Archives: FS

Gu Fei fell asleep in a daze.

Gu Fei didn’t know how long it took, but she was woken up by the strong smell of chicken soup.

At this time, there was a knock on the door, and Li Chunhua pushed the door open and came in, smiling: “Sister, you’re awake. Mom has already prepared the meal. Can you stand?”

Gu Fei nodded: “Sister-in-law, give me a hand.” If there was chicken soup to drink, she would crawl over it.

Gu Fei was helped to the main room, and the two teenagers ran over happily: “Sister, you are finally back.”

“Second brother, third brother.” Gu Fei called.

At this time, a little girl with two braids that could reach the sky ran over and hugged Gu Fei’s leg, “Aunt, you are back.”

Gu Fei looked down at the small bean child and smiled. This was Gu Qing’s child, whose nickname was Xiao Cao. She was a little over three years old.

Li Chunhua hurriedly pushed her away, “Your aunt is injured, please stay away.”

Mrs. Chen took a cushion put it on the chair, and then asked Li Chunhua to help Gu Fei sit down.

The whole family also sat down.

There was a pot of chicken, a stack of cornmeal pancakes, a bowl of pickles, and a bowl of green beans on the table. This is the extent of the New Year celebrations at home.

Gu Fei’s eyes squinted when she smelled the aroma of chicken soup.

Xiao Cao sat in Li Chunhua’s arms and clapped her hands, “Oh, it’s time to eat chicken. Let’s eat——”

“Hey, after redeeming the money-losing goods, you kill the chicken to eat ?” Xiao Cao’s cheerful words were interrupted by a sharp voice, and a middle-aged woman with a droopy face and a long green cloth dress walked in from the door.

Gu Zhang frowned and said: “Sister-in-law, my Xiao Fei is not a money-losing good. Please be careful of what you say.”

“What is she if she’s not a money loosing goods?” Mrs. Qian walked in quickly and almost poked Gu Fei in the face with his finger, but Gu Fei hurriedly got out of the way.

“A girl like her is worth 20 taels of silver? If she can’t work for two years, she will get married off, and she will have to pay a dowry. Brother, I think you have lost your mind!”

Gu Zhang stood up with an ugly expression: “Sister-in-law, how much I am willing to spend to redeem Xiao Fei is our family’s business and has nothing to do with you. Our family has been separated for a long time!”

Mrs. Qian turned around and pointed at Gu Zhang and spit at him: “It has nothing to do with me? Then don’t come to our house to borrow money!”

“While I was away, you coaxed your honest eldest brother to get a tael of silver. Do you think I got the money out of nowhere?”

Gu Qing lowered his head when he heard this. He was the one who just went to his uncle’s house to borrow money.

“Give me back my money!” Mrs. Qian spread her hand with her palm facing upward.

Gu Qing looked at Gu Zhang, he knew that Gu Zhang still had two taels of silver in his hand.

Gu Zhang hesitated for a moment but then said: “Sister-in-law, I can’t pay you back the money right now. In 2 days, I will go to the city with my sons to find work. I will pay you back the money before the end of the year.”

He still had some use for the two taels of silver in his hand. He had to go to the Yamen to cancel Gu Fei’s slave registration, and he also had to transfer Gu Fei’s household registration back. This all costs money, and two taels might not be enough.

“Bah!” Mrs. Qian spat fiercely: “Don’t lie to me. The drought has been like this this year, and there is no work in the fields. Many people have all gone to the city to find work. I’m afraid there are hundreds of people under the city wall. You are going to look for work? When do you think it will be your turn?”

“I don’t care, I want the money now!”

 

Gu Zhang didn’t say much, just said in a deep voice: “Go and get it.”

He knew how much money they had at home, and there were only a few families that Gu Qing could borrow money from. These families were not rich and could not borrow much money.

Mrs. Chen didn’t say anything else. She went back to her room and opened the Kang cabinet again, took out the box, and took out the land deed inside.

Gu Fei’s eyes flashed, and she turned around and asked: “Mom, what are you doing with the land deed?”

Mrs. Chen held the land deed tightly in her hand and said with a forced smile: “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about these things. Just take good care of yourself. Mom will kill a chicken to make up for it in a while.”

Mrs. Chen quickly came out and handed the land deed to Gu Zhang with great reluctance.

