Chapter 148 The Passerby Who Died Before the Famine Even Began (4)
When Jiang Yue and Chen were moving things, Jiang's father returned, leading two mules. After tying the mules up, he bought two strong young mules from the county to buy some fodder and grain, as the family's oxen and donkeys were too old to withstand the long journey. After checking the things on the cart, Jiang's father nodded and said that everything was complete and he didn't need to worry about it.
As the family packed their things, the village chief came over with a few people. The village chief looked at the family packing their things, took a puff of his cigarette, and went into the living room with Jiang's father. The mother, Chen, asked Jiang Yue to take her younger siblings to her room. After sending the three children back to their room, she also went into the living room.
The soundproofing wasn't very good, and Jiang Yue could hear their conversation. However, the two little ones kept making a fuss, shouting so loudly that Jiang Yue couldn't hear them clearly. Jiang Yue took out a comic book and two chocolates from her spatial storage and handed them to them. After that, the two of them quietly sat down at the desk to read. At this point, Jiang Yue could also hear what they were saying next door.
"Unfeeling of loyalty? Village chief, you must be joking. You're planning to take advantage of my misfortune and then accuse me of being unfeeling. How could you possibly offer me 200 taels of silver?"
The village chief must have said something, but Jiang Yue couldn't hear it because his voice was too low. Then she heard Chen's angry voice: "That 200 taels is impossible. I spent 300 or 400 taels of silver to buy the land back then. What kind of land was that? Wasteland! And now? More than 100 mu of fertile land, and the rest is considered medium-grade land. There is almost no low-grade land."
"What are you calling 200 taels of silver? It's like we're about to go to war. We haven't even reached this place yet. Even if we do, I won't sell this land for 800 taels less."
Just then, a voice came from somewhere: "Aren't you all leaving now? It'll just be abandoned anyway, so you might as well recoup some of your costs."
"Liu Da, you're dreaming. Everyone knows the state of my land. I'm from the village and might come back someday. I was thinking of giving the villagers a discount, but it's not that I can't sell it. Believe me or not, I can sell it to Old Zhang for 1,000 taels without any problem."
The above words were spoken by Jiang's father. After Jiang's father finished speaking, there was a moment of silence next door. The price of good land is still very high. More than ten years ago, before the war started, one mu of good land here cost about 18 to 35 taels of silver. Now, during the war, the price has dropped a lot, but now it will not cost less than 5 taels of silver to buy one mu of good land. Jiang's father's asking price of 800 taels of silver is not an exorbitant price.
After that, the voices next door quieted down. The clingy twins had finished their chocolate and were pestering Jiang Yue to tell them the story in the comic book. Jiang Yue didn't know what happened next. After a while, Jiang Yue heard them open the door and talk. While she was getting out of bed to put shoes on the twins, her father had already sent them away.
After Jiang Yue left, her parents didn't continue discussing the matter. Jiang Yue didn't press them either; they would find out sooner or later. After packing for a while, Jiang's father led the family to look at the yard. Chen's face was full of reluctance. Jiang's father held his mother's hand and said softly, "It's okay. We can get everything ready again once we've settled down."
Despite saying it, he was still saddened. Who could feel good about losing half a lifetime's worth of wealth and resources like this? There was still a lot to pack up. Jiang's father gave away some clothes and items that he no longer needed to the family's farmhands, as their families would not leave their hometown with the Jiang family.
When the family of five was having dinner that evening, the village chief came to the Jiang family's house. Chen had just finished eating and gave the village chief a place to sit. After Jiang's father finished eating, the village chief finished his pipe. Chen took the twins' hands and tried to invite Jiang Yue to go back, but Jiang Yue said she hadn't eaten and wanted to eat a little longer. Actually, she wanted to hear what the two of them had to say. As a result, she was pulled out.
The mother and daughters stayed in Jiang Yue's room for a while. Chen checked Jiang Yue's room to see if anything was left behind. After the check was completed, Jiang's father and the village chief also finished their talk. After seeing the village chief off, Chen went into the house to clean the dining table, and Jiang Yue followed. As for the two little kids, they were already asleep on Jiang Yue's bed.
"So, has it been settled? How much did the village chief offer?"
"700 taels of silver, along with our house. Do you think we'll return it after we sell the house?"
“If we don’t sell, do you expect us to leave it empty here and no one will snatch it up? It’s not a question of whether we sell or not. If no one takes care of it, it won’t belong to us in two years. If we sell it now, we can at least get some money back.”
"As for whether they will come back or not, even if they can, we don't know when. I think the Chen Kingdom has reached the point of dynastic change mentioned in history books. Even the county town is not necessarily safe now. Our place has always been a strategic location for military strategists. We don't know how chaotic it will become by then."
"Even if we take a step back and assume we're all old, we probably won't live for many more years. Let Yue'er and Xuanxuan bury us in the ancestral grave, if the grave is still there by then."
After listening to her mother Chen's story, Jiang Yue deeply agreed. As expected of a scholar's daughter, the marriage of Jiang's father and Chen was a typical story of a talented woman marrying a rough man. Back when Chen married Jiang's father, people who knew about it said that a beautiful flower was stuck in cow dung. Jiang's father, seeing Jiang Yue nodding, laughed and said, "Look, Yue'er is still nodding. When she grows up, she will be a talented woman just like you."
"My dear daughter, do you think your mother is right?"
Jiang Yue nodded in agreement: "Dad, I think Mom is right. Going to the capital is better than going to the county town. I read in history books that even when dynasties changed, there was no precedent for massacring civilians in the capital." The main point is that the protagonist didn't move the capital in the end. By the time the story ends, steam trains will have been invented, and the capital will definitely be the first to have railway tracks installed. Maybe we can even experience riding a train in ancient times.
After Jiang Yue finished speaking, the two discussed it for a while and felt that it made a lot of sense. However, they still planned to go to the county town to check the situation. After all, even if they went to the capital, they would still need to go to the county town to replenish their supplies. The food they brought would not last long. Besides, the mules also needed to rest. They couldn't keep going forever, as they were not perpetual motion machines.
The family of three chatted for a while. After Chen finished tidying up the table, she went to Jiang Yue's room and brought the twins back. Actually, it would have been fine for them to sleep with Jiang Yue, but Jiang Yue had only been sick for a few days, and Chen was worried that the two children might disturb Jiang Yue's recovery if they slept too restlessly. After all, the family would be traveling far away in a few days. Chen held the two children and said that she was much stronger than before. Before, she couldn't even hold both children and had to do it one by one, but now she could hold one in each hand with ease.
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