Chapter 147: Inform
Sang Luo and her two children have been eating purchased grain all the time, especially since the first grain collection. The large quantities of grain purchased through Shopkeeper Xu were all packaged in large bags at the grain store, so the family has saved up quite a few empty grain bags.
Grain bags are a good thing. In the Great Gan Dynasty where cloth could be used as money, people who could not wear clothes could modify a grain bag to make half-length clothes to cover themselves and keep warm. Moreover, Sang Luo, who relied on the mountains for her livelihood and always went to the mountains, needed all kinds of containers to hold things. Therefore, she had always treasured the empty grain bags and brought them all out when she fled to the mountains this time.
After discovering a few days ago that the grain might have been tampered with, other families repaired their grain bags, but Sang Luo was more thoughtful and directly replaced the torn bag with an empty bag. She only folded the torn bag but did not mend it.
At this moment, the torn bag was handed to Mrs. Chen as it was.
From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, the thing that people in the countryside have to guard against most at home is rats. They are very familiar with the marks left by rat bites. There is no need for comparison. They can just turn the door open in a few seconds and see them clearly at a glance.
This look made Mrs. Chen laugh out of anger.
"Should!"
Old Man Chen, Chen Youtian, Qin Fangniang and Chen Dashan had also followed Shen Lie in at this time. When he heard what Mrs. Chen said, Old Man Chen looked at the grain bag in his wife's hand.
He was a little confused at first, but when Mrs. Chen stuffed the grain bag into his hands and asked a few people to pass it around, Old Man Chen finally realized, "Isn't this grain bag bitten by a rat?"
Mrs. Chen sneered: "Some people don't want to be upright people, but want to be rats who are afraid of the light."
Qin Fangniang took a look at the torn grain bag that was passed to her, her face full of disbelief. Her first reaction was - how stupid must one be to do such a thing?
How many families are there in the valley? They can escape together, so who doesn't know who?
The Xu family, the Shen family, and the Zhou family were relatively less short of food.
Needless to say, Sang Luo was the victim of the lost grain. Even if she was not, her family background and character would not allow her to do such a thing. The Xu family was even more so. The Xu family had the most grain in the whole valley, and all of it was fine grain, with beans and other things in it to enrich the variety. As for the Zhou family, although not extremely wealthy, it was number one in Shili Village, and they were well-educated. Even the families of their two daughters-in-law were not bad. There were a lot of good land in Zhou Village, and the grain stored at home was more than that of other families. They also bought a lot of grain later, so the Zhou family was not short of food.
The Shi family, the Chen family, and the Lu family are actually comparable. The Chen family was the first to do business with Sang Luo, and later Sang Luo took over the supply business of Dongfulou, so they had a little more savings.
As for the Shi family and the Lu family, the Shi family has a smaller population while the Lu family has a larger population. Furthermore, after the Lu family split up, the Lu family's eldest branch was actually the one that was slightly worse off in the valley, because they had too many children. However, Old Man Lu and Old Lady Lu took this into consideration when they divided the food so that the Lu family's eldest branch would not be too embarrassed. The so-called "slightly worse off" was only compared with other families in the valley, and Lu Erlang had the skill of hunting, which made the gap a little wider.
But that's it.
When Qin Fangniang saw the bag and combined it with what her mother-in-law had just said, the first person that came to her mind was Wang Chunniang.
Why?
Because she is the poorest?
Not really.
There is no shortage of food. If there is a shortage of food in the valley, it will take a long time for someone to be short of food. Who will be short of food now? They stockpiled food early and avoided paying taxes later. Their situation is much better than most people outside.
The first reaction was to lock on to Wang Chunniang, because of her character.
Family background is only one aspect of auxiliary analysis. Character and the understanding between families are the reasons why everyone's first reaction is to lock on Wang Chunniang.
Well, it was all thanks to that incident last time when she leaked the information about each family’s grain storage to her parents’ home.
Let’s put it this way, Wang Chunniang was the only one in this group who was not trusted. It was because of a combination of various factors that we had to be on guard against her causing trouble.
Didn’t you see that during the New Year holidays, the Lu family gagged her and tied her up in the house just to be on the safe side?
And who was it that threw the food? It was Sang Luo. Anyone with a brain would know the answer. Among the six families in the valley, five had received favors from Chen Lie and Sang Luo, and they gave the food without hesitation. Who would touch Chen Lie and Sang Luo's food?
Who else could do this except Wang Chunniang, who has a criminal record?
So when the grain was lost, every family in the valley, except the Xu family who were not aware of what had happened before, would think of Wang Chunniang first.
