At the end of the twelfth lunar month, County Magistrate He Dezhi rode his horse to Bailuyuan, making a special trip to pay a visit to Bai Jiaxuan. Naturally, Bailucang Headquarters Township Yue Tian Fuxian and No. 1 Security Station Township Yue Lu Zilin led the way to accompany him. Tian Fuxian said to County Magistrate He: "You sit in the barn
Let's drink tea. I'll ask Zi Lin to call him." County Magistrate He said, "No need. I'll come to visit. The horse is tied up in the barn and fed."
The arrival of the county magistrate made Bai Jiaxuan feel both sudden and deeply moved. He quickly moved his chair, wiped the table, served tea and handed out cigarettes. County Magistrate He stood in front of the table where ancestors of the Bai family were worshipped, bowed and then sat down. This move changed Bai Jiaxuan's mind.
My initial impression of the county magistrate who wears a monkey-like uniform. The magistrate wears a navy blue top hat, has a square face, a plump face, a short and straight nose, and lips that are neither thick nor thin, and are kind and confident.
Bai Jiaxuan looked at the county magistrate and felt regretful. If he had worn the seventh-grade official uniform, he would have been more imposing and more like a county magistrate. Unfortunately, he was wearing a uniform that looked like a monkey. County Magistrate He said: "Mr. Bai
, I would like to hire you as a member of the County Senate." This was the first time Bai Jiaxuan heard this new term. He couldn't figure out the meaning for a while, and was embarrassed to ask, so it was inconvenient to express his agreement or rejection, but he almost certainly guessed the meaning.
It was an official title, so he said: "Jiaxuan is willing to learn to be a good man. He will plant and farm his own food, spin his own clothes and weave his own clothes. He does not want and cannot be an official." County Magistrate He smiled and said: "I just heard that
I heard that you are a good person, so I asked you to be a senator." Then he lit a white cigarette and explained: "I am determined to promote democratic politics in Zishui County and completely eradicate feudal abuses. We will form the first Senate of this county.
, is to allow the people to participate in county government, supervise the government, and convey the opinions of the people. As the name suggests..." Bai Jiaxuan still can't understand what democracy, what feudalism, what politics, what people, what opinions, these new terms are piled up,
He became more and more vague. County Magistrate He seemed to be aware of this, so he paid attention to the popularization of his language and compared it with idiomatic expressions: "In a word, it is the people, the common people, who manage state affairs. It is not the county magistrate who has the final say.
, and when it comes to the people, the people have the final say." Bai Jiaxuan understood, so he didn't take it seriously: "The people are talking nonsense, who has the final say, should you listen to Zhang San, Li Si, or Wang Mazi?
Zhang San said it’s better to plant thicker, Li Si said it’s better to plant thinner, Wang Mazi said it’s better to plant thicker or thinner, so you can follow whoever’s advice, sow the seeds according to who’s advice. The ancients said that if there are a thousand people in a family, there should be only one person in charge.
County Magistrate He said with great interest: "Whoever says makes sense should be followed. If the parent in charge is a layman who doesn't know how to grow crops, or is just a second-rate guy who doesn't do his job properly, you can still let him take charge of Qiankou."
The key to feudal maladministration is here. An enlightened emperor can thrive for a few years after he ascends the throne, but if he passes it to a weak emperor, he will lose his country and the people will suffer. Anyway, the core of future revolutionary governments to promote democratic politics is here. The above
From the president to the governor, down to me, if the people believe you, they will elect you, if they don’t believe you, they will remove you..." Bai Jiaxuan listened in surprise at first, but then he stopped taking it seriously: "Oh my God, the more I talk about it, the more I get rid of you..."
It’s getting farther and farther.” County Magistrate He still said seriously: “It doesn’t matter if Mr. Bai doesn’t believe it, future facts will prove my words. I only say that the senator is not an official, but speaks on behalf of the people. For example,
If the former County Magistrate Shi’s matter of collecting seal tax cannot be passed by the council members, they will not issue a notice, and naturally there will be no incident of handing over farmers.” When Bai Jiaxuan heard this actual case, he seemed to have picked up the clues, and couldn’t help but click.
