My father’s conflicts and struggles with the Barghanis had almost reduced his economic activities to zero. His wife had one garden, and there was another garden as well; he took care of them and had some activities, but he couldn’t engage in any other economic activities. Sometimes we also went to Mazandaran to do some work, but this coincided with international wars and famines, and it was basically not beneficial at all. Finally, my father and his family returned to Dorvan; we lived in one house, and they in another. During those years, our affairs in Dorvan revolved around farming.
The conflicts my father had with the Barghanis gradually spread to Dorvan. My mother had many relatives there, and they had their opinions about my father’s remarriage. On the other hand, the first wife of my paternal grandfather’s family had old disputes with my father. These issues led to public confrontations in Dorvan. For example, once I was on the farm, my father got into a dispute with several people, and it escalated into a physical altercation. When I returned, my mother explained the situation to me. I quickly went there, and they were near the cemetery, engaged in the conflict. When I arrived, the situation had already ended, and both sides had gone to Dawood Khan’s house to resolve the matter. I went there too and saw that the Dorvanis were sitting, and most of them were against my father. Dawood Khan and my father were sitting at the head of the gathering, and the locals had incited Dawood Khan against my father. My father, whom I saw pick up a piece of wood that was next to him, started to protest. It seemed he had remained silent before and had been cut off. When he saw me, he let go of the wood because my social status in Dorvan was better than his. I had more relatives in Dorvan, and my mother had many relatives there, while he didn’t have many. The issue was about a garden: three ‘dangs’ (a unit of land measurement) belonged to my father, and three ‘dangs’ belonged to one of the locals. Those three ‘dangs’ had previously belonged to someone else who had sold them to that person.
My father’s argument was, “You had no right to buy it; I have the right of preemption; I should have bought it. I don’t want to be your partner. Now either buy it or sell it.” The other party said, “I’ll buy it.” My father asked, “How much will you buy it for?” He said, for example, fifty tomans. My father said, “I’ll buy it for sixty tomans.” This continued until it stopped at some point. The other party said, “I’m selling it.” Later, it was decided that they would go to Karaj the following week to arrange the deed. All these agreements were also documented. In the meantime, the seller suddenly backed out and said, “I’m not selling it.” Dawood Khan, who had a more significant role there, intervened and resolved the matter. The other party gave up, and in the end, the land was sold to my father. Afterward, my father answered each of them one by one and left there happily.
Life at that time had become difficult. There was a famine and the hardships of war, and our family had grown larger. Local income alone couldn’t support our lives, so we had to engage in other activities. For example, in the winters, we would go north and engage in economic activities. Those few years were very difficult for us. In addition to all these hardships, in the second half of 1323, I went for military service. In the two years I was away, my father faced various challenges. For instance, two of my uncles tried to kill him. One night, it seemed my father was loading livestock fodder from the field to take it to the barn. They passed by their land, and they came and struck him with a pickaxe. My father resisted and fought them off; he beat both of them and left them injured. One of them died on the spot, and the other one fled to inform the villagers, believing my father was dead. My father fled and hid somewhere. Before that, he had told Morteza that they were coming, and if anyone among them supported him, inform me; otherwise, tell my father to go to Karaj. As it turned out, they went to our house and threatened to do this and that. One of my paternal cousins opposed them, saying, “Is this Herat city? Two people have killed one person, and…” As things unfolded, Morteza went to inform my father. He came with a broken head and blood-soaked clothes and explained the situation. On the other side, my uncles had gone to Karaj and filed a complaint. On the other hand, when I heard about the incident, I pursued it through the army’s command. They recommended that the Gendarmerie handle the matter, and eventually, the incident was resolved somehow. In my absence, my father went through a lot until I returned in 1325, and we went to Karaj again.