Chapter 116 Response
Lu Dalang glanced at her and said, "You should go and fetch food, but my parents must be aware of this matter, otherwise the family will be caught off guard and who knows what will happen. You should also learn a lesson from this and think about how many pillars to tie up before doing anything in the future. Shitou is only six years old. Do you think it will be easy for a family to survive a war? Not to mention that there are several other families tied to us. Our family originally relied on the Chen family and Shen Lie to survive. What the hell..."
He couldn't continue speaking, so he pushed Wang Chunniang's hand away and went out.
Lu Dalang knew that it was a serious matter and was a little afraid of his father. He looked at the kitchen first, and saw the light in the kitchen. He guessed that his mother was cooking dry food in there, so he went to the kitchen first.
When he walked to the kitchen door, he found that not only his mother was there, but also his brother's sister-in-law Feng Liu's mother was there. For a moment, he didn't know how to start the conversation.
Mrs. Lu looked at her eldest son's expression, put down the pottery basin in her hand, and told her second daughter-in-law: "Get it ready first, I'll come back later."
Feng Liuniang also noticed that her uncle looked unhappy, so she nodded in agreement.
Mrs. Lu left the kitchen and walked a few steps towards the main hall with her eldest son before asking, "What's the matter?"
Lu Dalang's voice was a little weak: "Let's go into your room and talk to Dad. It's a good opportunity to let Dad know as well."
Is it still a big deal?
Mrs. Lu was a little nervous.
It was not until they returned to the house and Lu Dalang buried his head and told the story of Wang Chunniang that Mrs. Lu rubbed her eyebrows.
The daughter-in-law was not married well, and she will suffer from this loss for the rest of her life. No matter how careful she was, and how many times she reminded him, she still couldn't prevent this hole from spreading out of the house.
Old Man Lu, who was just about to lie down to sleep, also looked gloomy: "Except for our family, she didn't leak the other families' affairs, right?"
Lu Dalang knew his wife too well. She would not suffer any loss. Since she failed to sell the tofu, she had said so many sour words to him in private that it was inevitable that she would involve other families. So it was hard to say what happened and he did not dare to respond.
Old Man Lu was so angry that his hands were shaking. On his way back, he reminded each family of things to pay attention to. The problem arose first in his family, and he clenched his fists again and again. If there had not been a rule since ancient times that fathers-in-law should teach their daughters-in-law, and if he had not never hit a woman in his life, Old Man Lu was really afraid that he would not be able to control his temper and would slap Wang.
The last slap landed on Lu Dalang's face with a loud slap. In the quiet night, Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang, who were in their own room, heard the noise and hurriedly put on the clothes they had just taken off. Wang Chunniang, who was feeling uneasy, was so frightened that she closed the door tightly and did not dare to come out.
"You can't manage your wife well, so you have to take the slap for her!"
Half of Lu Dalang's face was burning. He would be a grandfather in a few years, but he was slapped so hard by his own father. However, he knew that he deserved the slap, so he lowered his head and said, "Dad is right."
Old Man Lu was furious: "What's the use of my teaching? Is it our family that is escaping? If it is our family, I will have no problem if you brothers take the Yue family and their relatives with you. We are originally relying on the Chen family and the Shen family to lead us. The five families are united. If you shake our family, I can slap you in the face, but if you shake the other four families, what's the point of slapping you in the face? There is no point in slapping you to death here. Do the dozens of people from those families deserve you?"
This was not something that could be said loudly. Even though he was extremely angry, he dared not speak loudly and could only suppress his anger. This made Old Man Lu's chest heave and his hands tremble. Mrs. Lu was so scared that she hurriedly helped him calm down and kept persuading him not to be anxious and angry.
Old Man Lu refused to listen and just pointed at Lu Dalang and said, "Starting from before dawn tomorrow, you, Wang, Shuanzhu, and Tiezhu will all carry grain into the mountains. Tiezhu is small, so he should use a backpack. Don't carry our own grain, carry grain for other families. All of us will carry grain for other families first."
Lu Dalang covered his face with his hands, his eyes were red.
Old Man Lu was so angry that he was pacing around the room, his heavy breathing was clearly audible. Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang also put on their clothes and came over: "Dad, Mom, Big Brother, what happened?"
Old Man Lu looked at Lu Dalang and was so angry that he couldn't speak. Mrs. Lu told him the whole story in a few words, and Lu Erlang's brows were furrowed so much that they could pinch a fly to death.
Lu Sanlang was an eighteen-year-old boy, usually a sweet boy, but at this moment his temper came out and he kicked the stool, making a thud and attracting everyone's attention.
