Chapter 39 down and out

Huang Zongxi was very anxious about the food and payment, and ran as hard as he could.The Maoxiang family, who had fled in Haiyan County, Jiangbei, had returned to the neighboring Haining County after more than three months of panic. That time in mid-August, they left the mountain in Haiyan and fled eastward. Unexpectedly, they encountered a ranger from the Qing soldiers at the foot of Ma'an Mountain. killed more than twenty men and women.If it wasn't for his good friend Zhang Weichi who still took the risk of coming to pick him up after fleeing in chaos, the situation of their family would have been even more unimaginable.

However, even so, they did not have the courage to continue to escape.After the boat approached Niuqiaowei, the head of the family, Mao Qizong, made a decisive decision: all the men should shave their heads immediately, find a nearby village to settle down, and try to save their lives.To this, Mao Xiang refused to agree at first, thinking that in this way, the family would sever their ties with the Ming Dynasty and become completely obedient citizens who transformed the barbarians.But he couldn't stop his father from urging him again and again, and his mother agreed with her, wiping away her tears. In the end, he had to reluctantly obey.However, when the shocked family members were afraid of encountering Qing soldiers again, they couldn't wait to ask for a barber, so they immediately did it themselves, cutting with knives and scissors to remove the circle of hair from the forehead to the back of the head. Finally, he couldn't stop tearing the clothes on his body, beating his chest and stamping his feet, and burst into tears.He cried so bitterly, violently, and for a long time that his tears dried up, his voice became hoarse, and his whole body convulsed due to violent vibrations. At last, he passed out suddenly, frightening his family members to rush around him to rescue him. It took a long time to save him at any rate.

Of course, even so, the matter is a foregone conclusion.The family temporarily lived in a nearby deserted village.For more than a month since then, the war has been ups and downs, and it has not completely subsided.Once or twice, it was said that King Lu's army had come to Jiangbei and captured Ganpu Town in one fell swoop, which aroused new anxiety and expectations among the villagers.However, I don't know if the rumors were inaccurate or the situation had changed. King Lu's army did not appear. On the contrary, the news soon fell silent again.In this way, at the end of September, Zhang Weichi, who returned to his hometown in Haining to inquire about news, once again sent someone to bring a letter, saying that since the Qing soldiers captured the county, they only burned, killed and looted, then withdrew to Hangzhou and did not stay behind.At present, it is maintained by the local gentry, and the situation is relatively calm. The important thing is that there are many acquaintances, so it is easier to handle problems.If they want, they might as well move back in.So after a family discussion, they decided to pack up and hit the road.

Now, they have returned to Haining County, and found two dilapidated houses on the street where they rented, and settled down.Living back in the city is naturally better than eating and sleeping in the mountains, but all the belongings they carried with them have been lost, and they have actually been reduced to poverty; In the chaos, they were either burned or removed. Now the family can only sleep on a bed made of broken door panels and bricks, and eat food that is too rough to swallow-like corn paste Lah, bran vegetable cakes, I have to eat half hungry and half full.As for what to wear and use, they can only make do with it.I don't even dare to dream about all the sophistication and ostentation of being a wealthy family in the past.

This day is already the tenth day of October.In early winter, mornings and evenings are usually quite cold.In addition, in this turbulent time, all careers are ruined, and there is nothing more to do every day except struggling to save one's life.So when Maoxiang woke up in the morning, he didn't get up immediately, and continued to soak in the warm broken quilt.But the more I lay down, the hungrier my stomach became, and then my intestines began to wriggle and make gurgling noises.He could no longer sleep.Seeing that the sun had climbed up to the roof in the east, illuminating the window panes transparently, Mao Xiang had no choice but to throw off the quilt, turn over and sit up.Finding that Dong Xiaowan was not in the room, he called twice but received no answer, he felt a little displeased, so he didn't wash up, just pulled a robe over his body, walked to the door, raised the curtain, and looked out.

The house they lived in was rented when the family came south.Although it is not luxurious, the scale is not small.However, since they fled three months ago, during the ensuing war that destroyed the city and killed people, the house was obviously burned. There are broken walls and broken bricks and tiles all over the floor, as well as some broken altars and pots that have been burned beyond recognition.So that from the house where I live now, I can see the scene on the street that should be outside the gate.Mao Xiang looked around, and found that there was no sign of Dong Xiaowan outside, but in the corner to the west of the courtyard, several female relatives of the family were sitting - Young Mistress Su, Aunt Liu, and Maid Chunying, forming a nest My son is doing work.His two sons are playing nearby.The morning sun illuminated their buns and clothes, and also illuminated the paper-folded "gold and silver ingots" piled up like hills beside them.

