29 A Letter
◎ "When an unexpected event occurs, it will take several days to return."◎
At the hour of Mao, before dawn, Tian Nongxi was called out.
The group of people carried the coffin and set off in a mighty procession. All the relatives and friends wailed a few times and forced a few tears to fall. They had done their best.
The coffin fell to the ground with a bang. The shovel kept rising and falling amid the wailing. The pit gradually swelled into a mound, and the crying slowly stopped.
Huang was supported by her daughter. She hunched over and scattered a few handfuls of soil. The sand flowed mercilessly through her fingers, leaving very little for Tian Niu to rest in after his death.
Tian Nongxi followed suit, and the rough sand made his fingertips red.
She stood beside the newly built brick wall, looking at her fingers, thinking while she was busy.
Paper man crying paper man, so strange.
Feeling warmth on her wrist, Tian Nongxi looked up—it was Huang. She was still staring at the grave, but she was talking to the children around her, "Let's go."
Tian Nongle agreed, turned around and clapped his hands, and the musicians who were taking a break picked up their instruments.
While Tian Nongxi was wiping his hands, the suona music had already started playing.
People came and went in droves, and the tombs that buried new and old bones returned to silence.
Tian Nongle and Liu Tian supported Huang on the left and right, while Tian Nongxi followed them, holding Tian Yaozu's collar.
Huang leaned over and whispered something into her son's ear. Tian Nong Le's face suddenly turned red and he took a long while to reply.
He spoke when the suona stopped playing, and the sound floated into Tian Nongxi's ears on the wind.
“…I told her to go back and rest.”
Huang said something about husband and wife being one. Tian Nong Le looked unhappy, and his face was so dark that Tian Yaozu kept stealing glances at him. Huang did not say anything more and lightly let the matter go.
Tian Nongxi glanced behind him and found that the Zhuang family had not arrived, and several familiar servants of the Zhuang family had also left.
Zhuang Xueling herself only delivered the corpse and disappeared that night.
When my husband's father passed away, she didn't even come to the funeral.
To outsiders, this is a scandal worth talking about.
Tian Nongxi thought secretly - could it be that he and Tian Nong Le had a falling out?
But when she recalled the scene when she went to Zhuang's house to "inform" on him that day, Zhuang Xueling's sincerity did not seem fake.
After much thought, Tian Nongxi guessed that Zhuang Xueling just pretended not to believe it that day, but in fact he had already sent people to investigate the matter secretly.
But if the evidence is conclusive, why not divorce?
Even if no clear evidence was found to confirm the truth of this matter, with the power of the banker, if a poor scholar from a peasant family showed signs of betrayal, it would be better to publicize it without any superficial effort.
Tian Nongxi quickly glanced at Tian Nongle, but couldn't see anything about him that made people so happy.
When we returned to the Tian family, the coffin had gone, but the people were still gathered.
Fortunately, after the funeral, the host family only had to prepare a banquet during the day, so the extra bed in Tian Nongxi's room was removed and the room returned to its original appearance.
After pouring tea for everyone, she closed the door and leaned against it, feeling troubled.
Following the "five mourning" system, when a grandfather passes away, grandchildren must observe mourning for one year.
According to the custom of the Yan Dynasty, those who wore mourning clothes had to pin a piece of red cloth three fingers long on the right shoulder of the mourning clothes. This was to show filial piety and to tell others that they were in mourning. They were not allowed to touch any delicacies, pearls or palace jewelry.
She was extremely poor. Not only could she not eat well and live well, she could hardly even get enough food and sleep. Naturally, she had no chance to go against the world for this.
But she not only has to sell vegetables, she also has to set up a stall. Wearing mourning clothes will inevitably be considered unlucky and affect her business.
As I was worrying, my eyes accidentally swept across the bed.
Tian Nongxi was stunned for a moment, then walked straight forward, stood at the head of the bed, stared at a place and exclaimed "Ah".
