kvmb Chapter 107 Refugees
Chapter 107 Refugees
Almost all the children in the family studied at the Zhou family. Li Ping'an, also known as Xiao Shitou, studied with Master Zhou together with his three brothers. He was the oldest, started the latest, and was also the most hardworking one. Even when he was on the road, he was always reciting. When he had a break, he would write on the ground with a branch.
Li Zhaodi and Li Pandi also learned embroidery from Zhou Wan'er. Mrs. Zhou found the most skillful embroiderer in the Zhou family to teach them.
Jiang Jiang saw the support from the Zhou family. Although it was somewhat of a way of repaying a favor, Jiang Jiang could not turn a blind eye to other people's efforts.
The Zhou family has no shortage of food or money, but now they have no refrigerator to keep the food warm, so fresh meat is a rare commodity.
Jiang Jiang was afraid that Mr. and Mrs. Zhou would not accept them, so she asked the children to carry a bag each and deliver it to them.
As soon as they met, the boys knelt down and handed the salary in their hands to Master Zhou.
Since it was a tuition fee, Mr. Zhou had no choice but to accept it. He was deeply moved. He was also a role model for teachers.
Mr. Zhou was thinking that after a few days when he arrived in Wushan County, he would go and buy some more books. He also had to prepare the Four Books and Five Classics. Who knows, maybe he, Zhou Tongsheng, could really teach a scholar.
That’s right, he was talking about Li Laibao. This kid is smart. Li Laibao can immediately apply what he taught him. He is a real student.
Mr. Zhou knew that he was not talented and well-educated, otherwise he would not have given up his official career to choose business. So he planned to buy some books and let Li Laibao study on his own for the things he did not understand. When they arrived in Jiangzhou, he would find a good teacher for Laibao.
Right now is a time when Mr. Zhou has no place to expend his energy, and teaching a few children just happens to relieve a lot of his boredom and anxiety.
Even Zhou Wan'er was very happy that her parents finally didn't have to keep an eye on her all day.
"Have you finished today's homework?!" Mr. Zhou cleared his throat, tried hard to recall what his teacher looked like when he was a child, and tried to become serious.
But his round body and chubby face made such an expression not only lack majesty, but also looked a little funny.
But the children were still frightened. They were only thinking about eating meat and forgot that they had not done their homework for the day. When they saw Master Zhou asking questions, they were very nervous.
Li Dongliang covered Li Ping'an's mouth, Li Changyuan covered Li Laibao's mouth, and the two of them worked together, and the four of them ran away.
There was no way. Among the four people, Li Pingan was the most diligent and finished his homework early. Li Laibao was the smartest and homework was not a problem for him. In the end, weren't only Li Dongliang and Li Changyuan the ones who suffered?
Seeing the four people running away, Mr. Zhou laughed, showing some of his former style.
"Butler, take this chicken down and stew it. Thanks to my students, we can have chicken soup today."
As he spoke, Mr. Zhou revealed a somewhat smug look, causing Mrs. Zhou to roll her eyes at him.
Zhou Wan'er was very interested in the snow-white little rabbits. She acted coquettishly and asked Mrs. Zhou to leave the two little rabbits for her to feed and to relieve her boredom. Mrs. Zhou couldn't persuade her and had to agree.
Forget it, forget it. It’s not like there’s no food at home. It’s just two rabbits. The Zhou family can afford it.
According to the plan, they are now about a week away from Wushan County.
After passing the Valley of Broken Souls, the convoy returned to its former tranquility. With the Zhou family's good care and food, most of the wounded recovered well, and the most worried situation of wound inflammation did not occur.
Everything seems to be getting better, except...
"Madam, please be kind and buy my daughter. She is eight years old and very smart. She can be a child bride or a maid. As long as you give her food, she will do."
A middle-aged woman in tattered clothes was kneeling on the ground begging bitterly. Next to her was a skinny little girl who was displayed like a commodity. If the woman hadn't said herself that she was eight years old, Jiang Jiang would have thought that the child was only four or five years old.
There was a son next to the woman, who looked even younger. It was hard to imagine that numbness, dullness and indifference could all appear in the eyes of a child of a few years old.
Even though the woman was so humble, Jiang Jiang did not buy the little girl.
She has too many secrets and cannot allow people with unknown backgrounds to come into her home. As for child brides, the girl's age should be similar to that of the boys in the family, but Jiang Jiang never planned to find child brides for them.
Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so how can she force arrangements on them?
Seeing this, the woman was a little disappointed and took the little girl to the next house where there was a boy of school age.
This is not the first time this has happened.
They are neither robbing nor asking for food. They are just bringing a few children with them and asking if you can buy them. Even the most heartless person would not directly drive them away.
Some smart refugees quietly followed the team from Daxi Village. With the Zhou family and people from Daxi Village leading the way, they would be safer along the way.
The Zhou family and the people of Daxi Village saw this, but as long as they didn't disturb them, they didn't drive them away.
We learned from the refugees that most of them came from the surrounding villages. Half a month ago, there was a severe drought and the crops died overnight. Instead of sending people to provide disaster relief, the government sent soldiers to go door to door to plunder the villagers' stored grain.
The crops in the fields were gone, the food at home was gone, some of the villagers became bandits, some were forced into exile, and the weak had died on the roadside at some point in their lives.
But Li Cuicui was a little puzzled because they didn't see any dead bodies on the roadside along the way.
Jiang Jiang stopped Li Cuicui from asking the question in time.
She would rather this silly child never understood that the man was dead and his body was missing on the roadside. What else could it be?
They had already entered the jurisdiction of Wushan County, but the number of refugees was increasing. Both the Zhou family and the people of Daxi Village had to be extra careful when eating and traveling.
Jiang Jiang's family hasn't cooked porridge for two days. They now eat two meals a day. When they boil water every day, they also cook two eggs and secretly feed them to the children at home.
Normally, they would just eat a few bites of pancakes with cold water as a meal. When there was no time to eat, Jiang Jiang would grab a handful of fried noodles or fried rice for everyone to fill their stomachs.
These are all based on experience. Previously, a family in the village set up a pot and cooked a pot of fragrant white porridge, which almost caused a riot among the refugees. Many people in the village were scared. However, after the Zhou family servants' knives were stained with red blood, those people retreated.
For the refugees, it is better to give it a try than to starve to death. Just in case, they can grab some food and live longer.
From then on, the people of Daxi Village rarely cooked. Once they did, they would prepare food for the next few days.
Even the Zhou family has become much more low-key.
The whole team became dull.
In the next few days, things took a turn for the better.
As they got closer to Wushan County, the number of refugees became smaller and smaller.