The poor little girl who traveled through the book, her father was lazy, her mother was stingy, and

Although Gu Changsheng could not go out, he often sent Ping An to deliver letters so that the two sides could keep in touch.

Gu Changsheng wrote in the letter the news about the provincial capital and the county town that he had learned from the shopkeepers in various places, while Lin Jingzhe wrote some interesting stories about Shanglin Village, mostly about the four people's studies.

From Gu Changsheng's letters, we learned that the area around Dayi Town is relatively peaceful.

There was no major burning, killing or looting.

There had been two riots by refugees in the suburbs of Lin'an Prefecture, causing panic among the people.

It was August 15th.

There is a full moon in the sky, illuminating the world.

There was no rain for three whole months, and the north and the Shu Road were littered with corpses.

It is the day for families to reunite, but it feels extremely bleak at the moment.

"Here, these are the dumplings that mom made with sugar." Li Taohua filled each of the four children with a bowl. "No matter how life is outside, we still have to live our lives."

Lin Xiaoman took a bite and it was a bit like a glutinous rice dumpling with sugar filling. He could eat one bite at a time, soft and sticky.

"After eating my mother's dumplings, I want to make a wish." Lin Xiaoman smiled, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and muttered something.

Lin Dajiang ate quickly and finished all the dumplings in the bowl in a short while.

Seeing Xiaoman's sincere look, he teased, "Why is Xiaoman whispering when making a wish? Can't you let your parents know? Could it be that you have taken a fancy to some boy..."

"Dad!" After Lin Xiaoman made a wish, he immediately filled Lin Dajiang's bowl with another one. "Eat more and stop guessing!"

Li Taohua fed Lidong two and then refused to let him eat more. Lidong yelled for more, so Li Taohua picked him up and stuffed him into Lin Dajiang's arms, "Watch the little brat, don't feed him dumplings, they're made of glutinous rice and can easily cause indigestion."

Lidong looked at the dumplings in Lin Dajiang's bowl eagerly, his little hands eager to try.

Lin Dajiang patted Lidong's hand gently and said, "Little greedy boy, your mother has made other delicious food, don't just stare at the dumplings."

Lin Xiaoman quickly ate the dumplings in the bowl, drank the sugar water in the bowl, put down the bowl and chopsticks, and ran to the kitchen, "I'll help Aunt serve the dishes."

He was in such a hurry that he almost tripped over the threshold of the kitchen.

"Xiao Man, take it easy, you will be fifteen next year."

Lin Xiaoman brought out a plate of cold-mixed black ears and placed it in front of Lin Dajiang, "Dad, today is only the fifteenth day of August, there are still four and a half months until the fifteenth."

"Taohua, Xiaoman has grown into a big girl. When she was born, she was so small, but now she has grown up so big."

Li Taohua came out of the kitchen with a smile, "Who says it's not true? So many years have passed, and we've both grown old."

Lin Xiaoman curled his eyes, "How can I be old? Besides, Dad, my brother and I are twins, how can I be younger than him? Don't talk nonsense."

Lin Dajiang recalled the scene at that time. Taohua had no experience in giving birth as it was her first time, and he was also a father for the first time, so he was like a fool.

Fortunately, my mother-in-law was there, but it was still difficult for Taohua to grow up.

The boy cried loudly when he was carried out. In comparison, the girl's crying sounded like a cat's meow and seemed pitiful.

"If you don't believe me, go ask your grandparents and uncles. When you were born, your skinny little fist was about half the size of Jingzhe."

Lin Xiaoman looked at Li Taohua, and when his mother nodded, he moved the black-eared plate in front of Lin Jingzhe, "Brother, you are really awesome. You are so domineering even in your mother's womb."

Lin Jingzhe cried out that he was wronged.

"You can't blame me for this. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself. Look at you now, you eat more than Guyu did. It shows that you didn't like to eat when you were in your mother's belly."

Seeing the two people making so much noise, Li Taohua said with a smile, "You two little enemies, stop quarreling and eat."

Lin Xiaoman stopped when she saw that things were going well, and said with a smile: "The cold-mixed black ears made by my mother are really delicious."

After eating and drinking, the family sat in the main room.

Li Taohua is a person who can't sit still. Whenever she has free time, she takes out her embroidery needle.

The two little ones, Guyu and Lidong, were running around Lin Dajiang, chasing each other and laughing.

Sometimes playing hide-and-seek, sometimes stepping on shadows.

Lin Dajiang looked at Lidong distractedly, weaving a bamboo dragonfly in his hand, "I hope it rains soon. If it doesn't, not only the radishes, but also the winter wheat will be late."

"Dad, why can't winter wheat catch up?" Lin Xiaoman asked humbly. She knew very little about farming. If she wanted to grow roses in Shanglin Village in the future, she would need to know more about the crops originally planted.

