Chapter 10: Chicken Soup. Corvée Labor

Under the venomous gaze of Old Woman Gu, Song Liyun brazenly inspected every room in the Song household before entering the small side room where the two brothers lived, closing the door behind her to rest.

From morning until now, what with the fighting and the commotion, an ordinary person would have been exhausted long ago.

She, however, did not feel tired; her urgency to rest was simply because she needed to deal with the chicken and chicken soup she had just stored in her space.

Song Liyun closed her eyes and lay on the kang, her consciousness entering the space. At this moment, a patch of open ground appeared in the gray, boundless void, with several earthenware bowls scattered haphazardly in the center.

From the pile of post-apocalyptic supplies in the corner of the space, Song Liyun retrieved the suitcase, backpack, and tent she had used previously, quickly organizing a living area.

She took the chicken and soup out of the earthenware bowls and placed them into specially made airtight food containers.

In the apocalypse, energy and resources were scarce, so various technologies for daily life had advanced by leaps and bounds to improve human survival quality.

Food stored in these airtight containers could remain fresh for half a month in the outside world.

Placed inside the space, they could stay fresh for even a year.

Now, besides the post-apocalyptic scraps, the space also contained several earthenware bowls filled with salt and oil.

These were items Song Liyun had snatched up during the chaos when Old Woman Gu was smashing up the kitchen.

The items from the apocalypse were too outlandish to be displayed casually; she needed to prepare utensils that fit this era.

Additionally, she took out a triangular military bayonet and placed it on the open ground of the space. It was a weapon she had kept as a backup in the apocalypse, convenient for dealing with the mutated beasts that appeared at any time.

The weapon she had originally carried on her person was an electric thorn gun, but unfortunately, it had been lost in the swarm of rats.

This was Song Lao’er’s home, and the way Old Woman Gu and the younger Mrs. Gu looked at her was as if they were steeped in poison. Although the door was closed, there was no guarantee they wouldn't resort to some underhanded tactics, so she couldn't linger in the space for too long.

Once everything was organized, her consciousness had just left the space when Song Liyun noticed footsteps approaching outside.

She lay quietly on the kang, merely keeping an eye on the movements outside.

Following the rustle of clothing, someone peered through the crack in the door. Seeing her lying there asleep, they turned and left after a moment.

Song Liyun quietly got up and leaned against the door. Through the crack, she saw the back of Song Defu. He had returned and was instructing the younger Mrs. Gu to keep a close watch on her.

She raised her hand to open the door, only to discover that the door had been latched from the outside, and a lock had been hung on it...

…………………………………………

The afternoon passed in the blink of an eye. The sun slanted westward, and the wind howled, whipping up withered grass and yellow leaves.

Xiaoshi Village, nestled in the center of the barren plains, fell into silence as every household finished their work and returned home to prepare dinner.

Wearing a felt hat and wrapped in a long robe, the fifty-something Village Chief Song walked hurriedly along the village path.

Arriving outside the Song family courtyard, Village Chief Song raised his fist and pounded hard on the gate.

The "bang, bang, bang" sound carried far, prompting neighbors to poke their heads out to look. Upon seeing it was the Village Chief, they quietly retracted their heads, only peeking out through door cracks.

Auntie Zhang, who had been keeping a close eye on Song Lao’er’s house, scrambled up the courtyard wall in a hurry to get the latest scoop.

Today, the Song family’s second girl had jumped into the water, Old Woman Gu had quarreled with the Village Chief’s wife, and there had been such a long commotion in the house; as the Village Chief, Song Laohei was bound to come and inquire.

Village Chief Song’s face was dark. He pounded on the gate for a long time before it opened, and the younger Mrs. Gu greeted him with a face full of smiles: "Fifth Uncle!"

She felt a bit guilty. She had quarreled with the Village Chief’s wife this morning over that little wretch jumping into the water, and now that the Village Chief had come to the door, he was surely here to ask about it.

The Village Chief ignored her and walked straight past her, shouting as he went: "Song Defu, what is your family’s final word on the corvée labor this year? Are you providing a man or paying the fee? Out of dozens of households in the village, yours is the only one that hasn't been decided yet. Are you trying to deliberately go against me?"