How could he have the guts to do something so obvious? He was so stupid that even Qin Fangniang was stunned.
Chen Dashan gritted his teeth, no wonder Chen Lie suddenly did this this morning, they spent money and effort and took risks to take everyone to the forest to transport the belongings and food rations of each family. They started looking for this Yun Valley from the end of November to the end of March, and most of the time they were immersed in the deep mountains and forests.
This is great. I just came back yesterday and heard that someone took advantage of the rats to steal the food at home.
Oh.
They are not your father, mother or ancestor, and they still have to worry about your eating, drinking, defecating and urinating.
Old Man Chen's face darkened as well. He asked Sang Luo, "Are these the only two bags that were torn by human hands?"
Sang Luo nodded and said, "There are two in my family, and there are three in the Xu family next door. However, the old lady is not familiar with the traces of rat bites. She probably hasn't discovered anything wrong and hasn't caught them in the act. It's too annoying to talk about this, so I didn't tell the old lady yet and waited for Chen Lie to come back."
Mrs. Chen suddenly remembered something: "When we first brought the grain home, you looked over to me. Were you here to see my grain bags? Did you look at the other families?"
Sang Luo smiled and said, "I can't hide it from you. I saw everything. Only a few of my family's and Xu family's grain bags were broken."
Qin Fangniang looked puzzled and murmured, "What on earth were they thinking? Why did they choose to steal from you two families?"
Granny Chen drooped her lips. "She's just jealous and greedy. A'Luo and the Xu family have the most fine grains. And the fact that she didn't break the bags of our families doesn't mean she didn't steal grains. It's just that most of the grains that were bitten open were beans. Compared to beans, she's probably more greedy for fine grains."
"Come to think of it, I used to blame the mountain rats for the lack of food in our house. Now it seems that I don't know whether the mountain rats eat more or the people take more."
Old Man Chen looked at Sang Luo and then at Chen Lie, and asked, "Have you thought about how to deal with this matter?"
Chen Lie glanced at Sang Luo and said, "When the matter of our grain storage was reported to the Wang family, we were worried that Aunt Lu would be a problem because we couldn't predict what she would do. But considering the other members of the Lu family, and since they were already involved in this matter, it was not easy to leave her or the eldest branch of the Lu family out alone. We discussed with A Luo at the time that after the grain was transported, the medicines in hand would be taken back into the hands of our two families. Apart from anything else, Aunt Lu would not be allowed to leave this valley easily."
Old man Chen nodded. Indeed, there are some people who you can’t imagine what they will do, like stealing grain this time. Who normally would do that?
We can't kill her, so the best way to deal with her is to restrict her from going out and causing trouble for everyone.
Then Chen Lie continued, "That was my original idea. Now, I don't want to take anyone from the Lu family out of Yungu anymore."
He looked at Old Man Chen and the others and said, "I know that this time it was most likely done by Aunt Lu alone. Hu Zi and the others are good people. Uncle Lu and Shuan Zhu are busy outside the mountain like us every day. They just came back last night. I don't think they know anything about it. But this matter is too disgusting. I won't feel happy if I don't teach her a lesson. Since she stole these bites of food, I'll just watch others eat with my stomach full."
Old man Chen nodded. Wang Chunniang didn't even remember being beaten. How long had it been since the last time? At least she could farm and wouldn't starve to death.
He asked Chen Lie: "What else? Shouldn't the Lu family know about this? We don't know how long we will have to live in the mountains. It's the Lu family who have to take care of it themselves."
He pointed at the two bags in his son and daughter-in-law's hands and said, "We haven't caught them in the act yet. You are the younger generation and it's hard for you to say anything. You don't need to come forward. Just give us these two bags first. I'll ask the little girl to call the old couple from the Lu family over. There's no need to say anything. They should know after seeing the things."
Chen Lie and Sang Luo looked at each other, and Sang Luo nodded.
Chen Lie said: "Okay, then I'll trouble Grandpa and Grandma."
Old man Chen smiled and didn't stay any longer. He let Chen Lie and Sang Luo go about their business and rushed out of the cave with his family.
Shen An, Shen Ning, Chen Ershan and Chen Xiaoya were staying outside the Chen family cave. Mrs. Chen called out, "Little girl, come here."
Chen Xiaoya ran over and said, "Grandma, is there anything wrong?"
"Yes." Mrs. Chen responded, "Go to your grandmother Lu's house and tell her that I want to make a jar of fermented beans. Ask her to come over and help. Ask your grandfather Lu to come as well. Your grandfather has something to discuss with him about the farm."