Gu Zhang took the land deed and hurried to the village chief’s house.

Mrs. Chen saw Gu Zhang walking away, and she felt cruel. Then she went to catch a chicken from the chicken coop, brought it to the stove, and killed it.

Gu Fei was lying on the Kang, while Li Chunhua was giving her medicine. She heard the crow of the chicken and licked her lips. It had been a long time since she had eaten chicken.

When the apocalypse came, it became difficult to find food to survive, let alone eat chicken.

Although there were a few frozen chickens in her space, she had no chance to make them. There were too many people at the base, so she didn’t dare to take them out.

She wanted to drink chicken soup.

About a quarter of an hour later, Gu Zhang returned and said: “This is 20 taels of silver that was just counted by the village chief. Brother Shitou, please keep it.”

Shitou took the money with a complicated expression. He admired this family. They were so poor, but they were still so trustworthy and courageous.

He clearly stated that they didn’t need to pay back the money, but even so, they sold their land to repay their debt.

When Gu Zhang talked to Mrs. Chen out before, Shitou, who had a sharp ear and vaguely heard the word “land deed”. What else he couldn’t understand?

He nodded: “The money has been paid off, so I won’t bother you, and leave.”

Gu Zhang grabbed him and said: “Brother, don’t leave. You’ve worked hard, and you have to eat before going back.”

Shitou waved his hands repeatedly: “My young master is still waiting for me to serve him. I really can’t afford to delay anymore. I accept your kindness and take my leave.”

Gu Zhang couldn’t hold people back and watched Shitou get on the carriage.

The room became quiet, Gu Zhang turned around and asked Gu Qing: “Your sister——”

The door to the back room was closed, so he couldn’t go in rashly.

Gu Qing just met his father at the village chief’s house. He glanced at the door of the inner room and said: “My sister is injured. Chunhua is giving her medicine.”

Gu Zhang’s voice tightened: “Where is it hurt?”

Gu Qing said dullly: “On her back.”

“Her clothes were all stained red.”

As he was talking, Li Chunhua came out of the back room, holding the clothes Gu Fei had changed into.

Gu Zhang’s eyes lingered on the blood stains on the clothes for a long time, and he asked trembling: “Xiao Fei, did she tell you how she got injured? Is it serious? Do we need to call a doctor?”

“My sister said she was beaten in the mansion. They went to see the doctor in the city and bought medicine before they came back.” After Li Chunhua finished speaking, she carried the clothes and went to the water tank outside the house to fetch water.

Gu Zhang’s heart skipped a beat and his facial expression drastically changed: “It’s all my fault, it’s all my fault!”

Gu Qing helped Gu Zhang sit down: “Dad, don’t blame yourself. Now that Xiao Fei is back, the family is finally reunited. Let’s treat her well in the future and slowly pay back what we owe her.”

Gu Fei pricked up her ears to listen to the sounds outside and let out a long breath in the back room.

From this point of view, it seems that the Gu Family values ​​love and justice, and their character is upright. She will treat them as real relatives in the future.

They were connected by blood, and the memories in her mind were also accompanied by emotions. She couldn’t let go even if she wanted to.

 

Mrs. Chen cried and threw herself on Gu Qing’s back. Gu Qing hurriedly got out of the way, “Mom, my sister is injured. Don’t press her. You have to let her lie down on the Kang quickly.”

Mrs. Chen stopped her feet and asked, “Where are you hurt?”

She looked over and suddenly saw a large amount of blood on Gu Fei’s back. She swayed and almost fainted. Fortunately, Li Chunhua came over to support her.

Gu Fei was quickly put on the kang, lying on her stomach with her head tilted. Mrs. Chen looked at her bloodstained middle coat, her hands were trembling. She didn’t dare to lift it.

Gu Qing took out the ointment and handed it to Li Chunhua, telling her to apply it to Gu Fei in a while, and then said to Mrs. Chen: “Mom, take out all the money at home. I redeemed my sister. It cost me 20 taels of silver. I have to give it back.”

Mrs. Chen was surprised: “20 taels, but we don’t have that many at home!”

Gu Qing gritted his teeth and said: “I’ll borrow it if there’s still a lot left.”

Gu Fei was about to say that she had money, but suddenly she held back.

It was not that she was selfish, she always had some knots in her heart about the family members who sold her. She wanted to see how far these people in this family could go for her, and then she’d decide how to treat them.

