Chapter 38 Chapter 38 Offended
With the experience of his rabbits being harmed by wild animals once, when another female rabbit gave birth, Kang He arranged the shed more carefully in advance to prevent wild animals such as wild cats and weasels.
The two female rabbits gave birth not too long apart, about half a month apart. But when the four cubs were born, the three that survived had already grown full fur, but had not yet learned to eat grass.
We had two litters of rabbits at once, and there were ten rabbits in total at home. Although I didn’t know how many of the seven little rabbits could be raised to sell, the number had definitely increased.
Kanghe added partitions in the shed to raise the three large rabbits separately, mainly to separate the male rabbits.
Because rabbits breed very quickly, female rabbits can become pregnant immediately after giving birth.
Fan Jing, who was watching him work on the shed, heard him say, "Since they can conceive immediately, wouldn't it be easier to produce rabbits faster if we keep them together?"
Kang He said, "That being said, giving birth too frequently will definitely harm the mother. Having two babies in three years sounds good, but who knows the hardships behind childbirth?"
Fan Jing was speechless.
Kanghe then continued to build the shed and told Zhen'er that the little rabbit would slowly start to eat grass after twenty days, so he should get some dried alfalfa and give it to the rabbit to eat, which would help the rabbit grow better.
Do not feed fruits that are too watery, as they can easily cause diarrhea and lead to death.
When the rabbits are about two months old, they need to be raised separately. Rabbits mature sexually quickly, and if they are not raised separately from the same litter, inbreeding will occur.
Zhen'er was careful and wrote them down one by one.
Qiao'er went to the city with Chen early in the morning to sell radish tofu. The little girl was sweet-mouthed and good at speaking, so she could help Chen with the sales.
When she went to the city, Zhen'er was so shy that she couldn't even open her mouth to greet customers, let alone shout at the top of her voice. She felt that she couldn't be of much help in the city, so she stayed at home and did the work.
The family now has a lot of chickens and ducks, as well as ten rabbits, big and small, and a pair of pigs and a donkey in the pen.
During the day I have to cut grass for the donkey, cook for the pigs, and clean up the shit for the chickens and ducks...there is a lot of work to do.
These things always have to be done by someone, and Zhen'er volunteered to stay and do the housework because she knew that if you work hard, you can get the job done.
Kang He taught his family everything he knew, to prevent the rabbits from being taken care of poorly at home if he and Fan Jing went up the mountain.
After all, it took a lot of effort to raise them until today and finally reproduce.
Just as we were talking excitedly, Father Fan came running in from outside. Before he even entered the yard, he could hear his voice shouting.
"It's terrible, it's terrible!"
Kang He and Fan Jing, who were in the backyard, couldn't help but look outside when they heard the sound. Father Fan usually looked honest and spoke slowly, and he rarely looked so anxious.
Putting down the work at hand, several people hurried out.
"Dad, what's going on?"
Father Fan had obviously just returned from the fields. He was wearing a pair of straw sandals, his feet were covered in mud, and one leg of his trousers was higher than the other.
When Fan Shoulin saw Kang He and Fan Jing, he quickly said, "That Sun Dasheng is dead!"
"What?"
When Kang He heard the news, he couldn't help but ask, and Fan Jing also frowned.
Fan Shoulin swallowed his saliva and said, "It's said to be the guy from the other village, the one Dajing had a blind date with before, Qin kid. I saw him in a cave while I was walking around the mountain."
"A person was lying in a mountain cave, half buried in branches and leaves. Qin Xiaozi shot a chicken and went to pick it up. He saw clothes and thought it was strange. He dug up the branches and leaves and realized it was a person. It was all rotten. I don't know how long it has been dead!"
After hearing this, Kang He and Fan Jing couldn't help but look at each other.
Zhen'er was frightened and dared not listen any more.
"Are you sure it's him?"
Kang He asked Father Fan.
"It was Qin who came to the village and told me about it. I happened to see him in the fields. The village head had already called everyone to follow Qin up the mountain. When he left, he also told everyone not to go to Sun Dasheng's mother's place and say anything."
Although Fan Shoulin also disliked Sun Dasheng, he was still worried about what happened to the villagers.
He couldn't help but worry again: "Dajing, Sun Dasheng died on the mountain. I hope the village head won't blame our family."
Fan Jing didn't say anything.
Kang He said, "Life is always unpredictable when you're begging in the mountains. It wasn't our family that killed him, so you shouldn't blame us."