Mao Xiang couldn't help frowning.He naturally knew that making "gold and silver ingots" for funerals was a job that was hard to come by.Although the salary is very meager, at least it can help some households.It stands to reason that it shouldn't be the turn of people like Mrs. Su and Aunt Liu to do this kind of work.But since the catastrophe at the foot of Ma'anshan, most of the servants have gone away by themselves, and those who don't want to leave have been dismissed one after another because they can no longer support many people.Up to now, apart from Mao Qizong and Mrs. Ma who left Chunying as their messenger, only Mao Cheng is left as a servant.Thinking of the majestic fifth-rank official and the female family member of the Mao family known as the richest man in Rugao, who was reduced to doing work for others, and such a job, Mao Xiang felt a tingle in his heart, an indescribable shame.In order to get rid of his troubles, he had to look away, and raised his voice again:

"Xiao Wan, Xiao Wan!" "Hey, here we come, here we come!" With a promise, Dong Xiaowan turned out from the corner of the room.Her sleeves were rolled upside down, an old apron was tied around her waist, and she was holding a steaming copper pot in her hand.Under the sun, her obviously thinned face looked a little gray, but she still narrowed her eyes and asked with a smile: "Ah, my husband is up?" Mao Xiang let out a "huh", turned around and walked back into the house. Dong Xiaowan quickly followed in.She put down the kettle, walked quickly to her husband, first took off the robe that was draped over him, then picked up the jacket and cotton vest on the bed, and put them on for him one by one.In the end, he picked up the copper pot again, and began pouring hot water into the washbasin... As usual, Mao Xiang let his concubine busy around, until Dong Xiaowan was about to wring the facekerchief, when he stretched out his hand and stopped her.

"I'm hungry, go and get something to eat!" After giving this order, he approached the water basin, tossed the braids of hair hanging down his chest disgustingly behind his back, then picked up his facekerchief, and slapped it twice. After hurriedly washing his face, he sat down in front of a temporary "table" made of planks and bricks. It was very quiet in the room.A ray of sunlight came in from above the window, casting a hazy shadow on the four bare walls.Although the house escaped the disaster of fire, there are still many traces of black smoke on the walls.However, Mao Xiang is not in the mood to pay attention to these at the moment.He just felt that his mind was empty, and he couldn't concentrate in one place all the time, but his heart was flustered intermittently.The stomach was rumbling and hungry, and it was wriggling more and more frequently; and in the upper part, about the stomach, began to have a dull pain...

"...Yes, this kind of ghost life is really hard to endure!" Mao Xiang pressed his stomach with both hands, thinking contemplatively, "I want to eat whatever I want, and I want to wear whatever I want. Maybe it will be better to go back to Rugao, where after all It's my own home. It's not like here, where I live under the fence. Then, I should go back early? But..." "Sir, please have dinner!" A soft call sounded beside my ear. Mao Xiang was stunned for a moment, and found that Dong Xiaowan had put a pair of chopsticks and a bowl of steaming mushy food in front of her.He said "oh", immediately picked up the chopsticks, and bent down. Suddenly, a familiar smell of corn came into his nostrils, which was a moldy and disgusting smell.Immediately, acid water surged in his stomach, and he couldn't stop his throat from gagging, almost throwing up on the spot.

