Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 160 A "Fool"

The girl remembered that Aji appeared in December last year.

He stood in front of a frozen river, looking towards the north, sometimes standing there for a whole day.

When Aji was thirsty, he drank rainwater; when he was hungry, he ate some hard-to-swallow porridge; when he was tired, he slept in a dilapidated temple covered with cobwebs.

His face was dirty, his clothes were tattered, and his messy hair looked like black dandelions.

Some people say that Aji once had a happy family of five, but a drought took away all his family members.

He went crazy.

Some people also say that he was born in Liaodong, and fled across the sea to Shandong after his home was taken away by the Tartars. The Liaodong military dialect, which has a close connection with Shandong, is proof of this.

But no matter what, everyone thought he was a fool and did not allow their family members to provoke him, so as to avoid angering the madman and bringing disaster upon themselves.

However, Aji never harmed anyone or harassed the people around him, so no officials came to arrest him and left him to fend for himself in the ruined temple.

The girl knew that Aji also had moments of "mental normality".

That time, the girl's friend accidentally fell into the water, and it was Aji who jumped into the water to rescue her.

Faced with the gratitude of the drowning person, Aji just giggled, as if he had forgotten that he had done a great deed of saving a life.

From then on, the girl and her friends knew that Aji was a good person, but his brain was injured and not working well.

Sometimes he was as serious as a normal person, speaking clearly and telling stories, but sometimes he was dull and had a silly grin on his face. Sometimes he would sleep in the dilapidated temple for a whole day, and occasionally he would suddenly disappear for a day or half a day, and finally return to the dilapidated temple to be alone.

Whenever someone asks Aji, "Where are you from?"

He would either stammer and be unable to utter a complete sentence, or he would scratch the back of his head and giggle.

The girl liked Aji's stories more than his pure and kind heart.

Beneath the mud on his face was the face of a young man, but his mind was filled with stories as if he had traveled all over the country and witnessed the world.

Those stories are imaginative and interesting, ranging from strange and bizarre alien worlds to novel and interesting future worlds.

The story that Aji told the day before yesterday was about "The Lovely Princess and Her Seven Knights".

A long time ago, the emperor was seriously ill, and the queen he married could not tolerate the beautiful princess and wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible.

The princess luckily escaped from the capital and mistakenly entered the thatched cottage of seven knights, where she was protected by them. She was then poisoned by the queen herself and knocked unconscious.

Then the princess was rescued by a prince from a neighboring country who was traveling there. It cannot be said that it was the prince from the neighboring country who rescued the princess, but it just happened that the prince "detoxified" the princess by chance on his way back to his country.

The two then got married and returned to their country to enjoy life, but the queen's evil deeds were exposed and she was eventually executed by the emperor.

Most of the friends thought the story was perfect, but some thought it was fake. If the queen wanted to get rid of the princess, how could she escape? It was also stupid for her to go and poison her herself.

The girl thought it was okay, but she didn't quite agree with some of the plots.

If she were a princess, she would definitely stay with a hero who protected her forever.

The prince from the neighboring country was just a stranger who suddenly broke into the princess's life. Why should the princess marry him? It was nothing more than a joke about a talented man and a beautiful woman.

Today the girl came to listen to stories again, and brought a "dumpling" made of grains and wild vegetables as a gift for listening to stories.

The good news is that Aji is in a normal mental state today, and many friends have come to listen to his stories.

"Aji, where did you go yesterday? I looked for you for a long time but couldn't find you."

Listening to stories regularly has become a habit for the girl. She always chooses a seat at the door, rests her hands on her legs and holds her chin to listen carefully.

"Hehe..." Aji still had that heartless smile.

Aji was still jumping around and telling stories today.

Aji said that there was a world where people could ride on a big iron bird and fly high in the sky, and it only took one hour to fly from Nanjing to the capital.

People could carry an iron block and hold it to their ears, so they could talk to their families thousands of miles away, or pay for someone to deliver delicious meals.

People there don't use gold, silver or copper coins to pay. They just need to scan their faces and palms on the machine to complete the transaction like "transferring true energy".