Head: "This is the truth." County Magistrate He said: "Mr. Bai is well-known in the original land, knowledgeable and enlightened, with noble moral character. He is expected to serve as a senator. Please don't give in. By the way, your brother-in-law Mr. Zhu has already
I agreed." Bai Jiaxuan felt that it was not the right time to agree immediately, so he smiled and said: "County Magistrate He, you asked me to be a senator to speak for the people, isn't it good? I will say a word for the people first, see if you can listen.
I can’t bear to hear it——” Magistrate He said generously: “You can say ten or a hundred sentences.” Bai Jiaxuan said: “Get rid of those people in Bailucang who are holding fire sticks when they come in and out.”
Since the "handover" incident in Bailucang, seven or eight gunmen have quietly arrived. They are wearing black uniforms, belts around their waists, white leggings and white hat rings, like the mourning clothes worn by the dead. These are
Every market day in Bailu Town, people would swing around in the crowd carrying guns that looked like fire sticks, arrogant and glaring, scaring the farmers who were trading their own grain and cloth to dodge. Bai Jiaxuan watched the people with this stick in the market town.
It's as awkward as having thorns in your fingers or grains of sand in your eyes.
Tian Fuxian had been sitting and listening to the county magistrate talking about democratic politics. Unexpectedly, Bai Jiaxuan's first "consultation" was on him. He was a little unhappy, but not nervous. The formation of the militia was ordered by the county magistrate, and the guns were issued by the county.
Yes, Tian Fuxian only found seven or eight regiment members. County Magistrate He smiled and asked: "Why are these people doing such nonsense to harm the people?" Bai Jiaxuan said: "I haven't seen anyone harmed yet. There has never been a military camp in Bailuyuan since ancient times, and neither did the Qing family.
There were soldiers stationed in the town. Those few people were wandering around the town with guns on their backs. When the farmers saw it, they couldn't help but feel nervous and scared. If there is no war, what do you want these people to do?" County Magistrate He laughed heartily: "Mr. Bai,
If you see too many things that you don't like, you'll get used to it. These regiments are here to strengthen local security and protect people's normal production." Bai Jiaxuan thought to himself, the farmers have never asked anyone to protect peace since ancient times. County Magistrate He approached him and lowered his voice.
Said: "You don't know, the white wolf is making a lot of noise, you have to be on guard." Bai Jiaxuan said in surprise: "The white wolf has been bitten by the tengu long ago." County Magistrate He said: "The white wolf is a man, he belongs to a group of bandits.
The leader is making trouble for the people of Henan. It is said that the white wolf plans to come west and break into Tongguan... This white wolf is a hundred times more evil than the rumored white wolf. The white wolf only sucks pig blood, but this white wolf burns, kills, rapes and commits all kinds of evil.
There are tens of thousands of troops, all of them white wolves... Tell me, should we be on guard or not?" Bai Jiaxuan was speechless. He didn't know that tens of thousands of white wolves were knocking on the gate of Guanzhong. Such a serious thing,
This stopped him from criticizing the unpopular members of the Bailucang regiment. He agreed to the appointment of County Magistrate He and participated in the first Senate of the county in the middle of the twelfth month.
Bai Jiaxuan returned to Bailu Village, still wearing a robe and mandarin jacket, but his braids were gone. When he entered the door, he heard a howl like a slaughtered pig, which was heartbreaking and terrifying. This was the scream made by his daughter Bai Ling when her feet were bound. He
He walked a few steps into the door of Xiawu, grabbed the cloth strip from Xiancao's hand, gently took it off Bai Ling's feet, and stuffed it into the kang hole. Xiancao looked at him in surprise and said: "
You don’t want to marry a beggar if you have a pair of ugly feet.” Bai Jiaxuan said firmly: “I’m afraid the ones who won’t be able to marry in the future will have small feet.” Xiancao didn’t believe it and picked out the foot-binding cloth from the kang hole. Bai Ling jumped in fright.
Entering his father's arms, Bai Jiaxuan hugged his daughter's head and said: "Whoever dares to tie Lingling's feet again, I will chop off his hand." Xiancao watched her husband take off his hat, suddenly opened his eyes wide and screamed: "
"Oh my God, look what your braids have become." Bai Jiaxuan said, "It's cut right on the woman's head. Can you imagine what a woman would look like with her hair cut? I've opened my eyes in the county this time."
