[Rebirth] Landscape and pastoral

As soon as the news came out, the village exploded.Although the hard labor is only three months, it is not so easy to serve.It's not bad if you can come back with half your life.

In recent years, the imperial court has levied and extorted money, and the people are struggling to make a living. The mountains and rivers here are good, and they can barely make ends meet.Many places suffered disasters or God did not help, and the families were too poor to get rid of the pot.

Recently, there has been a lot of noise in the village over the matter of forced labor. Some people have no separate families, and several brothers in a family live together. It is a question of who will go.And some people think that there is only one strong laborer in their family. After leaving, how will the orphans and widows live?Just don't pay 30 taels of silver. How can poor people like them get so much money unless they sell their fields.But in this way, how will the whole family live?

There are still many people who doubt the village head. In previous years, he only had to pay 20 taels for labor, and if there are two strong laborers in the family, he only needs to pay one. Why has it changed this year?The village head is also bitter, the imperial court's corvée is getting heavier and heavier, how can people live like this in the past?

The villagers with foreign surnames had a rift with the Wen family, and they didn't know the village chief's suffering, so they even blamed the village chief at this time.So they went to the village chief's family to discuss, and the Wen family only watched from the sidelines. They also had doubts about this labor.

The village chief explained it earnestly for a long time, but the villagers were still dubious.It’s just that the village head said that in a few days, the government servants will come to register the names of the service personnel together, and they will come to pick them up after all the villages have been registered.So the villagers dispersed reluctantly.It seems that there is no way to escape this time, and every family in the village is gloomy.

Because of Zhang Zirui's fame and fame, he doesn't have to do hard labor, and Wen Qiwen, a married couple, doesn't have to go either.However, Wen Qiwu was not old enough to escape the catastrophe, and this matter had nothing to do with their family.

Only those who are familiar with them cannot escape the fate of serving.Uncle Erzhu's family came from a separate family, and only Uncle Erzhu was old enough to be included in the list.As for Uncle Liu, since there is no family separation, it happened to be his turn to do hard labor this year.The two elder brothers above him have both been there, and the root cause of the disease still remains.Uncle Shitou's family is fine, there is no separation in the family, and it won't be his turn this year.

Uncle Wu’s family, Uncle Wu and brother Xiang Bei, needed to go, and Uncle Wu decided he would go. After all, Brother Xiang Bei was still young, so their family couldn’t afford the 30 taels.What Aunt Wu meant was that the family had also made some money, so if it wasn't enough, they could borrow some money.It's just that they only earned less than 20 taels these days, and they also bought three acres of sandy land, which is too short.I don't know what the world will be like in the future, so I still keep the money just in case.

Zhang Zirui woke up early in the morning, and Xiang Bei had already filled the water tank in their house.Although their family no longer makes mashed potatoes here, he still thinks about the good of the Zhang family. When he gets up to carry water every day, he helps the Zhang family pick it up.

"Morning, Brother Zhang." Seeing Zhang Zirui, Xiangbei smiled honestly.

"Xiangbei, you're here so early again, we can do it ourselves." Zhang Zirui felt embarrassed by his enthusiasm.

"It's okay, I picked it up." And he was not the only one who carried water for Zhang's family, there were also Wang Dazhuang from Uncle Erzhu's family, and Xiao Shitou from Uncle Shitou's family. "Brother Zhang, I will trouble you and Brother Awen in the future to help me take care of my house more."

"You are?" Why did the tone sound like a deathbed request.

"I'm going to do hard labor, and my father is not too young, so he probably won't be able to bear the hardship. I'm different, I'm still young." Although Xiang Bei said so, a trace of bitterness flashed in his eyes.

"Xiangbei, is hard labor hard?" The villagers Zhang Zirui met recently were all sighing and frowning. He really didn't know the hardship of hard labor.

