Chapter 033

Chapter 033

Of the six adult males in the Xiao family, apart from the elderly patriarch who was too old, all five of the others had to take turns keeping night watch.

Xiao Mu asked, "How is it arranged?"

Xiao Zhen: "I decided myself. Only one person goes out each night."

Xiao Mu: "Mm, that's how it should be."

Guarding the village was important, but enough people also needed to stay home in case of emergencies.

At dusk, Xiao Shouyi and his son returned. As soon as the mule cart stopped at the back gate, Lady He hurriedly left her work by the stove and ran over, telling her son to unload the cart while she asked her husband expectantly, "How much did you sell?"

Xiao Shouyi frowned and said, "Whatever we sold, it all goes to Father for management."

Lady He: "I know, I'm just curious. What's wrong with telling me? Come on, tell me."

She persisted, and Xiao Shouyi had no choice but to say, "The deer hide sold for ten taels, and the wild boar for three taels and seven mace."

Lady He: "Why such whole numbers, no change?"

Xiao Shouyi: "There were a few dozen copper coins, which I gave to the middleman who helped with the business. We can't let him work for nothing."

Lady He glanced around the rooms; seeing only her daughter nearby, she couldn't help but grab her husband's arm and coaxed softly, "Just say the wild boar sold for three taels and five mace, and give me two mace. The fifth son hasn't married yet, I need to save up more for him."

Xiao Shouyi: "The expenses for the fifth son's wedding will naturally come from the common fund, there's no need for you to save."

Lady He: "Is it the same thing? The common fund only covers the dowry and banquet. I have to give something to the fifth son's wife so that she'll respect me. Otherwise, if we get another daughter-in-law like the third son's, I'll surely die before you by a decade."

Xiao Shouyi, hearing her digress further, pulled his sleeve free and was about to leave.

Lady He hugged him from behind: "If you don't give me any, I won't let go!"

Xiao She was tying the mule in the shed when he saw this scene and chuckled, "Mother, how old are you now? Still acting like this, aren't you ashamed?"

Second Sister-in-Law and Third Sister-in-Law never hugged their husbands like this.

Lady He glared at her foolish son, then looked up and saw her forty-something husband blushing. She continued to rub his back and touch his waist, eventually coaxing two mace of silver from him.

Seeing her husband heading to the patriarch, Lady He pocketed the silver and went to ask her son, "Do you know how much your father sold it for?"

Xiao She: "I only know the deer hide sold for ten taels. When they were haggling over the wild boar, I got annoyed and walked away."

Lady He: "With your temper, it's a good thing your father took you. If it were Second Brother or Fourth Brother, they might have taken some money without you knowing."

Xiao She: "Second Brother and Fourth Brother aren't like that."

Lady He: "Forget it, I'll tell you. The wild boar sold for three taels and five mace. Hunt a few more, and it'll be enough to marry you off."

Xiao She: "Fourth Brother should marry first; I'm not in a hurry."

Lady He: "…"

At the patriarch's place, Xiao Shouyi took out the money bag and reported the earnings from the deer hide and wild boar again. Since he had given his wife two mace, he had to report a lower weight for the wild boar. After all, the nearly three-hundred-pound wild boar hadn't been weighed at home, so a discrepancy of a dozen pounds couldn't be proven.

Xiao Mu didn't care about these details. He put away the money bag and asked his son about the situation in the county.

Xiao Shouyi said, "Outside the city gates, there are refugees everywhere. The soldiers guarding the city are strict; anyone who tries to break in will be killed. However, they've set up a soup kitchen outside, where refugees can get two bowls of thin porridge in the morning and evening."

Xiao Mu sighed, "Just giving them porridge isn't a long-term solution. If the government doesn't guide them, chaos will ensue sooner or later."

Xiao Shouyi: "I saw a notice posted outside the city walls, encouraging the refugees to return home, promising them land."

Xiao Mu: "No one is stupid. If they had any chance of survival back home, who would leave their homeland?"

Xiao Shouyi: "But it's hard to arrange for so many refugees. If you were the magistrate, what would you do?"

Xiao Mu: "Isn't it simple? In times of prosperity, there were precedents. For refugees from other places, offer debt relief and exemption from labor duties to encourage them to return. Those who refuse can be settled nearby, cultivating new land with tax exemptions. Now, though not a time of prosperity, many fields lie fallow due to years of war and deaths. These lands could be directly distributed to the refugees. Unfortunately, officials are greedy, occupying those lands themselves and refusing to release them. The court is preoccupied with internal and external troubles and has no time to care about our remote county."

Xiao Shouyi: "Well, if we're not in power, we shouldn't meddle. Let's take care of ourselves."

---

As night fell, Tong Sui followed Xiao Zhen back to the east wing room.

There was only one foot-washing basin, so Tong Sui washed first while Xiao Zhen sat on the threshold watching.

Tong Sui glanced at him and inquired, "Did the village really hang up the heads of those two refugees?"

Xiao Zhen: "Yes, but they hung them far from the road. You don't need to look specifically when you go out."

Tong Sui imagined the scene and shuddered, "I'm fine, but I'm worried that Eldest Sister and Third Sister-in-Law won't dare to go out anymore."

Xiao Zhen didn't respond. After she finished washing, he took the basin out to pour the water.

Tong Sui dried her feet, put on her shoes, and went into the room to climb onto the bed. While laying out the bedding, she suddenly remembered the matter they had agreed upon last night.

She looked at the cabinet where the bedding was stored.

She should have taken it out early in the morning, but she forgot due to the Lu family incident. Going to get it now would seem deliberate, and last night, he had already suspected she might not like it.

While hesitating, Xiao Zhen was almost done washing outside.

