That afternoon, everyone in Daohua had their sleeves folded up and happily watched the daily life inside—Ji Ying was chased and beaten by his father again.
"Nai Gong worked hard to raise you and let your three brothers live separately. He thought that you were the least capable among his sons, so he left the land to you and asked you to take care of me in my old age. I never thought that you would run away.
What kind of pavilion are you going to do? What if your skinny arm is killed by a thief?"
Ji Ying's father chased for a while and couldn't run anymore. He held on to the wall and cursed breathlessly: "If I had known this, I might as well have just drowned when I gave birth to you!"
"Father!" Although Ji Ying was running out of breath, he still turned around and said: "I heard that it is against the law to kill someone who has given birth to a child."
"You unfilial son!" Ji Ying's father got excited when he heard this. He picked up Lei Chu again and beat his incompetent son: "It's not too late for me to beat you to death!"
Everyone in the rice flower looked at this familiar scene, their stomachs hurt from laughing, and some people shouted: "Weng Zhong! Do you want us to go to the government to accuse Ji Ying of being unfilial and rebellious, and let the officials sentence him to death?"
"
Don't think that only Confucianism advocates filial piety. The Qin State, which is dominated by Legalism, also advocates it, and directly stipulates it in the law: If I beat my son, it is not against the law, and I can beat him to death! If his children are disobedient and unfilial, the father can even appeal to the government.
Apply and the government can help you kill him on the spot!
"Go away, you have nothing to do with my family's affairs! Ouch..."
Although he knew it was a joke, Ji Ying was still so angry that he cursed these people who were not too big to watch the fun, but he was caught up by his father and got kicked in the butt...
So the whole afternoon, the rice flowers were filled with happy air.
But in the mudflats of Yunmeng Township not far from here, what Xiao Tao encountered was not so happy...
…
As the name suggests, the mudflat is a piece of open land left after the edge of Yunmengze dried up. It is a poor place with nothing but mud. The Tao family lives here.
After parting ways with Heifu at the fork in the road, Xiao Tao carried a large bag of corn that he had exchanged for money in the county and walked on the road with difficulty. The roads in the countryside were narrow and uneven, and there was still water in some places.
When I walked outside the inner door, it was already noon on November 2nd.
As soon as he entered the inner door, Xiao Tao ran into trouble.
"Isn't this a little stutter?"
Several young people leaning inside the inner door saw Xiao Tao and gathered around him with a smile. They looked at the new shoes under his feet and the bag of grain on his back and marveled: "We are all here after we return from service.
You are dressed in rags and rags, but you are so stuttering and yet you are still wearing new shoes, where did that come from?"
Xiao Tao was thin and had a stutter. Growing up, he was often bullied by his peers. He had to lower his head and stammered: "It's... it was given to me by Geng Pawn, Shi Chang..."
"What else is so good?"
The two young men looked at each other, then looked at the heavy grain bag on Xiao Tao's shoulders, and then smiled: "This grain bag is so heavy, it may weigh as much as a stone. Come on, I'll carry it for you!"
Then he smiled and came to snatch his food.
How could Xiao Tao not know that these two people liked to bully him, and they were not so kind this time. They said they were helping him deliver food, but in fact they wanted to find an excuse to ask him for some corn, and they would inevitably blackmail him for one or two bushels.
So Xiao Tao suddenly stepped back, put down the grain bag, took out the dagger from his arms, and said harshly: "Don't... don't come over! If you dare to take my grain, I will give it up, and you will see blood!"
This startled the two of them, and they looked at Xiao Tao as if they were a stranger.
In the past, Xiao Tao would have swallowed his anger and allowed them to bully him. But after this month of service, he had unknowingly changed. Not to mention, these were life-saving food for Xiao Tao's family, and he would not give a single grain to others.
!
The two of them bullied him into being honest. Once Xiao Tao drew his sword to resist, they did not dare to do anything to him. In addition, the prison door also came out to check, so they left cursing.
Xiao Tao breathed a sigh of relief, carried the grain bag, and walked to the door of Lu Zuo's house...
A broken urn is used as a window, and a rope is tied to the hinge. It is really the home of "urn and rope hinge".
Mudtan was already poor, and Xiao Tao's family was notoriously poor, and everyone avoided their family. After all, his mother died of malaria.
