Chapter 29: Unkind Teacher, Unfilial Disciple
The old man seemed to have noticed something and said, "Miss Tao, is there something wrong with what I just said? You don't seem to be in a good mood."
Tao Zi was startled, but immediately calmed down and explained with a smile: "No, I just thought about something from the past. I'm really sorry."
She clapped her hands: "It's fine, why apologize."
Tao Zi supported her and said, "It seems that grandma has a good relationship with Yisanmen."
"Of course, I've known Old Man Wen for decades." The old lady sighed, "Decades ago, I called him Grandpa, but now I can't say that anymore."
So that's how it is. No wonder she kept calling Xi Jing "old man". You know, ordinary people would respectfully call a cultivator "immortal" when they see him, even if he is just in the body refining stage.
Before she could speak, the old man asked with a smile: "Miss Tao, where is Yueshan? Why isn't he around you? This is not in line with his personality."
Tao Zi said embarrassedly: "Master asked him to sell peaches. Grandma, you can just call me by my name, no need to be so polite."
"Okay, then I'll call you Ah Zi. I tell you, the more kind you are, the better. But sometimes you can't walk when you see a beautiful woman. You must not be tempted. He's too fickle. Any girl who follows him will have a headache."
This was the first time someone had said something like this to her. She was so embarrassed she didn't know how to respond, so she could only change the subject: "Really? But it seems that Junior Brother Han and Master have a very close relationship. Master always teaches him from time to time."
The old lady laughed and said, "This is not close at all, it's clearly a case of the teacher being unkind and the student being unfilial."
"ah?"
"Azi, don't be fooled by Xijing's love for money now. In fact, it was Yueshan who loved money the most in the past. You probably don't know that for a long time, Yueshan hoped every day for Old Man Wen to die, just to collect the funeral money."
Tao Zi looked at the old man in shock. The old man smiled as he talked about this incident. "Then one day, that fool actually asked Old Man Wen about it directly. Old Man Wen was so angry that he beat him up."
She was silent for a moment, then asked a question that surprised the old man: "Was the Yisan Clan very poor in the past?"
She was stunned for a moment, lost in her memories. "Not really. Old Man Wen was capable of making money, but he loved planting peach trees too much. Every time he went out, he would come back and plant trees. Nine out of ten trees died. All the money he earned was spent on buying saplings, and from time to time he gave money to the elderly, weak, and disabled in the village. I don't think there was much left. Later, Yue Shan came first, and a few years later, Xiao Xue and the others also came."
At this point, the old man hesitated, as if he was struggling with something. Finally, he made up his mind and said, "Then one year, when Yueshan was about five years old, Old Man Wen suddenly disappeared. He didn't come back for three whole years. During those three years, there was a disaster, and the peach harvest was wiped out. Yueshan...he tore his clothes, disguised himself as a beggar, and went to Xujia City to beg. He was almost beaten to death, but he finally got Xijing and the others' food back."
Tao Zi stood there in a daze.
"Yueshan was a clever boy. He learned to sing opera while begging, and with his sweet talk, he charmed the girls in the building and supported his younger siblings. Xiaoxue was three years old at the time, and Xijing was two. They were both sensible. No matter how hungry they were, they would just wipe their tears and not run around. Later, when Xiaoxue was four, he took Xijing out by the hand and followed Yueshan, learning to be nice and obedient. That's how he managed to survive."
She asked hesitantly, "What happened after Master came back?"
"After Old Man Wen came back, perhaps he felt guilty and stopped going out. When he occasionally mentioned this incident, he would just sigh that you can't have it both ways. I didn't ask him what he wanted. Yue Shan followed his master closely at first, refusing to stray even a step away. But after he was sure Old Man Wen wasn't leaving, he became increasingly disobedient, until one day he suddenly got better and became what he is now. When Old Man Wen left, Xi Jing didn't remember anything and didn't have any ill feelings towards him, but when she grew up, she became particularly fond of money."
Grandma thought of that history and sighed deeply: "But it's good to be alive. My youngest son died in that drought."
She shook the old man's hand and whispered, "Natural disasters are merciless."
Grandma smiled bitterly and shook her head: "Girl, you don't know that my youngest son is a human being... Never mind, I won't say anymore."
Tao Zi immediately understood her unspoken intention and said, "This is also helpless."
The old man was quite surprised and looked over: "Girl, do you know what I mean?"
"I can roughly guess that it's not easy for Xijing and the others to survive."
She had seen people eat anything when they were extremely hungry, even exchanging their own children for cannibalism, and it wasn't surprising to her. However, Xi Jing and the others were beyond her expectations, as they were still so young and could hold their own in such a situation.
The old man looked at her carefully, and after confirming that she really understood, he said, "Not many people can accept these things. The little girl's attitude is really surprising."
Tao Zi smiled, did not answer, and helped her walk slowly forward.
The master in the past was also a hands-off boss. She started to feed those people when she was thirteen years old. She never ate anyone, but she did everything to survive.
Before they had taken a few steps, they heard pleasant laughter not far away. Grandma said, "That's your sister Li. Let's go over and take a look."
The woman had a curvy figure and only average looks, but her lips were particularly plump and beautiful.
Her eyes lit up when she saw Tao Zi. She walked over quickly, looked her up and down, and said, "Could it be the legendary Miss Tao Zi?"
Tao Zi asked in surprise: "You know me?"
The woman chuckled and said, "Well, Brother Yueshan was crying to me when he came down the mountain not long ago. He said his fiancée had become the senior sister. I'm afraid it must be you. With such a beautiful face, no wonder he was so depressed."
The corners of her mouth twitched, and her grandmother smiled helplessly and shook her head, introducing: "A Zi, this is Widow Li from our village. You can just call her Sister Li."
Tao Zi was truly silent this time. Was this the legendary Widow Li? One of the girls Han Yueshan had harmed?
Widow Li smiled, took her hand, looked at her grandmother and said, "Grandma, you look tired too. Why don't you take a rest on the stone bench over here? I'll take little A Zi to find Xi Jing."
Grandma nodded cheerfully: "Okay, it just so happens that I can't walk anymore."
"Xiao A Zi looks like he knows me?"
Tao Zi replied, "I've heard of it."
Widow Li became interested: "What did you hear? Did you hear that I wanted to raise Brother Yueshan as a child husband, or did you hear that I chased Old Man Wen with a knife?"
What? !
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