Tong Sui simply climbed into the bed.

Xiao Zhen lifted the curtain and came in, noticing only one quilt on the bed. He paused, then went to the main room to wipe himself.

"Weren't we supposed to sleep in separate quilts?"

Lying down, Xiao Zhen pulled her into his arms and held her back against his chest, asking,

Tong Sui mumbled, "There were many things to do, I forgot. Let's lay it out tomorrow morning. Should we use the new one, or the one you used to sleep on?"

Xiao Zhen: "You sleep on the new one, I'll sleep on the old one."

His tone was calm, but Tong Sui had already noticed the changes in his body. It felt just as he said; he didn't want it himself, but simply couldn't control it.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of a patrolman's wooden clapper echoed from the east, gradually moving toward the west.

Tong Sui dared not make a sound, yet he grew more relentless.

Strangely, she thought of his expressionless face and unflinching eyes when he wielded his sword to kill the refugees.

Whether the neighbors lived or died had nothing to do with him. If he wanted pleasure, he would take it for himself.

---

The next morning, the Lu family of three were to be buried.

Without any ceremony, the Lu family's relatives dug up all their meager savings and bought two of the cheapest coffins from the town's coffin shop.

Carrying the coffins required strength, and the Lu family lacked enough hands, so Xiao Zhen took his three younger brothers to help.

Tong Sui and Liu Chu finished their household chores and, like other wives on the street, went out to observe the funeral rites.

Madam He and Xiao Yuchan had arrived early. While recalling the Lu family's kindness with the other women, they continuously wiped at their eyes. Indeed, the mother and daughter's eyes were red.

Liu Chu watched for a while and began to cry too.

Tong Sui had never interacted with the Lu family, so there was no emotional connection, and she couldn't cry. She only silently observed, her gaze mostly fixed on Xiao Zhen, who led the coffin bearers.

He was taciturn and solemn, appearing deeply grieved by the Lu family's fate.

Many villagers praised him, commending his alertness that night and the righteousness of the Xiao family's sons in carrying the coffins today.

Perhaps only Tong Sui knew that while Xiao Zhen genuinely helped the villagers, he wasn't truly heartbroken.

An hour later, the Lu family of three was buried together on the northern slope of the hill north of the Lingshui River.

After watching the spectacle, the villagers returned home, and the Lu family's relatives also left, except for one relative from the same village who came with a wooden cart to collect usable clothes, bedding, and food before locking the door.

Madam He shared the news she had gathered: "The Lu family has nothing left now. The four acres of land under their name have been divided among the relatives. Truly, once people are gone, their warmth fades."

Tong Sui thought, what else could be done? Every household lacked clothes and food. Instead of letting things go to waste, it was better to put them to good use.

Of course, if the Lu family's spirits could see this scene, they would certainly feel uncomfortable. But death is death.

If one doesn't want their hard-earned possessions to be divided among others, one must strive to live and stay vigilant.

---

On the eighteenth day of the month, Lin Ningfang finished copying the painting "Butterfly Chasing." She first asked Tong Sui and Liu Chu to compare it with the original to see if they could spot any differences.

Tong Sui bent over, nearly tearing up as she scrutinized every leaf of the peony flowers, but found no discrepancies.

Liu Chu exclaimed, "Third Sister-in-law is amazing! They're exactly the same!"

Lin Ningfang gave a self-deprecating smile, "While someone died on our street, I could still sit in the study and paint without a care. How heartless am I?"

She never imagined she could be so cold-hearted.

Liu Chu was stunned and looked to Tong Sui for help.

Tong Sui held Lin Ningfang's overly slender hand and said, "Don't think like that. The Lu family's relatives have moved on. We aren't related to them. Like me and Eldest Sister, we've been living as usual these past few days. Only Buddha and the Bodhisattvas pity all beings."

Lin Ningfang understood; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to finish the painting.

"Since the sisters say it's good, let's ask Second Brother to take a look. If he agrees, we can send both paintings to Mr. Tao."

The Xiao brothers weren't planning to enter the mountains recently and were all at the martial arts training ground.

A Fu and Ah Zhen were still washing clothes and hadn't returned, so Tong Sui had to go around to the western side of the Xiao residence.

A crowd surrounded the martial arts training ground. Tong Sui craned her neck to look inside when someone shouted, "Xiao Er, your wife is here to find you!"

At this, everyone, including those practicing martial arts, turned to look at Tong Sui.

Caught off guard, Tong Sui blushed fiercely.

Amid the commotion, Xiao Zhen walked out of the crowd.

Tong Sui retreated to the southern wall of the Xiao residence.

Xiao Zhen turned around and saw her face still flushed in the bright spring sunlight.

"What do you need?"

Xiao Zhen approached, standing right in front of her, his tall figure blocking the sun overhead.

Tong Sui pointed inside, "The painting for Mr. Tao is ready. Third Sister-in-law asked you to come and see. Should we call Grandfather too?"

Xiao Zhen: "No need, I'll go alone."

Tong Sui nodded and walked inside first.

Xiao Zhen followed his young wife into the courtyard. Seeing no one around, he suddenly reached out to touch her face.

Tong Sui, caught off guard, was touched by him.

She startled and darted to the side, looking up at him in disbelief.

Xiao Zhen met her gaze as if nothing had happened.

Tong Sui, defeated, bit her lip and continued walking ahead, keeping a wide berth from him this time, as if avoiding another man.

When they reached the study, Liu Chu had already left, and Lin Ningfang was not there either.

Tong Sui stopped at the door and told Xiao Zhen to go in by himself.

After comparing the paintings, Xiao Zhen put them away and asked her, "Shall we go to town together?"

Tong Sui had no intention of accompanying this man who liked to touch her.