Archives: FS

The village chief looked at everyone with a complicated expression. Who wants to leave? He doesn’t want to leave either.

His family has a row of brick and tiled houses and dozens of acres of land. Such a large family property must be thrown away in the blink of an eye!

He felt the pain of having his heart and liver ripped out, but there was nothing he could do.

It was written in the Book of Heaven. People were dying of hunger for thousands of miles, plagues were rampant, and they could not survive without leaving!

The village chief didn’t care after he finished speaking. It was up to everyone to decide whether to leave or not. He couldn’t put a knife to someone’s neck to follow them.

The crowd became confused, everyone was looking for advice from their acquaintances, friends, or brothers and sisters.

Gu Zhong looked around and finally found Gu Zhang, and quickly grabbed him: “Second Brother, why didn’t you tell me about such a big matter first? Are you planning to escape?”

Gu Rong, the third son of the Gu family, also squeezed over: “Second Brother, it’s not like we have to flee. If we do, what will happen to our house and land?”

Gu Zhang sighed: “I only got the news last night, and I haven’t had time to tell you yet.”

“Third Brother, don’t worry about the house and the land. There is no food in the land anyway, and I’m not afraid such a house would be stolen. We have to live first.”

Gu Rong was startled: “Second brother, do you want to leave?”

Gu Zhang nodded cautiously.

Gu Rong only thought about it for a moment before making a decision, “Okay, then I’ll go with my Second Brother.”

He gritted his teeth and said: “Anyway, there are only three people in my family, and we don’t have a few acres of land. I don’t feel bad if it was thrown away.”

His Second Brother was the only scholar in the family, no, in their whole village. Although he and the eldest brother were also literate, they could barely recognize a few words. His second brother was also smart. If there had not been an accident in the family that year, his second brother would have been a scholar by now.

He has been accustomed to letting his second brother decide on everything for decades.

Gu Zhong was still hesitating: “I still have to think about this matter.”

Gu Zhang did not persuade him, and turned to Gu Zhong and said: “Go to the eldest sister’s house tomorrow and tell her that no matter what, she should go with us.”

Gu Zhong’s heart skipped a beat and he even called the eldest sister. This second brother had made a big decision.

He was already inclined to leave, but he still said: “I’ll go back and discuss it with Mrs. Qian.”

Gu Rong sneered: “Brother, my sister-in-law is a woman with long hair but short knowledge. Why do you have to talk to her?”

Gu Qing stood nearby, and only then did he understand the purpose of the girl asking her to buy a mule cart.

Escape!

At this time, Gu Rong’s son Huzi ran over and hugged Gu Fei’s leg: “Aunt Xiao Fei, I want to eat candy.”

When Gu Fei went out, she stuffed a toffee into Xiao Cao’s mouth.

There was a bulge in Xiao Cao’s mouth. She hadn’t finished eating yet, but Huzi saw her mouth moving, and when she came closer, she smelled another sweet fragrance.

He asked what she was eating, Xiao Cao said vaguely: “Candy given by my aunt.”

So he came running.

Gu Fei took out a candy quietly tore off the packaging and called Huzi: “Open your mouth.”

Huzi opened his mouth, and a candy slipped into his mouth.

His eyes widened, feeling the sweetness imparted to him by his taste buds. This was too delicious!

Before Gu Fei could say anything, Huzi ran away quickly again.

He ran to a few friends and showed off vigorously: “I have candy to eat, but you don’t!”

A child pouted: “Who has never eaten candy? I just came out of the house after eating maltose.”

Huzi opened his mouth and said: “It’s not maltose. It was given to me by my Aunt Xiao Fei. It’s delicious. It’s a hundred times better than maltose!”

The friends couldn’t imagine what it tasted like a hundred times better than maltose, so they all looked at Huzi with envy.

Baoer, Gu Zhong’s son, suddenly pulled Huzi and said, “Give me some candy!”

 

There were more and more people along the way, and soon they arrived at the open space in front of the ancestral hall.

The village chief sat in front of the ancestral hall while frowning and smoking.

Many people ran to ask: “Village chief, why did you call everyone here?”

The village chief lowered his head and said: “Go, go, I’ll talk about it later when everyone is here.”

Everyone was idle and bored and began to gossip. The most talked about was the drought this year. Several families in poor conditions in the village had long since run out of food, and could only survive by looking for wild vegetables in the back mountains.

Everyone sighed. Their life was so miserable.

Seeing that the open space was densely packed with people, the village chief shouted: “Are everyone here?”

