After pouring the water, Mrs. Xu was lighting a fire in the kitchen to cook.
Xu Ling stepped forward to check in the kitchen compartment, "Is there any firewood at home? I'll chop some more firewood before I leave."
The weather turned cold at some point, and Xu Ling was afraid that without a man at home, no one would be able to say such foul words.
Xu Ping yawned and said, "Brother, no need. Brother Daliang brought back plenty of firewood last time."
Xu's mother said worriedly: "Aling, if you don't stay at home for a few more days, are you going to leave again?"
Xu Ling also wanted to stay at home more, but he still had to go out to make money.
"I'm afraid that the news of my return will soon reach Mrs. Liu's ears. If she knows that I have made money, she will definitely come to collect debts."
The money in Xu Ling's hand is not enough to pay off the debt, but if he goes out this time, he will probably be able to save enough.
Xu was speechless and had no choice but to accept the reality.
Xu Ping answered from the side, "Brother, mother slept very late yesterday just to make clothes for you. Can't you wait a few days before leaving?"
Xu Ling rubbed his hair, "Mom, you don't have to do it for me. I'll buy my own clothes when I get cold. Just don't freeze."
Then he told Xu Ping, "And you, work hard with your brother Daliang, eat well and grow taller. I will send you to a private school in the spring next year. Do you hear me?"
Xu Ling chatted with them, and when he heard Gu You got up and came out.
Mrs. Xu didn't nag her today and asked her to wake up Xu An for dinner.
Xu Ling brushed his teeth, had breakfast, and planned to go to town.
Xu Ping wanted to go with him, but Xu Ling ordered him to work in the fields.
Xu An was detained at home by the Xu family.
"This damn girl has been running behind her brother all day long, and she's running like crazy. From today on, you have to learn how to cook and make clothes at home!"
Xu An's protest was ineffective and he could only stay at home.
"Da Ya, daddy is out." Xu Ling held her daughter's novel and teased her. The little girl just got to know him yesterday, but she was afraid of getting angry after sleeping, so she hid in Gu Tao's arms and peeked at him secretly.
Gu Tao coaxed her and said, "Call daddy. Daddy will go to the market to buy you sweets."
Then Da Ya timidly called "Dad".
Xu Ling was helpless. As a father, he could only buy his daughter's love with candy. It was so miserable.
Gu Tao sent him to the entrance of the village and told him that Gu Litian was digging a river outside Erfang Town. Xu Ling helped her push her wind-blown hair behind her ears.
Gu You's face turned red. He held his daughter's hand and said to cover up his shyness, "Da Ya, say goodbye to daddy."
Daya hugged her mother's neck tightly and said nothing.
Xu Ling chuckled, leaned over and kissed Da Ya on the face, "Da Ya, daddy is gone."
Gu Tao looked at Xu Ling with that eager look again. Monk Xu Ling Erzhang was confused. He smiled naively and took half a step back. He said goodbye politely: "Daughter-in-law, I'm going."
Gu You pursed her lips, her face seemed a little colder, and she responded softly. Before Xu Ling could leave, she turned around and returned to the village with her child in her arms.
Xu Ling was stunned and couldn't figure out what was going on, so he had to cross the bridge and leave by himself.
Gu Tao took two steps and then stopped. He turned around and watched Xu Lingyuan go. Xu Ling walked and walked without any intention of looking back. Gu Tao stamped his feet angrily, gritted his teeth and cursed softly: "What a piece of wood!"
Daya looked at her mother's actions curiously, and was so amused by her that she burst into laughter.
When Xu Ling was almost out of sight, he finally looked back and saw someone standing on the wooden bridge at the entrance of the village. He wasn't sure if it was Gu You, but he still waved.
He walked to the end of noon and finally arrived at Erfang Town. He took out chicken braised pork from the space early, went to the town to buy half a pack of caramel, and found out where the people were serving. He found the right place in the afternoon.
I heard that Erfang Town plans to move the city. The original old town is too far from the dock. The county magistrate who just took office last year wants to build a city near the dock. He wants to build a moat and a city wall.
This is a big project.
Since the government cannot afford this money, it can only rely on the common people who have to serve every year.
The government is very strict this year. People who usually don't want to work can be bribed with money, but this year is different. If there are more than three men over the age of 16 in the family, one person must work.
This is because this year's military service coincides with the autumn harvest, so we are a little relaxed for fear of delaying farming.
Gu Litian's family just took advantage of the opportunity. If Xu Ling could come back early, he might be able to spend money to avoid serving in the army.
Before he reached the place, Xu Ling saw many people wearing coarse cloth and short jackets holding hoes and shovels in their hands, digging river channels along the circle line under the supervision of small officials wearing official soap clothes.
"Don't be lazy, hurry up!"
People's service is not all piled up in the same time period, and some will specifically separate the farming season.
However, sometimes the construction period is relatively long, farming cannot be missed, and the service policy will be relaxed.
The weather in September is not bad, and the people doing corvee work are not suffering hardship. But in the twelfth month of winter, when the snow is flying and the weather is freezing, it will be a hardship.
If you can spend money to hire people to do labor, who would be willing to do this hard work? It will waste your own money and the government will not give you money, let alone food. These people bring their own dry food from home.
Every seven days, the family members of the serving people would come from various villages to give them enough dry food for seven days, some of which were steamed buns and some of flatbread. If the government had some conscience, they would also boil some hot water for them to soak in and eat.
If you encounter those who are too lazy to take care of things, go find water by yourself. No one will care about your life or death if you drink it to your stomach.
Because this is free service, which is the obligation of every ordinary person in ancient times.
The servants in soap clothes who were in charge of supervision stood not far away in twos and threes. Some held whips in their hands, while others were sitting at tables drinking hot tea.
Xu Ling didn't see Gu Litian in the crowd. When he saw one of the junior officials sitting there and being waited on, he knew that this man must be able to take care of things. He quickly walked up to him, bowed and bowed, respectfully identifying himself.
"Sir, my name is Xu Ling. I'm here to give some warm clothes to the elders in the family. I wonder if you can be accommodating?"
As he spoke, he took out two taels of broken silver from his sleeves, so that the official could see the bright silver light.
As expected, the man sat up, his originally not-so-good-looking face became happy. He accepted the two taels of silver without leaving a trace, weighed it on his fingertips for a moment, and said with a smile: "You seem to be a sensible person, tell me. Who to look for?"
"The grassroots are looking for Gu Litian from Lianhuawanzi."
"Which one is Gu Litian in?"
There were many people serving and it was easier to manage, so they divided the sixty people into one armor.
Soon, the clerk on the side looked through the roster, found out where Gu Litian was, and sent someone to call him.
The petty official in charge was named Sun Baoyao, and he was an official of the county government in Erfang Town. The so-called officials are equivalent to non-staff personnel, who mainly assist formal officials in handling various daily tasks, including taxation, culture, education, water conservancy, corvee, etc.
These are tiring errands of running around, and of course sometimes you can get some benefits.
But it is rare for him to be as generous as Xu Ling.