Father Fan said, "Sanlang, you don't know this, but Sun Dasheng is the nephew of the village head. He went up the mountain to make a living, and the village head came to our house and asked Dajing to look after him."
"How can we take care of him? Not to mention the hundreds of miles of barren mountains, even a mountaintop is several miles or dozens of miles long. He has two feet and can be here today and there tomorrow. We don't necessarily have to follow him around to take care of him. I'm afraid we need to hire servants at home to look after him personally."
"Let's take a step back and say that the accident didn't happen on our mountain. The Qin family kid's mountain is so far away. I've been going up the mountain for so long and I've never been there once. He was hunting on a mountain near us, so how could the accident happen on the mountain where the Qin family kid was hunting?"
"Don't be afraid, Dad. This is not our fault."
After hearing what Kang He said, Father Fan felt a little more at ease.
Even so, he still had a worried look on his face.
He said, "Let's wait for the news. When the person is coming back, we can take the things and go and have a look."
When Sun Dasheng first went to visit Fan Jing, he was already disgusted with this man. Later, when he heard Zhang Shili say that he lent money privately and raped and forced himself on good women, he was even more disgusted.
Now that I heard that he was dead, I felt that God had a vision and didn't want to ask about his affairs at all.
However, it is understandable for an elderly person to say a few words of condolence to a young person who is sending off his beloved. After all, his mother has lost her husband and now her son.
The important thing is what Fan's father said, that Chen Yushun had brought some things to the house beforehand.
So Kang He discussed it with Fan Jing. Although the head of the village did not ask them to help, the two of them still went to the mountains on their own initiative. After all, they were more familiar with the mountains.
The news of Sun Dasheng's accident spread like wildfire in the village. Although no one shouted about it, they were all talking about it.
Sun Dasheng's mother, Ren, finally got the news. She cried several times before she even saw the person. The villagers were afraid that something might happen to her, so the neighbors went to keep an eye on her.
It was not until dark that the group of people who had gone up the mountain returned to the village.
There were two men in the team carrying a stretcher covered with a cloth.
The village head, Chen Yushun, had a sullen face, and was unusually serious.
"My son!"
Before the stretcher was carried to Sun's house, Ren rushed out and tore off the covering cloth despite people trying to stop her. When she saw the familiar clothes, she let out a howl and burst into tears.
Then a group of people came to support and persuade her. Ren cried and fainted several times, and woke up and fainted again.
After making so much noise, she was completely exhausted. She leaned on the couch and held Chen Yushun's hand with tears in her eyes, saying, "Brother Yushun, now that Dasheng is gone, how can I live?
When I was young, I couldn't help myself. Now that I'm old, I still have to go through these things. Why is my life so miserable? "
Chen Yushun felt very uncomfortable when he saw his cousin crying.
"Things change so fast. Don't be too sad and cry yourself sick. I'm here for you."
Chen Yushun's wife, Xiao, heard that Sun Dasheng had been brought back, so she went to Sun's house to visit him. As soon as she entered the house, she saw this scene.
Hearing Ren calling Yushun "brother" over and over again, Chen Yushun acted as if his son was dead, and he immediately lost face.
But on this day, no one had an attack.
Sun Dasheng's death on the mountaintop was somewhat unclear. Chen Yushun still hired a coroner to perform an autopsy, and concluded that he had fallen and lost consciousness, and died of excessive blood loss without anyone noticing, not by human intervention.
The person had been dead for a long time and it was not a good-looking sight. It was not possible to keep him at home for long, so he took the initiative to bury him.
On the day of the ceremony, the villagers came to pay their respects for Chen Yushun's sake.
"It's truly heartbreaking for the villagers that something like this has happened to Dasheng. I've been feeling like I'm being boiled in oil these days, and I just can't seem to get over it. The village head came to ask for help earlier, but it was also because our family didn't take good care of the child."
The Fan family went to pay their respects. Father Fan brought generous gifts and apologized to Chen Yushun.
This task should have been done by Fan Jing and Kang He, but everyone in the family knew Fan Jing's temper and was afraid that it would only make people more angry.
Kang He has always been a considerate person, but this time he refused to say anything. Helpless, Father Fan had to call his brother Fan Shoushan to go together and apologize to Chen Yushun.
Chen Yushun didn't blame him at first. On the day of the accident, Kang He and Fan Jing came up the mountain to help out, and the Fan family also brought generous gifts to express their condolences, which was already enough of a favor.
He was about to say a few polite words when Ren's sharp voice rang out: "Why are you still pretending to be so hypocritical? You're the reason why my Dasheng was killed!"
