Chapter 1 The Dumb Little Farmer
Great Yan State.
There has been no peace in recent years, with wars, external troubles and internal troubles, and the people suffering.
In the 204th year of the Yan Yuan calendar, the Emperor of Yan opened his warehouses to distribute grain, especially to provide relief to the families of soldiers who died in the war to help them get through the cold winter.
…
Kinmen County, Tangjia Village, Old Tang's home.
Early in the morning, the crying was deafening.
"Mom, please, don't hit Xiao Yuanbao anymore. Xiao Yuanbao is still young and doesn't understand anything..."
"Grandma! My sister didn't cheat on me. If you want to hit someone, hit me!"
…
Old Mrs. Tang was beating a little girl of three or four years old with a stick.
The little girl had two pigtails and her cheeks were red. She had fainted from fright.
Fortunately, she was protected by her stepmother Cai and was not seriously injured.
Cai was beaten so hard that veins bulged on his forehead and the pain was unbearable.
There were two little boys next to them, about six or seven years old.
In the middle of winter, the two children were wearing tattered clothes, their hands and feet were frozen, but they still tried their best to protect their sister and speak for her.
Tang Laosi had four children. Not only did Cai become a stepmother, but she was also drafted into the army on Tang Laosi's wedding night and died in the battlefield. Cai then became the widow of these four children and had to work hard to raise them.
Unfortunately, her husband's family did not appreciate her kindness and even rejected her, eating up the food of Old Tang's family!
He also disliked the four children left by Tang Lao Si and called them bastards.
Normally they were either beaten or scolded, and they might not even be given a bite to eat all day.
Old Mrs. Tang angrily scolded, "What do you mean she didn't steal? I saw her stealing! She stole needles when she was little, and stole gold when she grew up. She might steal all the food in the family in the future. She wants to starve us all to death."
Cai protected her stepdaughter in her arms, tears welling up in anxiety.
There is no point in making excuses.
Mrs. Tang didn't even give them a chance to argue.
He insisted that it was the little girl who stole the food.
The little girl in his arms had fainted from fright, tears streaming down her face and her body still shaking unconsciously.
It's heartbreaking.
The rest of the Tang family, more than twenty people in total, were watching the excitement from the sidelines with indifferent looks.
Anyway, this kind of situation has happened more than once or twice.
Mrs. Tang was tired of beating him, and finally revealed her purpose, "Our family can't tolerate such a thief who steals food. We should just find a baby for her and let another family take her away!"
Cai blurted out, "Mother, little Yuanbao is only three years old. Isn't he too young to get married now?"
Old Mrs. Tang said, "What do you mean by small? She can be a daughter-in-law to the Wang family in the next village. Their Wang Tiangou is the same age as this little girl..."
Before Mrs. Tang could finish her words, the three treasures next to her exploded!
Sanbao said in disbelief, "Grandma! Are you talking about Wang Tiangou who was drowned today?"
If you marry a dead person, doesn't that mean you will be buried with the dead person?
Cai protected her daughter tightly, "Mom, Xiao Yuanbao is also a life! No, I don't agree!"
At this time, no one noticed the unconscious little girl in her arms, whose eyelashes seemed to tremble.
Old Mrs. Tang raised her stick and hit Cai again, "You eat from our old Tang's pot, why do you disagree? What's the point of raising a half-dead dumb kid? You five good-for-nothings eat every day, don't you want food? If they are willing to give you some copper coins, you can use them to buy food. If they don't sell the dumb kid, you guys will starve..."
Cai gritted her teeth and said, "Then the five of us will move out and stop eating the food at home! Don't sell our little Yuanbao!"
Mrs. Tang was just waiting for this sentence. "You want to split up the family? Great! This is what you want! But don't tell others that it was us, the Tang family, who drove you out!"
I have long been disgusted with them for being freeloaders.
I didn't chase them away because I was afraid that the villagers would talk behind my back.
Now that I say I want to leave, I'm more than happy.
Sanbao said, "Grandma, we can split up, but can you give us some of my father's relief food..."
Recently the imperial court distributed food to the families of the martyrs' orphans.
"Get out! You little idiot! You want to divide the family property among yourselves, what food do you want? That is my son's relief food, which he left for the two of us old people to eat in our old age, and no one can take it away! You shameless little bastard..." Old Mrs. Tang cursed.
At this moment, Xiao Yuanbao, who was originally unconscious in Cai's arms, suddenly opened his eyes.
There seemed to be thousands of stars hidden in those big watery eyes.
Looking at the old woman who was still scolding him, Xiao Yuanbao muttered in disdain, "It's so noisy."
The pink little mouth seems to have magical powers.
Only a few rumbling sounds were heard.
The mud houses of Lao Tang’s family collapsed one after another with a loud bang!
The old Tang family, who had been watching the lively scene with indifference, were all shocked.
"Ahhh! Dad, Mom, your roof has collapsed!"
"The old man said that the house collapsed because the head of the household had done something wrong and was being punished by God!"
"Shut up! Whoever is talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth off!"
Everyone gave way.
Lao Tang's house is a small courtyard with three large earthen houses as the main house, and there are big wooden beams on the roof.
I saw a huge wooden beam falling towards Old Lady Tang. Old Lady Tang couldn't run away in time and was knocked to the ground...
Old Mrs. Tang howled, "Oh, God! Help me!"
Everyone else was dumbfounded.
This wooden roof beam seemed to have eyes and kept following Old Lady Tang. Could this be the legendary retribution in this life?
The neighbors next door also heard the noise and came over to see the excitement.
"What's going on? Why did the Tang family suddenly collapse?"
Cai hugged her daughter, trembling with fear, and huddled in a corner.
The scene was in chaos.
No one paid attention to the little girl in Cai's arms. After she finished mumbling, she yawned and fell asleep with a loud voice.
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