Archives: FS

Gu Zhong saw that his sister and younger brother were all following Gu Zhang. What else could he do? It was always better for the siblings to be together than to go back alone. He was the only strong laborer in his family, so he had no choice but to rely on his brothers and sisters.

Gu Zhong nodded his head and said: “My family will also follow my Second Brother.”

Zhang Laoda also expressed his position: “I will listen to Second Brother Gu. I will do whatever Second Brother Gu says.”

The village chief sighed. He wanted to go back. He had heard from the elders how terrible the refugees were when they fled sixty years ago. They were so hungry that they would grab anything as long as they could eat.

People were so hungry that they dared to eat anything.

It was always safer at home than in the wild.

He was silent for a long time and said: “Then Xiao Zhang, let’s make up our mind.”

When Gu Zhang saw everyone looking at him, he suddenly felt a heavy burden on his body, so he had to say: “I still want to keep moving forward.”

“If it’s just a drought this year, that’s okay, it’ll be over after a while, but if there is a severe drought next year and the year after, no one will survive in our family, so I’ll have to leave even if I don’t want to.”

Uncle Ma pricked his ears. Will there be another drought next year and the year after that?

Gu Zhang said so confidently, how did he know? By looking at the stars in the sky at night?

“If we take a detour, it won’t work. As each day passes, our life in Xiqin County will only become more and more difficult. Those who have food today may not have it tomorrow, and the number of refugees will only increase. ”

Everyone nodded, that’s right, taking a detour would waste time, and by then there would be even more refugees.

“I mean, we should still follow the previous route, but we have to think of a way.”

Gu Zhang looked at Uncle Ma: “Uncle Ma, you were a bodyguard when you were young. Think about it, what should we do if we meet a homeless person? Should we also hire some people from the mercenary?”

Uncle Ma shook his head: “I can’t say whether it’s right to hire people or not, but in this situation, it’s useless to hire fewer people. If you hire more people, the money will probably not be a small amount.”

At this moment, Gu Fei suddenly said: “Dad, I think this is not the only solution.”

“Let’s go on the road. When we meet honest and reliable young adults on the way, we will give them food to eat, on the condition that they will go with us and protect us along the way.”

“If someone who is starving has enough food to eat, I think he will risk his life to protect us.”

“Besides, there are quite a few of us. If we encounter someone who robs something, if we all attack together, we will be stronger than the refugees. Do we still have to worry?”

Uncle Ma looked at Gu Fei, this girl was extraordinary.

Shouldn’t a country girl be so frightened when she hears such a thing? Just like Xing’er, who was hiding behind her mother and looking panic-stricken. She looked like a country girl now.

But this girl, Gu Fei came up with an idea. And her idea was quite feasible.

Gu Zhang thought for a long time and said: “This is also a way.”

“It’s just that I’m worried that the people we picked up along the way may not agree with us. Their loyalty and honesty can’t be seen just by looking at their faces.”

“Therefore, if you want to hire this person, you can’t hire too many. If there are too many, they might join forces and rob all of our food.”

 

Gu Zhang’s hands were tightly folded. His daughter’s history book was right. There was drought in the north and floods in the south. The Daying Dynasty might be over.

The village chief’s hands were shaking when he heard this. Gu Zhang was right. It was indeed a severe drought in the five counties. Only those who have been running outside all year round knew this.

The leading man pointed to the grain in his car: “If I transport this grain back, it will cost at least ten times the price of last year. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

“This road is full of people fleeing the disaster. Our Xiqin County is a little better, but the situation in Hedong County is not good. Xishan County has a much worse case. The food is scarce due to this drought, most people have no way of living. The victims are wandering around, and some are coming to our Xiqin County.”

“How did you know we were also in drought?”

“If I hadn’t hired these escorts, this food would have been robbed long ago.”

“But even if that’s the case, I was robbed of a carriage and lost a load of grain!”

Gu Zhang was silent after hearing this.

After ten days, they will enter Xishan County. There were too many refugees. Can they still leave?

The leading man asked: “Where are you going?”

The village chief sighed: “We originally wanted to go to Donghai County, but from what you said, the road is not peaceful.”

