Traveling through the mountains and farming

Lin Wan lived in the most remote part of the village, far away from the hustle and bustle.

She finished her morning chores and breakfast as usual, then took the two siblings into the mountains.

However, the Luo family, the Wang family, and several branches of the Li family heard for the first time the news that someone had secretly fled to Jiangbei County.

He also learned that Li Changren's family and Zhang's family had left the village and fled to Jiangbei County last night.

They were all shocked and panicked.

So they hurriedly rushed to Uncle Li's house to inquire about the situation.

After learning about the decision of Uncle Lin's family and Lin Wan's family, he immediately expressed his willingness to stay and wait and see like them, and to advance and retreat together in the future.

Afterwards they dispersed and went home.

However, none of them expected what happened next to change their plans.

"Bang... bang... bang..."

There was a knock on Uncle Li’s door.

After hearing this, Aunt Li hurried out to open the gate.

When I opened the door, I was shocked.

I saw my youngest daughter Li Rou and my nine-year-old grandson Zheng Xiaohu standing at the door in a disheveled state, covered in dust, holding an old package in their arms, and their hair looking messy.

Her face suddenly changed, and she asked quickly: "Rou'er, what's going on?"

When Li Rou heard her mother's voice, the tension she had been feeling all night collapsed instantly and she started to sob.

Aunt Li quickly helped Li Rou walk into the house and asked anxiously:

"Don't scare me, tell me what happened. Did your son-in-law bully you?"

Li Rou burst into tears and was unable to answer for a while.

The little boy next to him, Zheng Xiaohu, answered: "Grandma, my father was forced to join the army."

At this time, Uncle Li, who heard the noise outside, ran out from the inner room.

He was first shocked by the miserable appearance of the two people in front of him, and then heard that his son-in-law was forced to be conscripted, and immediately asked anxiously:

"Did you fail to pay the autumn tax?"

Li Rou heard her father's voice and came back to her senses. She called out "Dad" and sobbed as she answered:

"The autumn tax has been paid. The previous autumn tax notice said that the officers would come to collect the tax in seven days, but I didn't expect them to come yesterday afternoon. As long as there were adult males in the family, regardless of whether the autumn tax had been paid in full, they would be forcibly conscripted and taken away on the spot."

When Uncle Li heard this, he frowned and asked anxiously, "Have other families also been forcibly conscripted like this?"

"It should be. At that time, no one knew the situation of other families. Those officials announced to the outside world that they were conscripted into the army because they did not pay the autumn tax in full, and they guarded all the entrances and exits of the village." Li Rou said with tears on her face.

It was only after her husband was taken away that she secretly went to the neighbor's house to inquire and discovered the officers' lies.

The little boy Zheng Xiaohu continued crying, "Grandpa, my grandfather, grandmother, mother and I escaped last night when the police took a nap. My mother and I walked in front and escaped, but my grandfather and grandmother were found and caught behind us."

Speaking of grandpa and grandma, he started crying and asked with sobs:

"Grandpa, will my grandpa and grandma be okay?"

Aunt Li, who was standing next to her, was stunned when she heard that her son-in-law was forced to join the army.

Thinking that her daughter had always been lucky, she was the only child in the family and had been spoiled by her parents and brothers since she was a child.

When she grew up, the daughter married into a wealthy village east of Xiaoshan County. Her in-laws were reasonable and they only had one son, the son-in-law, who was hardworking and capable.

Naturally, the living conditions of my in-laws are better than my own.

Hearing her grandson crying, Aunt Li came to her senses and hugged him to comfort him:

"Don't be afraid, it's okay now. You haven't had breakfast yet, grandma will make it for you right away."

After saying that, Aunt Li wiped her tears and went to the kitchen to busy herself.

Li Rou said anxiously:

"Dad, what should we do? They will conscript all the men in our family into military service regardless of whether the autumn tax has been paid in full. Will they come to Quanshui Village soon? What should we do then?"

She then added: "Let's run away and leave here."

"But where can I escape to?" she murmured helplessly.

Seeing that his daughter was so emotional, Grandpa Li did not have time to answer his grandson's questions.

He hurried over, patted his daughter's shoulder, and whispered to comfort her:

"Rou'er, calm down first. Let's not worry about this for now. Trust me, Dad. I will find a way."

Li Rou seemed to be comforted by her father, and her emotions gradually calmed down.

Zheng Xiaohu also stopped crying and looked at the adults with a confused look on his face.

After a while, Aunt Li brought out the steaming breakfast and asked Li Rou and Zheng Xiaohu to eat quickly.

Li Rou looked at the food but had no appetite, but still forced herself to eat some.

But Zheng Xiaohu was a child after all, and he ate voraciously.

They have been on the run since last night and are already starving.

The family sat around the table, the atmosphere was extremely heavy.

They don't know what the future will be like, nor do they know how to deal with such changes.

Although Uncle Li comforted his daughter, he was very anxious in his heart, fearing that the officials would come at any time to force conscription in the name of autumn taxes.

He looked at the sun outside. It was almost noon.

Thinking that Li Chonghao was going to the county town to sell ice jelly today, they should be home soon.

Sure enough, not long after, Li Chonghao and Wang Yu Niang returned from the county town.

After they entered the house, they saw Li Rou who suddenly came back. They were especially surprised to see her red eyes and dirty clothes that she had not changed yet. They hurried forward to ask if something had happened.

After Aunt Li told Li Rou about her experience and the possibility of forced conscription in the village.

Uncle Li hurriedly called Li Chonghao away and told him to go to the Luo and Wang families to invite them over to discuss how to deal with forced conscription, especially to invite Lin Wan as well.

He walked quickly towards several branches of the family closer to home, and passed by his own field to call his two sons back home.

As soon as Li Chonghao heard what Aunt Li said, he realized the seriousness of the matter.

Hearing Uncle Li's instructions, he ran out without hesitation.

Along the way, he walked very fast, constantly thinking about how to explain the situation to the Luo family, the Wang family and Lin Wan, and ask them to come quickly to discuss countermeasures.

When he arrived at the Luo family, panting, the Luo family members saw how hurried he was and had already guessed something.

Li Chonghao briefly and quickly explained the purpose of his visit, and the Luo family immediately agreed to go with him.

Then he rushed to Wang's house. After everyone learned about the situation, they felt the situation was urgent and immediately gathered at Uncle Li's house.

Finally he came to Lin Wan's house.

Fortunately, it was almost noon. Lin Wan had been busy all morning and had just returned home. She was washing rice and cooking.

Li Chonghao went straight to the point and explained his purpose concisely.

Lin Wan's expression tensed when she heard this and she quickly put down the work in her hands.

He turned around, gave instructions to the two siblings in the room, and followed Li Chonghao to Uncle Li's house.

At the same time, her mind was racing: forcing all the men in the village to join the army might mean that the King of Chu is under pressure on the front line and doesn't care about the lives of the people in the rear.

As she ran, she thought about how to deal with the situation, and her uneasiness grew stronger.