Chapter 87

Chapter 87

Winter.

Kan'er Village.

Jiang Mianmian now knows the name of her village, Kan'er Village.

Kan means steps, a village with many stairs?

It seems to be a slightly inauspicious name for a village, kan'er, like an obstacle.

But hearing the villagers say kan'er kan'er with their accent, it sounds pleasant.

Night has fallen.

The wind outside sounds like the cry of an infant.

Whimpering ceaselessly.

The Jiang family is gathered around the table having dinner.

Since it's cold in winter, Jiang Mianmian rarely goes out of the village for a stroll, so she doesn't know much about the village these days.

But at dinnertime, she would hear her family chatting, as if there have been great changes.

Of course, the most direct change is in her own home.

Elder Sister and Elder Brother now sleep in separate rooms.

Elder Sister has her own independent room.

There's a small cabinet for storing things.

Those beautiful embroidered shoes with beads are no longer kept at the bedside, but in a drawer of the cabinet, which Jiang Mianmian cannot open at will. If she opens it, Elder Sister would get upset with her.

But Elder Sister is just all talk, at most she would shout at her.

Jiang Mianmian would stand there looking pitiful, her big eyes blinking rapidly until they turned moist, and Elder Sister would immediately regret raising her voice and apologize to her.

Jiang Mianmian doesn't know why, but she has this strange talent of eliciting sympathy without any training.

Elder Brother also has his own room.

With a desk, wooden window, and bed.

Two rooms have been added to their home.

Now their home has front, back, left and right courtyards.

Father, Mom and Jiang Mianmian share one room, and Jiang Mianmian has a small bed of her own.

Elder Sister has her own room, Elder Brother has his own room, there's a storage room, and a guest room.

When villagers come to see Father, if there's wind and rain, they will be received in the guest room.

Facing the large tree at the entrance, the view is excellent.

The room is quite simple.

Just a few mats, a table.

No cabinets, but there's a shelf with a few books on it.

Every villager who comes in and sees the books treats them with great reverence.

In this era, books are extremely precious, often kept as closely guarded secrets by major clans and not shared outside.

Common people cannot read them, as they have never had the opportunity to learn.

Each family treats them as invaluable heirlooms.

So the two noblemen who gifted books to the Jiang family were truly great benefactors.

Jiang Mianmian has an extra serving of meat and egg porridge with vegetable bits.

She also drank the vegetable and meat broth cooked by Mom.

Elder Sister eats very seriously, not talking much while eating.

Elder Brother also eats seriously, his appetite has increased, and with his increased physical activity, he eats a lot.

In fact, he could eat a lot before too, but back then he never seemed to get full at each meal, his face was not thin like Mom's, but his body was very thin.

It's only in the past half year that he has gradually become stronger.

Now that the whole family can eat their fill, life feels very good and content.

After the meal.

This is Jiang Mianmian's favorite time.

At this time, the family would sit together and chat.

This habit feels wonderful.

She can also learn about things happening outside.

Elder Brother Jiang Feng spoke first: "Father, I heard that the bandits from Jǐ Mountain County have attacked and taken a second county, and are now very close to the Provincial Capital. People in the county town are panicked. Can my friends move their families to our village?"

Jiang Changtian nodded: "Yes, let them bring their families over. Pick out some clever ones to scout for information outside. Once they're in our village, we'll follow the new village rules. See if there are any clever young men you can also bring back."

Jiang Yu spoke up: "Dad, Qin Luoxia said she's getting married, can you go and officiate the ceremony?"

Jiang Changtian nodded.

But after looking at his round-faced daughter Yu, he said: "Wait until spring, Father will invite a female teacher for you to study some things."

Jiang Yu: ...

Qin Luoxia echoed, "Yes, there's something to study."

Jiang Mianmian gloated from the side, laughing loudly, she didn't need to, she was still young.

Then Father said, "Your younger sister needs to start her education too."

Jiang Mianmian: ...

Jiang Mianmian was pulled into Elder Brother's embrace.

"Father, will the Provincial Capital be captured?" Jiang Feng asked worriedly, stroking his younger sister's head.

Jiang Mianmian was also curious, looking up with wide round eyes.

Father said, "It will be, it should be soon."

Jiang Yu's eyes sparkled, Father was so impressive, knowing about things so far away from home. She wondered if Father knew about the taverns in the Provincial Capital. She heard there was a tavern called "One Bowl You Can't Finish," where the meat was so fragrant it could kill you.

"Husband, what should we do?" Qin Luoxia asked in a panic, she had a natural fear and dread of war.

Jiang Changtian held his wife's hand and rubbed it, saying, "It doesn't matter who comes, we'll listen to whoever is in charge."

Jiang Mianmian nodded, yes yes, Father was right, the matters of the Provincial Capital were too far from their village, it had nothing to do with them.

Jiang Feng changed the position of his hand rubbing Jiang Mianmian's head, moving his fingers to rub upwards from the back of her head.

"Father, why don't we take men to attack the County Town? We can cooperate from the inside and outside. My buddies and I have gathered intelligence. If we capture the County Yamen, even the rich households won't dare to do anything, they'll just try to save themselves. When the rebels capture the Provincial Capital, they'll definitely need new subordinates." Jiang Feng said excitedly.

Jiang Changtian tapped his son's head, "We don't do anything against righteous principles. We're just trying to live a good life, don't talk about fighting and killing. Remember, we raided the bandits' lair not to get weapons or loot - those were just bonuses. Our main purpose was to benefit the villagers and passing merchants, we have to act with honor."

Jiang Feng understood and nodded, "Then if the County Town is in chaos, can we go help maintain stability, Father?"

Jiang Changtian nodded, "Yes."

Jiang Mianmian: ...

Suddenly she felt that after being a landlord's daughter for just a short while, she might soon become a rebel's daughter. Her family background was changing too quickly...