bestfiction Chapter 30 Departure
Chapter 30 Departure
Just as the Wen brothers drove the mule cart into the yard, Wen Yuxia drove it into Dawan Village.
Looking at the three mule carts in the yard, Wen Dashan said with a bitter face, "Old woman, the eldest son doesn't have a mule, what are we going to do?"
It was inappropriate for the two of them, who followed the eldest son's family, to shamelessly ride in the mule carts of the second and third sons' families and Wen Yuxia and her siblings. Furthermore, it would be a loss of face for Wen Dashan for his sons and grandsons to ride in a mule cart while he walked.
Seeing Wen Zisong untie the cart from the back of the mule cart, Wen Dashan immediately realized a serious problem: now that the cart belonged to the eldest brother, how would they take their grain with them?
Wen Linshi said nonchalantly, "I had Shen'er send a message to my family, asking my parents to come to Dawan Village to meet us. My family has many members, so we can just leave our grain to them."
Why walk when there's a car to ride in? Her second and third children both came from her womb; she can ride in whose car she wants.
Wen Dashan said in a deep voice, "Have your family members come with us?"
“Yes, it will be safer on the road with the help of my brothers from my maternal family,” Wen Linshi said matter-of-factly.
Wen Dashan pointed to their food rations and said, "Four bags of rice, two bags of dried bamboo shoots, two bags of chestnuts, and two bags of walnuts. We'll split them in half. I can't control who gives your rations to your family. If you run out of rations, don't come looking for me or the eldest brother."
"What? Old man, you're saying you want to separate from me?" Wen Linshi said in surprise.
Wen Dashan said expressionlessly, "I suppose so," then got up and called to Wen Zibai, Wen Zihua, and Wen Yuxia, asking each of them to help him haul some grain.
Wen Yuxia's family didn't have much stuff, so Wen Dashan carried three sacks of grain onto Wen Yuxia's mule cart, while Wen Zibai and Wen Zihua each put one sack on their own mule carts.
After tidying up their own belongings, Wen Zibo and Wen Zihua offered to let Wen Zisong put two bags of grain in their car.
Wen Yuxia also chimed in, "There's room for two more people on the mule cart. Grandpa, Grandma, and my eldest cousin can take turns resting on my mule cart when they're tired."
"I've also reserved two seats on my mule cart. Anyone who gets tired can rest there," Wen Zibo added.
Wen Zihua said in a muffled voice, "Ms. Hua needs to take care of Xiao Ba and Xiao Shi in the car..."
Everyone understands the importance of family unity on the road of fleeing famine. Starting to quarrel before even leaving the house is not conducive to unity. Since we'll have to hitch a ride sooner or later anyway, we might as well be upfront about it.
After receiving the twenty taels of silver, Li Xiang from next door immediately went to his grandmother Li Huangshi's room. After discussing it with her, he ran to town to buy a cart. When he returned, he directly loaded Li Huangshi's grain and luggage onto the cart.
Granny Li was furious and cursed, "You ungrateful wretch! You're always running to your grandmother's house. I've raised you for twenty years, and you've never given me a single piece of cloth as a token of your filial piety!"
Li Xiang wasn't going to back down either, and said firmly, "Mother, although I've never bought you any cloth, every penny I've earned has gone to you. The cart was bought for me by Grandma, so there's no use in you worrying about it..."
Li Xiang poured out his grievances, briefly recounting how much silver he had given to Granny Li over the years, and then spoke of his hardships and helplessness over the years.
Finally, he said that he needed to take care of Li Huangshi during their escape from famine, and fearing that he would become a vagrant without a registered household if he got separated from his family, he asked his father to give him his household registration so he could keep it himself.
Li Xiang's father already felt guilty towards Li Huangshi, and upon hearing that his youngest son planned to take Li Huangshi with him, he immediately demanded that Li's mother produce the household register and register the marriage with the village head. From then on, Li Xiang would live with Li Huangshi.
Li Xiang's uncle secretly slipped two taels of silver to Li Xiang, instructing him to take good care of Li Huangshi.