Lu Sanlang had a gloomy face. He had disliked his sister-in-law for a long time.
"Dad, you divided the family up overnight. My eldest sister-in-law can tell her family all she wants in the future. Don't be afraid that Shuanzhu and Tiezhu's brothers and sisters will starve to death. Just tell her about it."
When the word "separation" came out of the mouth of the youngest son who had never married, Old Man Lu frowned and shouted, "What nonsense!"
Lu Sanlang snorted, "I'm not talking nonsense. My eldest sister-in-law's temper will bring disaster to the family sooner or later. As an uncle, I can't say that I will abandon my eldest brother's family, but this family must be divided, otherwise I will be suffocated to death. I haven't started a family yet, so I will live with you, my parents."
Lu Dalang, Lu Erlang and Shuanzhu who heard the noise came over: "..."
Lu Dalang was confused, and Shuanzhu and his brothers didn't know what had happened. They only saw that their father's cheek was half swollen, obviously he was beaten by their grandfather, and then they heard their third uncle asking them to split up the family.
Lu Erlang thought to himself: The third brother is really bold, but he said it well.
His face was also extremely cold, he was able to come back alive from the battlefield, all thanks to the strong abilities of Chen Lie and Chen Dashan, who were able to lead him and Shi Da through the mountains and forests and through the gates of hell. Originally, it was because of their friendship that they had risked their lives together that they brought the two families together, but now, her sister-in-law sold out the four families, no, including Zhou Cunzheng, all five families.
Not to mention that his father was shaking with anger, veins on Lu Erlang's hands were also popping.
Doesn't he have a Yue family? Doesn't his wife miss her parents? But he and Shi Da can only help Yue family as much as possible within their ability, report the news in time, notify them to buy food, help buy medicine, and then think about bringing his uncle over secretly to learn some tricks from A Lie.
Neither he nor Shi Da dared to speak, but his sister-in-law really did not treat her as an outsider. Not only did she dare to speak, she also sold them out without hesitation.
Lu Erlang thought of the things his wife told him while crying at night when he just returned home, and now he felt even more heartbroken.
"I am in favor of separation, too."
Lu Dalang was already confused. He was looking at his third brother just now, and now he was looking at his second brother.
Among the three brothers, two of them proposed dividing the family business. Moreover, since these two brothers dared to say it, there were people who really listened and took it to heart.
In the silence, Mrs. Lu suddenly said, "I think it's not a bad idea to divide the family. Either divorce Chunniang today and let her go back to her parents' home, or divide the family today. Whatever Chunniang does in the future, good or bad, it will be your family that will suffer first. If she makes a wrong step or says a wrong word, it will be her own children who will suffer, and maybe they can learn a little from them."
The daughter-in-law really can't pull it, and doesn't want to pull it anymore.
When Lu Sanlang and Lu Erlang said this, Lu Dalang was still confused. When Mrs. Lu took it seriously, Lu Dalang knelt down and said, "Mom!"
Shuanzhu's brothers also panicked and crowded into the house. Even Wang Chunniang, who was sticking to the door to listen to the noise, no longer dared to be a turtle in her room and hurried out to kneel down together.
As soon as I knelt down, I wanted to howl: "Mother, mother, I didn't mean it."
"Shut up! Don't you think the neighbors on both sides can hear you?"
If it's done with intention, at least you can feel filial piety, but if it's done without intention, it's chilling.
…
The Lu family divided up the family overnight, and only separated the eldest branch of the family.
Chen Lie and his companions found out about it at four o'clock the next morning when several families met at his doorstep in the dark carrying food on their shoulders.
Because Old Man Lu and Old Lady Lu brought the couple from the eldest house and the two children Shuanzhu and Tiezhu to come in person to confess their crimes. And Chen Lie's family was not the first to confess their crimes. Several other families had also been there and helped them carry away three bags of grain each.
Because they were upset about this matter, they were also uneasy. Originally, only the men who were carrying grain from each family were supposed to come and gather, but now the women have also followed them to the small courtyard halfway up the mountain.
There were really a lot of people going with the Lu family this time, including Old Man Lu, the three Lu brothers, Wang Chunniang, Shuanzhu and Tiezhu. Six strong laborers could carry twelve bags of grain, and Tiezhu could carry a little.
The six people of the Lu family did not carry their own grain, but that of four other families, with three bags for each family. In the words of Old Man Lu, before everyone else's grain had been picked up, the Lu family's grain would be piled up at home, and they would carry the grain of the other families first. After everyone's stored grain had been picked up, they would ask everyone to help carry the grain of the old couple of the Lu family and the second branch of the family. As for the grain of the eldest branch, it was put last.