Ren cried and cursed loudly in front of the coffin. When the villagers who came to pay their respects heard such words, they couldn't help but prick up their ears and listen.
"Madam Ren, everyone in our village is sad that Dasheng is gone, but no matter how sad you are, you can't say such things!"
When Father Fan heard this, he was frightened. His brother Fan Shoushan quickly explained that how could he dare to wear such a hat.
Ren's eyes were red as she pointed angrily.
"I was so worried when Dasheng didn't come home for a long time. When I met you two, I asked you to help me go and take a look. You scolded me, a widow, for using my position as village head to pressure you. We are fellow villagers, and you refused to help me with such a favor."
"If you had been willing to make that trip back then, my son wouldn't have stayed in that mountain cave for so long, exposed to the wind and rain. Now you still have the nerve to come, but you're deliberately trying to hurt my heart!"
Ren was crying, she had no way to vent about Sun Dasheng's accidental death. Now looking at Kang He and Fan Jing, she felt that she was blaming them all.
Kang He didn't want to come at all, but it was only after Fan's father persuaded him to come and give face to his fellow townsman that he came.
Now hearing that Ren was blaming others, he didn't want to say anything and let the elders handle these matters, but now he couldn't help but open his mouth.
With the village head supporting the Sun family, and with so many people from the village gathered in front of the mourning hall, it was difficult to curse the deceased's family. He said, "Madam Ren, act according to your conscience. You say we're accusing you of using your position as village head to bully others, but everyone in the village knows what kind of person the village head is. If you want to blame us, that's fine, but why do you want to tarnish his reputation?"
"When did I ever say I was dirty and upright...you have such a weird mouth, kid!"
Ren wanted to curse, but she didn't know how to do it.
Chen Yushun was also unable to speak.
Kang He said at this time: "We are from the same village and wanted to come to pay our respects. If Madam Ren can't stand seeing me, we can just leave."
After saying that, he really left without eating at the Sun family's restaurant.
The people in the room who came to pay their respects were at a loss for words when they saw the commotion.
Seeing that Fan Jing and Kang He came and were scolded and sent away by the leader without even having a bite of water, most people felt that Ren was going too far.
I thought to myself that Fan Jing had been making a living in the mountains for many years, and he had helped take care of Sun Dasheng who had come in later.
How could Fan Jingtu, for no apparent reason, just like Ren said, be so pitiful, and refuse to help? And even say such harsh words?
Just because Fan Jing and Sun Dasheng were on the same mountain, and he didn't take good care of Sun Dasheng, he blamed others for the person's death. How can this be justified?
If Sun Dasheng died in the village, wouldn't it be the villagers' fault for not keeping an eye on him?
No one knew whether Fan Jing and Kang He were as rude to Ren Shi, but when Sun Dasheng got into trouble, everyone saw that they went into the mountains to help bring him back.
But there were also those who were jealous of the Fan family, whose lives were getting better and better. They thought that if it was not as Ren said, why would Fan Shoulin come to apologize to the head of the village with such generous gifts? It was obvious that he had something to hide.
The dead are the most important, and outsiders should not get involved in the disputes between the two families. They dare not speak for either side and can only try to smooth things over: "Madam Ren is heartbroken."
"We are from the same village, and harmony brings wealth..."
Chen Yushun didn't say anything, and no one knew what he was thinking.
There are many households in the village, so quarrels are common, and many of them are resolved tomorrow.
Kang He and Fan Jing thought that they didn't have much trouble with the Sun family. Sun Dasheng was a beast and his mother was not a reasonable person. They would just stop associating with the Ren family in the future.
During the spring months, every family was busy with farm work, so no one took this matter to heart.
In late March, the village was bustling with activity. It was heard that the county government had allocated a lot of wasteland to nearby townships in order to increase tax revenue.
Because the land is fertile, it is sold below the market price.
Anyone who can afford the money can go to the village to register and buy land.
"Have you found out the price of that wasteland?"
When Father Fan came back from outside, Chen couldn't help but ask him hurriedly.
"I've heard the villagers at the head of the village say that barren land costs eight strings of cash per mu, while fertile land costs ten strings of cash."
Chen was delighted to hear the price and said, "It's indeed lower than the market price. Land is valuable now that we're in a peaceful time. Barren land outside fetches ten strings of cash per mu, but the land from the imperial court is a full two strings of cash lower."
Father Fan also nodded and said yes. This land price really made the farmers happy.
Moreover, the imperial court issued a decree that did not allow wealthy gentry to buy these lands to prevent excessive land annexation.
