She couldn't help but turn her head to look at her mother-in-law Yao Qingshuang who was sitting beside her, and said with a bit of complaint in her tone: "Mom, you shouldn't have given the ginseng to the villagers. I just heard it outside. Aunt Qin and Grandma Dajiang were blatantly saying bad things about you. They said you were stupid. You didn't keep such valuable ginseng to sell for money, but had to give it to the villagers. Isn't it infuriating!"
Su Wencheng listened to his wife's words and groaned in his heart. He quickly reached out and pulled Li Zhaodi's hand, frowned slightly, and winked at her, signaling her not to continue.
When Su Wenjun heard this, his temper suddenly flared up.
He jumped up from the stool with a swift movement, his face flushed crimson, his eyes wide as bells, and rushed out of the house, muttering, "Humph, how dare they say such bad things about our mother? I must teach them a lesson!"
Seeing this, Yao Qingshuang reacted very quickly. She quickly reached out and grabbed Su Wenjun. Although her voice was not loud, it revealed an unquestionable tone: "Third brother, what are you in such a hurry for? Sit down!"
Su Wenjun's steps stopped abruptly when his mother pulled him like that, but he had no place to vent the anger in his heart, so he sat back down reluctantly. As soon as his butt touched the cushion, he started twisting and turning as if there were needles under his butt, without stopping for a moment. He looked like a trapped little wild animal, full of frustration but unable to vent.
Yao Qingshuang narrowed her eyes slightly and slowly glanced at everyone in the room.
The second son, Su Wenyuan, looked stable, with no obvious emotional fluctuations on his face. I don't know what he was thinking.
The second son's wife had an indignant look on her face, with her lips slightly pouted. It was obvious that she was extremely angry about the bad things people said about Yao Qingshuang.
The third son, Su Wenjun, looked like he was ready to rush up and fight at any time. He leaned forward from time to time, as if he was waiting for his mother to let go of his hand so that he could rush out immediately.
The third son's wife was quiet, sitting in the corner weaving straw sandals peacefully, her fingers moving nimbly, as if what was happening outside had nothing to do with her.
The youngest, Su Wenfei, looked thoughtful, with his head slightly lowered and his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was thinking about something.
"Do you know why I gave the ginseng to the village?" Yao Qingshuang's voice sounded slowly, and her eyes calmly swept over everyone present, as if she wanted to find the answer from their faces.
When everyone heard this, they were stunned for a moment, and then they all looked confused, their eyes full of doubts.
Everyone looked at each other, and for a moment the room fell into silence, with only a few soft breathing sounds coming from time to time.
Su Wencheng lowered his head and thought for a moment, then broke the silence first.
He raised his head, looked at his mother, and said slowly, "Mom, I think this is probably the saying 'it's not the lack of wealth that's worrying, but the inequality of wealth'. The people in our Sujia Village don't live a very prosperous life. Everyone is tightening their belts to make ends meet.
If our family just left behind ginseng worth a hundred taels, even though we found it ourselves, others might not say anything, but they would definitely have all kinds of thoughts in their minds.
Those with darker intentions might come up with some bad ideas, and might even try to trip us up or do something behind our backs, which would be very detrimental to our family..."
Su Wenjun was listening to his elder brother's words and his hot temper could no longer be suppressed.
He suddenly stood up from the stool, his eyes wide and his face flushed, and he shouted at the top of his voice: "How dare they! Humph, if they have the guts, they can go find ginseng themselves. What's the point of always staring at other people's things? This ginseng was found by my mother with great effort. Why should we let them talk about it here?"
As he spoke, he waved his arms, looking like he was ready to fight someone.
Yao Qingshuang couldn't help but frown at his irritable and impulsive look, with obvious displeasure on her face. There was a bit of severity in her eyes. She just looked straight at Su Wenjun, as if silently rebuking his recklessness.
Su Wenjun belatedly realized his own gaffe. He looked around and found that everyone was looking at him, with surprise, helplessness, and a bit of blame in their eyes.
He suddenly felt a little embarrassed, turned his head away awkwardly, muttered a few inaudible words, and never dared to speak loudly again.
The second son continued, "Now that mother has given the ginseng to the village, everyone feels more balanced. After all, everyone can get a share of the benefits. Even if it may not be much, at least they won't feel that our family has taken advantage of anything. This way, many potential risks that could cause trouble can be reduced. We can also live a peaceful and stable life."
After hearing what the second brother said, Yao Qingshuang nodded slightly, with a hint of relief in her eyes.
She looked at the others again, her eyes questioning, as if waiting to see if anyone else had a different opinion on the matter.
Su Wenfei said in a soft voice: "I think my mother did this to sell the ginseng for the benefit of the villagers. The road to escape famine is still so long, and no one knows what will happen in the future. But if the ginseng is given to the villagers, everyone will definitely remember my mother's kindness.
Our family is small, and we have very few males. If we encounter any problems on the road, everyone will lend a hand to help us out of the kindness of ginseng, so that we won’t be left alone.”
After hearing what Su Wenfei said, everyone was slightly stunned, and then they nodded gently, with a look of realization and approval in their eyes.
Yao Qingshuang didn't expect that her usually innocent and spoiled little daughter could actually say such words.
She couldn't help but show a look of surprise, and looked at Su Wenfei with admiration in her eyes, and said with a smile: "Little sister, you are right. We are still several months away from Jeju. We will be getting more and more tired and we will all be looking forward to finding a place to stop and rest. Just like today, some people have already thought about stopping.
If this continues, our group of refugees will become smaller and smaller, and we won't be safe. Giving ginseng to the village is like dangling a carrot in front of the donkey, which can unite everyone. The thought that as long as they reach Jeju, the village will give them money will give them hope and confidence to continue on their journey.
When you can no longer walk, the thought of receiving silver upon reaching Jeju Village gives you renewed motivation to continue on your journey. After all, money can be earned again if lost, but our safety is the most important thing!
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