Chapter 046

Chapter 046

After seeing the County Magistrate's solution, Sun Dian was ready to return to the village and asked Xiao Zhen and his uncle, "Are you coming with me?"

Xiao Shouyi replied, "We need to visit the Qi family one more time. You go ahead."

Sun Dian then mounted his donkey and left first.

Xiao Zhen and his uncle walked to the Qi family's residence.

Xiao Shouyi said, "The County Magistrate wants us to tally the land. I wonder if it's to be distributed to the refugees or..."

Last year, after things had settled down, the newly appointed County Magistrate Liu also instructed the village heads to tally all unclaimed land and houses in their villages, prohibiting private occupation by relatives. Later, rumors spread that County Magistrate Liu had sold some of the land to wealthy gentry, but no one knew whether the proceeds went into his own pocket or the state treasury.

Xiao Zhen had no answer either; it all depended on how bold County Magistrate Liu was.

The uncle and nephew soon arrived at the Qi family's home.

He Shi, Xiao Yuchan, and Qi Er's wife had just finished preparing lunch, and everyone gathered around a table to eat.

As they were finishing, He Shi glanced at Qi Er's wife and asked, "How should we handle the funeral? You decide, Yuchan is young and doesn't know much about these matters."

Qi Er's wife blinked her eyelashes, letting tears fall, and wiping them away as she said, "When Third Younger Brother passed away, my father said he might leave us anytime too, so it didn't matter if we held a funeral or not, as long as there was a coffin for burial. Worried that we might not have the means later, my father bought coffins for him and my mother in advance, which are now stored in the side room."

He Shi looked at her husband.

Xiao Shouyi glanced at the side room and sighed, "Since the coffins are already bought, let's fulfill our in-laws' wishes and give them a proper burial. However, since it's the spring planting season, we won't buy new coffins from town. We'll bury the in-laws together and your sister-in-law and her children together, so they won't be alone on the journey to the afterlife."

Even with this arrangement, the Qi family of five would receive the most dignified burial among those killed last night.

Qi Er's wife nodded silently.

As a woman with two young children, she couldn't manage the corpse collection, coffin carrying, or grave digging herself. She could only rely on the Xiao family, who were already very grateful for their help and wouldn't ask for more.

At that moment, Zhang Maode arrived, accompanied by his grandson Zhang Chao holding ink and brushes.

After greeting everyone, Zhang Maode explained, "I am here on the County Magistrate's orders to tally the unclaimed land in the village..."

Qi Er's wife and Xiao Yuchan almost simultaneously exclaimed, "Our family still has male members! We're not completely gone, so why is it considered unclaimed?"

After saying this, they each grabbed Qi Yao and Qi Xu and pushed them in front of Zhang Maode.

Zhang Maode smiled bitterly, "Do you think I don't know your situation? Don't worry, the land issue doesn't concern your family. I'm just asking how you plan to bury Scholar Qi and the others."

Xiao Yuchan instantly relaxed, and Qi Er's wife calmed down, informing Zhang Maode of their plan.

Zhang Maode admired the Xiao family's righteousness and told Xiao Shouyi, "If you need any help, just let me know. I'll go to other families now."

Without waiting for them to see him off, the grandfather and grandson quickly left.

The women stayed home to prepare clothes for the deceased, while Xiao Shouyi, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Zhen drove the donkey cart to fetch the bodies from the village outskirts.

Gradually, some villagers gathered, watching the Xiao family place the five bodies into two large coffins—Qi's family had some savings, and the old scholar had prepared large coffins.

"Old man really had foresight."

"But it also depends on willing relatives. Take the Wang family; even the uncle who came over only cried twice before agreeing to cremation."

"So the Xiao family is truly righteous. They rushed to rescue the villagers when they were in danger and helped their relatives in need. Before, you all said Yuchan was too shrewish, but now look. Without Yuchan, these two coffins might never have been used."

Amidst various comments, Xiao Shouyi led the donkey cart carrying the coffins, while Xiao Zhen and Xiao Yan each carried a shovel for digging graves. He Shi and the women followed behind, wailing mournfully, slowly heading to Pine Village's cemetery.

As they approached the village exit, Zhang Wengong ran up with a shovel. The four men worked in silence, digging two graves and lowering the coffins.

In the village, Zhang Maode handed the list of tallied land to County Magistrate Liu Ying.

Liu Ying carefully examined it and frowned, "Only sixty-two acres?"

With tears in his eyes, Zhang Maode replied, "Our village is poor. After enduring the previous war, being able to gather sixty-two acres from nineteen empty households is quite significant."

