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

Da Zhuang took Lu Qingqing and took two steps, then suddenly stopped as if he remembered something.

When they turned around, they saw the cook Aunt Zhang wiping her tears while watching them.

Before he could say anything, Aunt Zhang waved her hand.

"Da Zhuang, there's nothing going on in the kitchen right now.

It's a rare opportunity for you and your elder sister to meet, so find a place to have a good chat. There's no need to rush back."

After Da Zhuang thanked Aunt Zhang softly, he took Lu Qingqing's hand and walked towards a house a few steps away.

He cried so hard that he even sobbed a little while speaking, but he didn't stop crying. He asked with concern as he walked:

"Sister, how have you been this past year?

Are you hungry? Is your brother-in-law good to you?

Are there any bad guys bullying you on the road?

Are you hurt?

....."

A series of questions were thrown at her, and before she could answer, they arrived at the destination.

Dazhuang pushed open the door in front, and a smell of stinky feet mixed with mold wafted out.

In the cramped room, blankets were spread directly on the ground, with all sorts of messy things thrown on them.

Da Zhuang felt a little embarrassed when he saw this, and said to Lu Qingqing:

"Sister, the room is dirty. Please wait for me at the door and I will come out later."

As he said this, he ran in.

After rummaging for a long time in a crumpled and dirty blanket, he finally found something.

He checked carefully and saw that the things inside were still there, then he ran out with a smile.

When I walked out the door, I looked around and saw someone standing not far away.

After quickly closing the door, he took Lu Qingqing's hand and walked towards a corner.

He waited until he reached a dead corner, poked his little head out and looked carefully up and down, left and right. After confirming that there was no one there, he took out a gray-black rag.

"Sister, I found this from a corpse a while ago.

The corpse's outer clothes were gone, but the inner clothes he was wearing were very comfortable, although they were stained with blood.

When I found him, it looked like he had just died and his blood hadn't dried yet.

However, the man's purse and other valuables had been taken away.

Strangely, only this jade pendant was left on that person."

As he was speaking, something came out from the black rag. It turned out to be a dragon-shaped jade pendant carved from extremely fine and pure Hetian white jade.

After Dazhuang took out the jade pendant, he wiped it hard on his sleeve before handing it to Lu Qingqing.

"Sister, although this jade was found on a corpse, I washed it carefully beforehand. Please don't mind if it's dirty."

Lu Qingqing looked at the dragon-shaped jade pendant and frowned secretly.

This dynasty was somewhat taboo about dragon-shaped things, so the person who could wear this dragon-shaped jade pendant must have an extraordinary status.

This may also be part of the reason why this thing was not taken away.

Seeing that the elder sister had not answered, Da Zhuang thought that she thought it was dirty, and said anxiously:

"Sister, I have secretly washed this jade pendant several times before. It is not dirty."

"Da Zhuang, I'm not disgusted by the dirt."

After hearing this, Da Zhuang hurriedly put the jade pendant in his hand into Lu Qingqing's hand.

"Sister, please keep this jade pendant.

Go back and tell your brother-in-law that I'm paying you back with this grain you borrowed from me, and don't let him make things difficult for you."

Seeing that Lu Qingqing was about to open her mouth to say something, he thought she wanted to refuse and continued:

"Sister, the copper coins I occasionally found before were all taken away by Grandpa.

If Grandpa and Dad see this jade pendant, I won't be able to give it to you, so keep it!"

Seeing Dazhuang's anxious face, Lu Qingqing thought about it and decided to accept it.

The owner of this dragon-shaped jade pendant was killed for unknown reasons, so the murderer must have had a reason for throwing the pendant away.

If I return it to Dazhuang, he will get into trouble when he pawns it in a pawnshop in the future.

The best way to deal with this thing is to let the space collect it directly, ensuring that no trace is left.

I accepted the jade pendant from this child, so I can't let him suffer any loss.

Lu Qingqing thought about it and said:

"Da Zhuang, I'll accept this jade pendant.

But this jade pendant is quite valuable. I will go back and get you some money later. If there is more money, I will buy it from you."

Da Zhuang just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that she wanted to accept it, but then he became anxious when he heard that she wanted to buy the jade pendant.

"Sister, this is me paying you back for the food I borrowed from you.

If you hadn't lent me food at that time, Mom would have been kicked out by Dad and our home would have been gone.

This cannot be calculated in silver!"

Da Zhuang frowned and tried to explain what he wanted to say.

"Da Zhuang, let's put this aside. Listen to me, this..."

Before he could finish, Da Zhuang said with a bitter face:

"Sister, I eat and sleep with Dad and Grandpa, so I can't leave anything behind.

Even if you gave it to me, they would have taken it away. You should keep it for yourself."

Lu Qingqing looked at Dazhuang's wrinkled face, which looked extremely worried, and could only nod.

"I'll save the money for the jade pendant for you. If you need it in the future, come to me for it."

When Dazhuang heard this, he moved closer, hugged her arm and whispered:

"Sister, I will work hard and support myself in the future.

As for the money, keep it for yourself and consider it as my dowry for you, my parents."

As he spoke, he saw that Lu Qingqing wanted to say something, so he spoke first:

"Sister, I know that Dad and Mom treat you badly.

Don't be sad, I will protect you from now on.

If my brother-in-law dares to bully you, I... "

Thinking of Qin Lang's tall and strong appearance, he shrank his neck and said:

"I'll eat more in the future and grow taller than my brother-in-law, so I won't have to worry about him bullying you."

Lu Qingqing looked at Da Zhuang, who was as thin as an African doll, touched his face, and said softly:

"Okay, Dazhuang, grow up strong and support your elder sister!"

Da Zhuang laughed when he heard this.

He looked at the elder sister in front of him, moved forward, and buried his head in her arms.

Smelling that pleasant smell, I just felt at ease.

Lu Qingqing felt her heart soften as she touched the child in her arms, who was so thin that only a handful of bones remained.

"Da Zhuang, how do you eat now? What do you eat all day?"

"Don't worry, sis, I can eat two meals a day now!

Every day I eat with the boatmen. The captain is a good man.

He asked me to help Aunt Zhang and gave me two multi-grain pancakes every day.

Every time Aunt Zhang cooks, she secretly saves some for me."

Lu Qingqing rummaged through the small bag on her back and took out three large white steamed buns and a bag of dried meat.

"Da Zhuang, eat this slowly and finish it today.

Tomorrow, when they start work, come find me in the cabin below and I'll give you tomorrow's portion."

Da Zhuang looked at the big white steamed buns and dried meat in front of him and swallowed.

She tried hard to look away and wanted to refuse, but Lu Qingqing stuffed the food directly into her mouth.

"Eat, we bought some food in the city before, enough for you.

But, let’s not talk about your father and grandfather.”

When Dazhuang heard this, he thought of the past and nodded.

"Don't worry, big sister. I won't let Dad and Grandpa know. I will definitely not cause you any trouble!"