The leading man glanced at the Gu family’s mule carriage from a distance: “It’s okay for you to go there, you don’t have much food. The refugees are mainly robbing food, but you should pay attention to your mules.”

He said meaningfully: “I see there are some very big mules over there, each weighing more than a thousand pounds. Although there is an old saying, death by starvation is preferable to loss of one’s chastity, but now it’s hard to tell.”

After the leading man finished speaking, he saw that the village chief’s face turned pale, and kindly comforted him: “There are many of you, and I see that there are quite a few of you young and middle-aged. As long as you work together and don’t encounter large groups of refugees, there is no need to worry too much. ”

The village chief’s face turned even paler.

Gu Zhang thanked the leading man and walked back with the village chief.

Both of them had solemn expressions on their faces.

The village chief asked as he walked: “What should we do? Do we still have to go forward?”

Gu Zhang glanced at the village chief and said: “Go back and discuss it with everyone.”

The two of them went around and gathered all the men in charge of the family together. The women and children knew that they had heard the news, so they all gathered around.

The village chief told everyone what the leader of the caravan said. Aunt Huang was the first to comment: “Oh my God, what should we do? The food price has increased by tenfold, what can we eat from now on!”

The men were thinking about more than just this problem. Zhang Laoda asked: “There are many refugees in Xishan County. Can we take a detour?”

Gu Zhang shook his head. After looking at the map, he knew clearly that to bypass Xishan County, they had to pass through most of Xiqin County and then enter Hedong County.

Not to mention the long detour, Xishan County and Hedong County may not be in peace either.

The village chief sighed: “Do you want to go forward? Or turn back?”

The Eldest Uncle smiled and said, “Our family will follow Brother Gu Zhang. We will go wherever they go.”

Gu Zhang can be said to be the most knowledgeable and understanding among this group of people. Moreover, he was kind and it was right to follow him.

Aunt Huang rolled her eyes and said: “My family will also follow Mr. Gu Zhang.”

Gu Rong didn’t need to ask: “I’ll also follow my second brother.”

Only the village chief, Zhang Laoda, and Gu Zhong did not express their opinions.

Gu Zhong saw that his sister and younger brother were all following Gu Zhang. What else could he do? It was always better for the siblings to be together than to go back alone. He was the only strong laborer in his family, so he had no choice but to rely on his brothers and sisters.

Gu Zhong nodded his head and said: “My family will also follow my Second Brother.”

 

Gu Zhong’s heart shuddered.

Yes, he wanted to have a son, firstly because he was afraid of being accused of having no descendants, and more importantly, he was counting on his son to support him when he was old and could no longer work.

This kid only cared about himself in everything and even dared to snatch his grandmother’s food. How could he be counted on in the future?

Gu Zhong stood up, dragged Bao’er away from Mrs. Qian, and slapped him hard on the butt: “I told you to be filial, not to snatch your grandmother’s food. You little bastard, you are lawless!”

Bao’er was beaten and screamed.

Gu Fei ate the noodles, listened to the voice, and said slowly: “The child is disobedient, most of the time he is spoiled, just give him a beating.”

At this time, Gu Zhong might have been ruthless, but Bao’er burst into tears, crying and shouting: “It was my mother who asked me to go, it was my mother who asked me to go, why are you beating me!”

Lanzhi held the bowl and laughed with her head down.

Although life was hard, she felt that this was much more interesting than the Marquis’s Mansion, which was dead silent all day long, and there was no such drama to watch.

Gu Erlang looked at Lanzhi and laughed foolishly.

Lanzhi accidentally met his eyes and hurriedly looked away.

After a while, she couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Gu Erlang, who was still looking at her and smiling foolishly.

Lanzhi turned her back and didn’t dare to look anymore.

Gu Fei saw the two people flirting but pretended not to see it.

She would not interfere in such matters. However, if the two like each other, that would be good too. Lanzhi would truly become her family.

At night, they slept on a large bunk bed, with Lanzhi on Gu Fei’s left, Mrs. Chen next to Lanzhi, Xiao Cao on Gu Fei’s right, and Li Chunhua next to Xiao Cao.

Although they could not be too particular outside, they still separated men and women, otherwise it would be too inappropriate.

The next day, Gu Zhang got up early and called Gu Qing, because he had to get up early to buy a mule carriage.

