As soon as they finished speaking, they were all stunned and their jaws almost dropped to the ground.
The voice of the gong beater from Zhangjiazhuang suddenly came over: "People who live in thatched houses, come out to receive food and clothing."
"The housekeeper must have been too quick and sent the food over." Xie Dewen said with some dissatisfaction.
Xie Deshu rolled his eyes twice and shook his head: "The housekeeper is still preparing food and clothing. It seems that people haven't gone out yet."
"Isn't it possible that the housekeeper is too anxious to prepare food supplies and notify Zhangjiazhuang at the same time?" Xie Dechun shook his head and couldn't help laughing.
The voice of the gong beater in Zhangjiazhuang came again: "Those who live in thatched houses have not come out yet. Each person needs ten kilograms of rice and two sets of clothes."
Upon hearing this, Xie Deciu's face turned ashen and turned into the color of pig liver, and he jumped up immediately.
He kept roaring, salivating and said: "Chief, didn't you say that each family only has ten kilograms of grain and one set of clothes, how come it becomes ten kilograms of rice and two sets of clothes per person?"
"That's right, this housekeeper should be abolished. The food in Xiejiazhuang didn't come from strong winds. It was only ten kilograms of food for the family, but when it came to his mouth, it turned into ten kilograms of rice per person." Xie Dexia's face was so gloomy that he could drip water. , waving his hands, and kept roaring.
Ten kilograms of grain is not equivalent to ten kilograms of rice. Ten kilograms of grain may be wheat and rice.
The yield of rice produced by grinding ten kilograms of rice is only four kilograms and six taels, and the highest is five kilograms.
Most of the people in Zhangjiazhuang live in thatched houses. According to the distribution of ten kilograms of grain per person, they have to distribute three to four thousand kilograms of rice.
And their original plan was to distribute only a few dozen kilograms of grain, or at most a hundred kilograms of rice.
Xie Deqiu spat hard on the ground: "Xiejiazhuang suffered a big loss this time, and it was almost Dongjiatuo's fault."
Dongjiatuo is located in a very deep Tuowan of Dajiang (later the Yangtze River) in Chongqing. It is said that the water is fifty feet deep.
Chongqing is almost two hundred miles away from Changyuan County. It seems that Xiejiazhuang has been losing money from Changyuan County for their rice.
This is a common saying, and its meaning is that there is no bottom to the loss.
Xie Dewen was furious, his white face turned the color of pig liver, and shouted loudly: "Butler, butler."
"Patriarch, patriarch, the old slave is here, the old slave is here." Xie Deqiu bowed, lowered his head, ran over and bowed to him.
Xie Dewen's eyes were filled with anger, and he wanted to tear this slave to pieces who was pretending to give orders.
But he is the clan leader after all and cannot lose his grace.
Xie Dewen took a deep breath, forced to suppress the anger in his heart, and asked in a deep voice: "Tell me, tell me, why do you give ten kilograms of rice to everyone in Zhangjiazhuang?"
"Patriarch, the old slave is still counting the food and clothing. He has not gone over, and he has not distributed any rice or anything." Xie Dedong looked confused and hurriedly answered with a bow.
"It's strange that you didn't go there. Why are there people in Zhangjiazhuang calling for distribution of food and clothes?"
Xie Dedong shrank his neck, shook his head hurriedly, and bowed his hands: "Tell the clan leader, without the clan leader's consent, how can I send people to publicize privately?"
Hearing this, Xie Dewen, Xie Deshu, Xie Dexia and others looked at each other in confusion.
"Could it be that Zhangjiazhuang saw the heavy losses suffered by the villagers and distributed food to comfort people?" Xie Deshu asked anxiously after looking around for a few times.
"Zihan, please do the math. Zhangjiazhuang will distribute these rice," Xie Dewen couldn't wait, rubbed his hands and asked, "How much rice will it cost?"
"No." Xie Dedong, who was mostly relieved, immediately took out the small abacus he carried with him and kept dialing.
The other people's faces were ashen and they looked at Xie Dedong intently.
Xie Dedong, a great butler, soon got the answer, "Tell the clan leader, the old slave estimates that there are more than six or seven hundred people living in thatched houses in Zhangjiazhuang. Each person weighs ten kilograms, which is more than six or seven thousand kilograms. It is expected that the copper coins will be at least Two hundred strings."
"Two hundred dollars, this is not a worthless party. Where can there be so much money in Zhangjiazhuang?" Xie Dexia's eyes widened and almost fell out of their sockets.
