“Young man, I see you are a kind-hearted person! Why don’t you give us some pointers?” Hearing her daughter say this, Liu also asked.
This is a major event, one that concerns the peaceful and prosperous lives of her grandchildren! It must be handled with utmost care! For them, once they settle down, there is little possibility of relocation. Therefore, in this era, before settling down, one must worship their ancestors and consult a Taoist priest for divination. Only with the consent of their ancestors can they settle down and take root in the chosen place.
What if the ancestors disagree after divination?! Simple! Just continue divination until the ancestors agree!
Liu Shi, Qin San Niang, and even Wu Chun Hua, being women, were naturally not allowed to carry ancestral tablets, so it was impossible for them to inquire about their ancestors!
He Xiucai and Gu Qingshan probably brought ancestral tablets with them, but the consent of other people's ancestors is not the same as the approval of their own ancestors, so they could only choose a place that was auspicious and favorable to everyone, which was the right way!
Hearing this, the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) riding a tall horse became quite serious. Where to settle down was indeed a matter of great importance concerning future generations!
"Auntie, sister, since you trust me so much, I should tell you everything I know. But I can only give you a rough outline of the matter. Just take it as a listen."
Nowadays, although the South is relatively stable, it can only be said that there are no major wars, but there are still some minor disturbances.
For example, a few years ago, some people even caused trouble in Dingyuan Pass! In addition, with the influx of northerners in recent years, two factions have formed, one in the north and one in the south, inevitably leading to conflicts. In many villages, due to the large number of migrants settling there, fights have broken out over various so-called unequal distributions, to the point that in the past two years, many villages have become less welcoming to migrants.
Of course, they would be more than happy to have such a sensible family like yours!
With too many monks and too little porridge, conflict is inevitable no matter where you are. Since entering the pass from Dingyuan Pass, Qin Sanniang and the others knew that the south was definitely better than their hometown; at least they didn't have to worry about water shortages!
But war is something you can't escape anywhere. If a country wants to fight, it needs to support soldiers. What do the soldiers eat and drink? Naturally, they can only get it from the people! In the end, all of this falls on these honest and hardworking farmers. There are countless exorbitant taxes and levies, and eight or nine out of ten of the produce from the land is handed over to the state. Although they won't starve to death, it's probably difficult for them to have enough to eat!
Sigh, to put it bluntly, it's all because of poverty! If everyone could have enough to eat and wear, what would it matter if a few more people settled in the village? There are some with bad intentions, but they are a minority!
Everyone understood what the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) was saying. However, the Liu family and their group had gone through many hardships to get here, and they originally thought they would soon be able to live a stable life. But they were ostracized by the locals, which made them feel somewhat disappointed, and this was evident on their faces.
Even the eldest child looked at his mother and grandmother with worry, filled with anxiety about the future.
Qin San Niang stroked her eldest child's still somewhat dry and yellow hair. Although they were eating better now, it was still a far cry from their previous life on the run. As for a balanced diet of meat and vegetables, wild vegetables? They didn't count! Besides, there weren't many wild vegetables along the way; they were mostly dried and added to porridge. So, although everyone's complexion was much better than other refugees, they still looked like refugees. She was waiting to gradually improve her child's health after the family settled down!
The world is so vast, how could there be no place for me, Qin San Niang?! I can even adapt to a miserable escape route after being transported here, what else is there to be afraid of! Where can I not adapt to?!
Ignoring the need to comfort everyone, Qin Sanniang nodded to the镖头 (镖头 is a term used to describe a镖师, a kind of镖师 who is a镖师 who is skilled at deceiving others) to indicate that she understood his point. She knew he wasn't just talking nonsense, and that his words were all reasonable and well-founded, making him far superior to those men who only knew how to flatter and had no sense of propriety.
“Chief Huang, what you say is the absolute truth, and we can understand all of that. But look, it’s impossible for our whole family, young and old, to escape back to our hometown again. It’s only thanks to the blessings of the Bodhisattva that we’ve made it all safe and sound!”
We were looking for a place with land, preferably one that could accommodate refugees. We are a family that knows proper etiquette, and we would never cause trouble for others.
"See that? That's my distant cousin. He's so young, yet he's already a scholar! If it weren't for the war, he might have even passed the provincial examination. You know, he was the top scorer when we took the county-level exam!"
Upon hearing that there was also a top case leader, Chief Escort Huang was also surprised!
It's already quite remarkable to be a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations, but to be the top scholar in the list is an even greater achievement!
Although I don't know exactly what "first" means, since it has the character "first" in it, it must be something special. I thought to myself, no wonder during breaks, those kids were all holding twigs and gesturing on the ground—they were writing!
"Oh my, I didn't expect there to be a scholar in our group!? Sister, do your kids practice calligraphy all the time? I've seen them writing and drawing on the ground before!" She said this to the eldest child and the second child.
Actually, Chief Huang was illiterate and didn't even know the children were writing. He had only once spent ten coins in town to learn how to write his name from a scribe, so he wouldn't be cheated when signing documents! He still remembered the scribe's disdain for his stupidity; in his eyes, scholars were incredibly precious!
“Uncle, we’re practicing writing! Second Brother is learning the fastest; he can already write over twenty characters! And Zhe knows even more; he can recite the Thousand Character Classic! He’s the son of Scholar He! Zhi and I can only write our own names.” The clever girl, seeing her uncle looking at them, answered for her mother! Being able to write one’s own name was a remarkable achievement for a six or seven-year-old girl!
Good heavens! He can even read poetry?! Chief Huang was shocked! Such a young child already knows so many characters? It turns out he comes from a scholarly family! Luckily, he didn't show off his ability to write his name in front of them, otherwise he would have been utterly humiliated!
"Young lady, your daughter can read?" In those days, people lived in poverty, and only wealthy families could afford to send one child to school! Even then, they had to tighten their belts! For a girl to want to study was something she didn't even dare to dream of.
Don't ask him how he knew. His older brother's child entered the town's academy this year, and his mother was putting in a lot of effort to prepare tuition, clothing for all four seasons, and the cost of writing materials for her grandson. Each of these expenses was considerable! Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to work as a bodyguard. In those days, being a bodyguard was a life-threatening job!
He and his wife had no objections, because their son was also intelligent, and his mother wouldn't favor one over the other! However, their daughter was completely illiterate! Therefore, when they saw that the girl from Qin San Niang's family was also learning to read, they were surprised and asked her about it.
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