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

Father Qin took his two sons to the Lu family's resting place. After arriving there, Father Qin called Qin Li Niang out first, looked at his daughter and asked:

"Li Niang, tell Dad the truth, did that young master give you a lot of money?"

Qin Li Niang was a little confused when she saw her father suddenly ask this question.

"Dad, why are you asking this suddenly?"

Father Qin put on an embarrassed look and said:

"Hey, you also know that Dad is useless. Your two younger brothers are already so old, and the family has no money to arrange marriages for them. I'm afraid that our Qin family's incense will be cut off in the future. I don't have the face to see my ancestors in the underworld!"

Seeing her father like this, Qin Li Niang hurried over to support him and comforted him:

"Dad, my brother's marriage has to wait until we escape and settle down. When the time comes, I'll help you out by calculating how much your family needs."

When Qin's father heard this, he knew that his daughter had indeed received money from the young master. He was overjoyed and said,

"Li Niang, give the money to Dad first. Dad will keep it for you. It's not safe on the road either, so don't lose it again."

When Qin Li Niang heard her father say this, she said with some embarrassment:

"Dad, I don't have much money left, and Erzhuang and Sanya are still young. There will be many things to spend money on in the future. I heard that children should go to school when they are five or six years old, so that they can have a bright future. It will cost a lot to send Erzhuang to school after we settle down."

Father Qin was a little annoyed when he heard this.

"Your mother and I raised you up, but now that you're rich you don't care about honoring your parents, and you only care about your in-laws. We really raised you in vain!"

Qin Li Niang saw that her father was angry and hurriedly explained:

"Dad, it's not that I won't give it to you. I will definitely help out when my two younger brothers get married, but my two children are still young, and as a mother, I have to think about them too!"

Father Qin was angry and spoke a little loudly just now. Seeing the people around him looking at him, he hurriedly whispered:

"Li Niang, Daddy doesn't ask for much, just give me ten taels of silver, and I'll marry your two younger brothers off later."

Qin Li Niang was surprised to hear her father wanted so much.

"Dad, where do I get so much money?"

Father Qin hurriedly coaxed:

"If you encounter problems in the future, do you think the Lu family will take care of you? You will have to rely on your parents and brother. Give me whatever you can give me now. If you have problems in the future, you can come to me for it. How can I not give it to you?"

After Qin's father finished speaking, he saw Boss Lu looking over and whispered:

"Go get it quickly, it will be troublesome if the Lu family finds out!"

Qin Li'niang also saw Boss Lu looking at them. She was worried that her father-in-law would find out that her family was asking her for money, so she quickly turned around and walked towards her luggage.

After a while, Qin Li'niang came back with a piece of silver, and handed it to her father with her back turned.

Qin's father took it and saw that it was two taels of silver barley, so he put it away happily.

Although he asked for ten taels of silver, it was an exorbitant price, which he used to deceive his daughter. Now that he had received two taels, he was very happy and told his daughter:

"Go back now and stay with the third brother. Don't come out. Dad has something to tell your father-in-law."

Qin Li'niang was a little confused, but she habitually obeyed her father's words and turned back.

Only then did Father Qin lead his two sons and walk towards Old Man Lu in a menacing manner.

Old man Lu had just finished his meal and was sitting on the ground picking his teeth when he saw Father Qin coming over to say hello.

"My in-laws are here. Have you eaten?"

Father Qin put on a sad face and said to Old Man Lu:

"Hey, where is the food at home? My two children and I are so hungry that we can barely walk!"

When Old Man Lu heard these familiar words, his face instantly darkened. This was the same thing Old Man Li said when he came to ask for food in the afternoon!

Old Man Lu said unhappily:

"Don't be ridiculous, dear in-laws. Didn't the third brother just send two bags of food to your family before we fled the famine?"

Qin's father was not embarrassed when he was exposed.

"My two little boys are big eaters. My in-laws have many sons, so they must know this."

When Old Man Lu heard this, he felt that Father Qin was mocking the fact that his second son was gone, so he stopped being polite:

"If you're alright, go back and rest. You've been traveling all day long and it's tiring enough!"

Seeing that Old Man Lu was about to drive him away, Father Qin stopped pretending.

"Before fleeing the famine, my Li Niang used her silver to buy so much food. Now we are running low on food. Come and get a few bags."

Having said that, without waiting for Old Man Lu to come back, he directed his two sons to load the food onto the car.

When Old Man Lu heard that he knew about the third son's wife taking money to buy grain, he could not bear to see them take the grain away, so he shouted to his two sons:

"Big Brother, Third Brother, someone is coming to steal our food. Come here quickly with your weapons!"

Boss Lu had been paying attention to this side for a long time. When he heard his father shouting, he called the third brother who was accompanying his wife on the other side and ran over here.

Boss Lu came over with a weapon and attacked the Qin father and son who were moving grain.

When Lu Laosan ran over, he saw his father-in-law leading his two brothers-in-law to move his family's grain. He became anxious and hurried over to stop them.

At this time, the people from Lujia Village who were resting nearby heard Old Man Lu shouting to grab food, and they all gathered around to see what was going on.

At this moment, seeing that it was Old Man Lu’s in-laws coming over, they did not take any action.

When the three fathers and sons of the Lu family and the three fathers and sons of the Qin family started fighting, Qin Li'niang also ran over. She was trying to stop the fight, but was pushed to the ground and cried and begged them to stop.

When Lu Laosan saw his wife fall, he wanted to go over to help her, but if he let go, his brother-in-law would have to run away with the food, so he could only remain in a stalemate.

Someone saw the two families fighting and went over to ask Lu Tianming to come over.

Father Qin saw Lu Tianming coming over, worried that he would side with Old Man Lu, so he spoke first:

"Master Lu, today's business is between me and my in-laws, so I won't bother you."

Old Man Lu was pulling at his clothes, preventing him from taking the food. When he saw Lu Tianming coming over, he hurriedly said:

"Don't listen to his nonsense. The Qin family father and son are here to steal food. He and his family came to our village to seek refuge. They followed our team and dared to steal food. Drive them out quickly!"

Father Qin was anxious when he heard this. If they were driven out, their family’s food supply would definitely be lost. He hurriedly said:

"Master Lu, the food I took was all bought by my daughter, not from Old Man Lu. Please don't misunderstand me."

Qin Li'niang was also anxious when she heard that her father-in-law wanted to kick her parents out of the team. She explained:

"My father didn't come here to steal food, so please don't kick them out of the team!"

Lu Tianming frowned as he listened to the family's explanations.

He had been traveling all day and was already exhausted. He was even called over to take care of this matter. He said impatiently:

"Alright, since this is a family matter, let's discuss it properly and don't use weapons. Otherwise, if someone gets hurt and it affects the team's progress, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Everyone else, stop gathering around and go back to rest. We have to travel tomorrow."

After Lu Tianming finished speaking, he turned around and walked back, swinging his arms as he walked. His shoulders were sore from all the traveling these days.

When the onlookers heard this, they all went home.