Liu Ying furrowed his brow, muttering to himself, "Two thousand refugees, roughly six hundred households, giving two acres per household would require over a thousand acres..."

Muttering, he caught Zhang Maode's probing gaze and humphed, leading the two hundred strong back to the city.

Zhang Maode respectfully saw them out of the village, then looked at the nearby fields, tears rolling down his face once more.

The refugees had killed the villagers, yet in the end, they would divide the deceased villagers' land among themselves.

Such injustice, how unjust!

—

Back at the Qi family's home, Xiao Yan was too exhausted to speak, wanting nothing more than to lie on their donkey cart and leave this place quickly.

Xiao Zhen did not show any signs of fatigue but stood silently, making Xiao Shouyi and He Shi feel guilty for burdening their nephew with their family affairs.

Qi Er's wife noticed their intention to leave and, biting her lip, suddenly said to Xiao Yuchan, "Sister-in-law, Father and the rest are gone, and we don't know when you'll have time to come again. Since Uncle and Aunt are here, let's divide the family property, shall we?"

Xiao Yan, sitting on the threshold, glanced at his nephew and then at Qi Er's wife with a stern expression, "How do you want to divide it?"

Qi Er's wife lowered her head, supporting her son Qi Xu's shoulder, "We are widows and orphans, unable to cultivate even if we have more land. So I propose we split the savings equally. As for the twenty acres, fifteen acres should go to Yao Ge Er. With the help of his maternal uncles, he won't waste the land. Of course, this is just a clear division between brothers, but the familial bond remains unbroken."

Xiao Yan continued leaning against the door frame, closing his eyes to rest.

Xiao Yuchan objected, "No, the land should be divided equally. Each branch gets ten acres. We can't take advantage of you."

Given the state of the Qi family, Xiao Yuchan didn't want to be greedy.

Qi Er's wife shook her head, tears streaming down her face, "You get fifteen acres, and we'll keep the house. Also, I can't protect this family alone. I need to bring a man into the house. I'm sorry to Xu Ge Er's father and our parents. I can't bear to take more land."

There was a widower in the village who had always been interested in her and had even come to propose marriage, but he was rebuked by her father-in-law, who valued rules.

Qi Er's sister-in-law didn't like the widower either, but the village was in such chaos that if she didn't invite him over tonight, some ruffians might take advantage of the situation and climb the walls—perhaps one, or even several.

Now Qi Er's sister-in-law faced three options: one, cling to Xiao Yuchan and rely on the Xiao family; two, go back to her impoverished natal home; three, find a somewhat reliable man.

Qi Er's sister-in-law didn't want to trouble others and preferred to sacrifice her own body.

The main room fell silent, except for Qi Er's sister-in-law's sobs.

Xiao Shouyi and his nephew could understand the predicament Qi Er's sister-in-law faced, and the He family mother and daughter could also empathize with her helpless decision.

Xiao Yuchan hugged Qi Er's sister-in-law and patted her back. "Alright, let's divide things as you said. No matter who you remarry, tell him that as long as Xugu and Lan are around, you three will always be relatives of our Xiao family. If he bullies you, I'll stand up for you."

Qi Er's sister-in-law cried even harder.

After crying, Qi Er's sister-in-law invited Zhang Maode and his son over as witnesses, and wrote a deed transferring fifteen acres of land to Qi Yao's name.

"Here are the seeds for those fifteen acres; take them with you."

---

In Lingshui Village, at the Xiao residence.

After Ah Fu and Ah Zhen returned, they accompanied Liu Chu and Lin Ningfang, so Tong Sui didn't have to stay on the roof all the time.

By noon, Liu Chu took Ah Fu and Ah Zhen to deliver food to the fields, and Tong Sui climbed back up. Then she saw thick smoke rising from a distant place in the west.

Pine Village? Such heavy smoke—has something happened again?

When Liu Chu and the others returned, Tong Sui was still worried about the smoke, fearing that Xiao Zhen might encounter trouble outside.

Liu Chu called out to her, "Aman, come down. It's too hot up there."

Tong Sui replied, "I'll stay a bit longer. Maybe I can see Second Master return."

But after waiting another half an hour, there was still no sign of the mule cart.

Tong Sui reluctantly came down. Liu Chu was still waiting for her in the central courtyard and whispered, "When I went to deliver food, I heard Sun Dian talking to his family about Pine Village. He said that when the magistrate arrived, he ordered the execution of those vagrants, and that smoke is from burning bodies."

