In just ten days, Li Hong and Bai Chun were completely integrated into this small mountain village. They were like ordinary people here every day. They had no higher pursuits or too many worries. They only had to consider The most important thing is whether there is enough food to feed the family after entering the cold winter.
In the past ten days, Li Hong and Bai Chun had never noticed any outsiders coming here, and they did not even conduct house-to-house searches to see if the officials were looking for them.
And they are the only two outsiders in this small mountain village during this period of time, and even in the past six months, they have been the only outsiders in this small mountain village.
Of course, integrating into this small mountain village does not mean that people have lost their curiosity about them. Every time Bai Chun passes by a house or household, or walks on the only main road in the small mountain village, he will hear people standing there. Women sunbathing in the corner, holding babies in their arms, or holding hands with children as young as five or six years old.
There was awe, disdain, and even some envy in his eyes, and he would talk to her and Li Hong behind their backs as she walked by.
The two people must have eloped from a neighboring village, or the man and the woman are so old that they have no children, and they were probably kicked out by their families.
The most outrageous thing is that while feeding her child in full view of the public, a woman exclaimed: "Hey, you don't know, that little lady's little hands are so tender, with fine skin and tender flesh." Yes, it reflects in the sun and looks like a jade hand. It’s a pity that I can’t give birth to a child.”
"No, I went to collect firewood with her that day. I carried a big bundle on my back, while she only took a few sticks. But that's it. When I returned home, I was praised by the man for having such a tender skin in front of my face. , took a bite out of the beautiful face.”
"I heard that this is a maid and a slave from a noble family in the city. They sneaked out and hid here with us. They plan to live here for the rest of their lives. Look at that one when they first came here. Earrings, what, you didn’t see it? That’s really a bad thing for you. That earring was sold for a lot of money in the city. You didn’t realize that the store is now selling wine and meat. No, it’s because you feel sorry for it. , I brought them good bedding and some tea from the city, it smells so good."
"Isn't it just some dried tree leaves? It tastes so astringent to death."
"Keep your voice down. I haven't heard that her man just beat up the fool two days ago? Wasn't it just because of his gossip..."
"I'm not talking nonsense, it's because I fell in love with someone else's little lady. As soon as the man left the house, I ran away from her house. Unexpectedly, she had that... that... archery guy in her hand, and shot it directly on the shoulder of the stupid man. "When the man came back, he almost broke his legs."
"I heard that the stupid man knelt down and kowtowed to me. Finally, the man was released. He is still at home recovering from his injuries."
As these women chatted, a burst of hearty male laughter came from a distance. The women who heard these laughter looked at each other, and then each of them started to lower their heads and ran towards their homes.
He even muttered and scolded his own man. He didn't know what good that man was. He didn't know when it started. Every day when he came back from cutting firewood, the men in the village would have a tacit understanding and take the initiative to help others. On the firewood pile at the door of the house, put some firewood cut by yourself.
Every time he gave Li Hong firewood, Li Hong didn't stop him. He just said hello to them with a faint smile, and then he and Bai Chun sat at the door relaxedly, drinking "good" tea from the city.
After initially exchanging the earrings for a quilt and cotton mattress, the man of the family went to a neighboring village in Sanli District, and then followed the gentleman to Xingyang County, stopping and walking for five consecutive days. By the end of the day, the man of the house came back from the mountain covered in dust.
Early the next morning, when Li Hong got up, he saw a newer mattress at the door, as well as some wine and tea, including a cooked chicken without chicken legs and a cooked chicken without duck legs. duck.
When Bai Chun opened the oil paper package and looked at it, they both shook their heads and smiled involuntarily. Then the two legless chickens and ducks were given to two villagers who often helped them chop firewood.
At this moment, following the villagers, they were cutting firewood again. After he returned from hunting with a crossbow on his back, the villagers naturally piled a lot of firewood on his own firewood pile.
And the more than 20 men in this village were able to obey Li Hongyan ten days after Li Hong arrived. They had awe of Li Hong from the first day. When they first saw Li Hong behind That dark crossbow, although they didn't know what it was for.
But looking at the dark and cold skeleton of the crossbow, especially after a sharp arrow was attached, everyone showed a look of horror.
As they themselves said, it was as if they were being targeted by the Lord of Hell, which made people involuntarily send chills down their spines, their hearts trembled, and their legs became weak.
