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墨書 Inktalez
Li Gao cleared his throat and pressed down with the hand that wasn't holding a pipe, saying, "Don't be anxious, I'll explain right away. Just now, the officials from Yamen came to deliver a notice from the county magistrate. They are going to conscript labor for river repairs in the south. Each household must send one adult male, and as long as he is married, he counts as part of the household. If you don't want to go, you can pay five taels of Silver instead."
As soon as Li Gao finished speaking, the crowd below erupted into chaos. Men shouted and women cried out, with some women even sobbing loudly.
This conscription was no easy task; working for one's own family meant that if one got tired, they could take a break—at least they wouldn't die from it. But going to serve in labor could very well cost them their lives, and it was unpaid work—no money at all. If they chose not to go, they had to pay five taels of Silver. Five taels of Silver! Some families couldn't even save that much in a year!
Xiao Lihua frowned upon hearing the term "conscription." Although she had mostly forgotten the history she learned long ago, she knew this was not good news. The most famous story was that of Meng Jiangnu crying at the Great Wall; her husband died while serving in labor. Now they were being sent to repair the river. Xiao Lihua thought of the Grand Canal; it was said that what flowed in the Grand Canal was not just water but also the blood, sweat, and tears of countless people. Now they were asking the villagers to dig a canal; even if it wasn't as harsh or exhausting as before, it certainly wouldn't be easy. Otherwise, why would the villagers be so agitated?
At this moment, Xiao Lihua felt grateful that her family had Silver; at least Xie Youshun wouldn't have to suffer that fate. However, seeing so many villagers with faces full of despair—some women and elderly people crying out loud as if the sky had fallen on their homes—she couldn't feel happy inside.
"Youshun, digging the canal must be exhausting, right? Is there any danger?" Xiao Lihua asked Xie Youshun.
Xie Youshun replied, "It's very tiring. In the past when people went, our village's folks returned safely, but some villagers did die. Even those who came back were exhausted and needed a long time to recover."
Xiao Lihua thought this made sense; no wonder everyone was so agitated and scared. No one wanted to endure such hardship or die far from home.
The villagers loudly questioned the village chief, urging him to plead with the county magistrate to exempt them or at least reduce the amount of Silver required. The village chief sighed and shook his head.
"Villagers, this is an order from the Government; I have no power here. My family is also facing this situation—either send someone or pay Silver. Pleading won't help; this isn't something I can negotiate about. Villagers, you should quickly decide whether to send someone or pay Silver. If you don't want to send anyone, think about how to gather the Silver. Yamen has given us three days; they will come for registration after three days. Everyone needs to act quickly on this matter."
Li Gao spoke loudly; he too was troubled by this situation. This time Yamen was being particularly harsh; it wasn't based on households anymore. If it were by household, only one person or five taels of Silver would be required per family—even that wouldn't be too difficult. But now even if families hadn't split up, as long as there was a married male in the household, they counted as one unit. In his family alone, they would need to send three males; he himself couldn't go and he couldn't bear to let his two sons go either. That meant they would have to pay Silver—fifteen taels! That amount could buy an acre of good land and a fine ox or build two rooms! His family was considered well-off in Village but still felt pained by this sum; how much more so for those without money who had no choice but to send someone? It felt like the sky had fallen.
After finishing his speech, Li Gao immediately left; he feared that if he stayed any longer surrounded by villagers, he wouldn't know what else to do.
The men and women of Village gathered together without dispersing, venting their dissatisfaction and grievances—more so fear and despair. At this moment, those with money felt fortunate despite their reluctance to part with it; it was hard for families with many members but little money—a scene filled with sorrow as families huddled together sighing and wiping tears.
"Youshun, come home with me."
Xie Shengcai also arrived; he walked over with a frown and called for Xie Youshun to return home with him. Behind him followed several sons and daughters-in-law, all wearing worried expressions—they belonged to one of those larger families.
Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua followed him back to Xie Family Old Residence.
As soon as Wang Clan heard the news they brought back, they erupted in outrage, claiming this forced common people into despair—five taels of Silver per person was tantamount to taking lives! It was already difficult for a family to save five taels in a year; if there were two or more adult males in a household, they would have to exhaust their savings or borrow money.
"Alright, stop shouting! Everyone should think about whether to send someone or pay money!" At this point, Xie Shengcai wasn't disheartened anymore; he scolded Wang Clan before looking at his sons.
Wang Clan shot Xie Shengcai a glare before saying, "Now you won't give us your money either! We have no funds on hand; Ruyi's dowry cannot be touched. You all need to figure it out yourselves! By the way, you all need to share your father's burden equally; we can't let him go dig canals."
Xie Youhe immediately said with a pained expression, "Mother, we don't have any money! We have already given all our money for Auspicious. Please have some pity on us. I know you must still have some private savings; that fifteen taels can't be all of it. If you can spend thirty taels for Auspicious, can't you spare five taels for your poor son? Mother, please save your son! I am kneeling before you!"
As he spoke, Xie Shengcai fell to the ground in front of Wang Clan, but he didn't just kneel down; instead, he placed his hands on the ground and sat on his legs, looking very distressed.
Li Family wiped their tears and said, "That's right, Mother! If you don't help us, he will suffer, and who knows if he might even lose his life out there. Can you bear to see your son die like a wild ghost outside? He is flesh from your flesh, Mother! Have some compassion for him and for your three grandchildren!"
