Chapter 49: Persuasion to Leave is Rejected

“You mustn’t say things like that carelessly—it could bring disaster if someone overhears,” Granny Ge said solemnly to Song Yeqing, as if facing a great enemy.

“I’m not speaking carelessly. This is news Yanxin heard when he went to the county town.”

This was the explanation the two of them had agreed on beforehand. Since He Yanxin had been frequently going out lately, it wasn’t suspicious for him to have heard such news.

“Yanxin heard it? Where did he go today? Driving the ox cart?”

Song Yeqing nodded. Seeing how nervous the old woman was, she felt a little worried.

So she softened her tone slightly, which was rare: “Please don’t get too worked up.”

Was she afraid this might shock the elderly woman too much?

“This… What kind of matter is this?! Leave? Where would we go?!”

Once Granny Ge realized that Song Yeqing wasn’t joking, she panicked and began pacing around the room anxiously.

Her mind was completely consumed by the thought of war breaking out, and she completely overlooked the fact that Song Yeqing had mentioned going to Zhaozhou together.

“Old man, aren’t you going to say something?!” she turned to her husband. Conscription and rebellion—this was a matter of life and death for the entire family.

Seeing that her husband remained silent, her panic only grew worse.

Although Elder Wu was getting on in years, he was still the head of the household and much steadier than Granny Ge. Even now, he hadn’t said a word—he remained calm and composed.

But the lines on his brow deepened, resembling the cracked gray-brown bark of an ancient tree.

Back then, when foreign invaders attacked, every household had to send one adult male. He had gone too.

Elder Wu would never forget the brutality of the battlefield, the bloodshed and flying flesh.

He Yanxin’s father had died in battle. Elder Wu had only survived because he was lucky enough to be assigned to the mess hall.

No one wanted war. In the past, at least they could say it was to protect their country. But this time, they were siding with rebels.

Going against the imperial court—could anything good come of that?

“Escape to Zhaozhou… When are you setting off?” Elder Wu finally spoke.

Out of trust for Song Yeqing and He Yanxin—or perhaps more accurately, trust in He Yanxin, whom he had watched grow up—he didn’t question the truth of what she said.

“As soon as possible! The sooner the better. We’re ready to go at any time—it’s just waiting on your family. Yanxin can go to the county town tomorrow to inform Third Brother You.”

They’d been preparing for days. Most usable supplies were already packed into spatial storage.

Wu Sanyou and Qiniangzi were both younger than her—barely older than high schoolers in modern terms.

He Yanxin had said that in his previous life, Sanyou had survived but lost a hand.

His father-in-law had taken charge, managing to hide the wife, daughter, and granddaughter from chaos and refugees until Sanyou returned.

Once peace returned, the Qi family visited Anshan Village every year during Qingming Festival to pay respects at their graves.

Unaware that Song Niangzi and the others had already perished, they had kept searching for them.

Naturally, her intention was to take them all along—however…

“There’s just one thing I want to make clear,” Song Yeqing said after a moment of silence, facing the two thin, elderly figures before her.

“You may inform Second Brother Wu of this, but we will not, and do not wish to, travel with them.”

She had no psychological burden in leaving Wu Erlang and his wife behind. Still, in front of the elders, she maintained basic politeness by not addressing them directly by name.

“Alright… that’s fine too…” Elder Wu’s back hunched further. “Then let Dalang and Sanlang go with you. Us old folks will stay behind.”

He glanced at Granny Ge, finally making this difficult decision.

Song Yeqing didn’t understand. “Why would you stay behind?”

Granny Ge understood the look in her husband’s eyes—it held guilt and reluctance.

“Yes, Qing-niang, we won’t go. Mainly because we’re already used to life here. You know what they say—it’s hard to leave one’s homeland. I wouldn’t be happy elsewhere.”

Having calmed down from the earlier shock, her mind began to function again. She managed to force a relaxed smile.

“Your eldest brother and sister-in-law went to her family’s home. When they return, I’ll talk to them about this. As for Sanlang, let his big brother go inform him—don’t trouble Yanxin with it.”