Mrs. Chen hurriedly took the key to open the cabinet, took out a small box from inside, and opened the box. Inside was some scattered silver. Gu Qing weighed it and estimated that there were about twelve taels.

Gu Qing took the money and walked out. Mrs. Chen stopped him: “Where are you going to borrow money?”

Gu Qing paused: “I’ll go to the uncle’s house and brother-in-law’s house first. If it’s not enough, I’ll go to the village chief.”

“Mom, you go to the main room to entertain the guest.”

“Chunhua, you ask Ergou to go next door to go find Father.”

Gu Qing went out after finishing speaking.

He walked to the main room and saw Shitou still standing at the door. He hurriedly invited people in: “Brother Shitou, please sit down for a moment. I don’t have enough money here. I’ll give it as soon as I have enough.”

Mrs. Chen also came out, went to the kitchen to find the most decent porcelain cup in the house, poured a cup of tea, and sent it to the main room.

As a peasant woman, Mrs. Chen didn’t know how to entertain guests. Especially when Shitou doesn’t look like an ordinary person.

The two of them sat in the main room.

Fortunately, after a while, a middle-aged man came in.

Mrs. Chen quickly stood up and said: “Husband, you’re back.”

She pointed to Shitou and said: “This is our benefactor. If he hadn’t loaned 20 taels of silver to our eldest son, Xiao Fei wouldn’t be able to come back today.”

Gu Zhang bent down and bowed deeply to Shitou: “Thank you so much for lending us the money.”

Shitou stood up hurriedly: “No need to thank me, it was my young master who lent the money.”

Gu Zhang nodded and still said: “Benefactor, please take a seat.”

“Mrs. Chen, you go and prepare a table of wine and food. It’s already noon. Let our benefactor eat before leaving.”

Shitou felt extremely uncomfortable. Their family looked very poor. They couldn’t even afford twenty taels of silver. If he stays for a meal, he would feel guilty.

He waved his hands repeatedly, “No, I’ll leave after I take the money.”

After saying those words, he felt it was too ambiguous, so he added: “Actually, my young master said that there is no need to pay back the money. I don’t think there is any need to borrow money. I will go back right now.”

Mrs. Chen felt happy when she heard this. Just as she was about to say something, she heard Gu Zhang say: “It’s a great kindness, but since the money was borrowed, it must be paid back. Please wait a moment.”

After Gu Zhang finished speaking, he pulled Mrs. Chen outside and said, “Go and give me the land deed.”

Mrs. Chen looked horrified: “You don’t want to sell the land, do you? Our eldest son has already gone to borrow money. The family only has these few acres of land. If it’s sold, what will our family eat?”

 

The melon-eating people nearby were all envious, and they all talked about it.

“This young master is a kind-hearted person.”

“Yes, 20 taels of silver is enough to eat for several years.”

Gu Qing’s expression calmed down, and he stood up and raised his hands to Xiao Yu: “Young Master is a very righteous man, but I cannot be dishonest in my words.”

“As I said before, this money was borrowed, so it must be paid back, otherwise, I will become a villain who breaks his word!”

“Please, young master, ask someone to go home with us, brother and sister, to collect the silver.”

Xiao Yu was a little impatient: “How can you be long-winded? Fine, give it back if you want! Shitou, go back with them to get the silver!”

Xiao Yu said a few words, turned around, and left with another boy.

Shitou didn’t say much and said to Gu Qing: “Then let’s go.”

After walking a few steps, Gu Qing suddenly stopped and said: “This won’t work. My sister’s body can’t walk a long way. I have to hire a carriage.”

An enthusiastic person nearby said: “I’ll call you a carriage. I know someone who drives the carriage.”

Gu Qing bowed his hands and said: “Thank you very much, brother.”

After a while, the carriage arrived. Gu Qing helped Gu Fei into the carriage. Shitou sat outside with the carriage driver very consciously.

Gu Qing first asked the driver to go to the medicine shop, let the doctor take a look at Gu Fei’s injury, buy some medicine to treat the injury, and then rush home.

Along the way, Gu Qing also sat outside and chatted with Shitou.

“Brother Shitou, your young master looks like a nobleman, so why would he go to a place like Nanshi?”

Nanshi sells people and livestock, and also livestock’s feces. It was not a place for noble people to go.