This dynasty didn't place much emphasis on filial piety; it valued mutual consent. As long as parents didn't report their sons for filial impiety to the authorities, no one would criticize the sons for not caring for their parents in private.
Women were not as harshly treated as in other dynasties. A woman's first marriage was arranged by her parents, but her second marriage was her own decision. All the dowry for the second marriage belonged to the woman, and her family members were not allowed to take it. Divorced or single women could establish their own households.
Clang, clang, just as dawn was breaking, the village chief began banging his gong. Villagers, carrying large and small bags, and with their carts piled high, stood silently at their doorsteps, waiting for the village chief to give the order to set off.
Outside Wen Dashan's courtyard gate, five mule carts and four handcarts were parked.
Wen Zhihua, who originally lived in the town, returned with his parents, wife, and children. Their household registration was in Dawan Village, and without separate travel permits, they had to travel with the other villagers.
The first two mule carts belonged to Wen Zhihua's family, while the other three flatbed carts belonged to Wen Linshi's maternal family. At this moment, Wen Linshi stood beside her mother, Granny Lin, not daring to utter a sound.
Granny Lin no longer had the arrogance she had when she first arrived at the Wen family's house. Mainly, the Wen family's five mules were simply too conspicuous, making her feel inferior.
As soon as the patriarch and patriarch of the Wen family returned, the Lin family members, who had been scrambling to climb onto Wen Zibai's mule cart, were driven away by the two of them.
Old Mrs. Wen was even more outspoken, saying that since Wen Linshi had taken her own food rations back to her parents' home, she shouldn't be causing trouble with the Wen family. She told Wen Linshi to behave herself, otherwise she wouldn't mind divorcing Wen Dashan on his behalf.
Clang, clang, the sound of the gong rang out, "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!"... The sound carried from one end of the village to the other.
The village chief of Lijia Village led the villagers through Dawan Village, with the villagers of Dawan Village following behind. When the villagers from both villages reached Xiaowang Village, the villagers of Xiaowang Village followed at the very back.
The village chief is waiting for them in town. He will then lead the villagers into the city, passing through it and heading south. As for where they will stay, there is no time to discuss it yet.
Wen Yuxia's mule cart carried her and her siblings, along with Wen Yunhe and Wen Yunyang from the eldest branch of the family. The driver was Wen Dashan, whose thinking had changed.
He only cared about protecting his children and grandchildren on the way to escape famine. The life and death of Wen Linshi, who only cared about her maternal family, was none of his concern. The only thing between them was a letter of divorce or a letter of settlement.
Wen Zibai helped his two sons onto the mule cart, then invited Zhang to sit with him on the cart shaft before driving off.
Wen Zihua let Hua Shi and her two younger sons sit in the carriage, while he and his eldest son, Wen Yunchen, sat on the carriage shaft, driving the mules behind Wen Zibai's carriage. He didn't forget to turn back and call out:
"Yunjiang, go to the carriage in front and sit on the shaft with your grandfather. When Yunhai gets tired, he can hum a tune and take turns sitting on the carriage to rest with his brothers."
Wen Yunhai and Wen Yunjiang said in unison, "Understood, Third Uncle."
Wen Zisong's eyes stung with tears. He hadn't treated his two younger brothers well before, nor had he raised Wen Yunxia and her siblings. This time, during the famine, his brothers and niece had both volunteered to help him share the burden, and most of the family's grain was on the mule cart.
The cart wasn't very heavy, and three of his four sons could ride in the mule cart. He secretly vowed to treat his two younger brothers and his sister, Daya, well from now on.
“Jiang’er, go ahead and find your grandfather. You can sit for a while if you can. Hai’er, you sit on the cart, and your father and mother will push you,” Wen Zisong said with a smile.
"Dad, I'm off!" Wen Yunjiang skipped and ran forward.
"Dad, I can walk, I don't need a cart," Wen Yunhai said. He knew that his second and third uncles had bought their mule carts by selling wild oxen, and that Uncle Li Xiang had also been able to afford a cart because he had received money from hunting.
He deeply regretted not going when Wen Yuxia invited him to go hunting in the cave. If he could do it all over again, he would definitely stick close to Wen Yuxia.