I traveled through time, starting with two acres of land and a dog

On January 1, Xuantong abdicated, the North-South negotiations were successful, and Yuan Shikai became the provisional president of the Republic of China. This news came two days before the Chinese New Year. The Qing Dynasty, which had ruled China for nearly 28 years, officially ended. The situation in the mountains did not change at all, but the tax collection standard in Guangyuan County was raised. Basically, one mu of land required two and a half dollars, which was more than doubled. If the tax was paid in copper coins, the tax would be even higher, resulting in almost a gloomy New Year. Except for a few large households with red doors and green tiles, they hung lanterns and decorated the houses, and the sound of firecrackers. The other self-cultivating farmers and tenants were quiet. They cooked pheasants, pork, and eggs on the New Year's Day. Zhang Gou'er and Yaya were at home. Zhao Rui and Hu Laowu went home after lunch after the roll call.

On the third day of the Chinese New Year, they planned to go back to grandma's house. Although his father was a kidnapped bride, his mother had not been home for more than two years. Although the news that his mother was in the Du family had spread after he was born, his father asked his mother to write a letter last year and asked someone to take it back. There was also a message from the other side, asking his mother to live a good life and that his grandparents were doing well. He saw it several times. His mother took out the letter and read it carefully. He read it to her the first few times, and she shed tears every time after listening to the letter.

So he and his father agreed to go back on the third day of the Chinese New Year this year. All team members should report on time at 8 a.m. and then start learning and training, organized by Hu Laosi. Li Long and Zhao Zhengming escorted them back to their mother's home, and brought machetes and flintlocks to prevent any accidents. Hu Laosi also moved closer to them in field training. After all, the family that wanted to take his mother by force was also a wealthy family, and they were rich and powerful and should not be underestimated. He asked Hu Laosi to lead the team to support immediately if he heard gunshots.

They walked for about two hours and climbed over the mountain behind the house. They were at the edge of the fourth fort of Banqiaobao, not far from his father's school and Hu Laosi's home.

He carried 50 jin of food, jin of meat, a few feet of cloth, and some candies and snacks. That was my grandmother's house. My mother carried him on her back and pointed to a small ridge with a few thatched houses and bamboos beside them. There were more people living in the ridge, but my grandmother's house was a single family with few people around.

They tried to keep a low profile and not be noticed, but they didn't try to hide. The snow covered the road, so it was hard to see pedestrians. Some people saw them, and several families came out to see them. They probably thought, "Look, the eldest daughter of the Chen family was taken away by bandits, but she came back this year. Isn't that strange?" Of course, they ignored anyone.

Du Chenyu also walked forward with trepidation, and he felt that his mother was also a little nervous.

"That's elder sister, elder sister you are back." A little girl wearing straw sandals, a ragged cotton jacket, with kudzu vines wrapped around her waist as a belt, dragged a branch and walked down.

"Third girl, it's snowing so heavily and you're still picking firewood?" Mother quickly went over and took the bundle of branches from her hand.

"Mom, my eldest sister is back," San Ya shouted into the house.

"Yes, sister, eldest brother is still behind, and second brother is helping at home," the third girl continued.

At this time, an old man who walked with a limp and a barefoot boy of fifteen or sixteen came out of the house, followed by a woman. These should be my grandparents and my uncle.

"Dad... Mom... I am an unfilial daughter. I haven't come back to see you for several years." My mother couldn't control herself any more, and she threw herself on grandma and burst into tears. Grandma's family was indeed in a difficult situation. They had three thatched houses, which were sturdy and patched everywhere. Even when the mountains were covered with snow, grandpa and my uncle were barefoot and wore a single piece of clothing that was patched over and over again.

"Dad, please come in quickly, it's cold outside." Seeing my mother and grandmother crying, my father could only invite my grandfather to come in and warm himself by the fire. My father helped my grandfather in, and Li Long and Zhengming also went in with their things on their backs. My mother watched them come in, wiped her tears, and also pulled my aunt and grandmother into the house to warm themselves by the fire, because it was too cold outside.