He, as the Village Chief, found it difficult to intervene in the squabbles of women. Although he was fuming inside, he could only bring up official business.

As for the matter of the girl jumping into the water, Song Lao’er’s wife had said in front of everyone that she had fallen in by accident, so he couldn't say much about it.

Village Chief Song walked quickly, and the younger Mrs. Gu didn't even have time to close the gate, only trotting along behind him.

When she heard that the Village Chief was here for the corvée labor, she immediately relaxed and explained with a smile: "Fifth Uncle, it’s not that our family is making things difficult for you. It’s just that Lao’er caught a cold a few days ago and couldn't get out of bed, so we missed the chance to reply at your house."

Village Chief Song stopped in his tracks, glaring at her with eyes full of disgust: "Song Lao’er got sick at such a convenient time. He wasn't hurt early, he wasn't hurt late, but the moment the imperial court demands labor, he collapses. Who would believe you now?"

"Who would believe it? My family member is sick; does it matter if anyone believes it or not?"

As a hoarse female voice rang out from inside the house, the straw curtain hanging in the main room was lifted, and Old Woman Gu emerged, blocking the doorway brazenly.

Her anger had been stuck in her throat all day, and now that the Village Chief had come to her door, it was simply an opportunity for her to vent.

"Sister-in-law Gu, you cannot be so unreasonable. It is an imperial order for every family to provide one laborer to repair the border wall. You cannot just act like a shrew with me now." Every time he saw this old woman, the corner of Village Chief Song’s eye would twitch uncontrollably.

He had spent the entire day at a meeting in town. He had only just returned home in the afternoon to find his wife with tears in her eyes and bruises on her face, and she hadn't given him a pleasant look since.

It was only after asking his daughter-in-law that he learned it was Gu Chunhua causing trouble again.

*Sigh!*

He got a headache the moment he saw this shrew. Even though he had been complained at by his wife the moment he got home, he could only swallow his frustration.

If he hadn't been pushed to the limit by official business, he wouldn't have wanted to come to Song Defu’s house at all.

Since the beginning of summer, the imperial court had issued a conscription order to mobilize tens of thousands of laborers to repair the border city towers.

Every county and town had to provide men for a month of corvée labor, and now it was the turn of Qingping Town, where Xiaoshi Village was located.

As the Village Chief in charge of the rosters for Gu Village and Xiaoshi Village, he had been running around for days. The village’s manpower was mostly arranged, and with the departure date drawing near, only Song Lao’er’s family remained non-committal.

Song Lao’er was a brute, and this Mrs. Gu, as Song Lao’er’s own mother, was an even more unreasonable shrew.

Their family’s inaction had caused others in the village to gossip, saying that if Song Lao’er didn't go, they wouldn't go either.

Today, he had come to Song Lao’er’s courtyard with a firm resolve to get a straight answer from that stubborn mule.

"Who is being unreasonable? Who are you saying is being unreasonable?"

Mrs. Gu slapped her thighs and shouted loudly: "So many people in my family rely on Lao’er to feed them, and you still want him to go to his death? You black-hearted, ungrateful wolf, you’ll die without a proper burial!"

She had scolded the Village Chief’s wife by the small river today, and now she had started scolding the Village Chief.

Village Chief Song was so angry his face turned black. His voice trembled as he said: "Fine, fine, Old Woman Gu, you scold well. Today I won't argue with a woman like you; I am only looking for Song Lao’er."

With that, he stepped forward, pushed Old Woman Gu aside, lifted the straw curtain, and entered the room.

He knew that he could argue with this old woman for a day and get nowhere; he had to find the person in charge.

Although Old Woman Gu had blocked the doorway with her arms and legs, she was no match for a man’s strength. Besides, having been worn out by Song Liyun earlier that day, she was already physically exhausted and was only holding on through sheer spite.

When the Village Chief grabbed her arm and pushed, she toppled over like a thin stalk of hemp, falling against the wall and landing flat on her back.

(End of chapter)