Everyone responded in a mixed manner: “We’re here.”

“Village chief, if you have something to say, just say it. We have to go back to cook.”

The village chief puffed his pipe a few times and said, “Quiet, quiet!”

“Next, what I want to say is very important, please don’t make any noise.”

The crowd fell silent, and the village chief climbed onto a stool and waved his hand: “My fellow villagers, this year’s drought has reached this point, and life is difficult for everyone.”

“What I want to tell everyone is that this drought is not something that will end this year. I’m afraid there will be 2 more years!”

The crowd immediately went crazy: “2 more years? We don’t know if we can survive this year, but there will be another drought next year. Our whole family will starve to death.”

“I’m afraid the village chief is talking nonsense. I have lived for decades but have never seen a severe drought for three consecutive years.”

Someone shouted: “Village chief, you said there will be another 2 years of drought. How did you know?”

The village chief picked up the tobacco pole and knocked it hard a few times: “How do I know? My ancestors told me in a dream!”

“Believe it or not!”

Last night, Gu Laoer showed him the Book of Heaven. It clearly stated that there was a three-year drought in the five northern counties. He was also knowledgeable about the paper on which the Book of Heaven was written. He had never seen that kind of paper. It was strong and light in texture. It was dense and didn’t look like something from Daying.

He and Gu Zhang have agreed that this Book of Heaven cannot be exposed. If the government finds out about it, they will be arrested and imprisoned immediately.

It can only be said to be a dream entrusted to us by our ancestors.

“Quiet, quiet, I haven’t finished speaking yet!” the village chief shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Yesterday, my distant nephew came over and told me the news that this drought is not only affecting our county but also affecting the five surrounding counties!”

“What, so many places were affected?”

“Is this true or not?”

Few people know this news, mainly because transportation in this era was underdeveloped, let alone communication tools.

Those with some knowledge immediately thought in their minds that if the affected area was large, the food shortage would be huge. Even if food can be transported from the south, the price of food will probably rise!

They have to go and stock up on food quickly.

The village chief stood on a stool and shouted at the top of his lungs: “This is our current situation. Our village is relatively wealthy, but most families can barely feed themselves. I heard that several families in the next village have already fled to famine.”

“I called everyone here today to tell you that my family and Gu Zhang’s family have agreed to leave and go to the south.”

“Everyone who wants to go can go with us together. By then, we can look for each other along the way. Otherwise, if your food is gone, you will get so hungry that you won’t even have the strength to go on the road.”

After the village chief finished speaking, everyone could no longer hold back, and some shouted: “I won’t leave. Our ancestors have been living here for generations. And I can’t leave here, family has no place to live outside!”

“That’s right, it’s dangerous to escape from famine. My grandfather escaped from famine before. 4 of the 8 members of his family died on the road.”

The old man said stubbornly: “I won’t leave, I’ll die at home.”

 

Gu Erlang glared at Msr. Qian fiercely.

Gu Zhang used his strength to help the old lady move forward: “Mom, I borrowed this carriage from someone else. I have to return it tomorrow. If you want to go to your cousin’s house, I’ll hire a carriage for you.”

The Old lady fell into deep thought: When did I say I’ll go to my cousin’s house?

Gu Zhang and Gu Erlang were afraid of more trouble, so they quickly carried the old lady into the yard next door before waiting for her to speak and placed her on the Kang.

The melon-eating crowd at the entrance of the courtyard lost their excitement and dispersed after a few comments.

Mrs. Chen hurriedly helped Gu Fei up and said: “What a sin! When will this injury heal, you keep tossing around like this day by day?”

Mrs. Chen and Li Chunhua helped Gu Fei into the house, and suddenly saw the second young lady on the Kang: “This, where did this girl come from?”

Just now she was picking vegetables in the backyard and didn’t even see the second young lady coming in.

“This is Er——” Before Gu Fei could finish her words, she was interrupted by the second young lady: “Auntie, I am Xiao Fei’s sister, you can just call me Lanzhi.”

Gu Fei also woke up. The Marquis Mansion was gone, so naturally, there would be no second young lady.

She nodded, “Mom, Lanzhi’s parents are gone, how about she lives in our house from now on?”

Mrs. Chen was just about to say that her family couldn’t afford to support her, but then she thought about the mysterious things that appeared in her daughter’s hands. It seemed that it would not be difficult to raise more people now. Moreover, her daughter’s visit to the city probably was for this girl today. Mrs. Chen hesitated and nodded: “That’s okay, I’ll just think I have an extra daughter.”

