Crossing the farm gate, the whole family reunites in the disaster year

Chapter 262: The Inn

It was not yet time for lunch, and there were not many people at home. Old Mrs. Cui was picking vegetables at the gate of the yard, and only the sound of talking could be heard from the west room.

Xiaoqi took the initiative to stay at home with his second brother. Xiaoliu had no playmates and had no intention of going out to play. When Lin came, the two little kids were lying on the floor in the outer room, seriously discussing the new knowledge they had learned.

Xiao Qi said in distress, "The three-character classic that Third Brother taught us yesterday, 'Dogs don't bark,' was pretty simple, but what does the last part, 'Xing Nai Qian,' mean?"

Xiaoliu's eyes sparkled with wisdom: "I know, Xing Nai Qian means that the dog will be taken away by bad people. It means that if the dog doesn't bark, bad people will come to steal it."

The two looked at the honest Big Gray and Little Gray standing aside.

"So that's what you mean, Sixth Brother, you're so awesome!"

Lin: “…”

Xiao Qi saw Lin come in from the corner of his eye and quickly got up from the ground.

"Third aunt!"

Xiaoliu also got up: "Mom, you're back."

Lin pretended not to have heard the conversation between the two: "Are you studying?"

Xiaoliu grinned and said, "We are reciting the Three Character Classic that Third Brother taught us yesterday. Xiaoqi doesn't quite understand two sentences, so I'm teaching him."

"Sixth brother is very smart. He knows everything I don't understand!" Xiaoqi was full of admiration.

"......" Lin touched Xiao Qi's head and said, "Why don't you ask your third brother?"

Lin had other things to do, so she chatted with the two kids for a few minutes before going into the inner room.

Erlang lay on the kang with the plaster applied all night, and his ankle didn't seem as swollen as last night.

Erlang regained some spirit and smiled when he saw Lin, but his smile was a little bitter.

Lin patted his shoulder and simply told him, "Focus on recuperating. Don't think about anything else for now. Tell Third Aunt what you want to eat."

Erlang suddenly said, "Aunt San, I want to go out and find a job."

Lin was silent for a moment, then sat on the edge of the kang and looked at him straight in the eye.

"Why do you suddenly want to go out?"

Erlang pursed his lips: "I suddenly want to go out and have a look, to a place farther away."

This means going far away to work, even leaving Qingyang County.

Lin tried to ask, "I saw you were in a bad mood last night, so I didn't ask much. Now, can you tell Aunt San what happened yesterday afternoon?"

Erlang smiled bitterly. Facing his aunt's gentle words, he didn't know why he suddenly wanted to talk to her.

"Yesterday afternoon, I went to Shilipu and found the Yan family's carriage inn. I wanted to explain to them that I didn't want to marry into the family..."

The Yan family was the family that Feng arranged for Erlang to marry into. Shilipu guarded three official roads and was located at a transportation hub.

The Yan family ran a large carriage inn next to the official road, which was similar to a hotel in later generations. Passers-by could stop for a meal or stay overnight. They also ran an ox cart rental business.

They are not a wealthy family, but they are much better off than ordinary people.

Erlang closed his eyes, obviously feeling a little sad.

From his words, Lin learned about his experience yesterday afternoon. After he arrived at the inn, he saw Feng's two nephews at the door, who were two of the people who came yesterday.

The two of them were behaving humbly at the door of the Yan family, but the Yan family looked very impatient and drove them away without saying a few words.

Seeing how distraught they were, someone who didn't know them would think they were really doing something for him, but he always felt that there was something fishy, so he simply followed them.

Sure enough, there were a few burly men waiting not far away. The two of them were timid and were blocked in the middle like a sick chicken when they walked over.

Erlang hid behind a carriage not far away and heard their conversation clearly.

It turned out that the two of them owed gambling debts, and they heard from somewhere that the Yan family was recruiting a live-in son-in-law, which led to what happened today.

No family with integrity would send their son to marry into the family, so after the Yan family spread the news, they never found a suitable person, and Feng was the first one to rush to send her son to marry into the family.

The Yan family ran a large carriage inn and was well-informed about the incoming and outgoing information. They had heard a lot about the affairs of Xiahe Village, and when they heard that it was the Cui family, they immediately decided to join.

He also promised to give Feng another thirty taels of silver after marrying into her family's family. It was because of these thirty taels of silver that the two of them were in a hurry to take Erlang away yesterday.

Erlang was listening attentively at that time. The owner of the carriage came and thought he was a thief, so he shouted and attracted the attention of the group of people.

Feng's nephew immediately recognized Erlang. Erlang's foot was sprained while he was escaping. He was about to be caught up when a carriage happened to pass by. The nephew got on the carriage and hid, thus getting rid of the person.

However, Erlang didn't mention this, he just said that he twisted his ankle while running away.

After hearing this, Lin was silent for a long time. She was angry about Feng's actions, but also felt sad for Erlang.

No wonder he has been silent since he came back last night.

This group of people would do anything for money. No one knows what Feng's nephew promised to make Feng willingly sell her son and share the money with them.

Lin clenched his fists and suppressed the anger in his heart.

"I understand. You should heal your leg first. With your grandma and I here, we won't let them succeed. As for going out to work, think about it carefully. No matter what you decide in the end, Third Aunt will support you."

Erlang lowered his head and hummed in a muffled voice.

In fact, he didn't want to leave home because his younger brothers and sisters were not grown up yet. But if he didn't leave, those people would not give up and the whole family would be in trouble.

Lin didn't say anything more and left the space for him.

Coming out of the west room, Lin called Cui Jingwen and Cui Zhaozhao, and the three of them took their tools and went into the mountains.

Big Gray and Little Gray followed happily.

The tools were just a cover. Taking advantage of the dense forest, Cui Zhaozhao found a piece of open space and began to dig out grape seedlings from the mall.

Wine grapes are used to make wine. The fruits are slightly smaller and look similar to wild grapes, but they taste sweeter and the wine made from them has better color and taste.

Although the wild grapes here can be used to make wine, the quantity is far from enough to fill 50 acres of land, so they can only be bought from the mall.

At this time, the villagers were busy with autumn planting and digging wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain. Generally, no one came up the mountain, but Lin and Cui Jingwen still carefully observed their surroundings.

At this moment, there was a rustling sound in the grass not far away.

Lin quickly held Cui Zhaozhao down and said, "Stop."

Cui Jingwen silently clenched the sickle in his hand, looking alert.

If it was a villager, it would be okay, but I'm afraid it was a wild beast in the mountains.

After a chaotic rustling sound, a gray, furry head emerged from the grass.

"Woo——"

Dahui subconsciously bared his teeth at the bushes, with a hint of wolf-like ferocity on his face.

After Xiao Hui whimpered, he suddenly tilted his head and became quiet, and his tail slowly lifted up.

And in the grass was a cold wolf face.

Lin was startled, but after a careful look, she called out tentatively, "Can't-ear wolf?"

The crippled-ear wolf is easily recognizable by its iconic ears.

Hearing Lin calling it, the wolf with the crippled ear moved its ears, slowly walked out of the grass, and swung its big tail, as a greeting to Lin.