Farmhouse Green Plum

The veins on the back of the man's right hand, which was holding the basket, bulged. The crackling sound was like thunder and lightning in an environment where you could hear a pin drop, and it was clearly heard by everyone. Those who had not yet paid the grain felt nervous, worrying whether their families would also encounter such difficulties.

When the basket was obviously deformed and about to crack to the bottom, the man stopped his force and poured all the small pile of millet left in the basket into the hu.

He brought another full basket, grabbed the edge, lifted it up with one hand, and poured the full basket of millet directly into the hu.

Soon, the bucket was full and the grain was overflowing, but the man did not stop and continued pouring.

The man stopped only when the overflowing grain was about to cover the can. He asked the officer angrily, "Is that enough?"

The officer came back to his senses from his daze and subconsciously glanced at the grain officer who was reading the book. Seeing that he nodded slightly, he snorted lightly, "It's barely enough."

The man tightened his grip on the edge of the basket again, and after a while, he turned and left.

After this incident, the atmosphere at the scene became solemn. The families that were next to deliver grain endured the pain and filled their boxes as full as possible.

The sun gradually set, and finally it was Xinghua Village's turn.

The old village chief walked up to the grain chief, bowed and nodded, and then organized the villagers to line up.

The grain delivery list was drawn up by him personally a few days ago, so he was naturally familiar with the order on it.

"Xinghua Village, Song Xingcai, seven—" Before he finished reading, the grain chief stopped abruptly, frowned slightly, and looked up at the family at the top of the list.

A hunchbacked white-haired old man with three strong sons, so many people and so much land, only had to pay seven hu of grain?

The grain chief frowned even more tightly.

The village chief seemed not to notice the grain chief's gloomy face, and said with a smile: "The Song family has been from our Xinghua Village for generations. More than 60 years ago, the imperial court recruited soldiers. Among the four brothers of the Song family, only the eldest brother Song Xingcai was left to take care of his parents, and the three younger brothers all went to the battlefield.

The second son died in battle at a young age, leaving no son or daughter. The generals in the army took pity on the Song family and allowed the third son to return home to fulfill his filial duty.

At this point, he pointed to Daya’s family, who were ranked second, and said, “This is the family of the third child, Song Xinggui.

Although Xinggui did not suffer any serious injuries on the battlefield, he suffered many minor injuries. It was not noticeable when he was young, but as he got older, illnesses came knocking on his door. He died a few years ago because he could not endure it.

Daya was stunned when she heard this, and secretly sighed that the village chief was so bold that he could lie in front of the officials without batting an eyelid. Her grandfather had clearly gone to a banquet in the neighboring village, got drunk, and on his way back he missed a step and fell into the field and drowned.

The village chief continued, "The fourth one is willing to endure hardships and is smart. He is now the flag chief. I heard that he is in charge of more than 50 people."

"Captain," the grain officer's eyes flickered as he looked at Song Xingcai, "So it's Brother Yinglie. I'm so sorry for my disrespect."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the officer who was kicking the hu, nodded imperceptibly, and read out again: "Xinghua Village, Song Xingcai, seven hu."

The people from the eldest branch of the Song family poured the grain into the bucket. Just as it was full but not yet tipped over, the servant who kicked the bucket said, "That's enough."

The next officer did not kick the bucket either, and the Daya family behind him received the same treatment, which made many people envious.

After paying the grain, Li breathed a sigh of relief. She signaled Daya to pour the grain she carried into the remaining basket. She went to thank the grain manager and the village chief in person before leaving with her family.

Daya consciously stacked up several backpacks and carried them on her back. She picked up an empty basket, took Song Yuan's hand, and said goodbye to Lai Di and other friends.

While packing up to go home, the village chief and the Zhao family went to pay their grain. Daya found that the officials in charge of the measure were very kind to both families, and the grain of the two families was not piled up particularly high.

On the second day, Lai Di told her that compared with the other villages, the amount of grain paid by the people in Xinghua Village was much less in excess.

Her parents said that they did this for the sake of Daya's fourth grandfather.

Daya suddenly understood why the village chief put the Song family at the forefront. This was to seek benefits for the entire village in the name of the Fourth Grandpa.

"Your fourth grandfather is so awesome. What does he look like? Is he like the generals described in operas?" Xiaoxiang couldn't help but be curious.

Daya shook her head. "I don't know either. I haven't seen him."

In fact, the Li family seldom mentioned this fourth grandfather. Daya only knew that he was stationed in the far southwestern frontier, married the daughter of a family in the nearby city of Linping, and settled down there.

Lai Di was surprised: "Didn't your grandma and the others tell you last night?"

Xiaoxiang also said: "My family was talking about your fourth grandfather last night. I think the whole village may be talking about your fourth grandfather."

"Not only that, the villagers who lined up behind us yesterday were so envious. I guess they were also discussing your fourth grandfather last night."

Daya shrugged. "As soon as we left Wutong Village Community School yesterday, my grandmother started scolding my great grandfather, saying that he was cunning and treacherous, and that his family got all the benefits. She kept scolding him until this morning, and she was still scolding him when I left the house."

Xiaoxiang was puzzled: "Your great grandfather is such a conservative person, why would your grandmother call him cunning?"

"It was caused by the division of the family back then." Daya sighed, feeling somewhat indignant. "Grandfather relied on being the eldest son to get the biggest share, and even asked my great-grandmother to give him my fourth grandfather's share of the land to manage.

My fourth grandfather has never come back, so all the harvest from the fields over the years has gone to my great grandfather's family.

Moreover, his family has much more land than mine. Yesterday, his family only handed in seven hu of grain, while my family handed in six hu. This was because my second uncle went to the county a few days ago and gave eels to the officials. "

Thinking about the autumn grain her family had paid, Lai Di exclaimed: "Wow! Your great-grandfather is really not kind. He has connections but he doesn't help your family to make peace..."

The days passed slowly, and soon it was the end of the month.

During this period, with the help of Lin Wenxuan, Daya learned two more herbs, white peony and shrimp grass, and earned thirty cents.

After deducting the money she spent, she had 21 cents in her pocket.

After filling the basket with pine needles and stuffing the edge of the basket with dried firewood, Daya said, "Let's go back."

Lai Di nodded, picked up her backpack, and said as she walked, "By the way, when I went out this morning, I met Aunt Liu San. She asked me to go to the bridal chamber to accompany the bride after the wedding ceremony tomorrow, and also asked me to call more people. You can come with us."

According to the custom of Xinghua Village, before entering the bridal chamber, the bride will be accompanied by her sister-in-law to keep her company and entertain her in case she gets bored.

The Wang family was an outsider family and had no relatives in the village. Their only daughter, Xiaohua, had been sold. In order to find someone to accompany the bride, Aunt Liu simply asked the young girls and young wives in the village to accompany her.

Because Xiaohua was sold to death, the girls' excitement about the Wang family's wedding was greatly reduced. However, thinking about the candy, meat, and excitement, they couldn't help but feel a little bit of anticipation.