Xie Deshu turned his eyes around a few times, pointed at the hillside behind Zhangjiazhuang, frowned and said, "I heard that Zhangjiazhuang raises a lot of goats. They probably sold the goats to buy rice."
"Although there are many goats in Zhangjiazhuang, there are only about a hundred adult goats, and the rest are underage goats." Xie Dewen shook his head, with a look of disdain in his eyes, "Besides, the price of goat and mutton is far lower than that of Tan Yang and mutton. The price is two hundred copper coins, which is about twenty muttons."
Know yourself and your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without danger. This is common sense among military strategists.
Zhangjiazhuang is also Xiejiazhuang's rival. It is not far from the neighboring country, with only a small river.
The other party has them undercover, so as long as they inquire a little bit, they will naturally know their opponent clearly.
"Zhangjiazhuang is fighting for water this time. Is it possible that these rice and clothes are distributed to comfort them?" Xie De Shu looked around a few times and asked with a frown.
Xie Dewen shook his head and denied his statement: "The people who participated in the fight this time were not only people living in thatched houses, but also people living in tile-roofed houses."
The people who participated in the fighting in Xiejiazhuang this time were the people who lived in thatched houses except for the nursing home. The people who lived in tile-roofed houses basically did not participate.
These elders all know this reason now, but they have not revealed it yet.
Unlike Zhangjiazhuang, most people in Xiejiazhuang did not directly participate in armed fighting because there were many fertile fields.
Those who participated in the armed fighting were all tenants without official household registration.
In other words, the government did not know that these people existed at all, as if they were invisible.
Since there is no household registration, Xiejiazhuang can reduce considerable expenses when paying taxes.
They do not have household registration, and the government does not recognize them. Their survival depends entirely on Xiejiazhuang, especially the clan leader.
So when Xie Dewen, the patriarch of the clan, gave the order, they had to participate in the armed fight.
But Zhangjiazhuang is different. Anyone with or without official household registration must participate in the fighting.
The strength and financial resources of Zhangjiazhuang are far inferior to that of Xiejiazhuang, so even the clan leader himself participated in the armed fighting.
"Is Zhangjiazhuang so poor that rice and clothing are only given to people in thatched houses, but not to people in tile-roofed houses?" Xie Deshu rolled his eyes a few more times and came up with an answer.
Xie Dewen thought for a while, then a hint of ridicule appeared on his lips: "Zhangjiazhuang is too poor, and the rewards are obviously unfair."
"Patriarch, isn't this exactly what we need? I believe that the next time anyone in Zhangjiazhuang participates in a fight, they will definitely not participate if they don't receive condolences." After saying this, Xie Dexia couldn't help laughing loudly.
When other people heard this, they all laughed, and everyone was extremely relaxed.
Before they could finish their words, another voice came from Zhangjiazhuang: "The villagers of Zhangjiazhuang heard clearly that this time the rice and clothes were distributed by the government, and the location was at the pavilion."
"What, is it distributed by the government?" Xie Dewen was stunned, with his mouth open, and couldn't speak for a long time. After a while, he shook his head and said, "Is this true? I don't believe it."
Xie Deshu's old face suddenly turned the color of pig liver, as if he could bleed.
The other elders couldn't believe their ears. It felt like a thunderbolt hit their heads, and it felt like someone had poured cold water on them from head to toe, making their whole bodies numb.
They are so sentimental that they can go to Zhangjiazhuang to show off their power for a small favor.
They never expected that they would be slapped severely in the face before they even went out.
It was as if everyone had been slapped a dozen times, and everyone wished there was a ditch on the ground to crawl into.
At this time, Xie Dewen, who was not reconciled, finally woke up and his face was ashen.
He looked at Xie Dedong gloomily as water and asked: "Zihan, why did the government do this?"
"Report to the clan leader, I heard that the government saw that Zhangjiazhuang was too poor, so they came here to provide relief." He is specifically responsible for the situation in Zhangjiazhuang, and of course he has his own channels.
After hearing this, Xie Dewen's expression suddenly relaxed: "It seems that Zhangjiazhuang itself does not have the ability to provide relief, so it can only rely on the government."
"Indeed, without the government, how could those untouchables in Zhangjiazhuang survive this winter?" Xie Deshu rolled his eyes and found a step for himself.
