The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 289 Miniature
Wangfu Street.

In the mansion to the left of the General's Mansion.

That very night, three families of martyrs and their families moved in.

Previously, the owner of this mansion was a general under King Chungsun.

Today, however, they are staying in one of the three most ordinary households in the Vanguard Camp.

The three martyrs were neither centurions nor chiliarchs.

They were just ordinary soldiers.

What's unusual is that these three were the most ferocious in killing the enemy on the night of the attack on Hami City, and they also took the most lives.

Later, all three died in the chaotic battle with the Uyghur tribe.

Their families enjoy the highest level of treatment among the martyrs of the Vanguard Battalion.

A luxurious mansion with a unique exotic style.

It's very spacious for three households.

The soldiers at the garrison have already helped the three families build separate courtyards for the houses they were allocated.

It's a detached house with its own courtyard, and the dry toilet and outhouse are newly built.

Furthermore, the furniture in the five main rooms is also a complete set.

The kitchen of each household.

Not only were there large iron pots, cleavers, shovels and other kitchen utensils, but the water vat was full and the firewood was neatly stacked.

The grain jar also contained a shi of millet and a shi of wheat.

The quartermasters have taken everything into consideration, so military families can move in with just their bags.

The three families all expressed their sincere gratitude to the quartermaster.

After seeing the people off, they closed the gates of each house.

I simply didn't have the energy for socializing.

The families of the martyrs are experiencing great emotional fluctuations today.

The family of a martyr who was assigned to the first courtyard consisted of eight people.

The woman in charge of the household was only thirty-five years old, but her hair was already gray.

As soon as she entered the main room, she collapsed onto the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).

Startled, her daughter and daughter-in-law rushed forward to check on her condition.

As it turned out, there was nothing wrong with it.

I'm just a bit exhausted.

The woman's husband died two years ago when he encountered Tatars while patrolling the border.

Her eldest son died a heroic death.

The young man is eighteen years old, and his daughter-in-law's twin grandsons are not even a year old.

One can only imagine the grief in the mother's heart.

Heaven really doesn't favor this unfortunate person.

Without her eldest son to help support this broken family, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to carry the burden on her own!

My sixteen-year-old daughter will be getting married in the second half of the year.

The hundred sheep were her eldest son's pension; she couldn't possibly use the sheep her son had risked his life for as her sister's dowry.

My second son just turned ten this year, and he's at the age where he eats everything without leaving a trace.

It's not fully grown yet.

They can't handle anything, and they can't support a family!
Her youngest daughter is the biggest headache for her.

She has the health and ailments of a young lady, but not the life of one.

I've been taking herbal medicine ever since I was able to eat solid food.

Her family spends at least two strings of cash every year on her medical treatment.

The best doctor in Huaiqing Prefecture examined her and said that her body hadn't been properly cared for in the womb and she would need to be nurtured until she was ten years old.

Four children: one died, one was about to get married, one was a half-grown son who was feeding his mother to death, and one was a sickly child.

Oh, I forgot to calculate that.

The twin grandsons born to the eldest daughter-in-law were ultimately all her responsibility.

She was a widow and knew how difficult it was to be one.

The daughter-in-law is not yet eighteen years old, so she has no reason to stop someone from remarrying.

Young widows who can bear children are extremely popular in the marriage market of military households.

Difficult!

Life is so hard for the poor! The woman lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), her mind never idle.

They are worried about how their family will make a living in the future.

Beside the heated brick bed.

The daughter-in-law, her eyes swollen from crying, was sorting through her husband's belongings when she suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" which drew a furious glare from the woman whose train of thought had been interrupted.

Unexpectedly.

The daughter-in-law, however, quickly pushed the large, unsealed box in front of her, pointing tremblingly inside:

"Mother, Mother, look, look what all these are!"

"What?" The woman didn't seem to care.

I know my own son best.

He has a lot of strength, but he is an extremely honest person.

Him, stealing spoils of war?
What valuable things can we steal?
Little did she know that the honest man was incredibly ruthless when he ransacked her home.

When the woman's eyes fell on the items in the box, she was so burned by the golden yellow color that she let out a loud scream.

Inside a ball of snow-white cotton lies a gold cup inlaid with gemstones and with a leopard handle.

The surface of the gold cup is decorated with a diamond pattern, with a gemstone set in each diamond. The handle is a slender, golden leopard.

The Jinbei is quite large, weighing almost a pound.

Moreover, the dozen or so brightly colored, large, and translucent gemstones on the gold cup are clearly among the finest treasures.

Only nobles are entitled to own this!

If you take it to Xijing City, you can definitely sell it for an astronomical price.

The woman's hand trembled as she touched the largest ruby ​​on the gold cup, murmuring, "We've struck it rich, we've struck it rich."

The young daughter-in-law grinned and pointed to two other small bundles in the box for her mother-in-law to see.

The small bag contained exquisitely crafted Western Region jewelry inlaid with gold and jade.

The other small bag contained small pieces of gold that wealthy families used to tip people.

These pieces of gold were made into small, thumb-sized shapes, resembling gourds, melons, grapes, and other similar items.

Weigh it in your hand; it should weigh no less than ten taels.

Compared to the two small bags of gold ornaments, the ten ten-tael silver ingots neatly arranged in a small box inside the wooden chest became the most inconspicuous item.

Also.

The box also contained two rattles, a bunch of small wooden knives, a small rocking horse, and other small toys.

Some of them were just made and haven't had time to be polished yet.

But those familiar with this style know that it was made by the twins' father himself during his rest time for his sons.

It was these little trinkets, brimming with fatherly love, that brought unbearable sorrow to the two women who had lost loved ones.

Afterwards, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law couldn't help but hug each other and cry.

"Ah! Ang'er"

"Wawa's dad."

They are crying. The silly son/man has children and a family in his heart.

They were crying too; their foolish son/man had given his life to ensure a comfortable life for three generations of their family.

The woman cried until the end, thinking: Now it's all good, I'm no longer afraid that my daughter-in-law will be unable to support her children after she remarries!

Young wife: What remarriage? Has she gone mad?!
Is it not a good place to live in the compound for the families of martyrs and military personnel?

Isn't it better to have fertile land that only pays 20% grain tax per year?

By selling that jewel-encrusted gold cup, she would never have to worry about not being able to provide decent dowries for her two sons' weddings.

Remarrying into another military household?
Then she will have to go through another period where the man is fighting desperately on the front lines while she is pregnant, giving birth, and taking care of her mother-in-law alone in the rear.

Or, if you're unlucky, another man might die!
She had been living like that for almost two years.

It wasn't much better.

Not only do they have to work in the fields, but they also have endless laundry to wash and dishes to clean at home.

Now that her husband's family has finally been able to live a good life because of the dead man, she hasn't even had a single good day yet, so why would she remarry?

This night.

When all the families of the martyrs opened that sealed box.

I finally understand how true General Gan's promise was.

One person joining the vanguard battalion can truly support three generations!

(End of this chapter)