Chapter 197 Quarrel
Life in Beiguan Village has always been peaceful and warm.
Except for years of floods, droughts, and rampant insect pests, the greatest difficulty was probably the twice-annual taxes on grain, cotton, linen, and silk, as well as regular and irregular corvee labor.
Although it is located in a border town, it has a unique geographical location, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the water on one side. It is located in a corner that is almost forgotten by the world, and the border of Da Chu has always been strictly guarded...
Even if wars of varying sizes occur, the flames of war often do not spread here.
The people of Beiguan Village were filled with heartache and sadness when their houses were burned down and their belongings were smashed by the enemy soldiers. No one thought about the danger hidden behind this incident.
From then on, Beiguan Village was no longer a paradise where people could enjoy peace and tranquility.
It also became a place where the Hu people could break in and rob the crops at will.
But at this moment, everyone who survived in Beiguan Village, including the knowledgeable Li Gan and Xia Daohua from later generations, had not thought of this.
The problem they faced at this time was that their food was burned, their homes were destroyed, and their belongings were smashed. How would they live next?
What do they eat? Where do they live?
The most important thing is, what should we use to pay this year’s autumn tax?
Wang Lizheng was heartbroken over the destruction of his property and cried uncontrollably. Besides, he was old, so he asked his eldest son to come out and comfort the people.
In addition to being frightened, angry and distressed, Mr. Feng was also very worried about his daughter who had married away.
Therefore, he was busy sending his servants out to gather information.
When he heard that Li Zheng Wang's eldest son was calling everyone to the threshing ground to discuss something, he understood what he meant after a moment's thought, and he sent another manager to help Li Zheng Wang appease the people.
The eldest branch of the Xia family suffered the heaviest losses.
Not long after Liu's funeral, Xia Youcai died in a war. Zhu, Jinhua and Yinhua were missing, most likely abducted by the rebel army. Their fate was probably no better than being killed on the spot.
Not only did the second house suffer no losses, it even had a new baby - Zhou Yunniang brought her family to find Erlang and to Beiguan Village to avoid disaster. Wasn't this a response to Erlang's thoughts?
The third, fourth and fifth rooms were all safe, with only a lot of property lost, of which the fourth room's pickle workshop suffered the most "heavy losses".
But the real losses in the pickle workshop are only the custom-made jars and cans and the wages paid to the temporary workers.
However, Xia Daohua deliberately did not clarify the matter. It was actually a good thing to let outsiders think that the pickle workshop had suffered heavy losses. At least it could calm the flames of jealousy in many people's hearts to some extent.
Xia Daohua discovered that Grandpa Xia and Mrs. Zhou seemed to be worried about something.
She couldn't help but secretly asked Xia Youtian, only to find out that the old couple should be worried about their aunt Xia Xuejiao.
In Xia Daohua's mind, this aunt has a weak presence.
She seemed to have married and moved to another town or county, which was actually not far from Beiguan Village, but she did not return home every Chinese New Year.
Xia Daohua didn't have a deep impression of this aunt.
The original owner seemed to be a little afraid of her. In the few times they met, she tried her best to hide herself behind Lihua and not let this aunt see her.
And after Xia Daohua came here, she has not met her yet.
Oh, no, I think I saw him once when the family split up! At that time, Xia Daohua's head injury had not healed completely, so she didn't pay much attention to such things, so she ignored it.
Xia Daohua guessed that her aunt might have had a falling out with her family because of something. Otherwise, the old couple would not just worry about her but not go to look for her or ask someone to send her a message.
But to say that they had a falling out doesn't seem quite right.
After all, during the Dragon Boat Festival some time ago, our family received a holiday gift from my eldest aunt.
So, what is the situation between my aunt and the Xia family? I always feel that the situation between them is not very natural.
Xia Daohua muttered to herself twice, and then she found out that Xia Yougui had actually had a quarrel with Zhou.
At dinner time, Xia Daohua followed Xia Youtian and Jiang's instructions and served a bowl of pickled mustard greens and stewed tofu to Old Man Xia and Zhou. However, as soon as she reached the door of the old couple's house, she heard Xia Yougui's roar from inside:
"Dad, Mom, you should at least have some compassion for your son! My son's body is not made of iron! He can't withstand the blade of the big knife! Besides, besides... I'm scared too!"
What happened? Xia Daohua paused, and it was not good to just go in like this.
Then I heard Mr. Xia's deep voice:
"Why are you yelling so loudly? There are outsiders at home. How can you yell so loudly?"
Xia Yougui lowered his voice a little, but it could still be heard clearly outside the door. Xia Daohua felt that even if there were several rooms between them, she would still be able to hear Xia Yougui's voice:
"Dad, I don't want to yell! But look at my mom, she actually asked me to go to Xuejiao's house to check on the situation.
Xuejiao has been very smart since she was a child! Is she something you need to worry about?
Xuejiao is already a grown-up. If she encountered such a disaster, would she not hide? Would she not run?
If Xuejiao can't escape, I'll just be delivering food to her if I go there.
If Xuejiao runs away and I can't find her, won't I still be delivering food to the barbarians?"
Zhou's angry voice sounded:
"You called her Xuejiao too? She's your sister!
Besides, I just told you to go to your sister's house to check on the situation. If you don't want to go, why don't you just say you don't want to go? You're trying to bully me with your words and you have to accuse me of being partial.
What's wrong with me being partial to your sister?
When things were going through the most difficult time for your family, when your brother and you were almost drafted into the army, how much help did your sister give?
I wonder if you have forgotten about it?
You didn't even want to take a look, and you still have the nerve to shout here!
Don’t think that just because your brother is dead, I have to rely on you!
You have three younger brothers!"
I don’t know if it was the words “You have three younger brothers” that touched Xia Yougui’s heart. His voice was a little choked up, and his words became more and more unpleasant to hear:
"Mom, how can you say that to me?
I'm not an ungrateful person! How could I not miss my sister?
It's just that there's chaos and war outside, and we only barely escaped by hiding in the tunnel. Instead of trying to calm your son down, you let him run to such a chaotic place. Do you think that place is a good place to go?
If I was chopped off like my elder brother, would you feel relieved?"
"Crash!" There was the sound of dishes and chopsticks being overturned to the ground.
Zhou roared, "You rebellious son!"
Old Master Xia was also angry. With a clang, he hit Xia Yougui on the forehead with his pipe: "Second brother, how can you talk to your mother like that?"
(End of this chapter)
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