On New Year's Eve, the sun sets, and smoke curls up from the small town in the twilight.
The town is called Longquan Town. It is the easternmost town on the territory of Xia Kingdom, a vassal state of Shu. It is located in a corner. Because of its rugged terrain, surrounded by mountains and winding mountain roads, few people came to the town. Therefore, the town only had a population of a hundred households in the past hundred years. But it's a coincidence that in such a small town with less than a thousand households, there are big shots coming out one after another, all over the entire Middle-earth Divine Continent.
Most of the east streets of the town are home to wealthy families with well-off families, while most of the west streets are home to poor families. Therefore, during the New Year, the east streets are often decorated with lanterns, colorful gongs, drums, and firecrackers. In comparison, West Street seems a bit remote and quiet.
At this time, in front of a dilapidated old house on the West Street of the town, a poor young man in rough clothes and straw sandals squatted on the threshold of the house, leaning forward, holding a yellow paper talisman in his left hand, and lighting the yellow paper with a candle in his right hand. , burned all the ashes outside the threshold, and muttered something. He was worshiping the three gods according to the custom passed down from generation to generation in the small town: light three incense sticks on the 30th night, and you will be rich and happy.
The boy's surname is Xia and his given name is Chengyi. His parents died young and he has a younger sister at home. Perhaps God thought that the Xia family was not miserable enough. In the winter before his father left, his mother, Mrs. Chen, died of typhoid fever and had no money to treat her illness, leaving the two siblings alone. That year Xia Chengyi is seven years old and Xia Yao is three years old.
In order to be able to support his brother and sister, the helpless young man took on the burden of life very early. At a young age, he carried firewood several heads taller than him to and from the small town and the mountains. This also made the young man Although he looks frail, he is stronger than an ordinary boy of twelve or thirteen years old. However, it was obvious that he could not earn a few copper coins just by cutting and selling firewood. After carrying firewood for several months, Xia Chengyi had to find another way out, and finally found a part-time job as an apprentice in a blacksmith shop in the south of the town. In January There was also a harvest of thirty cents.
After finishing all this, the boy walked back into the house, put down the candle, sat on the wooden bench, looked across the table, and sighed.
Opposite him sits a pretty little girl. Although she is wearing a shabby red coat, she can still be seen as a beautiful woman. She has a pair of long, autumn eyes at a young age, and her eyes are as clear as a river. Clear spring.
The little girl is Xia Chengyi's sister, Xia Yao. At this moment, Xia Yao was concentrating on fighting against the mountains of pastries in front of her. Her cheeks were stuffed and bulging, and she kept stuffing pastries in her hands.
The young man looked at this scene and sighed again, and said helplessly: "Yao Yao, if you continue to eat like this, the little savings my brother has saved will be eaten up."
Xia Yao stopped eating and burped twice in succession, as if she was choking. She took a large gulp of water to breathe smoothly, and then said leisurely: "Food is the most important thing for people. In the vast world, eating is the most important thing. Brother, you don't understand this." Does it make sense?"
Xia Chengyi grinned. This is the truth, but just this small bag of pastries cost ten cents! Under normal circumstances, a money-lover like Xia Chengyi would never dare to buy it. It was only during the Chinese New Year that I dared to spend a lot of money to taste the sweet-scented osmanthus cake that the so-called gods even praised after eating it.
Xia Yao finished finishing the last piece of osmanthus cake left on the hill in front of her, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said, "Brother, why don't you go to Qiyu today?"
Praying for elms is a unique custom in their town: on the 30th of every year, go to the elm tree in the town and hang a red open embroidery bag under the elm tree and take it back the next day. If elm money is found in the embroidery bag the next day, it is a good sign. Because elm money has the same pronunciation as yuqian, and yuqian has the connotation of good fortune and prosperity in the family, so people in the town believe that if elm money leaves fall from their bags, they will be able to go smoothly and safely in the new year.
Xia Chengyi moved a small wooden stool and sat in front of the door. He put his hands on his knees and patted it gently: "I heard from Zhong Quan that the old elm tree seemed to have withered not long ago, and it was sawn by people nearby not long after." It was burned as firewood."
Strange to say, this old elm tree is evergreen all year round. Even in the autumn frost and winter snow, it is still lush and green, and there are no dead branches or leaves. In summer, it is even more lush and leafy. Every summer, people in the town like to enjoy the cool here. The children were playing and playing under the shade of the trees, and the old people were chatting about their parents' shortcomings. Just like this, spring passed and autumn came, and the old elm tree was a hundred years old, older than the ancestors of some families. Just like this, an old elm tree that had grown up with the people of the town suddenly withered one morning, and even the water level of the old well next to the tree dropped a few points. Many people in the town said that the good fortune that the town had enjoyed for a century had come to an end, and that the immortal master had taken back the luck that did not belong to the town in the first place.
After Xia Yao heard this, she jumped down from the bench and moved a small stool to sit in front of the door with Xia Chengyi. She took out an embroidered handkerchief from her red coat, opened it gently, and pinched out a piece of pastry. Put it in your mouth and your whole person will be filled with happiness.
Xia Chengyi glanced at Xia Yao, who was sitting next to him, and murmured in a low voice: "Wouldn't it be a little fat girl when she grows up to be a big girl? Who dares to marry you in the future? Is it possible that I, the elder brother, will give it to you in the future? Grab a brother-in-law?"
The girl stopped what she was doing, put down the cake and burst into tears.
