The days of being a Dunjun seemed to be endless. Looking at the vast and desolate Gobi, Li Zhengkun became more and more numb day by day.
He heard that Shi Zhenghe had been a Dunjun soldier in place of his father for more than ten years.
Ten years......
From the age of thirteen to his twenties, which is the most energetic stage of a man's life, everything is lost in this hopeless garrison.
Not long after he became the Tunjun, he collapsed. Where was Shi Zhenghe at that time? How did he feel?
It was only after he truly became a Dunjun that Li Zhengkun felt guilt and sympathy for Shi Zhenghe deep in his heart. At the same time, he also completely saw how shameless Li and others were towards Shi Zhenghe, and finally understood Shi Zhenghe.
Why don’t you want to see the Li family?
If he were Shi Zhenghe, he would never forgive the Li family.
Before the cold winter arrives, it is finally Li Zhengkun's turn to go home to visit relatives.
Dunjun only has two opportunities to visit relatives a year, so Li Zhengkun can't wait to return to Tianlingtun. Now the only motivation for him to survive is that he still has his wife, children and grandchildren waiting for him at home.
When he saw the entrance of Tianling Tuntun appeared in his sight, Li Zhengkun immediately started running. But when he panted and ran into a small courtyard surrounded by thatched houses, he found that there was no one in the house, and he suddenly became anxious.
.
"lady!"
The neighbor next door heard Li Zhengkun's anxious shouting, so he went out and replied: "Your grandson is seriously ill, and your wife has taken him to the inn to seek medical treatment."
Hearing this, Li Zhengkun's face turned pale and he rushed to the inn like the wind.
In the inn, Zeng Yuwei and her eldest daughter-in-law, Ms. Jiang, were standing anxiously behind a female doctor, watching with concern as she treated her grandson (son), whose face was red with fever.
"lady!"
"Brother Tong!"
Li Zhengkun rushed into the inn sweating profusely.
As soon as Zeng Yuwei saw Li Zhengkun, her eyes suddenly turned red.
Li Zhengkun walked forward quickly, looked at his wife and asked, "Brother Tong, are you okay?"
Zeng Yuwei shook her head: "The doctor is still treating me."
After Li Zhengkun heard this, he immediately looked eagerly at the female doctor and his grandson lying on the bed.
At this time, a female medicine girl in her teens came in carrying the prepared medicine.
The female doctor just finished physically cooling the child: "Give me the medicine, and the child's fever will subside soon."
"Thank you, doctor, thank you, doctor!"
Zeng Yuwei and Mrs. Jiang both thanked the female doctor profusely.
The female doctor smiled and said it was okay, motioned for them to take the child to the side to give medicine, and then continued to see the next patient.
Li Zhengkun stepped forward, hugged his grandson, and walked towards the bench specially prepared for patients next to him.
Zeng Yuwei and Mrs. Jiang walked behind carrying medicine.
After watching the child drink the medicine, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Amitabha, thank God. Fortunately, this month is the time when Shennong Tang provides free medical consultations in various military camps. Otherwise, Brother Tong would be in danger."
Seeing that the child's face was no longer so red and his forehead was no longer so hot, Ms. Jiang clasped her hands together and thanked her from the bottom of her heart for the free medical consultation at Shennong Tang.
You must know that people in military villages usually have headaches and fever, but they have to go to military towns dozens of miles away for medical treatment.
Brother Tong's illness came on quickly and urgently this time. If he delayed his medical treatment on the road, his brain might be damaged.
When Zeng Yuwei and Li Zhengkun heard their daughter-in-law's words, they looked at each other and pursed their lips without saying a word.
Li Zhengkun glanced at the female doctor who was still concentrating on the diagnosis. He looked at the robe the female doctor was wearing with the three characters "Shennongtang" embroidered on it, and his eyes were a little sad.
He used to dislike Shi Zhenghe's little girl, and was even a little tired of her sharp tongue and unreasonableness.
But at this moment, his grandson was saved because of Shennongtang founded by her, and he, as a member of the border army, has really benefited from Shennongtang's free medical treatment in the past three years.
The frontier troops were in dire straits, and often had to survive even if they got sick. Shennongtang's free medical treatment gave countless soldiers who could not afford medical treatment hope to survive.
Before coming to the border, Li Zhengkun could not imagine the hardship of the border army's life, and he did not think highly of the Shennongtang founded by Shi Fuxin.
Now that he was at the border, he realized what a great thing Shi Zheng had done with that little girl whom he didn't like.
Li Zhengkun's mood was indescribably complicated.
The same is true for Zeng Yuwei. My husband, both of his sons are serving in the military, and most of their injuries were treated by doctors from Shennongtang. No matter how dissatisfied she is with Shi Zhenghe's family, she can hardly say anything to slander them now.
Ms. Jiang noticed her parents-in-law's expression and suddenly knew that she had said the wrong thing.
She was aware of the grudges between her family and the owner of Shennong Hall, and she had never said anything in front of the two of them in the past. But her son was her lifeblood, so she couldn't help but say those words of gratitude.
"Why is Brother Tong so sick?"
After his grandson's fever completely subsided, Li Zhengkun carried his grandson while walking home with Zeng Yuwei and Jiang.
As soon as she mentioned this, Zeng Yuwei became angry: "Why, it's not your good biological mother. I just received the military rations for you and Dalang Erlang from the village chief, and the old godly woman came with her grandchildren to rob them.
Brother Tong saw them robbing his own food and stepped forward to stop them, but he was pushed into the ditch by the old Qian woman."