Tong Sui suddenly felt nauseous.

Liu Chu, having learned about it earlier, didn't react as strongly. She held Tong Sui and gently patted her back.

Tong Sui said, "I'm fine. Eldest Sister, go rest. We need to prepare the meat pies for tomorrow."

With plenty of mutton, making meat pies was the easiest option. As long as they were filling, the men wouldn't complain about the repetition.

After the midday break, Liu Chu and Lin Ningfang came over. With seven more mouths to feed without the He family mother and daughter, Lin Ningfang, a noblewoman, also learned to make meat pies, though she was still slow due to inexperience.

The three sisters-in-law were so busy they lost track of time. Suddenly, they heard Xiao Yan's voice from outside the West Court: "Fifth Brother, we're back!"

The three sisters-in-law were stunned. Xiao She wasn't even home, yet Xiao Yan didn't know?

It was Tong Sui who reacted first and looked at Lin Ningfang.

Lin Ningfang lowered her eyes.

Liu Chu knew she didn't like Xiao Yan and didn't dare tease her.

Tong Sui, with flour on her hands, called out to A Fu, who was guarding the eastern courtyard: "Go open the gate for Third Master."

A Fu happily ran to the back yard.

The gate opened, and Xiao Yan led the mule cart inside, followed by Xiao Zhen and the others.

Tong Sui continued rolling dough while calling out to He Shi, "Second Aunt, you're back. Are you done?"

He Shi seemed fine. "We're done. You continue working. I'll wash my hands and join you soon."

Noticing Lin Ningfang sitting beside Tong Sui, He Shi stared at her daughter-in-law's hands before heading to the West Court.

This was the first time Xiao Yan had seen Lin Ningfang preparing food, and he found it quite curious. He turned to Xiao Zhen and said, "Second Brother, tie up the mule. I'll wash my hands."

Xiao Zhen silently agreed.

But Xiao Shouyi stopped his son and sternly said, "Why wash your hands? Go get the pickaxes and help me plant."

Xiao Yan grimaced. "We dug two big holes over there, and the sun is almost setting. Can't we skip the fields today?"

Xiao Shouyi replied, "Your grandfather worked hard in the fields all day without complaining. Can't you dig a little soil? No more fuss, hurry up!"

This was his father, and Xiao Yan had to endure it, begrudgingly heading to the shed for farming tools.

Xiao Zhen casually added, "Get three pickaxes."

Xiao Shouyi said, "You don't need to go. You haven't slept well for two nights."

Xiao Zhen replied, "Today was better; I rested all morning."

Xiao Shouyi immediately used his nephew's words to scold his son. "Look at your Second Brother, then look at you!"

Xiao Yan remained silent.

Xiao Zhen was also helpless. After tying up the mule, he glanced toward the main room and caught his wife hurriedly looking away and resuming her work.

She had changed back into women's clothing—a simple green blouse with no embroidery.

But this green color suited her perfectly, highlighting her fair cheeks and neck, delicate like the buds on a pear tree.

Tong Sui kept her head down, but she could still see his figure facing her out of the corner of her eye.

"Xiaoman."

Never expecting Xiao Zhen to suddenly call her, Tong Sui was taken aback and heard him say, "Scoop me a bowl of water."

After being out for so long, he must be thirsty.

Tong Sui quickly responded, stood up, and wiped her hands on the coarse apron tied around her waist. She turned to fetch a... two bowls from the cabinet beside her, filling each about seven-tenths full, and carried them toward the back door with one in each hand.

"Uncle, have some too." Tong Sui first handed a bowl to Xiao Shouyi.

"You've worked hard keeping the home." Xiao Shouyi smiled and took it.

Only then did Tong Sui walk up to Xiao Zhen.

As Xiao Zhen drank, she took the opportunity to observe him, noticing the sweat marks on his cheek and the dirt on his pant legs and shoes.

It was clear he had done a lot of work, perhaps no less strenuous than plowing at home.

Xiao Zhen continued drinking, but also observed his young wife through the edge of the bowl, seeing a look of pity in her eyes, similar to when she brushed the mane of a horse after plowing.

Finishing the bowl of water, Xiao Zhen returned it to her.

Knowing they were going out again, Tong Sui didn't say much. After collecting the bowl from Xiao Shouyi, she stood aside, waiting to close the door after they left.

Xiao Yan walked over carrying three pickaxes, glancing at his brother and sister-in-law, then looking toward Lin Ningfang in the main room, feeling an additional pang of bitterness.