Quick Wear: Men Farming and Women Weaving

Suddenly, a gong sounded in the village. It meant that people were gathering at the rice drying yard, and the village chief had something important to announce.

All the male heads of each household went there, while the women listened from the sidelines anxiously.

He Erniu did not let his wife go, and asked her to stay at home to take care of the children. He went to the rice field alone.

The village chief stood on a high place with a worried look on his face. Seeing that there were men in every household, he did not waste any time.

"The officials came to inform us that every household needs to send one man to do corvée labor. I heard that they are going to repair the river embankment, and no money is allowed."

Everyone was in a panic, most of the people who were repairing the river bank were either killed or injured, and the losses were particularly huge. The yamen runners were particularly cruel and would whip people at any time.

When the women and children heard the news, they cried in fear, fearing that the head of the family would never come back.

Those who have just divided up their family ties regret it a lot. If they had not divided up, each household would have to give up one person, and if the family was divided into two households, two people would have to give up.

He Erniu was not worried about repairing the river bank, as he had his own survival skills. He had learned so many tricks in his previous life, including swordsmanship from Zhang Qiling. He was a little worried about the woman and child at home. Xiangru had just been pregnant for a short time, and he was afraid that she would be unsafe at home alone.

After the village chief announced the end, he asked each family to go back and discuss. He walked to his father, mother and eldest brother and returned to his eldest brother's house together.

Several men sat in the main room in silence. Old man He looked worried and didn't know what to do.

"I'm going to go alone. I'm worried that my wife is pregnant and Changning is just three years old. They need someone to take care of them."

"I want my mother to go and stay for a few months to help take care of me." He Erniu directly asked his mother to go and help take care of me.

The eldest brother and his friends were somewhat relieved that they did not split up the family, and somewhat felt sorry for the second brother.

"Okay, I'll go and take care of him and visit my dear grandson at the same time." Mrs. He agreed immediately.

The whole family had no objection.

"Third and fourth brother, you two just draw lots, and whoever draws the lot will go." Old man He directly asked the remaining two brothers to go.

When the two sisters-in-law heard this, they asked directly why the eldest brother was not allowed to participate?

Old Man He directly said that the eldest son was the eldest son and must stay at home.

Zhang Cuihua, the third brother’s wife, has some resentment. They don’t get to enjoy good things, but they suffer the consequences when bad things happen.

She pinched the third brother and winked at him to speak.

He Laosan moved his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything.

The fourth child was picked on the spot, and the third child and his wife looked much more relaxed. The fourth child and his wife turned pale on the spot, kneeling down and begging his parents to have pity on their one-month-old son and not let him be without a father.

In the end, no matter what, the fourth child went to sign up, and his wife and mother at home started to help pack the luggage and dry food.

He Erniu returned home and told Xiangru directly that he was going to perform labor service and would be away for a few months, and would ask his mother to come and help take care of her.

When Xiangru learned about the situation, she was about to burst into tears on the spot, but she covered her mouth tightly to prevent herself from making any sound and disturbing her son who was sleeping next to her.

After asking about the situation, the man could not change it and could only slowly pack his bags.

It was not until the officials and runners came to demand people that the village chief gathered all the laborers who were going to repair the river embankment and followed the officials.

He followed the fourth brother and walked slowly with the crowd, carrying his luggage.

The fourth brother followed him closely in fear, not daring to speak. The yamen runners, holding big swords in their hands, followed closely behind him and drove him faster.

After walking for a whole day, he only ate the black-faced steamed buns distributed by the officials and drank a little water. He arrived at his destination in the evening. He was arranged to put down his luggage in a corner of the newly built thatched bunk bed, where the air was slightly better. The fourth child also found a place next to him.

I spread out the quilt, packed my luggage, and went to bed.

The gong sounded before daybreak, and the officials made everyone in each bunk bed get up, eat breakfast and start working.

There was a long queue outside, and they started to get breakfast. Everyone could get two steamed buns made of various grains, and there was a water tank next to them, so they could drink as much as they wanted. The water was drawn from the river nearby, and it was poured directly into the tank without boiling. He did not drink the water in it, but drank from his own water bag. He also told Lao Si not to drink the water in it.

"If you want to go home alive, listen to me and don't drink the water in it." He whispered directly into the fourth brother's ear.

He Lao Si was a little curious as to why he couldn't drink the water, but he saw that his second brother didn't drink it either, and only drank the water bag he brought with him. He also did as he was told, because he wanted to go back to see his son and not let him die here.

They were directly arranged to go to the river to dig and dredge the river. Many people had already been arranged there to start digging the river, digging the silt inside with their upper bodies bare.

After a busy whole day, the officials did not distribute any food to them. In the evening, they started to ring gongs to stop work and distributed food in the open space. Each person only had a bowl of porridge and a hard steamed bun.

He Erniu did not dislike it and simply soaked the steamed buns in the porridge until they were softened before eating.

Before going to bed at night, He Laosi whispered to his second brother, why can't we drink the water here?

"The river water here is dirty and unclean. If you don't boil it, you'll get sick and have diarrhea."

He opened his bag and took out a pottery jar. This meant that he would get up early the next morning, go to a place farther from the river, fetch some water, filter it and boil it.

He Lao Si was relieved when he heard this, knowing that he would be fine if he followed his second brother.

The next day, before dawn, He Erniu saw that it was only a little after three o'clock, and he got up and told the patrol officer not far away that he wanted to go to the river to fetch some water. The officer also asked him to go directly, because there were guards everywhere and there was no need to worry about anyone escaping.

A little further away from the place where the river was being dug, I saw an area where the river was a little clearer, so I filled a clay pot with river water, picked up a lot of firewood nearby, and carried it back on my back.

I dug a pit not far from the big bunk bed, put the pottery pot on it, stuffed it with firewood, and lit a fire. I waited for it to boil slowly. Listening to the snoring of the men around me, I began to miss my wife and son at home.

Every morning, they would boil a pottery jar of river water to fill their water bags. Occasionally, He Erniu would take out some tasteless steamed buns or other cakes from the space to fill their stomachs. Or during breaks, they would go to the nearby area to dig some wild vegetables or mushrooms to cook a pottery jar of wild vegetable soup or mushroom soup. The two brothers relied on these to survive during this period. When people in the same village saw them doing this, they also began to fill their stomachs with various methods. Or they would just eat wild vegetables raw.

Several months passed like this, he did all kinds of work, and saw many people die of illness or exhaustion. He saw that the river embankment builders cut corners and were just for show. If a flood occurred, it would not last long and would definitely leak and destroy the embankment.