Zhang Xiaozu took the white cloth and spread it in his palm. He saw three words written on the white cloth. He didn't know much about literacy, but he happened to know these three characters, because these three characters were exactly his name: Zhang Xiaozu.
The handwriting is beautiful, I think it was written by a woman.
For some reason, Zhang Xiaozhu's heart suddenly twitched when he saw these three words, as if he was being held tightly by a big hand, hurting and suffocating. He looked up at the old village chief eagerly. He knew that these three words must be related to his biological parents.
The old village chief seemed to know what Zhang Xiaozhu was thinking, and nodded to him, saying: "These three words are indeed left by your relatives, but they are not written on this white cloth, but written on the ground with a stylus. I felt that this was the only clue related to your identity, so I made a rubbing and traced it on this piece of white cloth. Now that you are an adult, I will leave it to you for personal care."
"Thank you, village chief, for your kindness." Zhang Xiaozhu kowtowed heavily and held the white cloth in his hands. His nose was sore and his eye circles were red. This was the first time in his life that he felt that his parents were real.
The old village chief stroked his beard and continued: "I saw the handwriting, which is beautiful and soft, so I guess it was left by your mother. You should keep it well and don't get it dirty. It is the key to finding relatives and recognizing ancestors in the future. As the saying goes Tao, the beloved son of parents has far-reaching plans. Your parents abandoned you here, perhaps because they were forced to do so out of some helplessness. It was the best choice they could make for you at the time. To say the least, Even if they are not, you should not annoy them and hate them. Life is only for a few decades. You should live happily and live freely, and you should not live in resentment and hatred. Do you understand? "
"Thank you, Grandpa Village Chief, for teaching me. I understand." Zhang Xiaozhu nodded vigorously and remembered the old village chief's words in his heart. He folded the white cloth, tore off a piece of cloth from his body, wrapped it in the white cloth, and then put it in his arms and put it away.
"This is the first thing I want to tell you, and the second thing is next." The old village chief said, "Today you are an adult and you should take your first name. But your parents and elders are not here, so we can't make decisions for you. , I want to ask your opinion, should I take it today or wait until you find your parents?"
"I will take it today." Zhang Xiaozhu said without hesitation, "Although my biological parents are not here, all my close relatives are here, so why can't I be the master? I hope the elders will give me a name."
"In that case, I will give you a name." The old village chief nodded and said, "Today, you will be named Zhang Xiaopu. The word is very useful. A soldier can take off his armor and go to the fields to farm. When he goes into battle, he can attack cities and destroy the ground, kill and capture enemies. King, it will be of great use."
"This little pawn is of great use." Zhang Xiaopou muttered softly, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly kowtowed and thanked: "Thank you, elder, for the name."
"Haha, okay." The old village chief nodded with satisfaction. This was something he came up with after thinking hard for several days and nights. Seeing that Zhang Xiaozu liked it, he was very happy and said: "The next thing is the third thing. You have Having taken the name, it should be entered into the family tree. When you are alive, you should have roots and a family, not just like a duckweed. Logically speaking, you should find your biological parents and recognize your ancestors. But the road to find relatives is endless, or one day You can find it, or you can find it in ten years, or you may not even find it in your lifetime. What if you can't find it in your lifetime? You grew up in Liujia Village, and this is your home. I discussed it with the village elders, and we all agreed I agree that you will join the Liujia Village family tree and form a branch of your own. What do you think?"
"Really - really?" Zhang Xiaozhu looked at the old village chief in disbelief, wondering if he had heard wrongly. The old village chief actually allowed him, an outsider, to enter the village tree of Liujia Village. He was still in his own lineage. It was just a dream. generally.
But you must know that in this world of strict clans, rootless people are equivalent to savages jumping out of rocks. They will be despised and despised wherever they go. Even if they are captured as slaves or even beaten to death in the street, they will not be affected. Someone will say a word for you, but it can be said that it is as difficult as climbing to the sky for a person without roots to take root.
"Really." The old village chief nodded.
Bang bang bang——
Zhang Xiaopou kowtowed nine times and choked with excitement: "It was all arranged by the village chief and the elders of the village. It is a great kindness and kindness that Zhang Dayong will never forget in his life."
"Okay, okay, I hope you will get married soon and flourish." The old village chief gave his blessing.
With tears in Zhang Xiaozhu's eyes, he suddenly hugged Niu Dawa, who was kneeling beside him, and shouted happily: "Daw, I have roots! I have roots! Haha——"
"Haha - you have roots! You have roots! Haha -" Da Wa was happy with him, laughed together, and roared together.
"I, Zhang Dayong, have roots!" Zhang Xiaopou roared up to the sky, as if he wanted to tell the whole world.