Lanzhi said obediently: “Thank you, ma’am.”

As she was talking, someone outside shouted: “The village chief asked every household to go to the ancestral hall now. There are important things to announce.”

Gu Erlang just returned to the door and asked: “Erniu, should everyone go, or can one person from a family go alone?”

“Everyone, let’s go. The village chief said it’s a big deal, so everyone needs to go and listen.”

Mrs. Chen opened the curtain and went out, and saw Gu Zhang coming back: “Old Man, you take your sons with you. Chunhua and I will cook at home.”

Gu Zhang said in a deep voice: “We’ll cook the meal when we get back. Everyone should go.”

Lanzhi looked at Gu Fei on the Kang: “Should I go too?”

Gu Fei nodded: “Go, you are now a member of the family.”

Gu Zhang went to see the village chief last night. He must have talked about escaping from famine today.

It’s better to go and listen to them all so that she doesn’t have to explain them one by one.

Gu Erlang knocked on the door outside: “Sister, I will carry you.”

Lanzhi hurriedly got off the Kang, turned her back, and stood aside.

As soon as Gu Erlang came in, his eyes turned around Lanzhi, and then his ears turned slightly red.

Gu Fei now understood that her second brother was a young man, and he was already in love.

No wonder, she felt that he was extra attentive to her today.

Gu Erlang carried Gu Fei on his back, Gu Qing held Xiao Cao, Li Chunhua held Lanzhi, and the entire Gu family went out grandly.

As soon as they went out, they met Mrs. Qian and his uncle Gu Zhong, as well as Xing’er holding her brother Bao’er, but the old lady was not seen.

Gu Fei called her uncle with a smile. Mrs. Qian’s sharp eyes immediately saw Lanzhi, “Where did this girl come from?”

Mrs. Chen rolled her eyes at her and ignored her.

No one in the family spoke to her, so Lanzhi stayed close to Li Chunhua and walked over with her head lowered.

Mrs. Qian spat behind them: “Bah, their whole family is weird, and not a single one of them is good.”

On the way to the ancestral hall, they met many villagers, and some asked about Lanzhi. Mrs. Chen said, “She is the daughter of my relative.”

Lanzhi lowered her head as low as possible. Except for the day when her home was ransacked, she had never seen so many men!

 

The second young lady lay beside the window and looked out through the hole in the window paper. When she saw Gu Erlang kneeling, the second young lady wiped her tears. She wanted a brother like this. She was a concubine daughter. In the eyes of her elder brother, she doesn’t exist. She was almost a transparent person.

The old lady became more and more angry, “Okay, okay, your whole family is protecting that girl. I just said this, but there are so many people protecting her.”

“You didn’t redeem a daughter, but you invited an ancestor back!”

The old lady raised her cane and slapped Gu Erlang a few times. The second young lady covered her mouth and shrank her shoulders.

Gu Erlang lowered his head and remained silent.

Gu Zhang and Mrs. Chen looked anxious, but it was hard to say anything. It was only natural for the old lady to lecture her grandson.

After a few strokes, the old lady lost her energy, threw away the crutch, sat on the ground, and cried: “What evil have I done? I have raised these unfilial children and grandchildren. My life is miserable. The old man left early. I help them pissed and shitted until they were big, but now they dislike me.”

Gu Zhang’s face was ashen. If she wasn’t his mother, he would have picked up the broom and driven him out. But she was, so he couldn’t be beaten or scolded.

The old lady’s movement quickly attracted onlookers. There was no entertainment at this time. If someone had a quarrel or a fight, the melon-eaters would come over with their little horses.

Gu Fei couldn’t bear it any longer in the house, so she climbed down from the kang and walked straight to the yard.

She looked at the old lady sitting on the ground and said, “Grandma, don’t knock over a boat full of people with one stick. My parents are very filial to you.”

“If there is anything, it’s all my fault.”

“I’m unfilial, come on, come on, hit me.” Gu Fei turned her back and knelt, pointing to her back.

“Hey, what’s wrong with this girl, Xiao Fei? Her back is covered with blood, it looks scary.”

“I heard that she was beaten up in the Marquis’ Mansion!”

“That’s not all. The Hou Mansion was ransacked. I heard that Xiao Fei was also imprisoned. She was taken to Nan Market to be sold. Fortunately, Gu Qing saw her and bought her back.”

“No wonder Gu Qing borrowed money from everywhere yesterday.”

“Yes, I heard that it cost 20 taels to redeem her. At that time, she was only sold for 5 taels of silver. Now it costs 20 taels. It’s a big loss!”