Xia Chengyi immediately panicked when he saw it. He rubbed the girl's head quickly and said with a smile: "Our Yaoyao will definitely be a tall girl in the future. If she gets married, men from all over the country will definitely line up to give her gifts." , I, as the elder brother, will have to take care of your future brother-in-law when the time comes."
The girl grinned, lowered her head and started to devour.
Xia Chengyi rubbed his brows, a little worried whether his sister was really reincarnated as a starving ghost. How could she not stop talking like this?
Two figures in the distance appeared in Xia Chengyi's sight. A tall young man strode up to Xia Chengyi, grabbed Xia Chengyi's arm, and pulled him into his arms for a bear hug.
Next to the tall young man stood a slightly thin and handsome young man with delicate eyebrows and a face like a crown jewel. If he weren't wearing an old robe, he might have thought that a young man from some family came here to play.
The handsome young man smiled and greeted Xia Yao: "Happy New Year, little Yaoyao."
Xia Yao hurriedly swallowed the cake and burped before saying, "Happy New Year, brother Zuo."
The handsome young man standing next to the tall boy is named Zuo Shuwen. He lives in Fulu Lane on the East Street of the town, but he is not from a wealthy family. It is said that his ancestors were once wealthy, but after many changes, his family has become wealthy. Luo, his parents died early, leaving him a house and some meager savings, but it was enough for the daily life of a young man, so that he would not wallow on the ground hungry.
Xia Chengyi couldn't break free from the shackles of the tall boy who was three years older than him, so he could only let him hug him. The strong boy who was three years older than him hugged Xia Chengyi and then let go of him. He turned to look at Xia Yao grinned and said, "Happy Chinese New Year, little Yaoyao. Brother Zhong Quan didn't prepare any gifts for you this year. I will definitely buy you various paper kite toys next time I enter the Xian Family Mansion."
Zhong Quan is the demon king living in the West Street area of the town. He is an orphan like Xia Chengyi. However, because his physique has been different from ordinary people since he was a child, he often took advantage of his tallness to walk sideways on the West Street. Xia Chengyi also suffered a lot at his hands when he was a child. He would tease him every once in a while. Xia Chengyi was also a stubborn person. He knew he couldn't beat the tall boy, but he still fought with him several times, but every time he was beaten with bruises and swollen face. After going back and forth, the two orphans became familiar with each other. Whenever Zhong Quan had something to do, he would come to the boy's house to show off the fish he caught today, or the eel he caught. The boy's fishing and hunting skills were also learned from Zhong Quan. It can be said that the boy's most difficult period was survived by the hunting methods taught by Zhong Quan.
Xia Yao shook her head and said with clear and waxy eyes: "Sir, you said that no reward will be given without merit. I cannot accept the gift from brother Zhong Quan for no reason."
Zhong Quan snorted disdainfully: "Whoever is not my master, I think he is a scumbag! No one who is an official in the imperial court would take the initiative to transfer to this remote town where nothing matters."
Xia Chengyi frowned slightly and did not agree with the tall boy's statement.
After Xia Yao heard Zhong Quan's words, she was a little unhappy, so she continued to sit down and eat the cake with her head down.
The atmosphere suddenly darkened. Zuo Shuwen saw this and said quickly: "Zhong Quan also wants to do it for our sister, and so do you, Xia Chengyi. How can you not know his temper? Besides, Mr. Lu took the initiative to transfer to our place." It is a very strange thing to come to a small town. Why do you think Mr. Lu, who is not a high official in the DPRK, comes here to be a lecturer in a rural school? "
The Mr. Lu Zuo Shuwen mentioned was Lu Ran, a teacher at a rural school on Yongshan Street in the small town. People have different opinions about Lu Ran's origins. Some say that he was demoted because he was a high-ranking official in the dynasty and stood in the wrong team. It is also said that he resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown because he could not stand the intrigues in the palace. But perhaps the only common understanding among everyone is that Lu Ran is an unsmiling, rigid and harsh Confucian scholar in blue shirt.
Xia Chengyi sat on the bench and looked at the lights of thousands of houses in the distance, and whispered: "I believe Mr. Lu is not who everyone says. He came to our town because he really has something to hide."
Zhong Quan decided not to make a fuss about this topic. He knew that Xia Chengyi had the temper of a donkey and would never look back until he hit the wall. As long as he believed in a dead end, he wouldn't be able to pull back even ten cows. Zhong Quan sat down on the threshold of the house, while Zuo Shuwen moved a small bench from the inner room and sat next to Xia Yao. He didn't want to get his clothes dirty.
Zhong Quan curled his lips when he saw Zuo Shuwen's movements, "Virtue!"
Zuo Shuwen rolled his eyes and didn't want to argue with the tall boy, so he let him talk casually.
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Outside the rural school building on the east street of the town, the surrounding area is surrounded by lush green bamboos. Different from the bustling and noisy scene on East Street, only an oil lamp is lit in the thatched cottage here, and a middle-aged Confucian scholar with frosty temples is sitting in the thatched cottage. The plaque directly above the thatched cottage is engraved with the four characters "do your duty without giving in" in small seals, with a strong and powerful writing style.
The middle-aged Confucian scholar picked up a black chess piece from the chess jar and slowly landed it on the chessboard in front of him. The tabletop was suddenly filled with light, mountains and rivers were revealed, and at the same time, there seemed to be a dull thunder and rumble.
The middle-aged Confucian scholar laughed softly and said: "Listening together will lead to enlightenment, believing only partially will lead to darkness."
