Chapter 33 Rules for Going Out
"Brother Da'an, is Brother Da'an home?"
Lu Qing shouted in front of a mud house.
"Who is it? Who is calling me?" A tall figure ran out of the house. When he saw Lu Qing, he was immediately surprised. "It's you, Ah Qing. What do you want from me?"
"Daan, who is that?"
Before Lu Qing could answer, an old voice was heard, and an old man holding a bamboo pipe walked out of the house.
"Grandpa, Ah Qing is here!" Wang Daan shouted directly.
"Grandpa Wang." Lu Qing greeted the old man.
"Oh, it's Ah Qing, come on, come in and sit down."
When the old man saw Lu Qing, he was also surprised and wanted to pull him into the house to drink water.
"No need, Grandpa Wang, I have something to ask Brother Da'an, so I won't go into the house to disturb you." Lu Qing quickly declined.
"By the way, what do you want to talk to me about?" Wang Daan asked.
"I want to go to the market. Last time, Brother An told me that if I want to go to the market, I have to come to see you. There are some rules I need to know."
"You're going to the market?" Wang Da'an was stunned, then realized, "Yes, today is the market day."
The big market is held every five days, and today is exactly the fifth day since the last market.
"A Qing, what are you going to do at the market, sell fish?" Wang Daan asked.
"I'm not in a hurry to sell the fish. I want to go to the market first to take a look and get to know the situation and buy some things."
"Oh, that's fine with me, but grandpa just wanted to ask me to go collect grass for the pigs." Wang Da'an scratched his head.
Grandpa Wang took two puffs of his cigarette and said, "In that case, Daan, you should take Ah Qing with you. He is the head of the family now, so he should know the rules for going out."
"Okay, Grandpa, don't worry, I will definitely teach Ah Qing!" Wang Daan said happily.
He was very happy that he didn't have to go to collect grass for pigs, because that job was too boring.
"Let's go, Qing. We'll talk on the way."
Wang Da'an pulled Lu Qing and walked out.
When they arrived at the entrance of the village, Wang Daan pointed to a big tree at the entrance.
He said, "Ah Qing, this is the first rule for going out to the market."
"Here?" Lu Qing looked at the big tree, a little confused.
Of course he knew this big tree. It was not very tall, but it was very strong, with luxuriant branches and leaves, and a very thick trunk. It took several people to hug it.
It looks a bit like the banyan tree in my previous life.
And this big tree seems to be quite important.
Not only do people burn incense on a regular basis, but children in the village are also warned from a young age that they are strictly prohibited from playing nearby, let alone climbing.
If anyone was found violating the ban, a beating would be the lightest punishment, in more serious cases the person would be forced to kneel in the ancestral hall on an empty stomach.
Therefore, the children in the village kept their distance from this big tree. They would rather play in the mud somewhere else than play on it.
However, in his memory, he could not find the real use of this big tree, he just thought it was used to pray to God for peace.
Now from what Da An said, it seems that there is another use?
"Yes, this big tree is the sacred tree of our village. It is also the tree of faith. Everyone in the village who goes out to do business, whether it is to the market or to the city, must leave a mark here to indicate where they are going."
"That way, if someone doesn't return in time, the village can still find out where he went based on the marks he left behind."
"This big tree actually has such a use?" Lu Qing was surprised.
He really didn't expect that the big tree that the original owner was somewhat afraid of in his memory had such an origin.
"Then how do you leave a mark on it?" Lu Qing asked.
"Here."
Wang Da'an walked forward and lifted a stone slab under the tree.
When I came back, there were two more red ropes on my hands.
Wang Daan handed one of the red ropes to Lu Qing and pointed at the tree.
"You see, those old branches on the sacred tree, the one on the left represents the big market, the one in the middle represents the city, and the one on the right represents other distant places."
"In the future, if you are going out somewhere, tie a red string around it so that the villagers will know that someone is leaving the house."
"Just take off the red string when you come back."
"Is that it?" Lu Qing was stunned.
He thought it was very complicated, but he didn't expect it to be so simple.
"That's it, what else can we do?" Wang Daan was a little confused.
"Don't we need to hang up a sign or other symbol? Otherwise, how will people know who has gone away?" Lu Qing asked.
"What's the point of hanging the sign?" Wang Da'an was even more confused.
"You can write your name on the sign or something..."
When Lu Qing said this, he suddenly realized something.
He forgot that most of the people in the village are illiterate.
Sure enough, Wang Daan grinned when he heard this.
"Do you think we are all like you, Ah Qing? You know so many characters, but who can write their own names?"
"And there's no need to go through so much trouble. The village is so small. If you see someone with the red string still on, you can ask around in the village and find out who didn't come back."
Lu Qing thought so too.
He couldn't wrap his head around it for a moment and thought that this place was still the same as in his previous life, where he could travel far away easily.
In fact, in an ancient world like this, villagers were very cautious about going out.
I won't go out unless it's necessary.
Some villagers may never travel far away in their entire lives.
Children are strictly prohibited from running outside.
Under such circumstances, there are actually not many people who leave the village on a regular basis, so there is really no need to make such a big hassle.
But in this way, Lu Qing understood why everyone usually burned incense under this tree.
I think in addition to worshiping the gods, the villagers pray more for the safety of those who go out.
"Come, I'll tie it for you."
Wang Daan tied two red ropes to the branch on the left.
"In addition, there is a rule in the village. The big market is not far from our village. If you want to go, you can go alone. Just tie a red rope here."
"But if you go to the city or somewhere further, you should go with at least two people so that you can take care of each other."
"If no one in our village wants to go into the city, you can go to the next village and ask if anyone wants to go with you. The rules for going out in our villages are similar."
"Going to the city is not like going to the market. There are more people there and we can take care of each other."
"Brother Daan, is the road to the city dangerous?" Lu Qing couldn't help but ask when he heard these rules.
Wang Daan paused for a moment before saying, "It can't be said to be dangerous. In recent years, the road has been quite peaceful. But my grandfather told me that there were bandits on the road before. Someone from the next village was captured and didn't escape back until several years later."
"Everyone thought he had died outside, but when he escaped back, they found out he had been captured by bandits."
"But it is said that the bandits were later wiped out by the county lord, so peace has returned to the road."
"It was also from that time that our several villages gradually established the current rules for going out."
Bandit!
Lu Qing was shocked.
Sure enough, the world was not as peaceful as he had imagined.
The term "County Honorable" also made him feel somewhat concerned.
However, Lu Qing did not ask in detail. There was still a long time to go, and he could slowly inquire about it later.
Explain the rules of leaving the village to Lu Qing and tie the red rope.
Only then did Wang Daan take Lu Qing and head towards the market.
(End of this chapter)
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