In this way, it would be easier for ordinary villagers to buy land. They would not have to worry about the gentry making a move and taking over all the wasteland. Then they would look for hired farmers to open up wasteland and cultivate the land, making money from it and oppressing the poor people.
The Fan family inquired carefully about the land matter, and of course they didn't just want to join in the fun.
They also want to buy land.
At night, the family sat together and discussed this matter.
"We have seven mu of land at home, and six people in our household. Now we've opened up another half mu to grow konjac, which makes it even more compact."
Father Fan said, "If we can get even one more acre of land, we can breathe a sigh of relief."
The family had wanted to add more land for a long time, but they had no idea how they could come up with so much money.
Not to mention the fertile land that has been cultivated, which sells for fifteen or sixteen strings of cash per mu, even the wasteland was previously said to sell for ten strings of cash.
"Prices are low now, so this is a perfect opportunity. While it's a bit troublesome to manage after buying wasteland, I used to have two acres of land at home that others disliked as sandy and thin. I cleared it out, and over the past few years, I've been able to harvest whatever I planted. One acre of land can yield two strings of cash a year."
Kang He was very pleased to hear that his family had this intention. Father Fan was also willing to buy more land for farming, which showed that he was still ambitious and not the kind of person who lived day by day.
"For farmers, the most important asset is land. Although one mu of land only yields one to three kan of silver per year, and it takes several years to recoup the investment, the land is still there, and if it is resold, it can still bring in a lot of money."
"That's exactly the point."
Father Fan agreed, but then hesitated awkwardly, "Your mother and I only have enough money to buy three acres of land. We're not sure if we can afford such a small amount. Your uncle's family is also planning to buy land and has asked Xiangxiu to bring money home. They're definitely not willing to lend us any."
Kang He knew what Father Fan meant. He said, "Da Jing and I still have some money. Buying land is a big deal. As a family, let's buy it first and talk about it later."
When Father Fan heard Kang He say this, he couldn't help but look at the silent Fan Jing. Seeing that Fan Jing said nothing and followed Kang He's decision on everything, he felt more at ease.
So the family made another plan and prepared to spend 14 strings of cash to buy one acre and five mu of land.
Kang He and Fan Jing took out eleven strings of cash, and Chen's father Fan scraped together three strings of cash.
It’s also because I’ve made some money from my small business in the past two months, otherwise how could I have come up with the money?
After just buying the land, Kang He and Fan Jing were visibly short of money.
But money won’t make money if it’s just kept in a box. It has to be put to good use.
Fan Shoulin took the money his family had saved and rushed to the home of the village head, Chen Yushun. At that time, the Chen family was as lively as if a banquet was being held.
Everyone in the village, whether they had money or not, rushed here.
"How is it? How much did you sell?"
As soon as Fan Shoulin entered the yard, he asked a bunch of idle people who were sitting there with their hands behind their backs, joining in the fun.
"The Zhao family bought one acre, the Qian family bought seven mu, and Old Zhang bought five mu..."
Everyone enthusiastically counted with Fan Shoulin on their fingers and talked about which family in the village had bought how much land and how much each family was planning to buy.
"Fan Lao Er, you want to buy land too?"
The village man said, "Didn't your family just buy a donkey last month?"
Fan Shoulin said with his hands behind his back, "I bought a donkey but I don't have any land to plow. This is definitely going to be useful."
"So how wide do you want the land to be? Do you want me to help you dig it out?"
The villagers laughed.
Fan Shoulin ignored the villagers' jokes and did not tell them how much land he wanted to buy. He walked into the Chen family's main hall in high spirits.
Chen Yushun was registering at the table. Many villagers gathered around him. Fan Shoulin squeezed his head in.
"If you're not buying land, don't crowd in here. The ink's all over the paper. Why are you joining in the fun?"
Chen Yushun had been busy with the wasteland for most of the day and was feeling thirsty and annoyed. He looked up and saw Fan Shoulin approaching him, and immediately snorted.
Fan Shoulin felt that Chen Yushun was deliberately teasing him, and he couldn't help but shrink his neck, subconsciously trying to hide away.
But then he thought that he was here to buy land, not to join in the fun, so why should he hide? He straightened his back again.
"Fan Lao Er, you want to buy land?"
Seeing that Fan Shoulin did not leave the house, Chen Yushun called him directly.
“Hmm…Hey!”
Fan Shoulin responded in a panic.
Chen Yushun frowned and asked, "How much do you want to buy?"
"I heard from the villagers that they could buy less than a full mu, so I want to buy 1.5 mu."
