Chapter 174: Just Living a Simple Life
After all, the two men served in the same dynasty before they were exiled.
Being in such an embarrassing situation, Zhang Dayi felt a trace of guilt in his eyes. If he had known that he would run into Pang Jiming in such a situation today, he would not have come to find him.
So what if it’s two days late?
Now he was in a dilemma. It was not a good idea to turn around and leave, but if he stayed... he didn't know how long he could hold on.
Pang Jiming was a man of clear mind after all. He knew the reason for Zhang Hanlin's troubled expression without asking.
After last night, Pang Jiming became more cautious. When he suddenly met Zhang Dayi, although he didn't guess the other party's intention at the moment, he still carefully avoided him.
In Zhang Dayi's opinion, the other party was embarrassed by his reaction and so avoided him to avoid making him more uncomfortable.
Now, Zhang Dayi felt even more ashamed, as he was already embarrassed.
"Pangda people?"
In a fit of impulse, he called out to Pang Jiming.
When he shouted, Pang Jiming did not turn around, but the people around him turned around and looked at Zhang Dayi.
This even included Fan Wu and his group, who had disliked Pang Jiming since yesterday.
Zhang Dayi was no stranger to the exile team.
The Xie family was so conspicuous, and Zhang Dayi, the former Hanlin scholar who had always been in and out with the Xie family and received their care, was known to all the exiles.
Pang Jiming's wife heard Zhang Dayi calling him, but did not see her husband paying any attention to him.
Years of courtesy made her subconsciously pull at her husband's sleeve and say, "My dear, Master Zhang wants to talk to you."
Pang Jiming embraced his wife and children and pushed them forward, whispering, "There are no Pang people here, let's hurry up and get on with our journey."
Mrs. Pang looked back at Zhang Dayi, who was standing there with a surprised expression, and then turned back to ask her husband carefully, "Is this okay?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. We are all exiles now." Pang Jiming said.
Who is Pang Da?
There are no adults among the prisoners.
Pang Jiming put the past behind him. He didn't think about anything now. He had only one thought in his mind, to do his best to protect his wife and children and bring them to the north safely.
He is neither interested in nor willing to contact other people.
Especially those related to the Xie family.
Zhang Dayi's mission failed and he was left aside by Pang Jiming. He felt guilty and depressed.
Watching Pang Jiming's family of four walking further and further away, he could only sigh and think to himself, forget it, I'm afraid I can't handle things well today, let's talk about it another day.
Many prisoners passing by looked at him in surprise.
Even Zhang Dayi felt extremely uncomfortable with some of the looks, so I quickly quickened my pace to catch up with the team and go back to discuss it later.
This time, when he passed by Pang Jiming, he nodded slightly and walked forward without saying a word.
Pang Jiming looked at his back from behind, his thick eyebrows deeply furrowed.
This Zhang Hanlin is a really weird person.
Considering why the other party was exiled, I couldn't help but think, no wonder he was disliked by the current emperor.
Acting really weirdly.
Pang Jiming didn't think about anything else, and maybe he himself didn't realize that the reason he didn't like to contact Zhang Hanlin was because Zhang Dayi was close to the Xie family.
"That old man called you Mr. Pang? Were you an official before?"
A curious voice sounded from the left.
Pang Jiming turned around and was a little surprised to see that it was Tie Niu who asked the question.
In his impression, Tie Niu was "leisurely and contented" in the team, and didn't care about other people's affairs at all. It was rare for the other party to talk to him actively.
I don’t know if it was because of his previous curiosity about the young man Tie Niu, or because of Tie Niu’s “care” for their family last night, but Pang Jiming’s attitude towards Tie Niu was much better than his previous attitude towards Zhang Dayi.
"What official? I'm just a fugitive." Pang Jiming replied.
Tie Niu looked at him carefully twice and saw that the expression on his face did not seem fake when he said this, but rather quite curious.
"Why were you exiled too?"
"I made a mistake."
"oh."
Pang Jiming thought that he would ask him what mistake he had made, and he was mentally preparing for how he would respond if the other party asked him so. Unexpectedly, Tie Niu didn't care at all why he was exiled.
Pang Jiming's family consists of four people. If Tie Niu is full, the whole family will not be hungry. Because the two families slept in the same shack for one night, they were inexplicably pushed into a group by the crowd that avoided them.
It looked like five people were together.
Pang Jiming discovered that his two children did not seem nervous at all about Tie Niu being around, and they couldn't help but secretly look at Tie Niu with their eyes.
Children's reactions are not deceptive.
Tie Niu is the only person in the team that Pang Jiming has a little affection for since he was exiled for many days.
Others all disliked them for being so far away, but today they walked much more freely. Tie Niu didn't talk much and couldn't read. Occasionally he heard a few idioms from the two children and asked Pang Jiming curiously.
After a few visits, Tie Niu started to get along well with Pang Jiming's family.
In Tie Niu, Pang Jiming did not see the despair, numbness and dark side that he saw in other prisoners. What he saw was a penniless man who was even staggering forward with shackles on his shoulder, but who possessed a rich and powerful vitality.
That kind of power that comes from pure life.
Do not be happy about external things, nor be sad about external things.
Just live a very simple life.
Live one day at a time and be happy every day you live.
During such a difficult journey of exile, Pang Jiming looked at Tie Niu's calm and composed appearance, and his heart was moved. It seemed that something very subtle had quietly taken root in the deepest part of his heart.
After Pang Jiming had been spending half a day with Tie Niu, his wife could see with her own eyes that her husband, who had been so depressed that he had given up on everything, had a change on his face.
Pang Jiming and Tie Niu were talking about something they had picked up from the ground with a branch the day before. Pang Jiming's wife secretly turned her head and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
It's been a long time since I saw my husband like this.
Pang Jiming's two children suffered misfortune at a young age, and they are old enough to understand things and have a high level of comprehension.
The eldest daughter, one on each side of her mother, whispered, "Mom, Dad seems very happy."
The youngest son also nodded.
She looked up at her husband and the young convict Tie Niu who were walking in front of her.
My eyes felt warm; this scene seemed familiar. In the past, my husband and his fellow water officials had been explaining the benefits of flood control to the people and farmers along the riverbanks with the same patience.
She really didn't understand why an official like her husband, who devoted himself to river engineering and worked hard for the benefit of the people, ended up in such a situation. What kind of officials did the court want to do the job?
When the team took a break halfway, Pang Jiming sat next to his wife, his face brightening up more than usual.
"Although Brother Tieniu is uneducated, I think his level of conduct is much higher than others."
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