The sixth brother went back to ask the eldest brother about the details of the grain cart robbery. The eldest brother said in a low voice: "Why are you asking? Dad is already like this. It makes me even more upset to hear about it."
As he spoke, he winked at Lao Liu, meaning that he should not mention this matter again.
Lao Liu shouted, "The more I think about this, the more suspicious it seems. Our boss said that in times of peace, there wouldn't be bandits. Big brother, you'd better tell us in detail how the grain cart was robbed. How many bandits were there? How were they dressed? Were they masked or armed with weapons? Were any of you injured? Did you report it to the authorities? Tell us from the beginning."
The eldest brother was extremely panicked, fearing that he would add fuel to the fire and anger Old Ding. He quickly glanced at Old Ding and gave Old Six a series of anxious glances, quietly scolding him, "What are you capable of? Is your eldest brother an idiot? Why are you the only one who talks so much?"
But Old Ding was already excited, and he was yelling incoherently: "Ah, ah..."
Saliva dripped down Old Ding's chin. He twisted his mouth, unable to utter a single word, his eyes fixed on the eldest brother. Mrs. Meng impatiently wiped his saliva with a handkerchief while scolding the eldest brother, "Your father wants you to speak, so just say it now. What are you doing? You're always worrying about me!"
Meng's hands were very heavy, and she wiped Old Ding's neck so hard that it twisted back and forth. After wiping, she deliberately pressed hard on the corner of his mouth.
She was so annoyed by Old Ding's condition that she wanted to move him to the firewood shed, but the older brothers disagreed. She couldn't move him by herself, and she became more and more annoyed.
"Hurry up and tell me, are you mute?" She flicked her handkerchief, glared at the boss, and urged again.
"Oh!" The eldest brother stomped his feet and squatted on the ground with his head in his hands. He really didn't want to think about this anymore. He felt very uncomfortable when he thought about it.
Everyone in the room fell silent, waiting for him to speak.
Finally, he began to tell the story in a hoarse voice. For the boss, this experience was definitely the most terrifying and most unrequited nightmare in his life!
That day, their ship just entered the Zhuling County wharf. At first, they were all very excited. From afar, they could see endless grain ships docked on the river. The wharf was crowded with people, many of whom were running around, and some were dancing, which made the boss and the others cheer as well.
When they got closer, they realized that the person was not dancing at all, but was pounding his hands and stamping his feet, and crying out to the sky.
As we got closer, we could hear the sounds of cursing and wailing from the dock.
The boss's eyes went dark and his legs went weak.
When the ship docked, they went ashore and inquired. It turned out that the government had stopped purchasing high-priced grain. The big merchants who had chartered the entire ship to transport grain were naturally unwilling to pay the freight to transport the grain elsewhere. They contacted local grain merchants and the government to negotiate and quickly sold the grain at the purchase price or slightly lower than the purchase price.
Business has its ups and downs. Big merchants might lose money on this one deal, but make it back on the next one. The worst part is for small traders like the boss, many of whom have spent all their money and teamed up with friends and family to do this business.
For a moment, the eldest brother even wanted to jump into the river to commit suicide. His uncle was unwilling to give up and suggested going into the city to take a look. Only after he went there in person could he feel at ease. The grain cart was parked at the dock and charged a fee by the day, so they had no choice but to push the grain cart on the way.
When they arrived outside the county town, his uncle planned to take his son into the city to explore the situation. If the price could be sold at a slightly higher level and they could earn some money for travel expenses, they would sell it and save the trouble of transporting it back.
The eldest brother was still a little cautious and was afraid that his eldest uncle would cheat him, so he suggested that he go with him, leaving his eldest uncle and third uncle's son to guard the grain cart outside the city.
It cost a penny to enter the city, and he paid the penny. After following his uncle into the city and asking around, he felt disappointed.
Local officials and grain merchants took the opportunity to lower prices, and grain was sold at the price of vegetables, and the price was getting lower and lower every day.
As a last resort, they had to drag the food back.
It was impossible to rent a boat when they came back, so they discussed and decided to walk home by dry land, without staying overnight on the way, and take turns to stand guard in a sheltered place at night.
Zhuling County, part of Baiya Commandery, bordered Shanlan County, part of Dazhou Commandery. Their first night in Shanlan County, Dazhou Commandery, they rested in an abandoned temple. The eldest brother watched over the temple for the first half of the night, and in the second, his uncle's son took over. He was soundly asleep beneath a dilapidated Buddhist shrine when he was awakened by earth-shattering cries. He opened his eyes and scrambled to his feet. His uncle's son lay on the ground, his forehead wrapped in a blood-soaked cloth. His uncle had also fainted, surrounded by several cousins, wailing and wailing.
"That is to say, you didn't see the grain cart being robbed with your own eyes. They told you after you were woken up by their crying. The grain cart was robbed, right? Why didn't you report it to the police?" When the eldest brother said this, the sixth brother interrupted and asked.
"We can't report it to the police. The bandits asked my cousin where he came from, and he told them the truth. He's so stupid! Before they knocked him out, they said they'd kill our whole family if we dared to report it to the police. Otherwise, how could we not report it? I'd be the first one to go. I'm stupid to think I'm your big brother!"
"You, you, you're nothing but a pig! You still have the nerve to call others stupid? You're dumber than anyone else!" Hearing this, Meng understood everything and pointed at the eldest brother with gritted teeth. "What can you do? Where can you get some blood? It's not certain whether it's human blood or not. Why did I raise a loser like you? What sin did I commit in my past life?"
Old Ding was babbling, his saliva dripping again, and he looked even more excited than before. The sixth brother was afraid that Meng would take the opportunity to hurt his father again, so he glared at the confused eldest brother and hurried forward to take a handkerchief to wipe his father's saliva.
"Dad, don't worry. Your sons will go and confront your uncle right now. He stole our food and is trying to blackmail us for our house. It won't be that easy. Your sons will make him return the food he stole!"
"Damn it! Fuck his mother!" The eldest brother finally reacted. He gritted his teeth and roared when he was hit on the head by Meng. "You are so capable!"
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