The pillow on the bed was originally filled with dry grass, which was very prickly when she slept on it. Over the years, only a thin piece was left. Every morning when she woke up, her neck would "run away from home".
It was extremely thin, so anyone with a discerning eye could see what was hidden underneath. This was also the reason why Tian Nongxi took his small treasury out from under his pillow and hid it in the cabinet.
But this pillow was not only higher than I had imagined, but also had a bulge in the middle, as if something was hidden underneath.
Tian Nongxi thought it was something dropped by the person who slept here two nights ago, so he casually took away the pillow. He was stunned for a moment by the familiar yet unexpected thing in front of him.
After a while, she saw a silent letter lying next to it.
Tian Nongxi picked up the letter. The words on the envelope were powerful and clear.
"From Tian Nongxi himself"
Unfamiliar words appearing under the pillow are even more surprising and confusing.
She quickly opened the envelope, pinched the sides with her hands and looked inside, but her view was blocked by a thick stack of papers.
I had no choice but to pour it out, and the items that had seen the light of day were scattered all over the bed.
Tian Nongxi fumbled for a thin piece of letter paper from a pile of items, squatted beside the bed and opened it.
The paper was not small, and only one line of words was written on it:
"When something unexpected happens, I won't be back soon."
No signature.
She had a vague guess in her mind and looked at the paper over and over again. Finally, she saw a line of small words hidden at the bottom on the back of the letter.
The hasty cursive writing is slightly different from the steady handwriting, and it is sloppy but not messy.
"An additional three thousand taels are included for your emergency needs."
Seeing this, Tian Nongxi took a breath, threw the letter away and started to look through the other things on the bed.
The culprit that caused the envelope to explode was lying not far away. She quickly took it closer, and the three bundles of rolled-up banknotes silently complained about the small space inside the envelope.
A bundle of ten or thirty pieces costs three thousand taels.
After counting quickly, Tian Nongxi couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.
The inexplicable feeling in her heart was immediately soothed by the heavy silver.
After all, nothing can compare to real money.
Tian Nongxi placed the banknotes carefully where he could see them and started looking at other things.
She picked up the familiar hairpin outside the envelope, and her hand unconsciously teased the tassel.
After many twists and turns, the hairpin that she had cheated from Zhuang Xueling was back in her hands.
Maybe some people thought that she was losing out by only getting fifty taels.
Tian Nongxi's mouth corners curled up unconsciously, and his eyes fell on the jade pendant not far away.
She picked it up and looked at it carefully, and finally got the clue in her mind.
It was the jade pendant hanging around Lin Luan's waist when we first met. I had never looked at it carefully before, but now I know that this jade pendant is made of two matching jades inlaid, and the half in her hand is hollowed out and engraved with patterns.
She stood by the window and looked at the jade pendant in the sunlight. She stared at it for a long time but couldn't guess what it was.
The window faced the courtyard, and Tian Nongxi's shadow was long under the sunlight. A fat aunt passing by saw her and stood in front of the window to call her to eat.
Tian Nongxi responded and hurriedly stuffed all the things left by Lin Luan into the deep end of the cabinet. After thinking for a while, he took out the jade pendant and hung it on his body.
It's not too much to hang it in there, right? I can still use it if I have an emergency.
Tian Nongxi nodded to confirm himself.
After dinner, most of the guests who came to attend the funeral left, leaving only a few close relatives and those who had important events at home to stay at the Tian family to help.
There were not many people, but they were all poor people. They worked very hard and within an hour even the chicken droppings in the Tian family yard were picked up.
After seeing off the guests who were determined not to stay for dinner, Tian Nongxi rolled up his sleeves and prepared to go to the county town.
She has to continue delivering chicken legs after a few days, and she plans to resume her stall tomorrow.
An hour after Tian Nong Le took Tian Yaozu away, she took advantage of Huang's return to the house and went out.