Shitou smiled and said: “My young master loves horses. When he has free time, he will walk around the market to see if he can encounter any good horses. My young master has a good way of looking at horses.”

“This is the first time for our young master to come to Lincheng, so he naturally wants to visit Nanshi.”

Gu Qing nodded, “I see, your accent doesn’t sound like you’re from Lincheng.”

Shitou smiled enigmatically and said no more.

Gu Fei lay on the mat, listening to the gossip outside, while taking out a piece of bread from the space and gnawing on it. She was starving.

The carriage moved quickly and left the city. They arrived at Gujia Village in less than half an hour.

The carriage stopped at the door of the Gu family. Li Chunhua, the eldest sister-in-law of the Gu family, heard the commotion and came out.

Li Chunhua saw her husband getting out of the car and said: “How much grain did you buy, you brought it back in a carriage.”

Gu Qing waved his hand: “I haven’t bought any food. Please call our parents out quickly. I brought the sister back.”

“Sister is back?” Li Chunhua wanted to open the curtain of the carriage, but she was in a hurry to go back to the house to report the news. She stumbled with her left foot and almost fell, but still ran into the house quickly.

Gu Fei opened the curtain and was about to jump out of the car when Gu Qing stood beside her nervously: “Sister, you are injured. Don’t move around. Lie on my back and I will carry you down.”

Gu Fei was in a complicated mood and let out a sound, silently lying on Gu Qing’s back.

From the moment this eldest brother saw Gu Qing today, he asked people to borrow money for herself and even kowtowed others until he got a bruise on his forehead.

This eldest brother loves his sister.

Before they could reach the main room, a middle-aged woman rushed out of the room. When the woman saw Gu Fei on Gu Qing’s back, she cried, “Xiao Fei, you’re back.”

 

Shitou wiped away his tears and muttered: “I thought of my sister when I saw this girl.”

While talking about Shitou, he untied the purse around his waist and took out a twenty-tale of silver ingot.

Gu Qing gratefully took the silver in his hand and was about to run to hand it over to the middleman when two thugs came over, grabbed Gu Fei, and left.

Gu Qing shouted: “Let her go, I have money!”

The two thugs ignored him and dragged Gu Fei away. Only then did Gu Qing see that the white tunic on the girl’s back was stained red with blood.

“Wu wu wu.” Gu Qing started crying like a child and walked towards the middleman while crying.

“Now that I have the money, return my sister’s deed of sale to me.” Gu Qing held the money in one hand and spread it out with the other.

The middleman didn’t bother, he rummaged through a stack of deeds of sale. He was about to hand it over when suddenly, the madam shouted: “Wait a minute, I’ll pay 25 taels of silver for this girl!” ”

As soon as these words came out, Gu Qing was stunned, and the audience was in a state of panic.

It was originally a good reunion between the brother and sister, but the madam has lost her mind and gone crazy, insisting on getting a girl into a brothel.

The indignant people said: “You old bastard, you have lost your conscience!”

“You bastard should be struck by lightning, you don’t know how to do good things!”

“You better not have a son!”

Gu Fei stared at the madam. If there weren’t countless pairs of eyes watching, she wanted to rush over and beat her to death!

Gu Qing was at a loss. The price increased by another five taels of silver. Where could he get the money?

At this moment, Xiao Yu get off the horse, pushed aside the crowd, walked to the stage, and glared at the madam fiercely: “You bitch, are you tired of living? I rarely want to do something good, but you have to stop me!”

“You have more money than me, right? I have more than enough money to buy the entire Nanshi!”

“Shitou, give me money, and I’ll throw it to this old godly woman to death!”

Shitou who was holding the pouch was very worried: Young Master, we only have banknotes now, how can you smash people to death?

Gu Fei looked at Xiao Yu and finally showed her first smile in this world.

This pretentious second-generation official was full of life!

The place where she lived was no longer the post-apocalyptic world full of zombies, or a prison. This was the living world!

As soon as Xiao Yu raised his eyes and saw Gu Fei, he was stunned by her smile. Although this girl was unkempt, she still had a pretty smile.

The Madam was startled when she saw Xiao Yu. At first, Xiao Yu was far away, so she didn’t see what he was wearing clearly. Then she suddenly saw that he was wearing a silk robe. She panicked. She was the master of a brothel. She was well-informed and knew that silk was not something that ordinary people could wear.

