Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Xu couldn't sit still anymore, she stood up and said, "My parents' home, no, mother, I have to go inform my parents' home!"

Li did not have this worry. Her parents died early and she was raised by her brother and sister-in-law. When she was at home, she was beaten and scolded, and had to sleep in the cowshed. She never had enough to eat. She had to get up to work before dawn and could only sleep after everyone in the family was asleep. She suffered a lot of contempt and pain.

If it weren't for her being so capable and taking care of both the farm and the household, her brother and sister-in-law would have promised her off to someone else long ago.

Even so, when the girl's father came to propose marriage, he demanded a dowry of eight taels of silver, threatening not to marry her if she wasn't given the money. Fortunately, her in-laws liked her and the family had some savings at that time, so she was able to marry him smoothly.

When she left the house, she had nothing with her except two sets of worn-out clothes. She came to her husband's house empty-handed. Because of this, she always felt ashamed in her husband's house, among her sisters-in-law, and in the village over the years. After she got married, she also cut off contact with her brother and sister-in-law.

Huang listened to what Xu said without hesitation and nodded, "We have to go. You don't have to go. Let Damao go. The child is fast. My mother's family is also on that road. Let him go and tell them."

After saying that, he remembered something, looked at Li, opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing.

Xu immediately responded happily. Da Mao Zhou Gu responded and stood up to leave. When he reached the door, he thought of something and turned back to ask Li, "Second Aunt, do you want me to tell your parents? But where is your parents' home?"

He knew his grandmother's maiden home, but he didn't know where his second aunt's maiden home was.

Li frowned and shook her head, saying, "Forget it. We are not on the same road. My mother's family is here, which is closer to the county town. I think they should have known the news earlier than us and may have left long ago."

Zhou Dacang has the right to speak. "Yes, yes. I have seen many people running away with their families along the way. Some are leaving one village after another. The villages near the county town are almost empty. They must have run faster than us."

Zhou Gu nodded honestly, then walked away without looking back.

Huang shouted from behind, "Come back sooner or later. You must come back later. Do you hear me?!"

"Got it, grandma." Zhou Gu's voice drifted farther and farther away, and it could be heard that he had run away.

Old Man Zhou said in a deep voice: "Pack your things quickly, we have to hurry up."

When everyone heard this, they became panicked and scattered, running back to their own rooms.

The old lady shouted at everyone's back: "Take the valuables at home, pack some clothes and bedding, and the most important thing is food. Take all the food away." She was afraid that they would not know the importance of things and take all the rags with them.

Zhou Dacang had nothing to pack except two sets of clothes. He pushed out the two carts at home, checked that they were both sturdy, and started to move grain onto them.

The wheat has just been stored in the warehouse and the summer tax has not yet been paid. Although the harvest is poor this year, there are still eight or nine bags of wheat. If we save them, they will be enough for the family to eat for a while.

Zhou Guo brought his brother and followed Li back to their own house.

Eleven-year-old Zhou Mai followed closely behind them.

As soon as Li entered the room, she collapsed on the bed, looking at the three young children standing in front of her, especially the silly Zhou Guo. She couldn't help but feel sad and tears streamed down her face. She didn't know what had happened to the child's father, leaving these orphans and their widowed mother behind. How would they live?

Zhou Mai pursed her lips, holding back tears and said, "Mom, don't worry, even if Dad is not here, I will definitely protect you."

Mrs. Li looked at her sensible eldest son and her tears flowed even more violently.

Zhou Guo looked anxious, and after trying to hold back, he couldn't help but said, "It's time to pack up."

A bolt of thunder struck several people on the head from the clear sky.

Li, who was crying, suspected that she had heard wrongly. She looked at her in confusion, then turned her gaze to her youngest son beside her daughter and said, "Si Mao, what did you just say?"

Simao Zhou Su stared at his sister in amazement and didn't hear what his mother said.

Eleven-year-old Zhou Mai, the second son of the Zhou family, looked at his sister in shock. Did the voice just now come from her mouth?

Zhou Guo looked at the three people with disbelief and felt helpless. She didn't want this to happen, but the situation was special now. If it were any other day, she would definitely not speak or come out to scare people.

Seeing that no one was talking, she had to repeat herself, "It's time to pack up."

Zhou Mai was the first to react. Before he could even express his surprise, he said repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, Mom, pack up, quick, what do you want to pack?"

Li knew that now was not the time to talk about these things. She was so excited that she even forgot about the child's father. Their daughter had been away from home for so many years, and just when the disaster was about to happen, she was cured. This child was really...

I don’t know whether she is blessed or not.

The family was poor, so there was nothing to pack up. The valuables were long gone, but there were still eight copper coins in the box, which she had saved over the years. This was all their family belongings.

The children only had a few pieces of clothing, and they were all tattered, but they had to take them all with them so that they could keep warm in case it rained on the road.

Then there were the bedding and shoes. Considering it was inconvenient to carry too many things, Li folded up two better mattresses. She didn't know when she would be back, so she had to take the good mattress with her. She also folded up the rest, and it would be best to find a place to hide them to prevent them from being taken away by others.

The shoes are very simple, only one pair per person, and the rest are straw sandals, which can be woven anywhere.

Zhou Mai followed Li, busying around to help her.

Zhou Su looked at her sister without blinking, unable to understand why she could suddenly speak.

Zhou Guo had no choice but to lower his head and force a smile at him, and the little guy's eyes lit up instantly.

Zhou Guo felt helpless looking at her little brother who followed her closely. She didn't know what was wrong with this little guy. It seemed that he particularly liked to stick to her and followed her wherever she went.

She had no choice but to find him a small basket and take him around the house. If she found anything that might be useful on the road, she would put it in the little guy's basket.

He was also smart. When he saw his sister putting things into the basket, he picked up the things he liked and put them in as well. He also did not forget to take away the treasures in his own collection and threw them into the basket one by one.

He put all kinds of stones and wood in it, and soon half the basket was full.

Zhou Guo ignored him and took another basket, picking up the useful things and putting them in it.

Everyone was busy packing up and no one paid attention to them.

There were more and more things on the two carts outside, including food, bedding, pots and pans, hoes, shovels, sickles, and even straw raincoats. She thought that she should not join in the fun, as her family was more considerate than she thought.

With nothing to do, she had to take Zhou Suli to the yard. After looking around, she took a fancy to the apricot tree in the yard.

The apricots on the tree are still green, but they will turn yellow soon. The orange apricots are the most delicious.