To the south of the valley, the scene is as desolate as ever.
The biggest trouble that the deterioration of the world brings to travelers is a sense of uneasiness.
Uneasiness drives us to take precautions before they happen.
As a result, every time Liu Chengzong saw a strange face on the road, he would try his best to suppress the stupid idea of shooting it with an arrow.
There was really no one on the desolate ancient road, but there was a wolf who wanted to fight with Xiao Zuanfeng, but was scared away by him shooting arrows.
There was a pack of wolves, but he did not dare to pursue them further, and continued walking southward with Xiao Zuanfeng in tow.
The presence of wolves is not a bad thing. This shows that the situation at the junction of the three counties is better than that in the north. At least the people retreat and the animals advance.
Drought will affect all living things in all aspects. If the plants and trees can survive, people can receive crops, even if they are small; if the wild animals can survive, there will be food in the mountains.
People only have those three points of life left.
As for wolves and tigers, their killing efficiency is far inferior to natural disasters.
He carries weapons but no armor, so he can ride a horse much faster alone.
In the middle, I spent a while beating a wolf and galloping around. Later, I spent a little time saddleing a red flag pine and shaving my sweat. However, because the loess soil was dry and cracked, I spent many times checking the shoe, and it only took half a moment to add one.
Apart from that, the journey went very smoothly. He started out in the morning and became familiar with it as he walked. He passed through several villages. Even when he saw people wearing ragged coats and sunbathing on the mountains with nothing to do from a distance, he was relieved from the desolate and miserable scene. Feel the breath of being human.
In less than an hour, he saw Panlongchuan.
Panlongchuan is a small river originating from a mountain spring in the north. When it is not flowing, the water is very shallow. When you see Panlongchuan, you can see the Black Dragon King Temple Mountain. Liu Chengzong has arrived home.
Liu Chengzong rode his horse through the mountain road and looked at the fields on the mountain. His eyes were full of novelty. For four days, they had walked more than three hundred miles, and everywhere they passed were deserted villages in the countryside, and there was no life everywhere.
But when I got closer to my hometown, I saw an endless field of cracked fields. Farmers and children were picking stones in the ditch and further clearing it.
Although the people were so thin from hunger, with no extra flesh visible under their dark skin, which was tightly wrapped around the bones, their mental state was better than anyone he had seen in the past few days.
They are building canals, but according to Liu Chengzong's judgment of the current situation, people no longer need to build canals - go south. Everyone is going south to find a way to survive. Why stay here to build canals?
He came back early. Many people went to the fields and were not in a hurry to work. Some people were squatting by the roadside with bowls in their hands, drinking porridge. My mother-in-law stood next to her with an old wooden box, waiting for the farmers to finish the porridge and put away the bowls. Bring back.
In the fields, many people were very strange to Liu Chengzong, who went to Yan'an Prefecture with Liu Juren at the age of four, and went to Mizhi at the age of twelve. He did not recognize others, and others did not recognize him. He had no eagerness to leave and return home.
On the contrary, when the farmers saw him coming from the country road, they all put down their work and watched silently while leaning on their farm tools.
Even if Liu Chengzong wanted to say hello, he didn't know what other people's names were.
This embarrassing situation did not last long - it was time to reach my own field.
There are two types of land in Xingpingli, one is private land and the other is clan land. Liu Juren stood out from the clan's private school at that time. With the support of his clan members, he was able to leave his job and pass the examination. He later owned 280 acres of land. Donate everything to the clan to repay the kindness of nurturing.
When Liu Juren failed to collect taxes and was imprisoned for contradicting his superiors, the family allocated a hundred acres of land to his brothers Chengzong. At that time, Liu Chengzong followed him to recognize the land and drive boundary stakes. He was very familiar with his own land.
Several people were composting in the field. Seeing him on a horse and carrying a sword, they all stopped what they were doing and watched from a distance.
He reined in his horse and asked, "Brothers, where are the Sanfang family members?"
The man in the ditch was very strong. He raised his head and glanced at him. His eyes fell on the waist knife. He climbed to the side of the road and asked: "Who are you? What do you want to do with me?"
