Old Mrs. Yang nodded. "That year, almost all the young people in this Anle Street area went there, leaving behind only the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Sometimes I wonder why they were the ones who went; it should have been me, this old woman, who died."
She was somewhat agitated, and two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks.
Granny Yang truly wanted to die in her son's place, so that her daughter-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter would be taken care of.
She was just an old woman who was good for nothing except consuming food and couldn't help her daughter-in-law in any way. Her daughter-in-law was about to die from exhaustion, and she couldn't even bring back a dose of medicine.
Jiang Wei was shocked by Granny Yang's words and couldn't help but ask, "Have all the men in this area gone?"
Granny Yang nodded as if recalling something, and after a long while, she nodded again with a somewhat empty look in her eyes, "They've all gone, leaving behind only some orphans and widows."
Jiang Wei wanted to open a shop here because too many people died here in her previous life, and she felt sorry for them. So many vibrant lives were lost in this cold place, and she knew what that feeling of coldness was like.
She opened her shop here but didn't have time to learn more about it until today, when she learned this shocking news.
These are all family members of soldiers who protected the country. In their previous lives, they were frozen to death. Did the Great Xiao not care about them?
Jiang Wei blurted out, "Doesn't the imperial court give you any pensions?"
The families of fallen soldiers receive a pension; with that pension, they wouldn't be in such dire straits.
Granny Yang raised her right hand and wiped away her tears with her left hand holding up the sleeve of her right hand. "In the first few years, the war with the Northern Barbarians was intense, and the national treasury didn't have much money, so it didn't provide any. Then it provided money for two years and then stopped again."
Even if they didn't receive supplies in the first few years due to the war, they would have made up for it later. Why did they receive them for two years and then stop?
Would the imperial court do such a thing?
"Mother-in-law, do you know which prince your son went to the border with?" Jiang Wei asked, guessing.
Granny Yang shook her head blankly.
Jiang Wei felt a pang of sadness; as a mother, she didn't even know who her child had gone with or where they had gone.
He died in battle without ever seeing his face.
Granny Hua spoke up at the right moment, "I heard some things about it when I was setting up my stall. It seems to be about the current War King."
When Granny Yang said she was going to the border with a prince, Jiang Wei had already guessed it was Xiao Zhan.
Because apart from Xiao Zhan, no other prince went to fight against the Northern Barbarians.
Jiang Wei asked the question she most wanted to ask, "Has your mother-in-law ever regretted sending her son to the army?"
When she asked that question, both Granny Yang and Granny Hua looked as triumphant as victorious warriors.
They said in unison, "No regrets! They are our pride, warriors who protected our homeland."
“They protected their homes, but no one is protecting their families,” Jiang Wei sighed.
Although Granny Hua was saddened, she accepted the fact: "If all the men don't go to the battlefield, who will protect our homeland! If the northern barbarians invade the capital and rape, kill, and plunder, how many families will be torn apart? Who will survive then? In times of chaos, protecting our home and country is their duty."
Not all of us can live peacefully these days.
"Yes, although they died on the battlefield, they are our heroes and our pride." Although Granny Yang was saddened, she still managed to hold back her sobs.
Jiang Wei sincerely admired them. What mother in this world doesn't love her child? They knew that going to the battlefield might mean that the white-haired would bury the black-haired, but they still did it.
As a result, they all froze and starved to death in their previous lives.
"I heard the War King is back. Why don't you go and talk to him?" Jiang Wei asked them.
"Why are you looking for him?" Granny Hua asked Jiang Wei curiously. "Just because he went to the battlefield with you, you want to go looking for him? I heard he only just returned to the capital. He's been guarding the border for over ten years. I'm afraid it wasn't easy for him!"
He, a prince, spent more than ten years in that harsh and cold place.
Grandma Hua sighed and glanced at Zhao Hui. "Live as long as you can!" She'll figure something out when things get really tough. If... she's lived long enough, she'll plead for her grandson; he's still so young.
Jiang Wei nodded, "The mothers of soldiers are all heroines. You are all so admirable."
Jiang Wei looked at Granny Yang and asked, "Grandma, may I come to your house for a visit?"
When Granny Yang heard Jiang Wei say she wanted to go to her house to take a look, she was shocked and bewildered, and then awkwardly tugged at her sleeve.
Is it inconvenient?
"No, it's just that I'm afraid there's no place for the master to step in my house," said Granny Yang, whose family of four was crammed into only two rooms.
Her daughter-in-law lived in a corner of one room used for cooking, and she squeezed into another room with her grandchildren; neither room was very big.
"Yes, it's best if the master doesn't go. Her daughter-in-law is sick, and you are delicate. If you miss her, the illness will get worse." Granny Hua also advised Jiang Wei not to go.
Jiang Wei reassured them with a smile, "It's alright, I'm not afraid. I'll just take a look from afar and won't disturb your daughter-in-law's rest."
Granny Yang glanced at Granny Hua, who, seeing that Jiang Wei was determined to go, said, "Then I'll go with my master."
After Grandma Hua finished speaking, she stood up and said, "Hui'er, take good care of the house. Grandma will be back in a little while."
Zhao Hui nodded understandingly, "Grandma, don't worry."
Jiang Wei followed Granny Yang and the others to Granny Yang's house. The fence led to a small, long courtyard, and from afar, they could hear a woman coughing desperately inside the house, her cough sounding like she was dying.
Grandma Yang's house was indeed not as good as Grandma Hua's house. The wooden planks in Grandma Hua's house had large gaps, and it was unclear what was stuffed into the gaps to block the cold wind. The roof was covered with some kind of grass.
Hearing the sound of the fence, the person inside poked their head out from the gate, their face sallow but their smile pure, "Grandma is back."
The boy's clear voice carried a hint of childishness.
"Why did you come out? Go back inside!" Granny Yang said anxiously and sternly, urging him to go back inside.
"Grandma, I'm not cold." The boy obediently retreated.
How could Granny Yang not be anxious? Her daughter-in-law was still lying in bed, unable to afford even a single dose of medicine, practically waiting to die. If her grandson caught a cold, where would they find the money to treat him? He would just have to wait to die too.
Her son left behind two children. If she couldn't raise them to adulthood, how could she face her son and her ancestors?
There was no reason not to let the guest in when she arrived at the door, so Granny Yang had no choice but to bite the bullet and invite Jiang Wei into the house.
Granny Yang led Jiang Wei into the room with the charcoal fire, the same room where the boy had poked his head out of the door.
"The imperial court didn't give you any pension or pistachios."
Jiang Wei discovered the secret of Anle Street and lamented why they had frozen to death in their previous life.
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