"Mom, Dad, this is Huzi, this is Decai, these are the Li brothers, and these are the Zhao brothers," mother introduced them one by one.

"Everyone, take a seat," Grandpa called.

"Huzi, give me a hug, you're so heavy." Sanya took him off her mother's back. Grandma and uncle also came to see him, and he could only act silly and cute. They were all his closest relatives, so he didn't dare to act like a big boss, so he could only let them hold him in their arms and study him.

"Hurry up and call grandma," mother ordered.

"Mother-in-law... Mother-in-law," Du Chenyu called twice.

"My dear grandson, you can call people," the grandmother wiped away her tears and happily took him.

After playing for a while, my mother went to cook, while my aunt held him by the fire. He closed his eyes and prepared to take a nap, listening to everyone's conversation. My grandfather said that she was sorry for my mother. She had borrowed high-interest loans from Mr. Li to pay for her medical treatment, and then she could not pay it back, so she had to let the eldest daughter marry Mr. Li as a concubine. Mr. Li was also a head of the Jia family, rich and powerful. What was even more unfortunate was that when she heard that her bride was kidnapped, her mother was sick for a long time. It was not until we received your letter last year that we two old men let it go. Fortunately, you, the scholar, brought people to redeem the eldest daughter from the bandits (that's what we told outsiders, my mother was redeemed by my father from the bandits), otherwise we would feel guilty for the rest of our lives.

"Dad, everything is over. As long as you two are in good health, your mother will be satisfied," said the father.

"You guys, be careful of Mr. Li, he might come to cause trouble. When we first knew that our eldest daughter was in trouble, Mr. Li expressed his guilt by waiving our rent by half," said my grandfather.

"Since we dare to come back, we don't have to worry about trouble. I have arranged everything. Dad, you don't have to worry," the father said comfortingly.

After a while, the uncle also came back, a tall and thin young man, about twenty years old, wearing a cloth jacket and bare-chested. He chatted with my mother for a few words, teased him for a while, and then sat down to warm himself by the fire. Li Long was outside, playing with the snow. They lived by the river, so it was not uncommon to see so much snow on the ground. He was extremely excited, grabbed a ball of snow and threw it at Brother Zhengming, who had just gone out. A battle seemed inevitable. Of course, they also had a task, which was to be alert and not be surrounded by others. It would be ugly.

An hour later, lunch was ready. Potatoes, rice, corn and fried meat were cooked in a cauldron, and carrot soup was stewed in a clay pot. However, there was no table in the house, so they could only use a bench to put the food. There were not enough bowls, so they could only use a wooden ladle to scoop water. Grandma and mother were at the stove, waiting for them to eat first. My aunt and uncle looked at the meat on the bench and secretly touched their mouths several times. Grandpa stood up and asked everyone to eat first.

"Eat quickly. Siwazi, ask the two brothers outside to come in and eat. Xiucai, eat quickly," my grandfather ordered one by one.

"Everyone, come and eat. Big brother, third girl, fourth brother, come and eat." The father was not polite and picked up the bowl to eat. Du Chenyu sat on a small wooden stool, holding chopsticks in his hand, ready to eat.

Some were holding ceramic bowls, some were holding wooden ladles. Du Chenyu was the only one holding a small blue and white porcelain bowl, which was probably the most beautiful thing in the room. He saw that this bowl was found by his grandfather in a wooden box in the room.

The rice and meat for this meal were brought by them. He saw that his father and Li Long and the others did not eat much meat and gave most of it to their uncles. He ate a small bowl of rice soaked in radish soup. He watched everyone wolf down the food and eat the meat in small bites. Because there was not much meat, they had to eat slowly to taste it. They were reluctant to finish it in one bite. This was a common practice for poor families who lacked food and clothing. Li Long and the others used to do the same, but they have only changed now.

