Chapter 120: Good Fortune/Before You Leave
Just as Mrs. Lu had expected, the Wang family treated their family's grain as their own. On the day before the New Year, the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law thought that Wang Chunniang would be back by then, and yet she came back for another visit.
Of course Wang Chunniang and the others couldn't see it. Mrs. Lu had a good talk with the eldest daughter-in-law, then tied the man up and gagged him, and locked him in the west wing where the grain was stored, behind the grain rack, covered tightly by bags of grain, with iron posts still on the side.
Wang Chunniang also knew that if she didn't cooperate, she would have no chance of escaping and might even bring trouble to her children. So she was very honest. When she heard the voices of her mother and sister-in-law outside, she didn't make a sound and just listened to her mother-in-law sending them away.
On New Year's Eve of the eleventh year of Jianye, a major incident occurred. In Ji'an County, which was separated by two counties, a wealthy family living outside the county was slaughtered in the middle of the night on New Year's Eve, and all their money and grain were looted. This was done by refugees.
On the second day of the first lunar month, the news reached Qiyang County. The people in the county closed their doors and windows during the day. There were few pedestrians on the streets, and even if there were, they were in a hurry.
The Qiyang County Magistrate and some of the wealthy families in the county, especially those living outside the county, finally put their own thoughts aside as it was concerning their own lives. Regardless of the fact that the county government had not yet started to issue the seal, they got together to seriously discuss the resettlement of refugees outside the city.
Every family paid some price, and the county magistrate probably gave out some benefits. Early in the morning on the third day of the first lunar month, people from the yamen posted a notice outside the city gate, stating that anyone who was willing to settle down and open up wasteland in Qiyang County could receive one stone of grain for a male adult, and half a stone for a minor.
One stone of grain per person!
If it were in the hands of these refugees, if they ate it sparingly and mixed it with wild vegetables and grass seeds, they could survive for more than a year!
This time, the refugees surrounding the city were in an uproar. They all came forward to ask how much land they would be given and where they would be settled.
The county magistrate was no fool. These hundreds of refugees naturally had to be dispersed and resettled, so Shili Village was also divided into two families. Sang Luo was just glad that they were not divided around her family, otherwise any small movements around them would easily be noticed.
Although the refugees had dispersed, the people in the county became more nervous. Those who went to other states and counties were inevitably surrounded and asked about various news, and the news that came back became more and more worrying day by day.
Dongfulou is the largest restaurant in the county, and naturally it is also the information distribution center of Qiyang County. Those who can come and go from Dongfulou have wider sources of information than most people.
There were rebellions in Henan Province and Shannan Province. Chenzhou was besieged and the rebels rushed into the city. The entire family of a certain branch of the aristocratic family was slaughtered, and the entire family of a certain commoner family was killed.
Once the refugees became rebels, they seemed to target the nobles and commoners, wishing to drink their blood and eat their flesh. No, perhaps the fundamental reason was that these families had the most hidden money and food.
So from the news they heard in Dongfulou, whenever a state or county was invaded by the rebels, the first to suffer would definitely be the wealthy families in the state or county. Unless they were extremely powerful, they would suffer even more tragically than ordinary people.
And from the news I heard, there were many people among the people who were wiped out who were stronger than the Wang family.
Shopkeeper Xu felt his flesh pounding and his heart tremble as he listened to these stories day after day. The escape route he had originally arranged for his wife, children and mother now seemed precarious. After having nightmares for several days, he gritted his teeth and hurried back to Shezhou.
…
This was the pressure borne by those who had access to information in the county. As for the villagers who had recently been afraid to go out, they lived a relatively peaceful life until the first day of February because they knew nothing.
On the first day of February, Zhou Lizheng, who never came to the village without a reason, came. The familiar gongs sounded and the familiar notices were posted.
Early taxation, early taxation again! In the spring of the twelfth year of Jianye, the autumn tax of the thirteenth year of Jianye began to be collected. This time it was Zhou Lizheng who finally had a human face, no longer looking nonchalant, and finally felt that the notice was a burden.
When most of the people heard what Zhou Lizheng said, they collapsed to the ground, slapped their legs and cried, "They won't let us live! They won't let us live!"
The soft knife cuts the flesh, one cut, one cut, and again. Every time you get close to it, the next cut comes.
The two refugee families who had just settled in Shili Village and had just built their thatched houses but had not yet warmed up were also dumbfounded. The food they had just received was not enough to pay the rent and taxes.
