Chapter 261: Big Maple Village
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Hey!” Gu Yu agreed happily. She saw a gray-haired man walking out of the house into the courtyard. He waved his hand and shouted, “Uncle, I’m back!”
Gu Yu’s uncle stood in the courtyard, not believing his ears. He looked at Gu Yu, who was getting closer and closer, slapped his legs, and shouted, “Dad, Mom, come and take a look! Girl Yu is back!”
Before he could finish his sentence, he had already run to the wooden door and opened it. There was a smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with tears. “Yu! You’re back! ”
“I’m back. Uncle, why is your hair white?”
Gu Yu went forward and held his hand, looking at his gray hair worriedly. Seeing her uncle looking behind her, she hurriedly turned around and pointed at Li Yu. “Uncle, this is my Madam. My Madam came back with me.”
Uncle Gu bowed to Li Yu. “Thank you, Madam. We thought we would never see
Xiaoyu again.”
At this moment, a few people ran out of the house. Gu Yu ran in and knelt in front of an old couple, crying, “Grandpa, Grandma, I’m back.”
Gu Yu’s grandmother pulled Gu Yu up and hugged her as she cried. Uncle Gu ran in and said to the old man, “Dad, Mom, it’s dark outside. Gu Yu’s main family is still outside!”
Everyone ran out of the courtyard again. Gu Yu wiped her tears and pulled Old Madam Gu to Li Yu and Ji Xiang. “Grandma, this is my Madam. Madam came to our village to take a look. This is Little Brother Ji Xiang.”
The two elders of the Gu family hurriedly bowed again. Gu Yu pointed at the horse. “Grandpa, Grandma, look. Madam even brought food and meat for you to distribute to the old and weak families in the village.”
Everyone’s eyes widened when they saw the few sacks of food on the back of the horse and a huge pile of pork.
Gu Yu’s cousin swallowed and sighed. “Wow! How can we finish so much
meat?”
Uncle Gu patted him and said, “Little greedy boy, Madam said this is for your grandfather to distribute to the weak in the village.”
“Thank you, Madam. I didn’t expect you to spend so much money.” Old Master
Gu and Old Madam Gu bowed to Li Yu gratefully and instructed Uncle Gu, “Quickly bring the horses to the courtyard and feed them with the grass we cut today.”
Seeing their helpless expressions, Li Yu smiled and waved her hand. “Old man, don’t trouble yourself. I just wanted to take a walk.”
Everyone greeted each other politely and entered the courtyard. Ji Xiang and Gu Yu’s two cousins moved the food and meat into the central room. Gu Yu took out some meat and pickled vegetables and started to cook. Gu Yu’s aunt brought hot water and said to Li Yu cautiously, “Madam, please wash your face.”
Li Yu looked reserved and said gently, “Sister-in-law, sorry to trouble you.”
Madam He blushed. “Madam, you’re too polite. What trouble is there? You brought our Xiaoyu back to take a look so that her grandfather and uncle can rest assured! I’ll have to trouble you to take care of my Xiaoyu in the future!”
When Li Yu saw Madam He’s loving gaze as she talked about Gu Yu, she knew that this woman was sincere. Although this family was poor, there was a deep kinship within the family. Under the dim oil lamp, Li Yu realized that the Gu family could be said to be poor. There was an old wooden table in the kitchen and a few wooden stools. She didn’t see any other furniture.
Li Yu picked up a vegetable and started picking. She asked Madam He, who was also picking vegetables, “Sister-in-law, I heard from Gu Yu that your family sold the only two acres of land to pay for her father’s treatment, but I saw that the terrain here is quite flat. Why does your family only have two acres?
Madam He sighed and said, “Madam, you don’t know this, but I heard from the child’s father that there are ten or so acres of fertile land in our village, but those lands belong to the Wang family. The rest are sand, gravel, and sloping lands. No one can afford to raise livestock without fertilizers. Even if those lands are developed, there won’t be any crops.”
Li Yu asked curiously, “The Wang family? Is it the Wang family in Yunzhou
Madam He shook her head and felt a little strange. These rich ladies didn’t know how to farm, so what was the use of asking these questions? She still replied honestly, “I don’t know. I only know that it’s from the Wang family. My family plowed 20 acres of farmland for the Wang family and split it 30-70. The Wang family gets 70% and we get 30%. The taxes are also paid by the Wang family. If the heavens reward us with rice and wild vegetables, we can still eat. If the heavens don’t reward us with food, many families can only go to the mountain to scavenge for food. The ferocious beasts on the mountain will kill one at a young age like Second Uncle if they’re not careful.”
“Oh! Do those slopes and sandstones also belong to the Wang family?”
“No, those are wastelands that no one planted.”
At this moment, Gu Yu finished cooking and brought it to the table to treat Li
Yu and Ji Xiang to a meal. Li Yu asked the Gu family to eat together. Old Master
Gu said politely, “Madam, we’ve only eaten a while ago. Hurry up and eat.”
Li Yu saw Gu Yu’s cousin looking at the pickled vegetable stew and swallowing his saliva. She said to Gu Yu, “How can the three of us eat so much? Scoop it up and let your grandparents eat it too.”
Gu Yu shook her head and said, “Madam, they won’t eat it even if we send it over. Besides, there’s more in the kitchen!”
After dinner, Ji Xiang whispered to Li Yu, “Madam, I didn’t expect them to be so poor. Life in West Mountain Village was better than here.”
“The good farmland in the village has been occupied by the big clans. They don’t have any land themselves and rely on the land ot the Wang family to farm. The land is rented 30-70%. Even if they don’t pay taxes, there won’t be much food left in a year. If there’s a day of illness, you can imagine how bad it would be.”
Ji Xiang came to a realization. “No wonder Gu Yu’s cousin is so small at 13 years old. But the rent is too high! In our case, we offer a 50-50 split for our land, and we still have to pay taxes. The tenants are also living a tight life.”
Gu Yu laid out the blanket and said to Li Yu and Ji Xiang in embarrassment,
“Madam, can I sleep with you tonight?”
Li Yu nodded. Ji Xiang looked at her and said, “What about me?” Gu Yu pointed at her cousin and said, “Brother Ji Xiang, you and my cousin are in the same room.”
They washed up and went to sleep separately. The next morning, when Li Yu woke up, she saw Old Master Gu sending meat back. Behind him were more than ten old men who said that they were here to thank Li Yu. Everyone exchanged pleasantries. After Gu Yu set up the dishes and ate, Uncle Gu and Aunt Gu led Li Yu and the others out to the fields. There was a group of villagers behind them.
Uncle Gu pointed at the flat ground and said, “This area belongs to the Wang family. I’ve sold my only two acres to them.”
Li Yu pointed at the land beside the mountain stream and said, “Let’s go over there and take a look.”
When they walked over, Li Yu realized that there was indeed more sandstone over there, but the desolate slope was not bad. It was just like the small hill in
Old Hu’s village. Li Yu took a hoe and dug a few places to take a look. She said to Uncle Gu, “Where does the water from that mountain stream come from?
Uncle Gu pointed at a mountain in front of them. “There’s a hole there. The water comes from there. The water is even heavier during the rainy season.”
With water, they could open terraces. Li Yu said to Uncle Gu, “When I was in Tongzhou, there was a Hu Village. Their fertile fields were destroyed by the flash flood. In the end, they opened terraces on such small hills and planted wheat and rice in alternate seasons. The harvest was not bad..”
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