"Relief, relief can only be temporary," Xie Dewen snorted and flicked his long sleeves, "There are almost thousands of untouchables in Zhangjiazhuang. Let's see how long the government can provide relief."
Although there were only 500 people in Zhangjiazhuang who hid it from the government, they could not hide it from Xiejiazhuang, their neighbor, who knew this clearly.
"Report to the clan leader, will we help Zhangjiazhuang?" Xie Dedong licked his dry lips and asked carefully and with difficulty.
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After all, he is a steward. Although he feels embarrassed, he must ask for permission, otherwise the clan leader will blame him and he will be unable to bear the anger.
Xie Dewen sighed, his face almost turned the color of pig liver, and waved his hand: "Now that the government has it, let's see how the government can provide relief."
"Then the old slave arranges for someone to go over and see how the government can provide relief." Knowing that his master was in pain, Xie Dedong, the housekeeper, thought very quickly and immediately changed the subject.
Under a yellow oak tree in Zhangjiazhuang, there is a thatched house built with thatched straw.
He is not the only one with this kind of house in Zhangjiazhuang, there are at least twenty.
It is said to be a house, but in fact it is extremely simple.
It is surrounded by a fence and is no more than one foot square in total.
Although it is only one foot square, it is divided into five rooms, one is the couple's bedroom, the other three are the children's and parents' bedrooms, and one is the kitchen room.
The owner of the house is Zhang Yiguang. He is in his early thirties and his wife is just thirty.
His appearance is not outstanding, but his figure is quite tall.
His wife is also very popular, but virtuous.
Both of them were thin due to malnutrition.
They have three sons, two daughters, and one parent who is less than fifty.
My father has a small amount of white hair on his head and beard, and there are many wrinkles on his face.
My mother has more gray hair and wrinkles, making her look older.
Dalang, Erlang, and Sanlang are fifteen, twelve, and ten years old respectively, and their two daughters are six and three years old respectively.
The children were malnourished and all looked as thin as monkeys. Some people nicknamed them monkey boys and monkey girls.
They are not locals, but fled here from Jintang County, Chengdu half a year ago.
How far is it from Jintang County to Xiehe Pavilion? It's almost 700 miles.
The eldest son and the second son are doing better, and can still carry some food and clothing.
The third son is young and can walk quite well.
The two daughters were miserable. They were too young to walk such a long way.
After walking for only a few dozen miles, I couldn't walk anymore.
Zhang Yiguang was helpless, so he asked them to sit in the basket and almost picked them from Chengdu to Xiehe Pavilion.
When we reached Xiehe Pavilion, we couldn't walk any further. The key was to eat all the dry food we brought, so we could only make a living here.
They took out all the last money and found the housekeeper Zhang Chongruo.
Zhang Chongruo didn't answer them at first, but after hearing that they were for the sake of the Zhang family and Guanyi Huizi, he reluctantly agreed to let them stay.
Finally, he agreed to rent forty acres of land to his family, and also agreed to build a thatched house with a half-foot radius of yellow jujube trees.
Zhang Yiguang's family finally breathed a sigh of relief when they found a place to stay.
What they never expected was that they encountered a drought that was rare in a century.
Fortunately, those in Zhangjiazhuang only received 20% of the land rent due to the drought.
Even so, due to poor harvests, the family only had a thousand catties of grain to pay as land rent.
Even if there are thousands of kilograms of grain, half of them are rice and half are sorghum.
In order to save food, they basically drank porridge, the kind of gruel that can reflect people's shadows.
It has just entered winter, and the family has already eaten almost half of the food, and this is despite the fact that the whole family is frugal.
It can be said that before the New Year, their family already has no food to eat.
There was nothing they could do, their five children were all growing and they were all eating very well.
A few days ago, the housekeeper Zhang Chongruo suddenly announced: "Xiejiazhuang is coming to fight for water. You guys pick up the wooden sticks and go fight for water together."
"Master Butler, fight for water, fight for water, I am in Chengdu, but I have never fought for water." When Zhang Yiguang heard about the fight for water, his mouth opened wide, as if he could stuff a duck egg into it.
His father, Zhang Qili, was confused for a moment. There was a coaxing sound in his ears, as if he had been pricked by a sharp needle, and his whole body was a little numb.
Little did they know that Dujiangyan relies on the Minjiang River and the snow water from Minshan Mountain can flow continuously.
The Xiehe River is just a small river, only a few miles upstream.
There are just small hills here, there are no snow mountains, and there is simply no snow water to provide.
