amaotonovel Chapter 673 He misses home!
Chapter 673 He misses home!
After a long journey, Wang Wen finally returned to his hometown after a long absence.
The moment he stepped into the village entrance, the familiar rural atmosphere hit him in the face, but the scene before him made him stunned for a moment.
From a distance, he saw his parents standing under the locust tree at the entrance of the village, looking forward to seeing him.
The sunlight shone on them, outlining a warm outline, but as he got closer, Wang Wen felt more and more that something was wrong.
The parents in his memory were marked by the hardships of life, with sallow complexions and hunched bodies, but the two people standing in front of him now were not like that at all.
Their complexions were as rosy as peach blossoms blooming in spring, they looked radiant, and their eyes were filled with a brilliance they had never seen before.
Wang Wen looked back and forth at his parents with a puzzled look, and that inquiring look seemed to want to get back everything he had missed in the past few months.
"Mom and Dad, where are my brother and sister? What's going on at home? Why do you look so different from when I left?"
There was undisguised surprise in Wang Wen's voice, and there was also cautious testing in his tone, for fear of disturbing this sudden beauty.
He frowned slightly and stared at his parents.
Wang Wen looked at his parents quietly, feeling a little at a loss for a moment.
After a long while, his gaze slowly moved downwards, and he discovered the key point - the tattered clothes on them had now disappeared without a trace.
Not only that, he casually glanced at the villagers coming and going in the village and found that everyone was wearing new clothes.
The brightly colored fabrics shimmered in the sunlight, reflecting the smiles on everyone's faces.
However, he knew his family's financial situation very well. In the past, even food and clothing were a problem, so where did he get the spare money to buy these new clothes?
Thinking of this, Wang Wen became more and more confused.
"Mom and Dad, your clothes..." Wang Wen hesitated to speak.
Wang Shitou looked at his grown-up son with a relieved smile on his face. His eyes narrowed into slits, and joy was hidden in the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
"Son, our family has finally made it through."
Wang Shitou's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "We are no longer pariahs. Now, we are also legitimate citizens of the Tang Dynasty! We can enjoy all kinds of preferential treatment from the court."
As he spoke, he gently patted his son's shoulder.
"Your brothers and sisters are all in school and haven't come back yet. We all saw the letter you sent back!"
"The village chief specially gathered everyone together and read it to us in public."
"I never thought that my son would go to such a far place."
Speaking of this, Wang Shitou's eyes flashed with pride.
Then, his eyes revealed anticipation, "Son, I want to ask you, you've been in Chang'an for so long, have you seen His Majesty? What does His Majesty look like?"
This question was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly causing thousands of waves.
The already lively crowd suddenly became excited, and everyone's eyes were focused on Wang Wen.
Everyone's faces were filled with curiosity, and they were whispering to each other. The village chief also hurried over. Although he was usually calm, he couldn't hide his excitement at this moment, and his eyes were shining with anticipation.
There were also the two yamen runners who were responsible for notifying the news. They squeezed to the front of the crowd, stretched their necks, and looked at Wang Wen eagerly, as if they were waiting for a grand performance to begin.
For the people living in this remote village, being able to see His Majesty in person is simply an unattainable dream.
Although every household hangs a portrait of His Majesty, and everyone always feels that His Majesty is protecting them all the time, who doesn't want to see with their own eyes what the emperor who changed their destiny looks like?
That kind of desire is like the yearning for light of someone who has been wandering in the darkness for a long time.
Wang Wen looked at the pairs of expectant eyes around him and groaned inwardly.
How could he tell everyone that His Majesty was in the carriage behind?
If the news gets out, who knows what kind of sensation it will cause.
He calmed himself down, took a deep breath, and slowly scanned the familiar and simple faces in front of him, trying his best to make his tone sound solemn.
"I met His Majesty, and he was exactly what everyone imagined him to be: a deity from heaven descended to earth, radiating auspicious light, and his every move exuding an otherworldly aura."
When the villagers heard Wang Wen’s description, they were immediately excited.
"I know it, I know it, only the gods in heaven can care about us, the untouchables who were once looked down upon."
A gray-haired old man waved his arms excitedly, his voice trembling violently, and tears glistening in his eyes.
"Yes, Your Majesty is truly a being from heaven! Only a god could be so kind and compassionate as to allow us to live a good life."
Everyone echoed, and everyone's face was filled with piety. At this moment, the distance between them and His Majesty was shortened a lot.
"Son."
Wang Wen's mother Zhang Xiulan gently pulled Wang Wen's hand. Although her hands were rough, they were full of warmth.
Zhang Xiulan kept glancing at the long convoy behind Wang Wen. "Are all those cars in the back of this convoy yours? Are you an official in Chang'an now?"
Just then, a middle-aged man with a slightly hunched figure squeezed out from the crowd.
There was a hint of anxiety on his face as he looked straight at Wang Wen.
"Awen, I want to ask, how is my child doing in Chang'an? Have you gone to Chang'an to see him?"
The person who spoke was Zhang Sheng's father. His eyes were full of concern. Zhang An's every move in Chang'an touched his heart.
Wang Wen was stunned for a moment, and Zhang Sheng's appearance instantly appeared in his mind.
He never expected that he would be asked this question by Zhang Sheng's father here.
He hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to respond.
He knew what Zhang Sheng was thinking, but he didn't know how to express it to this expectant father.
After a moment's silence, Wang Wen looked at Zhang Sheng's father with a sincere smile on his face and affirmation in his tone.
"Uncle, Zhang Sheng is amazing! He passed the exam! Now he's an official in Chang'an. To be able to get to Chang'an from a small place like ours through the exam is a real talent."
He raised his voice slightly, wanting everyone present to hear the honor, "The people in Chang'an are all full of praise for Brother Zhang Sheng!"
Hearing Wang Wen's words, Zhang Sheng's father's eyes suddenly turned red, and his originally tense expression instantly relaxed.
He raised his hand and wiped the corners of his eyes, trying hard not to let the tears flow. "Okay, it's good that he's in Chang'an. This child doesn't even know how to come home to visit. In all these years, he's only written two letters home."
His voice was a little choked. "I feel relieved to hear you say that, Awen. Good! He's doing well in Chang'an, that's good!"
Wang Wen looked at the father in front of him who was relieved but a little disappointed, and his heart couldn't help but be moved.
He stepped forward and whispered comfortingly, "Don't worry, uncle. Brother Zhang is busy with official duties in Chang'an, so he has no time to send letters home. I will tell him when I see him again."
"He told me that he missed home so much that he dreamed of coming back to visit."