After Zhang Xiaozhu calmed down from the excitement, the old village chief held a wicker in his hand and circled Zhang Xiaozhu and Niu Dawa. The wicker hit them lightly and said as he hit them: "You two have grown up today. You should remember your parents' childbirth." The words of kindness and filial piety come first. You should shoulder responsibilities and have the courage to take on responsibilities. You should be fearless of difficulties and have the courage to fight. You should benefit others and benefit the world and make contributions. You should be worthy of being happy in your heart for the rest of your life. You are not required to do good deeds every day, but you are born as a human being and you must do good deeds. "
"Remember the elders' teachings!" Zhang Xiaozhu and Niu Dawa kowtowed.
"Okay, get up." The old village chief said.
The two stood up, saluted, and returned to the crowd with adult excitement.
The old village chief knocked on the ground with his cane, suppressed his smile, and returned to the seriousness he had when offering sacrifices to the sky. Everyone knew what the village chief was going to say next, so they couldn't help but fall silent. The sudden change in the atmosphere made the children, who were still unaware of their troubles, look at their parents in bewilderment, and received silent gestures from their parents.
"Don't hunt in spring, don't cut down in summer, nourish the mountains and forests, and raise children and grandchildren. Our ancestors' admonitions have been passed down from generation to generation. For more than six hundred years, we dare not violate them. We never imagined that they would be destroyed in our hands. Alas -" the old villager sighed. He let out a cry of great sorrow and sadness, but then he smiled with relief and said: "Admonitions are dead, people are alive. If you follow the admonitions, you will die, if you adapt, you will live. I expect our ancestors will understand and forgive us. Okay, Without further ado, let’s get straight to the point. The drought is taking over, and the government doesn’t care whether we live or die. If we want to survive, we have to find our own way. We in Liujia Village have made a living by farming and hunting for generations. Now that we can no longer farm, all we can do is hunt. There is only one road. So if we want to survive, we have to go into the mountains to hunt. Every family’s food tank has bottomed out, and has even been eaten, so there is no need to wait. We need to select a hunting team today and go into the mountains tomorrow."
"Old village chief, just call me by name. No one will frown if they are called."
"Yeah. Drawing lots is too troublesome."
The villagers in Liujia Village are all friendly and united. The more difficult it is, the more they can stick together without distinguishing each other.
The old village chief waved his hand and said: "It is unfair to act arbitrarily, so let's draw lots. Of course, there are some people who cannot participate in the draw. Those who are the only children in the family, those whose wives are pregnant, those who have not yet had children, minors, and those who are young Those who are over fifty years old, as well as those who are infirm and sick. I know the basics of every household, and no one can get away with it."
Those who didn't follow the rules but had secret agendas immediately started complaining.
The old village chief ignored these people and waved to one person, who walked forward holding a wooden box. The box was placed on the ground, and there was a round hole as big as a fist directly above it. Following the round hole, you could see many small paper balls inside.
"I have calculated that there are sixty-three people who meet the requirements——"
"Grandpa, village chief, are you counting me out? Are you counting me out?"
As soon as the old village chief opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Niu Dawa yelling. He had just held a completion ceremony today and was afraid that the old village chief would forget it.
"Forget it, forget it." The old village chief glared at Niu Dawa angrily, and then continued: "There are sixty-three paper balls in the box, and thirty paper balls have 'one' written on them. Join the hunting party at 'One'."
"Ah? Old village chief, did you make a mistake? Why did you choose only thirty people to enter the mountain?" Someone asked in surprise. Logically speaking, the more the better.
The old village chief frowned and said: "What is terrible in the year of disaster is not the natural disasters, but the people's hearts. If all our strong laborers have gone into the mountains, what if bandits and bandits come to the village to plunder? There is only one village left. The old, weak, women and children are being bullied and slaughtered. I heard that the south is in chaos, and everyone is hungry and red-eyed, grabbing food everywhere. If the officials let it go, they will be here soon. So, stay here Families, the burden on your shoulders is much heavier than that of people going into the mountains. Furthermore, going into the mountains requires a lot of physical effort, and you need a full meal to have the strength to hunt. And we don’t have much food, and it’s not enough to support more people. Go hunting in the mountains.”
"Stop talking nonsense, just listen to the old village chief." Niu Yao, Niu Dawa's father, shouted loudly. After that, he walked to the box, reached in and grabbed a paper ball, unfolded it, and suddenly smiled and said: "Haha, yes, I am lucky."
"You bitch, who asked you to arrest me first? You arrested me." A man with an open chest yelled. After scolding, he kicked over the one on the right who was eligible for drawing lots, and knocked down the one on the left who was eligible for drawing lots with one arm. He killed the two competitors with lightning speed, and then rushed to the box with lightning speed. , reached into the box and took out three paper balls, and said to the two people who fell to the ground in confusion: "Brother, I will help you two catch them together."
