Dao Fruit

"May the Kitchen God bless us and keep our family safe."

After bowing down to worship the god, Yang Chi straightened up and turned to walk towards the inner room.

The house was very small, with only a lobby and an inner room, where several crooked beds were placed.

A woman was leaning on a bed, her face was old, her hair was mostly white, her clothes were full of patches, and her hands, which were covered with calluses, were tucked into her sleeves. It was early spring, and the weather was still very cold. The woman was wearing thin clothes, and even if she fell asleep, she still instinctively wanted to resist the cold.

Lifting the door curtain and walking into the inner room, Yang Chi saw the woman's appearance, and his heartstrings trembled slightly, and his nose was a little sour.

Although his footsteps were light, the woman still heard them. She opened her eyes, her eyes were confused, and it took a long time for them to focus. When she saw Yang Chi's appearance clearly, she immediately got up.

"Chi'er is back. I was not feeling well this afternoon. I lay on the bed for a while and fell asleep at some point," the woman slowly stood up, her face full of fatigue, "Sit down and rest for a while, my son. At noon, someone sent Qingwa two pieces of taro. He ate half of it and left the other half for you. I'll go and heat it up for you. The remaining whole piece will be waiting for you to cook it yourself."

"Taro?" Yang Chi was stunned, then nodded, "Well, I learned the craft from Master Wang, and I worship the Kitchen God every day. I think my cooking skills have improved. I'll satisfy my third brother's craving tomorrow."

Although taro is common, Yang Chi's family has not even had a piece of land since his father was convicted, let alone taro. There is no working class these days, and even folk handicrafts are in the ascendant. If your family has no land, it means you have no roots. If you tell others, you can't even straighten your back and you can't even get a wife.

Seeing his mother getting up in a hurry, Yang Chi stepped forward quickly and supported her first. Then he handed over the purse, saying, "Don't worry, mother, the child is not hungry. Today, the boss saw that I worked hard and paid me wages. Please give me some money to supplement the family income."

"Is the wages paid?" The woman was delighted to hear this and took the purse. "The current boss is much better than the previous one." She took out a few copper coins and put them on the pillow, but handed the rest back. "Bury the rest. After some time, we can buy some land for our family to open up wasteland. Cough cough..."

As she spoke, the woman suddenly coughed. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and she looked out of breath.

Yang Chi was startled and helped his mother to rub her chest and back. It took a long time for her to calm down. Then the woman got up and went to heat up the meal for him, regardless of Yang Chi's dissuasion.

Looking at his mother's staggering back, Yang Chi clenched his fists.

"Tomorrow. I must find a job, otherwise..."

Boom!

Just when Yang Chi was making up his mind, a dull crash suddenly sounded in the yard. Then came the woman's scream.

"What's going on?" Yang Chi was startled and rushed out quickly, but what he saw was the woman helping a young man to stand up.

"Third brother?"

After a closer look, Yang Chi recognized the identity of the young man, it was his brother Yang Qing, but just looking at the other's tattered clothes and the scars on his face, he felt an ominous feeling.

"Brother..."

Yang Qing looked up, struggled to get up, and then said to the woman beside him: "Mom, don't worry, I was climbing a tree with Guawa at the head of the village and fell down!"

"Why are you so careless? How long will it take to heal?" The woman looked distressed, with tears in her eyes. Their family was too poor. They couldn't afford the clinics and doctors in Jiannan City. At most, they could find some barefoot doctors and buy some plasters, but where could they find them now?

"Okay, mother, look, I'm fine, aren't I?" Yang Qing endured the pain and jumped twice on the spot. Although he pulled the wound, he endured it for fear of worrying his mother.

The woman was worried, but there was nothing she could do. She had to ask Yang Chi to take care of it. She walked to the corner of the yard and squatted on the ground. The stove of this family was located here. When the woman came to the stove, she didn't do it directly. She first chanted a few prayers and then lit the fire.

On the other side, Yang Chi originally planned to go over to light the fire and let his mother rest, but seeing his brother's appearance, he changed his mind. With a gloomy face, he pulled Yang Qing and walked into the house, then closed the door and sat on the chair next to the table.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

Yang Qing was grinning because of the wound on his body. When he heard this, he immediately calmed down and murmured.

People say that the eldest brother is like a father. The father of the Yang brothers served in the city and died of illness due to weakness. Yang Chi became the head of the Yang family.

You should know that Da Rui's exile and banishment had a strict system. First of all, there was the famous saying "accomplices were exiled far and near". Specifically, accomplices who committed a crime could not be exiled to the same place, could not be exiled to the same state, could not travel at the same time, could not be in the same group of more than five people, and could not be in the same prefecture of more than ten people.

