Chapter 232: The Sound of the Copper Gong Again (Bug)

The Zhou family home was bustling with activity. Like the Shen family, the Zhou family also had only a few rammed earth houses, but with more people, it was quite crowded.

When Sang Luo arrived at the Chen family’s place, Mrs. Chen had just returned from the Zhou family. Seeing Sang Luo and Shen Ning from afar, the old lady quickened her pace.

“Sang Luo is here? Feeling better today?”

Sang Luo replied, “Yes, I’m feeling better. Has Auntie Ge had breakfast?”

Mrs. Chen laughed, “She has. She couldn’t eat last night, but today, hearing that Dashan has returned, she was so happy that she managed to eat a few bites, though it was still quite troublesome.”

Shen Ning, smiling, handed over the bowl of sour jujube cake. “Auntie Chen, my sister-in-law made some crystal dried fruit. Could you give it to Auntie Ge to try?”

The little girl was clever. At home, it was called sour jujube cake, but outside, it was definitely crystal dried fruit, and she had blurred the timing a bit.

“Still have this?” Mrs. Chen knew about crystal dried fruit. Sang Luo had given some to her family when she first made it. It was sweet and sour, perfect for pregnant women. She happily took the bowl and said, “This is good, this is good. Come, Sang Luo, come in and sit.”

She also asked Shen Ning if she was going to Zhou’s place, suggesting that Shen Ning go see how things were.

Seeing that her sister-in-law was at the Chen family’s place, Shen Ning was reassured. She told Sang Luo she would take a quick look and be back. Sang Luo waved her off. “No need to hurry back. If you want to play, go ahead. Aren’t you with Xiaoya, Qiao’er, and Wen Yin making brushes? Just focus on that. I’ll be back soon.”

Shen Ning was indeed making brushes. The four girls were working together to make them, intending to take them to the ink shop next to the prefectural school to see if they could be sold there.

She had asked her sister-in-law about it, and Wen Yin had also consulted her father, who had encouraged them to give it a try. The Xu family’s house was spacious with many rooms, so the four girls had been working there recently.

Shen Ning thought about how the rabbits, chickens, and sheep had already been fed that morning, and said, “Sister-in-law, be careful. If you get hungry, eat some rice cakes. If you want anything else, let me know, and I’ll make it when I come back for lunch.”

Typically, they had two meals a day, but since her sister-in-law was pregnant, Shen Ning thought three meals a day would be more suitable.

Sang Luo smiled. “Go ahead.”

After Shen Ning left, Mrs. Chen smiled and said, “Ning’er is thoughtful.”

As she guided Sang Luo towards the house, she continued, “Dashan found your Aunt Zhou’s family in the mountains. Have you heard about it?”

Sang Luo nodded. “Wenqing just went to my house. I heard that. Is it Aunt Zhou’s mother and her sister-in-law and nephews and nieces?”

Mrs. Chen happily nodded. “Your Aunt Zhou was so happy she was laughing and crying. But her mother and sister-in-law were envious when they saw our village. They heard from Dashan that we’ve settled our household registration in Shezhou, and they were tempted not to return to Qiyang County. But right now, there’s no land available nearby. Even if they had returned a day or two earlier, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.”

The old lady still didn’t know that her grandson faced difficulties with the Lin clan members during his trip to pick people up. Full of enthusiasm, she said, “Dashan helped find Master Xing to speak on our behalf. Even if the land is a bit farther away, it’s better than returning to Qiyang County. There’s practically no population left in Qiyang County right now.”

By the time they reached the house, the old lady wanted to get a chair for Sang Luo, but Sang Luo waved her off. “No need, I’ll go check on Auntie Ge and be back soon.”

“Alright, then let’s go together.”

Inside Zhou Ge’s room, it seemed she had just suffered a rough morning. She was lying down fully dressed, but upon hearing Sang Luo’s voice, she got up. Mrs. Chen handed her the bowl. “Here, Sang Luo made some crystal dried fruit. It’s sour, but try it and see if it makes you feel better. I noticed Sang Luo looked much better this morning.”

Zhou Ge didn’t know what crystal dried fruit was. She was currently very wary of eating anything, but upon hearing it was sour and seeing Sang Luo’s nod, she tried a piece and found it tolerable.

Seeing she was eating without getting nauseous, Mrs. Chen smiled broadly. “It works! Eat a little more to ease your discomfort. Otherwise, Dashan will be heartbroken when he returns and sees your pale face.”

At this, Zhou Ge blushed, but before she could reply, they heard the sound of a gong from outside.

The sound… The three of them exchanged glances.

It had been years since they last heard the gong. During the years before they went into the mountains, whenever the gong sounded, it usually meant trouble. Even Zhou Ge felt a bit anxious.

