My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 103 Drill

Lin Ziping thus settled down in Xinping Village, and his "Wuling Hongguang" quickly became the backbone of the transportation team.

After an afternoon of observation, Lin Ziping divided the Xinping Village quarrying team into five groups: the survey group that climbed the mountain, the stone crushing group that split the stones, the transportation group that carried the stones, the road paving group that repaired the road at the foot of the mountain, and the rest of the group that stayed in the village as the logistics group. Almost everyone in Xinping Village, young and old, participated.

To Lin Ziping's surprise, the quarrying and paving work in Xinping Village was actually done through voluntary labor, one of the costs they had to pay to settle in Fuchun County. He couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, the biggest capitalist force of this era is the county government."

As the sun slowly sets, the villagers pack up their tools, preparing to end their day's work and head down the mountain to go home.

"Young Master Lin, this way." A young man called out to Lin Ziping, who was about to go down the mountain.

This fifteen-year-old boy named He Shun was the first person to speak with Lin Ziping after Cui Lizheng left. Although his initial intention was to borrow the Wuling Hongguang minivan to help transport stones, Lin Ziping used this opportunity to strike up a conversation with him and successfully integrate into the quarry team.

“I think this is the path Cui Lizheng is taking,” Lin Ziping said with a hint of doubt.

“This is a shorter, smaller path, but it’s not easy to walk on. We usually take another route back,” He Shun explained.

Looking at the winding road in front of him, Cui Lizheng had gone to great lengths to give himself a warning and avoid arousing suspicion. He had to take this route both up and down the mountain, which was really hard on him.

"Wuling Hongguang" must be a true donkey, as it quickly adapted to its new environment and became friends with the other three donkeys. The villagers couldn't help but laugh heartily at how they got along.

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, Lin Ziping felt the journey back to the village become much easier.

As they approached the village, the road gradually narrowed, eventually merging with the path Cui Lizheng had led them up the mountain. Lin Ziping looked back; without a guide, it would be difficult to notice that there were actually two paths here.

Cui Lizheng and the group of children who had stopped Lin Ziping at the village entrance were waiting at the foot of the mountain.

Upon seeing them, the quarrying villagers began to greet them excitedly.

"Stone!" He Shun's excited shout seemed to turn on a switch, and the children who had just been surrounding Cui Lizheng immediately ran towards them.

"elder brother."

He Shun picked up the child who ran up to him. Lin Ziping looked over and realized that this was the little boy who had spoken to him at the village entrance. No wonder the voice sounded familiar; it was He Shun's younger brother. What a coincidence!

"Young Master Lin, your accommodations have been arranged," Cui Lizheng said to Lin Ziping.

Lin Ziping nodded, then led the Wuling Hongguang and Cui Lizheng away.

Cui Lizheng led Lin Ziping to a house next to the ancestral hall, not far from Cui Lizheng's home. He took the bundle off the "Wuling Hongguang" and handed it to Lin Ziping before leading it away.

Lin Ziping took the bundle and went inside. The outer room was already prepared with pots and pans, and the inner room contained a simple bed with clean quilts. He looked around and was quite satisfied.

"Tomorrow, I'll have someone build a stove. Young Master Lin, take a look and see what you're still missing. There's a well on the side of the ancestral hall; you can draw water from there. I've already had the water vat inside filled with water." Cui Lizheng's voice came from outside.

"There's still water?" Lin Ziping asked in surprise. In Pingding Village, only deep wells could produce shallow, murky water. He never expected that Xinping Village would have clear water.

“Xinping Village was originally right next to the river. After we arrived, the county government assigned this area to us, probably because it used to be a riverbed. There is still water in the well now,” Cui Lizheng explained.

Lin Ziping suddenly realized.

Seeing that Lin Ziping looked tired, Cui Lizheng didn't linger and quickly took his leave.

The house was next to the ancestral hall, whose door was locked, so the layout inside could not be seen from the outside. There was a small square in front of the ancestral hall, next to which was a stable. When Lin Ziping went to see it, a Wuling Hongguang was leisurely grazing inside.

Lin Ziping carefully recalled the layout of Xinping Village. The entire village was circular, with the ancestral hall in the center and the villagers' houses scattered around it in a well-organized manner. The roads between the houses were clean and spacious, quite different from other villages.

I slept without any dreams.

"Hmph! Ha!" Before dawn, Lin Ziping was awakened by a series of shouts.

Lin Ziping pushed open the door and saw a group of people practicing in the square in front of the ancestral hall.

As his gaze swept across the area, Lin Ziping recognized some of the villagers he had seen yesterday, while others were unfamiliar faces, presumably other villagers. He also spotted He Shun, with Shi Tou standing beside him, diligently practicing.

Seeing this, Lin Ziping lost his sleepiness and went to He Shun's side to practice with him.

The person leading the drill was a young man who looked somewhat familiar, presumably also a member of the quarrying team. He glanced at Lin Ziping, said nothing, and continued with his work.

As dawn broke, the training session ended with the young leader delivering a punch to the finish line.

Lin Ziping wiped the sweat from his forehead, slightly out of breath.

"Young Master Lin, so you live here." He Shun flashed a smile, revealing a set of white teeth as he looked at Lin Ziping.

Lin Ziping nodded: "Do you do this every day?"

“Yes, Cui Lizheng said that this way no one will bully us.” He Shun chuckled and pointed to the little boy standing next to him, “This is my younger brother He Shi, nicknamed Shitou.”

"So it's your younger brother. We met at the village entrance yesterday." Lin Ziping said with a smile to the little boy, but he was thinking about He Shun's words.

The little boy turned his head to one side with a haughty air, then smiled and said, "Brother Tiger."

Lin Ziping followed He Shi's gaze and saw the young man leading the training.

"Tiger." He Shun also saw the young man and greeted him with a smile.

The young man nodded slightly and walked over.

"Greetings, sir. I am Zhang Xiaohu," the young man said, clasping his hands in greeting.

Zhang Xiaohu? Lin Ziping looked him up and down carefully, and it was indeed Zhang Ershun's son, Zhang Xiaohu. He never expected that he would be in Xinping Village.

Lin Ziping returned the greeting with clasped hands: "Lin Ziping, Fuchun County Government Office."

"He Shun, He Shi, go back for dinner, it's time to get to work." A voice came from not far away.

"Coming right away," He Shun replied.

"Young Master Lin, Tiger, my mother is calling me home for dinner."

"Okay, I'm going back to wash up too." Lin Ziping also made an excuse to leave.

Back in the house, Lin Ziping reflected on everything that had happened in Xinping Village. At first, he had only noticed its differences from other villages, but now, upon closer examination, he realized that the group of children at the village entrance weren't just playing around; they were also acting as lookouts. This village was organized and disciplined, and they maintained daily drills, resembling the rudiments of an army. If all of this was Cui Lizheng's doing, what was his intention?