The little Fubao in the deserted village made all the dignitaries in the court go crazy with envy

In the room.

Mrs. Lin propped up her husband's upper body with a pillow and scooped up the dried medicine with a spoon and fed it to him. "It's the end of the year now. The snow keeps falling day after day. It's freezing outside. When it's nice in the spring after the New Year, I'll ask the eldest and second sons to move you to the yard to bask in the sun. During this time, you just lie down and be patient. Open your mouth and drink the medicine first."

"No need to feed me, just give me the bowl, I'll drink it all in one gulp." Old man Lin took the bowl and gulped it down in one gulp. He didn't even frown when the bitter taste went into his throat. At the end, he turned the bowl upside down to show that he didn't waste a single drop.

This amused Mrs. Lin. She took the empty bowl and glanced at him, then wiped the medicine stains off the corners of his mouth. "You can do what you want. Isn't it bitter?"

"It's not hard." Compared with the hardships his wife has gone through in recent years, he has no right to complain.

Don't dare to waste it.

A small bowl of medicine, every drop of which was earned for him by his wife and children with their blood and sweat.

Old man Lin's eyes scanned his wife's face. When he passed the fine lines at the corners of her eyes and the inconspicuous gray hair at her temples, his chest overflowed with heartache and guilt.

Taking advantage of his wife's good mood, he deliberately moved his elbow and tentatively said, "Wife, I feel that I have been in much better spirits recently. Look, I don't have any difficulty raising my arms anymore. Is this the beginning of improvement? I think we can reduce the dosage of the medicine--"

Before she finished speaking, Mrs. Lin's face darkened. "I'm telling you not to do anything to me. I can still afford your medicine money! As long as you can still breathe, this family has a backbone! If you still want to go to hell like before, I will kill myself! If you want to think about it, think about this!"

"..."The old woman was full of vigor, while Old Man Lin lacked vigor.

Two years ago, he tried to commit suicide. He refused to eat or drink, thinking that death would not be a burden to his family.

At that time, his wife banged her head against the wall in front of him. She was so fiery, and he still gets scared when he thinks about it now.

I have never dared to think about death since then.

"Look at your temper... Listen to me first. I really feel that I have been in much better spirits lately." Old Man Lin explained in a weak voice, "Think carefully, have I coughed less recently? Am I breathing more smoothly? Am I speaking with more energy? Look, I am talking to you all these words in one breath. I am not choking on my phlegm, am I? It wasn't so easy before."

Mrs. Lin calmed down and thought about it and it seemed to be true.

In the past, regardless of day or night, as long as they were at home, they could hear the old man’s uncontrollable coughing every once in a while. When he coughed severely, it was so scary that it looked like he was going to cough out his internal organs.

But recently, there seems to be much less coughing at home.

She moved closer and looked at the old man's face carefully. In an instant, uncontrollable joy burst out in her heart, making her eyes warm.

Although it is not very obvious, I can still see that my wife's complexion has improved a lot, the dark color on her lips has faded, and her eyes are clearer than before.

"You, please move your arms again so that I can see!" Mrs. Lin's throat was choked with sobs. She rubbed her hands on her trouser legs unconsciously and spoke incoherently. "Old man, you must not lie to me. Do you really feel much better? Are you hungry? I'll make you some porridge. Does your throat itch? The eldest and the second brother are not at home. Sulan and Cui'e are outside. Jiang'er is also outside. I have to tell them! Wait a minute. Let me turn you over and rub your back. Woo!"

"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, oh hey, don't cry, old woman!" Old man Lin was annoyed by this scene and his eyes turned red.

In the past few years, my wife has been carrying the burden of the family. No matter how hard it was, she never made a sound. Only the whimper just now tore through the strength she had been holding on to, and revealed the pain and fatigue she had experienced through the muddy journey.

Just at this moment, a woman's loud voice was heard outside the house, and the voice came closer and closer.

"The Lin family, the Lin family, are they all in the house?"

Without looking, just by listening to the voice, Mrs. Lin could tell that it was Mrs. Li from next door.

"Her Aunt Li is here. I'll go out and take a look." She reached out and quickly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, pulled out a pillow to help her husband lie down, then picked up the empty medicine bowl and walked out.

Before leaving, he did not forget to turn back and warn, "If you feel better, you should continue to take the medicine. Don't even think about reducing or stopping the medicine. Stop being so cunning!"

Old man Lin: "..." What's the matter with that? What's wrong with him?

When Mrs. Lin came out of the main room, Mrs. Li was already sitting by the fire chatting.

The woman, who was in her forties and had high cheekbones, was about the same age as Mrs. Lin. She had a sallow complexion, wore a patched jacket and skirt, and spoke in a loud voice.

"It's so cold that the chickens I raise won't eat." Seeing Mrs. Lin coming out, Mrs. Li handed over the deformed bamboo basket at her feet, and lifted the lid of the basket, revealing the full contents.

Half a basket of raw sweet potatoes, a few boiled corns wrapped in reed leaves, a few juicy radishes, and a small bag of coarse flour.

"I had been planning to come over for a long time, but I was so busy that I didn't have time until today. The things in the basket were collected by me, the Zhang family, the Wang family, and your Third Sister Lin's family. They are not good things, don't complain." After saying this, Mrs. Li reached out and pinched the face of the little girl who was sitting obediently on the other side. Facing such a small and cute girl, her voice unconsciously softened, "The little girl is really good-looking, like a jade ball, and she looks noble. Such a good child chose your family, you will definitely have good fortune in the future."

Mrs. Lin took the basket without refusing. The villagers got along well with each other and it was common for them to give each other food on weekdays.

Everyone likes to hear auspicious words, and she was in a good mood at the moment, so the smile on her face was even more genuine. "You are really insulting me if you say you despise me. These days, every household in the village has a hard time, and food is expensive. It's not easy to send these. Right now, my family really lacks everything, so I won't be polite to you. I will repay you later."

"Tsk, you're just using favors, who's insulting who?"

The two old ladies looked at each other and laughed, and the people who were listening also laughed.

After laughing, sadness comes again.

When the Li family's wife talked about things outside the village, her smile fell. "My Fugui came back from the town at noon and said that the situation in the town has become more tense. The government has made no progress in suppressing the bandits, and has posted a reward notice. Whoever has the ability to suppress the bandits in the north of the mountain will be rewarded with thirty silver coins. What do you think of this? Even the yamen runners with big swords can't solve this problem, and they are using some silver to ask ordinary people to do it. Isn't this asking us ordinary people to die in vain? If ordinary people want to live in peace, they have to gamble with their lives. Thirty taels of silver is indeed a lot. I have never seen so much silver in my life, but when I think about it, it's money to buy my life... I feel cold."

Upon hearing the news, everyone in the Lin family was speechless for a while.

My heart started to feel cold.

The bandits were just five miles away on the north side of the mountain. The people living in the surrounding area were living with their heads hanging on their necks. Their only hope was that the government would get rid of the bandits as soon as possible so that they could live in peace again.

But now, the government office can no longer be trusted.