People built "iron roads" above and below the ground. Sitting on iron boxes, they could reach a distance of several miles in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The people there have enough food and clothing, and can eat various kinds of meat every day. Some people will take the initiative to eat less or no grain in order to lose fat.

Moreover, people from a certain country flew to the Moon Palace, built houses there, and planted red flags on the roofs.

Fly into the sky and hide underground, transmit messages over thousands of miles, have no worries about food and clothing, and fly to the moon palace?
The girl was fascinated by the dream world described by Aji.

What kind of world is so prosperous that people don’t eat food just to lose weight!
At present, the girl's family is just an ordinary self-cultivating farmer. Her great-grandfather passed the imperial examination and accumulated more than a hundred acres of land for the family.

Unfortunately, after the great grandfather passed away, his sons divided up the family property. By the time of the young girl's generation, there were only a few acres of land left in the family, which was barely enough to feed the family.

The families of the other children were even worse off, as they all rented the land of Duke Yansheng.

Everyone says that Duke Yansheng is a descendant of Confucius, and that being able to farm for the descendants of the sage is a blessing that cannot be earned in three lifetimes.

But the girl felt that it was not a blessing at all, but a living torture.

The tenant farmers had to pay at least 60% of the rent every year, and after a year of hard work, they could only survive by relying on grains and loans.

Accustomed to the hardships and tragedies around her, the girl couldn't believe that there was such a "fantasy" world where such a dreamy life existed.

She would never dare to fantasize about this even in her dreams. Imagining the emperor eating with golden bowls and chopsticks was the limit of her imagination.

"Aji is really stupid. His stories are so ridiculous. How can this be the human world? Even the fairyland in heaven would be no more than this, right?" Some friends thought it was too absurd and started talking about it, but Aji just smiled foolishly, and in his stupidity, he seemed to have a calmness that came from seeing through the nature of the world.

“How wonderful it would be if there really was such a fairyland. Grandpa, grandma, my mother and my third brother wouldn’t starve to death…” The little friend spoke in a flat tone, as if he was describing how the straw mat had been torn yesterday.

"How is that possible! Even if God were to come down and become the emperor, he wouldn't be able to bring order to this world."

"I heard there's a rebel army wreaking havoc on the government troops in Henan. It would be great if they could attack Shandong. They'd definitely ask the farm managers to reduce our rent."

"Then you have made a wrong calculation. If the rebel army comes to Shandong, they will still support Lord Yansheng, and the rent you owe will not be reduced at all." The young man who had attended a private school for a few years extinguished his friend's dream with one sentence.

"Don't worry, there will be food, and the rent will be reduced."

Aji spoke, and his tone contained the confidence that the sun would rise as usual, but he still looked stupid, making people think that he was just crazy.

"Aji is sick again. Today's story ends here. Let's all go." The boy waved his hand, and his friends got up and left.

The boy and the girl stayed without any prior agreement.

"Aji, stop talking nonsense in the future. If someone with malicious intentions hears you, they'll definitely harm you...Alas, why am I telling you this? Even if I tell you, you stupid fool wouldn't understand." The young man squatted down, spread Aji's hands apart, and stuffed a clean steamed bun into his palm. "Eat it, eat it. I don't know how many times I can bring it to you."

The girl also squatted down and stared at the pair of clear and clean big eyes among the dirty hair and dirty face. "Aji, does the world you are talking about really exist?"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Aji repeated stupidly, like a puppet that had become a spirit.

The two looked into each other's eyes, and the girl clearly saw the clear and determined look in his eyes, as if there was a blazing flame burning in his dark brown eyes.

"Let's go, Xiang'er. Don't let yourself be fooled by this ridiculous story."

The girl followed the boy away.

Before leaving, the girl did not forget to look back at the dazed Aji. He just sat there quietly, looking into the distance through the broken door of the dilapidated temple, gazing infatuatedly at the beautiful "fairyland" that seemed to exist.

Aji's appearance was deeply imprinted in the girl's mind, and she was still savoring the beauty of the "fairyland" on the way.

However, before she could savor it, she found that the sky had fallen on her family.

