Hearing the commotion, Xie Baoshu, who was walking two steps ahead, turned around and pulled Xie Baotian back to leave.
"Hey bro, what are you dawdling for! Brother Lin's dizzy! You have the water here, go over and give him some, or if you can't, carry him on your back. He's injured and bleeding so much, don't let him get heatstroke!"
As she spoke, she shoved Xie Baotian away, leaving Xie Yujiao behind her.
Xie Yujiao said in a fit of anger
"Second Uncle, what do you mean? I'm your niece, and you won't even let me have a sip of water! Is this how uncles behave?"
Xie Baoshu wasn't angry when he heard this, and just smiled and said...
“I’m telling you, my niece Yu Jiao! Look at your uncle’s mouth, it’s so dry it’s like old tree bark, his throat is practically on fire, but he still won’t take a sip of water!”
For this sip of water, your brothers Tianlin, Tianming, and Tianqi were all beaten bloody and bruised, nearly killed, all so that we could have some sip to survive in a critical moment and find a new water source. You can't possibly kill us all just to quench your thirst!
After Xie Baoshu finished speaking, he chased after the people in front of him. The Liu brothers who followed behind saw Xie Yujiao's aggrieved eyes and curled their lips in mockery.
Who are you trying to fool with this act? Everyone knows that water is meant to save lives, and this woman is still thinking of just taking a few sips to quench her thirst! She's utterly clueless!
"You, you all,..."
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Xie Yujiao was so angry that she pointed at them but couldn't speak. She stomped her foot and followed them angrily, thinking viciously that she would definitely tell her grandfather when they got out and teach Xie Baotian and his gang a lesson! They simply didn't respect her grandfather, the clan leader, at all!
Front
Xie Baotian was also slightly worried and said to Xie Baoshu
"Isn't what we're doing a bad thing? If Yu Jiao complains when we get back, we'll offend Uncle!"
"Brother, you're about to lose your life, why are you still worrying about so much!"
Since our father passed away, all these years, has our uncle ever treated us like his own nephews?
Because he is the eldest son and inherited the position of clan leader, he always acts arrogantly towards us. If he had any brotherly affection for his father, we wouldn't have had such a hard time all these years!
He is the eldest son, so it is only natural that he should inherit the position of clan leader!
But why should we only get 20 mu of the 120 mu of fertile land left by our ancestors?
According to clan rules, when an elder passes away, the eldest son inherits half of the family property, and the remaining half is divided equally among the other brothers. If there are only two sons, the eldest son inherits 60% of the property, and the second son 40%. Logically, we should be allocated 48 mu of land and a courtyard. But what did they do?
They didn't even include a single room in their three-courtyard house, forcing us to move to the old house in the dead of winter! Is this how an elder brother should act? They've taken advantage of us the most, but haven't they treated us even a little bit better?
My father died early, and my mother is a widow. They would lecture me about even the smallest things. If I opened the front door a little late in the morning, they would block the door and scold me for being a lazy, sleepy old woman!
This forced my mother to be strict with herself in every way, getting up when the rooster crowed and not going to sleep until the dog was asleep!
From ourselves to our children, we must be more diligent, sensible, and polite than other families in everything we do, so that they won't find excuses to scold us and we won't have a single day of peace and quiet!
Even if we are like this, isn't he still no better than us?
And then there's Xie Yujiao. Bad bamboo can't produce good shoots. She often steals things from Yushu and Min'er. The two children never say a word, afraid of making things difficult for us. But our children are children too! My heart aches for them, brother!
"well!"
Xie Baotian sighed heavily upon hearing his younger brother's words.
"I know what you're saying, but he's the clan chief and my uncle. What can we do but suffer some injustice?"
Xie Baoshu paused for a moment and said
"However, I think Yu Shu has become more formidable since she got married!"
It's better to be assertive! I don't want to be bullied!
In our family, Mother was strict, but that was our situation; we couldn't rebel. Marrying into the Xiao family, at least the second son of the Xiao family was separated, so I'm more at ease. Even if Xie Yujiao causes trouble, Yushu holds the position of eldest sister-in-law, so I don't have to be afraid of her!
Xie Baotian said worriedly
"Yu Jiao is my uncle's most beloved granddaughter, and my uncle is also the clan leader. With him keeping her in check, it will be difficult for Yu Shu to gain any advantage over Yu Jiao!"
Imperial power did not extend to the county level; below the county level, only clans existed. Clans were self-governing, and self-governance relied on ethics, which in turn relied on the local gentry.
The clan chief has the authority to deal with people and affairs within the clan, and he's also our elder. By any measure, we're all under his thumb. I'm worried he'll cause trouble for Yu Shu later!
"Brother! Yu Shu is first and foremost a daughter-in-law of the Xiao family. The Xie family patriarch has no say in the Xiao family's affairs! At most, he can scold us for failing to raise our daughter properly. Let him scold us, we'll just treat it like he's talking nonsense!"
"Yes! That's the only way!"
The Xie brothers chatted casually, while Xie Yushu found a relatively cool cave ahead.
Unfortunately, the cave wasn't big and there was no water, but there were natural openings on both sides that created airflow. There was a bit of wind, and although it was hot, the sun was high in the sky and everyone was clearly feeling the heat. After discussing it, we decided to rest here and recover our strength!
The group sat down, each took a sip of water, and then leaned against the cliff to rest.
Having reached this point, no one had the energy to say another word, and even Xie Yujiao stopped making a scene!
An hour later, some people were either asleep or unconscious, so Xie Yushu woke them up again! They gritted their teeth and continued on their way!
Everyone moved with difficulty, their will to survive sustaining them as they moved mechanically!
As dusk fell, the water in the gourd was almost gone, and they finally arrived at the foot of Wuling Mountain.
"Ah! Sis! There's water! There really is water! There really is water!"
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