Traveling through time and encountering war, I took the whole village to escape famine

Chapter 205 Zhang 4gui's Background 1

The elderly people in Kaoshan Village suddenly realized that thirty years ago, Zhang Erdan's wife did not give birth to a stillborn baby, but Zhang Sigui.

The story began thirty years ago. At that time, the imperial court recruited soldiers because of the invasion of southern Xinjiang. According to the requirements, as long as there were adult men between fifteen and forty in the family, one person had to serve in the army. Those who were unwilling to do so had to pay twenty taels of silver.

At that time, Zhang Sigui's grandparents were still alive. The two sons of the Zhang family, Zhang Goudan, now known as Old Man Zhang, and Zhang Erdan, just met the conscription standards. The Zhang family was well off, and the old couple didn't want their sons to join the army, so they prepared to use their savings of many years.

The Zhang family went to retrieve the silver they had carefully hidden, but when they opened the place where the silver was hidden, they were shocked to find that the silver they had hidden had disappeared! For a moment, the old couple looked at each other, with an ominous premonition in their hearts.

"Did we get robbed?" The old man frowned and said worriedly.

The old lady also looked terrified and nodded repeatedly, saying, "It must be that hateful thief who stole our coffin book when we were not paying attention! Old man, let's go find the village chief!" After saying this, she actually shed tears.

The old man looked at the empty money box, his heart full of helplessness and sorrow. He sighed deeply, turned around and said to the old lady who was silently wiping her tears: "Goudan's mother! Don't be too anxious and angry. Although the loss of the silver is really annoying, even if we ask the village chief for help, we may not be able to catch the thief who stole the things! But don't worry, I will go to the county government to report it, and I will catch this extremely hateful thief no matter what!"

After hearing what the old man said, the old lady stopped crying a little and nodded to show that she agreed with the old man's approach.

At this moment, Zhang Goudan and Zhang Pozi, who had been eavesdropping on the side, suddenly panicked. They knew that if they reported it to the police, their theft of silver would be exposed. So, the two of them made up their minds and knelt down in front of the two elders.

"Dad, Mom, I am the one who is unfilial. That money...was taken by me and my wife!" Zhang Goudan said with his head down and a trembling voice. Mrs. Zhang also cried and echoed: "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, please forgive us. We really have no other choice but to do this!" As she said that, she glared at Zhang Goudan fiercely.

Hearing this, the old couple was stunned at first, and then they were so angry that they trembled all over. The old man pointed at Zhang Goudan and cursed: "You are such a rebellious son! How dare you do such a rebellious thing! Do you know that the silver is the coffin money for your father and me?" The old lady sat on the ground and cried loudly.

Seeing the two elders angry, Zhang Goudan kowtowed like crazy. Mrs. Zhang also cried and complained to the two elders: "Mom and Dad, it's all Dagui's father's fault. Some time ago he said he was going to work in the city, but who knew he got addicted to gambling and lost all the money he worked hard for for more than a month. He also owed a lot of gambling debts. If he can't pay it back, the people in the gambling house will beat Dagui's father to death. Woo woo woo woo... Mom and Dad, I really have no other choice. My three children are still young and I can't let them be without a father."

"You rebellious son, do you know that you stole all the money? How can I pay the money for you and your brother to replace your military service? Since you stole the money, then you should go and serve in the military!" Old Master Zhang picked up a fire poker and hit Zhang Goudan a few times.

Mother Zhang protected Zhang Goudan. Old Man Zhang put down the gangster. He couldn't hit his daughter-in-law, "Wuwuwu, Dad, calm down. Listen to me, I'm pregnant with your grandson again. Dagui's father can't go to the army! If Dagui's father goes to the army, how will we live? Wuwuwu, Dad - we have reported my brother Zhang Erdan's name to the conscription office of the government office..." When these words came out, it was like a bolt from the blue, and the old couple was stunned on the spot.

Zhang Erdan was also upset when he heard the news. "Brother, why did you report my name without my parents' and my consent? Are you still a human being? I am your biological brother. If you hadn't stolen my parents' money, my family wouldn't have to go to the army. You know that southern Xinjiang is dark and damp all year round, and there are poisonous insects, snakes and ants everywhere. We northerners would die if we go there. Brother, how can you be so cruel?"

Zhang Erdan's wife fainted after hearing the bad news. Zhang Erdan quickly supported her and said, "Wife, wake up, wake up! Go get a doctor! My wife fainted."

When Mrs. Zhang saw her second daughter-in-law fainted, she quickly called the village doctor, who diagnosed that Zhang Erdan's wife was pregnant.

This news made Zhang Erdan both happy and sad. He was happy that his wife was finally pregnant after half a year of marriage, but he was sad that he could not be with his wife and see the child being born.

In this way, Zhang Erdan joined the army on the southern expedition amid the worries of his parents and daughter-in-law.

A few months passed like this. One day after dinner, Mrs. Zhang's stomach started to move. Originally, people thought that this was her fourth child and the baby would be born soon. However, the baby had an abnormal fetal position and was difficult to deliver. Mrs. Zhang tried to give birth all night but the baby was not born smoothly.

The midwife who delivered Zhang was his sister-in-law, now Zhang Dagui's mother-in-law. After many attempts, the fetus could not be corrected. Seeing Zhang's exhaustion and the dawn, the night passed, but the baby still did not move. The midwife and old lady Zhang in the delivery room were sweating profusely.

In the room, Mrs. Zhang was giving birth to a baby with difficulty. At this time, Zhang Goudan, who had slept soundly all night in his son's room, got up. He was about to go and see if his wife had given birth when he heard someone knocking on the door outside the yard.

Zhang Goudan rubbed his sleepy eyes and asked, "Who is it?"

A man's voice came from outside the yard, "Excuse me, is this Zhang Erdan's house?"

When Zhang Goudan opened the door, he saw two yamen runners standing outside. The first thing Zhang Goudan thought of when he saw the runners was, could they be here to arrest him?

So he asked tremblingly, "Is there anything wrong, sir?"

"Is this Zhang Erdan's home? We are here to inform Zhang Erdan of the news." asked the tall bailiff.

"Yes, yes, sir, I am Zhang Erdan's elder brother."

At this time, Mr. Zhang, who had gotten up early, and Erdan's wife, who was pregnant, heard the news about Erdan and both came running over.