After transmigrating, he supported his family by working at a garbage dump.

After the meal, Hu Sanniang helped Zhang He clear away the dishes, chopsticks, and chairs.

Xu Zhuzhu and Xu An, the two children, were eager to help, but Hu Sanniang chased them aside. The two children then simply flipped through the books they had bought from Mr. Wu.

As for Xu Wenjie and Li Quanfu, the two sat in front of the stove, each with a furrowed brow as they spoke.

Xu Zhuzhu recalled what Li Quanfu had said before and could roughly guess what their conversation had been about.

When they got to Zhang He's side, they saw her pull out a handful of thatch from the side to use as a dishwashing mat.

Seeing this, Hu Sanniang knew that their family was in the process of buying new things, so she kindly said, "I planted a few loofahs before the New Year and saved a lot of loofah fibers to use for washing dishes. I'll bring you two over tomorrow."

Zhang He was naturally overjoyed.

“My sister-in-law is growing loofah? We can’t eat all of that. When I was in Qingzhou, I said I wanted to plant two in the yard, but my mother-in-law wouldn’t let me.”

This is also due to the variety. In this era, loofah was not edible because it was full of seeds and had no flesh at all. Fortunately, Xu Zhuzhu didn't really like loofah either.

Hu Sanniang covered her mouth and laughed heartily.

"No, it's not here! Someone threw it in the corner of the wall outside my yard. I didn't care about it, and it just grew and climbed up the fence. It's not in the way, so I just left it. I even kept some seeds. Do you want some?"

Zhang He hurriedly said yes and thanked her several times.

Hu San Niang told her she was being too polite, "It's nothing!"

Afterwards, Hu Sanniang looked at the two children and then brought up the matter of Miss Mei. She said to Zhang He:

"You're kind-hearted too, bringing people home. I couldn't do that."

Zhang Hewan smiled. Strangely enough, she didn't know why, but she just felt that this girl should be saved.

Hu Sanniang said, "I reckon this girl might not wake up tonight. Your family can't sleep here, so why don't you take your two children to my place? Xiao Mo is at school, so there's a spare room."

The Xu family only has one room, and no matter how crowded it is, it's impossible to fit everyone in unless they sleep on the floor. However, Hu San Niang is afraid that the floor is cold.

Zhang He shook her head and refused, "My husband is still ill, it's not good to leave him alone."

Xu Zhuzhu didn't really want to go.

Ever since she was "educated" by her father a few times, she felt guilty for delaying the garbage station business, not to mention Xu An.

However, after repeated persuasion from Hu San Niang, Zhang He also wavered.

She was also worried that with a sick person in the family, if they were to wake up during the night, her two children wouldn't be able to sleep well.

So I coaxed the two children to go:

"...Listen to me, go to your godmother's house to sleep for one night, so that your father and mother won't be able to take care of you at home. Your mother will come to pick you up early tomorrow morning. If you get sick from sleeping on the floor at home, you'll have to take medicine again."

Xu Zhuzhu originally didn't want to agree, but seeing her mother's insistence, she guessed that her mother had something to say to her father, so she had no choice but to obediently comply.

However, Zhang He's thoughts were somewhat unnecessary, because Miss Mei did not wake up all night, and she and Xu Wenjie did not get to say anything.

While Zhang He and Hu San Niang were discussing what to do when they went to bed, Li Quanfu had already told Xu Wenjie all the information he had gathered.

From Hu Da to the yamen, and then to the riot, he told Xu Wenjie everything he had found out, down to the smallest detail.

"Is this true?"

After hearing this, Xu Wenjie asked a question in return.

After Li Quanfu nodded solemnly in affirmation, Xu Wenjie, who was always decisive, immediately fell silent.

He was filled with mixed emotions.

The fall of Qingzhou was actually within his expectations, otherwise he wouldn't have moved his entire family south. However, when he heard the good news, perhaps he was still hoping for the best.

That bit of luck is gone now...

Seeing Xu Wenjie's furrowed brows and solemn expression, Li Quanfu became extremely anxious.

"Brother Xu, what's wrong?"

Xu Wenjie shook his head, his lips twitching, but he couldn't speak; his mood was somewhat heavy.

Originally, I planned to rest and recuperate for two or three years before returning to Qingzhou. However, if Qingzhou falls and the court wants to make peace, then the hope of returning to Qingzhou will be slim.

And now he's even less certain.

