Zhou Xiang's men remained outside the inn, keeping watch.
After Song Lizheng and the others left, they did not see any movement from Xiao Gu and her son for a long time.
So he asked around and found out that the guests had already checked out.
He said he had lost face in Qili County and was too ashamed to go out. He was led away through a small door in the back kitchen where he usually bought groceries.
The people from Tianxianglou went into the room to check, and the room had been cleaned up; there was no trace of Xiao Gu and her son.
Since everyone had left, there was no need to mention it again, so Zhou Xiang came to Baolin Residence without saying anything.
Song Liyun didn't care at all when the mother and son would leave, since Xiao Gu's life wouldn't be easy once she returned to Xiaoshi Village.
Without Song Lao Er as a man, and with Granny Gu lying paralyzed on the kang (a heated brick bed) in the house, Little Gu would naturally suffer some hardship.
What Song Liyun didn't know was that with the return of Constable Jiang and the three hangers-on from the Xue family, the Song siblings became military households and spent their lives settling down away from home.
The news that Song Lao Er had broken off his marriage and gotten a large sum of money also spread.
Everyone says that the Song siblings are rich as soon as they leave home, living in a mansion and running a restaurant, making hundreds of taels of silver with a flick of their wrist.
But for ordinary people whose daily activities don't extend beyond a hundred miles, they don't even know where Qili County is, so the story of the Song siblings doesn't seem so real.
The news of the severing of kinship was certainly explosive, but the fact that Song Lao Er received three hundred taels of silver was even more astonishing.
This is something a farmer could never earn in his entire life.
Everyone was eagerly waiting to see the Song family become wealthy and prosperous, but Song Lao Er and his mother, Xiao Gu, did not return to Xiaoshi Village.
The story of severing ties over several hundred taels of silver spread, with rumors circulating that the couple had deliberately put on an act, taking the silver and abandoning the paralyzed mother at home to live a carefree life with their son.
Gu's family didn't believe it and came to Xiaoshi Village wanting more people, or perhaps some money, but Song, the village head, simply threw them out.
Master Xue also brought Song Shui Rong back once. Upon hearing that the couple had not returned, he immediately ignored Granny Gu's wailing in the house, beat Song Shui Rong until her head was bleeding, dragged her back to town, locked her in the backyard, and cut off her contact with the Song family.
In the dead of winter, the paralyzed Granny Gu was so hungry that she had to crawl out of the yard and cry and beg for food from everyone she met in the village.
Seeing the once-powerful shrew crawling on the ground like a begging dog, the village women felt a sense of satisfaction and would even mockingly give her a little cold rice.
On New Year's Eve, Granny Gu lay in the snow-covered courtyard, listening to the crackling firecrackers and the curses all around her.
She cursed Song, the village head, saying that if this man had come to propose marriage a few more times back then, she might have agreed.
Now, the one living in the big brick house and being the village head's wife should be me, not that wretched woman Huang.
They cursed Song Lao Er and Xiao Gu Shi, accusing them of neglecting their own mother and only seeking personal enjoyment, while pitying themselves for treating him like a treasure.
He gets all the good food at home. If a chicken is killed, not only does the bastard eldest get to eat meat, but even Old Man Song doesn't get a sip of soup.
After cursing Song Lao Er, he then cursed Song Liyun.
Ever since that scoundrel came back, my family has been in chaos. There have been burglaries and the two brothers escaping, which led to my family's downfall.
She cursed Song Liyun, calling her a vile woman who was ridden and abused by men outside and had no children of her own. Almost no vicious words could vent her hatred.
She then cursed the Song brothers, Song Zhenping and Song Zhenping. She regretted not strangling Xiao An directly, and not selling Song Zhenping into slavery, so that they could live a good life.