The two of them went for half an hour. When Mrs. Chen finished preparing the breakfast, the father and son drove back in a mule cart.

The other families were secretly envious. The second branch of the Gu Family must have a lot of money.

Sigh, people can’t be compared.

After dinner, they set out from Fuyuan Town. When they rested at noon, they met a caravan carrying food.

The mule cart was piled high with sacks, and seven or eight bodyguards were guarding the mule cart with knives in their hands.

The caravan saw the Gu family and stopped not far away to rest.

Gu Zhang took a steamed bun and ate it while the village chief went to inquire about the news.

The leader of the caravan was a middle-aged man in his forties. Gu Zhang walked over and bowed: “Brother, where did you get the food?”

The leading man looked at Gu Zhang and his friends with some caution, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the white flour bun in Gu Zhang’s hand: “Are you also from Lincheng?”

Gu Zhang nodded.

The leading man said: “This was transported from Huainan County.”

Gu Zhang smiled and said, “There is a lot of food in Huainan County, so it shouldn’t be expensive, right?”

The leader shook his head: “Why not?”

“There were heavy rains in the south this year, and several rivers were flooded, especially in Hanzhong County. At the end of June this year, there was a flood, and the Yunjiang River bank burst, flooding tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. The rice that was about to ripen was all soaked in water. There was a severe drought in the five northern counties. There was a shortage of food everywhere. The grain in Huainan County had to be sold to several northern counties, so now, the price has increased several times.”

 

Xing’er put down the bowl in her hand and said: “I’m not going. If you want to go, you can go by yourself.” After saying that, she ran away quickly.

Mrs. Qian was so angry that when she saw Xing’er had disappeared and Bao’er was still crying on the ground, she called Gu Zhong again: “Are you dead? You don’t care about Bao’er making trouble like this.”

Gu Zhong squatted beside him and said nothing.

Mrs. Qian pushed him and said: “If you go and ask for it, your second brother will still give you this face.”

Gu Zhong said in a low voice: “I won’t go. It’s embarrassing. It’s not like there’s nothing to eat at home. If Bao’er wants to cry, let him cry. It won’t kill him.”

Mrs. Qian cursed bitterly: “Useless thing.”

After turning around, she saw that Bao’er was out of breath from crying. She hurriedly walked over to comfort him: “Mom has no noodles here. Why don’t you go to your second uncle’s house to ask for some, then mom will make it for you.”

Bao’er refused: “Sister Xiao Fei won’t give it to me, she’s cruel!”

He had eaten twice at Gu Fei’s place and knew that Gu Fei was not scared of his mother. She wouldn’t obediently give him anything he wanted.

Xiao Fei was cruel, this was what his mother murmured in private. Starting from that piece of candy, his mother said this often.

Mrs. Qian lowered her voice and said, “If Xiao Fei doesn’t give it to you, your grandmother is there, you go over there, and she will give it to you.”

When Baoer heard this, he thought it was right. When he was at home, his grandma would eat everything with him.

Bao’er stood up quickly and ran to Gu Fei’s house without even taking the bowl.

He ran straight to the old lady and said, “Give this to me.” After saying this, Bao’er took the bowl from the old lady’s hand and left.

The old lady was stunned. She looked at her empty hands and couldn’t come to her senses.

Gu Fei could see clearly from the side. She put down the bowl, stood up quickly, caught up with Bao’er in a few steps, dodged the bowl in his hand, turned around, and left.

How could Bao’er just give up? He shouted: “That’s mine, grandma give it to me.” He rushed towards Gu Fei like a little calf.

Gu Sanlang suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed him by the back of his collar: “What are you doing? You dare to rob us again!”

Gu Fei handed the bowl to the old lady. The old lady was holding the bowl and felt that it was very difficult.

She doesn’t know whether to continue eating or not.

She has to give it to her grandson if he wants it.

But it’s not good to give it away. After all, it belongs to the second branch.

Gu Fei glanced at her and said: “Grandmother, it will get cold if you don’t eat it.”

The old lady responded awkwardly, holding the bowl and eating slowly.

