Chapter 68: Misfortunes never come singly【VIP】
The news that the Chen and Huang families were recruiting workers spread like wildfire in Xiahe Village.
After the villagers returned home, the more they thought about it, the more they felt that they had to sign up for this event, and they had to do it before others reacted, otherwise the spots would be gone in an instant.
So after dark, someone secretly went to look for the Shen and Huang families.
In front of the Shen family's door, groups of people came and went, some even stood outside the fence gate and secretly looked inside, but there was no movement in the dark yard.
It can be seen that no one is in the village now.
There was a loud bang.
Two thatched houses in Wanhe Township were knocked down one after another by Yang Jizong, Tian Zhongzheng and Huang Songbai.
Dust spread all over the sky.
After the dust settled, Yang Jizong and the elders dug out usable beams from the ruins and prepared to carry them back to the courtyard.
"Ayao, you girls should stop doing this and go back to help grandma make dumplings." Huang Songbai lifted one end of the beam and saw the three girls digging in the rubble.
There was no way the three of them could lift this beam.
But these words made the three girls put all their strength into carrying the beam out of the ruins.
These good beams can be used to build silkworm rooms.
The three families of Tian, Chen, and Huang rushed over in the afternoon to wish the elders a happy new year, which not only filled the deserted village with laughter and joy, but also filled the yard with fragrance.
"Goudan, come and taste the saltiness for your aunt." Huang Mei picked up a piece of braised pork from the pot, blew it cool, and then put it to Chen Goudan's mouth.
Chen Goudan put down the firewood in his hand without hesitation, walked forward and took the piece of meat in his mouth. It melted in his mouth. He had never eaten such fragrant and soft meat.
"It's delicious. Grandma and Maizi will definitely love it."
Huang Xing, who was standing next to him, scooped a bowl of milky white fish soup from the ceramic pot and instructed Goudan to give it to Maizi first to fill his stomach.
The three families arrived late and usually would have been having dinner at this time.
But it doesn’t matter. If you’re hungry, you can still fill your stomach with the jujube flower steamed buns I brought with me.
Goudan carried the soup into the main house and saw Grandma Wang sprinkling a handful of flour on the table and gathering all her strength to pinch the dough and roll out the dumpling wrappers.
But she couldn't roll out the dough as fast as the five people did. The piles of dumpling wrappers were finished in the blink of an eye. Grandma Wang was so anxious that she was sweating profusely and kept asking the older sisters to make the dumplings slower.
"Huh, you kept urging us to finish grinding the cassava flour. Are you still urging us now?"
"I won't urge you anymore. I won't urge you again." Grandma Wang quickly bowed and begged for mercy.
The old ladies couldn't stop laughing. Although they were bickering, the old sisters still had a deep bond and each of them continued to make dumplings in an orderly manner.
"Maizi, have a bowl of soup first." Goudan sat on the edge of the bed and smiled secretly.
Maizi held the bowl and looked at the dark sky outside with some worry: "You should go and greet Uncle Shen and the others. Why haven't they come back yet so late? He is not familiar with our mountains. What if..."
Maizi lies in bed every day to recuperate and has become a chatterbox. She worries about everything at home.
Chen Goudan coaxed her to finish the soup: "I'll go out to meet you in a while."
Under the cover of night, the mountains are full of dangers.
In order to catch live rabbits, Shen Qingshan took Tian Baolai and Huang Dongsheng with torches and walked through his own mulberry forest, teaching the children how to set traps and identify animal paths.
Huang Dongsheng and Tian Baolai were extremely excited and cherished this opportunity very much. They surrounded Shen Qingshan and learned very seriously.
When Chen Goudan came to the mulberry forest with a torch to look for the three people returning home, they were still reluctant to go home for dinner.
Chen Yao drank two bowls of fish soup with steamed buns, and Grandma Wang gave her ten dumplings. Everyone was very satisfied with the meal.
There were still a lot of dumplings left in the kitchen dustpan that had not been put into the pot, so Chen Goudan and Grandma carefully put them into the cupboard to prevent mice from stealing them.
Inside the house, the old people were chatting with everyone.
"On New Year's Eve, Goudan secretly ran to the quarry to see his father and bring food to everyone, but the officials no longer allowed anyone to enter and leave freely. I don't know how those people in our village are doing now?" Grandma Wang sighed.
Chen Yao and Yang Jizong looked at each other and did not dare to tell the grandmothers the truth.
Xing Fang and his soldiers had already left the quarry and gone to garrison at Fengyu Pass. Those officers who remained in the quarry naturally had to obey Zheng Fu's orders.
In order to complete the project on schedule, Zheng Fu ordered all the laborers to work day and night.
These hard laborers can only sleep for two hours a day, and even a strong body cannot endure it.
If anyone dared to resist, they would be hung up and whipped as a warning to others. Zheng Fu did not treat these forced laborers as human beings, so naturally he would not treat them as leniently as Xing Fang did.
Zhao Liangshun and his wife witnessed these situations with their own eyes when they were serving Zheng Fu.
Years ago, Xu was so frightened by seeing a convict being hanged that he fell seriously ill and is still bedridden.
"Grandma, we are here today to get the receipt.
After the old man heard Yang Jizong finish reading the document, he didn't know whether to agree or not.
A Yao is willing to lend them money and return to the village to help them cultivate land and plant cassava after the spring.
"Sister Yao, please kneel down and kowtow to everyone. He is willing to put his fingerprints on this document.
She stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes. "This is a good thing, don't cry. On the fifth day of the New Year, they were a couple."
Chen Yao and Yang Jizong, who were called a couple by Huang Xing, looked at each other, and then nodded silently under her father's gaze.
After finishing the story, everyone said some comforting words to the elderly and children, and then said goodbye and went home.
