The young couple from the farm fights back

For several days in a row, officers and soldiers sent by the court to capture able-bodied men came and went, for fear of missing out on any strong man from the countryside. Even if he hid deep in the mountains, the officers and soldiers would still find a way to pull him out.

Many days later, after confirming that the crisis had passed, Jiang Li went to Uncle Zhou's house with a medicine box. Uncle Zhou and Dashuan, father and son, lying in bed, deeply felt the plight of a person who was seriously ill and on the verge of despair.

Seeing Jiang Li finally come to detoxify them, the hope of living was immediately rekindled in their eyes.

Jiang Li gave the father and son acupuncture to remove the poison. It took three days of acupuncture, combined with herbal medicine to nourish them. Finally, their limp and weak bodies regained their strength.

Aunt Hu and Zhao wiped their tears with gratitude. When they learned that Zhou Chunfeng had followed the soldiers that day, and saw Jiang Li coming out of the house with a medicine box, Aunt Hu couldn't help but have tears in her eyes, and she stepped forward and held Jiang Li's hand tightly.

He consoled her, "Chunfeng's family, Dashuan told us about what happened that day. If you have any problems in the future, please feel free to tell us. Don't hold it in. Your husband is not here right now, so we will take good care of you and your mother for Chunfeng."

Jiang Li smiled and said, "Okay, Auntie. The child is grown up now, so it's not a big deal. The crops in the fields have been harvested, and the yam harvest in a month or so will be a big burden for Second Uncle and Dashuan."

"That's fine. They can handle this little bit of work. We can leave all the farm work to them in the future."

Zhao was also distressed about Jiang Li's situation and nodded repeatedly: "Sister-in-law, please don't be estranged from our family. My husband and I will remember your kindness for the rest of our lives."

"Okay." Jiang Li felt relieved and held tightly the hand that Zhao had given her.

In this era of war and turmoil, those living in the countryside at the bottom of society most needed each other's support and assistance. For the sake of her children and the agreement she had made with Zhou Chunfeng, Jiang Li would grit her teeth and persevere no matter how difficult the day.

With war imminent, the imperial court had to impose even greater taxes on the common people, even increasing the grain tax by 10% compared to previous years. Most of the remaining farmers in the surrounding area were the elderly, the weak, women, and children. The village head had no other choice but to lead his men through door-to-door to collect the grain tax.

Under Jiang Li's management, the Zhou family quickly recovered. Although the family lost its pillar, she could not fall down.

Jiang Li checked her pulse and found the baby was in good condition. Every morning, she would send her two older children to school and then take the two younger ones to the mountains to collect herbs, grass for pigs, and grass for cattle.

The days were busy and fulfilling, and the children gradually got used to their father's absence, but they all firmly believed that their father [uncle] would return home to reunite with them soon.

When Aunt Hu learned that Jiang Li was pregnant, she was so anxious that she wiped away tears and felt very distressed.

After Uncle Zhou and his son recovered, they took on all the heavy work in the Zhou family, fearing that Jiang Li would be too tired and affect the fetus.

Time quickly arrived, and it was time to harvest the yam. Before the harvest, Jiang Li, her slightly swollen belly, led Zhou Ershu's family to the fields to collect yam seeds. Back when there were still able-bodied men in the village, every family envied them for growing such precious yams. They'd hoped to share in the harvest the following year, but since all the able-bodied men in their families had been captured by soldiers, none of the remaining elderly, children, women, or the infirm would venture to their plots of land.

But they kept making sarcastic remarks behind their backs, and some even envied Zhou Ershu and his son for having escaped the conscription disaster. If they hadn't had that option, they would have reported Zhou Ershu and his son to the government for deceiving the court.

That day, before nightfall, Jiang Li chopped a basket of pig grass and dumped it into the pigsty. Suddenly, she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Before she could turn around, a familiar, flattering voice came from behind her.

"Big girl~"

Jiang Li supported her waist with one hand and turned around with her belly bulging. Seeing Aunt Jiang San and her husband coming towards her with a stiff look on their faces, her expression couldn't help but turn a little cold.

"Oh, look, the eldest girl is pregnant again. Why didn't you tell me earlier? If Third Aunt knew, she would have come here earlier to take care of you. The eldest daughter was taken away by the soldiers, and now you are the only one left in your family with a few children and a widow. How can you survive without someone to look after you?"

Before Aunt Jiang San climbed up, Jiang Li dodged backward in disgust, and heard Uncle Jiang San say shamelessly.

"That's right. Look at how distant you are from us uncle and aunt. Why didn't you tell the elders about such a big thing? Fortunately, I'm here today. With your third aunt and I watching over you, you can take good care of your pregnancy."

As soon as Uncle Jiang San finished speaking, Aowu slowly walked out from the half-open gate next to him, his bright red tongue dripping with saliva as he licked his lips again and again, staring at the couple with a cold gaze.

Seeing the wild wolf that was even bigger than last year, Uncle Jiang and his wife couldn't help but shudder with fear, staring at Jiang Li with wide eyes in horror.

Uncle Jiang swallowed his saliva and hid behind Aunt Jiang. "You, why are you still keeping this wild thing? It will harm you and your child."

Aunt Jiang San was also afraid, but the man of the family held her in front of him as a shield, so she had to suppress her palpitations and keep a stiff and nervous smile on her face.

Jiang Li glanced at the couple, lowered his head, and motioned Ao Wu to come to his feet. He said calmly, "Didn't I explain it clearly to my headmaster last year? Do you really think you can get away with it now that my headmaster is gone? You may be clacking your abacus beads loudly, but you still have to ask me, Jiang Shi, for permission."

"You--." Uncle Jiang didn't expect that the Jiang family was becoming more and more disrespectful. After all, they were of the same generation.

As Uncle Jiang San had just finished speaking, Que Ge'er and Heng Ge'er heard the noise outside the yard and hurriedly put down their pens and books and came out.

When Third Uncle Jiang saw Heng'er, a smile immediately appeared on his face. "This is Heng'er, right? Heng'er has grown up so much. Come to Third Uncle quickly."

When Aunt Jiang San saw the child, her eyes lit up. The couple had never seen Que Ge'er, but they didn't have time to be curious about anything else at the moment.

"Brother Heng, I'm your third grandmother~"

Heng'er frowned slightly, not remembering who the old couple were. Seeing his mother's dislike for them, the little rascal knew what to do. So he followed his brother to his mother's side.

"Mother~"

Que Ge'er said, "Aunt, let's go home."

Que Ge'er was older and knew how to read people's expressions better. Now that his aunt was pregnant with their younger brother and sister, he couldn't let the evil people outside harm his aunt's body.

Uncle Jiang's face immediately drooped when he saw the child didn't give them a good look. "You, you kid." Then he glared at Jiang Li and said, "This is how you teach your children every day. It's fine if you adults don't respect our elders, but how can you also let your children be so ignorant of etiquette?"

Jiang Li handed the basket to Que Ge'er and looked at the old couple in front of him with amusement: "What kind of etiquette does our family need to show to you? Don't act pretentiously in front of me, the Jiang family. You should have known last year that I, the Jiang family, will not accept your tricks."

"Why, but I heard that our family has a good harvest of yams this year, so you're thinking about it?"

Uncle Jiang and his wife were exposed in public for their inner thoughts. They were so angry that their faces turned pale and they choked with sobs.