Bao’er was still struggling in Gu Sanlang’s hands. Gu Sanlang simply picked him up, walked to Mrs. Qian’s side, and threw Bao’er in front of her: “Aunt, your Bao’er can’t even let go of the food Grandma eats. If he dares to snatch things right now, he will be able to do it when he grows up. I’m afraid you won’t be able to rely on Bao’er to be filial to you.”

Bao’er hugged Mrs. Qian’s legs tightly. He was a little afraid of Gu Sanlang. Gu Sanlang was tall and strong. He had seen Gu Sanlang fight with people, and he could knock people down with a fist as big as a bowl.

The village chief next to him shook his head and said to Gu Zhong while eating porridge: “Xiao Zhong, I don’t want to say anything, but your son, Bao’er needs to be taught a lesson. No other child in any family acts like this.”

Gu Zhong looked a little worried: “This kid is usually fine, but now he’s not used to anything.”

The village chief smiled meaningfully: “I’m afraid he will still be like this if you let him get used to it.”

“A son should support you in old age, not for him to act like an ancestor.”

He took a sip of the paste and added, “Don’t blame me for talking too much, I’m doing this for your good.”

“If he continues to be like this, think about it, will you be able to rely on him in the future?”

 

At noon, everyone parked the mule cart in the field beside the official road and began to have lunch.

Gu Fei was eating dry food for everyone at noon. Her aunt waved her over and handed her a piece of dried meat: “You didn’t eat anything about the rabbit meat yesterday. Bao’er took it all away. Eating some dried meat will make you feel better when walking.”

Out of the four nieces, her aunt usually likes Gu Fei the most. Gu Fei was the most well-behaved and the best-looking.

Well, Beauty was useful regardless of era.

Gu Fei was very embarrassed. All her aunt gave her was meat, and she didn’t know what she would get in return.

As she gnawed on the dried meat, she said, “Auntie, if Juhua can’t walk anymore, let her get on my carriage and rest. I’ll buy a mule cart tomorrow, and everyone can take turns and rest for a while.”

Juhua looked at Gu Fei and called out hesitantly: “Cousin.”

She looked at Gu Fei who was about the same age as herself and felt a little embarrassed to scream.

Gu Fei responded crisply and puffed up her chest. Well, she was like an elder to Juhua.

Hmm, should she give her some greeting gifts or something?

Her things were all modern, which was not easy to give.

Gu Fei pretended to dig into her sleeve, took a white flour pancake handed it to Juhua, and ran away quickly.

Auntie smiled and said: “This girl is honest and doesn’t want to let others suffer.”

Juhua held the white flour pancake in her hand and handed it to her aunt, “Mother, you eat it.”

Auntie shook her head and said: “You go ahead and give some to your two brothers. The boys eat a lot, and this little nest is not enough.”

After eating dry food, we continued on our way. Today, they walked faster than yesterday. In the evening, we arrived at Fuyuan Town, which Uncle Ma mentioned.

The town was not big, with two horizontal streets and three straight streets. As soon as they entered the town, the village chief started to ask an old man: “Brother, where is the cheapest inn in your town?”

The old man smiled and said, “There are only two inns in the town. There are so many mules here, so go to the Liu’s Inn. It’s just at the end of this street. It’s a big place over there and the prices are not expensive.”

The village chief thanked the old man, and everyone drove the mule cart over there.

Gu Fei didn’t ask for a bath today. One hundred yuan a bucket of water made her feel sick.

She counted the heads of the family, paid the money for the shop, and the family began to make dinner again.

There was no firewood to collect in this town, so the Gu family spent two cents to buy bundles of dry firewood for the fire.

Mrs. Chen didn’t cook meat today, no one in their group can eat meat every day.

After boiling a pot of water, made a basin of noodles, dug out some pickled vegetables, cut them, and boiled them together.

Such a simple thing but still made others envious.

Mrs. Qian glanced over them several times. When setting up the stove today, Gu Erlang deliberately chose a place far away from her.

The yard wasn’t so big, so people could see clearly what every household eats.

There were eleven people in the Gu family, including the old lady and Uncle Ma. One pot of noodles was not enough, so they ate it with the men and the old lady first and then cooked a second pot.

Bao’er was holding a cooked egg while gnawing on it while standing by the pot and drooling. However, he didn’t dare to reach out and grab it now. After watching for a while, he ran to Mrs. Qian’s side and shouted: “Mom, I want to eat noodles too.”

