Ordinary happy life

Chapter 122 Sadness

"Is there really nothing the village chief can do? There is only one boy in my family. What will happen to our family if he goes?" A man and a boy in the family both agreed to the conditions, kneeling on the ground and facing Li the village chief begged.

Seeing this, everyone knelt on the ground and begged Village Chief Li, "Village Chief, we beg you to help us find a way." When Village Chief

Li saw everyone kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, he felt guilty and uncomfortable, and finally he sighed heavily. He sighed and said, "What can I do? Don't forget that there are four boys in my family who meet the age requirements."

Everyone then remembered that Village Chief Li's family also had men who met the requirements. They did not want their children to die. , Village Chief Li definitely doesn't want to, and he would also like to avoid conscription if possible.

The villagers were completely desperate. They helped each other get up from the ground, and then went home. They have to go back and think of ways to see if they can get some money. If they can't, who will be asked to serve as soldiers. Today will be a sleepless night, I believe no one in the village will be able to sleep.

"Father, how are you doing there?" Zhang Dayong asked Lin Han after the villagers left.

Lin Han pondered for a while and then said, "After Brother Qin said it before, I counted the savings at home, which is about 20 taels. I must leave some for just in case and for household expenses. Dayong, can you lend me some?" I will find a way to pay back the ten taels of silver as soon as possible." "

As I said, father, just take it first and pay it back when you have money. I will go home and take the money and give it to you later." Zhang Dayong said.

Lin Han nodded heavily. Borrowing money from his son-in-law was a big blow to the macho Lin Han.

Only then did Lin Dazhu and Lin Erzhu understand why Lin Qin mentioned that there was a battle on the border last time, but they didn't hear it at all. Their experience was still too little.

"Uncle Li, what's the difference between your family and me? I still have money here." After the Lin family had no problem, Zhang Dayong found Village Chief Li.

Zhang Dayong did not have the ability to help the entire village, but he could still protect the people close to him.

Village Chief Li was not polite to Zhang Dayong and said, "Don't worry, I can still get the thirty taels of silver. It's just that I'm going to have a hard time. I'll just wait until the autumn harvest."

Village Chief Li added four Both boys are willing to endure hardships. In addition to going to the fields on weekdays, they also go to the town to find part-time jobs. In addition, the family has not yet been divided, and the money earned by everyone must be handed over to Mr. Li for safekeeping. Mr. Li is also frugal, so he still saves a lot of money.

Originally, Village Chief Li and Mr. Li wanted to divide their houses when they had saved forty taels of silver, and then give each household ten taels of silver without any bias. Who knew that something like this would happen, and everything would have to be done. Fortunately, the family is still neat and tidy.

Although the decision to buy a place for Yinzi had been made, after returning home, Village Chief Li still held a family meeting, which both his son and daughter-in-law could attend.

The daughters-in-law complained when they heard that Village Chief Li wanted to buy their family's military recruitment quota for thirty taels. It was only thirty taels that the head of the family had worked hard to save for a long time. But they didn't dare to let them speak and say that they should not buy them with money. First of all, they knew that if they spoke out, they would be reprimanded by Village Chief Li or even disappointed by their own boss. Secondly, what if they tell the truth and Village Chief Li pushes their leader out to serve as a soldier? Then they will become widows.

Village Chief Li could see the confusion and hesitation on the faces of the daughters-in-law. He could also guess some of their thoughts, but he didn't say a word. It's normal for daughters-in-law to have petty thoughts. A person will have petty thoughts, even his four sons, as long as everyone can deal with it openly.

As for Zhang Dayong, in addition to the silver, he also brought a few pheasants home, and then he took Lin Qin and Xiaodouzi to Lin's house.

"Father, here are ten taels of silver, please accept them, and these pheasants as well. This military conscription has used up all the family's savings. These chickens should be sold or kept for the family to replenish their health." They are all good." Zhang Dayong said.

Lin Han took the ten taels of silver and put them away, and then said, "I will accept this silver. We will find a way to make money to pay it back as soon as possible. As for the chicken, forget about it. You can take it back and sell it yourself." "

My father is right. , Dayong, you have already helped us a lot in this recruitment, forget about this chicken, you can take it back and eat it yourself." Lin Dazhu also refused.

"That's right." Lin Erzhu agreed.

Lin Qintai knew what Lin Han's weakness was, so he said, "Father, if you don't think about yourself, you should also think about Huzi and Zaizai. Although Zaizai can't drink broth yet, Huzi can already drink it." "The family has no money and will not be able to buy meat for a while. How nutritious can vegetable soup alone be? You don't want your chubby grandson to become skinny." I have to say

Lin Qin Lin Han's weakness was grasped to death. Lin Han could not care about himself or even his two sons, but he could not care about his eldest grandson. Lin Han glanced at the plump grandson in Bai Xiuniang's arms. Lin Han felt heartbroken when he thought about how skinny he had become.

