Chapter 916 Human Suffering
"Virtue!"
As expected, people are all bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong. It's clear that the boss often takes advantage of Da Hong.
"Who's in charge of the money?"
"I."
“From now on, the money will be managed by Da Hong. All the money I give you will be handed over to Da Hong. If you complain, I won’t give you a single penny. Anyway, you two are living well enough on this estate, so I’ll prevent you from causing trouble and making people jealous.”
The eldest son became obedient, saying, "I'll listen to Mother."
That's more like it.
But Song Chunxue still had one thing on her mind that was bothering her.
She only remembered it after hearing what Li Dazui said. In the past few years, several families had left the village, supposedly to farm in wealthier areas, and their children had been allocated land there.
By any measure, it's flatter than here, and we don't need to dig a water cellar to get water.
But most people still dare not move away rashly, feeling uneasy.
The grain harvest on the estate has been poor for the past two years, and some people have already asked the eldest son to borrow grain.
But the eldest brother hadn't realized the danger yet.
She remembered that in her previous life, around April or May of this year, it was the lean season when food was scarce and many people had nothing to eat, so they started scrambling for food after nightfall.
Back then, if she hadn't slept in the yard with her blanket draped over her shoulders late at night, keeping a close watch, her home might have been ransacked.
"There's something else you need to hear. You've probably noticed that even though you're doing well, people aren't giving you a friendly look; on the contrary, more and more people are becoming jealous of you."
Li Mengchun's wife's sudden dissatisfaction with her probably stems from not receiving any benefits.
Making a living is tough; it requires effort and management.
Even if things are going well, one must be even more careful. The boss needs a few bloody stories to scare him.
"Have you heard the story of Old Man Liang? I'm not kidding you, his family lives in Malu Township..."
"There are also stories of people exchanging children to eat during famines. When people are extremely hungry, they will do anything. It's not a good thing if you have so much food all by yourself."
"There's also the matter of the three brothers dividing the family property, which you probably haven't heard about. Let me tell you all about it..."
That night, Song Chunxue chatted with the eldest brother all night over a plate of pig's head meat, a plate of cold amaranth salad, and three catties of sorghum liquor.
Before falling asleep, she vaguely heard the rooster crow for the first time.
...
"Mother, someone is looking for you."
Song Chunxue was shaken awake from the kang (a heated brick bed), and sat up groggily.
Seeing Xu Dahong looking around blankly, Song Chunxue quickly wrapped the quilt around herself.
The stools on the ground were filled with people.
They were wearing clothes that were either dirty or that were their natural color, and pairs of expressionless eyes were staring straight at her.
Song Chunxue was somewhat dissatisfied and immediately looked at Xu Dahong, "I'm not awake yet, who let them in?"
“We…” Xu Dahong glanced at the people, “We didn’t see them clearly. By the time we entered the courtyard, they were already inside.”
Song Chunxue said coldly, "Go out first. Whatever you want to do, go stay in another room. Can't you tell I'm still asleep?"
The men sitting in the chairs went out upon hearing this, but thankfully none of them stared at the woman in the room.
Otherwise, Song Chunxue might find an opportunity to use her peach branch.
Let's puff up their eyes first.
She put on her clothes and got off the kang (a heated brick bed), thinking that these people were so nice to her, they must have come to ask her for a favor.
But she didn't recognize them. Where did they come from?
The eldest son came in from outside the yard, yawning, and propped up the basket he was carrying against the wall.
Song Chunxue then realized that these people had come to cultivate the land and grow grain for him.
They had little land at home, not enough to cultivate, so when they heard that there were people with plenty of land in this village, they came to earn a few coins and have a full meal.
Song Chunxue said calmly, "We don't trust people from far away. There are people around here who have time to plant it. We've troubled you to make the trip. Please go back now."
The eldest son had originally intended to choose two to stay and help, but upon hearing this, he did not stop them. He thought that his mother was afraid that strangers would cause trouble.
His family, except for himself, had little strength. If these people had bad intentions, he would have no one to turn to for help and would have to accept his bad luck.
"But we've come all this way, we could at least have some water."
The man at the head of the group was dark-skinned, and his clothes were so dirty that they were unrecognizable. He stood in the courtyard and looked at Song Chunxue with pleading eyes.
"Give us a piece of bread and some water and we'll leave, otherwise we'll go back on an empty stomach."
Song Chunxue gestured for Da Hong to take the child inside.
"Wait here, I'll go get it for you." Song Chunxue looked at the eldest brother, "Keep an eye on things."
She worried that her eldest son, being so carefree, would turn around and busy himself with other things, thus letting the wolf into the house.
They were a group of men, not easy to deal with.
Fortunately, when she brought out a small basket of sesame buns, the eldest brother was standing in the yard watching over them.
Fortunately, I'm not too stupid.
Song Chunxue counted them; there were two for each person.
He then instructed the eldest brother to go to the kitchen and fetch raw water.
She was worried about having so many people sit down for tea.
The reason she personally went to the kitchen to bring the steamed buns was because she was afraid that Da Hong, being kind-hearted, might pick out white steamed buns or even fried dough for people, thus attracting their attention.
“We ran out of white flour for the New Year, so we’ll make do with these brown flour buns. They’re a bit dark, but they’re quite sweet after being scalded with boiling water,” Song Chunxue said as she handed out the buns. “If you’re looking for work, head south along the main road. There’s a large flat area over there with three or four stacks of wheat. People there are doing well; you’re sure to be able to make a living there.”
The eldest brother brought over a large ladle of water. The person at the front took a big gulp, bit into a steamed bun, and then took another gulp, letting out a sigh.
He smiled at Song Chunxue, his sun-darkened face covered in wrinkles.
"Don't laugh at us, but we went out on empty stomachs. We left all the food for our families. We're grown men, and we can at least make a living when we're out in the world."
Song Chunxue lowered her head, and her nose immediately stung with tears.
She had experienced this feeling before; it was all too familiar to her.
But she couldn't offer help in an emergency, not to solve their long-term problems. She couldn't let her good intentions turn her into easy prey for them.
If we generously give them food today, even more people like them will come in the future.
She wasn't a righteous official; she was just an ordinary person.
If she were away from home, she could act as a bodhisattva every day, giving them money and food so they could go home and live a good life.
But now that she's in the eldest brother's house, giving her away would be an undeserved disaster for him.
“You’ve gone to the wrong place. You should have gone along the Zuli River. The people on both sides of the river are not doing too badly. Some people have become successful and gone to the capital. Their land needs to be managed. If your family can still support themselves, you can go further and visit temples and Taoist temples. Maybe they can help you in an emergency.”
"Go to the Yellow River, to a prosperous place, life will be better there."
She herself found these words absurd. Song Chunxue lowered her head and saw that their shoes had their toes sticking out.
“Sigh, we want to too, but we have a whole family to support, so we can’t leave. I also want to farm. Last year’s harvest was bad, but this year it’s snowed several times. Surely God won’t be so cruel as to let us starve to death.”
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