Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 30 Baisha Village

Outside Baisha Village, villagers are busy working in the fields.

Some children of a few years old were also active in the fields, playing or helping their adults with work, laboriously pulling out weeds.

Lu Zheng came outside the village and observed the fields.

It was June, and the crops were not growing well. Some fruits and vegetables were not very big, probably because of the lack of fertilizer.

A man was tending to his own field. When he saw Lu Zheng, he just glanced at him, thinking he was a young man passing by. He didn't pay much attention and continued to weed the field.

Lu Zheng observed for a while and said, "Brother, after all your hard work this year, can you support your family?"

Hearing this, the man leaned on his hoe and looked at Lu Zheng, smiling and saying, "It all depends on fate. There are five people in my family. In a good year, we can barely make ends meet. But if the year is bad, if there are natural disasters or man-made disasters, and the government increases taxes, we can only eat less food every day and go hungry..."

The man paused, looked at Lu Zheng, and said, "Young man, you look fair and clean. You are not a farmer like us. I think you come from a wealthy family and have been educated. Why are you asking these questions?"

"Big Brother, you have a good eye." Lu Zheng smiled slightly. "I studied at Kaiyang County School for a few years, and now I'm traveling to study. I want to see what's going on in different parts of the county."

When the man heard this, a hint of respect suddenly appeared in his eyes. A scholar who could study in the county school was at least a tongsheng. Compared with ordinary people like them, there was a world of difference.

He had never seen any scholar come to inquire about the people's sentiments before. In their remote and poor place, only government officials would come occasionally, either to collect taxes or for corvee labor.

The man couldn't help but think that Lu Zheng would become a high-ranking official in the future. His expression became more respectful, and there was also a hint of restraint.

"What do you want to ask, scholar? I will tell you everything I know." The man rubbed his rough hands together, looking a little nervous.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Brother, there's no need to be like this. I'm just a common scholar, and my grandfathers were farmers too. We're not big shots."

Not far away, the children who were playing or working saw Lu Zheng.

Everyone's eyes were clear and bright as they looked at the stranger with curiosity.

Lu Zheng put down the bookcase and took out a bag of dried apricots from it. He gave some to the man first, then called the children and gave each of them a few.

There weren't many dried apricots in a bag, and they were quickly divided up by the kids.

These children are very sensible and will thank Lu Zheng when they get something.

A skinny child got some dried apricots. He rummaged through his worn pockets and took out a few wild fruits still covered in mud to share with Lu Zheng.

On June 6th, sweet potatoes are ripe.

The wild fruit the child took out was wild sweet potatoes growing in the grass, and they tasted sweet.

Lu Zheng had eaten it as a child in his previous life, and now he still misses the taste of this wild fruit.

"Thank you." Lu Zheng took the wild sweet potato and gently touched the child's head with dry and thin yellow hair.

Lu Zheng didn't care and just sat down on the edge of the field. He wiped a wild sweet potato clean and put it into his mouth, filling his mouth with the aroma of fruit.

When the man saw Lu Zheng like this, he immediately felt a lot more friendly.

He carefully wrapped the dried apricots in his hand in a pumpkin leaf and planned to take them back for his family to eat.

Lu Zheng sat there, asking about the situation in the village, how many households there were, and whether there were any villagers who were having difficulty making ends meet... The man was honest and simple, and he gave a general account of the situation in the village.

Some villagers in the nearby fields, seeing the excitement here, couldn't help but put down their farm work and come over to take a look out of curiosity.

After learning about Lu Zheng's identity, everyone looked respectful.

But soon, Lu Zheng started chatting with these villagers.

Lu Zheng learned that the villagers in Baisha Village did not live well, but their lives were not so bad that they had to sell their children.

Although life is hard on ordinary days, both adults and children are full of energy and not numb, and have beautiful expectations for life.

Most villagers feel that they are lucky to be able to farm peacefully in such troubled times.

Lu Zheng asked, "I wonder if your village has encountered any monsters recently? I have some skills and can help you solve this problem."

A man grinned upon hearing this and said, "Monster? Our Baisha Village is so poor, how could there be any monsters targeting us? It's just that sometimes big insects and wild wolves wander around the village, stealing livestock and injuring people..."

"If you're talking about ghosts, you can occasionally see ghost lights on the grave hill east of our village. Maybe there really are ghosts there," someone said.

"People from our village are buried there. Even if there are ghosts, they probably won't harm us." Someone added.

Lu Zheng explained, "Most ghosts are the lingering obsessions or resentments of people after death, transforming into fierce or evil spirits. However, there are no hauntings here, so even if there are ghosts in that graveyard, they are not very powerful."

A half-grown boy said weakly, "I think our village is still haunted. I occasionally hear screams coming from the house next door, Widow Wang. The sound is creepy, like a ghost crying. I'm afraid she's possessed by a ghost. But during the day, Widow Wang is just like a normal person. I guess the ghost is afraid of the light..."

Upon hearing this, the other men couldn't help but burst into laughter, with meaningful expressions on their faces.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but smile when he heard this, but didn't explain anything.

The boy scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and didn't understand what everyone was laughing at.

Some people felt it was inappropriate to discuss these matters in front of outsiders, so they changed the subject, saying, "I think Liu San has been acting strangely lately. He's usually lazy and likes to go to town to gamble, but he never wins. He even sold all his family's land... But lately, he's won a lot of money and has become a bit eccentric. When we ask him about it, he always says it's the gods and ancestors who have shown up to help him turn his fortunes around."

"Several adults drowned in the village next door not long ago. They all said it was caused by water ghosts..."

"I also heard..."

Everyone was talking about it, from their own village to the nearby villages and towns.

Even the story of a daughter of a wealthy family in the town who was possessed by an evil spirit and became demented was described vividly.

When talking about these things about ghosts and gods, the villagers talked about them with great relish and never stopped.

Lu Zheng listened attentively. Although it was like listening to a story, he still carefully wrote down everything the villagers said.

If he has the chance in the future, he can verify them one by one.

Just as everyone was chatting animatedly, a young man wearing a long silk robe and carrying a bag walked along the mountain path towards Baisha Village.

Although the young man was not dressed like an ordinary person, he had a vulgar expression, hummed a little tune, and looked like a gangster.

(End of this chapter)