The warm sunshine in winter is particularly cherishable. As the new year approaches, the mountains are still the color of mountains and have not lost their vitality due to the cold winter.

The Wang family drained the small pond in front of their door, and one big fish after another was rolling in the muddy water of the small pond.

Wang Yongping sunk his feet into the muddy water, holding a net bag in his hand and putting the fish in one by one.

"Dad, there is one there, that one is so big!"

"Wow! This one is the biggest!"

Several women were guarding their children on the shore, fearing that they would turn into mud monkeys later.

All these fish are going to be sold. The Chinese New Year is coming soon, and every family pays attention to having more than enough every year, so it is a good time to sell fish.

Father Wang decided to take care of the villagers first, and if it was not sold out, he would take it to the town.

There were so many fish that we couldn't even transport them all to town.

The Wang family chose a spacious place under the big willow tree in the village. The big willow tree is now bare, with only some branches left after being damaged by the flood.

The fish was packed in rice barrels, which were extremely huge. There were more than a hundred fish inside, all dark and crowded together.

Some fish were so crowded that their white bellies turned out, and their mouths opened and closed.

The sun is shining brightly today, and a few small sparrows looking for food in winter are flying between the trees. A pair of sharp eyes under the tree are staring at the sparrows on the tree.

As long as they fly down, a flexible body will capture them under the claws.

"Little Hua Zai, come here quickly, there are fish to eat."

When he heard someone calling him, his furry head turned around and jumped out of the grass on the side, his tail circling around his feet.

After a few meows, several children picked up the tabby cat.

"Has the little flower cub gained weight? Look at its belly, it's round."

"Idiot! The little flower boy has a kitten."

Wen Ming took the tabby cat off Wen Qing's hands, and there were several finger-sized fish in his small bucket.

"Little flower boy, come and eat fish."

Several children gathered around the tabby cat, watching it tilt its head and bite left and right. A fish would be eaten in two or three seconds, making wolfish sounds from time to time.

An Ran was pushed out by her mother to bask in the sun. She hadn't seen the sun for a long time and stayed in the house every day.

An Ran watched a few boys playing with a calico cat. This calico cat had a flower-like tricolor pattern on its back and had round eyes, very cute.

Looking at the bulging belly, An Ran was sure that the calico cat had kittens. Cats have a short pregnancy period, so they might have a litter of kittens in the next year.

"I sell fish for two cents a pound. It's cheap. I have fish every year~"

Wang Yonglin, a tall man about 1.8 meters tall, stood under the big willow tree at the entrance of the village and hawked hard.

"Yong Lin, you sell fish, my God, there are so many fish, your family really has a surplus every year, you can do it!"

The Fourth Master in the village put his hand into the water and looked at the fish. These fish were really big.

"Fourth Master, buy one and keep it at home, and wait for a few days to eat it during the Chinese New Year. What do you think of this one? You have a lot of family members. This one is big and fat. It has few grass carp bones and tastes good."

Fourth Master Wang looked at the fish he was holding out. It was indeed plump. If he had taken it home without hesitation in previous years, this year it would be shabby.

"Fourth Master, if you don't mind it, for one penny per catty, this fish costs about seven or eight pence. Everyone will be sad this year. These fish are all caught in the river and are not worth a few dollars. Take them back to celebrate the New Year."

"Oh, how embarrassing is this!"

Although Mr. Wang refused, he smiled broadly and took the fish with both hands.

"What a big fish, great~"

The fish scales are shining, dazzling under the refraction of the sun, and some fish tails are glowing with a touch of red, as gorgeous as a rainbow.

"Oh, so many fish!"

This is what the onlookers of the villagers lamented. More and more people were sighing in admiration.

"Brother Wang, you are really good at catching so many fish there. No wonder all four of you are so good."

As soon as Sister-in-law Qiu heard that the Wang family was selling fish, she quickly came to join in the fun. She couldn't help but be amazed when she saw so many fish.

"Sister-in-law Qiu, come and pick one, it's very cheap."

Sister-in-law Qiu naturally took her fancy to a few good ones, all of which were big carps with dazzling scales, especially the red color on the tail, which looked like red satin, symbolizing good luck and good luck.

"Seriously, it's not profitable? If you take it to the town, you'd have to sell it for thirty or four cents a pound."

"I won't make any money from you this year. When things get better next year, everyone will be indispensable for me, don't you think?

My fellow villagers, please help each other and next year will be a good one."

Wang Yongye is the most eloquent person in the Wang family, and his words make everyone feel warm and write down personal feelings.

The lonely old men standing aside looked at the prosperous Wang family and were filled with envy.

The Wang family's fish sales were booming, and those in need all agreed to take the fish on credit, and they could exchange it for food when they became rich in the coming year.

The purpose of the Wang family is to take advantage of the New Year to give some merit to their family, so that Fu Bao can grow up well in their family.

"Village chief, buy fish!"

"You idiot, Sister-in-law Qiu just bought a few big carps."

"Hey, this is not a joke."

The village chief, Cao Defa, came not far away to convene a meeting with the villagers. I heard that they all went to buy fish under the old willow tree.

"Village chief, what are you going to do? What do you have on your hands?"

Cao De found that he couldn't even laugh now, and his thick eyebrows were frowning together. He wondered whether he should tell everyone the news.

"What's going on? What happened?"

The first person to react was Sister-in-law Qiu, who looked like she was troubled.

"Everyone, listen to me, the county government issued an official document today."

Cao Defa used everyone to gather together and unfolded the official document in his hand. Every word on it touched the heart.

"In the winter of the tenth year of the Qingyuan Dynasty, the Southern Barbarians launched an offensive. Now the decisive battle has been going on for a long time. Our country's elite are trapped in the southern border. The country's money and food are exhausted here, and the country's loyal soldiers are buried here. At present, the country has no food left, and the army is insufficient. It is a matter of survival, and the whole country must be mobilized.

There are only one young man per household, or food can be used instead of soldiers..."

People were stunned for a while after hearing this. Everyone was uneducated, so they just heard about soldiers and food.

"Village chief, just tell us what you mean!"

Father Wang's hands were trembling. He was extremely familiar with this official document. The village chief's voice echoed over and over again in his ears.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?"

"The conscription is about to begin."

Father Wang slowly spat out a few words, each word heavy.

Cao Defa informed the villagers of the words on the document in a simple and easy-to-understand manner.

Chang Tao is currently at war, the treasury is empty, and there is insufficient food and money. Now that the emperor wants to recruit troops from all over the world to fight against the Southern Barbarians, every household will send out a man. Another way is to send out food without sending out people.

Using enough food to replace people is aimed at ordinary people and high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen.

Naturally, the common people could not hand over enough food, but wealthy and powerful families only needed to contribute some food to avoid the pain of conscription.

Hearing this, the people who were so happy collapsed on the ground, beating the ground with their hands and feet, asking for their lives!

Those who have a man in the family but not a man in the family are all very worried. Each household will smoke a ding. If there is a man in the family, he will be sent to fight, but if there is no man in the family, he will be given food.

"Ah, how do you live? You have no one to live with, no food to eat, and you only have one life. If you want it, ask the King of Hell to take it away. Don't be reincarnated as a human being in the next life."

An Ran was a little touched. For ordinary people, the ancient conscription was undoubtedly a narrow escape from death. People who came back alive would not say how capable they were, only that they were tough.
Chapter completed!