And when I saw an adult deer running in the distance, I heard a whooshing sound in my ears. The adult deer in the distance rolled on the ground, then stood up shakily, and ran away without taking two steps. Lying on the ground motionless.
From that moment on, when every villager looked at Li Hong, their hearts were involuntarily filled with awe.
As for the fool who wanted to tease Bai Chun and was shot by the Yan-wing crossbow in Bai Chun's hand, he fled in a hurry. After the two brothers came back, the three of them ran to the door of Li Hong's house to argue, but Li Hong punished him without any explanation. , From then on, Li Hong and Bai Chun truly integrated into this small mountain village, and thus became the only overlords in the village!
"As the saying goes: Poor mountains and rivers bring out unruly people. If you tell them the truth in the court and to the ministers, they can only understand it. There is no literate person here. Let alone the truth, just follow the usual rules. Talk to the ministers, and they will only hear a little knowledge. Therefore, to deal with these people, morality, etiquette, wisdom and trust are far less effective than fists. Look at the pile of firewood that is higher than the wall of our courtyard, and tell them They need to understand the Four Books and Five Classics, benevolence, wisdom and etiquette." Li Hong said leisurely while holding a pottery bowl and drinking a large bowl of tea.
"If the quality of these people... were better, I would rather stay here for the rest of my life, but it is much better than in Chang'an." Bai Chun frowned and said with lingering fear.
Everything is fine here, except for these gossips. It's hard to pretend not to hear them, and it's like a nightmare. You don't know when they will appear and what kind of questions they will ask that will make you jaw-dropping.
What made her even more unbearable was that they didn't even know how to avoid taboos, if His Highness hadn't beaten the three brothers, which made the men and women in the small mountain village awe of the two of them.
These women would block the door of their own homes and ask questions. Even if they closed the door themselves, they would take the initiative to push the door open and open the window. They would lie down at the window or door one by one without saying anything. Come in, no matter whether you pay attention to their questions or not, no matter how many times you have issued eviction orders, they are innocent and eager to watch what you do in the room.
"That's a good thing you're thinking about. How long has it been since the villagers who brought us some "good" tea came back? It's been three or five days, right?" Li Hong enjoyed Bai Chun's massage on his temples and leaned back. , leaned against Bai Chun's soft chest and murmured.
Bai Chun stopped what he was doing, looked at the sky that seemed to be bluer than Chang'an, thought for a moment and said: "Strictly speaking, it should be four days, ugh... I really hope to stay here longer, and I don’t want to be disturbed by those people, and I don’t know which one is better.” Looking forward unconsciously, Bai Chun said with some ambivalence.
"Then I'll find you a job." Li Hong closed the door to rest, his forehead was massaged by a pair of gentle hands, and his body was illuminated by the warm sunshine. It was a good place to relax his mind.
And isn't this the precious stolen time between you and Bai Chun? Just do it and cherish it.
"No, last time I chopped firewood, I was laughed to death. I was laughed at by them for two days in a row, and they said..." Bai Chun shut up and stopped talking. He also knew that this was impossible. In any case, he It is also impossible and impossible to have children.
Li Hong patted Bai Chun's hand and motioned for Bai Chun to sit down. He understood what Bai Chun was thinking, but... at least it was unrealistic now, so he diverted Bai Chun's attention and said, "I won't let you do it again." Go chop wood. Besides, you have to join in the fun, so who is to blame?"
"What are you doing? There seems to be very little that I can do here, right?" Bai Chun asked, looking at the dozens of scattered houses around him.
"There are as many as 40 or 50 children here who are five, six or even 13 or 14 years old. On average, there is more than one child in each family, so you should teach them how to read and how many they can read count." Li Hong recalled As he headed towards the mountains, he got the news from chatting with the villagers.
"There are so many?" Bai Chun asked in surprise.
She has been here for ten days. Although she rarely goes out most of the time, she spends most of her time sitting at the door chatting with His Highness, or walking in the back mountain, or staring at the small stream and fishing.
But in ten days, this small mountain village has been transformed. I didn't see so many children anywhere.
Li Hong chuckled, shook his head and said, "Forty or fifty may be because I said there are too few. How can they know numbers if they don't know how to read? I'm afraid there's no arithmetic here to teach you. It's useful." Calculation is Datang's original calculation method. The villagers can give me a number, and it is estimated based on the thirty or so households I mentioned. Therefore, these forty or fifty people are definitely not the maximum number. "
(End of chapter)