"I heard that it's very hard. I can't eat enough. I have to work day and night. If I don't do it well, I will be whipped. After finishing the work, I sleep by the river." He has seen many of those who came back.I went out with a strong effort, and when I came back, I seemed to be ten years older than when I first went, with injuries all over my body, and I was too thin to look like a human being.Those who came back took a long time to recover, but the root cause of their illnesses fell from then on. Some had problems with their legs and feet, and some had problems with their waists, making them unable to use their strength.

"Don't worry, we will take good care of your family." Zhang Zirui sighed, very grateful that he had a seemingly useless fame.

"Brother Zhang, you two are good people, thank you." Xiang Bei smiled innocently and left with a bucket.

Zhang Zirui looked at the slender back of the 16-year-old boy, wishing him a safe return.As news came from people who knew him well, more and more people were going to do hard labor.Zhang Zirui felt that he could do something.

He dug out his newly bought medicine book and started looking for the medicinal materials he needed.When he was ready, he took Wen Qiwen and Wen Qiwu into the mountains to gather herbs, and the little girl was put in the Wu family's custody again.

Wen Qiwu: "Brother, what are we going to do?"

Zhang Zirui: "Collect herbs, make some medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis for Uncle Er Zhu and the others, just in case."

Wen Qiwu said puzzledly: "Brother, don't pharmacies sell them? I bought some last time."

"Those are ordinary medicines. They are dangerous and need better medicines." After all, he is also a cultivator. Even if his cultivation base is not up to the point where he can make alchemy, he can still make medicines, at least better than the ones on the market. The medicine works much better.

"Brother Rui, let's make more." Wen Qiwen's eyes sparkled, and his movements quickened.

"Brother, can we still make blood-activating and stasis-removing ointment and sell it in pharmacies?" Wen Qiwu's mind was spinning quickly.

"No, I'm not guilty, I'm guilty of pregnant women." The plaster he made is not a little bit better than the ones in ordinary pharmacies. This is something that can save lives at critical times. It contains such huge benefits. Potentially causing harm.

"Brother Rui, will it be okay for you to give the medicine to Uncle Erzhu?" Wen Qiwen was a little worried that it would bring harm to Zhang Zirui.

"They are all trustworthy people, so it's okay to give it to them. I just said that I bought it from a stall in the market. After using it, the effect is good. Just buy some for them." Zhang Zirui planned to administer medicine, but he didn't intend to let people know that the medicine was He did it.

Zhang Zirui taught the Wen and Wu brothers how to identify medicinal materials, they searched in the mountains for four or five days, and finally found more than half of the medicinal materials they needed.There are a few things that they don't grow here, but luckily the pharmacy in the county sells them, so Wen Qiwu went to buy some.

So Zhang Zirui concocted medicinal materials and pharmaceuticals, and finally boiled the ointment before the guards took him away. The acquaintances each had a bottle, and also gave some anti-bleeding and anti-inflammatory medicinal powder.

What surprised Zhang Zirui was that even Dr. Liu was in the crowd.That's right, Dr. Liu's family has only one daughter, and Dr. Liu is the only strong worker in the family.Dr. Liu's medical fees are cheap, and most of the medicinal materials are bought and can't earn a lot of money.It's just that Dr. Liu is gone, who can anyone in the village turn to if they have a headache?Consultation fees for doctors outside are very expensive.Being sick is a problem that exists in any time and space.

The last person to go to Uncle Wu's house was Uncle Wu, who was left at home to the north to help Aunt Wu's business and take care of the family.Uncle Er Zhu also left, and Da Zhuang supported the whole family.In the sadness of life and death, those who went to labor were sent away.Everyone has returned to their previous lives, and life still has to go on.

The heavy labor made Zhang Zirui realize that the world is not peaceful.As a result, he became more strict with Wen Qiwen and Wen Qiwu, and even the two little ones, Ping An, were pulled in by him to run and stand upright to strengthen their physique.The little girl escaped unharmed because she was too young.

