I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 11 Is this guy just having a run of bad luck?

Dongfang Jin looked at the two slices of meat in the bowl and said disdainfully, "This meat isn't good. Give it to your father. I'll make you some delicious meat tomorrow. Little girl, you drink your porridge first. It's very fragrant."

She didn't realize how far-fetched her words were, and how perfectly they portrayed the behavior of a stepmother.

Don't underestimate this small stone; this kind of thing is nothing new.

The boy swallowed hard, looking at her: "I...we can really eat it? If we eat it, you won't hit me and my sister."

Dongfang Jin frowned, a pang of pain in her heart: "It's just some plain rice porridge, why would I hit you? Besides, it's just some food, why would I hit you?"

After saying that, he looked at Gu Chenglin and narrowed his eyes: "Did you tell them that?"

Gu Chenglin saw her looking at him with a fierce glint in her eyes, shook his head, and then told her the truth about what had happened that day: "No, when Chunsheng and I arrived at Xinghua Village, we happened to run into his grandfather selling them."

Luckily we arrived in time, otherwise...

"What! Human trafficking? And the government doesn't care?" Dongfang Jin interrupted him in shock.

Gu Chenglin looked at her: "Those people are from the brokerage business, the government can't do anything about them..."

Dongfang Jin then realized that this business existed in ancient times, and that brokerage firms were legal.

"You said it was their maternal grandfather who sold them? Why did he sell them?"

Before his father could speak, the boy stared at Dongfang Jin and said, "Grandpa wants to marry a new wife, and he said he'll sell us to raise the dowry."

Seeing her brother speak, the girl mustered up her courage and said, "Grandpa said our dad has also married a new wife and doesn't care about us anymore."

He also wants to get a new wife. He said he's done right by raising us for several years, and he'll sell his property to pay us back for all that money he owed us.

Their speech was clear and their logic was well-organized, which made Dongfang Jin look at the two children with new respect. After the girl finished speaking, she burst into tears.

The boy stopped eating and hugged his younger sister, his eyes welling up with tears.

Dongfang Jin couldn't bear to watch any longer. A wave of bitterness welled up inside her, making her want to burst into tears. She pretended to be angry and said, "What's going on? Don't cry! Hurry up and eat, the porridge won't taste good if it gets cold."

Seeing the two children tremble slightly, suppressing their grievances as they picked up their chopsticks to eat, Dongfang Jin was satisfied and looked up at Gu Chenglin: "And then?"

Gu Chenglin gripped the flatbread tightly in one hand and the chopsticks in the other: "I gave him twenty taels of silver as payment for taking care of them over the past few years."

After that, the village chief wrote me a letter severing ties with my family, and I also gave his daughter a divorce agreement..."

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Jin was shocked: "What do you mean? No..."

Gu Chenglin glanced at the two children and said sullenly, "Someone in Xinghua Village told me today that their mother was rescued by someone back then."

Some people also said that the peddler from Xinghua Village had seen her in Guangxi Prefecture and had been sending money to her father in recent years.

Dongfang Jin fell silent upon hearing this. She said, "How could someone who jumped into the river not have a body found?"

Even if it doesn't float up afterward, pieces of clothing and other debris will still drift downstream.

Well... that's hard to say. Since you're alive, why don't you come back to see your children?

"Aren't you planning to bring her back?" Dongfang Jin suppressed the bitterness in her heart and stared at Gu Chenglin as she asked.

Gu Chenglin did not answer her question, but continued, "I have filed the divorce agreement and the three severance agreements at the yamen today, and I have also submitted your household registration."

"The name field is missing. I'll take you to the village head tomorrow, and we can fill in the children's household registration information at the same time. The village head can just make a trip to the county government."

Dongfang Jin breathed a sigh of relief when she heard him say that. She looked at the two children and thought, "Poor kids!"

In a gentle tone: "What are your names?"

The boy glanced at his father, then at Dongfang Jin, and said timidly, "My name is Shitou, and my sister's name is Yatou."

What's this name? Stone, girl, so casual? "No formal name?"

The boy shook his head.

Dongfang Jin looked at them, one was 7 years old and the other was 4 years old. Aunt Gu said that Gu Chenglin performed corvée labor in place of his second brother Gu Yaozong when his wife was more than a month pregnant.

Why is it called "replacement"? Because back then, the country encouraged farmers to reclaim wasteland; if they reclaimed 20 mu (approximately 3.3 hectares), they would be exempt from corvée labor.

30 mu were cleared, 10 mu were cleared by the landowners, and the other 20 mu were handed over to the village.

Gu Chenglin was only 12 years old when he started reclaiming wasteland. He was like a little calf. In five years, he reclaimed more than 50 mu of wasteland all by himself.

This number is unprecedented in the village, and it has a record in the town and county.

He wasn't supposed to have to perform corvée labor because of land reclamation, but his mother threatened to kill herself to force him to.

Under the pressure of filial piety, he was forced to perform corvée labor in place of his second brother. Originally, he was to serve for two years, but the court had to rush the construction schedule, so it was extended by one year.

After serving his three years of corvée labor, he stayed at home for less than half a year before going to serve in the military in place of his third brother, Gu Yaozu.

There was no way he could refuse; the authorities themselves came to arrest him because the name on the list was Gu Chenglin.

This guy only just realized that he'd been tricked by his own mother again.

The country has a regulation that farmers who reclaim wasteland and have a criminal record with the government, or those who have performed corvée labor and are registered with the government, are exempt from military service.

Because very few farm boys like them who go to serve in the military ever return. Even those who do return are mostly missing limbs, and those who return with a full body are extremely rare.

When someone dies, their family receives a funeral allowance from the imperial court. Those who live receive little, yet most choose to die on the battlefield.

Because of his disability, he would not only be unable to do anything after surviving, but would also become a burden on his family.

Dongfang Jin looked at Gu Chenglin with sympathy; what a poor guy.

I came back in such a miserable state, and then got scammed again when I arrived.

His wife was gone, his child was almost taken, and his father-in-law was nearly sold.

Is this guy just having a run of bad luck?

When Dongfang Jin came to her senses, she saw the two children with their heads down, sticking out their tongues and licking the bowl.

"Stop, stop, stop licking. There's still some in the pot, I'll go get it for you," Dongfang Jin said, turning and running towards the kitchen.

Emma, ​​licking a bowl clean—she'd only ever seen that on TV; this was the first time she'd ever seen it in real life.

When Dongfang Jin brought over the large bowl, just as she reached the door, she heard Xiao Shitou ask Gu Chenglin, "Dad, are you really not leaving again?"

"I'm not leaving. I won't be able to go anywhere else."

The girl asked timidly, "Father, will you still send my brother and me off?"

"No, Father will not leave, nor will he send you away."

When Dongfang Jin entered the room, Xiao Shitou immediately shut his mouth upon seeing her.

"Eat up, and then take a shower. The water's already boiled," Dongfang Jin said, only then noticing that Gu Chenglin had returned empty-handed.

She then said, "Can you wear my clothes? Just tonight, and I'll get you some tomorrow... Gu Chenglin, where should we buy clothes?"

Gu Chenglin glanced at the children's clothes, then at Dongfang Jin. He then noticed that the man was still wearing the same clothes, but they were much cleaner and had a pleasant fragrance.

"Go to the county. Our village is relatively close to the county. We can just buy the cloth and make it ourselves. It will save money."