In the first month of the new year, the cobbler took his wife and daughter back to the countryside to pay New Year greetings. As soon as they entered the house, Jiaxuan smelled the smell of tandoor. The second sister Bixia had already had her hair cut, and the grass jelly confirmed what her husband said that women should also cut their hair.
Zhuan'er's words. The second brother-in-law actually also wore a uniform, with straight hair like a rooster's comb. Bai Jiaxuan originally thought that the uniform was an official uniform issued by the revolutionary government to officials at all levels, but he didn't expect to rub it all day long.
The cobbler who made the stinking cowhide and pigskin also put on the uniform openly, so the uniform was worthless in his eyes. He thought to himself, what are you doing wearing a uniform as a leather shoemaker? You are still a cobbler in a uniform.
, my body still smells like saltpeter, and the second sister is even more unreasonable. She has gained weight, but she makes the waist of her clothes so narrow, the round bulging on her chest is stretched so high, and she keeps waving her hair when talking.
With short hair that reaches his shoulders, and new terms constantly popping up in his words, Bai Jiaxuan is most disgusted with this kind of cheesy speech and behavior.
Although the cobbler's brother-in-law and the trendy second sister brought their two daughters back to the city, the impact they had on the family still exists. Xiaowen Xiaowu was influenced by his cousin who went to a new school, and he also proposed to go to the city to study, and the excuse was
: "Zhao Peng and Zhao Hai have already gone to the city to study. The number of students in the academy is constantly decreasing." Bai Jiaxuan said: "People go to the city to let others go. As long as the academy is not closed, you can study hard with your uncle."
Xiaowen Xiaowu did not dare to force it anymore, and went to Bailu Academy again with his quilt on his back. His daughter Bai Ling boldly said: "Dad, I also want to study." She used her two cousins as an example, and also proposed to go to the city to study at a new school.
Bai Jiaxuan was in a dilemma. He couldn't refuse the request for his rare baby daughter because he couldn't bear to see her sad and crying. She looked so heart-wrenching, with delicate skin and smart, childish eyes.
His eyes and chubby wrist were so endearing. Bai Jiaxuan often couldn't help biting the wrist, making his daughter scream, pulling his hair and hitting him in the face. He put his crying daughter on his neck in the yard
She was running around, making Lingling laugh again. Xiancao said angrily: "You have turned things upside down. Women should be strictly controlled, but you are spoiling her as much as you can." How could Bai Jiaxuan not know that this woman is a child?
Everyone should be strictly disciplined, but he couldn't be cold to Lingling no matter what. Xiancaojun scolded: "Study, go to heaven, sit down in the room and spin yarn." Bai Jiaxuan still coaxed Lingling and promised her
I went to Mr. Xu's school in my village to study and said, "You are too young. I won't worry about you going to the city. We will wait until you grow up."
When Bai Jiaxuan led Lingling into the school, two rows of villagers gathered around her to look at her. Lingling followed her father in such a grand manner, and she felt very proud of being able to attract so many men and women to look at her.
Mr. Xu arranged the square table that Bai Jiaxuan had sent the day before in front of his desk to facilitate surveillance and avoid harassment by boys. Although everything was arranged extremely thoughtfully, one issue that should not be ignored was overlooked: Bai Ling's poop and urine.
Urinary problem. Mr. Xu teaches on a case-by-case basis. Students who are not in class are free to go to the huts outside the west wall of the ancestral hall. Since they are all boys, there is no separation of men and women. Bai Ling was anxious to hold back his urine and saw that Mr. Xu was not there.
He ran outside the ancestral hall and saw several boys unbuttoning their pants at the entrance to the hut, so he ran back. One boy said that there was a small hut behind the ancestral hall, but no one went there. Bai Ling ran to the back of the ancestral hall again, and sure enough there was a broken brick.
In a small hut with rotten tiles, I untied my trousers early, and as soon as I ran into the hut, I wiped off my trousers eagerly. Unexpectedly, Mr. Xu was squatting inside. Mr. Xu said "Ouch" and hurriedly picked up his trousers and ran out.
Bai Ling saw Mr. Xu’s bright white buttocks and the panicked look of the majestic Mr. Xu, and couldn’t help laughing.
