Chapter 212 What is Suffering?
Magistrate Shen grabbed Cheng Wanwan's sleeve.
When Cheng Wanwan turned around and frowned at him, he realized that he had been rude and quickly let go of her hand.
"I'm sorry, I was too abrupt!" Magistrate Shen stammered. "I just wanted you to accept this hairpin; it would look beautiful on you."
“Your Excellency!” Cheng Wanwan said solemnly, “I have always thought that this matter was just something Xiao Zheng did on his own, so I have never taken it seriously. Now it seems that Your Excellency also has this intention. Regardless of whether I think it is true or not, I must make it clear that I am determined to remain a widow for the rest of my life for my husband who died on the battlefield. Please do not waste your time on me, Your Excellency.”
After she finished speaking, she turned around and strode out of the lobby.
Magistrate Shen held the hairpin in his hand, his expression becoming empty.
Admittedly, his initial intention was to find a stepmother to discipline his son, but as they spent more time together, he grew to appreciate Zhao Chengshi more and more. She was intelligent and virtuous, bold yet meticulous, gentle and elegant, and skilled at raising children. She... He didn't know when it started, but his desire to marry her grew stronger and stronger.
Magistrate Shen sighed and put the hairpin away.
The road ahead is long and arduous, but one day, Zhao Chengshi will be willing to accept him.
As Cheng Wanwan walked outside, Zhao Sanniu also came out after applying medicine to his wound. The mother and son did not linger and left the county government office directly.
"I brought you two egg pancakes, but I don't know where they went," Cheng Wanwan said with a helpless smile. "Let's go get something to eat first."
They were villagers, and it wasn't customary for them to go to restaurants for lavish meals. She found a noodle shop, took her son inside to eat noodles, and bought three meat buns to put in front of San Niu. The boy was really starving; he ate two bowls of noodles and then three meat buns. Cheng Wanwan also bought two steamed buns, which he also ate.
"Eat slowly, don't choke."
Cheng Wanwan patted his back.
She said gently, "If you encounter something like this in the future, you must tell your mother immediately. You must not bear it alone, understand?"
“The Yu family all say that if you want to learn martial arts, you must suffer. I thought that this was something that every martial arts learner had to go through…” Zhao Sanniu swallowed the steamed bun. “My older cousin also said that when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test their will, strain their muscles and bones, starve their body, and so on… In short, you have to suffer. So was it wrong of me to suffer this time?”
"But not all suffering must be endured. Some children have no parents, so they must endure the suffering of being orphaned and widowed. Some children are naturally unruly, so they must endure the suffering of tempering their will. Some children come from poor families, so they must endure the suffering of hunger..." Cheng Wanwan said gently, "Training in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer, strengthening one's body and mind—this is the suffering that martial arts practitioners should endure. 'No pain, no gain' doesn't mean that suffering will guarantee success, but rather that one must endure the necessary suffering, experience the necessary difficulties and hardships, and be tempered a thousand times before succeeding..."
Just like the second child, who had a lot of unsold cloth, she was just going through the hardships that she was supposed to go through, and her mother was happy to be a spectator.
She wouldn't help unless the second child couldn't hold on any longer.
Zhao Sanniu nodded as if he understood: "Mother, I understand."
"Let's go home now that we're full," Cheng Wanwan said, standing up. "Let's take a walk around the streets before we go."
I bought some snacks on the street, as well as some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, which the children all need for learning to write.
The mother and son were walking home from Ping'an County, a journey that takes about an hour. They talked about the future the whole way.
Cheng Wanwan plans to go to Hekou Town again to inquire about martial arts schools. This time, she can't be so hasty. She must find out the situation of each martial arts school before sending the child there.
"Hmm!"
Just then, a muffled groan suddenly came from the roadside bushes.
Cheng Wanwan stopped in her tracks: "San Niu, did you hear anything?"
Zhao Sanniu looked left and right: "It looks like a flock of geese just flew by..."
"Help, help..."
The sounds from the bushes grew clearer.
Cheng Wanwan's nose twitched: "There must be someone injured over there. I'll go check it out."
"Mother, you stand here, I'll go see!"
Zhao Sanniu rushed over with lightning speed.
As soon as he arrived, he saw a man dressed in black, about twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, lying in the grass, with a lot of blood around him. The man must have collapsed from exhaustion.
Cheng Wanwan walked over and examined the wounds. There was an arrow wound on her left shoulder, and both legs were also injured. Her thighs were bleeding continuously, and if this continued, she would probably bleed to death soon.
She saw a sword behind the man; this man must be a martial artist.
The man had a broad forehead, a dignified appearance, and an imposing presence; he looked like a true gentleman.
Isn't this a coincidence? She just happened to need a martial arts instructor, and God sent this person right to her doorstep.
However, judging someone by their appearance is just a matter of first impression; one needs to get to know them better before deciding whether they are suitable to be San Niu's master.
Secondly, this person is clearly being hunted down, and she needs to find out who is hunting him down so that her family doesn't get into big trouble for no reason.
She said calmly, "San Niu, go and clean up the bloodstains along the way."
Zhao Sanniu quickly went to do it.
Cheng Wanwan squatted down, tore a piece of cloth from the man's clothes, and tied it to his bleeding thigh.
The man gasped in pain, and before he could say anything, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.
It's good that she's dizzy, it makes it easier for Cheng Wanwan to treat her wounds.
So she tore off the cloth that had just been tied up, poured on the disinfectant she had bought from the mall to clean it, cleaned all three large wounds on her body, then poured on some medicine powder, wrapped it with cloth, and finally fed the man anti-inflammatory medicine to prevent the wounds from getting infected and causing a fever.
After doing all this, Zhao Sanniu returned.
She stood up and said calmly, "San Niu, you and he exchange clothes, carry him on your back, and take him back."
Without asking why, Zhao Sanniu changed his clothes, bent down, and hoisted the man onto his shoulder.
As the mother and son walked to the village entrance, a kind-hearted woman asked them a question out of curiosity.
"San Niu, who are you carrying?"
"This person looks unfamiliar. He's not from our Dahe Village, is he?"
Cheng Wanwan explained with a smile, "San Niu was learning martial arts at the martial arts school in town. He got into some trouble, and luckily his uncle was there to save him. Otherwise, he would have suffered a great loss. His uncle was seriously injured, and he was afraid that the old lady there would worry, so he brought him back to recuperate. He will go back after he recovers."
The villagers started talking amongst themselves, denouncing the evil deeds of the Yu family's martial arts practitioners.
"Zhao Da just went over and told us about the Yu Family Martial Arts Association. So San Niu works at the Yu Family Martial Arts Association."
"The Yu family's martial arts school is truly despicable. They charge two taels of silver a month and don't treat the children learning martial arts as human beings. They should have closed down long ago."
"Fortunately, Da Shan's mother reported it to the authorities, and fortunately, the county magistrate handled the case impartially, otherwise San Niu would have suffered even more."
Cheng Wanwan smiled. Half-truths were enough to conceal this person's identity.
She asked Zhao Sanniu to settle the man in the courtyard where he used to live. Although no one lived there, the house still had everything he needed.
She gave him the medicine again, changed the dressing on the wound, and did everything she could. If he survives, it's a miracle; if he doesn't, it's no one else's fault.
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