Only when the weather is good can their paddy fields have water.
Zhang Zhongruo looked at him as if he were an idiot, glared and shouted: "If you don't fight for water, whatever you plant in your fields, even wheat and sorghum, must have water."
"No, Mr. Butler, I will go out to fight for water." After Zhang Yiguang said this, he bowed his hands, took down a wooden stick from the wall, and was about to go out.
Zhang Chongruo's face darkened, he shook his head, looked at his family, pointed at his father and son, and said in a deep voice: "No, not only are you going, but your father and Da Lang are also going."
"Master Butler, please, my father is old and Da Lang is not yet an adult, so how can he participate in the fight." Zhang Yiguang's voice was filled with tears, and he begged.
Zhang Zhongruo had a straight face, his face was as stiff as a stone, and he said coldly: "Your father seems not to be fifty yet, and he is much older than me. My son is already fifteen, why is he still not an adult?"
"But, but." Before Zhang Yiguang could say anything, he was interrupted by Zhang Zhongruo, "There is no but, the clan leader will personally participate in the fight for water this time. If you don't participate in the fight for water, are your whole family planning to drink from the northwest wind?"
"Master Butler, don't worry, I will go out to fight for water." Zhang Qili nodded, and took off two wooden sticks from the wall, giving one to himself and one to his grandson.
He patted his grandson on the shoulder and said comfortingly: "Dalang, for the sake of harvest and survival, go out and fight for water."
Dalang took the stick with a confused and extremely pale face. He took a few steps back, obviously very scared, but in the end he nodded.
Zhang Qili had no choice but to fight for water even if the housekeeper didn't tell him.
The water in the creek is basically enough during normal annual growth, but in drought years, as long as there is water, water must be added to the fields.
If they don't compete for water, their paddy fields may not have water next year.
To survive in the coming year, they have to fight for water.
But fighting for water is very likely to result in injury, even serious injury.
It's a dilemma, between survival and serious injury.
But in the face of survival, serious injuries are nothing.
Seeing this, the housekeeper nodded with satisfaction and finally said: "Don't worry, the master has made arrangements."
After finishing speaking, Zhang Chongruo went to another house to arrange the water dispute.
Hearing this, Zhang Dalang was not so panicked, and even felt a little excited.
But Zhang Yiguang shook his head, things are definitely not that simple, but now he is riding a tiger and it is difficult to get off.
"Father, Dalang, if we are fighting for water, if you come to the back, don't rush to the front, be careful. I'm enough in front." He thought about it for a while, but still felt uneasy, and gave instructions to his father and son.
Zhang Qili looked at Zhang Yiguang and Zhang Dalang and nodded: "Da Lang has my own care, but you should be more careful."
Zhang Yiguang can put his father and son in the back, but he must be in the front.
He is not only a son but also a father. He is the middle force.
As a son, he must honor his father; as a father, he must take care of his son.
Seeing that it was difficult to stop the incident, Zhang Yiguang's mother and wife cried and told them to be careful.
Zhang Yiguang nodded, disapproving in his heart.
He is also a husband who has to bear the burden of the family, so he must rush to the front without hesitation.
This is what Zhang Yiguang thought and did.
In the battle for water, he was among the first.
But what I never expected was that instead of villagers coming out of Xiejiazhuang, there were guards and thugs.
He was very brave and beat the opponent until his nose was black and his face was swollen.
However, Zhang Yiguang paid a higher price. His thigh was broken and he fell directly to the ground, stretching and groaning.
Fortunately, his father only suffered a dislocated joint, and his son only suffered bruises and flesh injuries.
He thought he was doomed. After all, his leg bones were broken and he was very likely to become a cripple.
Fortunately, the doctor from Zhaojiazhuang Town used bone-setting techniques to reconnect his thigh.
It just takes about two or three months to get completely better.
Zhang Qili was even more lucky. He was immediately repaired by a doctor from Zhaojiazhuang after his dislocation, and he was fine in two or three days.
Zhangjiazhuang asked them to participate in the fighting, but they did not break their promise, and finally sent them two hundred kilograms of grain.
But can these two hundred kilograms of grain pay for the injury of his broken thigh?
He can barely move now and is lying in bed recovering from his injuries.
His wife Zhang Hu and mother Zhang Wang were sitting in front of his bed with a sad face.
The family didn’t have much food to begin with, but now the main labor force has collapsed. What will happen in the future?
