"Good boy, come and eat grass."
Pingya, Yanzi, and Hutou each held two straws and were feeding rabbits, which were the only "poultry" in their family.
When looking for firewood, they have to dig through the snow and pull out the grass that is not frozen to feed. Afraid of freezing them, I even found rags to surround the cage.
The village chief's wife looked inside and saw a gray and fluffy rabbit. It was not fat but not thin either, and it looked energetic. Unlike their family, they now only eat three-thirds of their food every day, and their wrists are so hungry that they have become much thinner.
She smiled and said, "This rabbit is really capable of giving birth!"
At first, the pair given by Jiang Yue gave birth to 6 little rabbits in mid-November. Brothers Jiangshan went into the mountains and caught another pair. A few days ago, they laid a litter of 5 rabbits.
Afraid that the rabbits would be injured in fights, the village chief separated cages for several large ones. They were full of cages, which made him happy just to look at them.
"It's good to have good babies, and you can sell them for money." As soon as Jiang Shan said this, several children turned to stare at him and pouted.
The village chief's wife shook her head and was happy. The children were just ignorant, but looking at those dry little faces, she felt distressed. "I'll leave you with a greedy mouth."
The children became happy, wiped the saliva from the corners of their mouths, and continued to feed the rabbits.
When hunting before, they caught a little rabbit. The village chief's wife felt sorry for the child, so she decided to keep it for her family.
There is an old small iron pot at home, which is one of the most important family possessions. The hole was broken before and was taken to the town to be repaired. Except for frying meat, it is kept away on weekdays.
Except for salt, Li didn't add any seasonings. He first stir-fried the rabbit until it was crispy, stir-fried the rabbit fat, and then added wild vegetables and stir-fried together.
The aroma that day made the whole family so excited that they cleaned the dishes and pots as if they were celebrating the New Year. Now I’m drooling just thinking about it!
The village chief and his family were happily enjoying themselves in Maodong. The village seemed to be lively, and many people were talking outside.
But the village chief's heart has become cold now. No one comes to his door, so he won't join in the fun.
A few days later, their next-door neighbors chatted across the yard and found out what had happened. The village chief's face could not be darker.
A man and a woman drove a carriage into the village, threatening to find maids and servants for Wu Dashan in Fucheng.
"Our master has a son and a daughter, and the house is five acres." Seeing everyone's confused expressions, the woman said, "It's as big as five acres of land."
The people in the village were shocked that a house was so big! The family must have money! In their village, only the village chief's family and Jiang Yue can afford a mule cart, but look at their family, even their servants have carriages!
The woman took out a house deed from her arms and said firmly, "Let me show it to you all. The address is in Fucheng. You can go and check it if you like!"
She added, "Our master's house is too big, so he has to find many servants and maids to serve the young lady and the young master. How about calling our master a good man? He doesn't want to do cruel things like business, so I still want to use the name of recruiting workers.”
"If any family has a boy or girl under the age of seven or eight who is willing to work in the Wu family, please bring them to us now for us to choose. After signing the deed, we will give them two buckets of food. The children will receive 500 coins per month. You can go home to see your parents and family once every three months..."
Oops——
500 Wen a month is more than an adult working as a coolie!
It’s not about selling children, it’s about sending them to enjoy happiness! What's more, if I can give him two buckets of food now, he will be able to go home once a month in the future!
Most of the villagers were moved. Some immediately brought their babies over, while others beat their chests and hated that their children were one or two years older.
The neighbor of the village chief's family talked about what happened that day with great interest, but unfortunately she didn't have a baby at home.
"Those two people really signed the long-term labor contract on the spot, and they happily gave them two buckets of black noodles! They are really rich people..."
The village chief felt chilled, but he could do nothing.
He wanted to scold the people in the village. Can you guarantee that the house deed and the signed deed are authentic without knowing a few characters? Whose master casually gave the deed to his servants to take away? Who recruits people personally from the village? Coming all the way from Fucheng in such icy and snowy weather? The roads in Fucheng are all blocked by snow!
But he couldn't scold him, and he couldn't wake up from it. The children have been sent away, and now the parents can only keep a thought in their hearts.
The village chief wiped his face, turned around and went into the house, ignoring the neighbor who was still talking about how envious she was.
As the village chief said, he can't wake up from scolding. Among those who sent their children to the car were Eugene and his wife.
They were proud of themselves, with big smiles on their sunken cheeks, saying that their daughters were going to enjoy the blessings, and that they would never have to go to the fields again as they followed the ladies of a wealthy family. Money, food and meat can be sent back every month!
It was so beautiful that I kept talking about it in the village for several days!
They never thought about whether their children could really come back. If they couldn't come back, where could they find them? What if you find a wealthy family and refuse to let him go? Can you, a villager, fight against others?
——Fucheng——
As the days passed, the hearts of the people had become numb and they no longer waited for the court to distribute more relief food for disaster relief. Every day I can only queue up to receive the love food donated by Mr. Wang.
If you can't arrange it, you can only buy high-priced grain. If you don’t have any more money, then buy satiety pills and wait to die. If you can't even afford satiety pills, then you will sleep hungry and cold, and die in a dream of being full, drunk, and warm.
The expressions of the people Jiang Yue saw every day became more and more stiff, like the "advanced world-weary face" that is often said in modern times. But those people just have indifferent expressions. The people here are really desperate for life, as if it doesn't matter if they die in the next second.
In such a depressed mood, there were fewer quarrels in the city, and there were more fights, murders, and suicides over disagreements.
In the past, there were still people who came to join in the fun, but now when they hear that someone has died in such and such a family, and they moved it to a mass grave outside the city and threw it away without even giving them rags, they still say indifferently: "It's better to die, and grab food and loot." There are fewer people in Chai. Did he take off his clothes?"
Entering the twelfth lunar month, Jiang Yue began to knock on the door with Qingcai. This time she didn't look for the middle households, but the big ones. The greenhouses of wealthy families have been "requisitioned", and it is estimated that it is difficult for them to eat vegetables.
"KouKou——"
"Stop knocking, there is no food for you!" an impatient female voice shouted from behind the door.
I guess there must be more people begging. Every day there are people who are targeting wealthy families.
Jiang Nian was vigilant. Jiang Yue approached the door and said in a low voice that could be heard behind the door, "I don't ask for food, I sell vegetables."
In less than three seconds, the door opened.
A thin and long-faced woman poked her head out in surprise, then looked at her suspiciously, "Are you fooling me?"
Jiang Yue opened the cloth covering the bamboo basket in her hand, revealing only a green leaf. The woman said hurriedly, "Madam, please come in and talk!"
