Lujiang City, 194 AD.
When Lu Kang was the prefect, he built a high city wall and stored up a lot of grain. Clusters of courtyard-style blue brick houses could be seen everywhere in the city.
At that time, Cao Cao and Lü Bu were vying for control of Yan Province, Yuan Shu was attacking Xu Province and was locked in a stalemate with Liu Bei, and the north was in turmoil.
Yet the people here live in peace and contentment, a veritable paradise on earth.
In December, the north wind blows south, and heavy snow falls.
In the mulberry orchard south of the city, Qiao Jingjing, filled with longing for a better life, personally fertilized the mulberry trees with farmyard manure to prepare them for winter, keeping herself very busy.
This spring, Qiao Jingjing took over all the affairs of her family's mulberry orchard, and the orchard was transformed. The mulberry trees grew vigorously, and three thousand catties of dried mulberries were harvested in the first season. The mulberry leaves picked each season were used to feed silkworms and also made into mulberry leaf tea and mulberry leaf wine. After the autumn harvest, thousands of chickens and ducks were raised in the orchard, laying over one hundred thousand eggs. The old father was so happy that tears streamed down his face, saying that the income from the mulberry orchard would be enough to feed the whole family next year.
In the courtyard of the Qiao family, the second and third young masters gathered a group of their cronies.
Young men gathered around a stove, brewing wine amidst the winter plum blossoms, with beautiful women adding fragrance to the air, engaging in lively conversation.
"The world has changed! When Cao Cao attacked Tao Qian in Xuzhou, Zhang Miao and Chen Gong, the governors of Chenliu, took the opportunity to rebel against Cao Cao and installed Lü Bu as the governor of Yanzhou. This rebellion spread so widely that, except for Juancheng, Fanxian, and Dong'e in Yanzhou, all other areas rebelled in support of Lü Bu, and the situation was extremely tense."
“Sun Ce, in the name of his maternal uncle Wu Jing, the Prefect of Guangling, recruited several hundred men and then asked Yuan Shu for the former troops of his father Sun Jian, totaling several thousand men. Yuan Shu, because his army was short of food, demanded 30,000 bushels of rice from our Prefect Lu to supplement his military supplies. Prefect Lu, sympathetic to the suffering of the people, closed his doors and refused to associate with Yuan Shu, and instead prepared for war. Yuan Shu was furious and immediately sent Sun Ce to attack Lujiang.”
During the conversation, it seemed as if a great upheaval was about to sweep across the world.
Dog lovers asked Mr. Qiao what his current plan should be?
After thinking it over and over, Young Master Qiao said that a good man should fight in all directions to quell the war and that a true man should make a difference.
Isn't a chaotic world a great opportunity for men to make a name for themselves?
A burst of applause followed.
Li, a fellow dog-loving friend, immediately promised to sell his beloved six-flowered horse to Qiao Er for only fifty taels of silver to help him fulfill his dream. Zhu, another dog-loving friend, offered the low price of three taels of gold for his precious red-bladed sword.
Young Master Qiao was so moved he almost cried.
After a few people made some random bows to the vast sky and earth, the three thousand catties of mulberries, a dozen jars of fine wine, and tens of thousands of chicken and duck eggs that the Qiao family had stockpiled this year were moved into the gates of the Li and Zhu families.
In the courtyard, the snow was a vast expanse of white. Young Master Qiao, with his back to his empty warehouse, held his red-bladed sword and let out a long howl at his six-flowered horse.
"Horse, oh horse, watch me, Qiao Er, stir up the winds and clouds in this world."
The elderly father, Qiao Xuan, spent the entire day discussing important matters with Prefect Lu.
Upon returning home, seeing the warehouse suddenly ransacked and empty, and his second son in a semi-mad state, Old Qiao was so angry that he collapsed into bed.
"Sister, something terrible has happened. Father has fallen ill."
Qiao Manman ran breathlessly to the mulberry garden to tell Qiao Jingjing the news.
"Second brother sold all the things you've painstakingly saved up over the past year."
Before Qiao Jingjing, the hardworking farmer, could even catch her breath with a cup of hot tea, she learned this terrible news from her delicate younger sister.
A sudden roar went through my head.
That was the family's livelihood for a year. She had worked so hard to earn it, and then she just sold it off like that.
Qiao Jingjing, carrying a big stick, stormed home to find Qiao Er.
The bedridden old father had already tied Qiao Er up and made him kneel in the yard to reflect on his actions.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Qiao San knelt down in the courtyard as well, not daring to utter a sound.
Only Qiao's second wife was unconvinced. Taking advantage of the opportunity to feed Qiao's father his medicine, He Miaomiao seized the moment to exonerate her spendthrift husband.
“Grandpa, why are you so angry? What wrong has my second son done? What’s so special about three thousand catties of dried mulberries? The mulberry tree will bear fruit again next year, there are plenty of them.”
"Those in the know all say that the Six-Flower Horse Red Peak Sword is worth a fortune. Grandpa, look around, which successful man doesn't have a fine sword and a good horse?"
"With these connections, Erlang can better visit Prefect Lu's residence. More visits will also benefit our family. Any benefits we receive will benefit the whole family."
"Besides, storing those chicken and duck eggs in the warehouse is bad; we can't finish them, and they'll attract rats. My Erlang has worked so hard for this family; God has no mercy on him. In this freezing winter, he's being forced to kneel on the ground by his grandfather. His younger siblings are watching! How could you do this to him, Grandfather?"
Then, accompanied by sobbing and wailing.
Old Man Qiao was so angry that he vomited up all the medicine he had just drunk.
Old Man Qiao pointed at his sons kneeling on the ground, his face flushed with disappointment, unable to utter a single word.
Qiao Manman was a well-behaved girl. Hearing these indiscriminate words, she couldn't help but retort, "Second sister-in-law, how can you not understand? Everyone knows that Yuan Shu attacked Lujiang and sent Sun Ce to besiege the city. Everyone is busy hoarding grain. My family, on the other hand, sold our food and drink and bought two useless things."
"Xiao Qiao! Can't you speak with a conscience? What do you mean by 'useless thing'? Tell me what you mean by 'useless thing'! In this family, you and Da Qiao are both grown women of marriageable age and still not married!"
You two sisters are the two useless things!
“Your second brother is so worried that he can’t eat or sleep. He works hard all day long, but what’s the use? Grandpa is angry now, but it’s just because of official business.”
"You, as her younger sister, not only didn't speak up for her, but you also kicked her when she was down. What kind of person are you? You call yourselves family? Humph. Was it really worth it?"
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