Even Tiezhu was carrying dry food and sundries for his family.
They were really tough. With this kind of treatment, no one could say anything even if they were angry. Although they were annoyed by the bad luck that Wang Chunniang had brought upon each family, they still had to say a few words to comfort Old Man Lu and Mrs. Lu because of the usual demeanor of the other members of the Lu family.
The Lu family's incident really gave the daughters-in-law of other families a very vivid negative education lesson. If they want to help their parents' family again, they will think twice.
Of course, everyone is actually quite sober. My parents also have relatives to support them, so they are not unable to survive. In fact, for the Shi family and the Lu family, their mother's family is much stronger than their husband's family, while their husband's family is weak and isolated.
Married people would think more about their own families and their children, and would also take into account the words of trust and loyalty. There are very few people like Wang Chunniang who don't care about the safety of her family and the families around her at all, and who would give away all her family's wealth just to satisfy her own desires.
Fortunately, Shen Lie and Chen Dashan went into the mountains and found the grain storage site in time. The county has not yet been in chaos, so there is still time for everything. Otherwise, I would have wanted to kill Wang Chunniang.
Shi Erlang's wife was a straightforward and aggressive person: "When your family carries the grain in, shouldn't Sister Lu carry it directly to the second half?"
It was clear from his words that he didn't trust Wang Chunniang.
Wang Chunniang felt as if her face had been stepped on and scraped, but her mother-in-law had said bluntly last night that she should either be honest and not stay in the village or go to her parents' home after the division of the family, or divorce her on the spot. She didn't dare to hide behind him and knelt down with him.
Old Man Lu and Mrs. Lu were also embarrassed, but they knew that they could not blame anyone. Mrs. Lu said, "We asked Dashan, and he told us that there is a cave where we can rest about a day and a half away. Our family members are responsible for carrying the goods to this section. We will not follow them to the cave for the rest of the journey."
It was originally said that the journey would be divided into two stages. In fact, there was a cave two and a half days' journey away. But now Mrs. Lu herself was unwilling to let her daughter-in-law go so deep. She could not let her own family and the other four families take the risk together. She took the initiative to ask the Chen family for a closer point. It was right to transfer the grain there first.
Shi Erlang's wife felt a little relieved after hearing this. They were all from nearby villages and had been neighbors with the Lu family for so many years. Everyone knew what was going on with her Wang Chunniang's family.
If she were to say so, she would have to divorce such a person and let her go back to live with her parents. But she also knew that several families had been together for a long time, and Wang Chunniang knew too much about their affairs. If she divorced her now, there was no guarantee that she would turn against her and do something. Forcing her to carry grain in the mountains every day was the safest way to deal with the situation at the moment.
Besides, aren't there five siblings, Shuanzhu, Tiezhu, Da Niu, Huzi, and Shitou? She watched them grow up, and she herself is a mother, so she can't say such cruel words.
Finally, Chen Lie and Chen Dashan got together to discuss and decided to concentrate all their manpower to quickly transfer 70% of the grain to the first grain storage point. They should do this in secret. The first grain storage point was deep in the mountains and there were no traces of people. It should be safe to arrange two young men with poison arrows to guard the grain in the cave.
After 70% of the grain had been transferred away, the remaining 30% would continue to be carried by the Lu family, and the rest would transport the grain to the destination.
That’s right, including the rest of the people, the Zhou family’s level of trust has actually jumped up a level.
First, the Zhou family has no other problems except that they have many relatives here. Except for the Chen family and the Shen family who have fled here, who doesn't have relatives? But Zhou Cunzheng and the Zhou family are indeed quite reliable. Second, the second half of the journey is long, and if you want to travel quickly, you can't have too few people in the second half.
Now that things have come to this, we have to work together in the same trench from now on. The village also needs Zhou Cunzheng's support, and the trust must be given.
This made the Zhou family extremely excited, and they felt themselves more integrated into the group.
The first leg of the journey became shorter, and Wang Chunniang's trouble caught everyone off guard. Suddenly, Gan suggested that she also carry grain into the mountains.
As soon as Gan came forward, Feng Liuniang and Qin Fangniang also stood up, and the two daughters-in-law of Zhou Cunzheng's family felt that they could also go.
The family left a woman in charge to take care of the children, and left Zhou Cunzheng and Shen Lie in the village, while the others had to carry grain into the mountains.
After discussing it, they all quickly went back to move the food over, trying to be as careful as possible not to make any noise.
Before dawn, the newly joined people from each family and the grain to be transported had gathered on the hillside near Shen Lie's home.