She better not offend noble people because of her dark little thoughts.

The madam’s mind was spinning very fast. She immediately knelt on the ground and slapped her face left and right: “My lord, please calm down. This old lady was just joking. I don’t want this girl anymore!”

Xiao Yu snorted and said nothing.

That middleman was also a smart person. Seeing the attitude of the madam, he knew that he was someone who could not afford to offend.

He quickly took the silver from Gu Qing’s hand and presented the deed of betrayal with both hands.

Gu Qing took the deed of betrayal, rubbed his eyes, and looked at it again and again until he confirmed that it was the girl’s deed, then he carefully put it in his sleeve.

He hurriedly went over to help Gu Fei, and the two of them walked off the stage.

Gu Qing pulled Gu Fei and knelt to Xiao Yu, and kowtowed three times: “Young Master’s kindness is so great that I will never forget it. Please send someone to go home with us brothers and sisters to collect the money.”

Xiao Yu waved his hand carelessly: “Get up, there’s no need to pay back the money. I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll reward you that money.”

 

There was a kind-hearted person in the audience who said: “Hey, middleman, you are doing this business of buying and selling people all day long, why don’t you try to do good things this time, and let this little brother go home to get the money. It won’t delay you too much.”

“He looks very pitiful.”

“Yes, if you do this, you will do a good deed.”

Other people also commented in support.

The middleman was a little embarrassed and looked at the madam: “Sister, look at it, why don’t we just forget about this girl, and you can choose someone else.”

Hearing this, Gu Qing looked at the Madam with hope.

The Madam sneered: “I don’t want to, I’m going to buy this girl!”

If they were brother and sister, it would be fine. But they were brother and sister. The madam remembered that day she was sold by her brother and sister-in-law. Bah, what kind of false kinship!

The madam turned to the middleman and said: “I’m done choosing, let’s settle the accounts!”

Gu Qing looked at the madam with despair. If he just watched his sister being sold into a brothel, he wouldn’t want to live anymore. His family would not let him go.

Gu Fei stood on the stage, unable to do anything for a moment.

If she had given a little time, this matter wouldn’t be a problem. This madam was too hateful.

In anxiousness, Gu Fei swept her eyes around, and suddenly, she saw a servant holding a horse’s reign while standing under the stage. The servant looked at Gu Fei as he wiped away his tears.

Next to the servant was a young man with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes riding a horse. He looked like he came from a wealthy family. He wore a gold crown on his head and a tapestry robe woven with gold thread. His face was expressionless.

Gu Fei’s heart moved. His clothes were something ordinary people couldn’t wear. This thing was a tribute. Except for the royal family, only those of the third rank or above were qualified to wear this.

One time, Madam Hou also received two tasseled silk coats. She treated them like treasures. She would only put them on when going out to be guests.

This young master’s identity was not simple!

In ancient times, what was most useful was not money, but status!

No matter how rich a businessman is, he must kneel when he sees an official! The four classes in ancient times, the scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, have no right to speak.

As for this madam, she was worse than the lowest businessman.

Suddenly, in Gu Fei’s hands hiding in her sleeves, a small knife appeared. This small knife can cut iron like clay, so the rope in her hands broke with just one cut.

Gu Fei jumped off the stage desperately, rushed to the young master, and knelt with a plop.

“Young Master, I can see that you are talented like a jade tree stands in the wind, and handsome. You must be a kind person with a chivalrous heart. Please lend me 20 taels of silver and let my brother buy me back. I promise to return the money immediately as soon as we get back home.”

Xiao Yu was startled and grinned: “You girl, have good taste.”

“I—I am exactly what you said, not only handsome but also chivalrous!”

The people around him had different expressions on their faces when they heard what the young master said. It was rare for someone to praise himself in public.

The middleman on the stage reacted at this moment. He frowned and shouted: “Go and catch that girl!”

Gu Qing also ran over at this moment, knelt next to Gu Fei, and kowtowed to Xiao Yu: “This young master, I beg you, please lend me 20 taels of silver.”

Xiao Yu waved his hand: “It’s not a big deal. Shitou, give him 20 taels of silver!”

He turned his head to look at Shitou and saw his servant wiping away his tears.

Xiao Yu kicked him lightly and said: “Why are you crying? Get the money quickly.”