Chen Xiaoya didn't think much about it. She responded crisply and ran off to call for help.
Chen An looked at the expressions of the adults, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
…
In fact, the Lu family had not walked very far at this time and had not returned to their cave. They had just turned around the inner side of the valley.
The ones who came out from the first room today were Lu Dalang, Wang Chunniang, Shuanzhu and Huzi.
The four members of the family were all a little depressed. Wang Chunniang wanted to say something along the way, but was glared at by Lu Dalang several times. She was also frightened by her mother-in-law's words that she wanted to divorce her last time, so she shut up honestly.
Shuanzhu, on the other hand, tried to negotiate with Old Man Lu and Old Lady Lu: "Grandpa, Grandma, I don't need to exchange with Third Uncle. I'll go out by myself. I think it's okay. I'll practice archery more frequently in the future. I've fought against wolves before."
Although most of the time he actually relied on his second uncle and Shen Lie and others to help, there were also a few times when the wolves were injured.
We can't have no food at home. What if the chaos lasts for a long time?
Shuanzhu thought that he would be able to do it if he practiced for a while, and there were people in his family who could go out, so he tried to strive for it again.
Wang Chunniang pricked up her ears.
She was still afraid that her son would get hurt. She had entered the mountains early and had encountered wolves several times. She had also seen Chen Youtian and others get hurt. Now she still felt that the wolf was too cruel. That was when the arrows were poisoned. If it weren't for Shen Lie's poison, how could the wolf be so easy to kill? It would only be more terrifying.
But now she also wanted to hear her mother-in-law's attitude again to see if there was any room for turning the situation around. What she was thinking was that if Shuanzhu was really asked to go out with her, if there was any danger, her second uncle, younger uncle, Chen Lie, Chen Dashan, Shi Dalang and others would not abandon a half-grown child, right?
If Shuanzhu is the only half-grown child in the team by then, everyone will take good care of him. She thinks that they can do as the women and children did before, climb up the tree when they encounter danger, and come down after everyone is resolved. If that is the case... it seems that the danger will be much smaller.
In just a short while, the abacus in Wang Chunniang's heart was already clacking.
As she was dialing the number, Old Man Lu frowned and interrupted her thoughts.
"Then wait until you have mastered your skills. If you follow me out and someone comes to your rescue, won't they? Wouldn't you still be a hindrance?"
If the eldest son went out, he would have nothing to say, but for the grandson who is not yet an adult, this is clearly taking advantage, he said and glanced at Lu Dalang.
Shuanzhu was stunned for a moment, and it took him a few beats to realize what his grandfather hadn't finished saying. His face suddenly became hot: "Master, I'm not trying to take advantage of you."
He quickly changed the topic: "Then I'll practice first, and then go out with everyone after I'm done."
Lu Dalang didn't notice his father's glance at him at all, and advised his son: "Actually, farming is also okay. It's better to take care of the crops. It's also good to live peacefully in this valley. I think that rack is very good for growing vegetables. Let's plant more and eat more sparingly. It doesn't matter whether we go out or not."
That is, not eating meat. Compared to safety, Lu Dalang thinks safety is more important.
Shuanzhu glanced at his father, thinking of the question his second uncle had asked his father just now, and then thinking about how his mother had made such a fuss that year, and in the end it was his second uncle who went to serve in the military. He felt a little embarrassed and said, "I'll practice first."
Hu Zi said on the side: "Brother, I will practice with you too."
Old Mrs. Lu looked at Wang Chunniang coldly, but before she could say anything, she heard the little maid calling her from behind.
The whole family stopped and turned to wait for Chen Xiaoya.
Chen Xiaoya ran closer and smiled, "Grandma Lu, my grandma said she wants to make fermented soybeans now, and she wants you to go over and take a look."
When Mrs. Lu heard that they were going to make fermented soybeans, she laughed. She was pretty good at making fermented soybeans, so she smiled and agreed, "Okay."
He turned to Old Man Lu and said, "Then I'll go over there."
As a result, Chen Xiaoya smiled and said, "Grandma Lu, I haven't finished yet. My grandfather also came to see Grandpa Lu and said he wanted to discuss the land."
Mrs. Lu was stunned: "Why didn't you say that just now?"
Chen Xiaoya didn’t know either. She tilted her head and scratched it: “Maybe I just remembered it?”
"Okay, let's go that way."
The old couple didn't go back either. They said something to Lu Erlang and the others, told them to go about their own business, then turned around and followed Chen Xiaoya back.
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