Liu had two sons. The younger son, Xu Genbao, was afraid of his wife. The child was only three years old and in poor health, so he needed to be carried or held every day.
The eldest son, Xu Genyou, and his wife are both capable, and the children are all able to work in the fields. The family relies entirely on this eldest son to manage things.
It was the eldest son's idea to go home, saying that life outside wasn't easy either.
The reason why the village chief and his group were able to settle in Yuzhou Prefecture was because of Da Yong and Da Qing's two sons who joined the army.
It would be difficult for people like us to start from scratch in a strange place. But if we come back, at least we'll have a few acres of land, and as long as we can work, we won't starve.
The younger daughter-in-law wanted to live with the village chief and the others in the city. She was in a bad mood on the way back, and now that the house she was staying in has been burned down, she is cursing people with a dark face every day.
Genbao's wife was furious. Her husband was so stubborn, always listening to the eldest son and never having any opinions of his own. She was determined to separate the family this time she came back.
She wanted to visit other people's homes, but the village was full of medical tents and wounded soldiers, and it was difficult for a young woman like her to walk. So she limped over to Xu Changshou's shack, who had just returned: "Uncle Changshou, are you feeling better from catching a cold?"
Those damned scoundrels are truly heartless. All I did was lie on that warm bed for a bit, how could they just throw me into a muddy ditch like that…”
Xu Genbao was unaware that his wife had gone out to visit neighbors again. When he saw his elder brother Xu Genyou carrying a piece of wood back, he hurried over to greet him: "Brother, you didn't even call me when you went up the mountain."
Xu Genyou remained silent, gritted his teeth, threw the wood in front of the shack, and then, panting, said, "If you really care, go cut down some trees and make a few kilns of charcoal. The medical shack needs both firewood and charcoal now."
Genbao, I'm not trying to be mean, but we farmers should just do our own thing and stop thinking about how to get something for nothing.
The clinic said they would compensate us for occupying the land, and with some additional money we could find, we could start repairing the house in the spring.
Xu Genbao was tired of hearing these words. Although the eldest brother was like a father, his constant nagging was still annoying: "I know, I know. I'll go burn charcoal when the weather clears up. Brother, Grandpa Chang Geng and the others are on the mountain too."
Xu Genyou immediately perked up: "How are they doing? How did you know?"
Xu Genbao said, "I heard that Xiaoman brought her own rabbits to the clinic to exchange for food. She must be doing well!"
Xu Genyou rubbed his rough hands together and laughed, "It's good that they're doing well. Dazhu's health is like that; he's probably suffered a lot."
Xu Genbao tentatively suggested, "Brother, since Grandpa Chang Geng and the others can live on the mountain for a year and even raise rabbits, why don't we borrow some grain and meat and pay them back when we have a harvest?"
Xu Genyou glanced at his old mother beside him and shook his head, saying, "What year is this? No family has any spare grain."
Moreover, Dazhu is ill, Changgengbo is old, and Xiaoman is still young, so it's not easy for them to have anything to eat.
Your nephew brought back a big basket of green fruit. Once his mother has cooked it, you can help grind it when you have time.
We have this green plum powder and some wild vegetable porridge, enough to get by, so let's not bother anyone else."
Xu Genbao curled his lip: "Eating green fruit every day, I'm even having trouble pooping."
They were starving every day on their journey to escape famine, but fortunately they learned from the government that green fruit was edible, so they were able to collect fruit along the way and return safely.
After resting for a while and recovering, Xu Gen went to move stones and clean the yard. He heard his younger brother complaining that he couldn't poop: "If you can't poop, eat more vegetables to ease your bowels, or chop firewood to sell and buy grain. Look at those refugees, they're all doing well, only you're so lazy."
Nearby, Liu saw her eldest son lecturing her younger son again, and quickly pulled Xu Genbao aside: "You are also a father, be more sensible, listen to your brother and go chop firewood, we need to burn firewood at home too."
Xu Genbao had no choice but to leave, grumbling to himself.
In Xu Changshou's shack not far away, the whole family was taking a break.
