At noon that day, Wang San came to the school to pick up Watson from school.
The teacher looked at the bruises on Watson's feet and said softly: "There are no new classes in the afternoon. Come back tomorrow morning. Have a good rest at home in the afternoon and stop running around."
Huisheng thanked his husband, lay on Wang San's back, and the two of them walked towards the small street.
"Brother Wang, should I call you brother-in-law from now on?"
Lying on Wang San's back, Watson muttered, feeling a little dissatisfied in his heart.
Wang San was stunned, patted his butt, and said with a smile: "Did you eavesdrop on what your father and Uncle Liu were talking about? By the way, Sister Hong hasn't agreed yet. How can this be so easy?"
"Do you want me to help you talk to Sister Hong? Sister Hong is so kind to me!" Watson continued to say with a smile.
When Wang San heard this, he couldn't help laughing and scolding: "I think your skin is itchy. Is it because the shopkeeper hasn't spanked you for three days? I'll call Sister Hong to help you tighten your skin for the shopkeeper."
When Watson thought that his father might be already on the boat to the county seat, he would naturally not be afraid of Wang San to scare him, and followed him with a smile: "Forget it if you don't believe it, Sister Hong won't hit me."
Wang San sighed and said with a smile: "Except for the shopkeeper, you are not afraid of anyone in this room!"
"I'm afraid of my eldest sister, and my eldest brother!" Watson thought about his eldest brother who didn't come back with his eldest sister, and felt a little unhappy. He thought that his mother didn't even come back to take a look at such a big thing as giving birth to a younger brother.
What's the use of just reading? If you continue to read, you will just learn to read.
When Wang San heard this, he couldn't help but laugh and said: "You are making an excuse for yourself. Your eldest sister taught you to read two days ago and it made you cry!"
Watson shook his head and said, "I was just joking with my eldest sister, how could I be angry with her?"
The two of them were talking and laughing, and returned to the door of the shop after a while.
Uncle Liu looked at Watson and said with a smile: "Watson, you really know how to enjoy it. In the morning, you asked the shopkeeper to carry you to the school personally. At noon, he asked you, Brother Wang, to carry you back. Are you going to do it again in the afternoon?"
Watson shook his head and replied: "Mr. gave me the afternoon off and asked me to rest in the house. I will ask Brother Wang to carry me tomorrow morning."
Uncle Liu looked at Wang San and asked, "This gentleman is really considerate. He knows that we are busy here and don't have enough manpower."
Wang San sat Watson down on the bench at the counter, looked at Uncle Liu and said with a smile: "Sir, there are no new classes in the afternoon, so we might as well give Watson a day off. He can't leave the house anyway, so let him be."
Sister Hong came out from the back of the house after hearing the commotion, touched Watson's ears and said with a smile: "Your ears are not burned, it means you are still very obedient in class today!"
Watson looked at her and smiled: "Sister Hong, why did I disobey in class?"
Sister Hong glared at him and nagged: "Don't think it's great that you can recite a few poems. It's not like I haven't heard the conversation between the shopkeeper and the teacher. Are you really obedient in the school?!"
Watson was stunned, and shouted with a bitter look on his face: "I'm hungry, do you have anything to eat?"
Sister Hong looked at him and smiled: "It has been cooked for a long time. I will wait for you two to come back to start dinner. Do you want to go in and eat, or do I type it out for you?"
Watson thought for a while, looked at her and said with a smile: "I will eat here, and guard the shop while I let Uncle Liu and Third Brother Wang go to eat."
Uncle Liu looked at him and smiled and said, "Then you should take good care of me. When your foot heals, maybe the blacksmith shop opposite will open."
Watson looked at him and smiled: "Uncle Liu is saying that I can go over and play?"
Uncle Liu walked to the back of the house and replied: "Then you have to see if they have time to pay attention to you."
Watson shook his head and said seriously: "If he doesn't have time to pay attention to me, I can go over and learn how to blacksmith from him when I have time!"
"You are a scoundrel!" Wang San laughed and pulled Uncle Liu towards the back of the house.
When it comes to fooling around with Watson, who can beat him?
Sister Hong was afraid that Watson would starve, so she first made him a bowl of rice and put it on the table behind the counter. She looked at him and ordered: "If you don't have enough food, call me again!"
Watson waved his hand and said: "That's enough! I'm not a pig!"
Sister Hong was stunned, looked at him and smiled: "You can eat better than a pig!"
After Sister Hong left, Watson sat at the table blankly, thinking about the "Peach Blossoms" that his husband taught him in the morning. He looked down at the pieces of meat in the bowl and giggled.
Isn’t a small town a paradise? In this era of rampant water bandits, there is still a peaceful life here, and my husband can still teach in the school. Even if he is not, it is almost like a mythical place.
There are not only peach blossoms here, but also apricot blossoms and pear blossoms.
I lowered my head and took two mouthfuls of rice, biting off half a piece of fat meat, and then thought about what my husband said.
He made a decision in his mind that when he grew up, he would go to the Royal Academy to be a student. If he could not cultivate immortality, he would become a teacher and teach these principles to more children.
The noon sun shines on the green trees beside the street. The birds on the trees are chirping, and the swallows under the eaves have already hid in their nests. They eat and sleep when they are full.
Just like a pig! No, just like Watson.
Watson thought this and couldn't help but laugh in his heart.
Watson subconsciously picked up a piece of fat and took a bite. Thinking that he had lived in this paradise since he was a child, and that he would tell the story of this paradise to more children when he grew up, he couldn't help but feel proud.
In fact, there is no need to wait until he grows up. When his brother is older, he will be able to teach his brother to read just like his elder sister taught him.
Ever since, he decided to have the grand goal of becoming a husband, starting with his mother's younger brother Huang Laosan.