With that, Granny Ge clapped her hands.

“No, I’ll go prepare some dry food for the journey.” And off she bustled out of the house.

“Granny? Hey…” Song Yeqing couldn’t stop her and could only turn her head back helplessly.

“Grandpa, even if you’re not conscripted, once things turn chaotic, staying behind alone will still be dangerous.”

She assumed Elder Wu simply thought he was too old to be forcibly recruited and thus safe, so he chose to remain in Qizhou.

As for what Granny Ge had said about being unwilling to leave home—was there anything more important than one’s life right now?

“Besides, the drought is only getting worse. Who knows when food will run out? And it’s not like we’ll be gone forever—at most, two years, and we’ll be back.”

Song Yeqing was truly being as persuasive and sincere as she could be. That discomfort she used to feel toward social interaction was completely gone. All she wanted now was to convince them to leave.

Seeing her this way, Elder Wu finally said, “We’re old, can’t travel far. Wouldn’t we just slow you down?”

“If you can’t walk, you can ride the ox cart. Yanxin bought two oxen.”

Besides, in her memory, didn’t the Wu family already own an ox? And Elder Wu had made a cart himself.

He Yanxin bought two just in case—there were a lot of people and things to carry, and it was better to be prepared.

They had even considered buying a faster horse-drawn carriage, but horses were vital military resources—completely unavailable on the market.

But no matter what she said next, Elder Wu stubbornly insisted he wasn’t going. If she kept pushing, it would just make him angry.

Seeing that she really couldn’t convince him, Song Yeqing finally fell silent. She had used all her skills and reasoning.

Maybe once He Yanxin got home, she could let him come persuade them? After all, relationships have closeness and distance—maybe they’d listen to him.

She turned to leave, ready to head back next door. Granny Ge didn’t come out to see her off this time—she hid in the kitchen.

“They’re gone?” she asked Elder Wu after Song Yeqing and the two boys had left.

“Yes,” Elder Wu said, hesitating as he looked at the wife who had been with him for over thirty years. “Guixiang, I…”

“Ah! No need to say it—I understand. How many years do we even have left anyway? It’s fine.”

She stepped out empty-handed, and there was no sign of any fire in the kitchen behind her—clearly, her earlier comment about preparing food for the road was just an excuse.

Was there even any food left?

They had originally planned the property division well—split the house between the eldest and second sons.

There wasn’t much money left in the household, so over the past few days, the couple sold some unused belongings, including their ox.

In previous years, an ox could fetch at least twenty taels. Now it sold for only fourteen.

What bad timing. Had they known He Yanxin needed one, or that they’d be leaving, they would’ve kept it for them.

But He Yanxin had made the purchase discreetly, without telling anyone, so they simply didn’t know.

In the end, the couple scraped together nineteen taels and split them three ways for their sons.

The eldest and second sons received equal shares. The third son, since he was going to be a son-in-law in another household, got just five taels.

There wasn’t much food left either. They had agreed the elderly couple would live with the eldest son’s family, so none was set aside for the second son.

In their eyes, they had done their best to be fair and just. They had a clear conscience.

But the second son’s wife threw a fit when she heard. She didn’t want the house—just money and food.

She kicked up a huge fuss, refusing to believe the family had so little money. She even cried and demanded her family be called in to settle the dispute.

She went through their room, and only when she found no hidden money did she quiet down a little.

Still, she held firm: she’d agree to the split only if they gave her money and food, not a house.

In the end, there was no choice. With the eldest son’s consent, they handed over most of the money and all the food to the second son’s family.

The house went to the eldest son, along with two taels of silver.

And just like that, the family was divided.

After getting their share, the second son and his wife happily left for town to buy a house. They even left the kids behind, saying they’d pick them up the next day.

All the food was taken, so there wasn’t even any dinner cooked that night. The eldest went to town to buy some but couldn’t get any, so he had to go to the county seat the next day.

As for the eldest couple visiting the daughter-in-law’s family—it was actually to borrow some grain for that evening’s meal.

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(End of Chapter)