"Brother, what are we going to do today?" I was very excited about being able to practice Wen Qi'an, and didn't feel bitter at all.Every morning when I wake up, I put on my clothes, and after washing up, I jump over and look at Zhang Zirui with bright eyes.

"Let's go for a run first." Zhang Zirui deeply felt that this Wen Qi'an Xiaodouding must be a martial idiot.

"Brother, my brother and I are going for a run first." Wen Qiping was relatively calm. After receiving the order, he dragged his brother to run around the yard.

Zhang Zirui also took Wen Qiwen and Wen Qiwu to practice swords in the yard, and the two Pingan brothers who ran around stared at them enviously as they ran.Fortunately, the yard they fenced in is large enough to not interfere with each other's activities.

Now Zhang Zirui has another goal besides buying land and building a house, saving money to buy some good swords.He looked around, one, two, three, four children, that is four swords, plus his own, it would cost about 1000 taels of silver, well, even if you buy the most common one first, it would cost about 200 taels.The most troublesome thing is that ordinary blacksmiths are not allowed to forge weapons privately.There is no way, let alone a sword, even a big knife he can't get.

After much deliberation, Zhang Zirui still feels that self-reliance is the most reliable. Although he is not proficient in refining weapons, he should be able to use a few ordinary swords.Flying sword, don't even think about it, you can't even reach the foundation building stage, let alone only the golden core stage can refine ordinary flying swords.

Recently, apart from going to the fields to look around, they spend most of their time practicing.After the potatoes were harvested, the sandy fields in their house were all planted with sweet potatoes and ginger.In addition, Zhang Zirui really does not know what other crops are suitable for sandy soil.

Two months later, Aunt Wu and Aunt Yan came back from the county town crying.It is said that this year's embankment was delayed for a period of time due to lack of silver, and it was already in the rainy season when the construction began.The heavy rain in the past few days has caused the river to overflow and the embankment to collapse. Many laborers who repaired the embankment were swept away by the flood.And the embankment that Uncle Erzhu and the others built happened to be in that section.

Aunt Wu and Aunt Yan almost fainted when they heard the news, and hurriedly asked Xiang Bei and Da Zhuang to inquire about the news.Because the whereabouts of people in Sanshui Village and nearby villages were unknown, the county government was in a mess, and no useful news could be found.

The news that Aunt Wu and Aunt Yan brought back was like a catastrophe for Sanshui Village.This involves every household. What is the concept of losing dozens of strong laborers in the village at once?

Immediately, the villagers were bewildered, and they gathered at the door of the village chief's house crying, hoping that the village chief could make up his mind.

The village chief squatted at the door, glanced at the dark crowd, and sighed helplessly.He stood up slowly, straightened his back, and said to the villagers: "The people in our village are just missing now. They don't know whether they are dead or alive. You just cry. The most urgent thing is to find someone quickly, that is, people If you can’t find it, you have to find the body and put it in the ground, right? To put it bluntly, if we can’t find it, at least we will try our best. Not to mention, they may not be dead yet, just waiting for someone to go Help. To put it disrespectfully, we can't count on the imperial court, and our relatives can only count on us."

The words of the village chief received everyone's response, and most of the families who were still working agreed to find their loved ones back.As for the small group of people who are worried that their family members will be compromised and disharmonious, they are directly ignored by people.That night, the village mobilized more than [-] people. It was the same old hunters who led the team last time, with the hope of the whole village, to the place where the accident happened.

Zhang Zirui felt that the village head could still do the job at critical times.He took the initiative to ask to go with him this time. In view of his performance in the previous wolf suppression, everyone happily let him join.Zhang Zirui brought some medicinal materials, which can help to some extent.