There was a pile of oak berries in the corner of the room, and oak berries were being cooked in a pot. Anyone who was hungry could just grab a handful from the pot and eat them, saving the trouble of washing the pot and dishes.
Genbao's wife sat in the middle of the family, gesturing excitedly as she said, "Grandpa Changshou, everyone says that you can't write the whole Xu family in one stroke, and besides, you and Grandpa Changgeng are from the same grandfather."
We're family, really.
We're family, so let's not be so formal. Shouldn't we lend a hand to each other when one of us is in trouble?
Beside him, Xu Changshou's son, Xu Yaozu, wiped his cold snot on the soles of his feet and nodded vigorously: "My nephew's wife is right. I'm about the same age as Dazhu. When he was little, I used to take him to play all the time."
Xu Yaozu came from the youngest branch of the family, and elders often come from the youngest branch. Although he was two years older than Xu Dazhu, he was a true uncle.
Although Xu Yaozu has three older sisters and one younger sister, he is the only son in the family.
She was pampered growing up and never experienced hardship in the fields. When she got married, her older sister and brother-in-law provided money and labor, while her younger sister and brother-in-law did all the farm work throughout the year.
But the chaos of war scattered everyone, and he followed the villagers. There was no one to take care of him anymore, and he and his wife argued every three days.
The government dispersed the refugees to return home, but with no one to serve him, he eagerly ran back.
Upon arriving at Xujia Village, she immediately inquired whether her sister and brother-in-law from the neighboring village had returned, as well as her brother-in-law who was able to work in the fields.
When the other person still hadn't returned, he and his son, along with his wife and children, huddled inside the house to wait.
During this time, he tried to stay in the medical shed, but was carried out and thrown into a ditch.
Hearing that Xu Dazhu and his people, who shared the same ancestor, lived on the mountain and had both grain and rabbits to sell, he immediately had an idea.
“Father, although you and Chang Gengbo have fallen out, you are still from the same branch of the family. Now that you are in trouble, ask them for help.”
Once Chuntao, Chunxing, and Chunyan return, we'll have people to work on repairing the house!
Xu Yaozu never calls his sister "sister"; he always addresses her by her first name.
He's not in a hurry now. As long as his sisters come back, he can go back to a life where he has no worries about food and clothing and is supported by others.
Xu Changshou was somewhat tempted, but he still couldn't bring himself to do it: "I'd rather starve than beg someone. That old turtle's shell is too hard; if I go, I'll just get beaten up."
When Dazhu fell and was injured, his cousin Xu Changgeng came to his door to borrow money for treatment. He refused to lend the money, saying that a paralyzed person would only be a burden and die, and that it would be a waste of money. He suggested that they might as well have a few drinks together.
As a result, Xu Changgeng, that old turtle, raised his hand and slapped him. Although others stopped him from hitting again, his face was swollen for several days, and the two families completely broke off relations.
Seeing that things were starting to look up, Xu Yaozu knew that his father was just holding a grudge about being beaten back then, so he began to persuade him earnestly: "Dad, every family has its ups and downs, and everyone has their little tiffs. It's just a few words exchanged, it's not a big deal. Uncle has probably forgotten about it."
As long as you apologize and say that you misspoke in a moment of confusion, your uncle will probably give you face.
We can go live on the mountain and wait for our two older sisters to return and bring us food before we come down.
Yaozu's wife chimed in, "Yes, Dad, you see we're not living well here, not eating well, it's just a matter of you saying a word."
We won't trouble them too much when we go up there. All we need is a warm place to sleep and some hot soup and food. You can't just watch Xiaobao go hungry and cold with us, can you?
Xiao Bao is five years old this year and is an only child.
Xu Changshou looked at his only son Xu Yaozu, then at his only grandson Xu Xiaobao, and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll swallow my pride and go beg him. He can't just kick me out when we get to the mountain."
They all only talked about Xiaoman's grandfather, and no one mentioned the other family on the mountain, namely Granny Jiang.
If Jiang Zhi knew, she would be glad that she was a shrew.
It's true that people are all bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong; even the most eccentric person is afraid of the most extreme.
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