Chapter 141: Changes in the Family of an Ordinary Cultivation Student
In the blink of an eye, it is late autumn again. When the autumn wind blows, the fallen leaves, accompanied by the fragrance of rice, are scattered all over the ground.
In an ordinary small village in Hengshan County, there is an ordinary ancestral hall.
However, what is different from before is that a dull stone wall has been added to the main hall of the ancestral hall. The slightly yellowed blank stone wall appears particularly abrupt in the ancestral hall filled with memorial tablets, but judging from the respectful manners of the people coming and going, it can be seen that the villagers respect it.
In the ancestral hall, there was a young boy who was bored and staring blankly with his head propped up. He would only glance at the blank stone wall from time to time, but most of the time he was looking out the door, looking at the children playing around with envy.
He was the guard assigned by the village. He was on duty for twelve hours at a time and rotated every three days. He had two tasks: one was to watch the stone wall to prevent it from being stolen, and the other was to run out and call for help immediately when it glowed.
This job is much more comfortable than working in the fields. If his elder sister had not been chosen to become an immortal in Xianyang, it would not have been his turn.
In fact, this stone wall has not responded for almost half a year. The last time it glowed was when Uncle Zhang’s second son sent a message that he would take the old couple to the city to enjoy life.
"Big sister has been in Xianyang for over three years. I wonder how she's doing? She's become an immortal's apprentice. Once she's learned enough, she can become an immortal herself, but..."
He shuddered when he thought of the hardships he had endured as an apprentice. Those days were so hard. He worked from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, but he didn't even learn the basics of his craft. He was a slave to his master's family, and he couldn't miss out on offering sacrifices to them during the holidays.
If learning a craft is so hard, being an apprentice to a god must be even harder. The young man put his limited life experience into context and frowned tightly.
He muttered softly, "When Big Sister sends me news next time, I'll definitely ask her a few more questions."
…
The fiery red sun slowly sets in the west, and the slight scorching heat gradually dissipates, accompanied by a hint of coolness brought by the evening breeze.
The young man tilted his head to look at the sky, then looked back at the still stone wall, muttering, "It's almost dinner time. Are those gluttons going to steal my dinner?"
Ding-ding-ding-ding
A slightly harsh voice sounded quickly, and the drowsy boy immediately jumped up. When he looked up, he saw a bright white light coming out of the originally blank and gray stone wall, and three words were flashing.
The boy didn't know many words, but he recognized that this was his sister's name.
"Sister! Sister!" He called out anxiously to the stone wall according to the operation he had learned, and then called out again and again. But all the words in his heart were stuck in his throat and he couldn't spit them out, "..."
"Little brother?"
The voice coming through the stone wall was a little distorted, but it still couldn't hide the person's cheerful and high spirits. "I haven't seen you for a few years. I stutter."
The familiar tone of laughter and scolding broke his trance, and he immediately remembered his duty, "Sister, wait a moment, I'll go call Mom and Dad!"
After saying that, he rushed out without waiting for anyone to answer.
Although he said he was calling for help, he actually just ran a few steps out of the ancestral hall and shouted a few words at the top of his lungs. When the nearby families heard him, they would naturally run to his house to help call for help.
The young man returned to the main hall of the ancestral hall to chat with his sister. A short while later, a flurry of footsteps could be heard outside, accompanied by loud shouts: "Ni'er! My second Ni'er! Daddy's here!"
"And mother! That old man only knows how to show off himself!" The female voice that followed was not to be outdone.
The two shouted loudly when they were outside the house, but when they came in, they didn't know what to say.
The weather-beaten Mr. and Mrs. Li approached the stone wall cautiously, as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
At that moment, time seemed to freeze. The noise of autumn cicadas and the rustling of falling leaves disappeared, leaving only them and the sound coming from the other side of the stone wall.
Old Li took a deep breath, opened his mouth but no sound came out. He pushed Aunt Li and tilted his head to indicate: Go over there, you and your mother have more to say.
Aunt Li moved closer little by little and softly called out "Er Ni'er" with a barely perceptible tremor in her voice.
From the other side of the stone wall came a familiar yet distant hometown accent, the voice of her daughter, long-lost yet familiar. Her heart skipped a beat, as if gently touched by something.
"mother."
"Dad, little brother, brother..."
She called all the relatives who were present or absent, and then shared with them happily:
"I have a new name now. It's Li Shuangshuang. Shuang means two, and Shuangshuang means twenty-two. I got twenty-second place in the graduation exam! Twenty-second out of hundreds of people! From now on, don't call me Erni anymore. You can call me Shuangshuang."
The young voice was filled with boasting and pride, as well as a hint of expectation.
"Okay, okay! Li Shuangshuang, let's call her Li Shuangshuang. My daughter is so amazing!"
Old Li walked forward excitedly, slapped his thigh, and walked back and forth in the open space in front of the ancestral hall to relieve his overly excited emotions.
"Tomorrow, Dad will ask the clan leader to open an ancestral hall and change your name in the family tree to this."
"As long as you're happy, Dad." Then he changed the subject, "We've been given home leave for the past few days. Dad, Mom, what do you want to eat? I'll bring it to you."
"You're coming back?!"
"Really? That's great!"