After saying that, the three paper balls were opened together. The first one was zero, and he threw it to one of them. The second one was also zero, and he threw it to another person. The third one finally came out with a one, and he suddenly laughed wildly. .
This man's name is Li Dashan, a rough and heroic man, and Niu Dawa's father, Niu Yao, are the two most experienced hunting men in the village.
The old village chief was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. He whipped Li Dashan hard with the cane and asked him to put the paper ball back into the box and whip it again. Li Dashan ran away holding his head in pain, and simply swallowed the paper ball in one gulp, leaving the old village chief helpless.
coax--
As soon as this example was opened, everything was in chaos. They yelled and cursed and punched and kicked like a group of barbarians.
Niu Dawa received eight punches and nine kicks, and was even grabbed in the crotch by some turtle boy. The pain made his face turn green. In the end, he could not get within one step of the box. But he was lucky and picked it up on the ground. I picked up a paper ball, opened it, and saw that it was a man. I immediately yelled to identify myself, and then imitated Li Dashan and swallowed the paper ball into his stomach.
"Good brother, just stay at home and take care of the village, and I will go into the mountains to catch a bear for you to eat." Niu Dawa covered his crotch with one hand and patted Zhang Xiaopou's shoulder to comfort him.
Zhang Xiaopeng did not meet the conditions for drawing lots, and he did not dare to violate the rules set by the old village chief, so he could only stand aside and watch.
"I want to go into the mountain." Zhang Xiaopou finally couldn't bear the restlessness in his heart. He shook off Niu Dawa's hand on his shoulder, strode up to the old village chief, and said firmly: "Grandpa, village chief, I want to go to the mountain." Go into the mountains. As you know, I am born with great strength, so going into the mountains will be of great use."
The old village chief didn't even look at him. He shook his head and said, "You are a single seedling, and you are responsible for carrying on the family line. You are not allowed to enter the mountain. Besides, as I just said, it is even more useful to stay at home to resist bandits."
Zhang Xiaozu curled his lips. He had never heard of bandits causing trouble nearby since he was a child, and felt that the old village chief was being alarmist. Seeing that the old village chief had a straight face and showed no intention of giving in, Zhang Xiaopou could only be shameless, hugged the old village chief's arm and begged coquettishly: "Grandpa village chief, please, please let me go into the mountain."
All the children in the village know that this is a surefire way to deal with the village chief's grandfather. As long as he does not make a principled mistake, he can always get the old village chief's forgiveness. Zhang Xiaopeng used this trick a lot when he was a child, but he has grown up over the years and is too embarrassed to use it anymore. At this time, he used his old skills again. Although his cheeks were burning with shame, his skill was still the same as before. After shaking his arms a few times, the old village chief surrendered.
"Stop, stop, stop, my old bones can't stand your tossing like this. If I shake it any more, they will fall apart." The old village chief shouted angrily, used a walking stick to pull Zhang Xiaopeng one step away, and laughed and cursed: "You brat, are you ashamed? You are already marrying a wife and starting a family, and you still want to learn the tricks of other people's crotchless dolls. What's the matter, is it possible that after you marry your wife, you will still let your wife hold her to pee? Haha—— "
Zhang Xiaozu's face turned red and he was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in. But now was the critical moment of the struggle and he could not run away from the battle. He simply acted shamelessly and pretended not to hear anything. He said politely: "In front of you, Mr. Niu." My uncle is a child, let alone me. Anyway, I don’t care. If you don’t agree with me going into the mountains, I will stick to you all day long.”
The old village chief did not pick a fight with him, but pointed at the crowd with his walking stick and said: "Looking at Xizi's happy look, he must have grabbed a spot to go to the mountain. His baby was less than a hundred days old, and on the day of the full moon wine, I went to see the baby. The baby was crying loudly and full of energy. He will be a strong and capable person when he grows up. I just heard that the baby caught wind and cold yesterday, had a cough and fever, and struggled all night. He will go into the mountains tomorrow. The baby is sick, and I wonder if Xizi can hunt with peace of mind?"
"Humph! As a father, you must have the responsibility and responsibility of being a father. How can you leave the child alone when he is sick? I'll tell him to go." Zhang Xiaozhu suppressed his laughter and said in a pretentious manner.
"Be careful and don't let him lose face." The old village chief warned in a low voice. It's just that his instructions seemed a bit slow. When he opened his mouth, Zhang Xiaopou had already rushed into the crowd and was in front of Li Rongxi. Without saying a word, he punched him in the face, and then took advantage of Li Rongxi's dazed state to snatch the gun from his hand. Draw lots and run away.
The old village chief gritted his teeth and said, "Today's young people are very angry."