"Shut up! You foul-mouthed woman! Is this how you curse your husband? I don't want to be a widow, and I certainly don't want to lose my son!"
Wang Clan scolded Li Family, glaring as she said, "You gave five taels to Auspicious, so don't you still have five taels left? That should be enough!"
"What about the portion for Father?" Li Family replied. She knew it was difficult to get money from her mother-in-law, but her mother-in-law shouldn't expect her to give money for Father-in-law either.
Fang Family thought the same way, but as the eldest daughter-in-law, she couldn't say anything at this moment. She looked at Xie Youshun and said, "It's all our fault for not being capable enough and not having that much Silver. Unlike Fourth Brother, who has such good luck—if only we could also go out and help someone, we could earn a lot of Silver. Not to mention buying cattle or sheep or land; at least we could help pay off the debts of those who are working hard."
Xiao Lihua snorted inwardly, thinking that although this Sister-in-law wasn't causing trouble, she was certainly not being helpful either. She quickly shifted the blame onto them; wasn't it just to make them contribute more Silver?
"Our Silver is almost all spent; we only have a little over ten taels left. We need five taels for Shun's use, and we already contributed five taels for Father."
"Let's contribute as well; Father isn't just yours," Xie Youtai said.
"Second Brother, Fourth Brother has Silver, so there's no need to compete over this; it would seem too distant," Xie Youhe immediately replied. He thought that if Xie Youtai contributed, they would seem unfilial if they did not.
Xie Youshun said to Xie Youtai, "Second Brother, what we brought is also unexpected wealth; spending it is fine. Besides, it's for Father; it's only right. You should save your Silver for building a house."
Xiao Lihua agreed with this sentiment as well. Both Xie Youtai and Zi Clan felt quite embarrassed and eventually did not insist further.
Inside, Xie Shengcai felt both comforted and disappointed. At least two of his four sons were decent; the eldest among the other two was okay too. But the third son left him speechless—he had completely sided with Wang Clan. Forget it; he wouldn't say anything more.
The Xie Family didn't need to contribute anything; they had enough Silver. Their mood finally lightened a bit as Xie Youshun and Xiao Lihua returned home, saying they would help pay off the debts for Xie Shengcai later.
On their way back, they saw that everyone in the village wore a worried expression. Many women had tear-streaked faces, and even the children who usually ran around like monkeys seemed subdued. The entire village felt shrouded in gloom. As they walked further along, they heard voices arguing. One man's loud voice sounded familiar; Xie Youshun recognized it first and turned to look. Xiao Lihua also realized it was the voice of Xie Qingfeng.
Even from a distance, they could clearly hear what Xie Qingfeng was shouting about. It didn't take long to understand that his family was only willing to provide the share of money meant for his younger brother while insisting that he serve in labor duty. However, there was clearly enough money at home; what he had given his family over the year was more than just this amount. Recently he had even worked a tough job and earned two taels of Silver, while his brother Xie Qing Shou was idling at home.
"Separate the families! We must separate! We're moving out! Yumiang, let's go!"
Xie Qingfeng's last words were just that, and then he strode out with Yumiang, his face full of anger, while Yumiang had tears on her face.
A Wife inside shouted, "If you leave, don't come back! I didn't send you away to take your life! You are the eldest son! It's your duty to give way to your younger brother! If you want to split the family, fine, but don't think you can take anything with you. Just get lost with your useless wife and don't come back!"
Xiao Lihua twitched at the corner of her mouth, wondering if this person was Xie Qingfeng's biological mother. Those words were too hurtful.
When Xie Qingfeng and Yumiang saw their expressions change repeatedly, Xiao Lihua hurried over to pull Yumiang, while Xie Youshun patted Xie Qingfeng on the shoulder, urging them to go home. When they reached Wang Dashan's doorstep, they saw Wang Dashan standing at the door; someone had just left, and upon seeing them, he quickly let them in.
"Yumiang, what happened? Is it about that Silver issue?" Zhang Lianxiang pulled Yumiang into the inner room and had her sit on the kang. "With Qingfeng Brothers being so capable, five taels of Silver should be manageable, right? If not, it's okay; sister-in-law has some for you to use first."
Xiao Lihua also chimed in that she would lend hers.
Tears streamed down Yumiang's face again, this time out of gratitude. She was so choked up she couldn't speak, but both women understood from outside that Xie Qingfeng was explaining what had happened. They were both very angry; it turned out that the money Xie Qingfeng earned was enough for two people, but that money had been lost by Xie Qing Shou in gambling, leaving only one person exempt from labor. Xie Matriarch insisted that the youngest son stay at home while sending the eldest son away, claiming that a grandson cannot be without a father. Hearing this made Xie Qingfeng, who was already upset about his brother losing the money, even angrier, leading to a quarrel that escalated to a family split.
"Let them split; what kind of nonsense is this? They'll regret it later!" Zhang Lianxiang said indignantly.
"Favoring one child over another leads to trouble; your mother-in-law will surely regret it," Xiao Lihua added, having seen and heard such things many times before.
Yumiang remained silent, while Xie Qingfeng was determined to split the family. Both Wang Dashan and Xie Youshun said they would help whenever needed; they would contribute money or effort as required.
The author has something to say: I'm a few minutes late; I'm typing too slowly. ^-^
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