"What? Why haven't you heard of it? Where did you know about it?" Father Gu stopped his eating hands and chewed the dough unconsciously in his mouth. He looked at Gu Chengyi expectantly, hoping that what he said was not true.
"When I went to town to protest against the package a few days ago, Shopkeeper Zhou said that the official documents will probably arrive in town. It will only happen in the next few days."
Father Gu put down his bowl and chopsticks and was no longer interested in eating. Everyone at the table also stopped their chopsticks and listened carefully.
"Is the news true? What kind of corvee service are you doing this time?" Father Gu sighed and then asked.
"Shopkeeper Zhou has a wide network and cannot go wrong. I heard that he is going to Fucheng to build a dam for the Jingyuan River."
Father Gu gasped. Building the dam was very dangerous. The last time it was built was ten years ago. Every family in the village had a strong man. After the dam was built, there were fewer people coming back than when they left.
Five, how dangerous is this? I heard that when the dam was being built, there was a strong current on it, and it would collapse if you were not careful. There were also huge rocks being pulled up. If the rope accidentally broke, it would fall down. You are lucky.
, broken legs, broken arms, bad luck, and the slow runner was killed. At that time, only he and the eldest son were in the age group, and one of them had to go. He was the mainstay of the family, so he couldn't go; the eldest son was still old.
Xiao, they had just gotten married, so it was even more difficult to go. He gritted his teeth and took eight taels of silver to support him. He even had a quarrel with Wa'er's mother over this matter. The eight taels of silver were still Wa'er's mother.
The dowry brought by his mother was a private house, so he always felt sorry for her. The former one was always ill and spent all his family's savings. He really had no money at that time.
Turning my mind back, there have been some small corvee labors in the past few years, and the eldest and second eldest have taken turns. Although they were all thin and out of shape when they came back in the end, they finally recovered after being raised. But this time is different.
This time it's going to kill people.
"How much money will it cost this time? But I asked shopkeeper Zhou?" Father Gu asked directly without hesitation.
"It cost eighteen taels." Gu Chengyi frowned. He knew that his family didn't have that much. If he had scraped together some before, how could he still have so much after losing money?
"Why do you want so much? I only had eight taels of silver that time, eighteen taels of silver. Where can I get so much money?" Father Gu was surprised by the high price of this labor. What was even more worrying was that he didn't have much money at home.
not enough.
Gu Chengyu wanted to say, don't worry, it will be there tomorrow. He has already made up his mind to go to Changling Mountain for a walk tomorrow, and then "pick" Ganoderma lucidum, ginseng and other things, so as to solve the urgent needs of the family first.
Besides, after all, even if you want to start a small business, you still need capital, right?
"Where can I collect money? Is the money so good? It's better to let people pick up the money." Ms. Lu was afraid that the rest of the money would not be enough. It was the money for the third child to marry a wife. What's more, there is Xiaobao, so for Xiaobao,
Bao, she has other plans.
Gu Chengyi glanced away from the third child and found that the third child lowered his head and didn't know what he was thinking. Logically speaking, he spent ten taels of silver for the third child today, so it was not too much for him to make a request.
Gu Chengyi learned from Shopkeeper Zhou a few days ago that he had to do corvee work. He kept thinking about it when he came back and couldn't even sleep well at night. He and his eldest brother were the only adult men in the family. The old man was old and would not go.
Yes, besides, there is no such thing as asking the father to do corvee work while the son is enjoying the blessings at home.
Then this candidate has to be chosen between the eldest brother and him. They are the backbone of the first and second houses. It is very dangerous to build the dam. Whether you can come back really depends on luck. My mother will never pay for it. After all,
It's eighteen taels of silver, not to mention that they are not biological, and there is not much affection between them. But if they go, what will happen to the remaining orphans and widows? They will still have to suffer setbacks if they stay at home, and even more
He couldn't hold his head up anymore. The two children were still young and he didn't want to go. He couldn't bear to let his eldest brother go, and the old man might not agree.
Today, the matter of the third child made him think of a way. If the third child stands up, his father will definitely not agree. Then will the father find a way to raise money? Maybe there is still money at home? It’s not that he is cruel, the third child is.
My mother's own son, my mother would never see her son die. Although the third child is not old enough, what can't the government servants do as long as they use money? In order to protect the third child, the parents must find a way.
Gu Chengyu was sitting opposite Gu Chengyi. He saw the second brother glance at the third brother with some kind of hope in his eyes. He thought of the behavior of the second brother outside just now, and his heart became cold. He thought that although the second brother was reluctant to part with the money, he still cared about Nianqin.
Brotherly love, who would have thought that his plan was here? He has been back for so many days, and I haven't seen him mention the matter of doing corvee work. Even if it is busy farming, can't it be mentioned at the dinner table? What's more, it is still first-class.
The big thing is that he doesn't have a countermeasure in his mind yet, and he has been dragging his feet! In his mind, isn't the third brother his biological brother? Or has it really come to that point, will he abandon his biological brother who was born from the same mother?
He didn't know and didn't want to make random guesses.
In short, at this moment, he recognized the reality. There are brothers who are close to each other. This is good, he will not have to feel so guilty in the future and always want to make up for his mother's mistakes. Of course, they are still a family after all, so he can help
I will help, and I will give whatever I can, but that’s all.
"Dad, I lost ten taels of silver today." Although Gu Chengyu didn't finish his words later, everyone knew what he meant.
Gu Chenglian had a plan in mind when Gu Chengyi and the others were discussing the corvee. He knew that the money at home would definitely not be enough. Even if he borrowed it, no one would be rich, and every family had people doing corvee work. Who would borrow it?
For you? But whether he wants to go or is forced to go, the feeling is very different. He doesn't know that the third brother would say this. Aren't they brothers?
"Dad, let me go!" Gu Chenglian struggled for a moment and lowered his shoulders feebly. He still spoke. It was not that he didn't know the dangers of building the dam, but he could see that the second brother did not want to go. As for the eldest brother, his family could not bully him.
Are you an honest person? The eldest brother has four children! One of them is still in infancy, and he has a hard time with his conscience.
"Third child, go back to your room. How can I interrupt what the adults are saying?" Although Lu's tone was extremely calm at the moment, Gu Chengyu could feel that this was the calm before the storm, and Lu was very angry.
"Mom, if it wasn't to compensate me for the ten taels, I think it would be enough for my family to make up for it. The eldest brother and the second brother are married, the fourth brother is still young, and my father is not young anymore. If I don't go, who will?"