Shili Village was in chaos, with people cursing the heavens, the earth and the government. Li Zheng Zhou no longer had the authority he once had. He shouted in a panic, asking everyone to be quiet, and then unfolded another notice.
"There is a way out! Listen to me, you don't have to pay the tax!"
After hearing this, the villagers finally quieted down and stared at Zhou Lizheng.
Zhou Lizheng's throat was dry, and he couldn't help swallowing his saliva, saying: "The emperor wants to lead the army in person to avenge the previous humiliation, and he needs to recruit soldiers from all over the world."
Someone threw a handful of dirt at Zhou Lizheng!
"What kind of solution is this? Are you asking us to die?"
The crowd was in a state of outrage. Zhou Lizheng wiped the dirt off his face and did not dare to ask who had done it. He shouted, "Anyone who has a family member enlisting in the army and who dares to serve as a vanguard will be exempted from taxes and labor service this year!"
Some people hesitated, while others continued to throw clods of earth at Zhou Lizheng. Zhou Lizheng covered his face with his hands, left a notice stating that it would be the third day of February for assembly and the tenth day for grain delivery, and then fled out of the village in embarrassment, holding the notice in his hand.
Before the villagers on the drying yard dispersed, someone rushed into the village crying, "Sister, Chunhua, sister! Our father's leg is broken! His leg is broken!"
Chunhua was a woman from a neighboring village who married into Shili Village. She was originally sitting on the ground crying with her mother-in-law, but when she saw her own sister crying and rushing into the village, she jumped up after hearing the last sentence: "Huaihua, what did you say! How come Dad's leg is broken?"
The little girl named Huaihua broke down and cried, "Dad cut it himself, he cut it himself... Hurry, go back and take a look."
I cried so hard that I couldn't speak.
The two villages were quite close. Huaihua pulled Chunhua up and was about to leave. Zhoucun was thinking of something and stopped them: "Child, tell me clearly, why did you cut off your own leg?"
Chunhua was also anxious to know, and urged the girl to speak quickly.
Huaihua cried and sobbed: "They said that after my leg is broken, I don't have to pay taxes or serve in the military anymore. I think my brother wants to chop himself off, too."
Zhou Cunzheng suddenly seemed to be having trouble breathing.
Some people also came to their senses and said, "Yes, this is not a disabled hand or foot, but a blessed hand or foot."
"Lucky hands and lucky feet, yes, lucky hands and lucky feet."
One of them started laughing while talking. Sang Luo turned around to see that it was Zhou Laizi, a tall and strong man with tears on his face. He was crying and laughing and muttering "May you be blessed with good fortune". Sang Luo's heart sank and she felt scared at that moment.
Zhou Laizi went back, taking his eldest son, second son and sick wife with him.
The founding emperor of the Dagan Dynasty was known for his benevolence, as he formulated a series of policies that benefited the country and the people at the beginning of his reign, one of which was to exempt the disabled from rent, taxes and labor service. Therefore, disabled people would sometimes feel proud when talking to others about their disabled hands and feet, and jokingly call them "lucky hands and feet."
Sang Luo had a bad feeling and didn't hesitate to pull Shen Lie's sleeve. "Let's follow him and see why I feel like Uncle Zhou is thinking about self-harm."
Cutting off one's own limbs alive, blood loss and infection, either of which can be fatal.
Chen Lie also reacted, and together with Sang Luo, he turned around and hurried to Zhou Laizi's house.
…
When they returned to the small courtyard halfway up the mountain, the people who stayed behind from several families gathered together. Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang had also been hiding in the backyard of the Shen family for the past few days.
"What now?"
It is impossible for them to pay taxes, not to mention that they have no grain to pay. Even if they had grain, it would be impossible to pay. Given the current grain prices and situation, if they hand over grain, they would be handing over their lives.
I have been preparing to leave, but when the time comes, everyone will inevitably feel uneasy about the unknown future.
Chen Lie: "Dashan and his men should have almost finished transporting the second leg of food. Let's not delay. Relax on the outside but be cautious on the inside. Don't make any noise. Pack up at night and leave before daybreak."
Indeed, if we don’t leave now, will the recruiting officers and soldiers come to arrest us in a few days?
The Lu family's grain had been moved to the first grain storage point half a month ago. They could not go to the second grain storage point, so they came back several times to help each family carry some useful jars and cans that were not easy to get in the mountains to the first grain storage point. They had nothing to do after that.
