Chapter 412: Kushui Village

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation | Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

On the nineteenth day of the second month of the year Zhao Qian, for the people of Kushui Village, Mingnan Town, Kuhe County, it was a day that could be recorded in history.

For the country of Great Yong, it was also a day that would go down in history.

It was almost noon that day when a man and a woman, a son, and a daughter too, slowly walked into the village. The man was very tall and carried a very large burden on his back. A child so beautiful that looked like he was carved out of jade was strapped on the man’s chest with a small basket tied to his tiny back.

The woman looked gentle and sweet. Her eyes and brows were firm and calm.

The basket on her back looked very light.

The girl next to her was also carrying a small basket on her back.

Han Qiao exhaled softly, “Kushui Village is just ahead.”

Heng Yi nodded.

Despite being strapped to his chest, Ah-Yao danced excitedly, “We’re here!

We’re here!”

For a one-year-old, that child was very smart.

His large black eyes slowly observed the place. The mountains were covered by snow as far as the eye could see.

The small village was covered in snow and looked very small.

Then the child said, “It sucks. So poor.”

“Father, let’s go back. There is no food here.”

Heng Yi said nothing.

Han Qiao laughed, “From the moment we get off the carriage, we can’t go

back.”

“…” Ah-Yao’s immediately crumbled.

Zeng Qin’er hurriedly took out a jar and fed him a mint candy.

“Big Sister is so nice. Big Sister should also eat.” Ah-Yao instantly beamed again.

Zeng Qin’er smiled but didn’t eat.

She still had a few cans in her basket. She also knew that she would only be able to return after a year, so she had to eat them sparingly.

If she ate it, Ah-Yao wouldn’t have any left to eat.

No one could mistreat Ah-Yao. She had been entrusted by many people to take good care of him.

She would protect him with her life.

Han Qiao patted Zeng Qin’er’s head, “Why isn’t Qin’er eating?

Everyone knew that their trip to Kushui Village wouldn’t be easy, but Zeng Qin’er still followed them without hesitation.

“I don’t really want to eat it yet, Mada- Mother!” Zeng Qin’er called out sweetly to her.

In order to come to Kushui Village, they had learned the local dialect here in advance.

It was a little awkward, but they could understand everything.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Their shoes were already wet, and they were hungry and thirsty.

It was said that it was easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it was difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. They had been living a very good life in the past few years, and under the huge difference, they were a little anxious.

But for Heng Yi to become Crazy Yang’s, the old man, disciple, they had to grit their teeth no matter how hard it was.

More than a month had passed since the one-year deadline.

There were a total of ninety-three households in Kushui Village. Every household had mud walls and thatched huts. Even the village chief’s family did not live in a green brick house.

The houses were not far from each other and were very close by. Fortunately, the families here all had courtyards.

When they arrived at the first house, Han Qiao went up to knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Who’s there?” A woman’s voice rang out.

Soon, the door was opened.

The woman looked at the family of four in front of her.

The man was tall and handsome, the woman was gentle and elegant, the boy wearing a tiger hat was beautiful like his face was carved with jade, and the girl beside him was charismatic and imposing.

“You are?”

“Sister-in-law, can I ask for some hot water, and borrow your kitchen to cook some lunch?” Han Qiao asked warmly.

She spoke in Kuhe dialect.

Although it wasn’t smooth, it was understandable.

“Wait a moment, I’ll go ask.” The woman closed the door.

She went to look for her in-laws.

Soon, the door was opened again.

A wizened old man with white hair and a haggard face opened the door.

The old man looked at the family of four in front of him.

The four of them look very good. Most importantly, their clothes were made of ordinary cloth, but they looked fluffy. It was obvious that they were made of new cotton inside.

They did not have any accessories on them, but their eyes were bright, without the slightest hint of distress.

They also brought her children along and spoke in a dialect that they were not very fluent…

They sound like a foreigner who learned the dialect from reading in a library.

Such people were either out here to escape or to avoid disaster.

No matter what kind of person they were, it was better not to befriend them. “I’m very sorry. We’re cooking at home, there’s no empty pot that you can use.” “It’s okay. Sorry for disturbing you,” Han Qiao said.

After bidding farewell, she took Zeng Qin’er and Heng Yi to the next house to knock on the door.

After knocking on more than a dozen houses, almost the entire Kushui village knew that a family of four had come to the village. They knocked on every house, wanting to use the pot to cook some food.

In fact, everyone knew that they were probably looking for a place to stay.

A meal might be okay, but if this family of four wanted to stay for a long time…

None of them could afford it.

Moreover, they were also afraid that this family of four had come to avoid trouble. They were people with enemies. If they brought trouble upon their family…

Therefore, none of them could afford to take any chances. Nobody dared to.

“There are only a few left.” Han Qiao said.

She took a deep breath.

Ah-Yao’s initial joy and anticipation had now turned into dejection. He still didn’t understand why these people didn’t take them in. Han Qiao knocked on three more doors and was still rejected. From village to village, they all rejected them.

No one even asked where they came from, where they were going, or whether they had food to sustain themselves.

All of them directly rejected the family and closed their doors.

“There are two more. If no one allows us to stay, we can only build a shelter or find a cave to sleep for the night,” Han Qiao said.

And just as Han Qiao predicted, no one was willing to take them in.

When the old lady of the last house was about to close the door, Han Qiao hurriedly asked, “Auntie, is there a cave nearby?”

The old woman hesitated for a moment, then pointed in a certain direction, “There is a cave there, but the road into the mountain has been covered by heavy snow. It’s impossible to go there. Moreover, that place is on the edge of a cliff. It’s very dangerous.”

Han Qiao and Heng Yi looked at the direction the woman pointed.

The location was halfway up the mountain. They couldn’t go that way.

They were bringing children along, and both Heng Yi and Han Qiao couldn t take the risk.

At most, they would chop wood at the foot of the mountain to build a shed. They had brought a hatchet and a black oilcloth anyway.

Han Qiao was also afraid that it would rain and they would have nowhere to stay.

“Auntie, are there any collapsed or uninhabited houses nearby? We really can’t walk anymore. We want to find a place to settle down first,”

The old woman looked at Han Qiao’s family of four and pointed towards the valley. “Another family is living there, but…”

The old woman hesitated.

Han Qiao asked Zeng Qin’er to give a few mint candies for her, “Auntie, what’s wrong with that family?”

The old woman had never seen such exquisite candy before.

She hurriedly reached out to take it, but she couldn’t bear to eat it herself. Then, she said, “There was an old lady in our village who lived in that mountain valley. She had a hard life. Her father sold her to be a maid in her early years. She finally redeemed herself and got married.” “Her husband died and she was kicked out by her in-laws. She didn’t know that she had a child in her womb, so she came back to our Kushui Village to settle down. She raised her son with great difficulty and had a granddaughter after her son got married. She didn’t know that her son and daughter-in-law would encounter ferocious beasts when they went into the mountains to chop some wood. They didn’t even find their bones.”

“She also worked hard to raise her granddaughter and got herself a son-in-law after those few years. Who could’ve predicted that her grandson-in-law would be struck by lightning while trying to run away with all their belongings? Her granddaughter went to chase after him and drowned in the river, leaving behind her great-grandson who was only one month old.. These few years have been really hard on her…”