Dressed as a widow, raising cubs, farming and building infrastructure in Ming Dynasty

"Since then, when I look at the Liu family, I am always on tenterhooks, trying to figure out whether you are saying behind my back that I am a poor boy from Longxi, treating me well in person, or scolding me behind my back."

"I even went out of my way to grab your favorite chestnut cake, just to see if you, the youngest and least scheming person, would be like my cousin Cheng En, who would give in to me in everything. I didn't expect you to cry because of the chestnut cake. He was so hysterical that he even fought with me over the pastries, pulled my hair, and called me bad."

"We were made to stand together and not allowed to have lunch together. Sister Mo Ran secretly brought us cakes to fill our bellies, but my eldest uncle found out and punished us for beating our hands."

A faint smile appeared on Hu Guangsi's face, but tears shone in the corners of his eyes.

"I shouted loudly that I ate all the cakes by myself, and Sister Jiang didn't even eat a bite! My eldest uncle beat me hard on the hand and let you go. But you grabbed my clothes and cried loudly, crying louder than me. It’s even worse…”

Qin Liu wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and laughed through tears.

"Ah Jiang, from then on, I was no longer afraid that the Liu family would look down on me behind my back. Later, Yang Yongxiu came to play with us, and we always bullied him together."

Hu Guangsi's words were like switch buttons, activating many images in Qin Liu's mind.

Fragments of beautiful childhood life appeared before my eyes.

Qin Liu interrupted with a smile: "It's you two bad guys who often help me untie my foot-wrapped clothes. Later, when my stepmother got married, she was so panicked when she saw my feet were so big that she took the matter to my grandfather, so I I escaped with my life. Because of this, no one wanted me for many years."

Hu Guangsi did not speak, with a faint smile still on his face, and his eyes looked at her quietly, filled with sadness that was too strong to be resolved.

He was once the most likely person to marry Ah Jiang, but unfortunately fate played a trick on him and an accident happened. He also became stupid and missed the imperial examination, and was destined to live a life of mediocrity.

This little girl who had never thought he was fat or that his family was poor and who was eagerly looking forward to her proposal of marriage was now sitting quietly in front of him, looking at him tenderly with tears in her eyes.

But it was impossible for him to have her again.

Not even a possibility of fantasy.

What could be sadder than this?
Qin Liu swallowed back his words to persuade Hu Guangsi to marry and have children.

"Cousin Guangsi, have you ever read the Qiu Shui chapter of "Zhuangzi"? There is a dialogue in it that discusses nobleness and baseness, bigness and smallness.

In essence, there is nothing noble or cheap among things.

But from the perspective of things themselves, there are distinctions between high and low. Everyone regards themselves as noble and others as inferior.

From a secular perspective, nobleness or disgrace does not lie in the things themselves.

Same goes for size.A ruler is longer and an inch is shorter.

In the past, I was the distinguished granddaughter of the chief minister and the daughter of the Liu family; you were a poor boy living under someone else’s roof.Now I am a young widow from a poor military family, and any official can bully me.

Our Liu family was ruined, and my grandfather almost went to jail and became a prisoner.

And cousin Guangsi, you are the right-hand man of the county magistrate and the brother-in-law of the deputy commander-in-chief.The noble and the humble, the big and the small, change with time, and it is difficult to say clearly.

There is an ancient poem that goes: Thousands of miles of yellow clouds and white sun, and the north wind blows the geese and snow.Don’t worry, you will have no friends in the future. Who in the world doesn’t know you? "

Hu Guangsi wiped his face, the sadness in his eyes gradually dissipated, and his expression gradually became solemn and resolute.

"Ah Jiang, I want to serve in the Yuquan Camp."

Qin Liu sat up straight, his eyes widened, and his voice suddenly rose an octave: "You have to think carefully about this matter, don't make it a trivial matter! You can't bear it. If the Mongolian cavalry comes and goes wild, you can run away." If you don’t move, don’t you think you’re going to die?!”

Hu Guangsi laughed happily. "Since I was a child, I have dreamed of being a general and fighting in battle. Now that I can serve in the army, I have got my wish. You should be happy for me!"

Qin Liu said angrily: "No, you can't go! I'll go find my aunt and ask her to tie you up!"

Qin Liu stood up and walked out the door.

Hu Guangsi was so happy that he followed her and said with a smile: "I finally found the advantage of not marrying you! No one can control me!"

Hu Guangsi bent his arms in front of him, and walked with his legs bent outwards at the knees, like a big and proud crab.He took a few steps triumphantly, winked at Qin Liu and left.

It was as if the sad young man just now turned into a heartless child in the blink of an eye.

Qin Liu watched his figure disappear in confusion.

She doubted the authenticity of Mrs. Fang's words - Hu Guangsi looked smart and normal, how could he look stupid at all?
……

In the days that followed, Qin Liu carefully analyzed the flow structure and resource endowment of Qin'an County.If she wants to bring her children to live here, she can't just sit around and do nothing. She has to make a living and live a prosperous life.

Qin'an County is a small and poor county located on the Loess Plateau. It has a small population, many mountains and little land. No one outside the northwest knows that there is such a place in the Ming Dynasty.

In such a poor area, the Hu family can actually produce Jinshi for two consecutive generations, which can be regarded as smoke rising from the ancestral graves.

After Qin Liu inspected the situation for a few days, he stopped eating in frustration.

The geographical location of Qin'an County is not even as good as Shabaozi Town. There are few merchants and passers-by, so don't expect to open a store and do business.

The words "sitting around eating nothing, waiting to die, being bored, and living like a year" are true portrayals of Qin Liu's current living conditions.

She found with shame that she was still a hard worker and couldn't take any time off. When she did, she felt uncomfortable all over.

The busy days in Toronto are so wonderful to recall now!

With children and fiancé by my side, there are endless things to do every day when I open my eyes. I have to plan the progress of each business to ensure that there are enough tile houses for the herdsmen to live before winter comes.

Fighting against the fields, against people, against time, even breathing is a race against time, life seems so full and heavy.

And now?

I am like a harried woman, sitting in a warm house with no worries about food and clothing, and suffering from wind and cold. It is really deplorable.

Qin Liu knew that this was the safe haven carefully chosen by his grandfather for him, and with the deliberate reinforcement of everyone in the Baoguo Palace, life here was so stable that he could see it all at a glance.

But after experiencing the hard work and displacement of the past few years, Qin Liu felt suffocated by this stable but boring life.

Qin Liu still tried his best to be patient.

When Erlang comes here after spring, maybe life will be very different.There will also be further news about Bals at that time.

……

The days flew into February, and the arrival of a letter made Qin Liu unable to sit still anymore.

The heart was brought over by Hu Guangsi, who had already gone to work in Yuquanying. He just mentioned: "Yong Xiuyu came to Yuquanying to get together. Is Ah Jiang coming?" (End of Chapter)