Xiao Tao sighed and pushed the door open. The yard was small. His father, who was also skinny, was squatting feebly in the yard to warm himself by the fire. When he heard the door, he raised his head and saw Xiao Tao, but he didn't look surprised at all, until
Xiao Tao placed the food in front of him, and a glimmer of joy reappeared in his sunken eyes!
"rice!?"
Xiao Tao's father opened the grain bag and smiled from ear to ear. Then he quickly closed the door and whispered: "Where did it come from? Did you steal it?"
Xiao Tao's face turned red with anger, but he was speechless and just shook his head vigorously.
"It doesn't matter even if you steal it, just don't let anyone catch you." His father didn't care anymore. He sat down again and said weakly: "After you left, I only ate one meal a day and I was starving to death.
, go and cook the rice."
"Um."
Xiao Tao silently agreed and walked into the house. This house was a thatched house that was even worse than the one Gengzu lived in. The ground was full of pits. There was a short couch full of straw and an earthen stove, but there was nothing else.
Other things.
The only thing I could find was a small bow hanging on the wall.
This bow is different from ordinary bows. It is very light. The arrows piled on the ground are also different. Behind each arrow, there is a thin fishing line...
This is called Yi Gong. Some are used to shoot birds and some are used to shoot fish. Xiao Tao's father has no other talents. He is good at shooting fish and can also make some money for the family. But he broke his finger while serving in the army a few years ago.
After that, this craft fell into disuse. Now that his father has become more and more decadent and lazy, he doesn't want to plant the land or do any work. This life is over.
But Xiao Tao didn't want to be like his father and live in such a muddleheaded way.
This month of service allowed him to see the outside world and understand what honor and friendship are. Winning the first place in the martial arts performance on the tenth day was the most glorious moment in his short life.
Xiao Tao put down the grain bag, walked to the wall, stood up on tiptoe, took down the Yi bow, blew away the thick dust on it, and gently played with the bow string, making it make a slight trembling sound...
He looked at the bare-walled house, and he didn't know whether he thought of his mother who fell ill and died tragically, or thought of his own family's situation. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his fists clenched tighter and tighter:
"I...I'm going to apply for the army! Be a soldier! I'll never come back!"
…
In the afternoon of November 2, Heifu, whose home is farthest from the county seat, also arrived at Liwai.
Beside the road, there are large rice fields and millet fields that have been harvested long ago. Even the straw has been harvested long ago. They are bare and look a bit desolate.
As the sun sets in the west, looking from a distance, you can see the big banyan tree in the setting sun that is still lush and leafy in the middle of winter...
"Brother Zhong!"
When Heifu walked to the inner door, he heard someone calling his name loudly. When he looked up, he saw a man riding on the branches of the banyan tree, like a monkey, waving to him.
"Brother Zhong, I'm here!"
That is his 15-year-old brother, Jing. If history does not change, Jing and Heifu will die in the unification war a few years later, and that letter from home will become their last letter until countless years later.
Seeing the sun again will make future generations sigh.
But now, all this will become different, whether it is their lives or their destiny...
"This kid is born in the Year of the Monkey."
Heifu shook his head helplessly, but a smile appeared on his lips.
"Go home!"
…
PS: By the way, in the Qin Dynasty, unfilial piety was a very serious crime. The method of honoring and killing an unfilial son was simple and straightforward. It was almost as simple as the parents to complain, and the government would immediately accept the case. There is a paragraph in Jane 102 of "Legal Questions and Answers"
, "In case an old man accuses his son of being unfilial and wants to kill him, he should be punished three times. If he is not worthy of the ring, he should insist on it and not lose it." It means that if an old man accuses his son of being unfilial and asks the government to kill him, should he mediate and forgive the unfilial son three times? Answer
, the crime is extremely heinous and should not be forgiven. The unfilial son should be arrested immediately and don’t let him escape!
Understanding this, it is not surprising that Fusu was so desperate when he heard that Qin Shihuang issued an edict asking him to die. He committed suicide regardless of whether it was true or not. Not only was Fusu innocent and kind, but also because "the father wants the son to die, and the son has to die."
"In the Qin Dynasty, it was not only morality, but also law.
Therefore, travelers who return to the Qin Dynasty must remember to be filial to their parents.