Except for Lu Erlang and Lu Sanlang, who have higher martial arts skills and have returned to hide in Shen Lie's courtyard to protect the people left behind in the village, the rest of the Lu family who went to deliver grain are now guarding the grain at the first grain storage point with Shi Da.
Now we have to protect everyone. The ones who are truly capable of fighting are Chen Lie, Lu Erlang, and Lu Sanlang. The women and teenagers have been practicing a lot these days, so they will not be a drag at the critical moment, so it is not impossible to set off overnight.
Everyone actually knew what was going on, what was missing was a word from the backbone, after Chen Lie said this, everyone in the family nodded, and soon they all dispersed.
The Lu brothers went back to the backyard to sharpen bamboo arrows. Chen Lie and Sang Luo took the two younger ones, Chen An and Chen An, to bolt the outer courtyard door from the inside and started packing up their belongings.
The Lu family had picked up everything that could be taken away from the house. What they needed to pack now were just the daily necessities. The most valuable things were probably the remaining food, needlework, fabrics, bedding and pillows, as well as some oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, ceramic pots and rice steamers and a few wooden barrels left in the kitchen.
At this time, the ability to pack was tested. It was divided among four people. Chen Lie and Sang Luo each carried a shoulder pole, while Chen An and Shen Ning carried a backpack. After leaving out some things that they could not take away, it was almost the same.
"Sister-in-law, what should we do with the chickens, ducks and geese we raise?"
The big geese are good at guarding the house. Besides, the chickens can lay eggs, and the ducks can also lay eggs if they are raised a little longer. I didn't even want to kill any during the Chinese New Year. Now they have to flee in a hurry. Shen Ning thought of the chickens and ducks he had raised, and he felt so distressed that tears almost came out.
Sang Luo had asked about the situation in Shenlie Canyon earlier, so she could only shake her head and said, "We have to kill the geese and roosters because they crow too loudly. We are trying to avoid disaster. Although no one would go into such a deep place, we should not raise them for safety reasons. We can keep the hens and ducks for their eggs."
The mountains surrounding the canyons are extremely high and large. As long as the noise is not as loud as a rooster's crowing or a goose's call, and if there are only hens and ducks, then no matter how they call, you will not be able to hear them even if you stand on the top of the mountain.
Chen Ning also knew what was going on. After hearing what the eldest sister-in-law said, he knew that the three geese and the rooster could not be saved. He wiped his eyes and went to boil water.
Sang Luo didn't make it difficult for her. It was not convenient to kill four chickens and geese outside the yard, so she and Shen Lie moved to the backyard to do it.
Chen Lie was working, his mind was a little distracted. Sang Luo lowered her eyes, knowing that he was probably thinking about the Shen Jin brothers. She sighed, "If you have anything to say, go out and say it. Just be careful not to let anything slip out, and don't let your uncle and aunt ruin things for us at the last minute."
Shen Lie was a little embarrassed and nodded: "Then I'll go out for a while."
Call Shen An.
…
Shen Jin heard the cuckoo call three times outside. When he found an opportunity to sneak out of the yard and into the mountains, he not only saw Shen An, but also his eldest cousin.
Shen Jin's eyes lit up: "Brother!"
He now admires his eldest cousin very much and wishes he could follow him around every day.
Chen Lie's expression was somewhat complicated: "Xiao An said that there was a quarrel at home again, what is this quarrel about?"
He actually had some guesses. He had to serve in the military again, and this time there was no one like him to take his place. He wondered what his third uncle would do.
Shen Jin's expression froze, and then he became embarrassed, not knowing what to say for a moment.
After all, Shen Jin had been brought up by Chen Lie for such a long time. When Chen Lie asked, Shen Jin did not hide it. After a moment of silence, he said, "It's said that I have to serve in the military. My father wants to use a pair of gold bracelets as payment in lieu of service, but my mother disagrees. She said that if something happens at home or we are short of food, this thing can be exchanged for food."
Gold bracelet, Chen Lie showed a hint of sarcasm on his face.
Chen San couldn't earn much money to buy a gold bracelet, but Chen Lie knew that his grandmother had a pair of very heavy gold bracelets. It was said that they were her dowry. However, after she fled here and settled down, according to what his good uncle said, they were lost on the way.
