Spring scenery in the fields

Ji Wenhe nodded, guessing that they were either illiterate, or unable to send letters back while in the army, or there were other obstacles and regulations.

At this time, Shen Yuanshan came in with hot water: "Sister-in-law, be careful, it's hot."

"Well, thank you Yuanshan."

"Sister-in-law, you don't have to be polite to us. We are a family."

"Okay, I won't say it anymore."

She was a person who went with the flow. In this dynasty, one needed identity documents to go anywhere, and it was even more unsafe for a woman.

The war had just ended, the government had not yet properly resettled the refugees, and there were dangers everywhere outside.

She is now Shen Rongshan's wife. From what he said, if she doesn't want to stay here in the future, she can divorce him and set her free.

Ji Wenhe held the bowl and drank from it. He raised his head and saw them standing not far from the bed: "Sit down. Aren't you tired of standing?"

The weather was cold, the door outside was ajar, and cold wind blew in from time to time.

After the two of them sat on the small stool, she continued to ask: "Are you the only three brothers in your family?"

Shen Yuanshan nodded: "Yes, my mother died of a cough when we were six years old. When I was seven, my father went to the mountains to chop wood and accidentally fell on a rock and died. From then on, the three of us brothers depended on each other for survival."

"After my parents passed away, my eldest brother supported the family and asked a hunter to take him in as an apprentice. He learned a lot of hunting skills."

When talking about their eldest brother, both of them had an admiring look on their faces. In their hearts, Shen Rongshan must be the most powerful.

Ji Wenhe listened to his words and asked in confusion: "You have been living in the cave, not in the village at the foot of the mountain?"

Shen Wenshan lowered his head, making it impossible to see the expression on his face, but from the tone of his voice, he could tell that he was somewhat angry and unwilling.

"After my eldest brother was arrested, we went to find the village head, who said he had no other options and that my eldest brother would be beaten to death if he didn't go.

My brother and I hurried to the town to see my eldest brother, but we were too late. My eldest brother had already been taken away by the soldiers.

He was angry not because they didn't help, but when they came back.

Shen Yuanshan clenched his fists, took over the conversation, and said angrily: "My brother and I came back in the evening of the next day. The house had been turned upside down."

"All the food and money we had saved were stolen, and the bowls were smashed to the ground."

Ji Wenhe frowned: "Did you find out who did it?"

"Yes, he is a village scoundrel, but we have no evidence and he won't admit it. The village head can't help us, so we can only swallow our loss in silence."

He went to see the village head many times, but the government would not accept his report because he had no evidence.

In the end, he and his brother could no longer reconcile, so they secretly found him and beat him up. From then on, they became enemies.

"Then how did you end up living in a cave?"

Looking at the cave, there are traces of artificial excavation. It should have been formed naturally and then repaired by humans later.

“The house burned down.”

"Burned?"

Shen Wenshan nodded and continued, "The scoundrels set the house on fire while we were in the mountains chopping firewood. By the time we found out, it was too late to rush back."

Ji Wenhe was puzzled: "Where are the neighbors? There should be quite a few people in the village. How come no one noticed?"

No matter what, if the neighbors find out, they won’t help.

"Sister-in-law, you don't know." Shen Yuanshan shrank his neck. "It's the busy farming season. Everyone is busy working in the fields. It's hot, and the thatched house will catch fire easily. It burns quickly and is gone in the blink of an eye."

"Later, my brother fell ill. We had no money, so I mortgaged my homestead to the village head and invited a doctor from the town to come and cure my brother's illness."

"This cave was discovered by my eldest brother when he went hunting in the mountains. We borrowed a hammer, chiseled off the protruding rocks in the cave, and moved them into the cave."

With a little bit of chiseling and repairing, it can be habitable.

But there are no windows, and once the door is closed, the room is pitch dark and you can't see anything.

Fourteen years old. Three years ago, their eldest brother was captured as a soldier. They were only eleven years old at that time. They lost their home. In order to pay for medical treatment, they sold their homestead and moved into a cave. It is hard to imagine how they survived for three years.

"What about the land? Don't you have any paddy fields or dry land at home?"

"I had some before. My mother was sick, so we sold our land." Shen Wenshan saw that she had finished the hot water in her bowl, so he stepped forward to take the empty bowl, "Do you want more, sister-in-law?"

Ji Wenhe shook his head: "No."

She now felt warm and her stomach felt much better.

"How are the villagers? Are they often bullied?"

Shen Yuanshan stamped his cold feet and said, "No, no one will say it to our faces. After all, we will see each other sooner or later. Aunt Lan's family takes good care of us."

No one has enough to eat, so where is the extra food to help others?

Aunt Lan takes care of them because her parents helped their family when they were alive, so she occasionally sends them some wild vegetable cakes.

Ji Wenhe asked some more questions about the village. Including them, there were a total of fifteen households.

There was a scholar in the village, who was almost fifty years old. His private school had been closed long ago, his family had no food, he could not get enough to eat, and no one could afford the tuition.

I heard that all the children in the village were named with the help of scholars, including the three brothers.

The Li Zheng is equivalent to the village chief, who manages the entire village, pays taxes, and issues identity documents, which are very similar to the ID cards in previous lives.

Buying land, etc. requires the approval of the village chief, who will then report to the town government.

From what they said, I found out that the head of the village was a bit snobbish and favored sons over daughters. His family was the most imposing in the village and lived in a blue brick house.

There are people in the village who are easy to talk to and get along with, but naturally there are also those who like to take advantage of others.

Among them, the second-rate guy is hated by everyone in the village. Not only does he steal things, but he also speaks nonsense and spreads rumors about others everywhere.

However, he bullied the weak and feared the strong. After burning down the two brothers' houses, he was almost beaten to death by them. From then on, he avoided them whenever he saw them.

The two brothers had bad luck, and their lives became worse and worse. Finally, they were reduced to living in a cave. There was not much food left at home, and it was impossible for them to have a full stomach with only two meals a day.

No one expected Shen Rongshan to come back from the battlefield, after all, everyone had previously said that he had died on the battlefield.

He went to the headman's house not only to get documents and household registration for her, but also to collect the military pay from the court.

For soldiers who did not stay in the army and returned home, the military pay would be collected by the village head from the government and then sent to the soldier or his family.

Ji Wenhe thought that after deducting so much from each of the other, there wouldn't be much left.

While they were talking, there was an unpleasant sound of a door opening outside. It should be Shen Rongshan coming back.

The two brothers stood up and looked over, saying in unison: "Brother, you're back."

He said calmly, "Yeah."

Then he asked, "Where's she?"

Shen Yuanshan turned around and looked at her: "Sister-in-law is here. She talked to us for a while. Brother, you can talk to sister-in-law."

After saying that, he pulled Shen Wenshan beside him into the next room to make room for the two of them.

Shen Rongshan did not go in, but followed them into the house.