Reunion
The heat came early this year, and before the scorching May arrived, mosquitoes were already rampant in the mountains.
I asked Liu Yu for a prescription for expelling insects, and then I asked Huai Xu and Feng Qiao to chop wormwood, lemongrass, and catnip into a paste, mix it with pine resin, make medicinal cakes, and hang them near doors and windows.
As Huai Xu chopped the herbs, he said, "The new prescription that Doctor Liu gave me is really good. It can repel insects and doesn't have a pungent smell."
Feng Qiao chimed in, "That's right, that's right. In previous years, they used peppermint and camphor, which often kept me up all night."
“Godmother, Madam Liu is so kind. Even if some villagers can’t afford the consultation fee, she will still treat them.”
"That won't do. There are ethical business practices," I said, leaning back in my bamboo chair and fanning myself with a palm-leaf fan.
"Next time I go to Yanziping, I have to tell him that the consultation fee is unavoidable, even if it's just a vegetable or a handful of beans. If that's not possible, I can give him an IOU."
Feng Qiao smiled and said, "Auntie, speaking of consultation fees and tuition fees, a few days ago a child from Bajiaodong wanted to come to the school to study. He saw someone give Mr. Liu a basket of eggs, so he took a nest of bird eggs and brought them over."
"Mr. Liu said, 'Spring brings forth life, summer fosters growth, birds and beasts breed,' and told him to return the bird eggs to the tree. As a result, he returned the bird eggs but then took out a nest of snake eggs."
"Hahaha!" I laughed so hard tears almost streamed down my face. "Mr. Liu, is he...is he alright?"
"Mr. Liu said to pay the tuition fee first, and told him not to send eggs anymore."
"Aunt Qing! Uncle Lin! Sister Huai Xu! Brother Feng Qiao!" Shi Yu rushed up to me like a gust of wind.
"Shiyu, long time no see, you've grown taller." I ruffled his hair and looked towards the door, only to see Guo Cheng leading two simply dressed women inside.
I quickly stood up to greet him: "Inspector Guo is here."
Guo Cheng laughed and said, "Qing Niangzi, Prefect Wei is busy at the yamen and can't leave, so he asked Shi Yu and me to deliver the neighbors to you again."
"Welcome, welcome." I walked up to the two women and asked with a smile, "May I ask your names?"
The older woman said, "My surname is Wang, my given name is Yunhui, and I am from Tongcheng, Shuzhou."
Yun Hui?!
I happily grasped her hand: "Madam Wang, Mr. Liu has been waiting for you for so long, and he's finally here!"
Wang Yunhui's eyes were filled with tears. She gripped my hand tightly and squeezed it back. I turned to look at the woman beside her.
The woman was robust, but looked slightly flustered: "My husband's surname is Xu, and he is also from Tongcheng."
I took her hand and asked, "Sister-in-law Xu, is Brother Xu Shan your husband?"
Aunt Xu nodded repeatedly.
I took their hands and said with a smile, "Let's go, everyone, to Yanziping!"
Huai Xu jumped up and said, "I need to go to Yanziping to deliver the message first!"
"I want one too!"
"I want one too!"
Shi Yu and Feng Qiao also chased after them.
I looked at Lin Zhong, who glanced at Guo Cheng, waved to me, and went to the stable.
On the way, I asked Wang Yunhui, "I heard that Madam Wang contracted the plague on her way here and had to stay in Luzhou. Is she much better now?"
Wang Yunhui nodded: "I've fully recovered. Thanks to Prefect Wei's letter to the Luzhou government, Prefect Xiong arranged for a doctor to treat me. Also, there's Sister-in-law Xu, who shared a room with me on the boat. She got off the boat because of me, and she's been taking care of me all these days."
Aunt Xu said, "Madam Wang, don't be so polite. We're all from the same village, how can we not help each other out?"
Upon arriving at the school in Yanziping, the dozen or so students had already been herded into the courtyard by Huai Xu and his group.
When Xu Shan's two children saw Xu Sao, they cheered and rushed into their mother's arms. I also saw Liu Yu there, but Liu Xingjian was nowhere to be found.
I laughed and said, "Dr. Liu, where have you hidden Mr. Liu?"
"Qing Niangzi has wronged me." Liu Yuchao gestured to Wang Yunhui, "Please come in, sister-in-law!"
Huai Xu and Feng Qiao nudged the child beside them: "Quickly call for help!"
A Liao child shook Huai Xu's hand and said, "Sister, I've forgotten what to call you."
"I forgot too."
Suddenly a little girl shouted, "Master's wife!"
"Greetings, Master's wife!"
"Greetings, Master's wife!"
Wang Yunhui's eyes suddenly reddened: "Okay... everything is fine..."
Huai Xu came over and took Wang Yunhui's arm, while I took her other arm, half-pulling and half-supporting her to the classroom door.
Huai Xu pounded on the door: "Mr. Liu, look who's here!"
With a creak, the door opened inward, and Liu Xingjian's voice trembled as he called out, "Yun Hui!"
"Keep it simple!" Wang Yunhui, who had held back her tears all the way, finally let them fall at this moment.
I gently pushed Wang Yunhui into the house, smiled, and closed the door, saying, "You two can talk inside, and we'll all talk in the yard."
