Chapter 3 The Old Lame Man and the Little Wart Boy_2

Of course, there might be distinctions, but Shu Guan, not being a history expert, couldn't perceive these minute differences.

However, he had used other indicators to determine the era to which he had traveled.

Namely, the plentiful chili peppers and tobacco commonly found in the village.

Tobacco was introduced into Huaxia during the mid-Ming Dynasty, while chili peppers came later, towards the end of the Ming Dynasty.

This knowledge isn't obscure, but not many people pay much attention to it. Nevertheless, Shu Guan, who enjoyed reading cultural history books in college, knew about it rather comprehensively.

He remembered reading an article that said, although chilies were introduced into Huazia during the late Ming era, they were initially admired by the Huaxia people as an exotic plant. Only decades later, they began to grow in popularity as an ingredient in food.

They initially became popular in what is now Yunnan and Guizhou, then spread to Hunan, Hubei, and the lands of Chuan and Shu. Playing a significant role in this was the rebel army of Wu Sangui, the rebel leader of the Western Expedition.

The village elders also mentioned that they had come to this remote valley to avoid war.

Comparing these two pieces of evidence, Shu Guan suspected that the war 200 years earlier was possibly the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories at the end of the Ming and the beginning of the Qing dynasty.

If that was the case, about two hundred years had passed, and the outside world should now be in the late Qing era. He was uncertain, however, if the Qing dynasty had fallen yet.

Up to now, these were Shu Guan's judgments about the time and place of his time travel.

Although he had been living in this valley for four years and hadn't seen the world outside, Shu Guan was over 90% sure of his deduced facts.

Since he was still on Earth, having merely traveled back a few centuries, he naturally didn't believe the villagers who spoke of Immortals.

But disregarding those superstitious tales, how did the earliest villagers come to this valley?

This question has been puzzling Shu Guan for the past few years.

He felt that if he could unravel this mystery, he might find a way out of this valley encircled by cliffs.

He had heard that the oldest ancestors of Taoyuan village had left some written records that might contain more specific clues.

Unfortunately, these books were kept in the ancestral temple of Taoyuan Village. Shu Guan, not being a native, and being just four years old, naturally had no opportunity to view these records.

He would have to wait until he was older to get a chance to read them.

Additionally, something peculiar happened in Taoyuan Village. Aside from the original villagers who mysteriously appeared in this valley, another strange thing occurred.

The first three hundred refugees in Taoyuan village, although not all from the same hometown or with the same surname, had been living in such an isolated environment for over two hundred years where intermarriage between the same surnames was inevitable.

As far as Shu Guan knew, it wasn't unusual in Taoyuan Village for siblings to marry, and even marriages between cousins were not uncommon.

Yet the entire village had virtually no mentally ill or birth-defective individuals.

This was truly astonishing in terms of biology, genetics, and probability.

Therefore, this seemingly ordinary small mountain village might indeed have some secrets!

Just then, a wrinkly hand reached out, taking the smoking pipe from Shu Guan's hand.

It turned out that Shu Guan had been so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed the old cripple had returned to his side.

An eerie glow shimmered in the snowy expanse of the old man's blind eye, while his other eye radiated a comforting warmth.

He reached out to tousle Shu Guan's hair, his mouth widening into a grin full of affection for the freckled youth sitting on the stool. Each of his facial lines softened tenderly.

"When you're a bit older, Grandpa will make one for you too."

The old cripple tucked the pipe he had taken from Shu Guan into his belt.

"Alright, Grandpa," replied Shu Guan obediently, nodding.

He would never want to upset the old cripple.

"Little Freckle, let's go home."

Shu Guan's current name was Little Freckle, just as the old man was called Old Cripple.

The people of Taoyuan Village all have such simple names.

Because there are more than seven hundred people in the entire village, trapped within a valley, there is no need for elaborate formal names; a simple designation to distinguish each other suffices.

For example, the big boy who was leading the group of children just now was named Wang Dahu, and he had three younger brothers, called Erhu, Sanhu, and Sihu respectively. As for the pretty, doe-eyed little girl who was frightened into tears by Shu Guan's appearance, her name was Zhang Yadan.

As for Shu Guan, he's currently called Xiaomazi (little boy with freckles), and as he grows older, he should be called Mazi (freckles), and when he gets old, he will be called Laomazi (old freckles).

Shu Guan, who was likely to be called 'freckles' his whole life, looked up and gave the old cripple a radiant smile.

Of course, radiant was how he perceived it himself.

In reality, when Shu Guan smiled, all the black freckles on his face gathered together, looking horrendously ugly.

"Okay, Grandpa."

He stretched out his chubby little arm toward the old cripple.

The old cripple's aged face held no hint of disdain; he was still chuckling as he lifted Shu Guan into his arms and placed him into the bamboo basket on his back.

Although the old cripple had given him a name that might invite a lifetime of jokes, Shu Guan had never been angry with the old man.

How could Shu Guan possibly be angry with the old cripple!

Four years ago, when he was first salvaged from the creek by the old cripple, he was covered in sores and cried constantly from the pain.

It was this old cripple who painstakingly wiped his body with medicinal fluids day and night. For a full three months, he held him till dawn every single night.

And it was the same old cripple who begged at the home of every newly birthed child in the village for a bit of leftover milk for Shu Guan sometimes. Seeing mothers breastfeeding, he would approach with an embarrassed face, carrying little Shu Guan, hoping to let the boy suckle for a bit.

Of course, in such situations, Shu Guan would generally close his eyes and cry or create a ruckus, refusing to open his mouth.

It was also the same old cripple who never abandoned Shu Guan alone for the past four years, no matter if was farming, picking herbs on the mountain, fishing in the river, or helping neighbors fix their houses, he always brought Shu Guan along.

Because even now, many people in the village still dislike Shu Guan, believing the child found floating in the stream, riddled with pus-filled sores was some demon reincarnated, an omen of bad luck.

Many people in the village were initially against the idea of taking in this child.

So, the old cripple never let Shu Guan out of his sight.

Raising a child is not easy.

Especially for an old man with a lame leg, an eye clouded with cataract, nearing the twilight of his life, raising a child was much harder.

If it was just a regular four-year-old, it's likely they wouldn't understand the sacrifices made by the old cripple.

But Shu Guan was not a real child, and he saw and appreciated every struggle, every act of care from the old cripple in the last four years.

Without the old cripple, Shu Guan would not have survived till now.

The old cripple carrying a bamboo basket, with Xiaomazi standing in the basket, his little hands resting on the old cripple's shoulders, exerting all his strength to keep himself upright.

Making it a bit easier for the old cripple.

An old cripple without children, a little boy without parents.

A pair of 'grandfather and grandson,' not connected by blood, walked home under the gradually disappearing sunset behind the cliffs.

At some moment, Shu Guan gently rested his forehead on the thin shoulder of the old cripple, a serene look on his face.

Because of the old cripple, he had lived.

Because of the old cripple, he hadn't gone mad in this despairing mountain village.

In his previous life, he had no family.

In this life, he had one.

If this was the meaning of his being brought to this place and time then Shu Guan no longer harbored regrets.