On the way back, Shen Qingshan naturally would not give Yang Jizong a good look, but he was pressed by Tian Baolai and Huang Dongsheng on both sides, asking when he would check the trap, and he had no time to continue staring at Yang Jizong.
So now, his daughter was protected by Yang Jizong, and the two of them were talking and laughing about the matters of plowing the land after the spring.
Still cultivating land? How can someone who doesn’t even know how to reclaim wasteland cultivate land?
Shen Qingshan despised Yang Jizon in his heart.
The crowd walked on the dark mountain path holding torches, talking and laughing, without any fear at all.
When passing by the embracing tree, Shen Qingshan suddenly heard heavy breathing coming from the front. He raised his hand and everyone stopped immediately.
"Brother-in-law, third brother, let's go take a look ahead. You stay where you are and don't move." The three of them clenched the axe in their hands.
Chen Yao also took out her own tiger bone knife, held Yang Wenying's hand and comforted her not to be afraid.
Yang Jizong's eyes fell on Shen Yao's face, and then he replaced the tiger bone knife in her hand with a torch. "Beasts are afraid of fire. I'm here, and I won't let them hurt you at all."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Shen Qingshan shout, "Ayao, come here quickly, you are not a beast."
When they extended the torch over, they heard the rapid panting sound not from any wild beast, but from Zhao Xiaofu from their village.
"Brother Xiaofu, why are you here? What happened to Village Chief Zhao?" Chen Yao smelled a strong smell of blood as she approached. "Are you injured?"
"I, I--" Zhao Xiaofu's face was pale, and he was gasping for breath and couldn't speak a complete sentence.
Huang Xing took out a water bag from her backpack and handed it to him: "Xiaofu, drink some water first. Take it easy after drinking it. With so many of us, we can definitely help you."
Zhao Xiaofu took the water bag and gulped down his drink. When he recovered, he immediately begged everyone, "My father was seriously injured by Zheng Fu and is now in critical condition. Please, uncle and aunt, help carry my father back home so I can go to the city to get a doctor."
"Xiaofu, the city gate must be closed at this late hour. Why don't we go back to the village first? We can ask Grandpa Sun in the village to check on your father first, and then look for a doctor when the city gate opens tomorrow." Huang Songbai had already lent a hand to help his brother-in-law carry Zhao Liangshun on his back.
"No, no, Grandpa Sun can't cure it. We have to go to the city to ask a doctor!" Zhao Xiaofu tried to stand up by supporting himself on the old tree stump that had long been withered.
But he had been carrying his father all the way from the quarry to here, and he was already exhausted. His legs were trembling and he couldn't even stand steadily.
Tian Baolai and Huang Dongsheng immediately stepped forward to support Zhao Xiaofu, "We will accompany you into the city."
"Yes, let my son accompany you. Our family has a shop in the city. If it doesn't work, we can bribe the officials guarding the city." Miao handed the pass to her son.
"My father—"
"Don't worry, we will definitely carry the person back home for you." Shen Qingshan handed the torch to Tian Baolai and reminded them to be careful on the road: "If you can't enter the city, you must return as soon as possible. Someone needs to support the family."
Zhao Xiaofu bit his lips to prevent himself from shedding tears of blood.
"Brother Xiaofu, if you can get into the city, you can go to Baohe Hall." Chen Yao took out the water bag from her backpack and handed it to him.
Zhao Xiaofu bowed deeply to everyone, looked at his dying father, and finally decided to go into the city after hardening his heart.
"Let's go back to the village quickly." Shen Qingshan shouted, and everyone quickened their pace.
The mountain road was uneven and Chen Yao almost tripped over the rocks and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Yang Jizong supported her.
"Ayao, hold my hand tight."
"good."
The two of them walked together in the darkness, holding hands tightly.
Yang Wenying was holding Huang Xing's hand. She looked back at her brother and the corners of her mouth gradually rose.
Zhao Liangshun was carried by everyone in turn and finally arrived at his doorstep.
"Madam, open the door quickly." The fence gate was damaged, and Huang Xing raised her hand and knocked on the door of the main house. The loud knocking did not even wake up Xu.
Everyone immediately realized that something was wrong.
"Get out of the way, I'm going to break the door down!" Yang Jizong slammed the door hard and kicked it twice before he kicked the door of the main house to the ground.
Everyone in the village who heard the noise lit up their lights, and the neighbors next door even brought their tools to check out what was going on.
Before entering the house, everyone covered their mouths and noses, not daring to say a word, and retreated to the yard.
The room was filled with a pungent smell of carbon.
"Mom, aunt, and uncle, please open the windows for ventilation and move the charcoal brazier outside the house. Dad, please move the head of the village into Xiaofu's room first." Chen Yao opened the window next to the door.
Yang Wenying followed several aunts into the inner room. Seeing Xu lying unconscious on the bed, she didn't dare to go forward at all. She opened the window and ran out.
"Ayao, don't go in. Aunt Xu might be..."
Before she could finish her words, Huang Mei's voice could be heard from inside, "Ayao, go get Grandpa Sun. Aunt Xu has passed out from inhaling carbon monoxide. Grandpa Sun needs to give her a couple of injections."
"Hey, I'll go right away."
Chen Yao ran out, but before she had taken two steps, Yang Jizong grabbed her hand again and said, "I'll go with you."
When Shen Qingshan heard that his elder sister had arranged for his daughter to go to the end of the village to look for Grandpa Sun, he couldn't let his daughter go alone as it was so dark. As soon as he came out, he saw Yang Jizong holding his daughter's hand and running together. He couldn't help but stand there in a daze.
"Ayao's father, what happened in the headman's house? Do you need our help?" The villagers put down their things and surrounded him.
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