Mr. Zhu Bai asked someone to send a message for his two sons and his eldest son's wife. The wife held a boy covered in frankincense in her arms. When Mr. Zhu took the grandson into his hands, he raised it in front of his face, as if appreciating something.
He took the valuables and then said loudly to the crying grandson: "It's up to you to make grandpa see the light of day again." Zhu Bai took the child carelessly and muttered: "You also said some nonsense to the baby."
The eldest son Huairen was filled with joy because he thought his father had high hopes for his grandson. The second son Huaiyi stood behind and didn't pay much attention to his father's comments about his nephew. He watched with some indifference as his nephew was picked up and returned to his sister-in-law's arms.
During lunch, Mr. Zhu Bai made an exception and cooked four dishes, two meat and two vegetarian. The staple food was yellow dry millet rice, and the drink was a thick soup of boiled millet. Mr. Zhu was in a particularly good mood and put the food on the plate.
The dishes were first given to Mr. Zhu Bai and then to his daughter-in-law, and then to the bowls of the eldest son and the younger son. The tenderness and love flowed on the pair of bamboo chopsticks. The daughter-in-law was so moved by her father-in-law's actions that her eyes filled with tears.
The sunshine after lunch was warm and soft. Mr. Zhu, his wife, children, old and young, sat on the slope to bask in the warmth. This was a rare opportunity for the family to get together. When his eldest son Huairen turned sixteen, Mr. Zhu sent him back to his hometown.
He took care of the housework and married him a daughter-in-law in two years. His second son Huaiyi was also sent home when he was sixteen years old, so that he and his brother could work together in cultivating the land and managing livestock. He let them study under his knees to learn about etiquette and justice.
, and then send them back to their hometown to live independently and become self-respecting farmers who can earn their own living. They will never be allowed to engage in politics, the military or even do business. At the beginning of the great levy and tax levy, Mr. Zhu only hinted that his son should pay the grain donation in full, but he
He hid his youngest son Huaiyi in the academy. Tian Fuxian's Baoding found him in the academy. Mr. Zhu said: "In those days, I wanted to join the army to fight against the Japanese pirates, which caused a lot of uproar in the city. As a result, Pao'er escaped without success. In the
I fired empty cannons in front of the people, told lies, and lost face. I swore at that time that if I don’t become a soldier, my descendants will not become soldiers. Go and give my original words to Tian Fuxian, and then repeat
Give it to the county magistrate and secretary, my baby will not be a soldier." Huaiyi did avoid it because of this, but he could only be regarded as a semi-exempt household. Frequent increases in various taxes made Huairen sell cattle and land, and he was almost on the verge of bankruptcy.
Mr. Zhu said to his son: "That's enough. We have collected all the royal grain for the past ten years in one year. It is enough. We have been benevolent and righteous to the country and paid the grain and payment, but now this country is neither benevolent nor righteous to the people."
When any of them presses for food and payment again, you ask him to come to the academy to ask for it from me." Sure enough, no one pressed Huairen anymore. When Huairen later told his father about this change, he was very happy.
He was overjoyed. After hearing this, Mr. Zhu was filled with guilt: "Dad wiped out the Ding donation with his face. It's time for the fellow villagers to roll their eyes at me..." In any case, Huairen finally saved the last five acres of land.
Instead of going completely bankrupt, he relied on careful planning to add a calf to the cowshed that had been idle for a long time... Now, in the quiet White Deer Academy, under the gentle mother-in-law, sat a family who was lucky enough to keep intact in the chaotic world.
All members. Mr. Zhu turned to his wife and said: "You can shave my head one more time." Zhu Bai curled his lips and said: "Just shave it, how do you say 'one more shave'? I will shave it this time and don't want me to shave it next time."
"Mr. Zhu said with a smile: "It's amazing that you also learned to pick out words." The daughter-in-law hurriedly put the child into the arms of her mother-in-law Zhu Bai, and got into the kitchen to heat hot water for her father-in-law. Huairen said: "
Dad, let my mother rest, and I will shave your head." Mr. Zhu smiled kindly: "Do you want to learn skills on my head?" Huaiyi rushed to testify for his brother: "My brother's head shaving does not hurt at all, in the village
People of all ages braised their heads and begged him to shave them." Mr. Zhu said in surprise: "That's not bad. It's better to shave the villagers' heads than to 'cut leeks' on their heads. Huairen, when did you learn the art of shaving your heads?"
