Traveling through ancient times: living a different life

Starting from the second day of the Chinese New Year, married women would bring their husbands and children back to their parents' home to pay New Year's greetings. Since their family had two carriages and a cow, they had to borrow a mule cart from villager Cao Qingmin. Fortunately, they had already informed them before the New Year.

The two brothers Qingyun and Qinghai began to load things onto the ox cart and mule cart. The second brother's house was closer, so he used the ox cart, while the eldest brother's house used the mule cart. After the two brothers finished their work, they left the village together.

Today is another good day. The weak sunlight seems to be shrouded in the winter chill, and the temperature of the sun is also light. For the team returning to their mother's home, this is very good.

Many people in the village also went back to their parents' homes today. Some were carrying things, some were pushing carts, and most were walking. I saw the Chen brothers driving two carts respectively. Both carts had canopies, so they were not cold when sitting in the carts. I was very envious.

People who knew each other greeted the two brothers who were driving the carriage, and Qingyun and Qinghai responded with a smile, being overwhelmed.

Not far from the village, the two brothers separated. The mule cart ran fast and arrived at Daxing Village in about an hour. The younger uncle and the older nephew Wang Yunfei were waiting at the entrance of the village. The younger uncle was wearing a half-new cotton coat and trousers, and thick-soled cloth shoes. Wang Yunfei was wearing new clothes and half-new shoes. When he saw the family coming, he shouted happily.

"Why are you standing here waiting? It's so cold. Why don't you rest inside?" Wang said on the donkey cart.

"Third sister, third brother-in-law, we came out for a walk after dinner. We just arrived at the entrance of the village and your car arrived. What a coincidence."

"Second Aunt, Second Uncle, Happy New Year! Grandpa and grandma are waiting for you at home!"

My grandpa's house was not far from the entrance of the village, and it only took ten minutes to get there. The gate was open and the mule cart drove straight in. When the people in the house heard the noise, my grandma, grandpa, eldest sister-in-law, brother's wife, grandson and granddaughter all came out.

The front yard of my grandpa's house is about the same size as my own. Rural houses are all built like this, covering a large area. There is a willow tree planted on the right side of the gate. Now all its leaves have fallen off, like an old man with no energy in winter. There is a well near the kitchen, and a small pond is built next to the well. A 70-centimeter-high long stone platform is also built for convenient washing of clothes.

I didn’t see my aunt and her family. Maybe they won’t come today.

Everyone entered the house. A square pit was dug on the ground next to the main room. The length and width of the pit were about 80 centimeters. It was used to burn firewood for heating in winter.

After everyone sat around the fire, Wang asked her eldest brother why he didn't see it. Grandma said, "He has been in poor health since he came home from serving labor service. He is lying in bed."

Wang got up quickly, and her father followed behind. The two went to their eldest brother's room. Biyue and her aunt followed them in and pushed open the door. The room was about ten square meters and had a few pieces of furniture. The eldest uncle was lying on the bed. When he heard the door open, he looked outside and saw that it was his sister and brother-in-law, so he hurried to get up.

Wang hurriedly stopped him and asked her eldest brother to lie down.

Bi Yue then saw clearly that her uncle was about 30 years old, looked sick, and was in a bad mood. He also coughed occasionally. It seemed that corvée labor had cost her uncle half his life! Her aunt hurriedly asked them to sit down and moved a small stool for her niece to sit on. Bi Yue said "thank you." and asked her aunt to sit down.

"What's going on? Have you seen a doctor since you are so sick? You didn't even send me a message to tell me." Wang looked at her sister-in-law with a reproachful look.

"I also know that there are various situations when doing corvée labor. What's going on here, brother-in-law?"

"It is said that on the morning of the first few days before the end of the corvée labor, several villagers went to move stones that had rolled down from the mountain. The stones were initially stuck in the soil, but the soil had been almost dug up, and without support, they were bound to slide. One of the villagers slipped and fell, and the stone pushed against Wang Kun, who could not retreat in time and hit him.

At that time, I just felt chest tightness, but I didn't care about it, thinking it was not serious. I died at noon, so I was sent to the clinic. The doctor said that I might have internal injuries from the collision. It seemed fine at the time, but it was actually hurt inside. So I came back early, and the yamen runner compensated me with one or two taels of silver according to the situation. That money was just enough to give to the doctor. After I came back, I saw several doctors, and they all said that I had to take good care of myself for at least half a year. "After saying that, my aunt wiped her tears.

Biyue winked at her parents, who understood immediately. Her mother helped her aunt back to the main room, where only Qingyun, Biyue and her uncle were.

"Uncle, I have been studying medicine in the village for almost a year. I know a lot of medicine. I have a potion here, which was prepared by my master. My master is very powerful. You drink it first. It can cure your disease."

My father was also there to help speak well of me.

After saying this, she took out a porcelain bottle of primary spiritual spring water from the locker, which had 500 ml of water, and poured a small cup (the cup was only the size of a small wine glass). She handed it to my uncle, who drank it in one gulp. He felt warm in his heart and felt much more comfortable. She put the remaining medicine on the bedside table and told my uncle to take a small cup three times a day. After drinking the medicine, the disease would slowly get better. My uncle was very grateful to this lovely niece.

After chatting for a while and letting my uncle take a nap, the father and daughter came out and closed the door.

Back in the main room, Wang and her sisters-in-law went to make lunch. The village chief heard that her father's family had arrived, so he came to visit with gifts. They chatted until noon, and then the village chief was invited to eat with them.

When I was halfway through the meal, I heard a boy calling "Grandpa, Grandma" outside the door. When I went out, I saw that my aunt and her family of five had come to pay New Year's greetings.

He hurriedly welcomed them into the house and asked them to eat together. Aunt Wang Chunhua sat down, and the three children also sat down. Uncle Tian Dazhu was a little unhappy and sat down helplessly.

Biyue complained in her mind: It's already past 12 o'clock. My aunt is married in the next village and it only takes less than an hour to walk here. Who can I blame for coming so late?

The aunt said, "I'm late. Something happened at home."

Biyue felt that something must have happened to her aunt and her husband.

After dinner, Wang went to her mother's room.

Biyue was chatting and laughing with her cousins, and they were very harmonious.

Tian Xuemei, 7, from my aunt's family, praised the velvet flower on her cousin Guilian's head, saying, "My cousin looks so beautiful in this pink one. It must be very expensive!"

"The orange one looks better." Nine-year-old Wang Yunfei said teasingly.

There was an unnatural expression on the cousin's face. Biyue immediately knew that the other velvet flower was not given to her uncle's daughter, so she looked at her.

Guilian pulled Biyue aside and said hesitantly, "Yuzhu is only one year old and can't wear it, so...!"

Bi Yue didn't say anything and went to her aunt's room. She saw two one-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, wearing festive red clothes and small hats. They were fair and cute. So she took out two toys and gave them to the two babies. Her aunt happily accepted them and gave Bi Yue a New Year's red envelope.

At around 4pm, we were ready to go back. We harnessed the mule cart and the whole family got on. The mule cart was moving fast, and the cold wind blew on the father who was driving the cart. I felt sorry for him for five seconds. It was dark at around 6pm when we finally got home.