"Okay, I'll accept this chicken, but you guys don't want to give it away anymore. We can't let others say that we marry a little brother and take care of his father-in-law's family." Lin Han said in a deep voice.

Lin Han had already mentioned this, so Zhang Dayong naturally had no choice but to agree. As for whether he would do it, only he knew.

The imperial court wants to recruit soldiers, which has plunged many families into sadness and entanglement. But no matter how sad and entangled everyone is, the decision must be made.

Some families who favor the eldest or youngest child will simply push the other person out. The more conscientious ones will be given a few taels of silver and some solid food will be cooked for them. The unconscionable ones will be given nothing. Of course, such elders are rarely very good. few. No matter what, it's just a piece of flesh that has fallen from one's own body. No matter how biased one is, it is impossible to watch the other person die without being indifferent.

Some families choose to draw lots to make their decision. It is the fairest, but everything depends on God's will. Whoever is drawn will be the one.

This night, the villagers who usually wanted to rest as soon as it got dark no longer felt sorry for the lamp oil. They were either worrying about who should be a soldier, or holding on to their children who were going to be soldiers, crying and exhorting them.

There are also families who choose to use money to buy a quota, but they are relatively few. After all, there are very few people in the countryside who can afford thirty taels at a time. Among them, Wang Dafu, a wealthy man, chose to spend 30 taels to buy a quota. He had two boys in his family who were both his favorites. If he pushed one of them to join the army, it would cost him his life.

In addition to Wang Dafu, there are also butchers and carpenters in the village. Since they are all craftsmen, they have saved some money. Although it is a bit short, they can still borrow some from acquaintances.

The lights in Zhuangyuan Village stayed on all night. The next day, both those who offered money and those who offered people, even Zhang Dayong, who was not affected, got up early and went to the entrance of the village.

When Zhang Dayong and Lin Qin arrived with Xiaodouzi, they saw many husbands or women crying there. There were also many middle-aged and young people carrying packages standing at the entrance of the village. These were all family members. Looking at those familiar and unfamiliar faces, both Zhang Dayong and Lin Qin couldn't help but blush at the thought of never seeing them again.

Lin Qin suddenly found that Brother Yi and his men were supporting a woman who was about to cry until she fainted, thinking that she must be his mother-in-law. Looking at the sad look of Yi Gezi's mother-in-law, she knew that the person in their family must be Yi Gezi's father-in-law. Lin Qin sighed. It was useless to say anything in the past at this time. It would be better to wait a few days and talk to Brother Yi to see if there is anything that needs his help. If he can help, it will be a big deal.

Just after dawn, the two officials who came to inform yesterday came with several other officials, each holding a knife in their hands, obviously to prevent someone from not cooperating and causing trouble.

The leading official took out a book from his arms, which recorded all the eligible families in the surrounding villages. I saw him turning the book to the page of Zhuangyuan Village, and then began to give the name of the head of the family, asking whether the person was the person or the money, if so, who was the person, name, age, etc.

After recording the information, the expropriated people will stand behind the officials. As the number of people behind the officials increases, whether they are good friends or bad friends, they will have heavy hearts and sad faces.

When Lin Han's name was called, even though he knew that Lin Han had prepared the money, Lin Qin couldn't help but become nervous. He subconsciously tightened Zhang Dayong's arms and legs and stood up slightly to look in Lin Han's direction.

"It won't be a problem." Zhang Dayong felt Lin Qin's worry and nervousness and patted his arm to reassure him.

There was indeed no problem. After being called, Lin Han walked up to the officer and took out a small cloth bag from his arms and handed it to one of the officers, saying, "Master, we will pay for it."

The officer took the bag without any nonsense. He opened it to confirm that the amount of silver was correct, then put the cloth bag away and nodded to the leading officer to indicate that it was okay. The leading official wrote the word "money" directly after Lin Han's name on the book, indicating that Lin Han's family bought the quota with money.

Seeing that Lin Han actually bought the quota, the villagers with children in the family looked at him with envy and jealousy.

The roll call continued, and soon Wang Dafu's family and Village Chief Li's family were called. Naturally, the two families also bought their places with money. The villagers were not surprised that these two families used money to buy quotas. After all, these two families were wealthy households in the village. If they couldn't come up with the money to buy quotas, who could?

When they saw that the butchers and carpenters also used money to buy places, the villagers regretted why they had not learned a trade before, and they would not want to become soldiers now.

When the last expropriated villager stood behind the official, the leading official put away the book and counted the number of people. After confirming that there was no problem, he took the villagers to the next village.

Even though they were mentally prepared, the villagers couldn't help but burst into tears as they watched their loved ones embark on a lifeless road. Some of the weaker ones even fainted from crying, and the scene suddenly became chaotic. Unbearable.

The villagers who were taken away couldn't help but shed tears silently when they heard the wailing sounds coming from behind. Whether they came voluntarily or by force, there was no complaint in their hearts at this time. If possible, no one wants this to happen. No father or father is willing to send his child to the battlefield.