would surely drink a few more cups.
Looking at the tall and handsome Hua Chengtian was a day of envious admiration!
"Not too bad," Hua Chengtian replied humbly with a smile.
"Alright then, everyone is awaiting, bring out the salt you brought back," Hua Laohan said with barely contained pride.
"Alright," with the help of two sons, they quickly opened up the ten bamboo baskets they had brought back. Aside from some ore, eight baskets were filled with large bags of salt, seemingly weighing about a thousand pounds.
Everyone craned their necks, eyes almost glued to the scene, finding it fascinating.
No longer would they worry about having no salt.
When they opened the bags and saw the high-quality fine salt, everyone was thrilled.
Who among them had ever seen or tasted salt this good before!
The allure was evident just from the color—so white. Even the coarse salt in the other bag was much better than what they bought before, with fewer impurities, sure to enhance the flavor when cooking. Many villagers were already eager with anticipation.
At the same time, Brother Hua also opened the coarse salt brought by his grandfather. Though it couldn't compare in quantity to what Hua Chengtian had brought back, it wasn't a small amount either, yet placing them together highlighted the coarse salt's inferior yellow-black hue with very visible impurities.
"Aren't you curious where they got it from, ask Chengtian yourself. I know nothing as I've been preoccupied with resting since yesterday, haven't had a word with Chengtian," Hua Laohan cheerfully said to everyone, prompting a wave of laughter.
"Chengtian, we won't have to worry about salt anymore, right?" a man couldn't help but laugh and ask.
Hua Chengtian nodded, beaming with joy: "Right, we won't have to worry anymore. We found a salt lake on our outing this time. Without a hitch, our village could consume it for generations."
"Really?" Everyone looked at Hua Chengtian with pleasant surprise.
"Of course, would I lie about this?"
"That's wonderful," even the clan elders murmured with joy.
They found a benefitting place, had their grain sown, and even solved the salt issue. Now, there was truly nothing for everyone to worry about.
Even hiding in the deep mountains, they could live well, achieve complete self-sufficiency; just the thought made the elders feel warm-hearted.