The good news came just before the Lunar New Year, but there was no news for almost a month, and then news came after the New Year that the old general had died in battle.

Although the imperial court's military generals were not particularly powerful, they were not entirely without ability. They could still fight if they put in their best effort, so why would they choose to make peace directly?

I'm afraid the inside story is quite complicated.

Even if General Li's hundreds of thousands of old troops were defeated, there was still the 200,000-strong army led by Prince Bei Jing in the neighboring Shanxi Prefecture, which could keep the north in check for a while. There was no need to rush to negotiate peace with the Tatars.

Xu Wenjie's actions regarding the peace talks alone were quite strange.

Qingzhou Prefecture is not only their home, but also the hometown of Zheng, the Grand Secretary of the current dynasty. If he also agrees to make peace, what face will they have to face their ancestors and the people of Qingzhou?

Now let's talk about the riots.

They came for profit, and they left for profit.

According to Li Quanfu, the rioters were mostly displaced people, without weapons or organization. They were a mob, like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, just seeking a safe place to live and a way to survive.

They are inevitably simple-minded, and even if they do gather together, they only need to pick two so-called "troublemakers" to deter them, which is unlikely to amount to much.

At that time, the court only needs to appease them and appeal to their emotions and reason. Why would it be necessary to transfer 10,000 troops, especially elite troops, to suppress such a serious situation?

Thinking of this, Xu Wenjie's eyes flashed, and he asked urgently:

"Brother Li, do you know where those ten thousand elite soldiers came from? And who is leading them?"

"what?"

Li Quanfu didn't react for a moment.

Seeing Xu Wenjie's solemn expression.

Li Quanfu suddenly felt uneasy.

He naturally couldn't see through the intricacies of matters concerning the nation and its people, but judging from Xu Wenjie's current expression, he knew things weren't so simple.

Li Quanfu shook his head.

The information he heard was only from the fragmented words of his wife's sister-in-law. How could he know anything about the imperial court, or where the soldiers came from, or who was leading them?

However, I vaguely recalled hearing my wife and sister-in-law say something that sounded like they came from the west: "I've heard they're very good at marching and fighting, and suppressing riots will definitely not be a problem."

At this point, Li Quanfu still held onto a sliver of hope and asked softly, "Brother Xu, is everything alright? Is there going to be a war in the neighboring prefecture?"

Actually, when his wife and sister-in-law told him that his brother-in-law had gone to suppress the riots, he had some doubts in his heart. But as he listened, he kept reassuring himself and convinced himself that it was not the case.

It's one thing to have wishful thinking, and it's another to worry about his brother-in-law. But if these people really start fighting in Huaiqing Prefecture, wouldn't Xu Tong Prefecture, which is close to Huaiqing Prefecture, be the first to suffer?

Although he had never witnessed the cruelty of war firsthand, he had also suffered greatly from it since his elder brother joined the army and disappeared without a trace. Whenever he thought of it, he was always saddened.

Seeing Li Quanfu's worried expression, Xu Wenjie didn't want to make things sound too serious, fearing that it would only cause him more trouble.

He simply smiled reassuringly and said, "It was just a casual question, nothing serious."

But I have a vague guess in my mind, which is not yet a conclusion.

The imperial court dispatched troops to guard the border. After Datong fell, it is said that the troops from Datong retreated to Qingzhou, but now Qingzhou has also fallen.

In the past, Xu Wenjie overheard his friends and the common people saying that the Prince of Beijing in Shanxi and the Marquis of Zhenbei in Yanzhou, along with various scattered armies, numbered no less than 500,000. Meanwhile, the western garrisons were mostly in remote and undeveloped areas with few troops. After much thought, he realized that the only place that could send out 10,000 elite soldiers was probably the Southwest Prince's Mansion in Xuzhou.

Even Shanxi Prefecture, which is closer to Huaiqing, hasn't sent troops, so why did Xuzhou send them out first?

Xu Wenjie's heart pounded, as if it were about to leap out and tell him the result.

He dared not think any further, suppressing his unease and convincing himself that he was overthinking things, and that everything would become clear once Hu Da returned.

Moreover, he currently holds no great official rank or title, and is merely an ordinary citizen. He doesn't need to worry too much about other matters; he only wants to protect his family, but his hometown...

Xu Wenjie gazed at the northern sky, seeing only the desolate, cold wind, but no sign of where he came from or when he would return.

My heart is filled with grief, my brow furrows for a long time, and I am deeply distressed.