Chapter 113 The beginning of chaos
It is really easy for people to develop a habit.
It had only been ten days since Chen Lie came back, and he left so suddenly. Sang Luo was a little uncomfortable with the lack of someone at home, not to mention the two little ones, Chen An and Shen Ning.
The thing that Sang Luo couldn't believe the most and the thing she was most uncomfortable with was that as soon as night fell, she felt less safe falling asleep at night.
When this thought came to her mind, Sang Luo herself was full of question marks. She was so nervous and cautious when Chen Lie first came back. It has only been ten days, and it turns out that the person she is on guard against can actually give her a sense of security.
Sang Luo knew that the reason why even the price of coarse grains in the county was rising to an outrageous level was that the news brought back by Gan's people who had been to the county today was that, except for a few large restaurants, the small snack shops heard that the prices of tofu and dried bean curd had increased and they had to exchange them for grain, so they hesitated and simply refused to sell them.
Today, I don’t know which family in the village went to the county and brought back the news that the price of coarse grains has increased. When those who went there late and didn’t catch up heard that the prices of all kinds of beans had skyrocketed, they were all anxious and angry.
The most noisy was the third branch of the Shen family. Li worked hard outside for a month and was finally released for one day. She thought she was coming back to exchange with her man and finally have a rest. But her man lay in bed and said that he was beaten and could not serve. She wanted to find fault with the first branch, but she was afraid that Chen Lie would deal with her as well. Also, she was concerned about the other families who were on good terms with the first branch of the Shen family, so she didn't dare to do it.
Before he could calm down, he heard about the food incident. Knowing that Shen San had time to buy food but didn't go, he got so angry that he closed the door and had a fight with Shen San. Shen San got several scratches on the face. In the end, the couple were both bruised and battered, and the sound of ghosts howling and wolves howling was so loud.
Emotions always get exaggerated. Some families who didn't buy food were originally just holding their breath, but now they also had quarrels and arguments.
In this situation, people like Sang Luo who had a house full of food, although they had stored it away without the knowledge of the villagers, those who lived in their own houses could not help but feel nervous.
Tsk, we can only rely on three good geese to guard the house.
Just as I was thinking this, someone came over in the darkness. I was getting a little nervous, but when they got closer, I could see clearly that it was Qin Fangniang and Gan who came with a quilt.
It turned out that they were all thinking about Chen Lie going into the mountains to find a way, and they were worried that Sang Luo would live in a remote place with her two children, and might be targeted by someone with ulterior motives at night, so they discussed it and decided to come and stay with her.
Qin Fangniang smiled and said, "I don't know if you can get used to living with us, so I brought a quilt with me. I thought if you are not used to it, you can take Xiaoan and Aning to sleep in the bigger bed your uncle made, and I will sleep in the bed with your Aunt Shi."
Sang Luo breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward to pull Qin Fangniang: "Of course I'm used to it. Aunt, you guys came at the perfect time. To be honest, I was really nervous when I saw how noisy those families in the village were this afternoon."
Pointing at the three majestic white geese outside the yard, he smiled and said, "Originally, we were counting on these three tonight. I just opened the gate and brought the oil lamp out to see if we should discuss it first."
She could even discuss things with the geese at home. Seeing her being so funny, Qin Fangniang and Gan Shi laughed out loud. Gan Shi said, "If you had room here, Liu Niang would have come over too. Even Zhou's sister-in-law came to ask about it."
The sister-in-law of the Zhou family mentioned by Gan refers to Zhou Cun's legal wife.
Sang Luo laughed when she heard this: "That's thoughtful. The aunts all love me."
She had a really sweet tongue and her words were really pleasing to the heart. Qin Fangniang knew why the old lady at home was so worried about Sang Luo. After dinner, she ran to the Lu and Shi families to discuss finding someone to stay with her all night.
She was just thinking about it, and Gan smiled and said to Qin Fangniang, "No wonder your old lady loves her so much. Isn't her personality very lovable?"
Sang Luo led the two to the courtyard and asked curiously, "Grandma, are you thinking about me?"
Qin Fangniang smiled, and Gan took over the conversation: "Of course, he was thinking about us. He came to our house right after dinner. It was the old lady's idea to keep you company overnight. Aunt Tian and I were afraid of attracting the attention of the villagers, so we waited until it was completely dark and came here with a quilt."
She said with a smile: "I think Aunt Chen really treats you like a half-granddaughter."
Sang Luo laughed when she heard this: "Half? That's impossible. I'll go to grandma and try my best to please her so that she can treat me like her granddaughter."
Qin Fangniang freed her hand and pointed at her: "Then I'm taking advantage, I have an extra daughter."
Sang Luo smiled and tilted her head back exaggeratedly following Qin Fangniang's force.
While joking, they had already reached the door of the main house. Shen An and Shen Ningyuan were writing on the sand table. When they heard the noise, they stood up and came out, calling her "Auntie" one after another.
The brother and sister had heard a few times and knew that the two aunts were going to stay at their home tonight, and they were very happy.
Children are very sensitive to people's emotions and malice. In the afternoon, there were several families in the village who had not stockpiled food. The way they looked at those who had stockpiled food, although it was hard to tell what kind of targeted malice was in them, it always made Shen An and Shen Ning feel a little uncomfortable.
Sang Luo directly moved the quilt and pillow on her bed to Chen An's bed and said with a smile: "This bed is simple and the room is narrow. I'll have to trouble you two aunts to make do with it for a while."
Qin Fangniang and Gan Shi did not feel that they had to make do. The bed was simple, apparently made from several benches put together, but it was very comfortable. It was made of thick straw, a mat on top of the straw, and a clean, soft, thick mattress on top of the mat.
