Entering the house with this suspicion, sure enough, although they had tried their best to restore it to its original state, many household items had been rearranged.
"It's already quite good that it wasn't burned down. Broken things can be bought again, and a damaged house can be repaired. If it had been burned down, there would truly be nothing left."
Ji Yangzong stood in the main room and said with a laugh.
Huang Manjing said: "Yes, luckily A-Shu arranged for someone to come back and tidy up the house in advance. Otherwise, we would have had a lot to do when we returned."
Huo Shu put down Xiao Taohe, who was looking around curiously. When he had asked people to clean up this place earlier, it wasn't just for convenience upon returning. At that time, the place was in disarray, and he was afraid that Ji Yangzong and the others would be saddened by the sight when they came back. Cleaning it up in advance would at least make it better.
Xiao Taohe stood on the floor, his big eyes constantly looking around. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he wanted to run off.
Unsteady on his feet, he grabbed Ji Taoyu's hand and pulled him, wanting to see the front and back of the house.
Ji Taoyu put down the luggage, took off the rabbit fur scarf from around Xiao Taohe's neck, and kissed the little one's cheek.
"Our Xiao Taohe is home."
"Home, home!"
Xiao Taohe imitated the way Ji Taoyu spoke, happily saying it twice.
Everyone was amused by the little one's soft, tender voice, and the bittersweet emotions dissipated somewhat.
"Is the village head back?!"
A voice suddenly came from the courtyard.
Ji Yangzong went out to look and saw several villagers outside the main courtyard, hands tucked in their sleeves, peering from the corner of the wall.
"It really is the village head! He's back!"
When the villagers saw the people emerging from the house, their eyes shone with happiness.
"Earlier, we saw people coming to clean and repair the house, and we thought the village head had returned. We didn't expect it was just someone sent ahead to tidy up."
"We came several times but never saw anyone, so we thought the village head would return after the New Year. Today, we saw many fellow villagers returning to the village, and when we heard voices and the door opening here, we guessed the village head was back. Sure enough!"
Although it had been over a year since they parted, seeing these familiar faces again filled everyone with indescribable emotions.
Ji Yangzong quickly invited everyone inside to sit.
After this past year, it was obvious that the villagers who had stayed behind had graying temples and seemed to have aged significantly, making it feel as though not just one year had passed, but many in a rush.
"It's good that the village head is back. Now that everyone sees each other again, our hearts are at ease."
"I only regret not listening to the village head and leaving with you back then, pointlessly letting Xiao Shi lose his life on the battlefield..."
As they spoke, the villagers began wiping their eyes.
The villagers had been swayed by the You family's persuasion to remain. When the tenant farmers later rose up, plundering and oppressing the villagers, the wealthy You family saw the situation turning bad, gathered their belongings, and fled to the mountains. They abandoned everyone in the village to suffer an unjust disaster.
After barely escaping the tenant farmers' riots, the new regime's rebel army began extensively seizing grain and conscripting soldiers. Countless men from the village were taken away by force.
Many of those who left never returned. With homes destroyed and loved ones lost, how could the villagers not be heartbroken?
"What about the You family? How are they now?"
The villagers shook their heads. The You family had vowed to stay and guard their ancestral roots, but then turned around and hid in the mountains. Resentful, some people reported that they had able-bodied men who refused to come out.
The rebel army went to search and arrest them, and all the male adults were taken to the battlefield.
"You Erlang may have a physical disability, but he was a juren. He turned around and joined the rebel army, which once again protected the You family."
"Everyone else suffered bitterly, but the You family, relying on You Erlang's status with the rebel army, continued to live in luxury. When they returned to the village to conscript soldiers, they showed no consideration for fellow villagers and were even more ruthless."
"We thought life would just go on like this, but then the Sixth Prince led troops to recapture Tongzhou, the uprising army collapsed, and You Erlang disappeared. We don't know if he's dead or alive now. It's just that the You family was deeply involved with the rebel army, and now they have been reported and detained. We don't know if they will be executed or exiled."
Speaking of the You family, the villagers sighed. Although they had lived in the same village for so many years, the right and wrongs of the past two years had worn away any fellow-villager affection. Seeing them in trouble now, everyone felt rather indifferent.
Ji Yangzong couldn't help but sigh.
The two families had put down roots and started their families in Mingxun Village, openly and secretly competing for so many years. How could he not sigh deeply at such an outcome?
He knew very well why the You family had stayed behind back then: they wanted to take control of the village after the Ji clan left. But they had underestimated the brutality of the war, and the subsequent events spiraled beyond anyone's control.
Everyone sat and talked for a long time. Outside the house, the snow continued to fall without pause.
Gains and losses - no one could control the changing circumstances. But what remained constant was that life had to go on.
Amid the busyness, everyone did their best to rebuild their lives.
In the last years of the Da Yuan Tianhan era, on the 25th of the twelfth month in the lunar calendar.
Huo Shu was appointed as the Chief Commander of the Tongzhou Garrison Battalion, working with the newly appointed Prefect to rebuild Tongzhou after the war.
After completing his appointment procedures, Huo Shu rode out from the garrison battalion. His horse moved slowly through the snow.
He looked up at Tongzhou City standing tall in the heavy snow, and suddenly remembered the first time he won a battle in the northern territories.
Back then, a sixteen-year-old youth lay on the sandy ground, looking up at the starry sky.
The youth's eyes shone like the stars, full of self-importance.
He thought to himself: I'll slaughter them until not a fragment of armor remains, becoming a general will be nothing difficult!
But the affairs of the world were unpredictable, how could they develop as expected?
After all the twists and turns, who would have thought he would still fulfill his childhood dream? But the expectations, resentments, disappointments, and even numbness of the past had all become bygones.
Now, his state of mind was as calm as a body of water without wind, with hardly a ripple.
Snowflakes landed on his armor, and he gently brushed them off.
Compared to the bold words of his youth, perhaps he now possessed something more precious.
In the distance, he spotted two figures—one tall, one small—standing in the wind and snow beneath an umbrella. He couldn't tell how long they had been waiting there.
He urged his horse forward quickly.
"Did everything go smoothly?"
"Smoothly."
From now on, everything will be smooth.
Thank you for the update!!!!
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