This incident spread loudly in the village, saying that Mr. Xu had brought the unpulled feces into his crotch in a hurry. When Xiancao learned about this incident, he stopped Lingling from going to school: "This is so bad."
You won't become crazy if you get used to it." Bai Jiaxuan found a small wooden sign, drilled a hole, tied a rope, wrote the word "you" on one side and the word "no" on the other side, and asked his daughter to turn to "you" when she entered the hut.
On one side of the word, when it came out, it turned out the word "无". Bai Ling thought it was funny and deliberately didn't turn over the cards when he came out of the latrine. He hid in the corner of the ancestral hall to see what Mr. Xu would do. Mr. Xu came out and walked to the door of the latrine and saw the wooden sign.
The word "you" was folded back. As soon as she returned to the table and sat down, Mr. Xu walked out of the school door, hurriedly walked through the yard, and started running when he reached the intersection.
No matter how unfeminine this woman was, Mr. Xu was surprised to find that she was very smart and had almost a photographic memory that could be recited over and over again, especially the calligraphy written in calligraphy was very good. She could only follow Mr. Xu's frame.
After tracing for half a year, I started writing the calligraphy. After two years, Bai Ling's calligraphy alone surpassed Mr. Xu's level. Mr. Xu said: "Jiaxuan, this is a talented girl. Send her to Mr. Zhu's hospital quickly."
Go to the academy."
On the 30th day of the twelfth lunar month on New Year's Eve this year, Bai Jiaxuan studied ink, cut out red paper, and asked Xiaowen, Xiaowu, and Bai Ling to each write a couplet: "Whoever writes well will post his or her copy on the door." The result.
Naturally, it was Bai Ling who took the spotlight, embarrassing the two brothers.
Red paper couplets were pasted on the doorframes on both sides of the street door. Bai Jiaxuan stood far away with a hookah, admiring it for a long time. At first glance, it looked like a willow, but at a closer look, it looked like Europe. After tasting it again and again, it was neither Liu nor Europe. It had the skeleton of Europe, but also
Youliu's flexibility is completely unique, unrestrained and unique in nature. It is not like the handwriting of a woman at all. There is a bold and uninhibited demeanor in every word. Bai Jiaxuan looked at it and couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart.
, suddenly thought of the thing that looked like a white deer found under my father's grave on the slow slope.
During the Spring Festival of this year, the second sister and the cobbler's second brother-in-law brought their two daughters to pay New Year's greetings as usual. The two nieces openly allowed Lingling to go to school in the city. After the second sister, her brother-in-law, and her niece returned to the city, Bai Ling said: "Dad,
I should go to the city to study this year." Bai Jiaxuan said to Bai Ling coldly for the first time: "You have studied enough. I won't go to the city, and I won't go to Mr. Xu's place. Now it's time to learn needlework from your mother.
Alive." Bai Ling sat there blankly for a moment, and cried loudly: "You said that when I grow up, I will go to the city to study..." Bai Jiaxuan was not moved, and still said every word with a cold face.
"The city is in chaos right now. I don't worry about men and children coming into the city, let alone you. It is virtue for a woman to be untalented. If you want to cry, just cry." Bai Ling wiped his eyes and said, "Dad, I won't cry.
" She sat down under the spinning wheel and shook the handle as if she was angry, and the spinning wheel buzzed.
Ten days later, Bai Ling suddenly disappeared. Bai Jiaxuan found the cobbler's brother-in-law's house in the city. Bai Ling and his two cousins were returning from school with their schoolbags. Bai Ling said: "Dad, if you force me to go back, I will die for you."
He grabbed a pair of large iron scissors used by cobblers and put it on his neck. Bai Jiaxuan returned to where he started without saying a word.
After Bai Ling went to school in the city, the room seemed to have lost more than half of its people, and it seemed empty and deserted. Bai Ling's clear laughter was no longer there, and the sound of running back and forth calling mom, dad and grandma was also gone.
Mrs. Bai Zhao could no longer bear the torment of longing for her daughter day and night, and asked her son Jiaxuan to go to the city to see her granddaughter. However, Xiancao turned her longing for her daughter into resentment, and vented it to Jiaxuan when she had the chance: "I'm used to it, I'm used to it."
