Chapter 95 - 96: Choice
Looking at He Tuliang, now completely bruised and slumped on the ground, Li Cuicui finally pulled Gu Yuanfeng aside. "Are you still insisting on not leaving his family?"
Gu Yuanfeng looked at He Tuping, who was being restrained by her two brothers. Realizing he had wanted to go help his older brother, her heart turned cold.
"Mother, I want a divorce."
"Are you sure?" Li Cuicui stared intently at her. This daughter of hers was always changing her mind. She was getting wary of these whims.
He Tuping was the first to be frightened. "Yuan Feng, what are you saying?"
Mrs. He Zhou ran over to help He Tuliang up, her face filled with heartache as she looked at his injuries. "Second Son, go find the Clan Leader and get a letter of divorce right now! We can’t afford to have a daughter-in-law who has no respect for her elders."
"Whatever you have to say, wait until we’ve stopped for the day. You’re blocking the road like this, holding everyone up, aren’t you?" Liang Mugen didn’t think much of the He Family brothers either, but the group ahead had already gone far, and this was no place to discuss such matters.
"Where are you going to find a brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone to write a divorce letter now? Hurry up and get out of the way."
The other refugees also started to jeer. What did it matter to them whether the couple got divorced or not?
Jin Qianqian quietly went over and helped He Chuncao take off the bundle she was carrying. Seeing the red marks chafed into her shoulders, Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but feel her heart soften.
She helped He Chuncao by blowing on her shoulders. "You poor child, why are you so docile?"
Li Cuicui also hugged her with a pained heart. "How can you be such a cruel mother? When you were little, I never once treated you like this. Don’t you know how old Chuncao is? This bundle is several times heavier than what an old beggar woman would carry. Aren’t you afraid of crushing the child?"
"I... I had no choice," Gu Yuanfeng said, pointing at the two large baskets she had been carrying. "I was carrying a lot too. Who knew they could be so cruel? To just watch me and my daughter struggle like this and enjoy themselves as if it’s their right. They truly have black hearts."
Jin Qianqian curled her lip. "And isn’t that because you’re a useless mother? Your own family is right here with you, yet you still let them abuse you. It’s one thing for you to suffer, but what right do you have to drag your child into it?"
’I used to think she was just ignorant, cowardly, and someone who only dared to throw her weight around with her own family. I never thought she was just endlessly stupid. They say a mother’s love makes her strong, but you can’t find a trace of that in this woman.’
"What right do you have to say that about me? The only reason you have such a good life is because my mother was easygoing and let you all split from the main family to be your own masters! You don’t have to serve parents-in-law or deal with sisters-in-law. How could you possibly understand my suffering?"
Ancient Wen Heng shouldered his belongings and pulled Jin Qianqian back with one hand. "Why waste so many words on her? She’s incorrigible."
"Mother, look at Seventh and his wife." Gu Yuanfeng pointed at Ancient Wen Heng’s and Jin Qianqian’s retreating backs and immediately started to complain.
Li Cuicui turned and walked away as well, not forgetting to take her granddaughter with her. "When you’ve figured out what you really want, you can come find us. I’m taking Chuncao with me for now, to save her from suffering with a mother like you."
Gu Yuanfeng was speechless.
When they arrived at the next resting place, Gu Yuanfeng came over with He Tuping to take He Chuncao back.
Seeing the couple acting as if nothing had happened, the members of the Gu Family all felt a sense of suppressed frustration. They silently made a decision: from now on, they would no longer get involved in Gu Yuanfeng’s affairs.
* * *
Upon reaching the city gates, they saw exactly what they had hoped for: two long porridge stalls, with thick steam rising from several large pots cooking at once. The lines were also very long.
"It seems it’s true," Gu Sanbu said, stroking his beard. "As long as someone is in charge, things will slowly get better."
Ancient Wen Heng also squeezed his way to the notice board at the city gate to read the new announcement.
"Yuan Yu, what does it say?" Gu Mingchun asked curiously, having squeezed in after him.
"Let’s go. We’ll talk when we get back." Ancient Wen Heng had seen what he needed to and didn’t want to shout over the crowd. Spotting a relatively empty gap, he slipped right through it.
"There are two options on the notice," Ancient Wen Heng concisely relayed what he had just read. "First, you can receive relief grain and relief silver, and return to your original homes. Second, the local government will assign a plot of land for you to clear and settle on. However, you’ll only get a small resettlement allowance, plus a two-year tax exemption. It’s up to everyone to choose."
"How are we supposed to choose?" many people cried out in alarm. Going back meant facing the same drought, but staying meant starting over from scratch and abandoning their homes and livelihoods.
"I want to go back," Gu Dashishi said decisively. "No matter what, we still have a few acres of land back home. I’m too old to be starting over somewhere else."
For once, Li Cuicui didn’t object, merely watching her sons in silence.
Gu Dashishi spoke again. "Oh, right. Seventh, do you know what happens to people who don’t have their household registration papers?"
Ancient Wen Heng replied, "The notice didn’t say. If your household registration is lost, you can ask the village chief to reissue it. Father, is ours lost?"
"It’s about your youngest brother. He left and hasn’t come back, and I have his household registration certificate with me. If he wants to settle down here, he’ll be completely stuck."
Ancient Wen Heng shrugged, looking helpless. "I’m not sure about that. If our youngest brother has some Silver Tael on him, he might be able to find someone to pull some strings. Otherwise, he’ll probably just be sent back to our hometown."
"Sent back to our hometown? Doesn’t that mean he’ll have to travel all the way back? Would he be able to get the relief silver and grain?" Gu Dashishi’s face suddenly lit up with an idea.
"If you want to know, you’ll have to ask around," Ancient Wen Heng said. "I have no experience with this, and I haven’t heard of anyone else with this kind of request."
"All of you should discuss it and decide whether to go back or stay here," Li Cuicui said with difficulty. She suspected that this time, the entire family might truly be scattered.
Jin Qianqian and Ancient Wen Heng moved to a corner. "Do you know where the settlement land is?"
Ancient Wen Heng shook his head. "It’s not in the announcement, but I suspect the location won’t be very good."
"Then could we just buy a house in the city and get our household registration settled that way?" Jin Qianqian asked.
"That depends on what the Clan Leader and the others arrange," Ancient Wen Heng replied. "In this dynasty, the clan is extremely important. No matter what we want to do in the future, we can’t do it without the clan."
Jin Qianqian knew this as well. For Ancient Wen Heng to even take the imperial examination to become a Scholar, he would need recommendations from the Clan Leader and the village chief, not just a sponsor.
"Did it say when we have to decide? That way, we can prepare in advance." Jin Qianqian was already tired of running from place to place and just wanted somewhere stable to live.
"It didn’t say," Ancient Wen Heng replied. "But there is one other thing that might be good news for us." He deliberately paused here, waiting for Jin Qianqian to ask.
"It’s about being able to enter the city, isn’t it? I heard people discussing it back when you first went over." Jin Qianqian hadn’t expected the surprise to come so suddenly, but she had already collected herself.