Huaiyi said aggrievedly: "My brother was practicing knife skills on my head. He cut me five times for the first time, and dipped a handful of cotton into each cut. I said, brother, don't shave that half.
, leave it to plant sesame seeds next year..." Mr. Zhu laughed loudly, leaning forward and back with tears overflowing. Huairen said sincerely: "Dad, believe it now, I will shave it for you." Mr. Zhu still endured it.
He couldn't help laughing: "You also want to plant cotton on your father's head? You sold the cotton field and paid the donation, so you have no place to grow cotton, right?" Huairen still said kindly: "Don't let your righteousness ruin my craftsmanship.
You'll know as soon as I put on the razor." Mr. Zhu shook his head gently: "I still believe in your mother's skills. Your mother has shaved my head all my life, and there are grooves and bumps wherever my head is high and low.
, your mother is so confident that she can shave cleanly with her eyes closed." Mrs. Zhu Bai leaned her face against her grandson's face and gave Mr. Zhu a loving and angry look. Her daughter-in-law held the copper basin and placed it in the sun.
Next he said: "Dad, come and braise your hair while the water is hot."
Mr. Zhu walked to the copper basin and lowered his head. Just as he was about to stir up the water, Mr. Zhu Bai shouted, "Wait a minute, don't worry." He handed his grandson to his daughter-in-law, and while moving his little feet, he untied his apron from behind.
He put the blue printed waistband around Mr. Zhu's neck, pressed Mr. Zhu's head with one hand, and reached into the basin with the other hand to stir up the water. Mr. Zhu suddenly raised his head that was being pressed by his wife.
Question: "Look how many black hairs I still have"
"There's nothing black anymore, it's all white."
"Look carefully to see if there are any black ones."
"I can't find even a black hair."
"If you haven't looked carefully, go ahead and put on your reading glasses and look carefully."
Zhu Bai took the flower glasses from the sewing basket on the steps and put them on her face. She pressed her husband's head with one hand and pulled his hair with the other hand, searching from the forehead to the back of the head, and then from the base of the left ear to the top of the head.
to the root of his right ear. Mr. Zhu put his forehead on his wife's thigh and let her fingers meekly turn his head and pull the roots of his hair. He suddenly recalled the scene when his mother caught lice in his hair when he was a child. His mother
Pressing his head on his thighs, he parted his horse-mane-like hair to look for squirming lice, and kept muttering, "Ah, ah, ah, ah, the lice on his hair are as thick as rice ears..." Mr. Zhu's cheek was pressed against
Holding his wife's warm thighs, he couldn't help but say: "I want to call you mom——" Mr. Zhu Bai stopped his hands in surprise: "You are old and confused, aren't you?" Huairen lowered his head in embarrassment.
Yi blushed and turned her head to look away. The eldest daughter-in-law pretended to breastfeed and pressed the child's head. Mr. Zhu raised his head and said sincerely: "I feel so lonely that I can't stand it. I just hope I have a mother." After saying that, he stared at her closely.
She looked into Zhu Bai's eyes and shouted: "Mom——" Two lines of tears rolled down her face. Zhu Bai's body trembled and she no longer felt embarrassed. She really stared at her somewhat pitiful husband like a loving mother, and then turned to him.
He pressed his head on his bent thighs and continued to pull at the roots of his hair to search for black hair. Mr. Zhu became quiet. When his two sons and daughter-in-law were about to run away, Mrs. Zhu Bai clapped her hands and announced in surprise.
road:
"Only half of the black one is left. The upper half has turned white, but the lower half is still black - you have become a white-haired deer..."
When Mr. Zhu heard this, he raised his head without saying anything. After a moment of silence, he lowered his head and brought it close to the copper basin. Mr. Zhu Bai pressed his head with one hand and dipped it in water to wash her hair... After shaving, Mr. Zhu stood up and asked:
"It's finished." Mr. Zhu Bai breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the razor blade on his clothes and said, "Your hair is completely white, but it's still so hard." Mr. Zhu said meaningfully: "I'll finish shaving.
It's time to go." Mr. Zhu Bai ignored and didn't care: "After shaving, why don't you leave and wait for another shave?" Mr. Zhu had already turned around and walked away. He turned around and said, "One more shave...
…Then I’m sure…I can’t wait.”
Zhu Bai said to her daughter-in-law: "When I am weaned, you can give me the baby." The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat under the sun and chatted about their home affairs. Huairen and Huaiyi sat aside and interjected from time to time. The time passed by.
