Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 208 Family Banquet
Fortunately, Lu Kutao's murderous intent was quickly suppressed, and she continued to entertain the guests warmly, saying, "Come on, everyone, come in and have some tea. There is one last dish left, and the feast will begin soon."

"Sister-in-law, I'll go with you." Su Xiaoxiao said with a smile.

"No, no, I'm a guest too, how can I trouble you?" Lu Kutao waved her hand and said, "I can handle it myself."

"Hey, we're all family, there's no such thing as host and guest." Su Xiaoxiao didn't allow her to explain, she took her arm and went to the kitchen.

"I'll help in the kitchen too." Seeing this, A Yao was about to stand up, but Ren Yuan held her back and said, "No, no, just sit here."

"Oh..." A Yao then stopped making trouble.

As soon as the two girls left, Chen Baxian asked Yang Zhong in a low voice: "Have you been pretending not to know Miss Su?"

"Yeah." Yang Zhong nodded and said in a muffled voice, "During the days when I captured Donghun Hou, I was so busy that I didn't have time to go home. That's when Miss Su rented a house. When she came back and saw me, I was stunned. How dare I say I know her?"

"Why don't you dare?" A Yao asked curiously, "Why are you so guilty?"

"Such a beautiful single woman suddenly came to my house to rent a house. Why do you think I feel guilty?" Yang Zhong smiled bitterly and said, "If I say I know her, I can't explain it clearly, okay?"

"Then you hid it from your sister-in-law, isn't that a bigger sin?" Chen Baxian gloated, "Kneel on the washboard tonight."

"Alas..." Yang Zhong hung his head, obviously having kneeled before.

"Don't worry, Sister Su will help you explain it clearly." Ren Yuan comforted Yang Zhong and said, "Sister-in-law is not unreasonable. At most, she will make you kneel for a while and then you will stand up."

"I thought you were a kind person." Yang Zhong cursed with a smile, then said happily: "In fact, I have this plan too. I wanted to show you the house before talking about it, but now it's easier. This way, we brothers can live together, it will be so lively."

"I can also help you share the rent." A Yao said seriously.

"Haha, I also considered this aspect." Yang Zhong admitted frankly.

~~
Ren Yuan was right. When Lu Kutao and Su Xiaoxiao came out with the trays, they were already talking and laughing without any grudges between them, just like real sisters.

Yang Zhong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, quickly stood up and diligently helped to serve the dishes.

The welcome dinner was very sumptuous, with large plates and bowls of chicken, duck, fish and meat, as well as exquisite Jiangnan side dishes, paired with the popular Sangluo wine in the capital. The guests and hosts naturally enjoyed themselves by eating meat and drinking wine in large bowls.

As they drank to their heart's content, Chen Baxian curiously asked Yang Zhong and his wife, "Brother, I've wanted to ask you for a long time, how did you get to the South?"

"Alas, he was captured." Yang Zhong sighed, took a sip of wine and said:
"I am originally from Wuchuan Town in the Northern Dynasty. After the Six Towns Uprising, my family and I took refuge in the mountains. Later, my father gathered his people and attacked Xianyu Xiuli, but the whole army was annihilated and he also died on the battlefield."

"Although I managed to escape, I was also seriously injured. At that time, there were chaotic soldiers everywhere. If I stopped, I might be killed for food. I could only run and run until I reached the foot of Mount Tai, where I finally passed out due to my injuries."

"At that time I thought I was dead and would definitely be eaten by wolves, but luckily I was saved by Ku Tao." Yang Zhong looked at his wife emotionally and said, "She carried me home, asked a doctor to treat my injuries, and took care of me for another two months. Only then did I come back to life."

"Really?" Everyone didn't expect that Yang Zhong and Lu Kutao actually had such a legendary experience. They all looked at the latter for confirmation, "He's not kidding, is he?"

"No." Lu Kutao smiled openly and said, "My family is a hunter in Mount Tai. I have been hunting with my father since I was a child. Later, my father was conscripted into the army, and I hunted alone to support myself. One day, I was wandering in the woods and saw something lying in front of me. I thought it was a big bear, so I quickly drew my bow and arrow and aimed at the bear's buttocks."

"Why are you looking there?" Su Xiaoxiao asked curiously.

"That way the whole hide won't be damaged and you can sell it for more money." Lu Kutao replied, "But I looked for a long time and couldn't find it, then I realized that the bear was wearing shorts." "Hahaha!" Everyone laughed so hard that they laughed. Ren Yuan wiped his tears and laughed, "Sister-in-law, there are dead bodies everywhere these days, why did you save my second brother?"

"I'm good-looking." Yang Zhong said proudly.

"Nonsense." Lu Kutao blushed and spat, "You were covered in blood and mud, like a ghost, and you still looked good."

"I don't know what was wrong with me. I carried him back, and in the end I got myself involved." She deliberately slandered Yang Zhongdao, but the look in his eyes was enough to make her feel cold.

It seems that Yang Zhong was not bragging...

"We got married and thought we would live a good life. But not long after, General Pei led his troops to the foot of Mount Tai and captured our entire village and brought it to Daliang." Yang Zhong took over the conversation and sighed:
"So we came to Jiankang again. It's true that people drift away in troubled times."

"Then what? How did you join the Gou Chen Division?" Chen Baxian asked.

"All of us Han people who were captured were incorporated into the military households." Yang Zhong sighed again:
"My family was a soldier in the Northern Dynasty. I didn't expect that after moving to the Southern Dynasty, we would become a damn soldier again."

"Alas..." Everyone felt the same way.

In those days, soldiers and their families were called military households, and their status was higher than slaves but lower than civilians.

They have been soldiers for generations and are not allowed to change their careers. If they escape, their families will be severely punished.

Of course, if one can make military achievements and be promoted to an officer, one can remove his family from the military register, and his descendants will not have to serve in the army for generations.

"Fortunately, at this time, the Gou Chen Division came to recruit new soldiers, so I signed up and was successfully selected and became a Da Shui He." Yang Zhong continued, "Two years later, I was promoted to a ghostwriter, and was exempted from military registration, and finally got rid of the military registration."

"But those people from the same village who were captured were not so lucky." He sighed and said, "They didn't get to join the Gou Chen Division. They were all sent to the Jiangbei front. I don't know how many of them are still alive."

"So we are very satisfied to have what we have today." He raised his wine bowl and said with red eyes: "I wish that we brothers will live and die together and never be separated!"

"May this day come every year!" Chen Baxian also picked up the wine bowl.

"It's all in the wine." Ren Yuan looked at the two of them, not knowing what to say, so he picked up the wine bowl and drank it all with them.

"Come, let's drink too." The three women also raised their wine cups and enjoyed themselves.

Everyone drank a lot that night.

Anyway, I'm at home now, so I can get drunk if I want...

~~
When I am drunk, I don’t know who I am; I am neither a cloud, nor a moon, nor a crane.

When Ren Yuan woke up, he found himself on the Qianli ship.

ps.1000 first orders plus additional updates.

(End of this chapter)