amaotonovel Chapter 1216 1912
Chapter 1216 1912
The next day, early in the morning, Bai Jiaxuan pulled Qin Hao out of the warm bed.
"Hao'er, go wash your face quickly. After breakfast, it's time to go to school. Today is the first day of class, don't be late."
Qin Hao wiped his eyes, put on his clothes, and stood up to wash up. Bai Zhaoshi, who was standing by, felt distressed when she saw this and kept complaining.
"It's not like the Bai family doesn't have a place to serve as a school, but they put on airs and asked my child to walk such a long mountain road in the freezing cold and snow..."
Bai Bingde glared at her when he heard that. "Stop talking nonsense. Chenxi is doing this to train Hao'er. If God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make him work hard and starve his body. What do women know?"
Bai Zhaoshi didn't dare to talk back after being scolded, so she could only go to the kitchen and watch the stove.
After eating the delicious hand-rolled noodles, Qin Hao went out in the snow. Bai Jiaxuan stood at the door and reminded him, "Study hard and don't make your uncle angry."
"I understand, Da, you can go back, it's windy outside."
Bai Jiaxuan couldn't help feeling a little distressed when looking at Qin Hao's small back, but as the next heir of the Bai family, he needed to be ruthless for the future of the Bai family.
Qin Hao walked with his short legs on the thick snow, making a series of creaking sounds. Not long after passing Lu's house, he heard a burst of hurried footsteps behind him.
Lu Zhaopeng was wearing a sheepskin hat, his face red from the cold: "Bai Hao, why didn't you call me when you passed by my house?"
"If I don't call you, you won't go to school?"
Lu Zhaopeng scratched his forehead: "That definitely won't happen."
"Then it's over."
"But, if we go to school together, won't we still have a companion?"
"You won't go to school without a companion?"
Lu Zhaopeng: ...
After being silent for a long time, Lu Zhaopeng suddenly said, "Do you have any problem with me?"
The opinion is serious, and we have to admit that Lu Zhaopeng is indeed a revolutionary with a firm stance, but he is extremely cold-blooded when dealing with his relatives.
He obviously didn't like Leng Qiuyue, and he also knew that he couldn't have a burden in the career he was about to participate in, but in order to save face for his grandfather and father, he still chose to marry Leng Qiuyue.
He knew that Leng Qiuyue was an extremely traditional woman, but he always instilled the so-called "freedom of marriage" into her. He wanted to divorce Leng Qiuyue again and again, and even cruelly rejected Leng Qiuyue's humble begging for only a child. In this era, a woman had hope as long as she had a child, but he did not even leave Leng Qiuyue with such a small hope.
It can be said that Leng Qiuyue’s tragic fate was caused by Lu Zhaopeng.
Secondly, he knew that his brother Lu Zhaohai was deeply in love with Bai Ling and was even willing to sacrifice his life for her, but he still made his fake love with Bai Ling real and even got her pregnant with his child. In the end, he asked Lu Zhaohai to escort Bai Ling out of the city.
It is foreseeable how heartbroken Lu Zhaohai would be when he saw Bai Ling’s bulging belly.
And there is Heiwa. If he hadn't instigated Heiwa to fight the local tyrants, Tian Xiao'e wouldn't have suffered the tragedy that followed.
It can be said that anyone who gets involved with Lu Zhaopeng will have a bad ending.
"arrive."
Just as Lu Zhaopeng was stunned, Qin Hao had already entered the Zhu family's gate.
"Hao'er, you must be frozen. Drink some hot tea to warm yourself up."
"Thank you, aunt."
Zhu Bai reached out and brushed off the snowflakes on Qin Hao's hat: "This child, why is he being so polite to his aunt?"
"Master's wife." Lu Zhaopeng bowed respectfully to Zhu Bai.
Zhu Bai nodded slightly: "You should also drink some hot tea."
"Thank you, Master."
Two small tables and chairs had been placed in front of the main room. After Qin Hao and Lu Zhaopeng sat down, Mr. Zhu walked out of the study.
"Have you all learned the Three Character Classic?"
Lu Zhaopeng stood up and said respectfully, "Sir, I have learned a little."
Mr. Zhu looked at Qin Hao.
“I have learned it.”
"Have you read all the allusions in it?" Mr. Zhu asked again.
Lu Zhaopeng scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed, while Qin Hao nodded slightly.
"Since you said you've read all the stories, let me test you: Rong was four years old and was able to give away pears. A younger brother should know his elders first. What is this story?"
"When Kong Rong was four years old, his father gave his brothers some pears to eat and asked him to choose first. But he picked the smallest one. His father asked him why he picked the smallest one. Kong Rong replied that he was the youngest, so he should eat the small one and give the big one to his brothers."
Mr. Zhu nodded slightly: "Then do you think Kong Rong did the right thing?"
Lu Zhaopeng immediately said, "You did the right thing."
