Chapter 161 All are filial sons
Qin Yao raised her eyebrows in amusement, "Sister-in-law, I'm just teasing you. I'll cook it myself later and ask Dalang to bring some to you when it's done."
He laughed angrily and raised her hand as if to hit her, but as soon as her hand was raised, Qin Yao easily dodged by turning her body to the side.
Mrs. Qiu was eating chestnuts. It was rare for her to see Mrs. He being so embarrassed, so she couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth.
"Alas~" Zhang shook her head helplessly. She was already an adult, but she was still making a fuss like a child.
The atmosphere in the yard was just right. A sound of hurried running was heard. Qin Yao's ears twitched and she tilted her head to look outside the door.
Erlang and Jinbao rushed in with anxious looks on their faces.
"Third Aunt, they, they." Jinbao ran so fast that he couldn't say a word in one breath.
Qin Yao's expression turned cold and she looked at Erlang.
Erlang took a deep breath to steady his breath, and said hurriedly: "They are back! And they pulled three mats!"
"Who?" Qin Yao was puzzled.
Jin Bao finally caught his breath and shouted, "All the men in the village are back!"
Hearing this, everyone in the courtyard was shocked.
Erlang repeated the three mats again and called Qin Yao to go and have a look, because he did not see his own Liu Ji among the people standing.
Zhang's expression changed instantly. Seeing that Qin Yao was still in a daze, she hurriedly urged: "Yao Niang, go and take a look."
Qin Yao ate the peeled sugar-roasted chestnuts in her palm in one bite and rushed out like the wind.
Dalang, who was closest to her, caught a glimpse of a smile that flashed across her face, and his heart suddenly tightened for no reason.
Erlang hurriedly grabbed his eldest brother and chased after Qin Yao, but she ran too fast and rushed to the village entrance in the blink of an eye.
Most of the villagers were on their way. Erlang and Jinbao happened to be playing in the wasteland near the waterwheel factory, and they were the first to notice the men returning.
All the people in the waterwheel factory followed over and gathered around the three rolled-up straw mats, reluctant to move forward.
There were 45 laborers when they left, and only 35 laborers and three straw mats when they returned. They first went from the border to Zijing Prefecture, and then met each other on the road and returned home together.
Among them, some people were grouped together with people from the same village and carried the other party's bodies back.
The female workers in the waterwheel factory were busy looking for their husbands, sons and brothers, and those who found them cried with joy.
Those who didn't find it stood in front of the three mats.
The corpse had been dead for a long time, and even though the weather was freezing, it had already changed and was emitting a strange smell.
No one dared to lift the straw mat. They were all waiting for the village chief and others to come.
Qin Yao was the first to rush to the straw mats. Amid the exclamations of the crowd, she lifted up the three mats without changing her expression.
Zhang and others who arrived later were so scared that they turned their backs.
Dalang also grabbed Erlang and the twins who had run back and held them behind him, blocking their view with his body.
The young boy then mustered up the courage to scan the festering faces of the three corpses one by one.
I didn't see any familiar faces, so I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
However, Qin Yao looked very disappointed when she lifted the mat.
Old man Liu, who came back from the fields, glanced at Qin Yao inadvertently, feeling very puzzled.
Why was she unhappy that the dead man was not the third brother?
Was she worried that the third brother would fall behind?
"Ah!" A desperate scream rang out. Someone recognized her man and was so grief-stricken that she almost fainted.
The three bodies were claimed one after another.
But the village chief, who didn't even recognize the body, felt very sad.
His grandson Liu Qi hasn't come back either. Was he delayed on the way, or did he have an accident and can't even return to his hometown?
He didn't dare to think too much. Seeing the equally disappointed Liu Laohan and his family, he walked up to Qin Yao and asked,
"There are still seven people who haven't returned. My Liu Qi hasn't come back either. I want to go to the county town to ask around. Do you want to come with me?"
He knew a few people in the yamen, and if any civilian died, the list of names would be sent over.
If Liu Qi and Liu Ji's names are not on the list, it means they may still be on their way back.
Old Man Liu and Zhang looked at Qin Yao at the same time. Zhang patted her shoulder and whispered, "Go ahead. We will take care of Dalang and the other two in the old house. You can go there with peace of mind."
Seeing that the third brother's family was getting better and better, and Qin Yao was capable and generous, and got along well with her sisters-in-law, everyone really couldn't bear to see her become a widow at such a young age.
Qin Yao looked at the three bodies again. They didn't look like Liu Ji at all. She thought to herself, why isn't there a useless person like Liu Ji among the dead?
"Go ahead. I'll go get the horse." Qin Yao nodded. It would be better to go to the government office to take a look at the list.
When Qin Yao went home to get the horse, Dalang followed with his younger brothers and sisters, and the four brothers and sisters looked at her eagerly.
Si Niang was rarely sad, "Mother, why are the villagers dying?"
A'niang had said before that the civilians were only going to help deliver food to the soldiers at the border. Once the food was delivered, they would return, perhaps in time for the New Year.
How come someone's father died?
Qin Yao paused, looked back at the four little ones behind her, waved, and Si Niang trotted over to her, looking up at her in confusion.
Qin Yao said softly: "The road is not easy to walk on. Maybe he fell accidentally, or he got sick."
These words could only fool a child like Si Niang. Da Lang and Er Lang lowered their eyes with mixed feelings.
After all, that man was their biological father. They hated him, but they never thought of letting him die in that distant border.
But no one can be blamed for all this, only their father's own fault.
Erlang clenched his fists. If his father really couldn't come back, he would buy a lot of paper money to burn for him next year!
It is said that the little ghosts in the King of Hell's Palace also treat people differently based on their appearance. He should burn more paper money for his father so that he can bribe the Ox-Head and Horse-Face Demons and be reborn into a good family in the next life instead of being a scoundrel.
Dalang seemed to understand his brother's thoughts, and whispered to Erlang through gritted teeth: "You are so filial."
Erlang growled angrily, "He cheated us out of all the hard-earned money!"
Fortunately, he still remembered to burn paper money for his father. He has done the most kind thing.
Sanlang looked at his two brothers in confusion, then at his sister who seemed to be worried about something. He walked to the stable a little embarrassedly and said in a low voice:
"Mother, I want to eat candied haws."
Dalang stared, another filial son!
Qin Yao's originally depressed mood suddenly turned from cloudy to sunny. She smiled and nodded, "Okay."
Then he asked the remaining three, "Do you want it?"
Dalang thought of the sweet and sour candied haws and swallowed hard, "Well, then I'll take it."
We can't let Aunt Yao go to the city for nothing.
Qin Yao told the four people to stay in the old house and wait for her to come back, then she mounted her horse and galloped towards the village entrance.
The village chief had already summoned the other five households, and each household sent a representative. They boarded the village chief's ox cart and headed to the county town with heavy hearts.