"Poor brother Tong is only eight years old. How could he bear the biting cold water, but he developed a high fever in one night."
Zeng Yuwei gritted her teeth and said with hatred on her face: "They have also stolen most of the food. You must go and get it back from me. Otherwise, our family will not be able to survive this winter."
After hearing this, Li Zhengkun's face instantly darkened and his lips pursed tightly.
When he moved out of Wuchang Bofu, his family's household registration was separated. Later, when he brought the Li family to Beijing, he did not merge his family's household registration with the Li family's household registration.
Therefore, when they were originally exiled to the northwest, their family was not necessarily assigned to Tianlingtun.
It was him, he was thinking that the Li family has been a military household in Tianlingtun for generations, and there are many people they know here, so it is better to be assigned here than to go to other places and get a black eye.
So he put the little money he had into official errands and distributed it here with the Li family.
But all the unpleasant things that happened in the past three years once again proved that he made the wrong decision again.
I originally thought that being with the Li family could help each other, but I never thought that all the conflicts and unhappiness that happened in their family came from the Li family.
Li Zhengkun remained silent all the way after that.
He was thinking that he already knew the Li family's behavior when he was in the capital. Why did he still choose to live with them when he arrived at the border?
Li Zhengkun suddenly realized that he had a fatal flaw. He liked to rely on others too much.
When he was still the fourth master of the Wuchang Bofu, the Bofu helped him take care of everything. Relying on the help of the Bofu, he went smoothly in his studies and officialdom. Because most of what he got was given by the Bofu, so being a Bofu requires
When he gave way to Shi Zhenghe, he had no right to say no.
After leaving Wuchang Bo's Mansion, he began to rely on the Yue family again, relying on the Yue family for support, and he also lost his official position due to the misfortune of the Yue family.
Exiled to the northwest, he instinctively wanted to rely on the Li family, who knew the border better.
In the past, the Shi family and the Zeng family had no shortage of food and clothing, but what he faced was nothing more than a lack of autonomy and a less free life.
But now facing the Li family, the shortage of supplies and the hardship of life, this side of relying on others and having to be plundered by others was directly torn open in front of him bloody.
He prided himself on being a scholar, and he boasted of having the character of a scholar, but at this moment, he was shocked to discover that he was actually an incompetent person who could not stand on his own and shoulder his family responsibilities.
After returning home, Li Zhengkun looked at Ms. Zeng, who no longer had the grace and dignity of the past. He watched her scoop out a bowl of grains and pour it into the pot. Then he reluctantly grabbed a handful from the pot, paused for a moment, and grabbed it again.
He took out a handful, struggled for a while, and then took out another handful...
Seeing this scene, a strong sadness quickly swept through Li Zhengkun's heart.
The vacation is only three days. Excluding the time spent on the road, I can only stay at home for one day. Li Zhengkun will return to the dock soon.
Before leaving, he went to see Mr. Li and Mr. Li and asked for the stolen food back.
"Father, mother, when Shi Zhenghe rejected you like that, I deeply felt that he was unkind and unjust. But now, I know that I misunderstood him. You are doing this to me, and you will only treat him more excessively."
"Life at the border is difficult, and I understand how difficult it is for you, but other families can help each other, so why can't you?"
After saying these words, Li Zhengkun ignored the expressions on Mr. Li's face and left without looking back.
After Li Zhengkun returned to the pier, he changed his previous numbness and became active in his work. He carefully guarded the pier and made meritorious service the next year for discovering Beiyan's sentry.
During another garrison patrol, Li Zhengkun took advantage of the border officers' curiosity and yearning for the capital, and by flattering him, he successfully caught the garrison's eye and got a position as a clerk in the garrison mansion.
After the garrison mansion stabilized, the first thing Li Zhengkun did was to take his family out of Tianlingtun. Apart from having someone bring some money to Li Lao Niang every year, he no longer wanted to have any more money with the Li family.
Coming and going.
After that, Li Zhengkun completely let go of his literary spirit and pride, and kept himself humble in front of the garrison. Finally, in the fourth year after arriving at the border, his two sons withdrew from the front line and became military households in the rear.
When his two sons came back, Li Zhengkun hugged them and cried bitterly for a long time, happy that he could finally support his family.
After that, life for Li Zhengkun's family began to get on the right track.
...
"Slow down, slow down. Shennongtang's free clinic will be open for a month. You don't have to run so fast."
"See a doctor sooner and your body will relax faster."
Shennongtang comes to Junzhen again for free clinic.
When Li Zhengkun went home and passed by the free clinic stall, he accidentally saw a familiar figure.
"Chu Xuan..."
Li Zhengkun followed quickly and saw Chu Xuan entering the Junzhen Academy.
"Hello, Master!"
"Today we will talk about the first chapter of The Analects of Confucius..."
Li Zhengkun looked at Chu Xuan who was taking the class seriously. After standing outside the classroom for a long time, the depression that had been accumulating in his heart slowly dissipated.
Even the prince's son has been reduced to a teacher. It doesn't matter if he is a lowly person in front of the guards. As long as he and his family can live well, everything will be worth it.
The relieved Li Zhengkun walked out of the school with a smile, and saw a woman entering the school carrying a food box at the door.
Li Zhengkun stopped. He recognized the woman as a female doctor from Shennong Hall. She seemed to be in charge of Shennong Hall in their military town.
"Brother Xuan, come over for dinner."
When Chu Xuan saw Luo Qiyun delivering the meal, a smile suddenly filled his eyes. He put down his book and walked towards Luo Qiyun with a smile.