The laws of this era do not encourage migration.
People of this era generally have a deep obsession with their hometown.
Unlike the time and space when Xia Daohua came from, many people, especially young people, are not so attached to their hometown. Instead, they hope to venture into a wider world, gain more experience and knowledge.
Where the money is, people will flow there.
In this world, as long as there is a piece of land for you to cultivate, people will take root in that land like trees or weeds, and will not want to leave even if they die.
Unless there is a sudden and severe natural disaster that is impossible to resist, such as a drought that leaves thousands of miles of land barren; a flood that leaves the land covered with water; or a war that leaves piles of bones and flowing blood.
But when these things happen, it is often too late to escape.
Xia Daohua didn't want this kind of thing to happen to the Xia family, especially not to herself.
But she was still just an insignificant child, and her shaved head reminded everyone that she had fallen on the edge of a well and broken her head some days ago.
If she expressed these thoughts now, I'm afraid everyone would think that she was injured from the fall.
After much thought, Xia Daohua still felt that in the short term, she could only hold back, slowly look for the right opportunity, and step by step instill the idea of relocation into her family.
Xia Daohua never found a suitable opportunity. The days passed in a vague state of anxiety. Several heavy snows fell, and the Chinese New Year was getting closer and closer.
Old Xia's house was bustling with activity inside and outside, and every room was busy preparing for the New Year.
Jiang took Lihua with her and cleaned the house thoroughly. She not only swept the house, washed clothes, and took apart and washed cotton-padded clothes and quilts and made them again, but also refilled the door curtains with cotton and repasted the window paper.
Xia Youtian also took Wulang into the mountains twice and chopped a lot of firewood.
It is worth mentioning that Daohua and Linghua followed Xia Youtian and Wulang into the mountains secretly, and then caught two wild rabbits with gray-yellow fur.
Seeing Xia Daohua holding a rabbit in one hand, the sweet-eyed Linghua immediately changed "Daohua" to "Sister" without hesitation. From then on, her little mouth was as sweet as honey, calling her "Sister" all the time, and she never changed her tune.
When Xia Youtian was skinning the rabbit, Xia Daohua couldn't bear to watch and hid away.
Linghua, however, watched intently and with great interest, not missing a single detail from beginning to end. Her eyes were shining and full of interest.
Jiang gave one of the two neatly groomed rabbits to the old couple.
The remaining one was cut in half and chopped into small pieces. I added a lot of potatoes and radishes and cooked a big pot for the children. I smeared salt on the surface of the other half and hung it on the beam of the house, preparing to eat it during the New Year.
When stewing rabbit in the evening, the second aunt couldn't help but run to the fourth room and said a few sarcastic words to Jiang. Erlang came after her and pulled her back forcefully.
The main workers in the second house are the taciturn Erlang and the equally quiet Taohua.
My second uncle worked very hard in the fields and was considered one of the most capable people in Beiguan Village. But when he got home, he would just sit there with his hands and feet spread out, leaning against his rolled-up bedding, and lying on the kang, acting like a big shot.
He would not touch anything when it came to household matters, and even if an oil bottle fell in front of him, he would not even try to help.
Second aunt-in-law, Mrs. Sun, is quick-witted but very harsh in her words.
She gave birth to three sons and three daughters. No one gave birth to more children than her except the old lady Zhou.
This seemed to give her an inexplicable confidence, allowing her to confront any member of the Xia family no matter what inappropriate occasion or time, and quarrels were commonplace.
Sun was naturally not polite to a soft persimmon like Jiang. She was even more aggressive towards her own children.
But Sun's harshness is different for different people.
When she was with Erlang, she would unconsciously become a little gentler.
She assigned as much of the second wife's work as possible to the children. Erlang and Taohua, the oldest and most sensible, were the ones she assigned the most. Xinghua and Meihua were also quite diligent.
As for Sanlang and Silang, they often ignored her words and ran away as soon as she called for work. Sometimes, they even hid outside and would never come back until dinner time.
Erlang did the most work at home and spoke the least, but whether it was because the wedding was delayed or because Erlang was the eldest son of the second wife, Sun Shi could never be as confident when facing Erlang as when facing other people.
Xia Daohua had sharp ears and heard Erlang pulling Sun away while saying to her:
"Third Aunt's bean curd has been steamed, but our bean filling hasn't been cooked yet. How come you still have time to chat with Fourth Aunt?"
Sun only managed to say, "Who's chatting with her?" before her attention was drawn to the message in Erlang's words: "Third brother's wife is so quick? No, I have to go and boil the bean paste!"
Old lady Zhou has generously lent the large kitchen to her daughters-in-law these days. She lets them decide who uses it and when, but they have to start using it at dawn every day and can only use it until dusk at the latest, because the old couple go to bed early and sleep lightly, so they are afraid of making noise.
Therefore, Sun from the second house, Wu from the third house, and Han from the fifth house were all racing against time.
Jiang had different ideas from them.
Although there are quite a few people in the fourth room, the oldest one, Lihua, is only twelve years old and cannot eat that much dry food in the first month of the year.
Jiang thought that since she had a small kitchen, she could do it in her own small kitchen no matter how many buns she wanted to steam, and she might as well not go to the big kitchen and compete with her sisters-in-law.
Xia Youtian learned of Jiang's intentions and immediately felt a surge of pride:
My wife is the most sensible one! She always thinks of me first! She is filial to her parents-in-law, modest to her sisters-in-law, and loving to her children. Where can I find such a good wife?
Looking at Xia Youtian's silly grin, Jiang blushed inexplicably.
Xia Daohua couldn't help but smile when she saw the couple's interaction. Since their family members were close, perhaps she could use this as an opportunity to persuade them to leave this dangerous place.
Xia Daohua seized the opportunity and made her first attempt:
"Dad, Mom."
"Daohua, why are you here? Are you feeling better? Does your head still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore, but I feel like the back of my head is itchy all the time. I want to scratch it, but I'm afraid of breaking the wound."
"Good boy, that's about to heal. Please be patient for the next two days and don't scratch me!"
"Why!"
After a crisp response, Xia Daohua seemed to casually turn to the main topic:
"It's so cold here! Why didn't our ancestors choose a warmer place to live?"
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