Granny Gu cursed Xiaoshi Village and everyone who had wronged her, until she was hoarse and exhausted, until the heavy snow buried her.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Song Lizheng came to help Song Zhenping pay respects at his parents' graves. When he entered Song Lao Er's house, he saw the corpses frozen in excrement in the yard.
Of course, this is all hindsight; Song Liyun only found out a year later.
Upon hearing that Granny Gu had frozen to death in the snow on New Year's Eve, she merely smiled faintly.
When Zhou Xiang saw Song Dekui arrive, he knew that the family must have something to discuss, so he tactfully took his leave.
Song Dekui has been sleeping in the inn for the past two days and is unaware of Song Zhenping's leg treatment.
He first went to the room to see Song Zhenping, who had already been bandaged with willow branches, and then saw Yang Hua taking care of her. He only asked briefly about the treatment before immediately rushing over to find Song Liyun.
A charcoal brazier was burning in the front hall of Baolin Residence, making the room very warm.
Song Dekui plopped down on a cushioned chair, took the hot tea that Xiao An poured for him, and patted Xiao An on the shoulder: "Xiao An is so much better! Much better than that heartless family!"
Xiao An pouted: "I don't know that family, I don't recognize them!"
After saying that, he turned around and left without even bothering to talk to Song Dekui. He felt that this Uncle Kui and his second uncle were in cahoots.
Song Dekui chuckled to himself, thinking: We can't mention that family in Xiaoshi Village anymore.
He came to Baolinju mainly to say that he didn't want to go back to Xiaoshi Village and wanted to stay in Suijin Town as a military household.
"Xiaoyun, could you please tell Commander Luo that I want to enlist in the army, or at least become a military household?"
Looking at his thin, stick-like arms and legs, Song Liyun asked worriedly, "Uncle Kui, can you carry armor with your physique?"
Song Dekui patted his chest loudly: "Don't look at me just because I'm thin. Look here, here, it's all flesh and bones."
He rolled up his sleeves, showing off his thin arms, and said, "Besides, you can just ask Commander Luo to let me drive the wagons and take care of the livestock."
Song Liyun touched the rabbit fur trim around her sleeve, a thought suddenly occurring to her: "Uncle Kui, don't lie to me. You want to drive a wagon to transport military supplies, do you want to go to the Di Lu grasslands?"
Song Dekui rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "How did you know? I just wanted to see what the Di tribe was like!"
Song Liyun glanced at him sideways. Last year, when she was leading the Song Zhenping brothers to flee to the border village, this Uncle Kui came along to see what was new.
If he hadn't needed to return home after his corvée labor was completed, he would have wanted to stay at the garrison and never leave.
Now that he has finally found a chance to come out, and feeling frustrated that he didn't punish Song Lao Er in Qili County, he has no desire to go back. He even wants to change his household registration to a military household like the Song siblings.
Seeing that Song Dekui was determined to stay, Song Liyun didn't try to persuade him.
To be honest, it's not a big deal for Xiaoshi Village to lose one unreliable person like Song Dekui; it just means they'll have one more trustworthy person by their side.
The town's shops are about to be completed, the cardboard box factory and food workshop are going to be expanded, and the cold storage is under construction. Even with Manager Mu's assistance, Han Ming, who is in charge, is extremely busy.
Fortunately, with Yun Niangzi and Xiao An taking care of Song Zhenping at Baolin Residence, and Lin Tao's wife helping with the vegetable garden in the backyard, Song Liyun was able to free up some time.
In another half month, the furs and a large quantity of dried meat from the grasslands will also be delivered.
By then, Song Zhenping would no longer need anyone to take care of him, nor would he be able to help much.
Even though there are more and more people around her, Song Liyun always feels that she still has too few people she can order around.
"Uncle Kui, you don't need to join the military household anymore. Just work for me, and we'll buy a house and settle down in Suijin Town!"
After a quick calculation, Song Liyun realized that there was no need to change the military household registration. She could simply go to Qili County and use her connections to get Song Dekui a new household registration.
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