Mrs. Qian said angrily: “Shut up. Our family won’t even be able to eat grains for a few days, don’t think about eating good things every day.”

Bao’er sat down on the ground and started howling again: “I want to eat noodles, I want to eat——”

The corners of Mrs. Qian’s mouth twitched. There was nothing she could do about Bao’er. She handed Xing’er a bowl: “Go, go to your second uncle and ask for some noodle soup for your brother.”

 

Bao’er shouted and pointed at Xiao Cao: “You have it. What is in Xiaocao’s mouth? Why do you give it to her but not to me!”

Gu Fei snorted, didn’t bother to pay attention to him, and walked to the side.

Bao’er rolled on the ground again, howling as he rolled: “Give me candy, I want to eat candy——”

Gu Fei was so noisy that her head hurt, but she didn’t want to succumb to this kid’s power, so she simply got into the mule carriage.

Mrs. Qian heard the sound and came over to pull Bao’er, “My ancestors, don’t roll around here. There is no water for you to wash your clothes right now.”

“I want it, I want it, I won’t get up if you don’t give me candy.” Bao’er howled even more when he saw his mother coming.

The old lady in the carriage looked at Gu Fei and hesitated to speak. She opened the curtain and took a look. Seeing that Bao’er was covered in dirt, she couldn’t help but turn around and say to Gu Fei: “If you still have one, give him one. Isn’t it just a piece of candy?”

Gu Fei said calmly: “Bao’er was spoiled like this by you. No other child in any family acts like him.”

“Now, he just wants a piece of candy, our family can still afford it. What if he wants something else in the future, but my family can’t afford it? Should I steal it or rob others for him?”

The old lady was unhappy: “What are you talking about? Bao’er is also your nephew. Besides, he is still young. He will naturally become sensible when he grows up.”

Gu Fei pursed her lips and said nothing. She wouldn’t give it anyway, and she didn’t like to coddle such a naughty child.

Hmph, I shouldn’t have given it to him yesterday!

No more good intentions.

After resting for almost a quarter of an hour, Uncle Ma shouted, “Let’s go. Those who should get in the carriage, get in the carriage quickly.”

Bao’er was still rolling on the ground, but Mrs. Qian couldn’t bear to lay a finger on him. She was so angry that she shouted to Gu Zhong: “Take care of him. We have to leave now but he won’t get up yet.”

Gu Zhong still valued his only son very seriously. He pulled up Bao’er and said, “What’s so delicious about candy? When we get to the market town in the evening, whatever you want to eat, Dad will buy it for you.”

Bao’er was dragged forward by Gu Zhong, and his body kept falling backward: “No, I want to eat candy. That candy is the most delicious.”

As he spoke, Gu Fei and his mule carriage passed by smoothly.

Gu Zhong quickly coaxed him: “Look, Xiao Fei has left. If you don’t leave, you won’t be able to catch up with them.”

Bao’er refused, and was held in his father’s hand, dancing and beating his father: “I want some candy, go and ask for some candy for me to eat——”

Gu Zhong couldn’t help it anymore and slapped Bao’er hard on the back of the head: “Where can I get it from you?”

“You don’t know how to behave yourself, and please your Sister Xiao Fei. Damn it, why did I raise such a debt collector like you!”

Mrs. Qian was worried beside her: “Husband, get in the cart quickly, they are all gone.”

Gu Zhong handed Bao’er to Mrs. Qian, got into the mule cart, and hurried forward.

Xing’er saw the opportunity quickly and slipped to the front, leaving Mrs. Qian and Bao’er behind.

Mrs. Qian dragged Bao’er, who was still struggling. Mrs. Qian got angry: “If you make trouble for me again, I’ll throw you here!”

Bao’er sucked back the snot that flowed to his mouth: “Throw me away. If you dare to throw me away, your family will be wiped out!”

Bao’er often hears from his grandmother’s mouth that if she hadn’t finally given birth to him, his father would have never had an ancestor!

Grandma’s tone when she said this made Bao’er feel that it was a terrible thing to have no future.

He also became more aware of his status at home.

Mrs. Qian was scolding Gu Fei in her heart while dragging Bao’er forward. She doesn’t dare to throw away her only son.