Wen Qiwu was worried about Uncle Wu and the others, so he wanted to follow.Zhang Zirui disagreed, he was worried that Wen Qiwen would be alone at home.In the end, Wen Qiwen persuaded Zhang Zirui to bring Wen Qiwu along.Wu Xiangbei and Wang Dazhuang also followed. The children of Uncle Liu's family were too young to go. Uncle Shitou also went together this time.

There are quite a lot of acquaintances in the team this time, Mr. Zhou, the third and fourth children of the Zhou family, and the second child of their family were also among those involved in the accident.There is also Boss Chen, whose younger brother is also a laborer.

In this team, almost all relatives are missing, so the atmosphere in the team is very dull.The village chief was also in the team this time, with a solemn expression and sadness in his eyes.I heard that the eldest son of the village head's family has also disappeared.

Although there is a glimmer of hope in everyone's heart, everyone knows that after the breach of the embankment, the flood will flood the ocean for hundreds of miles, and there is little hope of saving lives, let alone catching corpses.

When they arrived in the town, they took two carriages and rushed to Qujiang County where the accident happened.Qujiang County is not far from them, and it takes only three hours by horse-drawn carriage. This time, the villagers of Sanshui Village built a river embankment on the outskirts of Qujiang County.

All the way to Qujiang County in silence, the price of goods in the city is high, and pedestrians are in a hurry.Refugees gathered outside the city, naked and hungry.The formerly prosperous Qujiang County was in a state of depression and dilapidation.This made everyone who was already heavy in their hearts feel hopeless.

They didn't waste any time, and after eating some dry food and water they had brought, they rushed to the place where the accident happened outside the city.

Just approaching the place where the accident happened, you can see the turbulent river water, which is still beating the collapsed embankment. The river water is constantly overflowing, the gap in the embankment is getting bigger and bigger, and the vast ocean submerged in the farmland is constantly expanding.

On the river embankment that has not yet collapsed, there are still many laborers carrying wooden stakes and sandbags, under the whipping of cruel officials, trying to block the breached river embankment.From time to time, people were swept into the river by the flood and disappeared instantly.Human life is worthless at this moment.Seeing this scene, Da Zhuang burst into tears.Even those adult men who have experienced wind and frost can't help but have red eyes.

"Let's stay away from the river embankment, so that people won't be caught as laborers." The village chief reminded everyone to keep them away from those cruel officials.When everyone was not paying attention, he turned his back and raised his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes.

Everyone looked at the vast ocean with blank expressions in their eyes.Only then did they realize how simple they had thought before they came.When they came here, they realized that they were like ants.How to find their relatives now?But now that you're here, you can't do nothing.

"Look along the water's edge. If you're still alive, you'll have to swim to the shore anyway." Mr. Zhou said, sighing leisurely.

So the group stayed away from the cruel officials and started looking for people along the water.The bank of the river broke its embankment, and many people died. They didn't go far, and they saw several corpses, which were a little white from the soak.Fortunately, no familiar faces were found among these corpses.

The older people looked sad, but they couldn't see the discomfort.The faces of the younger ones turned pale, and some people vomited out.Zhang Zirui looked at Wen Qiwu, and saw that he had no other discomfort except for his ugly face, so he felt relieved.

As more and more corpses were seen, everyone became more and more desperate.Not all of those corpses were intact, they also saw a few corpses that were washed away by sand and gravel in the water, or with missing arms or legs.Up to now, Zhang Zirui, who thought he had a tough heart, also felt a little uncomfortable.

Even so, this group of people did not stop and kept moving forward.Even if there is such a little expectation, they are not willing to give up.

"Xiao Wu——" Suddenly, a shrill cry erupted from the team, and a disembodied, miserable corpse was pulled ashore from the water.This is their first harvest today, but it is even more desperate.

Seeing that Da Zhuang's tears were about to fall again, Zhang Zirui stretched out his hand to pat him on the shoulder. "Your dad will be fine."

He knew how empty his comforting words were, but seeing the child's sad appearance, he couldn't help but want to say something.

