Chapter 1976

Was this praising him, or scolding him?

At this moment, should he correct the old farmer, that he was the real second young master of the Gao family, Gao Changwen?

The others couldn't help but laugh, looking at Gao Changwen with teasing eyes.

This identity, he couldn't admit it!

Gao Changwen's face turned bright red, and he hurriedly changed the subject, "Old man, listening to you and my eldest brother, this auspicious snow doesn't necessarily mean it's good?"

The old farmer looked at Gao Changwen, hearing the word "eldest brother," and was secretly shocked in his heart.

Could it be that the Duke of Dingguo's residence had a third son?

An illegitimate child?

But this matter was certainly not something he could inquire about.

The old farmer returned to the main topic and said with a bitter smile, "Noble person, it depends on how you interpret it. Winter snow can protect winter crops, and after it melts, it can store water, improve the soil, and freeze pests. Often, once winter snow falls, it means a bountiful harvest for the crops next year."

"For our Da Qian, for the powerful and wealthy in Changancheng and the county towns who burn charcoal, wear cotton clothes, and cover themselves with thick quilts, this is naturally a good thing."

"But for us grass-roots people who don't have warm clothes, don't live in sturdy houses, and scratch for food in the cold wind like wild dogs? The colder it gets, the more people die!"

"Just like this year, it started getting cold so early. If heavy snow falls again, let alone the refugees not surviving, even this old man might not be able to hold on."

"This old man isn't saying auspicious snow isn't good, but once the weather gets cold, it really costs lives! But if it doesn't snow, next year's harvest will fail, and we won't be able to pay the rent or the usurious interest to the landlord. That life is also worse than death!"

"How many manors in the world are like ours, like the old Duke, where you only need to return the original amount of grain borrowed, without adding that man-eating interest?"

As the old farmer spoke, he stretched out a pair of withered hands and placed them beside the fire, absorbing its warmth. His face, crisscrossed with furrows, reflected a kind of desolation and numbness that saw through life and death amidst the crackling of the dry wood.

The atmosphere became heavy unexpectedly.

The last trace of a smile on Chu Qingluan and Shangguan Wan'er's faces dissipated, leaving only solemnity and compassion.

What the old farmer said was the heavy reality.

Gao Changwen also fell silent.

This was also something he had never thought of. He had thought that the so-called auspicious snow heralding a year of abundance was a good thing for everyone.

After all, it was called auspicious snow...

But in the old farmer's words, that "auspicious snow" praised by ten thousand people was, to another group of people, a death warrant!

Just then.

The old farmer bared a mouth of yellow teeth and looked at Gao Changwen, saying, "Noble person, excuse my rudeness. This dry wood might be insignificant in your eyes, even easily obtained, but in the eyes of people like me, it is precious."

"Winter is too cold, and it's easy to catch a cold. If the powerful in the county get sick, they can just get medicine and rest, but for people like me, it's a disaster."

"The harvest in a year isn't much, and sometimes it's hard to feed the family, and we even have to borrow money. Where would we get the money to see a doctor? We can only endure it!"

"Even if there is a little surplus, one coin has to be split in two. If we spend one more coin on medical treatment, we have one less coin for firewood and rice."

"So, for minor illnesses, we don't treat them, we just endure. For major illnesses, we can't treat them, we just wait for death."

When the old farmer said this, his face was full of openness.

This naked, bloody survival rule, like the coldest autumn wind, instantly swept across the riverbank.

For a moment, except for the crackling of the fire and the wailing autumn wind, there was instant silence.

"Minor illnesses don't need treatment, major illnesses wait for death?"

Gao Changwen seemed to forget to breathe, feeling a chill rushing from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

"If you noble people don't mind this old man being noisy, let me... tell you a story? It happened on this land, about... ten years ago?" The old farmer said tentatively, his face full of vicissitudes.

"Please tell us, old man."

The old farmer's gaze turned toward the gray mountains in the distance, falling into deep memory.

