Chapter 74 You have to take care of yourself first, you know?
No matter how hard Li Wangming thought about it, he could never have imagined that it was Li Shigui who did it!
After all, who would think so badly of someone who has been educated?
However, Li Shiyue had some thoughts in her mind. She never had any biases towards scholars; she believed more in human nature.
On the contrary, she believed that scholars were the best at hiding their true desires and thoughts. Just like Li's father, he was also a scholar, but what did he do?
Instead of studying properly, he used the money his family earned from working in the county town to go to brothels.
He also took advantage of the situation and forcibly took Qin Tao away while Li Wangtian was away serving in the military.
On the way to escape famine, in order to please Qin Tao and for the sake of the unborn child in Qin Tao's womb, he gave the donkey cart to Qin Tao's family to use, and made his old mother walk the whole way.
His affair with Qin Tao was accidentally discovered by Shi Tou. At first, he thought he could enjoy the blessings of having two women, but later he abandoned his wife and children.
Not to mention, on the way there afterward, he pressured Grandma Li, and when she refused to give him money, he accidentally killed her in a shove. Then he tried to pin the blame on Qin Tao.
So, if Li's father, a scholar who has received some education, is such a lousy person, how could Li Shiyue possibly have any positive bias towards scholars?
Even if you insist on mentioning Li Shiyang, did Li Shiyang do everything upright and righteous?
Speaking only of this matter, did he really not know that he shouldn't have stopped Liu Tan from giving the order to shoot arrows at the Japanese pirates?
If he really didn't do it on purpose, would he have knelt down before Li Youfu without saying a word?
As for why Li Shiyang insisted on doing this, only Li Shiyang himself probably knows the answer.
These two men alone were enough to make Li Shiyue wary of educated men. So what if they were just scholars, or even just a low-ranking official?
Such is the human heart; such is human nature.
Women, never have any biases or prejudices against educated men, even if they are your own father. Don't listen to or believe everything you hear!
On the deck, after counting the number of the dead and calling out the names of those who boarded the ship, and having someone identify each body, Liu Tan instructed Ma San to direct everyone to carry the bodies to the back of the cargo area on the deck, where they were relatively dark, and then covered them with tarpaulins.
In fact, according to the usual procedure, these bodies should have been thrown directly into the sea.
After all, in such weather, with so many corpses piled together, not to mention the smell, the possibility of a plague later on was enough for Liu Tan to order the bodies to be dumped into the sea.
However, after asking the boatman, Liu Tan confirmed that they would arrive at Sanshan Port in two days at most, and that most of the dead were civilians who were preparing to settle in Andong.
It would be rather inhumane to disregard the wishes of these civilians and throw the bodies of their relatives into the sea to feed the fish.
Therefore, Liu Tan decided to leave these corpses behind for the time being.
However, the boatman still managed to take some measures to prevent corrosion.
The readily available, cold seawater is used to thoroughly irrigate the area three times a day, morning, noon, and night. The high salinity of the seawater should have some effect, at least to some extent.
Standing on the deck, smelling the salty sea breeze, Li Shiyue thought about what her mother had just called her out of the cabin to say.
"Your second uncle is heartbroken over your father's death. Don't say anything to him these next few days, let him process it on his own."
Li Shiyue nodded in agreement with her mother's words. She could tell that her mother was also quite saddened, so she stepped forward, pulled her mother over, and hugged her.
“Mother, you still have me and my brother, as well as your aunt and sisters, and your uncle.”
Once we've settled down, I'll try to find a merchant to send a message. Didn't they say that my uncle and the others were taken to Shannan East Road?
We'll definitely see each other again as a family!
Li's mother silently reached out and patted Li Shiyue's back, barely managing to force back the tears in her eyes.
After a while, Li's mother took Li Shiyue's hand and whispered in her ear, "Although your father is gone, it's really hard to say whether he really fell into the sea by accident or what."
At this point, Li's mother paused for a moment before continuing to whisper to Li Shiyue, "Qin Tao came to see me and said some random things. At that time, Li Chunli and Li Shigui accompanied Qin Tao."
They also comforted your second uncle. Although what Li Shigui said sounded nice, I always felt that there was something fishy going on.
I later asked Dazhuang's mother, and she said that your father's leg was injured when we were in Dongmou. He went to the outhouse at night and someone put a sack over his head and beat him.
Li Shiyue was somewhat surprised and wanted to say something, but her mother reached out and covered her mouth: "Listen to me," her mother's expression was very serious, "It's no use thinking about this now. Just tell me what I have to say and you'll know it in your heart. Don't tell your second uncle."
I'm telling you this so you'll have a better understanding.
Although we will soon be able to settle down in Andong, Mother feels that there are still many difficulties ahead as she looks at all these things.
Right now, the family depends on you to support it, so please be careful and take good care of yourself.
Li's mother held Li Shiyue's hand tightly, looked into Li Shiyue's eyes and instructed her word by word: "Shiyue, if anything happens in the future, don't worry about your mother and your brother, you have to take care of yourself first, understand?"
"Mother? I..."
"Be good and do as your mother says!"
Only when you are well can our whole family be well!
If something happens and you're unable to handle it, you have to take care of yourself first!
Li Shiyue could see that her mother was serious, so she nodded solemnly in agreement. Only then did her mother smile at Li Shiyue with satisfaction.
A day and a night passed, and accompanied by the shouts of the boatmen and sailors, Li Shiyue opened her eyes and saw the bright sunshine outside through the ventilation window in the cabin.
Just as the boatman had said, after the boatmen had a hearty meal, they put in all their energy and worked like their lives depended on it. What was supposed to be a three-day voyage was completed in just one day and night.
Hearing the shouts of the crowd outside, Li Shiyue knew that they had seen land, which meant they were not far from Sanshan Port.
The boatmen's shouts grew louder and louder. The two sisters, Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian, ran in from outside the cabin door. "October, come quick, come quick and see, we're about to enter the port!"
After putting on her shoes, Li Shiyue went up to the deck with the Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian sisters. Standing on the ship's side, they looked towards the land and saw many large ships moored there. There were two Fujian ships similar to the Talang ship, and many small boats lined up densely outside.
With Li Shiyue's exceptional eyesight, he could even see people walking around on the dock. Suddenly, Li Shiyue saw a group of soldiers in armor waiting by the dock.
Those soldiers were wearing black armor, and Li Shiyue guessed that they were probably the Xuanjia Army.
Suddenly sensing something, Li Shiyue turned around and looked up. Sure enough, she saw Liu Tan holding something in his hand, blocking his eyes as he looked towards the land.
Whether by coincidence or by some premonition, Liu Tan, standing at a high vantage point, suddenly put down his binoculars and looked down. Just then, Li Shiyue and Liu Tan's eyes met.
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