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

However, this is not necessarily accurate.

But since time travel has already happened, who can say for sure what else might happen!

This time, it was Lu Qingqing's turn to be conflicted.

She saw that Sun Dahai and Sun Laohai were still about to kneel, and she couldn't stop them.

He simply stepped aside, leaving the old man Zhuang to deal with the situation on his own.

Anyway, this old man is older than them all, so he's not afraid of this.

Old Zhuang wasn't used to people kneeling before him, so he quickly stepped forward to pull the man away.

It took a lot of pulling and persuasion to finally get the three of them up.

Sun Yue had already poured hot water into bowls and brought them over to the three of them.

The three of them sat back down on the kang (a heated brick bed) and drank some hot water.

It was at this moment that Sun Laohai and the other two noticed how warm the room was.

Compared to this house, their old house, where they couldn't bear to burn firewood, was more like an icebox.

Sun Dahai recalled that Lu Qingqing had advised him to stock up on more grain and firewood.

He did as instructed, using all of his family's savings to buy grain and firewood.

But when the group of merchants came to his door, he was so confused that all he could see were those few taels of silver.

They actually managed to sell the coal just like that!

Now I hold these cold, hard silver ingots in my hand; they're neither edible nor firewood.

If we hadn't sold it back then, we wouldn't have had to light the fire only once a day when cooking.

If that room hadn't been so cold, his little grandson wouldn't have gotten sick from the cold!

The more Sun Laohai thought about it, the more regretful he became, and he angrily pounded his head.

Old Zhuang, who was standing next to him, didn't know what was wrong with him and quickly stopped him.

Sun Dahai, however, knew what his father was thinking.

He sat on the warm kang (a heated brick bed), feeling the temperature in the room, and an idea came to him.

"Brother Lu, Brother Qin, I heard from Manager Qian that..."

You've been to the charcoal kiln before, could you tell me where it is?

My family's firewood and charcoal are really not enough; I'm thinking of going to buy some more.

Lu Qingqing hadn't expected him to ask that question so suddenly.

After thinking for a moment, he replied:

"I can tell you the location of the charcoal kiln."

But the roads are difficult to travel in this kind of weather.

Even if you buy it, they probably can't deliver it.

"If you were to pull it yourselves, it would take several horse-drawn carts to bring it back."

Qin Lang, recalling the previous experience of driving the carriage, chimed in:

"Yes, in this kind of weather, it's difficult to even drive a horse-drawn carriage."

A few days ago, we chased after that group of merchants, passing by in a horse-drawn carriage.

Not only did they need to be extra careful when traveling, but the horses also struggled to move the carriage.

If you were to load coal, the cart would be incredibly heavy, making it even harder to move!

Sun Dahai was only thinking about the horses that the village had seized from traveling merchants a few days ago.

If you need to buy coal, you can borrow some from the clan elders.

Hearing Lu Qingqing and Qin Lang say this, they realized that using a carriage might not be feasible.

But now, if they don't buy coal, they probably won't last until spring.

As Sun Dahai pondered, Sun Laohai looked at his grandson on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Having gradually made up his mind, he spoke:

"Given the current situation, we have no choice but to buy coal."

If even a horse-drawn carriage is difficult to pull, then we'll have to carry it back on our backs!

If all else fails, I'll just make the trip every two days.

Seeing that they had made up their minds, Lu Qingqing told them the location of the charcoal kiln.

As they were talking, Sun Xiaobao woke up on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Seeing Lu Qingqing beside him, he smiled and reached out to her for a hug.

When Lu Qingqing picked him up, she smiled so hard that she showed a few tiny teeth.

When Sun Dahai's wife saw that her son had really woken up, she sat beside him and happily wiped away her tears.

Seeing the child's happy smile, Sun Dahai and Sun Laohai made up their minds to buy more coal.

If their home were as warm as Dr. Zhuang's, the child wouldn't have gotten sick from the cold.

Seeing her child wake up, Sun Dahai's wife thought of her mother-in-law and brother-in-law who were still worried at home.

I suggested that I go back and give them a heads-up, so they wouldn't worry.

Upon seeing this, Sun Laohai immediately offered his leave.

Before leaving, Lu Qingqing thought of the scene where Jiaozi pulled the sled and told him about the sled.

The weather was already difficult to travel in, and then the snow on the road was even thicker.

Using a sled to pull things should be much better than a horse-drawn carriage.

More than an hour later, Sun Dahai came over again.

He wasn't the only one who came this time; Sun Chengkun also came.

This man is the son of Uncle Wu, and is considered the village head.

He was also the one who led the pursuit of that group of merchants.

Upon seeing him approach, Old Man Zhuang quickly invited him into the house.

After serving the two of them two bowls of sweet soup, Sun Yue added some charcoal to the stove.

After everyone was seated, Sun Dahai explained his purpose.

It turned out that after he went back, he discussed it with his father.

He felt that most families in the village were probably in a similar situation to his.

When it comes to buying coal, it's natural that the villagers shouldn't be left out.

Moreover, it's in this kind of weather to go so far to buy coal.

If it were just the three men in their family, it would be quite dangerous.

But it's much better if all the men in the village are together.

Therefore, Sun Laohai and his son went directly to Uncle Wu's house and told him about it.

Even in order to gain their trust.

He lit a piece of coal on the spot and showed it to them.

That's when Uncle Wu learned about coal.

After Sun Laohai assured him that this thing wouldn't be fatal as long as he was careful, he was assured that it was safe.

Uncle Wu immediately decided to buy it and then sent his nephews and nieces to inform the villagers.

Anyone who needs to buy coal should send someone over and report the quantity.

With the temperature dropping, the villagers have been suffering from the cold these days.

Upon hearing that coal could be used as firewood for heating, he immediately signed up.

Seeing that there were quite a few people who wanted to buy, Uncle Lao Wu asked the two of them to come over first.

Seeing that Sun Dahai had finished speaking, Sun Chengkun took over the conversation.

Besides bringing a thank-you gift, the two also wanted Lu Qingqing to take them to the charcoal kiln.

When Lu Qingqing mentioned that location, the road became a bit roundabout after passing Hanjiagouzi.

It turned left and right, taking several turns.

Sun Dahai didn't explain it very clearly when he spoke about it.

Sun Chengkun was worried that the charcoal kiln was located in a remote area and they wouldn't be able to find it when they got there.

In this kind of weather, it's really not easy to go out.

If you can't find the place and come back empty-handed, it would be a huge loss!

After listening to their concerns, Lu Qingqing thought for a moment and then agreed.

Sun Chengkun and Sun Dahai thanked her repeatedly when she agreed.

Both sides agreed to meet at the village entrance at 6:45 AM tomorrow.

After setting the time, Lu Qingqing asked them how they planned to bring the coal back.

Sun Chengkun then explained the plan they had discussed at home.

During the previous robbery of the merchants, several families in the village were completely wiped out.

They then decided to dismantle the wooden doors of those houses first.

With a simple modification, it can be used to store coal.

As for the carriage, it was pulled by the few horses seized from the traveling merchants.

The rest were pulled by manpower.

They don't expect to buy everything in one trip; their initial estimate is that they'll need to make at least two or three trips.