Chapter 47 Force for food!
The autumn is getting cooler, and another year is about to pass.
Usually this time is the off-season for farming, and farmers in the countryside can have a few days of leisure to rest their bodies after a year of hard work.
But this year is different from previous years.
Except for the home of the landlord Liu, life in Daliushu Village is still the same as before, with no changes.
As long as other households can still take a breath, they are either stepping up their cultivation of some cold-resistant crops or picking wild vegetables and fruits around.
Some people even ventured into the mountains to look for mountain products, medicinal herbs, etc.
The court increased taxes, which made the villagers of Daliushu Village almost bankrupt.
They scraped together the taxes to pay, but the family did not even have enough food to survive the winter.
There are also some who cannot pay the taxes, and their people were arrested, and their homes were plundered by the officials. The remaining orphans and widows may not even survive this winter.
Even if this winter is over, what about next year?
There is no strong labor at home, and the taxes next year cannot be paid!
But even so, in fact, this year's taxes have not been collected yet. This time, only the land tax is paid, and the tax for the male has not started to be collected yet!
What should we do when the male tax is collected in the spring of next year!
For a moment, the solemn atmosphere in Daliushu Village became more and more cold.
Smoke rose.
"His father, do you think Zhuer can come back today?"
Mother Chen was eating breakfast, watching the autumn wind outside the courtyard gate rolling up the withered and yellow grass leaves, and said to Fang's father who was eating.
"Also, I heard that some people in several villages around couldn't make it, so they fled the famine and became bandits in the mountains. Do you think Zhuer will encounter danger on his way back?"
Hearing this, Fang's father raised his head from the bowl.
Looking at his wife, she used the bread to soak up the last bit of vegetable porridge at the bottom of the bowl. The bowl was eaten clean, and it seemed that there was no need to wash it.
Wiping his mouth, he said nonchalantly, "It's definitely okay. Zhu'er has learned real skills from Fang Hu, and he's not afraid of tigers. Could those people be more powerful than tigers!"
"Why aren't you worried at all? The old man in the village used to say that people's hearts are more vicious than tigers!" Mother Chen said unhappily.
After a while, Chen took the bowl and chopsticks from Fang's father's hand, looked out again, and after not seeing the familiar figure, she was disappointed and prepared to go back to wash.
"Dad, I just went to deliver food to Uncle Fuquan and was seen by someone."
At this time, Fang Cheng came back from outside in a panic. When he saw Fang Mu, he hurriedly said.
Hearing this, Chen immediately twisted Fang Cheng's ear, feeling a little disappointed.
"What? Why are you so careless? Didn't I tell you not to let anyone see it? If someone comes to borrow food later, I wonder what you will do!"
Every household is sad this year, even if their family had saved some food before with Zhu'er.
But, in fact, it was only a dozen stones.
These days, Fang Cheng has sent more than 100 kilograms of grain to his future father-in-law.
This is just one family, which is not a big deal.
If there are more families, even if his family has a mountain of rice and noodles, it will not be enough for people to borrow.
Therefore, Chen asked Fang Cheng to avoid others when delivering grain.
Even if he was seen by others, he could never admit that he was delivering grain.
It's not that their family is stingy.
But this kind of kindness cannot be sent, and this head cannot be opened.
If the head is opened, it is impossible to take care of all the people in need in the village.
Favoring one over the other will inevitably cause disasters.
"Mom, I, I"
Fang Cheng also knew that he was careless today. At this moment, Chen twisted his ears and wanted to beg for mercy, but he was dumb and couldn't say a complete sentence for a long time.
"His mother, it should be fine. If someone sees it this time, no one should come." Fang's father touched his head and excused his eldest son.
Originally, Chen was just a little worried, but she didn't think it would really happen.
She immediately let go of Fang Cheng's ear and walked towards the kitchen.
However, sometimes the more you fear something, the more likely it will happen.
Chen had just walked into the kitchen when seven or eight skinny people came to the door of Fang Yue's house.
When these people saw Fang Mu and Fang Cheng, they immediately surrounded them.
"Uncle Fang Mu, please lend me two bags of food, otherwise I can't survive this winter."
"Brother Fang Cheng, please help me, my family really can't survive."
There are two big surnames in Daliushu Village, Fang and Liu, and most of the people with the same surname have some intricate relatives.
These people are from the same clan of Fang, and some of them are cousins of Fang Yue's family.
"This, this year, my family doesn't have any surplus food!"
Fang's father was originally dull, and when he saw this posture, he hesitated.
"Brother Fang San, I saw it all. My eldest nephew sent food to the Fuquan family. You have to help us, who are not yet three generations apart!"
"That's right, that's right. If you don't lend us food, we won't leave today!"
How could these people agree to that? They couldn't even afford to eat at home.
It was not easy to find that Fang Mu's family seemed to have surplus food. Besides, Fang Yue followed Fang Hu to learn martial arts and hunt. Everyone in their village knew that.
And earlier this year, Fang Yue's family exchanged meat for some food.
So, Fang Yue's family must have surplus food!
"That's the reason. They lent it to people of other surnames. It's unreasonable not to give it to us."
"Fang Mu, if you don't lend it, you don't recognize us as a member of the Fang family. You are so cold-blooded before you become rich. It's really chilling!"
Seeing Fang's father refuse, several of them immediately refused.
Their tone became serious and began to threaten.
If Fang Mu didn't lend them grain today, they would ruin the reputation of Fang Mu's family!
In ancient society, it was actually a patriarchal system.
On weekdays, the king's law did not apply to the countryside, and many conflicts between villagers had to be resolved within the clan.
For example, which family used water to irrigate the land, which family used the clan's sacrificial utensils, etc., all had to be arranged by the clan.
Therefore, if a family had a bad reputation in the clan, they would basically be excluded everywhere and eventually had to move away.
"That's right, Fang Mu, you must lend us grain today!"
The more these people talked, the more excited they became, and it even made people feel that they were going to rob them.
"What are you doing? Are you still planning to rob them? Get out of here, I see who dares to come in today!"
At this time, Chen, who heard the noise, rushed out of the kitchen with a kitchen knife.
She stood in front of Fang Mu and Fang Cheng, blocking the seven or eight Fang clan members from entering the door.
Then, she looked at the Fang clan members in front of her and said:
"Fang Ming, if I remember correctly, two years ago, your eldest son fell into the Xia River, and it was my Fang Mu who rescued him despite the danger."
"Fang Zhi, your family suffered from a famine the year before last, and you borrowed 100 kilograms of grain from my family. It's been almost two years, and you haven't paid it back yet."
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