Wen Qiwu and Da Zhuang had a good relationship, and put his arms around his shoulders, as if they were good brothers, and assured Da Zhuang that he would help him find his father.The situation in the north is not good either. He is very anxious, worried and blames himself.

It is not convenient for them to cremate the corpse at this time, nor can they bring the corpse to find someone.He found a place to bury Xiao Wu with a heavy heart, and brought the bones back later.The next trip was even more dull and depressing, giving people a feeling of being out of breath.

At night, they found a random place, burned a pile of firewood, ate some dry food, and arranged for night watchmen to take turns to rest.Although the body was exhausted, everyone did not feel sleepy. When they closed their eyes, their minds were filled with the dead bodies.

Early the next morning, they continued to search along the water, but this day they found nothing but the bones of two villagers.

On the third day, the original hope became more and more elusive, and they almost despaired.

Just when they were almost desperate, they saw new hope.They saw Zhou's second child and Uncle Er Zhu at a hidden waterside.Although the two of them were wounded and embarrassed, they were at least alive.

"Father—" Da Zhuang, with red eyes, ran towards Uncle Erzhu in surprise, afraid that his father would disappear like in a dream in the blink of an eye.Knowing that he grabbed his father's warm hand, he burst into tears.The son hadn't cried since he was ten years old, and now he was crying so hard that Er Zhu was at a loss.

"Why are you here?" Zhou Laoer looked at this group of haggard villagers with surprise.

"What are you talking about, you little bastard? Can we not come if something happened to both of you?" Although the old man Zhou cursed verbally, he looked around his son for a long time, and he was relieved when he saw that he was fine. .I secretly thanked Mantian Gods and Buddhas in my heart.

Finally, there was something to be happy about, and Zhang Zirui breathed a sigh of relief.Thinking back on the life of these few days, it was really not human life, not only the physical fatigue, but the most important thing was the psychological torture.

"Uncle Er Zhu, have you seen my father?" Xiang Bei ran after Da Zhuang, looking at Er Zhu eagerly and longingly.

"Xiang Bei, your father is not with us." Er Zhu looked at Xiang Bei and spoke with some difficulty.Immediately, Xiang Bei's expectant face sank.

"Second brother, you are worried about us." Zhou Laosan circled around his second brother.

"That's right, the eldest brother is going to come out by himself." The eldest of their family is a town house, a pillar of support.Zhou Laosi also watched his second brother over and over.

"Okay, don't look, what can I do?" Zhou Lao Er patted Lao San on the head, telling him not to wander around. "We also rescued a few people in the village. I'll take you to have a look."

Hearing this news, those who watched their reunion enviously showed surprise on their faces.So they followed Zhou Laoer and Wang Erzhu all the way to a small mountain depression.There were a total of six or seven people here, all injured, sitting or lying in the shade.Among these people, the only one they were familiar with was Liu Zishu, but he was lying on the ground with a pale face.

"Father, did you bring anything to eat? We haven't eaten for several days." A group of them were injured and sick, and they had to hide from those cruel officials. In their current situation, they would be gone if they were arrested. survive.

"Bring it, bring it." Hearing what his son said, old man Zhou hurriedly called everyone to bring out dry food, and some of them came out to these few people.

Zhang Zirui, carrying the package on his back, came to Liu Zi, gave him his pulse, and then checked his whole body. "Ah Wu is here to help, Uncle Er Zhu, do you still have the medicine I gave you?"

"The ointments are all used up, and the powder has been washed away." If it weren't for those ointments, he doesn't know if he can persist until today.

Zhang Zirui stopped talking, and asked Wen Qiwu to find a few branches to fit Liuzi's broken bones, then tore off the hem of his clothes, fixed his broken legs with branches, and combed them with spiritual power.After taking care of Liu Zi's injury, he was already sweating profusely.He found a bottle of medicine from his bag and asked Wen Qiwu to give it to Liu Zi.