"Uncle Jiang He, this is the youngest of my family, my name is Ruyi, Li Ruyi."
Li Erlin originally planned to start with the introduction from Chen Dajuan. Now that little Ruyi came up, he simply introduced the little clever ghost first, "Ruyi, this is Grandpa Seventh. Say hello to Grandpa Seventh."
"Hello, Grandpa Seven!" Little Ruyi gritted her teeth and giggled, her voice sweet and cute.
"Okay, okay, Ruyi, right? This is a good name and I like it."
"Uncle Jiang He, my family's Ruyi name is not only pleasing to the eye, but also the names of several of the children. Mom, bring the children over here." Li Erlin said cheerfully, and when Chen Dajuan came forward with the children, he Introduced once and for all.
Li Jianghe had a big smile on his face and responded repeatedly, "You will become a father in a blink of an eye. Okay, okay, the children can still speak their hometown dialect."
"Not only my children can speak the hometown dialect, but also my eldest brother and the children of the Silin family. My mother has spoken the hometown dialect for half her life, and it is difficult to change her hometown dialect when she changes places, so the children have learned it."
Li Jianghe looked at the group of children and smiled happily and nodded, "Now that you are back, after you have settled your household registration, take the children to the ancestral hall to worship your ancestors and record them in the family tree."
Naturally, the Li Erlin brothers agreed that it would be fine if they didn't come back. Now that they have come back, their children will eventually recognize their ancestors.
Then Li Dalin asked: "Uncle Jiang He, is our house still there?"
"It's gone, it was burned down long ago. Not long after you left, the war broke out. The front was defeated and many soldiers fled. Those deserters who were damned, burned, killed and looted all the way, let alone your house. , there were only a few good houses in the whole village. When Dajing's army came, there were only less than a hundred people left in our village of thousands. You should have listened to your father and fled, otherwise Not that many people will die.”
When talking about the latter part, Li Jianghe was heartbroken, his face could not hide his grief and a bit of regret. This is really the biggest pain in the hearts of those who survived. Li Erlin's father did call them before they fled, but they were hesitant at the time, and then Li Erlin and the others left first.
Then the front line collapsed rapidly, and the army forcibly recruited young men. The young men were killed as cannon fodder and died on the battlefield. The remaining old women and children in the village were disorganized in the face of the defeated troops, let alone resisting, and had no time to even escape. , a clan almost died.
Li Erlin and others fell into a deep silence. They originally thought that it was miserable enough for them to flee. When hundreds of people arrived, only their early twenties were left. Unexpectedly, their hometown was even worse, with nine out of ten houses empty.
But it makes sense to think about it. Before Dajing unified the country, Yuezhou was not far from the border of Dajing. When the two sides fought, Yuezhou would definitely bear the brunt, and the people who were close to the battlefield would definitely suffer. Isn't it precisely for this reason that they chose to flee back then?
"Don't think about the past. After all, we are still alive, our bloodline can continue, and our population will always thrive again. Don't wait around, go to my house first and put all your belongings away. My place is not small. You guys will stay at my house for the next few days. After you put away your belongings, I will take you to the end of the village to take a look and you can find a location to build your house."
Li Jianghe took Li Erlin and the others to his house. His house was in the center of the village, with a large earthen courtyard at the entrance. Different from the architectural layout of the main house plus east and west wings in Xiaochen Village, Li Jianghe's house was arranged in an I-shape. , in front is the main room, with a room on each side of the main room. Behind the main room is a corridor, and the row at the end is the master's bedroom.
The kitchen is a separate house built in the front yard.
Li Jianghe's family has a small population. His wife and eldest son died in the robbery of deserters in their early years. The family now only consists of him, the second son and his wife, and the four children and one daughter-in-law of the second son's family. His arrangements for Li Erlin and others were simple and crude. The girl lived in the same room with his granddaughter, the boy lived with his grandson, and the adults were also men and women.
At first, Li Erlin and the others thought they were causing trouble and wanted to excuse themselves. They were used to sleeping in the wilderness anyway, but Li Jianghe and his son persuaded them to stay for two or three days and treat them as guests. Can you come home without making arrangements to stay overnight? Li Erlin and others had no choice but to give up.
As for Butler Wang... after all, he is the butler of a wealthy family and a real distinguished guest. He should have been arranged to live in Li Jianghe's house and have a room of his own, but he declined. After all, Li Jianghe's house needs to accommodate Li Erlin and the others. If he lives in a room of his own, , the place where Li Erlin and the others live is even more crowded. Therefore, Li Jianghe arranged for him to stay at a neighbor's house, so it was not considered a neglect.
After the accommodation was arranged, it was getting late, and Li Jianghe ordered his daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law to cook dinner. He also specifically told her to cook more dry rice, kill two of the chickens at home, and stew a large pot of chicken soup.
He saw that Li Erlin and others were dark and thin, and he knew without guessing that they had not eaten enough during their escape. Now that they had just arrived at his house, he had to give them a full meal no matter what.
Li Erlin felt sorry and said quickly: "That's enough, that's enough. Uncle Jiang He doesn't have to spend so much. We can just drink some rice soup to fill our stomachs."
"What's the cost? What's this thing worth? In order to encourage childbirth in recent years, the government has rewarded money and meat for every child. The weather is good and the harvest is good every year. Every family of ours has an easy life and has saved up. The family has a lot of money. If you have time, go to the village and take a look. The clothes the children wear have few patches." Li Jianghe's tone was full of joy, "I tell you, you are right to come back. We are in Dajing. , I never dared to think that we would be so lucky to live such a life."
Li Erlin and others fell silent. Forget it. Since Uncle Jiang He decided to arrange it this way, let him go. All they need to do is keep this kindness in mind. As long as they have a breath, they can always find ways to repay it.
With so many people eating, the workload was not ordinary. Li Dafang and the others could not really treat themselves as guests and just watch without doing anything. After cleaning up, they hurried to help.
Li Erlin and others followed Li Jianghe around the village, calling the heads of each family who had fled the famine together, and went to the end of the village to choose a place to build a house.
On the way, the three brothers Chen Dazhu came to Li Erlin and muttered. Li Ping'an listened and found out that not only was Li Jianghe too enthusiastic about them, but even Chen Dazhu and the others who were assigned to other villagers' homes were also warmly entertained. The villagers It is said that killing chickens and cooking rice will make them full and well-fed.
They were pleasantly surprised but also a little uneasy. After all, they didn't know how the people in Zhutao Village lived, and they were afraid that the villagers would spend their money to entertain them.
Li Erlin repeated the general meaning of what Li Jianghe said just now to Chen Dazhu and the others, and finally said: "Relax, just remember their good deeds, and look for opportunities to repay them in the future."
The three brothers Chen Dazhu nodded, thinking that this was the right place, and they began to feel a little sense of belonging to Zhutao Village.