It turned out that it was thrown into the couple's private room.
At that time, they had a cheap nephew like him whose life was worthless and could be pushed out. The gold bracelet was much more valuable than his worthless life, so they pushed him out.
Now it was Shen San's turn. His life was valuable, so he was willing to take out the gold bracelet.
The coldness and sarcasm on Chen Lie's face made Shen Jin gradually lower his head. He was nine years old and not old enough to understand everything. He knew that if he told this to his elder brother, his elder brother would definitely hate their family even more.
Chen Lie didn't feel any more disgusted. In his opinion, his disgust towards the Third House had already reached its peak. He just tried to be more rational and not vent his anger on his younger cousins. He let out a long breath, patted Shen Jin, and asked, "You know there are refugees everywhere now, right?"
Shen Jin nodded: "I know."
A large number of people were resettled, and then some more came and were resettled, but it was still not very peaceful.
Chen Lie asked, "Have you remembered all the methods I taught you to deal with refugees attacking the village?"
Shen Jin didn't quite understand why his eldest cousin asked this, but he still nodded: "I'll remember."
"Okay, follow me into the mountain."
Shen Jin didn't ask why they were going into the mountains. In the past month, his eldest cousin often took him and Xiao An into the mountains, so he just followed them.
Chen Lie led the two children and walked for a long distance into the mountains. After many twists and turns, they came to a place where few people had been. They turned over a clump of dead bushes and found mud under the bushes. Well, there was a big rock in the mud.
Then Shen Jin watched his eldest cousin holding the stone. With a few slight moves, the stone loosened and he actually carried it out.
After the stone was moved away, there was a black hole as big as the mouth of a pottery basin inside.
"Brother, what is this? A rabbit hole? Why is it blocked with rocks?"
Chen Lie barely curled his lips and said, "Go in and take a look."
Shen Jin looked confused, but he still obeyed. He bent down and was about to put his head in first, but was grabbed by Shen Lie: "Support the hole with both hands, and put your feet in first."
Chen Lie was obedient, changed his clothes, and tried to enter the cave as he said. His elder brother would not harm him anyway, and if he let him go in, there would definitely be no scary things inside.
He tentatively went down into the pitch-black hole. He thought it was not deep, but it took him a while to touch the ground. Chen Lie gave him a few timely reminders, and Shen Jin went down as he was told. After entering the hole and getting used to the darkness, he realized that it was not a rabbit hole at all. It was deeper than a rabbit hole. At the beginning, it was very narrow, and he could only carefully crawl down little by little. But when he got to the bottom, it was different. It became bigger and could hide several of him.
He walked around inside for a while and found a jar with a lid in the corner. It was obviously prepared by someone. He touched it and felt something. Upon closer inspection, it was a slingshot!
Shen Jin almost jumped up, and excitedly climbed out along the small steps left inside. He stuck his head out of the cave and looked at Shen Lie with bright eyes: "Brother, it's so big in there, there's a small jar, and a slingshot!"
Excited, yet trying to suppress his voice.
"Okay, come on up."
Without offering any help, Shen Lie confirmed that Shen Jin could climb out by himself, then blocked the entrance of the cave with stones and covered it with bushes.
"This is not a rabbit hole. Xiao An and I dug it. If there are refugees coming into the village, this place can be used to hide people. You brothers and sisters can hide in it."
Shen Jin: ????
I was a little confused at first, but then I was delighted: "Is this the hiding place that Big Brother and Xiao An gave me, Xiao Yin, Xiao Tie, and Tian Ya? Is that slingshot for me too?"
Chen Lie nodded: "Yes, so this place cannot be known to others. If you have the chance, you can get some food and hide it in there, and replace it with fresh food regularly."
Shen Jin was a little curious: "Brother, do you have such a hole?"
Chen Lie looked at him, was silent for a moment, and said, "It will happen."
Shen Jin understood that it hadn't been dug yet. He was so touched that he asked, "Brother, do you want my help? I'm small, so it's very convenient for me to crawl in and dig the hole. And why didn't you and Xiao An call me when you dug the hole? It would be faster with one more person."
Shen An: “…”
He knew that his family was leaving soon. This time, he felt sorry to see Shen Jin, and his eyes were a little sore. He had not dared to look Shen Jin in the eye before, but now he felt better. He interrupted his eldest brother and said, "We dug it ourselves, so it's not good for you to know. Otherwise, if your parents find out, it will be a waste, right?"