There were some vulgar and arrogant strangers gathered at home. My father had a sad face, forced a few bitter smiles, and said a lot of nice things.

These strangers were not bandits or gangsters, but lackeys of a group of bigwigs.

The girl quickly ran back home and was pulled into the inner room by her mother.

The girl hid in the inner room and listened for a while. After her mother explained a few words to her, she finally understood that it was the money her father owed for the loan last year, and today was the day to repay the debt.

It’s hateful that these evil people tampered with the contract, arbitrarily changing the interest rate agreed upon by both parties from 20% to 30%, and the principal from “ten taels” of silver to “twenty taels”.

Aren’t you afraid that the case will be brought to the county government if you change the contract so arbitrarily?
This is what the girl asked, but her mother said that the moneylender, Mr. Lu, was a relative of Yanshenggong Guanzhuang.

As the saying goes, when one person succeeds, his family and friends will prosper. The cats and dogs under the lord's command are not people that petty officials can mess with, let alone these powerless people.

"Please be kind, Master Qi. We'll be able to harvest the wheat and exchange it for money in a few months. I really can't afford it right now."

"The deadline is clearly written in black and white on the contract, and you still want to deny it?"

"But I only borrowed ten taels, and it was you who changed it..."

"What? You're not convinced?" The newcomer was extremely arrogant. He stepped in front of the man with a look of disdain, almost face to face. "I said it was just a few ink spots. What right do you have to defame my innocence and accuse us of tampering with the IOU?"

Another rather educated lackey suggested, "Since the matter is so complicated, why don't you come with us to see the county magistrate? We'll do whatever the magistrate decides. How about that?"

"No!" The man was scared and rushed to the crowd to stop them.

He knew that these people relied on their backers to do whatever they wanted, and that even if he sued them, it would be futile. Many farmers had been bankrupted by their methods. If there was no collusion between the upper and lower levels, how could they be so arrogant today?
"We know you're short on money, and we're not the kind of people who'd force you to sell your land or your wife. Right now, we have a solution for you..."

"What?" The man's eyes suddenly widened, his gaze full of desire like a drowning man seeing driftwood.

"Mr. Lu has been having a rough time lately. He asked a fortune teller to tell him that he needs a caring maid. I think your daughter is just the right one..."

"No! Master Lu has already asked for three maids this year, and none of them lived past three months!" The father was terrified and kept waving his hands to refuse.

"Mr. Dong! Don't be ungrateful. Being chosen by Mr. Lu is the blessing your daughter has accumulated over three generations! If you are lucky enough to be taken as a concubine by Mr. Lu, will your Dong family be less wealthy?"

Another vulgar man yelled at the top of his voice, "If he doesn't pay back the money, take him to the authorities and give him dozens of slaps, and he'll behave himself!"

"I'm begging you! Please let my daughter go! Please give me a few more months, I will definitely pay it back, I will definitely pay it back!"

"Shut up! Take him to the authorities!"

"Wait!" The girl broke free from her mother's restraints and rushed outside alone. "I am willing to be Master Lu's maid."

"Xiang'er..." The father cried out in shame, tears streaming down his face, and the mother also ran out.
"I am an unfilial daughter and cannot serve my parents anymore." The girl turned her head and looked at the lackeys with tears in her eyes. "I have a condition. Although I am going to be a maid, I want you to bring me to the mansion in a dignified manner tomorrow morning with a carriage."

"Alright! I'll give you this honor! We'll arrive on time tomorrow morning, so don't try to play any tricks. If you run away, we'll hold your parents accountable!"

"It's a word."

After the lackeys left, the family of three hugged each other and cried. The youngest brother slowly walked out and looked at his parents and sister, crying for no reason.

As if infected by the emotions conveyed by the three people, the younger brother also started crying loudly.

After the three of them finished crying, the girl stood up and prepared to leave the house.

"Xiang'er..." Dad called softly, "Why don't you just run away."

"If I run away, what will happen to my parents and my younger brother?" Xiang'er raised her hand to wipe away her tears. "I'm going to say goodbye to some friends. I'll be back soon."

(End of this chapter)