But Xiao's mother also knew that she couldn't give too much, otherwise people would know that she ate too much.
So, she thought of a way to mediate the issue so that neither family would suffer any loss:
"Er Mazi, how about this? You know how scarce food is in this world, and we have a whole family waiting to eat. I may not be able to give you much, at most I can give you 50 catties of cornmeal, 30 catties of sweet potatoes, 30 catties of potatoes, 30 catties of coarse flour, and the two chickens you mentioned, and finally one or two taels of silver. Do you think this is okay?"
We are all from the same village, so we won't suffer any loss. We are all trying to survive. We will give you this food, but we will also have to make do with it."
If Ermazi eats these food sparingly, it should be enough to last him for two months.
Two months later, the imperial court must have taken some action. They couldn't just sit back and watch these people suffer, right?
When Er Mazi heard this, he wanted to add some more food, but the other party also said he would give him one or two taels of silver.
If you think about it, the Xiao family has a total of ten people, and they need to eat much more food in a day than they do. Aunt Xiao is considered generous.
So, he stopped bargaining and agreed with gritted teeth.
"Okay, let's do as you say. You can take the cow away, and I'll go with you to move the grain."
"No, just wait. We'll go back and count the food and have my sons bring it up to you. When you're sure it's all right, we'll take the cattle away."
Naturally, Xiao's mother couldn't let him go with her, otherwise the family's wealth would be exposed.
What if everyone comes to her to exchange food?
Ermazi thought this was fine as he could spend more time with his cow.
So, it was settled, and the couple returned to the land temple and told Jiang Sui and the others about the matter. Jiang Sui agreed. With one more cow to help pull the goods, their journey to Jeju would be much easier and faster.
As agreed, 50 kilograms of cornmeal, 30 kilograms of coarse flour, 30 kilograms of potatoes and sweet potatoes each, plus two chickens, and one tael of silver.
At the end, Xiao's mother added a few handfuls of sweet potato flour. Anyway, they had extra sweet potato flour and a large bag of sweet potato starch. There were several hundred kilograms of cornmeal at home, so it would be okay to give out these fifty kilograms.
On the contrary, if Er Mazi really killed the cow, he would be reluctant to do so. In the current situation, the beef cannot be kept, and Daqing has a clear regulation not to kill working oxen. But now he has no choice, even if it violates the law, it is just to survive.
Only these coarse grains can fill your stomach and last the longest.
After preparing these, they asked Xiao Qin and his brothers to take them up the mountain. Er Mazi had been waiting on the road that must be taken up the mountain with the cows since early in the morning. When he saw Xiao Qin and his brothers coming, he smiled.
When counting the food, I found a few extra handfuls of flour.
Seeing his confusion, Xiao Qin explained that it was added temporarily and his mother added it in when she saw that there were extra ones.
Ermazi was very touched and thanked them repeatedly. They were willing to exchange food for him, which was equivalent to saving his life.
Finally, when Xiao Qin and his companions led the cow away, Ermazi couldn't help crying and looked at his cow reluctantly. The cow seemed to be a little spiritual. On the way down the mountain, it kept gathering its strength and mooing from time to time. It took a lot of effort to pull it back.
But after it was brought back, fed some grass and tied together with the cow at home, it calmed down. Perhaps it was because it had a little companion. The two cows looked at each other and gradually became familiar with each other.
"It's easy now. We can take some light clothes with us, and put all the food and bedding on the ox cart. It will be much more convenient for us to travel."
Xiao's mother felt that this business was worth it.
Jiang Sui also felt it was worth it. Ermazi's cow was well taken care of by him and could easily pull several hundred kilograms.
Although the house is gone, how come it seems to be getting better and better? Is it an illusion?
So, as the saying goes, "Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise."
Perhaps this disaster is the opportunity to push the family towards a better future. As long as we grasp it firmly and get through it, everything will be fine.
At night, everyone continued to live in two small sheds. Xiao Hechuan took the initiative to ask to sleep in the shed with Xiao's father and others. After the rain, the heat had passed, and the breeze brought bursts of autumn. Especially at night, the wind was cold. The shed was made of wooden boards, and they picked up some tiles that were still intact in the ruins to cover it against the rain. There was a circle of rags around it to block the wind.
Compared to the tarpaulin shed built by Xiao's mother, the conditions in the shed where Xiao's father and others lived were indeed difficult.
But precisely because they are men, they should leave a better environment for women and children.
Ever since Xiao Hechuan recovered, whenever Jiang Sui was in the same space with him, even though there were other people around, they both inevitably felt awkward.
Instead, it was Xiao's mother who kept joking with the two of them to ease the atmosphere.
The most common saying is:
"When Suisui grows up another two years and becomes stronger and healthier, you must work harder to give me some lovely grandchildren. And you, Yuemei, after we settle down in Jeju, you must also work harder for me. Your father and I still have enough energy to take care of the children!"
Xiao's mother felt that Jiang was only fifteen years old and still a little young. It would not be good to have a baby too early. She had not had a good life in her early years. Having a baby too early would easily cause her to have illness, so it would not be too late to let her raise the baby for another two years.
Zhou felt embarrassed by what her mother-in-law said, but she still nodded and agreed with a red face.
She felt that she was in very good health now, and all those problems like physical weakness and coldness had little to do with her.
However, what Xiao's mother said made Xiao Hechuan and Jiang Sui feel relieved at the same time. The two of them are just in the stage of getting along with each other and have not fallen in love so quickly.
After Xiao Hechuan returned to normal, his personality returned to what it was before. Just like Lanlan said, he didn't like to talk much and didn't like to laugh, but when his family members talked to him, he was always polite and gentle, with a faint smile on his face. He could usually read books and write for a whole day by himself.
He seems to have no interest in anything other than studying and is a very cold person.
But Jiang Sui discovered through these two days' observation that when Xiao Hechuan was in a normal state, he would always have a faint smile on his face and speak softly to people. He would read a book when he had nothing to do and would not raise his head for a long time. He looked very focused and serious. But she obviously found that sometimes he was not reading the contents of the book at all. Through his eyes, she always felt that he was thinking about something, sometimes frowning slightly, and sometimes curling his lips in relief, and his smile was fleeting.
But what is certain is that whenever he looks at his family, there is a gentle light in his eyes.
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