Xiaoyaoshanjun

Chapter 107 Old Man
We walked out of the city and along the official road for more than an hour. The sun was getting brighter and brighter, and there was a lot of water on the road under our feet.

Tian Buli looked at the mud spots on the back of his trouser legs.

"The faster you walk, the more mud and water you step on."

"It's not a big deal if my clothes get dirty, but if I keep walking like this I'll be dirty by the time I get home."

Tian Buli thought of something, so he continued walking, but deviated slightly from the road.

Going down the official road, after passing some narrow slopes covered with grass and mud, we arrived in front of a farmer's house.

When I was pushing the cart to the exam, I rested for two hours at a family's house and had some food.

It didn’t take long, just a little over a year.

Tian Buli came to the gate again, and as soon as he approached the dog in the backyard started barking.

"Is there anyone in the room?" Tian Buli shouted.

Soon a boy popped his head out of the house, and after seeing Tian Buli, he quickly shouted into the house, "Grandpa! Grandpa! There's someone!"

"Here they come!" Old man Qiao came out of the house and was a little confused when he saw the man standing outside.

Soon, Old Man Qiao approached the gate carefully and asked, "Who is the guest looking for?"

Tian Buli smiled and said, "Don't be afraid, he's not a bad guy. When I went to take an exam before, I took a cart with some people to rest here for a while. Do you remember?"

Old man Qiao tried to straighten himself up, waved his hand and went forward to open the door, saying happily: "Remember, remember!"

"Last year, Mr. Hu passed the imperial examination and came to my place to rest during the New Year. He left some money, wine and meat. This year, it seems he is going to the capital to take the imperial examination."

"Please come in. Your last name is Tian, ​​right?"

Old Man Qiao originally had a deeper impression of Hu Yuwei. Although Tian Buli was eloquent when he came last year, he still remembered his master.

In addition, Hu Yuwei came here last year, so naturally I will never forget what happened to Hu Yuwei.

Tian Buli smiled and said, "So the gentleman came here before, but he didn't tell me about this matter. How is the old man these days?"

"Good! Everything is good!" Old Man Qiao said happily, "During the New Year, the children all came back and the yard was bustling. How is Mr. Hu?"

Tian Buli smiled and said, "Very good, sir, you passed the imperial examination a few days ago. You will definitely become a high-ranking official in the future."

Old man Qiao was even happier. "Good! Good! Good! It would be great if such a person could become a high-ranking official!"

Tian Buli walked into the house and sat down. He remembered that there was a coffin in the house last year, but it was gone now.

Both Old Man and Old Lady Qiao are in good health and have warm smiles on their faces.

No one knows where the bed in the main room was moved to. Generally, elderly people in rural areas sleep in the main room at the entrance, rather than in the rooms inside.

Firstly, he has a low status, and secondly, he is used as a gatekeeper and has to go out to check if there is any movement outside at night.

The main room is relatively good, but many people sleep in the kitchen or livestock room.

People in the countryside attach great importance to filial piety, but it is hard to say whether it is forced by others or they care about their reputation.

Giving money is worse than anything else, and having connections is worse than anything else. Children will naturally respect the elderly who have money and connections.

Old man Qiao knows an official, so his children will naturally come to visit more often, not as casually as before.

Regardless of whether his children are filial or not, they will be closer to him in the future.

Just like the people in Tianjia Village who had no relatives to visit before, this year during the New Year, the homes of those poor families in Tianjia Village became several times more lively.

Everyone in the world is benefiting.

Tian Buli had some tea and food, rested and chatted for two hours, and then set off again.

Perhaps it was because the summer afternoon sun was too strong, or perhaps it was because the dirt road had good drainage, so there was much less mud and water on the ground.

The dirt road was not as difficult to walk on as it had been in the morning, and Tian Buli ran easily and happily.

He ran so fast that the splashed mud didn't fall on him and fell directly to the ground.

I didn't stop when I passed by those black shops. These shops offended more than just me, and there would always be people who would go to settle accounts with them if they displeased me!
***
On the bed in the house on the mountain, a little white rabbit opened its eyes in confusion. There were no other rabbits on the mat. The little white rabbit raised its head from the mat covered with a blanket and looked around.

It was a summer afternoon, no one was at home, the house was quiet, and the bed was a little cold.

Accompanied by the sound of cicadas, the surroundings became a little more lively, but also very quiet.

"Oops, I overslept..."

The little white rabbit quickly remembered that he still had work to do in the afternoon, so he jumped off the bed, landed on the ground in an instant, and then ran out in a hurry.

As soon as I ran out, I saw a woman with rabbit ears and wearing loose gray linen clothes sitting under the shed in front of the house eating watermelon. On the table in front of the woman, three rabbits were each holding a slice of red soil watermelon in their hands and chewing it.

The little white rabbit ran over anxiously, "Why didn't you call me!"

The little black rabbit raised his head and said, "Who told you not to get up? I called you but you couldn't hear me."

The little gray rabbit said: "I called you to eat the melon, but you said you didn't want to eat it and wanted to sleep for a while."

Actually no.

The little white rabbit didn't bother to tell whether it was real or fake, and quickly jumped onto the table to eat the melon.

The little yellow rabbit pushed her away, "Mom! The white rabbit ate without washing his hands again!"

The rabbit lady picked up the little white rabbit and put it on the ground, "Go wash your hands!"

The little white rabbit hurriedly walked to the basin beside him and washed his hands and face perfunctorily, then ran back and jumped onto the table.

The rabbit lady then gave her a triangular melon slice.

The little white rabbit ate the watermelon quickly and happily.

Except for crops, everything else is planted on the mountain.

The most common vegetables are cabbage and green vegetables, and there are also many fruit trees.

Eat whichever is cooked.

But sometimes the fruits and vegetables sent from the mountain are more delicious. The few rabbits on the mountain don’t know how to grow them, and Tian Buli doesn’t know how to grow them either, but they are all learning slowly.

The rabbit lady instructed, "Don't chew the seeds. After eating them, go to the melon field and pick some. These melons are good ones sent by the Hu family. They are bigger and sweeter than the watermelons we grow."

The four little rabbits quickly agreed, "Yes! Mom!"

The little rabbits usually use wood and bones to grind their teeth. When eating watermelon, they don’t like to spit out the seeds or break them into pieces, but swallow them directly.

When pulling, just find a place to dig a hole and bury it, killing two birds with one stone.

After the watermelon was all eaten, the four rabbits had eaten a lot of the rind, and the remaining unpalatable parts were thrown out to feed the chickens.

After eating and resting for a while, Lady Rabbit took the four rabbits to practice calligraphy in the house.

In the summer evenings, people from the mountains would come over to plant bamboo together.

There aren’t many edible vegetables in the mountains, and many places are not suitable for agricultural use.

After Tian Buli ordered to plant bamboo, the others naturally did not ask why and just planted it.

Four rabbits were playing on the hill during free time in the evening.

While the little white rabbit was playing, it looked down the mountain as usual, hoping that its owner would come back soon.

When the owner is not at home, the little white rabbit has no one to care for it.

Another day passed, and when the little white rabbit got up early in the morning to go jogging, he saw Tian Buli walking up slowly from the foot of the mountain.

The rabbit lady quickly ran over with her four rabbits.

"Master! Master is back!"

The little white rabbit ran over happily and for the first time ran faster than the little yellow rabbit.

(End of this chapter)