Yeah, I'm so used to it now that I can't hold it in anymore." Even Bai Ling's gangster Dalu San had something to say: "Jiaxuan, you really understand how a lifetime of confusion can lead to confusion." Bai Jiaxuan just marveled in his heart: Such a small baby actually dares to kill him.
The moment the scissors were placed on his neck, it seemed that he was not facing the spirit that had been placed on his neck in the past, but an enemy with whom he had a life-and-death hatred.
The only three sons left in the family, Niu Da, have been studying under Mr. Xu's knees for several years and are still studying. This boy has shown a stubborn temper at a young age. He is always indifferent to studying and any changes in the family.
He had an air of indifference that had nothing to do with him. He was indifferent to his sister's running away, which made his mother Xiancao couldn't help but get angry when she saw him. Her anger at her daughter's deviant behavior and her longing for her were not echoed on Niu Calf's face.
She even suspected that grandma's pinch of dry mugwort leaves had burned out a vital hole in the calf, leaving a fool behind.
Bai Jiaxuan also paid close attention to the behavior of the calf and found that the boy was not very close to anyone. He neither asked for anything willfully nor refused to do what others asked him to do. Every day when he came back from school at noon, he would get into the horse stall and mix the deer three times.
The good fodder was brought to the trough with a wooden shovel, and he lay it on the side of the trough to watch the cattle and horses chewing the fodder. Lu San led the livestock to the big waterlogged pond in the north of the village to drink water, and he followed. He didn't want to pull the cattle, but he had to lead them.
The horse leads the mule. Sometimes he quietly climbs onto the cart, grabs the whip from Lu San's hand, flicks his wrist, and the whip spins in the air with a crisp snap, and the tip of the whip hits the tip of the animal's ear accurately.
Of course, he was not born with this skill. He often practiced it in the dirt field by whipping the whip and hitting the half bricks hanging under the eaves. Bai Jiaxuan snatched it from his hand several times.
Whip, let him go back to the house to endorse the book. He was not angry or timid, and walked out of the horse's ring in frustration, but the afternoon of the next day came again. Bai Jiaxuan said angrily: "A born crop embryo."
The calf's caressing of the livestock made Lu San also have an irresistible feeling of closeness to him. He even thought that it would be good if he gave the calf instead of Bai Ling. He hated the woman who was pampered by the owner and his family.
, he first noticed the disharmony between this woman and this family. The woman would sometimes run into the horse stable, pounce on Lu San's back, and shout "Go big, go big, go big". Lu San squatted on the ground to pick out the grain.
She crawled along with the dirt and pebbles, reluctantly. One rainy day, Bai Lingquan got tired of playing in the house and ran into the horse's stable again, shouting in surprise: "Go big, go big, go big, go big, go big, go big, go big, go big, go big, go big, go big, big, big, big, big, big!"
Look, what is that thing?" Lu San thought that snakes, mice, and frogs were running in, but there seemed to be nothing there, so he asked: "Where is it?" Bai Ling pointed with his hand: "It's hanging from the bottom of the mule's belly.
What is that?" Lu San couldn't help but say "Oh", feeling strangely uncomfortable. He saw the ugly, black and useless thing hanging from the mule's crotch, and casually thought of a word to deceive the woman: "
Um... that's a tail." Bai Ling chased after him and asked, "How come a mule has two tails?" Lu San said, "Only two, otherwise it's not a mule." Bai Ling still kept asking: "A mule has such a long tail."
"What are you doing with the extra tail?" Lu San was already at a loss for words: "The long tail... is for catching flies." Bai Ling suddenly clapped his hands and shouted: "Oh my God, look at that tail that has shrunk into the mule's belly." Lu San was nervous.
He was tense and coaxed Bai Ling to help him out: "The mule is afraid of people looking at it, so he hides his tail. Go back to the house quickly, we have to pick grains to grind." Bai Ling left, and Lu San let out a long sigh.
, sweat broke out on his head, and he couldn't help but said to himself: "If it were my biological daughter, I would have slapped you in the face and asked you to ask nonsense." Bai Ling's move into the city on his own seemed to verify Lu San's
The danger that had been foreseen long ago, but the greater danger that was not difficult to predict was still to come. He was even worried for Bai Jiaxuan, and said bluntly: "The city is so chaotic now, how can we let a woman go there?"