Huai Xu said to Aunt Xu, "Auntie, don't worry, Uncle Xu and the others are farming on the hillside and won't be back until later."
Aunt Xu hugged the two children and said with a smile, "No rush, no rush."
A Liao child rushed in front of me and shouted, "Qing Niangzi!"
I patted his little head: "Oh, you know me?"
The child nodded: "When my father was young, he asked Qing Niangzi for her hand in marriage, but he couldn't beat Qing Niangzi's younger brother, so he married my mother instead."
“My mother said that even if I could beat her, I wouldn’t be able to marry Qing Niangzi, because Qing Niangzi likes scholars.”
I burst out laughing at his words: "How did your mother know that Qing Niangzi liked scholars?"
“My mother said that every time she met Qing Niangzi at the market, you would persuade them to send us to school.”
Do you like reading?
"like."
Why do you like it?
"I like listening to my master tell stories, so I don't have to catch insects, roast insects, and drive away snakes in the mountains every day!"
"What's such a fascinating story? Tell us all about it."
"My master said that long ago our ancestors lived in the Chu region, where the ancestors of the Han, Pu, and Liao people were all one family."
"Later, as the population grew, the crops grown on the land could not support so many people. Our ancestors were very brave, so they led us away to find food elsewhere. As they searched, they found a place with beautiful mountains and rivers, and settled down there."
"Qing Niangzi, is that how it is?"
“Yes.” I smiled and hugged him. “We were a family before, we are a family now, and we will be a family in the future.”
A chubby-faced Han Chinese child squeezed in front of me, looking aggrieved, and said, "Qing Niangzi, I don't like studying."
Why?
“My teacher always makes us memorize texts, but I can’t.”
I took his hand and asked, "Then tell me, what do you like to study?"
"I like practicing martial arts!"
Guo Cheng laughed and said, "That's easy. A few days ago, a group of soldiers came to guard the border. We can pick a few with high martial arts skills to come. There are many women in Yanziping, so we need to strengthen the guard there as well."
"Master and Mistress are out!" The students rushed forward, crowding around Liu Xingjian and Wang Yunhui.
Liu Xingjian seemed to have become ten years younger, and he smiled as he bowed to everyone in gratitude: "I am grateful for your arrangements. I will never forget this day and this moment."
Wang Yunhui said, "Thank you all for taking care of my husband, Lao Liu. In the future, please don't hesitate to ask if there is anything my husband and I can do to help."
Everyone chatted for a while longer, and then the mountain songs of the settlers drifted from afar—
Spring planting is in full swing, and summer weeding is underway.
Autumn harvest brings grain, winter brings leisure.
The bean stalks and rapeseed flowers are sparse.
The grass is green and the birds are singing.
Beautiful scenery all year round.
Every household has a full granary.
When Yanziping was a garrison, Xiong Tu also recruited local people to participate in land reclamation. After the garrison was abolished, the land was abandoned and the people scattered.
Among the exiled people now under the "Rongguan" system, there are a group of skilled farmers. When the Han people from the surrounding area learned of this, they gathered there again, and it even attracted some local people from the mountain villages to join.
The songs of this group had the tunes of the Central Plains and the barbarian songs of the Southwest, a mixture of harsh and indistinct sounds, which was very moving.
Xu Shan's two children danced with joy: "Mom! Daddy's back! Daddy's back!"
Surrounded by a large group of people, and with another group in the distance, Aunt Xu's face immediately turned red.
I patted the two little ones: "Stop jumping around here, quickly lead the way to your mother."
Aunt Xu waved her hands repeatedly: "I...I won't go over there, I'll wait for him here."
Huai Xu laughed and took Xu Sao's arm: "Come on, Aunt Xu, we're going to arrange a 'This moment will never be forgotten' ceremony for Uncle Xu too!"
Everyone chimed in, "Let's go! Let's go!"
Xu Shan, carrying a hoe, walked down the slope with the group of people reclaiming land. Two children rushed up to him, calling, "Daddy! Daddy!"
Xu Shan put down his hoe and picked up one child in each arm: "School's out! Did you study hard today? Did you cause any trouble with Mr. Liu?"
The two boys nodded and shook their heads, but they wouldn't mention their mother.
Huai Xu stamped his foot and waved: "Uncle Xu! Aunt Xu is here!"
Xu Shan looked over while holding the children, paused for a moment, then suddenly threw down the two boys and rushed down the slope.
Aunt Xu rushed forward: "Xu Shan, slow down! Why are you throwing the child!"
"Honey, my wife!" Xu Shan scooped up his wife and spun her around several times.
Mrs. Xu's face turned bright red as she pounded on her husband's shoulder: "Put me down! I'm so dizzy!"
The farmers laughed and gathered around, calling her "Sister-in-law!"
"sister in law!"
Xu Shan proudly introduced, "This is my wife, she's the best midwife in our hometown! Whenever any of my brothers have a baby, they'll ask your sister-in-law for help!"
A young man hurriedly grabbed Xu Shan: "Brother Xu, my wife is due to give birth in two months. It's her first time, and it's twins. Doctor Liu said the delivery might be dangerous, so you must come!"
"Definitely, definitely!"
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