"This bed is comfortable to sleep on, so I'll just make do with it."
Qin Fangniang put down the quilt and looked around the room. When she saw the rolled-up curtain between the two beds, she exclaimed, "This is a skillful move. It's very cheap to put it down and put it up again."
She and Gan Shi were also unclear about whether Sang Luo and Chen Lie had consummated their marriage. Thinking that four people were living in one room, they might not have consummated their marriage yet. It was hard to say anything else, but she smiled and said, "When life is peaceful, we can fill in the foundation next to it and build two more rooms so that we can have enough space to live in."
The two little ones didn't understand what was said, but Sang Luo understood the subtext. She felt a little embarrassed and smiled vaguely, "Yes, when the days are peaceful, we don't know when chaos will come here, and we don't know when peace will come again."
This was a heavy word. Gan's eyes turned and she saw an oil lamp and two thin sand trays on the table. She changed the subject: "Are Xiaoan and Aning writing?"
Turning around and taking a look, she saw seven or eight words on the sand table used by Shen An. Gan didn't recognize any of them, but that didn't stop her from thinking that Shen An wrote well.
"Xiao An is really hardworking. His handwriting is much better than that of your elder brothers, Big Niu and Second Niu."
There are several children in her family, and they can only write two or three crooked words on a sandbox.
After chatting for a while, Sang Luo still wanted to make dried bean curd. Qin Fangniang and Gan were afraid to show their support and did not offer to help. They only saw a sewing basket that Sang Luo had placed on the shelf, which contained unfinished shoes. They each got one and helped with sewing using the oil lamp that Shen An and Shen Ning were using to write.
Nothing happened that night. At four o'clock the next morning, Sang Luo got up early again to make tofu. Even the two children were sensible enough to help. Qin Fangniang and Gan saw it and thought that it was not easy for Sang Luo to earn such a little money. However, she brought their three families to a good life. Needless to say, they were very grateful.
Fortunately, at this moment, the goods are only supplied to two or three restaurants, so the job is simple. Only Chen Youtian and Lu Erlang have to make a trip together to deliver the goods, and there is no need for the women to pull carts or carry loads into the city.
Qin Fangniang and a few others gathered at Sang Luo's courtyard halfway up the mountain during the day and practiced slingshots with her.
Time passed in a flash and days passed. The village was still relatively peaceful, but the news about the war outside the county was rampant. Rich people were discussing it in restaurants and teahouses, while poor people were frowning at the entrances of the streets. The eastern family had their own news, and the western family had their own hearsay.
Chen Youtian and Lu Erlang often went to the county, and the news they heard was mixed. Sometimes a king appeared here, sometimes another king appeared there, and they also heard that Henan Road was not peaceful.
On the thirteenth day after Chen Lie and Chen Dashan left, refugees appeared in the Qiyang County area.
Unlike the previous time when there were only three or two of them who avoided people, this time there were dozens of them in a group. Several groups were seen within a day. They all gathered outside the county town gate and begged for food, water and clothes from everyone they met.
The refugees were absolutely not allowed to enter the city, but as the city was surrounded by refugees, the county government finally took some action. They strengthened the guards at the city gates as quickly as possible, built several temporary sheds to accommodate the refugees, and set up a big pot to cook some porridge that was so thin that you could see your reflection in it and distributed it to the residents.
According to Chen Youtian and Lu Erlang, there were hardly any rice grains to be seen, so it was barely porridge or even rice soup.
However, some wealthy families in the city set up porridge stalls to provide disaster relief, medicine and free clothes. Although the porridge was very thin, it was much better than that provided by the government. Although the clothes were old, they were warm and better than those worn by many country people.
Sang Luo and her friends have completely stopped their business, and even stopped their morning runs to Sanli Village. The children's training has been moved to the mountains next to the village. Zhou Cunzheng has also begun arranging for the young and strong men in the village to be on the lookout for strangers approaching Shili Village.
Another piece of news that Chen Youtian brought back was that Manager Xu had returned to Shezhou to settle down his family.
In such a situation, one really cannot leave the family members at home uneasy, and the backbone of the family always has to go back to get some rules.
Just when Zhou Cun was discussing privately with the Chen, Shi and Lu families that they would send one male from each of the four families to work in pairs on the floor to keep watch in the kitchen of the Shen family's eldest house all night in fear of harassment by refugees, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan, who had been away for nearly half a month, rushed back home when it was completely dark.
Shi Erlang and Zhou Dalang, who were carrying straw mats, quilts and mattresses, and Chen Lie and Chen Dashan, who were carrying backpacks and a large roll of unknown stuff like savages, bumped into each other at the foot of the mountain in the dark night.
When the two of them met, Chen Lie asked, "Second Uncle Shi?"
Shi Erlang and Zhou Dalang just recognized the voices, and both of them were a little excited: "Alie and Dashan?"
"You are back!"
"What are you doing?"
Several people spoke at the same time; Shi Erlang and Zhou Dalang were excited, while Chen Dashan and Shen Lie were confused.
Chen Lie was startled and immediately realized something: "Is there a mess here?"
Shi Erlang nodded: "There are refugees, quite a few. I think the plague in the north has passed, so they are no longer stopping us. We thought your house with a single door and courtyard was unsafe, so we were planning to come over to keep watch. Have you found a suitable place?"
The first part is an explanation, but the second part is a bit urgent.
Chen Lie and Chen Dashan both nodded, their eyes lit up. Chen Lie said, "We found it, Uncle Shi, let's go back and put the things down first. Please go back to the village quietly and ask a few elders to come over so we can talk."
Shi Erlang and Zhou Dalang agreed immediately, and together with Chen Dashan, who was about to go home, they quickly walked towards the village with their things.
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