"Oh why?"
Lu Zhaopeng was stumped by the question.
Mr. Zhu shook his head slightly: "You must think that since it is recorded in the book, it must be correct, otherwise it would not have been passed down."
Lu Zhaopeng scratched his head embarrassedly.
Mr. Zhu looked at Qin Hao: "What do you think?"
"It has nothing to do with right or wrong. It's just a play directed and performed by the Kong family." Qin Hao replied indifferently.
"Oh, what's the matter?" Mr. Zhu became interested.
"During the Eastern Han Dynasty, officials were selected based on reputation rather than talent. In order to ensure that their children could become officials smoothly, the aristocratic families would often invite some famous people to flatter them. The reason why the story of Kong Rong giving up his pears has been passed down through the ages is not because of the story itself, but because the Kong family is a descendant of the Yansheng Duke and has the power to speak in public opinion."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhu stroked his beard and smiled, with a hint of approval in his eyes: "Although there is no real evidence, it is rare for you to think of this at such a young age. But you know that if this statement were to be spread out, I'm afraid you would be called a 'heretic' by those corrupt scholars!"
"Since you said they are corrupt scholars, why should we care about their barking?"
Mr. Zhu shook his head and said, "You, from now on, if you want to say something unorthodox like this, just keep it in class and don't spread it outside. You should know that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind."
"Thank you for your teachings, sir." Qin Hao bowed deeply.
Mr. Zhu turned to look at Lu Zhaopeng and said, "Studying is not about reading from books. You should not believe what the ancients said. You should learn to think critically. Otherwise, it is easy to become like those corrupt scholars who only know the ins and outs of things all day long, but are useless."
"Thank you for your teachings, sir. I will keep it in mind." Lu Zhaopeng also followed Qin Hao's example and bowed deeply.
……
Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it is already 1912. Qin Hao and Lu Zhaopeng have been classmates for five years. That year Qin Hao is 10 years old and Lu Zhaopeng is 11 years old.
Autumn in Bailuyuan always comes generously.
As soon as the sky was getting light, a thin layer of mist rose on the plateau, as if a new bride had opened a steamer, and the hot air wrapped in the aroma of wheat flowed through the gullies.
The heavy ears of corn bent the stalks, and when the wind occasionally blew by, the whole field would rustle, as if reciting the ancient tune of "The fireflies fly in July, and the people give out clothes in September."
The golden wheat waves are drifting in the wind on Bailuyuan. Being among them is like sinking into a golden ocean.
There were already figures moving among the ridges. Heiwa swung his sickle vigorously, and the blade made a crisp "snapping" sound as it bit into the wheat stalks. The fallen wheat stalks behind him formed a slanting queue, like golden arrows blown by the wind.
"Hao'er, go home and rest after you finish harvesting these. Your Uncle Lu and I are here for you." Bai Jiaxuan looked at his son with some heartache. Although his son has grown very fast in recent years and is almost as tall as his chest, he is only a 10-year-old boy after all. He cannot do such heavy work as harvesting wheat for too long. It would be terrible if he exhausted himself.
"Yes, young master, you have already harvested a lot. Go back and have a rest. We will finish harvesting this field in a while." Lu Sanye advised. As a long-term worker in the landlord's family, he lived a good life. Not only did he have food and drink, but his employer also found him a wife and they had a baby. Unfortunately, his wife was not blessed and died of illness not long after giving birth.
Among so many villages in Bailuyuan, only the Bai family treats the farmhands well and treats them as human beings. He has also long regarded himself as a member of the Bai family.
Qin Hao wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "No need, Uncle Lu, let's finish the work together before taking a break. This is the last piece of land. Mr. Zhu said that giving up halfway is not a good habit."
When Bai Jiaxuan heard that it was his brother-in-law who said that, he immediately fell silent. From childhood to adulthood, the person he admired most was not his father, but his brother-in-law. If this were to go back a few decades, these people on Bailuyuan would have knelt down when they saw a juren like his brother-in-law.
Just as the three were working hard, Lu Zilin, with his hands behind his back, came to the edge of the field in a casual manner.
"Hey, Jiaxuan, why let the future scholar do such hard labor? If I had known that your family was short of labor, you should have told me. Our Lu family has plenty of strong laborers."
Bai Jiaxuan said angrily: "It's about to rain, why don't you go home and harvest your wheat quickly, or else your entire year's harvest will be ruined."
"Stop talking nonsense. It's sunny here, how can it rain?"
Bai Jiaxuan subconsciously looked at Qin Hao, but ignored Lu Zilin and continued to harvest the wheat with his head down.
Lu Zilin was disappointed and left in boredom, looking up at the sky as he walked: "Why is it raining today?"
Near noon, when the sun was at its hottest, a dark cloud suddenly covered the entire sky. Amidst the lightning and thunder, heavy rain poured down towards the ground.
