Chapter 99

Chapter 99

After lunch, Old Lady Sun slipped into the kitchen and secretly packed half a basket of spring bamboo shoots and toon shoots into the Zhao family's backpack. She also added half a basket of eggs, carefully padding them with straw to prevent breakage.

Spring was the season for wild greens—purslane and shepherd's purse could be dug up everywhere and weren't worth offering. Only the bamboo shoots were decent, versatile enough to be pickled as sour shoots, dried for storage, or stir-fried with meat. They made a proper gift for visiting relatives.

The toon shoots were just a bonus for the eggs. Since her in-laws had come all this way, she couldn't let them leave empty-handed.

"Here I am, eating and taking—next time I'll be too embarrassed to visit," Old Man Zhao said as he was about to leave, only then noticing his backpack was stuffed full. The bamboo shoots were at the bottom, the toon shoots in the middle, and the half-basket of eggs on top. His in-laws had packed it so neatly that he could just carry it on his back without any trouble.

"What are you saying? Anyone listening would think I'd packed you meat and sugar. It's just a few bamboo shoots I dug from the mountain. Don't turn up your nose at them," Old Lady Sun chuckled and nodded to her eldest son. Brother Sun stepped forward and lifted the backpack, his arm muscles bulging—a testament to how much she'd packed. She was a truly thoughtful woman.

Seeing this, Zhao Dashan glanced at his father, who nodded, and then took the backpack.

On the surface, the Sun family seemed slightly better off than the Zhao family, but in reality, they were also farming families counting every grain of rice for their meals. The Zhao family was doing okay themselves, and Old Man Zhao didn't want to accept the gifts, but etiquette demanded it. If they refused, his in-laws would likely be upset.

"Make sure to keep some for yourselves," he said awkwardly.

"We have, we have," Old Lady Sun replied with a smile. "There's plenty in the mountains. I've already dug a lot, and the kitchen is piled high."

Zhao Xiaobao didn't understand any of this. When Sun's wife handed her a handful of dried fruits, she cheerfully lifted her clothes to hold them. "Thank you, Sister-in-law Sun. That's enough, that's enough—I can't hold any more."

"Hehe, you can hold it, you can. Take it to snack on along the way." Plump little kids were always endearing, and Sun's wife looked at Zhao Xiaobao as if wishing she were her own. "Next time, come play with Xi'er. Our families are close, so we should visit more often."

"Okay," Zhao Xiaobao nodded obediently. She loved visiting relatives.

Old Lady Sun tucked a bamboo tube of water into the backpack, worried they might be delayed on the road at night, so she didn't dare keep them longer. "Give my regards to your wife, and bring her next time."

Old Man Zhao nodded. Seeing it was getting late, he led the donkey, carried the backpack, and held his daughter as they left the Sun family.

Old Lady Sun and her husband saw them all the way to the village entrance. When they showed no sign of stopping, Old Man Zhao quickly waved them off. "Go back, go back—no need to see us off... While there are still plenty of wild greens in the mountains this season, pick as much as you can, whatever's edible, and dry it for storage. Who knows what the future holds?" He couldn't help but add a few extra words of advice.

"We understand. We'll stock up more. Eating wild greens is better than gnawing on tree roots, hehe," Old Man Sun said with a grin, watching the family of three. "Old brother, remember—if anything comes up, just let me know. I'll be ready!"

Old Man Zhao raised the hand holding the donkey's reins and waved, glancing at his daughter skipping ahead. Without turning back, he said, "Don't worry. I'll holler if anything comes up!"

They traveled without rest and arrived home by evening, just as smoke from cooking fires rose from every household.

The sight of the donkey caused quite a stir in the village. Women fixing dinner in their kitchens heard kids shouting that Old Zhao's family down the hill had brought back a donkey, and they dropped their spatulas and cleavers, stunned, rushing outside.

"A donkey? You mean Zhao Xiaobao's family got a donkey?"

The small path from the village head to the foot of the hill was packed with people. Adults and children alike crowded around Old Man Zhao and his family. Someone even tried to sneak a hand to touch the donkey, but a sharp-eyed person slapped it away. Look all you want, but don't touch—they hadn't even touched it yet.

"Grandpa Dagen, your family bought a donkey?"

"Oh wow, what a nice donkey! Looks just like a horse. Cost a pretty penny, huh?"

"Grandpa Dagen, you guys hit the jackpot?"

"What do you need a donkey for? Not that much work to do!"

Kids ran circles around the donkey, not knowing what it was until their parents shouted it was a donkey. Then they realized this impressive four-legged creature was actually a donkey that could carry people and haul goods!

Wow, Old Zhao's family got a donkey!

Wang Shi was stoking the fire in the kitchen when she heard the commotion outside. Guessing it was her husband and the others returning, she dropped the fire tongs and yelled, "Is that Xiaobao back?"

"Yes, yes!" Zhao Xiaobao pushed through the crowd and dove into her mother's arms, pointing at the donkey surrounded by people in the yard. "Mom, look at the donkey—our donkey! Xiaobao picked it out!" Her face was red with excitement as she was walked home, soaking up the jealous looks. Hehe.

Wang Shi had already seen it. Not just her—the boys cutting grass on the hillside saw it too and let out excited yells, dropping their work to charge down the slope.

The big yard was packed with people, and more villagers arrived, pushing their way in as if they were looking at some rare curiosity. From far off, you could hear them shouting that Grandpa Dagen's family bought a donkey, everyone come see!