"No need to bring it, just come back. When will you arrive? I'll ask your mother to make you some pancakes with honey filling. I remember you liked it best."
"I'll probably be home in the evening four days from now." He added, "I'll also like some fish soup made from the river at the entrance to the village, with some wild vegetables from the mountain behind. It's so delicious, I've been thinking about it a lot while I'm away."
Aunt Li nodded in agreement, and in her heart she had already started thinking about letting the boys in the family go fishing.
As the words fell, the light on the stone wall gradually dimmed until it was completely extinguished, returning to its previous gray appearance.
A few people stood there for a while, feeling lost. Aunt Li patted Old Li on the back and dragged him out.
"Er Ni, oh no, Shuang Shuang is coming back soon. Let's go to the city in the next couple of days to buy some things. The house has felt empty since she left home. We need to take out the bedding and pillows and air them out. Also, there's the matter of changing the name. Go find the clan leader now and make sure everyone changes their name before our daughter comes back..."
She kept chattering away, occasionally counting on her fingers to see if she had forgotten anything, for fear that her daughter, who had been away from home for many years, was not feeling comfortable.
…
The next morning, Aunt Li took her two daughters-in-law to the village entrance. Each of them carried a large bamboo basket and a backpack on their backs, which were the tools commonly used by villagers for shopping.
Someone close to them looked at the large baskets and backpacks and couldn't help but jokingly said, "Aunt Li, are you going to the city to buy some goods?"
Another woman in a blue headscarf jokingly said, "I'm afraid all the shops will be cleared out."
"My daughter is coming back!" Aunt Li replied proudly. "Shuangshuang is studying magic with the immortals in Xianyang. Our house can't compare to Xianyang, so we need to buy some new things for her house."
Otherwise, it would be a shame if living at home is not as comfortable as living outside.
The sky gradually brightened, and more and more people gathered at the village entrance.
Dadada...
Rhythmic footsteps came from the end of the road.
After a while, a cow with gray curly hair pulling a long wooden cart approached the village entrance.
The cow was unusually strong, with muscular limbs. It was almost as tall as an adult and a half, and its body was covered with curly hair that looked like it had been burned by a pair of tongs. It stopped and mooed softly. Although it was a cow, it was more docile than a sheep.
Seeing the ox cart stopped, Aunt Li stopped talking and told her two daughters-in-law to take their baskets to reserve seats on the cart. She took out nine cents and handed them to the driver.
This has only appeared in recent years. I heard from the clerk that it is called "ox cart bus". It makes two round trips a day and charges per person. It only costs three cents to go to the city, which is much more cost-effective than riding a cart yourself.
Once we sat down in the car, surrounded by familiar faces, we couldn't stop talking and started chatting aimlessly.
"They say that bulls have a strong temper, but the bull raised by this immortal is extraordinary. In terms of strength, one bull is as strong as five, and in terms of temperament, it is even more docile than a sheep."
"It would be nice if we could breed them together."
"Yes, look at this fur. I heard that this fur can be cut and made into winter quilts. It's warmer than tiger skin."
"Oh, it's already autumn. If you shave your hair now, you'll freeze to death in winter."
"What do you know? The cows raised by immortals can grow their hair back in a month. The hair cut from one cow is enough to make winter quilts for the whole family."
The hooves of the cows clattered, and the six wheels under the wooden planks rolled rumblingly, leaving the familiar scenery behind.
The ox cart was not moving very fast, and by the time we saw the tall city wall, an orange sun was already hanging in the gray sky.
“Whoa—”
"We've arrived at the county town. Everyone, take your things and get off the bus. It's early afternoon. We're still here. It's not late enough."
Aunt Li and her two daughters-in-law got out of the car in a hurry. Without even having time to greet anyone, they walked towards the bustling street and commercial district as if they were familiar with the route.
She first pulled her two daughters-in-law into a small alley, asked them to block the way outside, and hid herself in the gap between two walls. She took out a cloth bag wrapped in layers of cloth from her arms and took out two dimes from it.
"Take these two pieces of silver and buy some things for your own room. You have been married to our family for so many years and have devoted yourself to our family."
"Mother..." The two daughters-in-law waved their hands, not daring to take it, and refused, "We are a family, so why should we divide it between you and me? You still have to take care of the family's money."
The other one also refused. What young daughter-in-law dared to take money from her mother-in-law? In those days, before the family was divided, there was no private money; it was all kept in the hands of the head of the household.
Aunt Li waved her hand and said, "Alright, alright, what's given to you is yours. Wait... forget it, let's talk about it after our daughter comes back. This money is for you, buy whatever you want, the old man and I won't ask any questions."
At this point, her face darkened. "But let me be frank. Our family is where we are today thanks to the kindness of the immortals. Don't have any inappropriate thoughts!"
The two daughters-in-law hurriedly denied it.
"That's good. Don't accuse me of being partial. I'm also thinking about you, my husband and your children. We're all family. Shuangshuang's two brothers have always treated her well, and she's sentimental. You should maintain this relationship well. If she lets a little slip through her fingers in the future, it will be enough to transform our family."
To ascend to the immortal's gate and bring blessings to one's family, this is what it means when one person achieves enlightenment and his family members benefit from it.
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