The moon was bright in the sky, the shadows of the trees were swaying, and Ding Youtian stood with his hands behind his back halfway up the hill. The night wind gently blew the hairband under his silk scarf, and he danced gracefully.
His gaze was lost in the layers of mountains across from him. As a child, he, like the Ma brothers today, yearned every day to hear Blind Liu tell stories from the past and present. It was from this time, when he heard Blind Liu's stories, that he realized the world was bigger than just Dingjia Village and Baisha Town.
At that time, many children in the village loved to listen to Blind Liu's stories. He would always rush with Lao Wu to go to the back mountain to collect firewood, just so that he could sneak in to listen to the stories. Occasionally, Xiu Gu would go with him. No matter how scary the stories about mountain spirits and tree monsters that Blind Liu told, Xiu Gu would always look confused and never afraid.
Later, Blind Liu would sometimes tell stories about famous people from past dynasties. Every time he talked about loyal ministers being framed, they would be very angry. Ma Fuquan, who was a few years older than him, was even more angry and swore that he would practice martial arts well and kill all the treacherous ministers in the world when he grew up.
But there were no words engraved on the faces of the treacherous ministers, so how could one distinguish between loyalty and treachery? Blind Liu always asked them with a smile. He also told them that wisdom and courage were both important, with wisdom first and courage second, and that relying on wisdom to win without bloodshed was the best strategy.
Occasionally, when he was in the mood, Blind Liu would tell them stories about strategy. He had once said that to eliminate an opponent, one didn't have to hold the knife in one's own hands; this was called "killing with a borrowed knife." With the right strategy, even a small force could move a large tree, and even an ant could shake a large tree.
Ma Fuquan disdains such tactics; he only values force. But Ding Youtian is deeply fascinated by tactics of intellect. Why fight to the death when you can do it without bloodshed? Wouldn't it be more pleasant to kill with someone else's knife?
Since he was young, he had been pestering Blind Liu to become his disciple, but not only had he been rejected repeatedly, but Blind Liu had never mentioned any anecdotes about strategy since then, no matter how persistent he was. But no matter how he acted, Blind Liu had never spoken harshly to him as he had tonight.
Under the moonlight, Ding Youtian's eyebrows and eyes seemed as delicate as if they were outlined with pen and ink, but the light in his eyes was extremely sharp. At this moment, he had a feeling in his heart that his master must have an unusual past and experience.
Well, since the master has promised to teach him the art of wisdom, he should just study hard. He must not make the same mistake as tonight where he speaks without thinking.
He walked towards his home. When he entered the house and saw Jian Ning with a thick facial mask on her face, he paused and swallowed the words that were on his lips.
Jian Ning raised her eyes to glance at him, then lowered her brows and concentrated on sewing her clothes.
He didn't say much. He took the book, sat across from the table and started reading by the oil lamp.
…
The next day, Jian Ning got up early as usual and led the four little ones to practice in the yard. Ma Xiaomai also jumped over the wall and came in early in the morning as usual.
There was just a small incident. When he jumped into the yard, a civet cat suddenly jumped over and tried to pounce on him, but fortunately Jian Ning stopped it in time.
After Ding Youtian got up, his family had breakfast, and then Tian and Chang arrived together.
After a while, Blind Liu also came. He explained what to do today. First, soak the beans for twelve hours.
Jane Ning was dumbfounded when she heard this. Before, Blind Liu only asked her to buy a wine jar and a big pot, but he told her that she had already ordered the wooden basin for soaking beans yesterday.
"I'm afraid the wooden basin at home is not..."
Before she finished, Blind Liu said, "The wooden basin and wooden steamer will be here soon. All we need to do now is soak the beans, hire someone to chop more dry wood, and gather some firewood."
Jane Ning said, "I can chop wood, no need to hire anyone."
"My wheat is also good." Tian said: "He wandered around here early in the morning and hurried up the mountain. We will find him there soon."
Chang said, "My eldest son can also help chop wood. Tian's sister and I will take the younger ones up the mountain to collect firewood."
Both Tian and Chang said that there was no need to hire anyone and waste money, and they did not need to pay extra wages for their eldest child to help, and the teenagers were just sitting at home doing nothing anyway.
After the discussion, Jian Ning began to divide the work. Ding Youtian, Blind Liu and Chang stayed at home, waiting for the delivery person. Chang and Ding Youtian were responsible for soaking the beans. She and Tian took the four little ones to call the other children and went up the mountain to chop firewood together.
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