In just two months, the second-crop rice grew exceptionally well. Not only did the rice grow well in Shuiqingzhuang, but it grew exceptionally well throughout the entire Changping Village.
During the days of harvesting the second crop of rice, Changping Village was packed with people, just like a market day in the county town.
Because every household has relatives, the relatives bring their first crop of rice here to exchange for seeds for the second crop of rice so that they can harvest two crops of rice next year.
Before we knew it, Changping Village had grown a lot bigger. The three large drying grounds were almost the size of the village itself, and a large wall had been built around them.
The villagers built new houses, all of which were larger than the old ones. They were all made of blue bricks and tiles, and the style was similar to Su Luo's house.
The registered residence remains the same, but the village has truly grown larger.
Xie Wanwan was also working hard at Wanxiu Pavilion to produce cotton-padded clothes. Two months later, Shen Yuan said that he had made nearly 100,000 cotton-padded clothes all over the country.
Some have already been taken away, and some will be taken soon.
In late December, as the year drew to a close, a major event occurred in Changping Village, an event that sparked heated discussions throughout the village.
Those were the men who were sent to fight on the border back then; they've returned.
No, I should say, a few have returned.
More than a hundred households left together, but only seven people have returned in the last two days.
Three of them were in good health, while the other four were missing a leg or an arm.
Wang Dehou's younger brother, the youngest son of the Wang family, was blind in one eye, but at least he was able to come back alive.
The village chief's house was packed with people tonight because his son, Li Chang'an, had also returned.
Fortunately, he returned unharmed, and the village chief hosted a welcome feast for him.
"Chang'an, why did you suddenly come back? Is the war over? Or did you win?"
The villagers came here to learn about the battlefield situation and to ask why his family hadn't returned.
What did they encounter on the battlefield?
Have you seen your own sons? The ones who went to the military camp together, are they alive or dead?
There has been no news of them all these years, and their families are heartbroken.
In order to learn more about Chen Huaixu, Zhao Ruyun brought Su Luo over despite knowing he was dead.
I want to ask Li Chang'an and the others if Chen Huaixu is dead. I want to know where he died and if there are any remains. It would be good to know more.
"Fellow villagers, we have fought desperately to protect Beichuan over the years. At the end of last month, Beiliang suddenly surrendered and ceded three cities to Nanning."
He left 30,000 troops there to handle the next matters, and His Majesty specially granted a secret decree to send us home so that we could return before the New Year and spend the holiday with our families.
As for why the Northern Liang people surrendered, I don't know either. Soon, His Majesty will issue an edict to announce this good news to the world. That's all I know.
As Su Luo had predicted, Bei Liang surrendered. Nan Ning did not press their advantage because they did not have enough cotton-padded clothes and food.
One was afraid, and the other felt very uncertain about reality, so they chose to accept the surrender of Beiliang.
"Chang'an, what do you do in the military camp? When you fight, is there blood and flesh flying everywhere?"
Who in our village is with you? Have you seen my Erniu?
When Li Erniu's father asked this question, his voice trembled, and the thin old man's hands kept shaking.
Li Chang'an also returned this afternoon. His eyes looked weary, and he picked up his son Li Hongcai with one hand without any effort.
"Uncle Li, we went together, but we gradually got separated along the way. We were just soldiers and were assigned to different camps."
I was lucky. When I first arrived, I couldn't stand the cold of Beichuan City and fell seriously ill, almost dying.
Later, due to my weakened health, I was assigned to the kitchen to cook for the soldiers. We were only needed during major battles.
Of the three healthy men, two others were injured. One of them had worked as a medicine boy in a pharmacy and knew a little about herbs, so he followed the army doctor to treat his wounds after joining the army.
Another one was the sentry in charge of the lookout tower. His face and hands were covered in scars, but he had recovered and was no longer injured.
"Uncle Li, Erniu was in the same team as me, it's just a pity that he..."
Wang Peng stopped halfway through his sentence, afraid that if he continued, Li Niu's father would not be able to take it.
"I understand... my son..."
The old man turned and left, his body twitching, his steps unsteady, and his sobs could still be heard from afar.
The seven people were questioned by the villagers in turn, and in the end, they all went back in tears. Li Chang'an told them that someone was still alive, but he was unable to take care of himself.
Later, the government will send them back by horse-drawn carriages. Those who cannot return will receive compensation from the government. Everyone can rest assured and wait for the outcome, relying on the government's information.
Before Zhao Ruyun could even inquire, her eyes were already brimming with tears.
“Chang’an, you and Huai Xu used to be best friends, you know him…” Zhao Ruyun paused, then choked up, “How did he leave us…”
These words made the seven people who had returned all lower their heads, as if they all knew how Chen Huaixu had died.
"Auntie, Huai Xu, he..."
Li Chang'an pursed his lips and remained silent for a while before speaking with red eyes.
“When I first arrived, Huai Xu took care of me. If it weren’t for him, I might have died from my illness.”
In the following year, we trained hard in physical fitness and fought several major battles. Our generals were determined to take the heads of the enemy generals.
The higher-ups want to select a group of us newcomers to be the vanguard. To put it nicely, we're the vanguard, but we're basically just human shields.
I was still ill at the time, and Huai Xu and several other people from the village were taken away. After that, we never heard from them again.
Zhao Ruyun clutched her chest, tears streaming down her face, and Su Luo let her lean against her chest.
She could picture the scene: her precious son being used as a pawn to shield someone from harm.
"And then what? Where were the remains of those vanguard soldiers buried?" Su Luo asked.
If they knew where he was buried, Su Luo could take Zhao Ruyun to pay her respects after the war ended, thus fulfilling Zhao Ruyun's wish.
"Who are you?"
Li Chang'an did not recognize Su Luo. This woman had an air of nobility about her and did not seem to be from the village.
"Chen Huaixu is my husband."
Hearing this, Li Chang'an carefully examined Su Luo. Huai Xu had told him that his family had bought him a wife before he went to war.
According to Huai Xu's description, his wife was thin and small, and not very lucid; she was a woman with a tragic fate.
They were husband and wife for only one night. It wasn't until dawn that he could see his wife's face clearly, saying that she looked like a child.
He would chuckle to himself even in his dreams. He felt sorry for his wife and thought it would be good to leave her at home with his mother. Whether they had children or not was up to fate.
But is the woman in front of him really the one Huai Xu told him about?
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