"Old Fan, you're really good, you bought so many!"
After hearing what Fan Shoulin said, the villagers in the house couldn't help but say that most of those who came to buy land only bought three or five mu, and there were not many who bought a full mu.
Fan Shoulin felt proud for a moment, but he didn't show it on his face. He just kept his usual honest look and said, "The land at home is too tight. Since the county government is offering us such a good price for land, I'll borrow some money to buy it."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yushun saw that he was the only one there and said, "Bring all the money. Once the registration is completed, you must pay the money. The county government will not allow you to delay paying for land purchases. It's not like the autumn tax collection, where they keep asking for it."
Fan Shoulin felt a little embarrassed. He had twice defaulted on tax payments when his family was struggling. But only in bad years did a few families not default on their taxes.
He even took out the money: "I brought it. I came here with everything."
Chen Yushun looked at Fan Shoulin and asked him if he was serious about taking out so many things. He then asked, "Did you buy this for yourself or for someone else?"
Fan Shoulin asked, "What does this mean?"
Chen Yushun held the brush, busy with his own affairs, not looking at anyone directly: "The county government does not allow the gentry to occupy more land. Supervision is strict. If you take advantage of others and use the name of a farmer to buy land from others, and it is discovered, you will be imprisoned and fined. You will bear the consequences yourself."
Everyone in the room fell silent for a moment.
After hearing this, Fan Shoulin, who was just a little embarrassed, was now extremely embarrassed.
The villagers who had come before did not necessarily say such things, but he was the one who came and said that it was good to arrest people and run errands for others to buy land. These warning words were clearly a warning to him.
Why, the Fan family was originally poor, but now they have worked hard and honestly to save money to buy land, and bought an acre and eight mu more than others, so they should be regarded as people who take advantage of others and work for others?
Fan Shoulin was a little embarrassed when he was teaching Chen Yushun what he said. Even a fool could see that Chen Yushun was deliberately picking on him.
But he was a coward and didn't dare to argue with others. He just had a dark face and kept silent.
Seeing this, Chen Yushun, like a soft persimmon, said, "Second Brother Fan, do you really want one mu and five fen? And you're definitely not buying it from anyone?"
"I bought it myself and used it for farming."
"Don't just buy it, not even three or five months ago, and then you say you sold it to someone else. If you do, I'll have to go check on your land."
Chen Yushun said, "The county government is very strict, so as the head of this township, I have to put in more effort."
The people in the house were whispering. Those who were able to rush to buy land were all from relatively well-off families in the village. They had not had close dealings with the Fan family before, and now they had roughly guessed the attitude of the village head towards the Fan family.
No one in the room supported Fan Shoulin. Instead, they flattered Chen Yushun: "The village head is busy with the affairs of the village. The good things in our village are also the result of the hard work of the village head."
Fan Shoulin came here happily, but he never expected to be humiliated. When he returned home, it was already early.
Chen was busy growing radish at home, so she didn't go with anyone to buy land. She was very confident that Fan Shoulin could handle the land matter, just as Fan Shoulin was also confident in her small business.
Seeing him come back so early, she couldn't help but feel a little strange: "Is it done? With your personality, why did you come back so quickly without even chatting with those old brothers?"
Kang He and Fan Jing had just returned home from the field. They saw that Father Fan was so vigorous and energetic when he went out, but he looked like a drowned dog when he came back.
"What's wrong, Dad? I didn't buy the land."
"I've bought it. I'll go to the western suburbs to measure the land in two days."
After saying that, Father Fan had a gloomy face and told them about what happened in the Chen family.
Chen was originally very happy, but after hearing this, she slammed the basin down on the stool with a thud: "What does Chen Yushun mean? Isn't he looking down on our family in front of the whole village?"
"He's been looking down on our family for a long time. I guess the incident with Sun Dasheng has made him hold a grudge against us! What a sin! From now on, our family will just have to wait for the Chen family to take the cake."
Kang He frowned. Chen Yushun didn't say anything about the previous incident. He didn't expect that he had secretly taken his cousin's words to heart and secretly hated their family.
Apart from this incident, I really can't think of anything else that would offend the Chen family.
Fan Shoulin felt a little uncomfortable after being scolded by Chen Yushun in front of the villagers. After returning, he went into the house and did not even have dinner.
He stayed at home for two days, not drinking or working in the fields. His family knew that he had been wronged, but they didn't say anything to him.
On the third day, the villagers began to measure the land, and he cheered up and went out.
Kang He and Fan Jing were worried, so they followed behind.
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