"After a drought, the fields need to be nurtured for a while. Rice and wheat, for example, will grow dry grains if the soil is not fertile. That won't work!" Lin Dajiang explained. "Dried grains are almost impossible to sell. We have to keep them for ourselves. Then, we can't pay the grain tax."

"It's so hard to rely on the weather for a living!" Lin Xiaoman sighed.

Mountains will fall if you rely on them, and even the sky is still not reliable. Natural disasters and man-made disasters happen from time to time, and the people are really suffering.

Lin Dajiang: "Who says it's not true? Otherwise, your uncle was determined to take the exam because he didn't want to work in the fields!"

The moonlight poured into the room through the window, and the night gradually deepened.

Lidong and Guyu were tired from playing and were becoming more and more excited.

Li Taohua put down the needle and thread in her hands, grabbed Lidong and walked into the house. Soon she coaxed him to sleep.

Lin Xiaoman had no desire to sleep. She waited until everyone in the family fell asleep, then went to the well to fill it with water. She tossed and turned for a long time before she gradually fell asleep.

The dead of night is when one is most likely to feel sleepy.

The young men who were on night watch were scattered everywhere.

The man who was on night duty outside the gate of Lin Dajiang's courtyard was leaning against the wall, nodding his head.

The night is the best disguise. Several agile black shadows rushed out from everywhere and headed straight for the Lin family.

The leading man in black hit the night watchman on the back of his neck with a heavy hammer, and the man fainted completely.

The man in black climbed over the wall and saw a large well in the southeast corner of the yard.

"There's the well!"

Hearing this, several people quickly swam towards the well.

The wooden bucket for drawing water was right next to the well. One of them picked up the bucket and threw it into the well impatiently. There was a "splash" sound and water splashed.

"Hehe, there is indeed water, and quite a lot of it."

"Be gentle, do you want to be discovered?"

"Hurry up and get some water!"

Everything was quiet. Lin Xiaoman suddenly woke up. When he opened his eyes, he heard some noise outside.

Someone stole the water?

Lin Xiaoman got up from the bed quietly, opened the window a little, and through the gap saw six or seven masked men in black drawing water by the well.

Pour the pumped water into the tank.

Lin Xiaoman recognized that jar. Lin Dajiang had just bought it this year.

Damn it! Stealing water is not enough, but stealing the tank.

Can't stand it!

There were six or seven people on the other side, and she didn't know if anyone was lying in ambush where she couldn't see.

Even if there was no ambush, she would be no match for them.

Lin Xiaoman didn't dare to act rashly, as it was midnight when her parents and the villagers were fast asleep. Her home was at the end of the village, and if she yelled at this time, her parents might wake up, but the villagers might not hear her at all.

Lin Xiaoman was as anxious as an ant on hot pan, but she didn't know what to do.

Didn't the village head arrange five people to be on duty at night? Where are they? Could they have been killed?

Thinking of this, Lin Xiaoman didn't dare to act rashly. Even if his parents woke up, he wouldn't be able to defeat them.

Lin Xiaoman was so tense that she didn't dare to make a sound. She planned her actions carefully before taking them. Knowing that she was too weak to fight against the people outside, her brain told her to just stay hidden.

In the current situation, life is the most important thing.

Watching the masked men outside fetching water and filling the water jars, one of them went to open the gate, the other four lifted the water jars and walked out, and the remaining two stayed behind to cover their retreat.

After a while, the gate was closed again.

Lin Xiaoman pricked up his ears and listened carefully, hearing the noisy footsteps walking out.

She pushed open the door and tiptoed to the gate. The gate was only wide enough for one person. Lin Xiaoman slipped out and saw the villager lying in the corner.

He won't be beaten to death, right?

Lin Xiaoman ran over anxiously to check the patient's pulse. Well, the pulse was strong and vigorous, so he was not dead.

I guess he was knocked unconscious.

Lin Xiaoman picked up the gong scattered nearby and started beating it "bang bang bang".

"Someone, someone, someone, someone! There are thieves trying to steal the water!"

"Bang bang bang, bang bang bang."

The gongs were struck loudly.

The villagers on duty nearby rushed over from a distance and saw Lin Xiaoman and her companion lying next to her, "Where is the thief?"

Lin Dajiang and Li Taohua ran out and saw Xiaoman, "Xiaoman, are you okay? Where is the thief?"

"They are probably still at the entrance of the village. They can't run fast with a water jar!"

After a while, nearby villagers came running in with sticks. When they heard that the water had been stolen, they were furious.

When Lin Da heard Lin Xiaoman say that the people were still at the entrance of the village, he discussed with Lin Dajiang, Lin Zhuang, Lin Daniu and others, and immediately gathered more than 20 people and rushed to the village entrance without saying a word.

After the people left, the villagers lying on the ground slowly woke up.

"What's wrong with me? Hey, why are you all here?"

Lin Xiaoman glanced at him and said, "A water thief has come in."