After they finished eating, my mother, grandmother, and second aunt washed the dishes again, made a bowl of rice and ate it by the stove, while the others continued to chat by the fire.

He was outside watching the two continue playing in the snow. At this time, a dog barked a few times in the distance, but no one paid attention. In less than 5 minutes, he saw four people appear on the left, passing them and coming along the road.

"Brother Long, look, someone is coming, someone is coming downstairs," he shouted first, alerting everyone.

"That's Li Laocai and his lackeys," said my uncle after taking a closer look.

"They are probably coming for us. Brother Long, go call father and ask him to tell grandma not to come out. We will be able to deal with it," he instructed Li Long.

"Old man Chen, old man Chen, you should pay back your debt. You have owed it for many years." An old man's voice came and he came up the steps. He was a short and fat old man with two wisps of beard. He wore a hat and a long braid at the back. He wore a short jacket on the outside and a long gown on the inside. He was also leaning on a cane. Behind him were two young men, both dressed in short-collared clothes and holding a long stick in their hands.

At this time, my grandfather, eldest uncle, younger uncle and father all came out, and Du Chenyu was carried on his father's back.

"Master Li, our Chen family has owed you a debt for a long time, and we have paid the rent in full this year," my grandfather replied under the eaves.

"Four years ago, you borrowed 20 dollars. Now the principal and interest are over dollars. Come here quickly. This is your IOU. There are your fingerprints on it." The old man Li took out a piece of paper with words on it.

"Mr. Li, didn't we agree at the beginning that the eldest daughter would marry you to pay off the debts, and all debts would be written off?" said my grandfather tremblingly.

"What a joke! When did I ever tell you that your eldest daughter is in your house? How could you use her to pay off your debt? In the past two years, you even lied to me and said she was kidnapped by bandits. You deceived me so much," Old Man Li argued loudly.

"Two years ago, you sent people to carry it away from here in a sedan chair, but it was intercepted by bandits on the way," said my grandfather.

"Haha... Old man Chen, are you making up a story? I carried your daughter away a long time ago. Did anyone see it?" the old man turned around and asked the lackey behind him.

"No, no," the two lackeys replied with a sneer.

"You are so unreasonable," my grandfather was so angry that he was speechless.

"Old man Chen, stop talking nonsense. Either pay back the money or use your youngest daughter to pay off the debt. The youngest daughter is 15 years old now and can go to bed. Haha... The youngest daughter should follow me to the bridal chamber now and all debts will be written off," said old man Li proudly.

"You...you, you are too bullying, cough...cough..." Grandpa pointed at Old Man Li with a trembling stick, unable to catch his breath.

"Father, we must strike first and control old man Li first, and then we can talk about everything else," Du Chenyu whispered in his father's ear.

"Si Wa, help dad in quickly. Boss, just listen to my instructions," he said in Li Long's ear.

"Master Li, right?" My father lifted his gown, walked down the eaves, and came to the side of the dean. He was only two meters away from old man Li. Behind him on both sides were Li Long and Zhao Zhengming, and in the middle was my uncle, forming an arc.

"You are... who are you? Please move aside and don't disturb me collecting the debt," said old man Li, frowning.

"My name is Du Zongyi, with the courtesy name Decai. The old man Chen you are collecting debts from is my father-in-law," said my father, bowing.

"Um, which Mr. Du are you? Nice to meet you. Since you are a scholar, I advise you not to get involved in today's affairs. Some things are not suitable to be discussed today. I will visit you in person later. Today I am mainly here to collect debts." Old man Li said fiercely.

"Mr. Li, we should be reasonable in our dealings with others. This debt has been written off long ago," my father continued politely.

"Please move aside. Either I pay you back, or you help me pay it back, or I take the youngest girl away. I don't have time to bargain with you," Old Man Li took a step forward.

"Well... okay, you go ahead." After a stalemate of 10 seconds, the father turned his body sideways and made way, but the tension was still there and a war was about to break out.