Jin Liangyu

Chapter 63 Benevolence and Righteousness
  With his wife's reminder, Zhou Lang's back felt cold. He put all the food in his backpack, put the vegetables on top, then took the long knife and went out.

Along the way, Zhou Erlang got out of the mountain pass smoothly, but the further he walked, the heavier he felt.

Meeting those familiar faces, all of them sallow and thin, reminded him that he lived a fairy life in the mountains.

"Zhou Erlang, why haven't you come back these days? Are you going to be a escort again?" Someone recognized him and saw that he hadn't changed at all. It would be a lie to say he wasn't jealous.

"Yes, Erlang, where have you been these days?" Someone showed a longing expression when they saw the green vegetables in Erlang's basket.

"Your family..." Zhou Zuorang wanted to ask, are there no vegetables at home?
  "Your vegetables are so fresh, no wonder everyone can't move their eyes away from them."

Seeing that it was Brother Yang coming from the opposite side, Zhou Erlang remembered his father-in-law's instructions, "Brother Yang, where is the village chief uncle?"

"My father and my brother went to nearby villages to look around to see if we could get some food for us to survive this period of time."

When Boss Yang said this, there was complex longing and helplessness in his eyes.

When Zhou Zhoulang saw that everyone was short of food, he stopped complaining and said directly to Boss Yang: "Brother Yang, go and find the village chief uncle. When I came back, my father-in-law told him that his former employer still had some food. There are some corn noodles and sorghum rice. If you want to buy them, my father-in-law can help me. The price is one penny more than the original price."

"Oh my god, I really saved everyone's lives. Everyone, go find the village chief."

The old man next to him shouted, and the adults surrounding Zhou Erlang immediately ran to find the village chief.

There were only a few children, all of whom were eagerly staring at Zhou Erlang's backpack.

Zhou Erlang took out a cucumber with a flowery top and a thorn from his backpack. A child divided it into a small section, and the children thanked Zhou Erlang and left.

Old man Zhou heard that Erlang was back and his shoes ran away without even bothering to pick them up. When he saw the tall figure of his second son from a distance, he burst into tears.

"Erlang, you are really back. Where are your wife and children?"

"Dabao was too young, so I didn't let them come back."

"Dabao, Dabao's name is great. It sounds very precious."

Seeing his father's dark and thin face with only a layer of skin left, and his hair almost completely white, the resentment in Zhou Lang's heart dissipated instantly.

Zhou Dalang was squatting next to the earthen stove making wild vegetable soup for his two girls. When he saw his second brother coming back, he also came out to welcome him.

"Second brother."

"Second uncle."

"Second uncle~"

The two little girls also called for help. They liked the second uncle and the second aunt very much. The second uncle would bring them food every time he came back from a trip, and the second aunt would also give them the food bought by the second uncle.

"Hey." Zhou Lang responded, took out a crisp and tender cucumber from his backpack, broke it in half and gave it to the two little sisters.

"Thank you, uncle." They haven't had such good cucumbers for a long time.

Mrs. Wang had just come out of the house with Sanlang in her arms, and felt extremely distressed when she saw this scene.

"What's the use of giving something so good to these two losers?"

"It's useful for you to eat, and you can grow flowers."

Zhou Erlang ignored his father and mother's quarrel. He took a look at his eldest brother's newly built straw shed, then put down his backpack and distributed things to them.

"What I brought is half for your family."

Mrs. Wang kept staring at Erlang's basket and saw that there were not only vegetables but also a small bag of corn noodles in his basket. Her muddy old eyes were full of greed.

It's rare for the three fathers and sons of the Zhou family to have the same idea. If she hadn't been holding Sanlang, she would have run over and grabbed it.

Even now, he is still talking: "Why are we half the family? You are my son and you should respect me. Bring me everything, hurry up." After hearing Wang's words, Zhou Lang's face did not change at all. , the movements in his hands did not stop.

"Dad, go get a bag and I'll give you half of the corn noodles."

"Hey." Old man Zhou had a very Buddhist idea. He would take what his second son gave him. No matter how much he gave him, he would be happy, and he happily went back to the house to get the dough bag.

Ms. Wang was so angry that she felt like blowing bellows, but no one in the yard paid attention to her.

Just when Erlang took out four salted duck eggs from the basket, Wang's eyes widened even more. It had been how many days since she had eaten eggs. During the confinement period, because I had to hide from those damn Tatars, the few eggs I bought before were finally broken.

"Give me these salted duck eggs." Wang came over with Sanlang in her arms.

Zhou Erlang still calmly stated his previous decision, "Two people per family."

"Two are enough for anyone, I can eat four in one meal."

"These are salted duck eggs pickled by my mother-in-law. You won't be afraid of your throat if you eat four of them in one meal."

"Then can't I eat two more meals?"

"No."

"You little brat, I raised you for nothing."

"It's not in vain. Go out and take a look. Whose son or daughter can send food home at this time of year? That means my second son is filial."

When he said this, Old Man Zhou felt very warm in his heart. No matter how angry Erlang was before, when they were hungry due to lack of food, Erlang still came to give them food regardless of their previous grudges.

"There are four more sweet potatoes here, two for your family."

"Erlang, thank you. I was always sorry for you in the past."

"Okay, no matter what happens, we can't see you starving."

"Erlang, you must be filial to your father-in-law and your mother-in-law from now on. Lao Jin and his wife are kind and righteous."

"Yeah." Thinking of how kind his father-in-law and mother-in-law were to their family of three, Zhou Lang finally had a smile on his face.

"Dad, brother, you'd better put away all the food. The village chief and his uncle will be here soon."

"They came here to find you?"

"Well, when I came here, my father-in-law said that his former employer still had some corn flour and sorghum rice. If people in our village want to buy them, my father-in-law would put me in touch. The price is lower than the original price of grain. One more article.”

"What? Does your father-in-law know how much corn noodles are sold outside now? Twenty coins, twenty coins. Your uncle, the village chief, said he didn't even grab twenty coins."

"My father-in-law just came back from the county town. He should know the price."

"Benevolence and righteousness, benevolence and righteousness."

After Old Man Zhou finished speaking, he saw Yang Laogen leading the villagers of Shangyang Village to come running in cheers.

"Erlang, was what you said then true?"

"Uncle, it's true." Zhou Erlang told the village chief uncle what his father-in-law said again.

All the villagers in Shangyang Village present could not calm down. They shouted excitedly to Zhou Erlang that they wanted to buy corn noodles.

They seemed to be afraid that their voices would be too low to be heard by Zhou Erlang.

(End of this chapter)