Chapter 40 Going Home (Part 2)

"Stop, don't run!"

That afternoon, everyone in the rice field rolled up their sleeves and happily watched the daily life in the village - Ji Ying was chased and beaten by his father again.

"My father worked so hard to raise you, and let your three brothers live separately. I thought you were the least capable among my sons, so I left the land to you and let you take care of me in the future. I never thought that you would run away to be a guard! What if you were killed by thieves with your skinny arms?"

Ji Ying's father couldn't run after chasing for a while. He leaned against the wall and cursed breathlessly: "If I had known this would happen, I would have drowned you when I gave birth to you!"

"Father!" Although Ji Ying was out of breath, he turned back and said: "I heard that it is illegal to kill a child without raising him!"

"You unfilial son!" Ji Ying's father got excited when he heard this, and picked up the plow again and hit his useless little son: "It's not too late to beat you to death now!"

Everyone in the rice field looked at this familiar scene, and their stomachs hurt from laughing. Someone even started to make a noise: "Zhongweng! Do you want us to go to the government and report Ji Ying for being disobedient and rebellious, and let the magistrate sentence him to death?"

Don't think that only Confucianism advocates filial piety. The Qin State, which was ruled by the Legalists, also advocated it, and directly stipulated in the law: It is not illegal for a father to beat his son, and he can beat him to death! If his children are disobedient and unfilial, the father can even apply to the government, and the government can help you kill him on the spot!

"Get out, don't bother with my family's affairs! Ouch..."

Although he knew it was a joke, Ji Ying was still so angry that he scolded these people who were watching the fun, but he was caught up by his father and kicked in the butt...

So the whole afternoon, the rice field was filled with a happy atmosphere.

But in the mudflats of Yunmeng Township not far from here, what Xiao Tao encountered was not so happy...

...

As its name suggests, the mudflats are a piece of open land left after the edge of Yunmeng Lake dried up. It is a poor place with nothing but mud. Xiao Tao's family lives here.

After parting with Hei Fu at the fork in the road, Xiao Tao carried a large bag of corn that he had exchanged for money in the county and walked on the road with difficulty. The country roads were narrow and uneven, and some places were still flooded. When he walked out of the inner gate with one foot deep and one foot shallow, it was already noon on November 2nd.

As soon as he entered the inner gate, Xiao Tao encountered trouble.

"Isn't this Xiaokouchi?"

A few young men leaning against the inner gate saw Xiaotao and surrounded him with a smile. They looked at the new shoes on his feet and the bag of food on his back and marveled: "We all returned from military service with rags, but you, Xiaokouchi, are wearing new shoes. Where did you get them?"

Xiaotao was thin and stuttered. He had been bullied by his peers since he was a child. He had to lower his head and stammered: "It was... the night watchman, the sergeant... gave it to me..."

"Is there such a good sergeant?"

The two young men looked at each other, and then looked at the heavy bag of food on Xiaotao's shoulder, and then smiled: "This bag of food is so heavy, I'm afraid it weighs one stone. Come on, let us carry it for you!" As they said that, they smiled and tried to take his food.

How could Xiao Tao not know that these two people just like to bully him, and this time they have no good intentions. They said they were helping him deliver food, but in fact they were looking for an excuse to ask him for some corn, and they would definitely extort one or two buckets from him.

So Xiao Tao stepped back suddenly, put down the grain bag, took out the dagger in his arms, and said fiercely: "Don't... don't come over! If you dare to take my food, I will let you bleed!"

This scared the two people, and they looked at Xiao Tao as if he were a stranger.

In the past, Xiao Tao would definitely swallow his anger and let them bully him. But after serving for a month, he has changed unconsciously, not to mention that these are the life-saving food for Xiao Tao's family, and he is reluctant to give a single grain to others!

The two bullied him because he was honest. Once Xiao Tao drew his sword to resist, they dared not do anything to him. In addition, the prison gate also poked its head out to check, so they left cursing.

Xiao Tao breathed a sigh of relief, carrying the grain bag, and walked to the door of his house in Luzuo...

The broken jars were used as windows, and the door hinges were tied with ropes. It was really a "jar window and rope hinge" family.

The mudflats were poor, and Xiao Tao's family was notoriously poor. Moreover, everyone avoided their family, after all, his mother died of leprosy.

Xiao Tao sighed and pushed the door open. The yard was small, and his equally skinny father was squatting in the yard, warming himself by the fire. When he heard the door open, he looked up and saw Xiao Tao, but he didn't show any surprise. It was not until Xiao Tao put the grain in front of him that a trace of spirit reappeared in his deep eyes!

"Rice!"

Xiao Tao's father opened the grain bag and laughed so hard that he couldn't stop. Then he quickly closed the door and whispered, "Where did it come from? Did you steal it?"

Xiao Tao was so angry that his face turned red, but he couldn't speak. He just shook his head vigorously.

"It doesn't matter if it was stolen, just don't let anyone catch it." His father didn't care. He sat down again and said weakly, "After you left, I only had one meal a day. I'm starving. Go and cook the rice."

"Yeah."

Xiao Tao agreed silently and walked into the house. This house was a thatched house that was even more broken than the night watchman's house. The ground was bumpy. There was a low couch full of straw and an earthen stove. There was nothing else.

The only thing he could find was a small bow hanging on the wall.

This bow is different from ordinary bows, it is very light, and the arrows piled on the ground are also different. Behind each arrow, there is a thin fishing line...

This is called a Yi bow, which can be used to shoot birds or fish. Xiao Tao's father has no other skills, but he can shoot fish, which can also supplement the family income. But after breaking his finger while serving in the army a few years ago, this skill has been abandoned. Now the Yi bow is covered in dust, and his father has become more decadent and lazy. He doesn't want to plant the land or work. This life is over.

But Xiao Tao doesn't want to live like his father.

This month of service allowed him to see the outside world and understand what honor and friendship are. Winning the first place in the Xunri martial arts performance was the most glorious moment of his short life.

Xiao Tao put down the grain bag, walked to the wall, stood on tiptoe, took down the bow, blew away the thick dust on it, and gently plucked the bowstring, making it tremble slightly...

He looked at the bare house, not knowing whether he thought of his mother who died tragically of illness or his own situation, tears welled up in his eyes, but his fists clenched tighter and tighter:

"I... I want to apply! Be a guard! Never, ever come back!"

...

In the afternoon of November 2, Hei Fu, whose home was the farthest from the county town, also arrived.

Beside the road, there were large rice fields and millet fields that had been harvested long ago, and even the hay stalks had been harvested long ago, leaving them bare and somewhat desolate.

As the sun sets, the big banyan tree, which is still lush and leafy in the middle of winter, is still visible in the sunset...

"Brother Zhong!"

When Heifu walked to the inner gate, he heard someone calling his name loudly. When he looked up, he saw a man riding on the branches of the banyan tree, waving at him like a monkey.

"Brother Zhong, I'm here!"

That was his 15-year-old brother, Jing. If history had not changed, Jing would have died with Heifu in the war of unification a few years later, and that family letter would have become their last letter, until it was seen again countless years later, making future generations sigh.

But now, all this will become different, whether it is their life or their fate...

"This kid, he was born in the year of the monkey."

Heifu shook his head helplessly, but a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Go home!"

------------------