When Liu Chengzong heard that he was called "Master", he thought about it and realized that he had never seen this man in his clan before. He could only clasp his fists on his horse and said, "I am the youngest of the family, Chengzong."
If it were someone else, he might have thought that he had seen him and forgotten about him, but a man like this who is so strong that it makes people feel as oppressive as a mountain at a glance will never be forgotten.
"Chengzong?"
This name was a bit unfamiliar to the man. He thought for a moment, and the cold expression on his face instantly melted away, and his expression changed extremely wonderfully: "Little benefactor?"
With a plop, the big man pushed the golden mountain and knocked down the jade pillar, and knocked his head three times on the yellow earth. Then he raised his body and greeted: "Second Young Master is back, everyone, come here!"
Liu Chengzong was so frightened that he rolled off his horse and quickly helped him up and said, "Brother, what are you doing? Get up and talk."
"Let the young master know that Shi Wanzhong, a poor man, is a farmer in Shijiawan, Bensuide. Last year, there was a drought and he couldn't pay for summer grain. He and the people from the same county took his mother-in-law and aunt all the way to the south. Fortunately, the master took him in and saved his mother-in-law and her baby. Baby, I’m so kind to you today, even if you ask me to be a cow or a horse!”
Shi Wanzhong's eyes were red, and he wanted to bow down again, but Liu Chengzong grabbed him tightly. At this time, several other people in the field also came over, and they all wanted to bow down, and each told the situation. They all fled to Longwang Temple Mountain last year and were killed by their father. Liu Juren took him in.
Seeing that he couldn't stop them one by one, four or five men gathered in one place, each talking their own words, but he couldn't hear anything clearly, so he had to open his hands and say to everyone: "Brothers, please call me Chengzong, don't worship me anymore." , Now that I’m here, it’s easy to live there, there will always be a way to survive in disaster years.”
After saying that, Liu Chengzong turned to Shi Wanzhong and asked: "Brother Shi, where is my elder brother?"
"My boss is training for the people on Liujiamao. Come on, you continue to work on clearing the ditch. I will take the young master to see the boss."
After saying that, Shi Wanzhong took the reins from his hand and crossed his hands on the horse's belly: "Young Master, mount the horse."
Liu Chengzong's mind was in chaos. Faced with Shi Wanzhong's enthusiasm, he was even more at a loss. He had to wave his hands and said: "It's okay, let's go together. I am a soldier outside and haven't been back for more than a year. I happen to have a lot of things to learn from my elder brother. Talking while walking? Just call me lion, small words."
Shi Wanzhong didn't force it, so he led the horse half a step behind and said, "Okay, what do you want to ask, Master Lion?"
What are you asking? Where did Liu Juren get the food to feed them?
In fact, he wanted to ask this the most. Regardless of Mizhi, Suide or Qingjian along the way, the situation was getting worse and worse. There were indeed many people still staying on the land, but in those places without exception, a large number of people became refugees.
The land was completely barren, and even those who stayed in their hometowns had no energy to build water conservancy projects.
But when the words came to his lips, Liu Chengzong asked: "How did I become a strong citizen? Where is the leader?"
Shi Wanzhong shook his head: "You guys don't know that when we fled here, I was the leader of the soldiers. There were some villains who were escaping with me. I asked you to lead the soldiers to kill them, so I was allowed to live in Xingpingli for a long time."
The more Liu Chengzong listened, the more confused he became. Ever since he was a child, the old man had been a gentle man and had never practiced martial arts or studied military affairs. How could he be so good after he came out of prison?
He knew that asking Shi Wanzhong couldn't get anything out of him. He looked up at Liujiamao, suppressed the doubts in his heart, and walked away with his legs.
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Note:
Dongjia: The name used by hired workers, tenants, and staff in the old days to their employer, landowner, and superior.
"Thank you brother for giving me these three letters. I bid farewell to my employer and headed east." - Ma Zhiyuan, Yuan Dynasty, "The Stele of Blessings Recommended by Thunder in the Midnight"