“The old lady has made a money-losing business. Xiao Fei was beaten like this. No wonder she is resentful.”

The melon-eating crowd stood at the entrance of the courtyard and exchanged opinions.

The old lady couldn’t help it when she heard the words about money-losing businesses. She wanted to say that Gu Fei went to the Marquis Mansion to enjoy a blessing, but she couldn’t say it when she saw the blood on Gu Fei’s back.

She wanted to take her crutch, but she was afraid that the second branch of the family would be more angry with her.

The old lady couldn’t get off the stage, so she could only cover her face and cry.

Gu Zhang looked at his daughter kneeling on the ground, feeling heartbroken.

He stepped forward and helped the old lady up: “Mom, you are old, don’t sit on the cold ground. I will help you go back and lie down.”

The old lady doesn’t want to stop yet and beats Gu Zhang twice: “I raised a heartless son in vain!”

Gu Erlang also got up from the ground. He and his father helped the old lady out of the ground.

Mrs. Qian sneered from the side. The old lady made such a big fuss, but it was all in vain, and didn’t take advantage of anything!

She raised her voice sharply: “Mom, didn’t you say yesterday that you were going to your cousin’s house?”

“Just in time, the second brother-in-law bought a mule cart. You can ask him to lend it to you for a few days and also take you to your cousin’s house.”

The old lady stopped at the entrance of the courtyard and looked back at the mule cart. The green cloth curtain on the carriage looked brand new.

 

Gu Fei disliked this old lady very much.

She was the one who decided to sell herself back then.

Gu Fei said nothing, while Gu Erlang quickly carried her back to the room.

The second young lady cleverly followed them in.

Gu Zhang’s voice came from the yard: “Mom, it’s not that Xiao Fei doesn’t want to see you. She’s injured. She can’t go into the city today.”

The old lady’s voice suddenly rose: “You are also a heartless person. You only know how to protect that girl. I think that girl has no elders in her eyes. She doesn’t even know how to say hello when she sees someone!”

“No matter what happens, I am still her grandmother!”

“If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the blessings in the Marquis’ Mansion!”

Mrs. Chen came out of the kitchen with a dustpan and said, “Mom, please don’t say anything about going to the Marquis’s Mansion to enjoy the blessings.”

“The injuries on Xiao Fei’s back were caused by being punished in the Marquis’ Mansion. If she’s at home, would she be injured even a single finger?”

“You think the Marquis Mansion is a good place? Xiao Fei is lucky enough to be able to come back alive.”

Just as she was talking, Mrs. Qian came over from next door and said, “Hey, sister-in-law, what you said is not authentic.”

Her eyes went straight to the mule cart parked in the yard, “Isn’t this cart bought with Xiao Fei’s money?”

“If the Marquis’s residence is not good, can she save up the money to buy a carriage?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a big mule plus a carriage would cost dozens of taels of silver. How much has Xiao Fei made in the Marquis’ Mansion!”

Gu Zhang said calmly: “Sister-in-law, please don’t talk nonsense. I borrowed this mule cart from someone and I have to return it tomorrow.”

Mrs. Qian sighed and said: “I believe you are a ghost!”

She turned to look at the old lady and said, “Mom, as soon as Xiao Fei came back yesterday, the chicken was killed at the second brother’s house. Isn’t this crazy?”

“Also, they didn’t even send you a bowl of chicken when the whole family was eating. I think that once this girl comes back, the second brother-in-law and his whole family will no longer see you as an elder.”

Mrs. Chen was so angry that she threw down the dustpan and said, “Sister-in-law, stop stirring up trouble and picking up ashes. I also wanted to give the old lady some of that pot of chicken, but didn’t it suddenly disappear? What can I do!”

Speaking of this, Mrs. Qian became a little nervous, but she still said stubbornly: “Don’t talk nonsense, why did the chicken disappear? If you don’t want to be filial to my mother, just say so.”

The old lady was so angry that she even killed the chicken without even giving it to her to eat. These people have lost their conscience!

Back then, she decided to sell Gu Fei. After Gu Zhang woke up, he was a little lukewarm towards her, and then divided the family, saying that he didn’t want to burden everyone.

But she knew that the second child was blaming her.

But what can she do? Compared with her granddaughter, her son was naturally more important.

Moreover, at that time, she did not sell her in the brothel to get eight. But she sold her to a familiar broker who would sell Gu Fei into the Marquis Mansion for five taels of silver. Shouldn’t they be grateful to her?

This whole family was heartless!