"Bastard, why are these things again!" He slammed his chopsticks on the table, turned his head, stared and asked, "Didn't I say that every day is full of this kind of thing, it will eat people to death Yes! There is always a change of taste. But you just don’t listen! Why don’t you listen? Ah!” Dong Xiaowan obviously expected her husband to have such a reaction beforehand, so Dong Xiaowan didn't panic, but her blood-depleted face became even paler.She lowered her head and said nothing. "Why don't you listen? Ah!" Mao Xiang asked again. "..." The concubine's obstinate silence aroused Mao Xiang's anger even more.He stomped his feet vigorously: "Okay, don't say it! You are trying to anger me and hurt me! Then I won't eat, just starve, starve to death! Let's see what you do!" Walking to the edge of the bed, he sat down angrily. Dong Xiaowan's frail body visibly trembled.She raised her head, and a look of anxiety and despair flashed in her big charming eyes.She moved her lips, as if intending to argue, but in the end she just saluted, and said softly: "Please calm down, my husband, it's the concubine's fault, I was negligent for a while. The concubine has been replaced by my husband." After finishing speaking, he picked up the bowl of corn paste on the table and hurried out. This time, it was Mao Xiang's surprise.Because even though he lost his temper, he actually knew in his heart that in the current difficult times, and with a family like his own, there is almost no way of livelihood except to rely on the donations of his friends.It is not easy to be able to eat a mouthful of corn paste, even if it is moldy.However, this kind of "food" is so difficult to swallow, and it is like this every day, it really makes him a little bit unable to bear it.Just now, rather than seriously believing that Dong Xiaowan intends to oppose him, it is better to say that he took out his anger on the concubine.Seeing that Dong Xiaowan agreed so readily now, it was beyond his expectation. "Well, could it be that she is really behind my back and hiding some delicious food in secret?" Looking at the place where the concubine's back disappeared, he thought suspiciously, and then a stream of greed gushed out of his mouth, The hunger became more and more intense, he stood up involuntarily, lifted the curtain, and followed out. The sun is shining brightly outside.Grandma Su and the three women probably wanted to be warm, and they still sat around in the corner of Xitou and buried themselves in their work.Aunt Liu raised her head when she probably noticed the commotion here.Mao Xiang hesitated for a moment, then turned his face away, pretended to be okay, slowly walked to the left, until he turned the corner of the room, then took big strides again, and hastily followed the kitchen. There used to be a large kitchen in this house, but it was completely destroyed by fire.The current kitchen is temporarily built with bricks on the broken stove, and there is no tile beam on the roof. When it is windy and rainy, it has to be moved to the house to light a fire for cooking.Due to the lack of staff in the family, Zhang Luo's family's livelihood was risked, and they had to be busy running outside all day, so the cooking work fell to Dong Xiaowan.When Mao Xiang approached the kitchen, he stepped lightly again, wanting to see what the concubine was up to.However, before seeing Dong Xiaowan, he heard a strange whining sound mixed with wheezing and wheezing.Mao Xiang couldn't help being startled, and stepped in, only then did he see clearly: the concubine was standing by the stove with her hair loose, holding a pair of scissors in one hand, covering her face with the other, and sobbing. "You, what are you doing?" Mao Xiang was taken aback. Apparently she didn't expect her husband to follow in, Dong Xiaowan was also surprised, she hastily wiped the tears off her face, and said in a disguised way: "Oh, no, it's nothing..." She said, planning to hide the scissors behind her back. Maoxiang's head "buzzed", and it swelled up.Before he could think about it, he rushed forward, grabbed the opponent's hand, and snatched the scissors away. "You, you actually want to commit suicide?" He squeezed the scissors tightly, widened his eyes, and asked sharply.Because he never expected that he would lose his temper after a few words, and the concubine was going to commit suicide, Mao Xiang was so angry that he was so angry. "Oh, no, no! No!" The terrified Dong Xiaowan waved her hands and repeatedly denied it. "Then—what do you want to do?" "..." "Say it, say it!" Dong Xiaowan trembled, grabbed the hair that fell to her waist, and held it in her hand as if she was afraid that Mao Xiang would snatch it away, but she still didn't speak. Seeing the concubine like this, Mao Xiang became angry again.He lifted his foot and kicked a small stool in front of him aside: "Don't tell me? I'll know if you don't! You clearly think that I'm not unlucky enough, and you want to show me another death! Hmph, you What a dark heart!" "Ah, no, really not!" Dong Xiaowan screamed as if she had been stabbed by a knife; then, as if she was afraid of disturbing others, she lowered her voice and argued hastily: "Bad concubine, cheap concubine I just want to cut off my hair and exchange some rice for the mistress Wang at the back door..." "What? For rice?" Dong Xiaowan nodded vigorously: "She always praises the concubine's hair. If she sells it to someone who makes a chignon, she will definitely sell it for a good price..." After a pause, she looked at her husband and explained in a panic , "The concubine, the concubine, I know it's not good. If you do it like this, you will lose your share, the family's share, but, but..." Her voice trembled, "I really... really have no choice ah!" After finishing speaking, she took a step back, supported the stove with one hand, covered her face with the other, and wept weakly and bitterly. Mao Xiang listened with his eyes wide open, and it was only at this moment that the hand holding the scissors loosened.He snorted resentfully, and wanted to reprimand the other party a few words, but the feeling of hunger that became clear again made him suddenly lose the energy to speak, so he took a step forward and sat down on the small stool just now superior. After figuring out that it was just a false alarm, Mao Xiang finally heaved a sigh of relief, but as for the concubine's crying, he no longer had the heart to pay attention to it.Now, he was very disappointed: it turned out that the other party did not hide any delicious food!Of course, in order to let herself have a good bite, Dong Xiaowan went so far as to cut off her unusually beloved hair.For this affection, he couldn't say anything other than a wry smile.But then again, in such a time of turmoil and shaving hair, who would be willing to pay money and rice in exchange for this kind of thing that can be picked up everywhere and is so cheap that it is even worse than garbage?What's more, even if someone is willing to ask for it, with his life's generosity, extravagance and arrogance, he would go so far as to let his concubine live on his own, it's really shameful and shameful enough!Thinking of this, Mao Xiang's wry smile turned into a heartfelt sadness, with a feeling of despair that life would be better than death. Dong Xiaowan, on the other hand, has calmed down now.She probably took Mao Xiang's silence as hesitating, so she smiled reluctantly while wiping the tears from her cheeks, and said consolingly, "My husband, when I think about it, it's not good to have too long hair. It's time-consuming to get up, and it's also a hindrance to work. According to the humble concubine, I simply cut it, and... it kills two birds with one stone." Mao Xiang didn't raise his eyes, just shook his head, and said in a hoarse voice: "We men can't keep good hair if we want to! You women, why cut it off? Well, it must not be cut, let it be Keep it. This cornmeal--" He didn't finish his sentence, he just stretched out his hand, picked up the stale bowl of "food" from the stove, raised his neck, and drank it in one gulp.