The bean-sized raindrops hit the wheat ears, making dense crackling sounds, as if thousands of stones were falling from the sky. The originally heavy golden wheat stalks shook violently under the impact of the rainstorm, and fell in large pieces in the muddy ridges, like the spines of crops being crushed by invisible giant hands.
The strong wind swept past with the whip of rain, and the wheat waves no longer had the gentle ups and downs they had before, leaving only messy stalks twitching in the muddy water. The plump wheat grains were forcibly stripped from the husks by the rain, mixed with the loess to form muddy streams, flowing freely along the gullies.
In the wheat fields, many farmers who had not yet finished harvesting the wheat were soaked by the heavy rain. However, compared to the coldness of their bodies, their hearts were even colder, because what was washed away by the heavy rain were their food rations.
Lu Zilin stood at the edge of the field, with his hands on his hips, angrily cursing the wheat pickers in the field. The wheat pickers, who were unable to raise their heads due to the rain, lowered their heads even more.
After scolding the wheat pickers, Lu Zilin was still not satisfied. He wiped the rain off his face and looked back. He found that Bai Jiaxuan and the other two had finished harvesting the wheat and were taking shelter under the eaves.
"Damn it, I'm so lucky."
"Da, it's not luck. Bai Hao had already told the villagers that it would rain heavily in the next two days and asked everyone to hurry up and harvest the wheat, but you didn't believe it."
Lu Zhaopeng's words made Lu Zilin even more angry: "You know nothing. He said it would rain and it would rain... The wheat was not fully ripe a few days ago. How much grain would be wasted if it was harvested early..."
"Let that kid be lucky enough to guess right this once... Stop boosting the Bai family's morale in front of me."
Lu Zilin became more and more dissatisfied with his son. He had originally hoped that he could learn something from Mr. Zhu and surpass the kid from the Bai family. However, after this kid went there, he followed the kid from the Bai family all day long, like a follower, which completely disgraced his old face.
Lu Zhaopeng looked innocent. He didn't know why, but his father liked to scold him whenever he mentioned Qin Hao.
……
Although some wheat was knocked down by a heavy rain, fortunately, after a year of hard work by everyone, this year's harvest is good.
"Jiaxuan, this cart of grain is our tax grain for this year. You and Lu San should deliver this cart of grain to the county government and pay this year's tax."
Bai Bingde tapped his pipe and gave instructions.
"Okay, I'll go right away."
"Da, I want to go with you."
Facing Qin Hao's request, before Bai Jiaxuan opened his mouth, Bai Bingde said, "If the kid wants to go, take him with you. It would be good to go to the county and see the world."
"Well, you are not allowed to get off the bus once we get to the city, and you are not allowed to run around."
"Oh, I see."
After Qin Hao finished speaking, he climbed onto the grain cart, Bai Jiaxuan also got on, and Lu San drove the carriage all the way to the village entrance.
As a result, just as I walked out of the archway at the entrance of the village, I heard a burst of hurried horse hooves and wheel sounds behind me. I turned around and saw Lu Zilin's old face.
"Oh, Jiaxuan is going to the county to deliver food, it's good to have someone to accompany us on the journey."
Bai Jiaxuan ignored him and winked at Lu San. Lu San understood and whipped the horsewhip. The horse felt pain and immediately sped up, leaving Lu Zilin's carriage behind.
As the road was covered with yellow soil, dust flew everywhere after the carriage passed over it, causing Lu Zilin, who was sitting behind, to have his mouth full of dust. He was so angry that he started cursing.
"Asshole, you're just picking on me."
Bai Jiaxuan and Lu San listened to Lu Zilin's angry shouting and cursing, but they smiled at each other.
Qin Hao couldn't help but laugh when he saw this scene. He didn't expect that his usually steady father had such a naughty side.
The carriage wobbled all the way to the county town. After passing through the ancient city wall, the streets became open, with shops lining both sides and shouts coming from all directions.
Seeing that Qin Hao was staring at a store with a "Cigarette" sign, Bai Jiaxuan subconsciously reached out to cover his eyes.
"Hao'er, don't look at it. It's a big opium den. It's not a good place."
Qin Hao frowned: "The opium den is so brazenly opened on the street, and no one is watching over it?"
"Who cares? Those masters in the county government? I'm afraid they have a big stake in it." Bai Jiaxuan said sarcastically.
As they were talking, they had already crossed the busy streets. On the way, Bai Jiaxuan bought two cakes for Qin Hao, and Qin Hao took out one and shared it with him and Lu San.
At this time Lu Zilin also caught up. Bai Jiaxuan just took out the grain payment certificate and was about to enter the yamen, but was snatched away by Lu Zilin, who rushed into the yamen first.
But before Lu Zilin could feel proud for long, he ran out screaming, holding the back of his head.
"My braid, my braid." (End of this chapter)