It was the hottest time of the day, and Tian Nongxi was feeling irritated by the sun, so he approached the river without hesitation when passing by.
Just as he squatted down, the system suddenly spoke, "Host, what are you doing?" It was clearly a monotonous mechanical voice, but the trembling at the end of the voice made people inexplicably hear a hint of nervousness.
Tian Nongxi then remembered that there was a system and said nonchalantly, "Do nothing."
"Host, we can discuss something. When Cai Cai suddenly left, she was negotiating terms with you."
After splashing some water on his face, Tian Nongxi asked, "What are the conditions?"
"In view of previous traditions, the host can only complete tasks according to the initial conditions. If he fails, he will have to stay in this world forever. If he dies due to an accident in this world, it is true death, and he can never return to the original world." The system deliberately lowered and slowed down its voice.
After a moment of deathly silence, Tian Nongxi seized the opportunity and asked, "In other words, there are other people in this world?" In a flash, the fire of hope ignited her eyes.
Tian Nongxi's pupils were as bright as stars, and her strong hope made her selectively ignore the system's jam.
The big hammer is eighty, the small hammer is forty;
Palace Jade Wine, one hundred and eighty per cup;
Odd changes but even remains unchanged, the sign depends on the quadrant.
If you don’t like watching TV or math, you can shout to the moon, “The moon is shining brightly in front of my bed.” Even if you are not from the same country, you can shake hands and ask, “How are you?”
She mumbled something until she was interrupted by the tense mechanical sound of the system.
"Host, Caicai has good news for you."
"explain."
"There is only one traverser in this world, the host. Please show off your skills."
Tian Nongxi heard the sound of his fingers cracking as he bent them.
The system continued: "The host is a lucky one among thousands."
This blessing is given to you. Do you want it?
After forcing a laugh, Tian Nongxi sighed, "Why me?"
The system said mysteriously that the time, place and people are all right.
The right time, the right place, and the right people?
There are so many complaints.
The so-called harmony among people, can’t it be because she has no father or mother?
Even if she is an orphan, you shouldn't treat her like this.
"I'm going to complain to you when I get back."
"Host, we're bankrupt~"
“…”
Tian Nongxi paused as he stood up, then squatted back down on the stone and asked calmly, "So, what terms did you negotiate?"
/
I stayed at Bu Qin's place for a while, and when I came back from the county town, the sun was about to set.
Tian Nongxi pushed the door open carefully, and after seeing that there was no one in the yard, he tiptoed into the yard and closed the door.
As soon as she closed the door, an old voice came from the main house.
"Second Mother? Is that Second Mother back?"
Tian Nongxi hurriedly took out the red cloth strip that he had torn off from his arms, pressed it against his shoulder, and responded loudly.
Huang came out trembling.
She looked at the precarious piece of cloth on her granddaughter's shoulder, sighed, and asked, "Where have you been?"
Tian Nongxi mentioned the county town. Just as she was about to explain, Huang Shi continued, "You little girl, you went to the county without telling me. I gave your aunt half of my medicine, and it's almost gone."
She spoke word by word, gasping for breath, and looked less energetic than a few days ago.
Tian Nongxi was afraid that something might happen to her, so he quickly agreed and said he would pick it up tomorrow.
As the two were standing in the yard talking, the door that had just been closed was suddenly knocked on.
Tian Nongxi was now a little nervous about the knocking on the door. After the person outside knocked twice, she hurried forward to open the door.
She didn't feel relieved until she saw someone standing outside the house.
Tian Nongxi bent down slightly and asked, "Why are you back?"
Who would have thought that a burst of crying, enough to shock the entire Tianjia Village, burst out like a waterfall.
Tian Yaozu choked up, "My second uncle and aunt are divorced." His snot was stuck to his eyebrows, and he wiped it while howling, "They don't want me anymore."
【Author’s words】
Qisui (zīcuī)
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