Chapter 141 Overnight at a Farmhouse
"Yes, yes! That's great! Thank you so much!"
This time, Aunt Wang responded very quickly, and Bai Dalang seriously suspected that Aunt Wang was pretending to be deaf.
Aunt Wang happily led people to the woodshed. Her legs and feet were so nimble now that she looked like a completely different person.
"Look, it's right on top of the firewood pile. We prepared it last year, but my grandson worked as a laborer in town until the end of the year and left again after the New Year. I didn't expect it to rain so heavily after the spring. If it rains for a few more days, the house will almost collapse!"
Aunt Wang's voice became louder and her attitude became much more enthusiastic.
"Auntie, don't you have a ladder?"
Bai Dalang came out with a bundle of dry straw to see if he could reach the roof.
"Brother Bai, first use ropes to weave the thatch into a curtain inside the house. Have one person go up there, and then use a brace to prop up the curtain. One person can place it on the roof and secure it. I'm afraid the roof won't be able to withstand so many people."
Luo Yang saw that Bai Dalang was not good at repairing the leak in the thatched house, so he talked to him about it.
"This kid Luo is the best. It seems he also comes from a poor family."
Aunt Wang smiled and looked at Luo Yang as if he was looking at his own grandson.
"Oh, I really don't understand this. You should do it."
Luo Yang did not refuse. He asked the old lady for a rope, squatted down and started to weave the straw mat.
The Bai brothers had never lived in a thatched hut, let alone built one, so they knew nothing about it and could only help Luo Yang and his men.
The few of them were very strong and they had woven more than a dozen half-meter-long straw mats in the time it took to stick up an incense stick. Luo Yang thought it was enough, so he climbed onto the roof. Bai Dalang and the others used a prop to prop up the straw mats for him.
After a while, the dots on the roof disappeared and the dripping rain stopped.
The roof was laid and it was completely dark.
Aunt Wang picked up a torch from the corner and lit it to illuminate them.
"It's not leaking anymore. Oh, thank you so much, old lady. It's really not easy for you kids."
Only then did Aunt Wang believe that they were soldiers and she let down her guard.
"There is firewood in the kitchen, and there is a large water tank at the door with water in it.
Boil a pot of hot water and wash your body with it, then boil another pot of hot water to drink, and your body will be warm.
As for food, I don't have any left at home, so I really can't give it to you."
"Auntie, it's good that you can let us into the house to take shelter from the rain and rest. Food is precious, so I dare not ask you for it."
"Auntie, we have our rations with us, and we just want to borrow your stove!"
The Bai brothers started talking one by one, and they felt that Aunt Wang was a bit like their grandmother, and they felt closer to her.
"That's good. It's not that I'm stingy, I just don't have anything to give!"
"Auntie, please don't say anything. We believe you."
Aunt Wang stuck the torch on a wooden block, then washed the pot and added water for them. After the fire was lit, Bai Dalang took the firewood and said, "Auntie, let me do it. I know how to do it."
"Okay, then you guys wash up and warm yourself by the fire. You can rest in the main room or in the kitchen tonight."
"Okay, Auntie, have you eaten yet? If not, come and have some with us later."
Bai Sanlang took out his dry food biscuits from his arms, intending to put them in the pot to boil water and drink some hot soup.
"No, no, you guys eat, I'm going to rest, you guys just watch over it."
After saying this, Aunt Wang stood up and left, but she staggered as she stood up, and when she turned around, her stomach rumbled. She coughed twice, quickened her pace, and walked into the main room.
They looked at each other, and everyone understood that Aunt Wang hadn't eaten at all. She was just avoiding them because she saw them cooking.
After a while, the water in the pot boiled. Bai Sanlang broke a dozen fist-sized pancakes into pieces and put them into the pot. The pancake crumbs rolled up and down with the boiling water, and soon the aroma of wheat came out.
When Aunt Wang in the room smelled the fragrance, her stomach growled even louder.
She got up in the dark and found a bowl of cold water at the end of the kang, intending to drink a few sips to calm her stomach.
"Auntie, come and have a bowl of porridge to warm yourself up before going to sleep."
Bai Sanlang came in with a bowl of steaming food, while Aunt Wang brought cold water, and she didn't know whether to drink it or not.
"Auntie, you can't drink cold water at night. It's not good for your health. I'll bring you a bowl of hot water later."
"That's not possible. Food is so precious. Just eat it yourself and don't bother me, old woman."
"Auntie, if you are so reserved, we will leave."
"Okay, thank you so much!"
Bai Sanlang put the bowl on the kang table and reached out to help Aunt Wang off the kang.
Aunt Wang quietly wiped the corners of her eyes before picking up the bowl with trembling hands.
"I'll go out and eat with everyone else!"
"Okay, I'll help you out."
In the kitchen, Bai Dalang and others were either standing or sitting, slurping down the hot soup.
Just now, several people were squatting by the stove to make a fire and their clothes were half dry. Now they planned to drink the hot soup, add water to the pot and boil some thin porridge before feeding the horses.
When Aunt Wang came in, several people made way for her.
"You guys sit down, I'll just squat in the corner."
Bai Dalang gave her the wooden stool to sit on without any explanation.
"Auntie, I'm full, so you can sit down and relax."
“Hey, hey!”
Aunt Wang sniffed, stopped talking, lowered her head and started eating.
I scooped up a bowl of porridge with a wooden spoon and finished it in a few mouthfuls. I scraped the bowl clean but still felt unsatisfied.
Bai Dalang knew that she was not full, but there was nothing he could do.
They had limited rations on them, and they had to feed several people and horses. They didn't know when they would be able to reunite with their father and the others. In their current situation, even if they had money, they had no place to buy food.
"Auntie, don't you have any farmland at home?"
Aunt Wang knew what he meant by asking this, wiped her lips, sighed and said, "I planted the crops, paid taxes on the harvested grain, and sold half of the rest to merchants for silver, which I used to arrange a marriage for my grandson, and used the other half for seed.
I used to have a vegetable patch at home, and the vegetables and fruits there were enough for my wife and I to eat. But a heavy rain flooded the patch, and all the vegetables were soaked and rotted. I just…"
It is only the end of March now, and the crops have just grown. It is not yet time to ear and bloom. I am afraid that the yield will be reduced if they are soaked by rain.
Bai Dalang and others couldn't help but sigh. Farmers depend on the weather for their livelihood. If God is not kind to them, they will have to starve.
With the rain at this rate, there might be severe floods this year. What will happen to these poor families?
"Auntie, don't worry. Once we defeat Simon's army, the imperial court will reduce taxes, and the people's lives will be better!"
Bai Dalang comforted them helplessly. He could take up his sword and go to the battlefield without hesitation to face foreign enemies, but he could do nothing about the people's livelihood.
"Hey kids, how old are you?
You fought on the battlefield and shed your blood for the Great Zhou Kingdom and its people. It's truly hard for you!"
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