Yang Qing's father was originally a minor official, and he was considered to have some power, but he was implicated in the misfortune of his superior and was exiled. None of his colleagues who were convicted at the same time traveled with him, only their families accompanied him. After Yang's father died, the Yang family naturally had no one to help them and had a hard time.

Moreover, this family could not return to their hometown, because Da Rui had detailed files and lists to manage the people assigned to the exiles. Not only the names were recorded, but also the ages, crimes, and previous offenses. Even if Yang's father died, his son could not leave.

In fact, the criminal law of Da Rui has always advocated filial piety. For the elderly who died of illness and the family without adult males, they would be demoted. That’s why the Yang family was able to settle in the capital of Jiannan Road. As a result, the death of Yang’s father put the entire Yang family in trouble.

In theory, the food and clothing of the assigned people should be provided by the government. After Yang’s father died, there should be a pension, but it was intercepted, leaving the orphan and widowed mother lacking food and clothing.

Later, the new emperor ascended the throne and pardoned the world. However, because the third son Yang Qing offended a villain, he was haunted by someone and could not return to his hometown, and even the second son died. Of course, even if they went back, their family’s land would have been divided up by the clan, but the situation could be improved to some extent.

The family's predicament made the two children of the Yang family shoulder the burden of the family. However, compared with the steady Yang Chi, Yang Qing acted erratically and unconventionally. He caused several incidents and it took a lot of effort to calm them down. The sequelae of this still have an impact until now.

At this moment, Yang Chi saw Yang Qing's appearance and instinctively felt that something was going to happen.

"Brother..."

Yang Qing looked around carefully, then took two steps forward and took out a bag from his arms. His hands holding the bag trembled slightly.

He came to the table, turned the bag over, and two small silver cakes fell down.

Dong! Dong!

With two consecutive sounds, the silver cakes turned on the table and then lay quietly on the table.

Silence!

The whole room fell into silence. Not long after, the heavy breathing became more and more obvious, but it was Yang Chi who was panting violently.

After a long while, he managed to calm down and asked in a deep voice: "Where did this come from?"

Yang Qing bowed his head and said: "Brother, don't ask, with these two silver cakes, our family can afford to buy land! If we follow your method, when can we save enough money?"

Hula!

Here, Yang Qing's voice had just fallen, and there was a sudden chaotic sound outside the door. It seemed that the fence of the Yang family was pushed down and broken.

Afterwards, Yang's mother screamed, and the Yang brothers all changed color and rushed out. When they opened the door, they saw several tall and strong figures!

But Yang's mother was curled up and lying on the ground at this time.

"Mother!" Yang Chi and Yang Qing ran over with exclamations, one helped their mother up, and the other glared at the visitor.

"Which one is Yang Qing?"

A voice came, and then a young man in a straight-hem robe stepped out.

As soon as he finished speaking, a skinny old man came up with a nod and a bow, with a flattering smile on his face, and pointed out Yang Qing.

"Uncle Li, what are you doing...!" Yang Chi was immediately furious when he saw the old man!

He was not unfamiliar with this old man, who lived at the head of the village and was considered an elder in the village.

After hearing this, Uncle Li's humility disappeared: "How dare you talk about the old man? Don't you ask your brother, who has been stealing chickens and dogs all day long, and today he went to the old man's field and took a few taro."

"You stole things again?" Yang Chi heard this and had a rough idea in his mind. He looked at his brother again and showed an angry expression.

"I..." Yang Qing's eyes were evasive, "I wanted to go to you today, but I saw you arguing with the boss..."

"You know!" Yang Chi was shocked, knowing that he was fired and was seen by Yang Qing, "That can't be..."

Pa pa pa!

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by a round of applause. The young man clapped his hands and said with a smile: "What a sad scene, what a brotherly friendship, but I don't care about your business at all."

"This is Liu, the guard of the Jiannan garrison, who is here to collect the silver." That Li Bo said carefully, with a flattering look.

"He is so young and is a guard in the army. He must have a good background." Yang Chi was startled at first, and then he remembered the two silver cakes in the room, secretly saying that it was not good, but before he could figure it out, two strong men came up and grabbed Yang Qing!

Then, someone pushed the door and entered the room, and took out two silver cakes amid a tumbling sound.

"These two silver cakes are nothing at all," Liu Yaguan shook his head, "but not everyone can take my things. Those two people worked for me, but you stole their money. You can't just let it go. You must explain."

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand, and two people walked out from behind him to take Yang's mother. The woman was already frightened and stunned. She was about to struggle, but was slapped in the face by a big man. She immediately spat out two teeth and bled from her mouth!

"Stop!"

The Yang brothers' eyes were bloodshot, and each of them had an extremely strong desire to tear the people in front of them to pieces!

Shock!

In the room, the stove god statue shook slightly. (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature. The novels are better and updated faster!

ps: Thanks to "Yuye Xiaoxi" for the monthly ticket!