The old lady became more and more angry as she thought about it. She waved her crutch and said: “Call that girl out and kneel. If I don’t teach her a lesson, she will climb on the elder’s head to poop and pee!”

Gu Zhang said angrily: “Mom, what are you doing? Can’t you see the injuries on Xiao Fei’s body?”

“Besides, she didn’t do anything wrong, how could you ask her to kneel?”

Gu Fei could hear it clearly in the room, so her face didn’t look good.

Had she not understood that etiquette was as important as heaven in this era, she would have rushed out to fight with the old lady.

Did she provoke her that she finds trouble for her as soon as she comes?!

The second young lady grabbed her sleeves and shivered with fear. This old lady was so scary.

At this time, Gu Erlang walked out of the house and knelt with a plop: “Grandmother, my sister is injured. I will kneel on her behalf. If you want to teach her a lesson, just teach me a lesson.”

 

Gu Fei felt happy, opened the curtain, and saw Gu Erlang standing beside the carriage.

He went to see the courtyard with the broker. He had just seen two places and Gu Erlang thought the courtyard was small and was not satisfied.

While Gu Erlang was talking to Gu Zhang, he accidentally glanced into the carriage and suddenly saw a girl sitting next to his sister.

This girl was dressed in pink clothes, with watery eyes and white and tender skin. She was extremely beautiful.

Gu Erlang’s face turned red immediately, and he stuttered when he spoke, “Sister, sister, where are you going?”

While talking, Gu Erlang’s eyes kept glancing at the second young lady.

The second young lady noticed his gaze and hid behind Gu Fei with a blushing face.

“We were about to go find you to go look at the courtyard together.” Gu Fei stared at Gu Erlang’s face: “Okay, why are you blushing?”

Soon, they went to see the courtyard together. The courtyard was not far away. The broker opened the courtyard door, and they saw a large yard of seventy or eighty square meters. There was a well in the corner of the yard.

There were also many houses. The main house and the wing rooms together have about ten rooms, which are enough for a family to live in.

Gu Fei was very satisfied.

Gu Erlang happily signed the contract and paid the money.

Gu Zhang helped Gu Fei lie down on the kang, told her not to move, and went out with Gu Erlang to find Gu Qing.

At noon, Gu Fei and the second lady randomly ate two steamed buns. It was not until midnight that the father and son drove the mule cart back to the yard.

Gu Fei got off the kang and walked to the yard to look at some mules.

The mules were all very tall, estimated to weigh about a thousand pounds, much stronger than some ponies. Two were dark brown, one was almost black, and their four legs were thick and powerful.

Gu Qing stopped the mule cart and handed over the account to his sister.

“This mule is the best mule I bought. It is a cross between a Hequ horse and a donkey. This mule is very strong. It costs 20 taels of silver a piece. I don’t want any of the other worth 10 taels.”

“The 3 mules cost a total of 60 taels of silver, the three carts a total of 15 taels of silver, the mules’ iron shoes were hammered for another 20 taels of silver. The sheepskins I bought cost 30 taels.”

“There are 90 taels of silver left.”

Gu Fei nodded and took the remaining money.

Gu Sanlang smiled and handed Gu Fei a small package, “Sister, all the jewelry was pawned. A total of 215 taels of silver. 1 tael was given to the second brother to rent the courtyard. The rest are here.”

Gu Fei took the silver and put it away. Well, there were still three hundred and seventy taels of silver left, which should be enough for the journey.

“You didn’t spend money for lunch?”

A few people shook their heads.

Gu Fei hurriedly took out a few steamed buns and shared them with everyone. He also left some money for Gu Sanlang and asked him to stay and look after the courtyard.

Several people drove a mule cart out and bought two pairs of clothes for the second lady to change into. Gu Fei also bought two large cotton-padded jackets for herself and the second lady to wear later. She passed by a butcher shop and cut some meat before returning to the village.

The carriage stopped at the door of the Gu Family’s house. As soon as Gu Fei opened the curtain, she saw an old lady standing in the yard, looking at her with an unkind expression.

Gu Erlang carried Gu Fei out of the car, and the crutch in the old lady’s hand stabbed the ground heavily: “Is this, Xiao Fei?”

“You’ve been back for a few days, but you haven’t even come to see me!”

Gu Qing hurriedly apologized and said: “Grandma, Xiao Fei is injured. Can’t she come to see after the injury is healed?”

The old lady snorted heavily: “She can go to the city. I just live next door, but you talk as if it will kill her to walk a few steps?”

“I think you just don’t take me, an old lady seriously.”