"What!" The villagers on the ground jumped up and down. "A thief broke in? It's all over. Why didn't I pay attention? Oh, it's all my fault. I was sleepy and took a nap. Where is the thief? Where did he go?"

Lin Xiaoman saw that his eyes were dark, "Uncle, don't go, Uncle Linda has led people to chase him out."

"No, I have to go and see which bastard knocked me out!" After saying that, he rushed to the village entrance without looking back.

After everyone had left, Lin Xiaoman ran to the well, and wow, he had almost drawn all the water.

Li Taohua cursed and closed the door, then asked Lin Xiaoman, "Is there any water?"

Lin Xiaoman shook his head, "There's still a little left, but it's too shallow, I can't hit it."

Li Taohua blamed herself for sleeping too soundly. How could someone succeed?

He ran to the well angrily and looked down in the moonlight. Sure enough, there was only a thin layer of water left. He was so angry that he cursed, "Damn it! Whoever stole it all, you damn thief, you stole the water and killed my descendants!"

As a result, the villagers in Shanglin Village who were awakened by the sound of the gong could no longer sleep.

The water in the well is life-saving. The whole village depends on this well.

All the men who got up ran to the village entrance, and the women were waiting outside the gate of Lin Dajiang's house, anxiously waiting for news.

From the initial cursing to the current feeling of sympathy, I am still worried about what to do if there is not enough water tomorrow.

Once someone comes to steal, it proves that there is an extreme shortage of water outside. This situation will only happen more and more in the future and it will be difficult to prevent.

Can this "Fujing" in Lin Dajiang's house continue to produce water?

If there is no water one day, will they also go out to grab water?

What if I get caught for stealing water? There are elderly people and children at home...

What if we can’t get water? Should we leave Shanglin Village and find another way out?

The world is so big, where should they go?

Not long after, the villagers who went to catch people came back.

Li Taohua went to open the gate with lingering fear, and saw the head of the family surrounded by villagers, who seemed to be arguing fiercely.

She stepped forward and asked, "How is it? Did you catch it?"

"Caught."

Li Taohua looked back and asked in confusion: "Where is that person?"

Lin Dajiang: "The village head released the man."

"What? How can we let a water thief go? We must catch him and send him to the authorities. Otherwise, if anyone comes to steal water in the future, will we be able to control them?"

Linda was too embarrassed to speak: "Hey, they are all poor people. They are the villagers of Xinghuaao. They can't make ends meet anymore, so they..."

Linda couldn't continue.

If they didn't have the well in Lin Dajiang's house, they might have died of thirst or been beaten to death while trying to get water.

"Uncle Lizheng is too merciful. These people should be beaten to death. This is our life-saving water. Who said there is no 'Fujing' in Xinghuaao?"

"That's right. You can't take our water even if you don't have it. If you need water, you can find it yourself!"

"Hey, we are all ordinary people, let's be merciful. The water has been recovered, so forget it..."

"Yes, they are all poor people. Last time my daughter came back to ask for water, she heard that many people died in many nearby villages."

......

The two sides argued endlessly.

Li Taohua was extremely angry. It turned out that the water didn't come from their well, so they wouldn't feel sorry for it, right?

"Stealing water is wrong. If it weren't for Xiaoman's cleverness, we would have no water to drink tomorrow morning. How can you all stand here and make sarcastic remarks calmly?"

After Li Taohua finished speaking, all the villagers fell silent.

You looked at me and I looked at you, and in the end we all hung our heads.

The villager who was knocked unconscious was so sleepy that he pounded his head. "Oh, it's all my fault. I don't know what happened. I slept all day and still felt sleepy at night."

Linda stopped him and said, "Don't smash it. We will increase the number of people from now on, ten people per night."

Lin Erniu asked, "Are we just going to let it go? Every household sent someone to help, why did he fall asleep? Could it be that he and the people from other villages were colluding inside and outside? Tell me, what benefits did Xinghuaao promise you?"

"No, how could I do such a conscienceless thing? My parents, wife and children are all in the village. Am I worse than an animal?" The man who was knocked unconscious was so anxious that his eyes were wide open and anger rose to his scalp.

Lin Daniu also said: "Who knows?"

"No! I swear to God, if I do something worse than pigs and dogs, I will choke to death while drinking water or fall to death while walking!"

The villagers looked at each other.

At this time, everyone believed in ghosts and gods very much.

Seeing him swearing to the sky, there was nothing more to say.

That night, everyone present felt uncomfortable.

There is a "Fujing" in Shanglin Village that continuously supplies water, and everyone lives in hope.

What happened tonight was like a blunt hatchet, cutting off and wiping out their hopes bit by bit, leaving them once again in the panic and despair of water shortage.

After this incident, the villagers of Shanglin Village also realized that if it were not for the Lin family’s “Fujing”, they might be the next “Xinghuaao”.