Traveling through ancient times to survive

Zhao Chengchuan turned to explain to Wang Mei: "You just heard it. My daughter carefully found out reliable information. There may be a war this winter. At that time, the price of materials will definitely skyrocket. The price of cotton cloth will not be this high. Our family of five needs a lot of cotton."

"This is a one-time deal. How long can this amount of flowers last? Just buy some cloth. Don't ordinary people wear clothes made of reed fluff during the winter?"

"The adults in the county were also stockpiling cotton cloth, and my daughter followed the nobles in buying it."

"Okay, I won't talk about cotton. Look, she also bought a lot of fine grains. If she changed it to coarse grains, she could buy twice as much!"

"Qingya is worried about her family. She has good intentions, but the child is still young and she has no experience in managing a household. Don't worry, I will recover soon and I will definitely not let you live a life of hunger again."

"The money has been spent and cannot be refunded. Forget it this time, but I can't let Qingya make her own decisions on buying things in the future. She simply doesn't know her place and does whatever she wants with just a little money!"

"Yes, yes, I will teach you slowly later."

"Keep the medicine safe, it's fifteen taels! I won't say more about this, the family needs to keep some medicine."

Seeing Zhao Chengchuan calming down Wang Mei's anger, Zhao Qing interrupted and said, "By the way, Dad, use those five bottles of medicine for injuries carefully. They are the best medicines prescribed by the county doctor."

After sorting out everything, Wang Mei warned the two children not to reveal the fact that the family was rich. Even after the two nodded in agreement, they were still not satisfied. She emphasized it several times again and cited the example of a family in the neighboring village who showed off their wealth, had their money stolen, and ended up selling their children as a threat. Zhao Dezhang was so scared that he shed tears and kept it in mind.

After washing up, the brother and sister went back to their room to rest. Zhao Qing took out the prepared spiritual fruit from his shirt pocket and handed it to Zhao Dezhang. Zhao Qing saw the trusting and admiring look in the child's eyes.

"This is the fruit my elder sister bought in the county. It's very sweet. Would you like to try it?"

Zhao Dezhang took the spiritual fruit and said, "Thank you, sister. Is the county fun? Do you have any candied haws for sale?"

Zhao Qing was annoyed: "Indeed, I have it, but I forgot. I will buy it for you next time."

Zhao Dezhang shook his head and refused: "No need, sister, I'm just asking out of curiosity."

He lowered his head and took a bite of the spiritual fruit, with a smile on his face: "I have fruit to eat, it's really sweet, big sister is so nice! I want to grow up quickly so that I can go up the mountain to earn money with big sister."

Zhao Qing softened his heart to such a sensible and lovely brother, and gently pinched the little cheek flesh he had just grown: "Don't worry too much, kid, Dezhang, you are only eight years old. Now you just need to eat well and grow up happily."

Something that has been talked about for a long time happened in Dashan Village recently. A few days ago, Zhao Chengchuan almost died, and his wife and children were kicked out of the house. Zhao Chengchuan, who was extremely unlucky, has a turn of events in his family. His eldest daughter Zhao Qing dug up a ginseng in the mountain and sold it for seventy taels. Now, not only has he paid off all his debts in one go, but he also has to repair the house!

The villagers put down their work in the fields and rushed to the back mountains, trying to replicate the good fortune of Zhao Chengchuan's family. Until no one in the village saw a single ginseng beard, and Zhao Chengchuan's eldest brother Zhao Chengshan was injured by a wild boar. Except for a few families who refused to give up, most people gave up going into the mountains and returned to their daily lives.

Zhao Chengchuan's family, who were being talked about by the villagers, were just finishing their dinner when Wang Mei complained, "Dad, these people in the village are so annoying. When you were injured, they all avoided you, fearing that we would lend them money. Now that they know that our family has dug ginseng, they follow Qingya every day, and Qingya has been late for hunting these days. Some people who have nothing to do with us even come to borrow money. How dare they! We only have more than fifty taels in hand, and we're afraid it's not enough to repair the house. Where can we borrow money?"

Zhao Chengchuan put down his chopsticks and said, "It's all because of poverty. Didn't the clan gather some food for us in the beginning? The village chief not only lent us five taels of silver, but also allowed us to move into an unoccupied house first, so that we can buy it when we have enough money. We have paid back the money now, but we must remember the favor and not make things difficult for the village chief."

Wang Mei nodded in agreement: "The village chief is indeed a good man. I only complain at home."

"As long as you know."

"I heard that my eldest brother was hit by a wild boar. What retribution! We have moved out for more than a month and Cheng Ge didn't even come to see you. The money for his schooling was earned by you. It's a pity that you treated him better than your own son. And your good brother didn't even come to see you. There is no good person in this old house!"

Zhao Chengchuan was hit in the sore spot, and he felt uncomfortable again. Wang Mei saw his face drooping, thinking that he was dissatisfied with her blaming the people in the old house, and began to get angry: "Why, what they did, I can't say anything?"

Zhao Dezhang followed suit and said, "Mom, we will ignore the people in the old house from now on."

"We can do it, but your father is hard to say. Your uncle is injured, and your grandparents will definitely come to your house tomorrow to ask for money."

Zhao Qing was surprised. For the lower-class people in the previous life's base, the rules had been engraved in their blood. They were afraid of breaking the rules and losing their jobs, and having to struggle for their lives in a lawless and jungle world.

"Why? Didn't the family split up?"

Zhao Qing was puzzled. In his impression, ordinary people seemed to be very afraid of the government. The lower classes here had even less human rights than in his previous life.

How dare the people in the old house blatantly violate the government regulations? Are they too bold or is the government's prestige not that great? Zhao Qing does not understand the unspoken rule of governing the world with filial piety in ancient times. How can a younger generation take the initiative to report on their elders?

Wang Mei said with disdain: "Are they reasonable people? When your father was able to make money, he worked like a slave for them and nothing good was said about him. He became a burden when he asked for money for medical treatment. Your uncle immediately urged your grandparents to separate. If it weren't for the village chief, we would have to sleep outside. Now that our family has money, why don't you come and take advantage of us!"

Zhao Chengchuan: "..."

Wang Mei sneered: "Oh, you don't believe it? Wait and see tomorrow!"

The next day, just after the family finished breakfast, Zhao Damu and his wife, who had not been seen since the separation, burst into the house.

Liu Xiaocao was the first to speak out: "The second brother's family has become rich, but why don't they know how to show filial piety to their parents? They even want me, an old man with old arms and legs, to come and ask for money."

Zhao Chengchuan was extremely disappointed. Mei Niang was right. He ignored his mother's sarcasm and told Zhao Qing: "Qingya, take your brother out for a walk. I have something to discuss with your grandparents."

Zhao Chengchuan didn't want the children to witness the quarrel between the adults, so he sent the two away. Zhao Qing then took Zhao Dezhang out of the house, but did not go far away from the house. Instead, he went straight to the back of the house to eavesdrop.

Seeing that the two children had left, Zhao Chengchuan said in a stern tone: "Dad, Mom, what's the matter with you coming here?"

Liu Xiaocao was furious: "What's the tone of your voice? Can't I, an old woman, come to my son's house?"

Faced with the questioning, Zhao Chengchuan responded indifferently: "Just tell me, mother, your disabled son has to go to the town to treat his injuries later, and he doesn't have time to listen to your nonsense here."

"What did you say? I have a miserable life! When I was fleeing, I almost lost my life because I was pregnant with you! Now I just didn't agree with you in one thing, but you are holding a grudge against me! It's like you are tearing my heart out!"