"That year... it was also like this year, the autumn chill came especially early and especially fiercely. The cold wind was like a knife, scraping people's faces until they hurt. Noble people might not be able to imagine, for families like ours, a tattered cotton jacket is worn by the father, then the son, then the grandson. The cotton inside had long ago become hard like an iron plate, heavy and cold, unable to hold any warmth."

Gao Yang's expression was complex, and he chanted in a low voice, "The cloth quilt has been cold like iron for many years, the spoiled child sleeps poorly and kicks it until it tears!"

The old farmer's eyes lit up, and he said repeatedly, "Yes! Yes! Young Master Changwen is right, that's exactly how it is!"

"But my family was too poor. Besides a cotton quilt on the bed, underneath was spread with straw, and a bundle was tied with straw."

"This old man had a close friend named Wang Laosan."

"His wife died of a major illness not long after giving birth to their daughter, leaving only him and his daughter, father and daughter depending on each other."

"That winter, it was too cold."

"As soon as the imperial court allowed logging, the villagers rushed in, but the forest was too precious. Some were for repairing the palace, some for burning charcoal to sell, so everyone could chop at most two or three bundles. Once the order to seal the mountains was given again, except for the mountains of the nobles in the city, almost everything that could be chopped was chopped. Even branches couldn't be picked up much, so we could only pick up some withered grass and leaves."

"Every little bit helps, right?"

The old farmer said with self-deprecation, as if he had returned to that desperate winter.

"Wang Laosan's family had some wheat stalks, which were left over after the autumn harvest. Even though they didn't burn well one by one, they were treasures and had to be stored carefully. After all, we had to cook all winter, and sometimes it was too cold, so we had to burn some for warmth."

"That year was too cold. Even if we stuffed our clothes with straw and huddled in the house, we still couldn't stand the cold. Besides wheat stalks, Wang Laosan's family had some stored branches. He wanted to burn a fire to roast, but then he thought, it's just the beginning of winter, if I burn this, what will I do later?"

"Grin and bear it, just endure it, it will pass, suffering will eventually pass."

"But heaven didn't follow his wishes. Dozens of days passed, and the weather didn't get warm at all, but instead got colder and colder. Wang Laosan was too poor. The little silver he had left was used to buy rice, and he had no money to buy firewood. It wasn't even enough for cooking, let alone burning for warmth. Worst of all, his daughter was coughing from the cold, her little face blue and purple."

"That day, he heard someone say that a wealthy merchant in the county was looking for a concubine. Wang Laosan gritted his teeth and took his daughter to the county."

"But when he saw the wealthy merchant, he was stunned, because the merchant was already sixty or seventy years old; in terms of age, he could be his daughter's grandfather."

"Wang Laosan hesitated. Isn't this pushing his daughter into a fire pit? Before his wife died, she had grabbed his hand with her bloody hand, telling him to take good care of their daughter even if it cost him his life. If he gave his daughter to this old man as a concubine, what face would he have to see his late wife after he died?"

"He looked up and was about to refuse."

"The old man wasn't angry, just calmly had someone bring over a small bag of rice, two large bundles of dry firewood, and two taels of silver."

"Wang Laosan's words of refusal seemed to be stuck in his throat."

"Wang Laosan's daughter was full of fear, her little face pale, feeling that the old man's eyes were as terrifying as a tiger or wolf. She took a few steps back, grabbing Wang Laosan's sleeve, full of pleading, shouting "Daddy" to Wang Laosan, "Daddy", "Let's go home", "I will definitely work hard to pick up branches during the day"."

Gao Changwen's blood surged as he listened, and he couldn't hold it anymore.

He raised his voice, looking straight at the old farmer, and asked impatiently, "What did Wang Laosan choose? Did he really, for these two bundles of firewood, a small bag of rice, and a mere two taels of silver, disregard his late wife's dying wish and sell his daughter to that old man as a concubine?" ===== CHAPTER 1978 =====