The end of natural disasters: the daily life of child brides in ancient times

By the time the two arrived at the village entrance, most people had already arrived.

Lu Qingqing discovered that most of the young and strong men in the village were in the team. A few families with few men would also have strong women following them.

After a quick look around, I unexpectedly discovered Lu Tianfu in the team.

He looked fine, unlike what the village chief had said yesterday, that he would be tied up.

Seeing her looking at Lu Tianfu, Zhuzi's wife at the back whispered to her about what happened yesterday.

Yesterday evening, when most families had almost paid their grain taxes, the old village chief walked over slowly.

He stopped the village chief who wanted to speak and walked to the tied-up Lu Tianfu.

The old village chief sighed and asked:

"Fuzi, tell me how your uncle has treated you over the years?"

Seeing Lu Tianfu nod in agreement, he continued,

"Back then, your father was chosen by lot to perform corvée labor. But he never came back. Your second uncle and I both acknowledged this, and we also promised your grandparents that we would take care of you and your mother."

"Over the years, your second uncle and I have felt we owe you. Every year, we use our own grain to support you and help you with everything, big and small."

Having said that, he took a breath and continued:

"But your second uncle passed away last year, and I'm sixty-one. Your eldest uncle is old and can't help you anymore. Your cousins ​​also have their own lives to live, and you're thirty-five. It's time for you to stand up for yourself."

Seeing Lu Tianfu lowering his head and not saying anything, Mrs. Lu didn't dare to make a fuss anymore. She had always been afraid of this majestic uncle.

Seeing the two of them like this, the old village chief gave the order directly and asked people to go to Lu Tianfu's house to move dry food.

In the end, if there was not enough left, they would use the undried grain to exchange for dry food, and only then was the grain tax enough to be paid.

Lu Qingqing couldn't help but sigh again, the old village chief is really a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty.

Since childhood, the old village chief has helped the original body many times, and the old village chief has also helped me after I came here.

The Qin family moved into the village later and they didn't have any close relationship with the family.

If you have the chance, you can talk to grandma and try to make better friends with the old village chief's family.

While Lu Qingqing was still thinking, the village chief saw that almost everyone had arrived.

Just before departure, I want to encourage everyone.

"My dear fellows, let's go pay our grain tax today. There are many gangs of refugees out there trying to rob people, but we generally don't dare to rob a large group of people who are armed."

"Everyone, please bring your weapons with you when you go out this time. If you encounter refugees and robbers, don't run away."

Seeing that the villagers were listening attentively, he continued:

"According to the division, every five households guarded a cart loaded with grain. If anyone came to steal it, we would chop it down. We must protect the grain."

"Everyone knows the situation with this year's autumn harvest. We can't even make a second grain payment. If you don't want to be arrested and punished, you must protect everyone's grain supply. Do you understand?"

Seeing the enthusiastic response of the young and strong people in the village, the village chief felt relieved and called everyone to set off.

When Lu Qingqing set off, she looked back and saw that it was the old village chief who was guarding the village entrance with a group of young and strong men.

Thinking that the old village chief was there, Lu Qingqing felt more at ease leaving Grandma Qin at home alone.

The group of people carried food and marched towards the county town in a mighty procession.

As they left the village, everyone became nervous and unconsciously tightened their weapons.

Lu Qingqing was holding a hatchet, and Qin Lang beside her was holding a hoe.

After walking six or seven miles, they only encountered a few refugees. The skinny refugees didn't dare to move when they saw such a large group of people.

After a while, they came across the first village. The people who stayed behind in the village were so scared when they saw such a large group of people coming that they hurried to ring the gong.

But then Lu Tianfu shouted:

"Goudan, it's me, Fuzi."

The man called Goudan was very happy to see Lu Tianfu.

"Fuzi, where are you all going?"

Lu Tianfu sighed and said:

"Well, go pay the grain. The government has increased the grain tax by 10% this year. If we pay, we won't have anything to eat."

Goudan was shocked when he heard this.

"Can your village still raise enough grain tax? What we grew this year wasn't even enough to pay the tax. The water ran out early, and the crops didn't even grow."

When Lu Tianfu heard this, his heart tightened and he put on a sad face.

"It's all the same. We ran out of water long ago. My family's grain tax was collected from last year's old grain, and we didn't even have any seeds left."

The two of them complained to each other for a few more words, and then Lu Tianfu quickly caught up with the team.

After that, we passed several villages one after another. The villagers in most villages were similar, tanned and thin, with chapped lips.

The sun was getting higher and higher, and even though Lu Qingqing wore a hat to protect herself from the heat, she still felt dizzy.

Turning around to look at Qin Lang beside him, his face was also flushed with heat.

Taking out the water bag, Lu Qingqing took a few big gulps and felt comfortable immediately. Then she handed it to Qin Lang beside her.

The team had reached a low hill by then. Lu Qingqing saw something reflecting off the opposite hillside, and her eyes flashed.

Before she could react, she heard the village chief shouting:

"There's a surprise attack from refugees! Everyone, guard the food. Kill anyone who comes. Don't hesitate!"

I saw a group of ragged refugees running down the opposite hillside.

Most of them were holding farm tools such as hoes and sickles, but their eyes were flashing with greed for food.

The refugees shouted loudly and attacked the convoy.

Even though I knew in my heart that there were many more people on my side than on the other side.

But looking at the refugees rushing towards her with great momentum, Lu Qingqing still felt a little scared unconsciously.

Qin Lang grabbed Lu Qingqing's arm and protected her behind him, holding the hoe in his hand in a martial arts posture.

Soon, several refugees rushed to their car. The long sprint made their chests heaving violently and they were gasping for breath.

Without waiting for the refugees to get close, the young and strong men next to the car waved their weapons and hit the refugees on the body and head.

The difference between people who have been hungry for a long time and people who can eat until they are 60% to 70% full is revealed at this moment.

Most villagers are stronger than the refugees and their numbers far exceed theirs.

The battle for food ended after half an hour.

Dozens of refugees were lying on the ground, blood was everywhere, and all the refugees who could run had run away.

Some villagers were also hit or chopped, but fortunately their injuries were not serious.

Seeing that the corpses on the ground blocked the road, the village chief simply let everyone take a short break.

The injured ones treated their wounds, while the uninjured ones were responsible for carrying the bodies to the woods by the roadside.

Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang were not injured this time, so they carried the body off the ground together.

They were carrying a bearded man. When they were carrying him into the woods and throwing him down, Lu Qingqing saw a hint of green in the man's tattered clothes.

Seeing that the villagers had not come over yet, Lu Qingqing quickly reached out, took out a jade pendant, and put it neatly into the space.

I whispered to Qin Lang and told him not to mention this matter. I only went back after seeing him nod.

After throwing all the bodies into the woods, the village chief asked everyone to continue their journey.

The group of people were covered in blood and looked very fierce, but they didn't dare to attack any refugees they encountered along the way.

Near noon, everyone finally saw the city wall of the county town.

There was a queue at the city gate to check the pass, and the village chief led everyone in the queue at the back, waiting to enter the city.

When it was the turn of the people from Lujia Village, the village chief hurried forward and took out a pass, explaining that the villagers had come to pay grain taxes.

The guards looked at the people from Lujia Village, their bodies covered in blood and wounds from the fight, and only after carefully confirming that the pass was in good condition did they let them into the city.

When I went to the county government office to pay grain, there was no queue.

The gatekeeper was quite friendly when he saw that we were here to pay taxes.

When he heard that the village chief knew Lu Zhubu, his attitude became even more attentive, and he enthusiastically asked the yamen runner beside him to report to Lu Zhubu.