Third child, can you grow up quickly?
Chunri felt sleepy, not long after eating. She called Wang San to look at the shop. Watson jumped up and climbed upstairs. Sister Hong said he was a pig and would sleep when he was full.
He decided to be a pig for a while, since he didn't have to go to school in the afternoon.
After listening to his teacher's lecture and eating the meal cooked by Sister Hong, Watson's brain felt dizzy and he fell asleep soon.
...
In his dream, Watson seemed to hear someone crying on the street, but he couldn't open his eyes.
It wasn't until the sun set that he was disturbed by Sister Hong and Wang San downstairs.
Dragging his feet that were only half-wearing cloth shoes, Watson came behind the counter, looked at Sister Hong and Wang San and asked: "Sister Hong, did you pick up any money on the street? They are making a lot of noise downstairs."
Uncle Liu looked at him and sighed, but remained silent for a long time.
As soon as Wang San saw Uncle Liu's appearance, he walked towards the street. As he walked, he said, "I'll go over and take a look. Watson, just sit in the room and don't run around."
Watson looked at Sister Hong and asked, "Sister Hong, what happened on the street? I can't sleep well."
Sister Hong glanced at him and said nothing, but asked: "I made red bean soup, do you want a bowl?"
"I'm thirsty and want to drink a big bowl!" Watson looked at Sister Hong and shouted.
"Uncle Liu, what's going on outside?" Watson saw Sister Hong walking towards the kitchen behind the house and turned to look at Uncle Liu.
Uncle Liu sighed and whispered: "The second son of the Wang family who sells rice in front came back from other places and encountered water bandits on the way... The people who came back with him were also people from our town... .”
Uncle Liu told Watson the matter intermittently, and Watson understood one thing. The second son of the Wang family who opened Mipu was beaten to death by water bandits, and his fellow villagers brought his body back.
When Watson heard this, he was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time.
This was the first time he heard that people in the town were killed by water bandits, and it was only three shops away from his home, which shocked him so much.
Whenever an elderly person dies in a small town, children at home are generally not allowed to see it, saying it is to ward off evil spirits.
Uncle Liu naturally did not allow Watson to go out, and Watson did not dare to go out.
The great fear between life and death is still a great terror that cannot be overcome for Watson at this age.
"Is this what caused the noise in the street just now?" Watson understood why he couldn't sleep well. It turned out that something big happened in the small town.
Uncle Liu looked at it, nodded, and replied: "When your father comes back, tell him not to go out recently. If you want to order, you should spend more money and entrust someone else to take the goods."
Watson nodded heavily, looked at Uncle Liu and said, "Tell my mother when the time comes and tell my dad not to go out."
While the two were talking, Sister Hong brought out two bowls of red bean soup and placed them on the table.
"Uncle Liu, please have a bowl too. I added brown sugar. It's very sweet."
Uncle Liu looked at her and nodded, and said softly: "Originally, I told the shopkeeper that I would take care of things for you these days. But now it seems that I am afraid we have to wait until summer. After all, it is unlucky for this to happen."
When Sister Hong heard this, she rarely blushed and just nodded. Although she was young and felt a trace of the impermanence of life, she just wanted to stay alive and be with the person she liked.
At this moment, Watson, who was drinking red bean soup, heard faint crying coming over.
Being sensible, he did not ask Sister Hong and Uncle Liu for the first time. Instead, he remembered the poem taught by his husband.
The country is broken by mountains and rivers, and the city has deep spring vegetation.
It turns out that my father said that human life is like the life of a dog. It turns out that this is the truth.
Watson, who was not yet five years old, experienced the great fear of life and death for the first time in his life. He did not panic, only a trace of unyielding flame spread gently in his heart.
Like a paddy field where rice has been harvested in autumn, a wildfire is burning gently!
There is a hint of a prairie fire!
...
Amidst the sadness and crying on the street, Wang San carried Watson on his back between the school and his own shop, suffering for two days.
Every day when I come back from school, I can hear the crying coming from Mipu.
Even Sister Hong, who loved to flirt with Watson, also calmed down. Except for buying groceries, she stayed in the store honestly every day. She watched Mrs. Liu closely and wouldn't let him go out of the room. She said it was not peaceful outside and said she had enough of waiting. Go out again after confinement.
Although Mrs. Liu didn't know what happened, people in the room didn't dare to tell her, for fear of scaring her and then scaring the newborn Huang Laosan. They said they would tell her after the shopkeeper came back.
Even when Watson came back, he sat obediently in the room writing and reading, hoping that his father would come back from the county town soon.
The pain of Mipu's injury had a huge impact on him, and the whole street was immersed in pain.
Even the mayor, who rarely came out to check on the public sentiment, rarely came over to say hello. Uncle Liu pointed to the mayor's back and said to Watson: "Even the mayor can't do anything against the water bandits!"
Watson nodded and said, "He even has to take care of the lessons taught by his teacher, but he doesn't dare to take care of the water bandits who are robbing and killing people!"
"Do you think he is a god? He is just the mayor who cares about us people. Once he leaves here, he will be in trouble!" Uncle Liu looked at him and said lightly.
Sister Hong came over and looked at Uncle Liu and asked, "Why haven't we seen the shopkeeper come back yet? With this war and chaos, can't he stay at home for a month or two?"
Uncle Liu glanced at her and said quietly: "Of course the shopkeeper has his difficulties. Don't you, the boss, know that all the firewood, rice, oil and salt cost money?"
Sister Hong sighed and replied softly: "Before Watson was born, life was going well. Since he was born, life has become increasingly sad."
Watson, who was sitting at the counter, watched her quit and shouted, "What does this have to do with me?"