The warm family atmosphere passed quietly. A soft ray of winter sunshine shone from the yard, and the setting sun shone on the treetops on the wall and on the roof tiles. Zhu Bai was planning to let her daughter-in-law take the child into the house and sit on the fire kang.
Suddenly she saw a white deer rising in the front yard, flying up the eaves and floating over the ridge of the roof before disappearing on the original slope. At that moment, she suddenly thought of her husband, Mr. Zhu, her face suddenly changed, her heartbeat could not stop, and she cried out: "Huai"
Ren Huaiyi, come and see your dad—" Huairen and Huaiyi followed him and ran to the front yard. Zhu Bai was frightened and her heartbeat was still beating, and then she heard Huairen Huaiyi's despairing cry coming from the front yard. She
My heart sank suddenly, but I stopped panicking and said to my frightened daughter-in-law: "Your dad is gone. He just said, 'I should leave after shaving'. We didn't understand what he said."
Mr. Zhu died. Huairen ran to the front yard first and saw his father sitting on the old wicker chair in the yard, his arms resting on the railings on both sides of the wicker chair, and his newly shaved head resting on the pillow of the wicker chair.
He sat on the backrest, facing Bailuyuan Slope. He called "Dad", but his father ignored him. When Huaiyi arrived shortly after, he also called "Dad", but his father still didn't answer. The two brothers grabbed their father's hands at the same time.
His hands, which were already cold and hard, started to cry loudly. Mrs. Zhu Bai and her daughter-in-law hurriedly came over and stopped the two sons who were kneeling at their father's feet and crying, and the daughter-in-law who had just started crying: "This time, son,
If you can still cry, go to the mourning hall."
The mourning hall was set up in the study hall where Mr. Zhu usually lectured. There were three square tables placed close together. Zhu Bai instructed his sons to carry Mr. Zhu in. The two sons grabbed the four legs of the wicker chair from both sides and carried their father away.
, and then carefully supported the table and lay down. Mr. Zhu Bai brought the shroud that had been prepared and immediately took the time to change Mr. Zhu into it. Once the whole body became cold, the hardened arms, legs and feet not only couldn't take off the old clothes.
, the shroud couldn't be put on. The academy was far away from the village, and there were no villagers to help. After taking off the cotton-padded clothes and shirts, the daughter-in-law saw that the ribs were protruding one by one on grandpa's chest. It seemed that not even a muscle could be seen, and the ribs were covered with a
A layer of yellow and white translucent skin; the cotton trousers and underwear were wiped off, and the two legs were also bones wrapped in translucent leather. How could a person be so thin that his flesh and blood had been completely consumed and tortured. The daughter-in-law caught a glimpse of grandpa’s belly hanging down.
I felt shy about my genitals. I moved my eyes to put socks on grandpa's feet. I was surprised that grandpa's penis was so thick and long. It seemed that I had heard that men with big "capital" were tough guys with blood.
Most men with small "capital" have soft noses and pustules. Mrs. Zhu Bai noticed her daughter-in-law's evasive behavior and said calmly and cheerfully: "Lift your legs first and put on your pants, and then put on your socks last." Her daughter-in-law got it.
Encouraged, she raised her grandpa's legs and feet, and Zhu Bai quickly put on his underwear and cotton pants... He was fully dressed from head to toe. When Zhu Bai tied his feet with a thread dyed red, he discovered that
Mr. Zhu's two calves were slightly bent and not flat. She rubbed her two knees hard, thinking it was because her legs were bent while holding her breath on the wicker chair, but she couldn't rub them anymore. Zhu Bai suddenly realized that she was right.
The daughter-in-law cried out: "Ah, my dad put on the wrong socks." Then she ran to the backyard home-ownership house and got a pair of uniform socks sewn with home-made fabrics, and asked her to take off the wrong pair of white threads.
After putting on the uniform cloth socks, Mr. Zhu's knees immediately stopped bending and lay flat on their own. Mr. Zhu Bai said to her daughter-in-law: "Your father has never hung a silk thread from head to toe in his life."
From the inside to the outside, they are all homespun clothes and pants made by my spinning and weaving. This pair of white socks was bought for Lingling when she came to visit her uncle. Your father never even put them on. Just now we
He panicked and pulled the wrong one, but he still..." The daughter-in-law was greatly surprised after hearing this.