Shen Jin also knew that his parents were not in a good mood, and he was a little embarrassed. He said: "...I won't tell you. It's been so long, I have told my family everything, but you still don't believe me."
Feeling a little aggrieved.
Chen An snorted, "It's best not to tell anyone. Don't tell anyone even if we dig this hole for you. See? The hole is big enough for you to bring Xiao Jin, Xiao Yin, and Tian Ya in. Our family has severed ties with your parents anyway, so this hole is not dug for them. If you want to protect your parents, just quietly find another place and dig a bigger hole."
Chen An lowered his voice as he spoke, his eyes became more sore, almost crying, and he lowered his head to tidy up the bushes so that Shen Jin would not notice. While tidying up, he said, "Find a few more places to dig holes and hide more food and water. In case refugees rush into the village, you may not have the chance to run over here. Hide some dry food that my brother taught us before. It can be stored for a long time and can be eaten directly with water without making a fire."
Shen Jin had been cooking for a month or two, and Shen Lie had taught him to cook. If he could secretly hide some dry food at home, he would still have a chance. He treated it as the same as the previous class, and he remembered it very seriously. He also asked in detail what kind of place was good for digging holes, whether the holes would collapse, etc.
Shen Lie explained it to him in detail one by one.
By the end of his speech, his throat felt a little choked up. They had already reached a fork in the mountain path, and the two families' paths were different.
Shen Lie half squatted down and rubbed Shen Jin's head. He looked at this cousin who he had carried on his back and held in his arms when he was young and grew up. He said, "Big brother and your parents, that's it. There are some things that I can't let you know. I hope you don't blame big brother. Big brother taught you the skills. You should practice well. You can hunt and survive in the mountains. As long as there is no drought or epidemic in the world, you can rely on these mountains to survive. Do you understand?"
"Yes!" Shen Jin nodded heavily: "Brother, did you really give me the slingshot? Do I have a slingshot like Xiao An?"
Chen Lie nodded: "Here you go, practice quietly in the mountains, don't bring it home."
"Thank you, big brother. Thank you, Xiao An." Shen Jin's eyes curved with laughter. All the Shen family members were actually good-looking, and Shen Jin was not bad either. She looked very cute when she smiled sweetly.
Chen Lie felt suffocated and uncomfortable, so he forced a smile and patted Shen Jin: "Go back, or your parents will come looking for you later."
Shen Jin pouted: "They don't have time to look for me. I don't know how long this quarrel will end."
But he still waved to Shen Lie, and said to Shen An: “Remember to take me with you when you go into the mountains to practice slingshot tomorrow. I have a slingshot now, too.”
Shen An almost didn't dare to look at him, and nodded randomly with his head down.
As soon as Shen Jin turned around, Shen An's tears started to fall down one after another. He kept wiping his tears and just cried without making any sound.
After Shen Jin walked away, he raised his head and asked Shen Lie softly, "Brother, are we really just going to ignore Xiao Jin?"
Chen Lie was not feeling well either, he just patted his brother on the head and said: "If your Grandpa Chen and Grandma Chen say that your sister-in-law and I are unreliable and want to quietly take you and Aning away, will you follow them?"
Shen An shook his head without thinking: "Let's follow the eldest brother and sister-in-law."
At this point, Shen An understood it himself, and he wiped his tears: "Brother, I understand."
No matter how bad Uncle and Aunt are, they are still Xiao Jin and his friends' parents. No matter how bad they are to him, Aning and his elder brother, they still love Xiao Jin and Xiao Yin, especially Aunt.
Just like he would choose his eldest brother and sister-in-law without thinking, Xiao Jin and the others would be the same and would choose their own parents.
Seeing that Chen An had figured it out, Chen Lie pulled him back and said as he walked, "Don't worry, I've taught you so many things. As long as the rebels' den isn't directly in the village, and their luck isn't too bad, they can hide for a while, and nothing should happen to them later."
But life would be much harder, probably similar to that of Xiao An and Aning at that time. If the food was stolen, they would probably have to eat only grass roots and wild vegetables, or maybe even worse. At least the world was peaceful for Xiao An and Aning at that time, so they didn't have to worry too much and hide in caves.
But this is no longer something that he, as a cousin, should intervene in out of friendship. If Shen San and his wife rely on this huge mountain and can't even take care of their own children's food, then they are not worthy of being parents.
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