Mrs. Chen waved her hand. “I don’t know what’s going on. You stay inside; I’ll go out and take a look.”

After the gong sounded, they vaguely heard someone shouting something. When the gong rang a second time, the sound was closer and instructed everyone in the village to come out.

People working in the mountains began to descend. Old Man Chen, Chen Youtian, and Qin Fangniang all came down, not even putting down their hoes, and went towards the gong’s direction.

Sang Luo and Zhou Ge came out of the house and saw a crowd gathering. From a distance, they could see Shopkeeper Xu, Uncle Xu, Zhou family members, Lu family members, and Shi family members all coming out from their respective mountain areas.

Sang Luo recalled the long line of carts they had seen yesterday and instinctively thought it might not be a bad thing. “Let’s go, we’ll stand back a bit and listen.”

Selecting the Village Chief

Sang Luo was surprised that this was the matter at hand.

Indeed, there were no appointed village chiefs in the villages and neighborhoods as of now. Before yesterday, the population outside Shezhou City wasn’t very large. With some people moving out of the city, some coming down from the mountains, and the batch brought back by the governor’s wife, the population outside the city might have just exceeded a thousand.

The announcement from the official was clear and repeated the situation. “According to our Master Chu’s instructions, each village is to elect its own village chief. Candidates should preferably be literate and able to command respect. However, if no such person is available, commoners are also acceptable. After the election, from today until tomorrow evening, you can report to the government office.”

“Second, our governor and his wife understand the difficulties of the common people. After years of chaos, with shortages of poultry, livestock, and seeds, and insufficient labor for spring plowing, the governor’s wife has brought some poultry, livestock, and seeds from Taiyuan and Chenjun. After selecting the village chief, you can, led by your village chief, take your household registrations to the prefectural office to purchase these items.”

Both matters were of great interest to everyone, especially purchasing poultry and livestock. Everyone recalled the oxen they saw yesterday.

“Sir, can we also buy oxen?”

The question was from Shopkeeper Xu.

His family was in the greatest need of labor. After a life-and-death experience and returning to Shezhou, they had decided to include Uncle Xu in the household registration. Though Uncle Xu was reluctant to leave, he was staying close to home. However, with the land they had—90 mu of arable land and over 60 mu of mountain land, and possibly more in the future—there was no way they could handle it all. Shopkeeper Xu was preparing to find a couple of helpers from nearby villages.

If they could buy oxen, it would greatly ease their workload, whether for their own family or the helpers.

The official responded, “Yes, you can. However, the oxen brought by our governor and his wife are limited. Each village can buy only one ox, and larger villages with more than ten households can buy two. The same goes for poultry; the amount is limited by the number of households.”

Everyone understood. If Shopkeeper Xu hadn’t managed to get some chick and ducklings into the mountains, and if there hadn’t been wild chickens and ducks, they might not have seen even a feather of poultry now.

Years of war had severely impacted them.

Zhou Cunzheng asked, “Do you know the current price of the oxen?”

Everyone wanted oxen, but not everyone was confident. Elder Chen, Old Man Lu, and Second Brother Shi didn’t even dare to ask the price.

Though the world was relatively peaceful now, the price of grain at the store was still over 300 wen per dou, compared to 60 wen per dou before. The price of grain was almost out of reach, let alone the price of oxen.

When Zhou Cunzheng asked, everyone looked at the official.

The official showed a hint of pride and satisfaction. “Everyone, knowing that spring plowing is approaching, our governor’s wife has brought strong draft oxen. They are not expensive, only fifteen taels each.”

Fifteen taels—Sang Luo’s eyes widened in surprise.

Before entering the mountains, she had no land and wasn’t familiar with ox prices, but fifteen taels was only the price of five shi of rice.

How could this be?

Indeed, the onlookers began to discuss.

Sang Luo, not far from the Chen family, heard Chen Youtian express disbelief. “Father, this is only double the price of oxen before.”

Grain prices had increased fivefold, but oxen were only twice as expensive?

Old Man Chen’s hands trembled a bit. “Yes, yes.”

The family’s wealth was mostly lost due to the natural disasters over the years. After fleeing to Qiyang County, they had to start over and struggled for nearly a decade. Heavy taxes and labor burdens made it difficult to improve their lives, and buying oxen was out of the question. Every year, they worked their fields as if they were oxen themselves.

Yet, not being able to buy oxen didn’t mean they weren’t interested. Farmers who worked the land all wanted an ox. Whenever they went to the county town, they would visit the cattle market to look around.

Fifteen taels—before the wars, a draft ox would cost seven to eight taels.

Now, if you went to the eastern market and exchanged an ox for beef, it would likely cost far more than this, let alone a live ox.

“A good official, we’ve encountered a good official.”