"What's there to gawk at? Don't you know what time it is? Come back tomorrow!" Old Man Zhao would've rather shown off an ox, but that wasn't happening. Seeing the crowd blocking his doorway, making it hard to breathe—busier than a cattle market—he grew irritated and waved them off. "Break it up, break it up! Ain't you tired after a day's work? Go home and eat supper. Why pack in like this, ain't you suffocating?"

"Grandpa Dagen, buying a donkey ain't worth it!" a young man in the crowd shouted. "A donkey ain't as useful as an ox. An ox can plow the fields; a donkey can only haul heavy stuff. It can't even till the land."

"It's good enough for hauling heavy loads," Old Man Zhao said, displeased that anyone would badmouth his donkey. "You don't know—the rich families in Shilin Town have all skipped town! Oh, all those carts of belongings need donkeys to pull them. If our family ever has to run, this donkey'll come in handy!"

The young man was dumbfounded, and the villagers who had been marveling at the donkey froze, turning to look at Old Man Zhao.

"Grandpa Dagen, the rich families have fled?"

"Is your family going to flee with them?"

"What do you mean? Why would they flee? Are the soldiers coming to conscript again?"

Old Man Zhao sat on a little stool, took off his sweaty straw sandals, and pressed his feet on the cool ground to cool his burning soles. "How should I know why they fled? I just happened to see the commotion."

He pretended to be puzzled. "Us country folk only abandon our ancestral homes, fields, and graves to flee to some strange place when we're facing a life-or-death crisis we can't survive. For minor troubles, we just tough it out and endure. I wonder what those big shots were thinking, just abandoning their ancestors like that. I haven't heard about any conscription. Could they know something us ordinary folks don't? I just feel things ain't stable. You say a donkey isn't as good as an ox, but I think a donkey is more spirited. In a pinch, it can at least carry more stuff."

Hearing this, everyone lost interest in the donkey.

"Dagen, what do you mean? What big thing's happening out there? Your family moving?" Zhao Shanao was confused. Dagen's words clearly meant he bought the donkey to haul belongings later. "Your family planning to flee from famine?" Although there had been a heavy rain earlier, the weather these past few days seemed fine—not like a famine year. Why flee?

They hadn't thought of fleeing when refugees entered the village or when conscription came. Now that life had finally stabilized, why were they thinking about fleeing again?

"Time to eat! Come back and eat..."

From somewhere in the village, a woman's voice called out loudly. Old Man Zhao didn't know how to explain. That's why he liked chatting with his in-law Sun—no need for long explanations; he got it right away.

He pushed himself up from his knees, led the donkey to the backyard, and tied it to a wooden post in the chicken coop. Though he didn't outright chase people away, it was close enough. The villagers wanted to ask more, but seeing this, they didn't press further and left in small groups, chattering about what he'd said.

What did he mean?

"What did you mean by that?" Wang Shi asked at the dinner table.

Since they hadn't expected them back tonight, the meal was simple: a large bowl of cold mixed wild greens with porridge—rice porridge. For others, it would have been a fine dinner, but for the Zhao family these days, it was just a plain meal, not even two dishes to pick from.

With no outsiders around, Old Man Zhao shared his thoughts. "What else could it mean? The smart ones are running. We have to be prepared. We can't wait until the fire's at our backs to start panicking. If I had the means to get a travel permit, I'd have followed them."

"We had a big drought this year, but our family isn't short of water. We're not at the point of fleeing from famine, are we?" Wang Shi was puzzled. If they were really that worried, they would have fled when they first learned about the drought. But since they weren't short of water, they'd been focused on preventing wildfires and wild animals coming down the mountain, never worrying about water shortages. So why run now?

"Oh, your brain." She was definitely the slowest in the family—he didn't dare say that out loud. He put down his bowl and counted on his fingers to explain. "Let me ask you: did those big shots know there would be a big drought this year?"

Not just Wang Shi, but even Zhu Shi and the others shook their heads. "They don't have a Little Deity, so how could they know?"

"Alright, then tell me: since they didn't know about the drought, why did they migrate?" Old Man Zhao asked patiently.

The sisters-in-law shook their heads. Wang Shi thought for a moment and said, "Is there going to be another war in the prefectural city? Or another conscription?"

"Let me ask you another question: if you were a wealthy landlord with more silver than you could spend, and you had only one son, and the court wanted to conscript him, wouldn't you do everything to protect your only heir?"

"Of course! Even if I had seven or eight sons, I wouldn't let them go die!" Wang Shi rolled her eyes at him.

"Even you know not to let your son die, so don't you think the big shots know that?" Old Man Zhao slammed the table. "Do you think the soldiers actually conscripted the young masters of wealthy families last time? The landlords have plenty of tricks. They dodged it once, and they can dodge it again. Only us useless peasants fear conscription. The rich aren't afraid of it. They can just adopt a dry son, throw some silver around, and easily fool the authorities. They're not afraid of conscription or war. War means better business and more silver. Look at the salt and grain prices now—they've gone up! We common folks don't want war, but merchants might even hope for it. How could they flee just because of conscription or war?"

"Dad, then why did they leave?" Zhu Shi was getting more confused. According to her father-in-law, the wealthy families should be opening more shops to make money, not running away. Going to a strange place meant starting from scratch. You might be a big shot in Shilin Town, but elsewhere, you'd have to kowtow to the locals. Even a woman like her understood that simple logic.

"What else could it be!" Seeing his family's blank faces—big and small, all clueless—Old Man Zhao slapped his thigh in frustration. "They didn't know about the drought, and they're not afraid of conscription or war. If they're willing to abandon their ancestral lands so easily, there's only one possibility..."

He looked at his family, all staring at him with confused expressions, and roared in exasperation: "Something big is happening that we don't know about!"

Something so big that even the rich folks were scared enough to run!