Zhou Cunzheng, Chen Lie, Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Lu, Zhou Cunzheng's wife, Shi Erlang's wife and Sang Luo, these seven people are all the adults left in the village.
Zhou Cunzheng was looking at the large group of people who were leaving. When it was a little light, once these people left, each house would be almost empty, with only the old and the young left.
He said, "We five families have lost so many people at once, let's discuss a countermeasure. We must have a statement that can gain people's trust."
No one present had forgotten the last time they were reported to the village head.
Someone was secretly staring at them with red eyes.
Mrs. Chen and the others looked at each other, thinking this was a bit difficult.
If only the man left, we could say he went into the mountains to hunt, but the woman also left, and three half-grown children also left. How do we explain this?
Sang Luo lowered her eyes and thought for a while, then said, "I think he said he was going to work as a farmhand. Everyone in the village knows that we often go to the county. Now that the grain price has risen so much, he said he would find a farmhand in the county and earn some money to buy grain."
As he spoke, he quickly improved it in his mind and said, "Bring up Shopkeeper Xu. He said that a shopkeeper he knew in the county introduced him to do the garden repair work for the rich people in the county. The work period is uncertain, and it looks like it will take quite a while."
"That's fine." Zhou Cunzheng paced a few steps and said, "How about this, you and A Lie go to the county before dawn, and each family will cooperate to perform a play in the morning."
Every family in the village knew that the men and women from their families would often go to the county to set up stalls and deliver goods before dawn, while the boys would run outside and go into the mountains.
When moving grain today, no matter how careful we were, there was still some slight noise. The reason no one checked was that everyone was used to it. Also, the winter night was particularly dark, and they didn't have torches, so other people couldn't see anything.
Now the villagers would automatically understand this little noise as the news that they were transporting goods to the county, so Sang Luo and Shen Lie would only need to come back in the morning to tell each family the good news that they had helped find jobs in the county, and then ask each family to pack some clothes to change into and put them in a bag for her to deliver the next day.
The play is complete.
The villagers would be envious and jealous, and some might even ask Chen Lie to find them a job, but they would never have thought that the five families were secretly transporting grain to the mountains.
Ever since they heard about Wang Chunniang's incident, everyone's tense faces and nerves finally relaxed a little, and they all smiled.
Chen Dashan said, "Then those of us who are delivering food will probably be back in the evening of the third day. Remember not to get too close in the evening. Wait until it's completely dark before coming. Don't go into the village either. Just sleep on the floor in A Lie's kitchen for the night and leave before daybreak."
This created the illusion for the villagers that they had gone out and had never returned.
Chen Lie and Sang Luo naturally had no objection. Sang Luo said, "We can squeeze more people into the main room."
This was settled, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Mrs. Chen said, "Okay, we will quietly send the bedding and the food to be transported to A-lie at night."
At daybreak, the villagers had not yet gotten up, but no one dared to stay any longer. Some carried loads on their shoulders, some carried baskets on their backs, some had weapons brought their weapons, and those without weapons took their hoes and machetes, and together they gathered their weapons and went into the mountain quietly, trying to make as little noise as possible.
"Be careful and protect the women and children."
This is the only advice everyone can give.
Chen Dashan, Shi Dalang and Lu Erlang were all familiar with the forest. They nodded and said, "Don't worry, let's go back in different directions."
Everyone had left, leaving only the seven people who had seen them off, and the siblings Chen An and Chen Ning, who were peeking out of the house.
Mrs. Lu bowed slightly and apologized to the others: "I am ashamed. My Lu family has caused trouble for everyone this time."
Mrs. Chen sighed and patted the old sister on the shoulder: "This is something you didn't expect. Okay, we have to transport the grain as soon as possible. But you have to pay attention to your in-laws recently and be careful."
After so many warnings and instructions, who could have thought that someone would be so bewildered.
Mrs. Chen heard Mrs. Lu say a few words to her in private. Wang Chunniang didn't say that for her parents or brothers. She was just gossiping at her parents' home and was tricked into saying that.
When Mrs. Lu heard the word "relatives", she became angry.
Wang Chunniang is stupid, but the mother-in-law and daughters-in-law of the Wang family are bad. No, Old Man Wang and his sons are not innocent either. They are a bunch of bad people.
They sent a letter saying they would not buy grain, but privately the whole family tried to get information from Wang Chunniang, a fool. What was their plan?
Borrowing food? Pah!
Wait, I'll ask you to borrow the wind to hold your mouth.
Mrs. Lu gritted her teeth and smiled, "Don't worry, I'll keep it stable until all the food is shipped out."
If you don’t want to buy food, then don’t buy it, not a single grain.
This smile was so murderous.
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