Ah Lang is an orphan, and he is twelve years old this year.
He is not a native of Lingnan.
He remembered very clearly that his hometown was beside a great river.
Their family had been fishermen along the river for generations, fishing and sailing. Although life was hard, they managed to get by.
However, in the last ten years or so, there has been constant warfare.
As long as Ah Lang can remember, his family has always been at war.
Either the people of the Northern Dynasty want to attack the Southern Dynasty, or the people of the Southern Dynasty want to attack the Northern Dynasty.
The two sides were locked in fierce fighting, while the people living along the river were suffering terribly.
Ah Lang's uncles were either captured as prisoners of war and their whereabouts are unknown, or they were accidentally wounded by the two armies in battle and lost their lives.
After much agonizing reflection, my grandfather realized he could no longer stay in our old home.
He had heard from the nobles in town that the emperor of the Northern Dynasty had assembled an army of 200,000 to conquer the Southern Dynasty in one fell swoop.
At that time, the entire river will be engulfed in war.
Grandfather dared not risk the remaining descendants, so he resolutely moved the whole family.
They were from the Southern Dynasties, so naturally they could not flee to the Northern Dynasties.
So, the Wolf family headed south.
There were also some large families that migrated south as a whole, and ordinary people like Ah Lang's family followed the large families.
The group trekked through mountains and rivers, enduring hardships along the way.
They had only one belief—to stay away from war!
After walking for an unknown amount of time, they finally could no longer see any assembled soldiers or large groups of troops on the road.
However, it was only at this point that they realized they had arrived in Yuezhou.
Lingnan, a wild and untamed land they would never have wanted to go to before.
However, seeing that the place was peaceful and stable, rich in resources, and without the harsh winter cold, the group decided to stay.
Ah Lang was from a fish family and was used to life by the water, so he went to the seaside.
They went out to sea to fish and reclaimed wasteland... The family finally settled down.
The weather and customs were not to my liking, but it was still better than losing my life in war.
And so, the family settled down in Yuezhou.
I thought that life would continue like this.
But no one expected that during the hurricane season the following year, a hurricane would sweep away Ah Lang's grandfather and father.
Only women and children remained in the house; the grandmother and mother gritted their teeth and persevered.
But without male offspring, there were no strong laborers, and within a few months, both the grandmother and mother died from overwork and hunger.
In the once large family, only Ah Lang and his three younger siblings remained.
As the eldest child in the family, Lang, who was only ten years old, would lead his younger siblings to go to the beach and explore the mountains. When things got really tough, they would even go to the town or county to beg for food.
Stumbling and falling, the children barely made it through a year.
Now, Ah Lang is a twelve-year-old boy, and he has more than just his younger siblings under his command.
He "picked up" a few more orphans, and the dozen or so children huddled together for warmth, struggling to survive in the world.
One day, one of Ah Lang's younger sisters fell ill with a persistent high fever, and the dozen or so children didn't know what to do.
Ah Lang carried his younger sister through the streets and alleys of He County, kowtowing to every pharmacy and clinic, but was driven away each time.
Occasionally, one or two kind-hearted doctors, undeterred by their dirtiness or lack of money, would prepare to treat the child.
But when they wiped the girl's forehead and examined her eyelids, they all shook their heads helplessly.
"If the high fever doesn't subside, even a miracle can't save it!"
Ah Lang and the other children were filled with despair; they saw themselves in their "sister."
I feel the same way; I grieve for the fallen.
Today it's my younger sister, tomorrow it might be them.
Kneeling on the street, Ah Lang felt his sister's breath growing weaker and weaker, and his despair and grief reached their peak.
He couldn't help but picture his grandfather and father being swept away by a terrible hurricane, and the pitiful sight of his grandmother and mother, thin as skin and bones, coughing up blood...
Dead!
They're all dead!
Waaah, someone please save them!
Who will save my sister?
Someone, please save me!
Just as Ah Lang was desperately pleading in his heart, he finally heard the most beautiful voice he had ever heard: "Is this child sick? Her face is so red? Quick, someone, carry her to the clinic!"
Already in a state of confusion, Ah Lang vaguely sensed someone taking his younger sister away from his back.
He instinctively reached out to snatch his sister back, but when he looked up, he saw a woman as beautiful as an angel.
Fairy sister!
Is he going to die too? He actually saw a fairy!
"Child, is this your sister? She has a high fever and urgently needs to have it brought down. I've had someone take her to the clinic!"
"Don't worry, I won't hurt her."
The fairy is beautiful, and her voice is even more beautiful, just like the Guanyin Bodhisattva mentioned by the old lady in her stories!
Ah Lang didn't know what Guanyin Bodhisattva looked like, but his grandmother said that Guanyin Bodhisattva saves people from suffering.
The fairy sister took her younger sister to the clinic and even managed to save her. In Ah Lang's heart, she was Guanyin Bodhisattva!
Later, Ah Lang learned that Fairy Sister was not a fairy, but the Queen Consort of Yue, a truly noble person.
The Queen of Yue not only saved her sister, but also settled the orphans on the estate.
They were given a bath, and fragrant bath beans were used, which are said to be a special thing used by nobles when they bathe.
After washing away the years of grime from their bodies, the princess changed them into clean new clothes.
These are genuine new clothes, not altered old clothes to make them smaller. They have no patches and are not worn out from washing!
After changing into new clothes, you'll have clean, hot meals.
It's not leftovers, not wild vegetable soup or wheat bran cakes, but meat soup, stir-fried dishes, and soft, sweet flatbread!
"...This must be paradise, a paradise where only gods can enjoy such a wonderful life."
Ah Lang and the other teenagers were all in a dreamlike state.
They pinched their thighs hard; the pain reminded them that this was not a dream!
But if it's not a dream, why is it so beautiful?
They have new clothes to wear, enough to eat, and a house to shelter them from the wind and rain...
Such a good life was something they wouldn't even dare to dream of in broad daylight.
Ah Lang felt very uneasy. Princess Yue had been so good to them; they could never repay her kindness, even if they worked like oxen and horses.
Then Manager Xie from the farm said, "From now on, you are all members of the Xie Family Manor."
"At the Xie family manor, you will have enough to eat and wear, and you can even read and write! But you must work!"
Working?
Isn't that how it should be?
Even when parents and family members are still alive, they still have to do chores in their own home.
To be frank, even if I'm not afraid of being called unfilial, they live a better life at the Xie Family Manor than they would with their own parents!
The Queen Consort of Yue was no longer their "second parent," but rather a savior from their suffering.
Therefore, the orphans, including Ah Lang, had only one belief in their hearts: they must repay the Queen Consort well, even if it meant giving up their lives for her!
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