At noon, Qi Kang'an came back. After learning that some villagers were willing to stay, he took Qi Kangtai to count the number of people.
When he came back, he came back with a smile in his eyes, and old man Heqi whispered in the corner of the room: "Including our family, there are fifty-nine families who have decided to go down, the total number of people is three hundred and ninety-six."
The three numbers three, six, and nine are considered auspicious numbers by people here.
But this is not the reason for his laughter, but: "There are many troublesome households in our village who have many troubles, and they all want to stay."
Old man Qi asked: "Do you remember everything clearly?"
"Well, most of the people who want to stay are those who have many children at home." It is understandable that the chances of children running away and traveling long distances to survive will be even smaller.
The third bedroom of the old man's house also wanted to stay. It was said that there were too many children and they didn't want to leave anymore. However, Qi Kang'an could see that they no longer wanted to take care of the old man's demented ancestor.
There is nothing to comment on. What he can do about other people's affairs is to take care of the old man's family from now on.
Old man Qi also nodded with joy in his eyes, "Let's go eat. They bought a big stupid chicken and made a big pot of chicken soup at noon."
Break up the flatbread and stir it into the chicken soup. It's very fragrant and makes you very hungry.
"Hey, Dad, have you eaten?"
"Eat." Boss Yang of the blacksmith shop sent the stewed rabbit meat that Baoer and I ate together.
The old man Qi felt happy, why was his dear boy so annoying?
Seeing that he was in a bad mood and didn't even take a bite of the meal, he specially brought out the stewed rabbit meat that his wife had made for her alone and insisted on coaxing him to eat it.
In fact, this is what Qi Bao'er said at the time: "Master, we don't have much salt anymore. It's extremely expensive to borrow it from the inn, and it's even more expensive to buy it outside. You may not be able to buy it."
If you don't eat, you won't be able to walk on the road, and if you set off again then, your father and uncle will have to push you, and we will have to throw away a cart full of things to carry you."
These words were so piercing to the lungs that old man Qi stopped immediately.
When it comes to food, it’s not that he’s reluctant to part with a cartful of food, but mainly because he doesn’t want to hold his sons back.
Mrs. Tian is boiling water in the kitchen.
When praying for health in the mountains, I always told them not to drink raw water. The villagers didn't take it seriously at first. They were working in the fields at home. When they were thirsty, they would find clean water in the fields and drink it directly. No one had any problems after drinking it.
?
Mrs. Tian was the same at that time. How could she be so particular about escaping? Besides, the water in their house was brought by Bao'er, which was much cleaner than the water that other people could just get from the mountains.
Later, a man drank water seeping from the stone wall on the roadside. He had diarrhea and almost went to see Bao'er's father, but the villagers helped him carry it all the way.
Now everyone became obedient. They were afraid and didn't dare to disobey. It would be more troublesome, but life was still important.
From that time on, Mrs. Tian would boil a large pot of water and prepare it whenever she had time. The water bladders used by the whole family to drink must only contain boiled water.
The cook grandma walked in and saw Mrs. Tian filling each water bag with cold water. She was very curious: "Old lady, what is this?"
"This water needs to be boiled before it is clean. If you are afraid it will be hot, just let it cool down and then put it in a bottle. Drinking raw water can easily make you sick."
She is telling the truth, a truth that has been proven.
But in the ears of the cook grandma: People are particular about people, even having to boil water to drink and then let it cool is so troublesome.
It became more and more clear that Mrs. Tian was a wealthy old lady. Which ordinary people would have such trouble drinking water? Who would drink water directly from the well?
The cook, the grandmother, was sitting in front of another stove where steamed buns were being steamed, helping to add firewood. She seemed to ask accidentally: "Old lady, where are you going? There are troops outside, and it won't be peaceful outside our town."
"
Mrs. Tian's heart skipped a beat, she was really convinced by her obedience.
Just before she went downstairs, her boss told her that so many people in the village had decided to stay in Beiyang Town. Apart from themselves not wanting to take any further risks, it was very likely that someone had persuaded them.
And these people were not from their own village, but only from Beiyang Town. Since a group of people had hardly left the inn, it was most likely that they were the few people in the inn.
She still remembers asking: "What are we doing here who want nothing but people like us?"
Si'er, who was also by her side at the time, answered her: "It's just for political performance. Officials are evaluated every three years, and the first test is the total number of people who have settled in the local area."
Beiyang Town is so poor. People in this town are constantly running away, so how come there are people from other places willing to settle here?
Doesn't the county magistrate of Beiyang Town always have to be at the bottom of the first criterion of performance evaluation? Not to mention other per capita income.
However, these are just Qi Kangtai's guesses. They have no way of knowing the facts for the time being. They can only be sure that the staff in the inn are talking nonsense, and they are working for the county magistrate. It can be deduced that this is the county magistrate's intention.
.
Mrs. Tian was thinking in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She told Qi Bao'er to teach her how to answer when asked.
"We have no choice when we go to Beijing. We all know that the road is not peaceful, but our relatives are in Beijing. Only when we get there can we feel at ease."
Beijing?!!!
Incredible!
The cook's grandma changed from her original flattery to being respectful, "You have relatives in the capital, that's great."
Mrs. Tian smiled and waved her hands humbly, "Nothing special, just an ordinary relative."
The cook's grandmother also had a smile on her face, and she also started to think in her heart: Can ordinary relatives take the whole family to go to the capital at risk? What a fool.
The cook grandma wanted to ask more, but then Qi Bao'er's voice came from far and near outside the kitchen: "Mirror, milf, milf, are you in the kitchen?"
Mrs. Tian breathed a sigh of relief in her heart. She was still not good at this kind of bluffing, and she always felt weak. When she heard Guobai's voice, it was like hearing a savior calling, so she quickly shouted out:
"Here we are, the milk is in the kitchen."
I could only hear a small set of footsteps coming closer and closer outside, and soon a little head poked out from the side of the kitchen door.
"Milk, my dad is looking for you."
"Hey, here we go." Mrs. Tian wiped her hands and hurried out. When she reached the door, she quickly turned back as if she had remembered something.
"Milk, my mother and the others are here." Qi Baoer called her from behind.
After Qi Baoer finished speaking, Li Qin's voice came from outside: "Mom, just let us come. It seems that my uncle has something urgent to come to see you."
Praying for Kang'an is indeed a big deal, and it is a very big deal for their family and the fifty-nine families who want to go down.
In the morning, Qi Kang'an and the cowards walked all over the town. They came back at noon without saying a word. Obviously, there were no results.
It was better to go to Lianba in the nearest village and bring back what was considered good news.
Good food is not specified, remember the key words, this is a poor town.
Poor towns are not only poor due to inconvenient transportation, but there is also a more critical reason. Their production here is also low.
Otherwise, in today's dynasty where food is money, if the food production here is the same as outside, they will be targeted and someone will build roads for them.