My name is Zhang Xiangyun. When I was very old, I could no longer take care of myself. People came to visit me one after another. When I was dying, my children were so sad that they wrote down my story.
When I was thirteen years old, I went up the mountain to collect grass for pigs as usual. This kind of work could earn me three to five cents a day. At the age of thirteen, I was able to earn this much work points. After helping to take care of my younger brother, wash clothes and cook at home, I would go to the team to get baskets to collect grass for pigs.
The sun was particularly strong that day, making my eyes a little dark. I was walking down the mountain carrying a basket full of pig grass. I accidentally tripped over a big rock, and the sickle slipped out of my hand and fell at my feet.
"Ouch!" The intense pain woke me up instantly. I no longer felt dizzy or blurry. In panic, I saw a cut on my leg caused by the sickle.
The bright red blood gushed out uncontrollably.
A dirty old man nearby was watching the old lady beside him pressing my foot to stop the bleeding. He quickly ran to the side to pick up some wild grass, chewed it in his mouth, and came back to press it on my foot.
"This herb can stop bleeding. Apply it first. I'll find you some anti-inflammatory and healing herbs."
I was terribly scared at the time, because they were the stinky old guys living in the cowshed, and normally people in the village would not approach them.
Now that they have contacted me, will I also become a stinky old ninth? I don't want to be a bullpen!
Although my family is not rich, living in an environment like that in a cowshed can be fatal!
I shrank back and quickly refused, "No, no, I'm fine, I want to go home."
As I struggled to stand up, my ankle hurt so much that I cried out, and before I could stand firmly I fell to the ground again.
"Why are you so stubborn, kid? Old man, she can't be like this. Go find the captain."
As soon as I heard that they were going to call the captain, I stopped struggling. The captain is a good man, he would definitely not misunderstand me, and I was injured.
After the team leader arrived, he sent me to the barefoot doctor and told the two stinky old men not to contact the villagers unless necessary.
I think he must be afraid that those two stinky old nines will hurt people in our village. After all, they are called "sucking old nines", so they must be very bad people, right?
I went home and told my parents about this. Although my parents, like many other families, favor boys over girls, they value their daughter very much and are very concerned about me.
After hearing what I said, they took a few eggs and took me to the captain's house.
"Thank you so much. I only have one daughter, and I don't want her to do any heavy work. Captain, you saved my daughter's life today!"
The captain quickly declined, "It was just something I could do. I have to thank the two old men in the cowshed for this. Do you think it would be convenient for us to exchange these eggs for sweet potatoes, corn or something? They are really pitiful."
"But, captain, aren't they the stinking ninths? Aren't they here for reform?" I didn't understand. In my impression, the stinking ninths were bad people.
My father quickly covered my mouth to stop me from talking nonsense, and smiled at the captain: "The children can't speak, so should we bring something to say thank you to them?"
"You don't have to go. Let Xiangyun take them. Don't take too many. Just take a little at a time. The two old men are capable and not bad people. The person who sent them here also asked us to take good care of them. I'm thinking of asking them to take a disciple in the village and pass down their skills. Your Xiangyun has a connection with them, so let's see if they are willing to take him in."
My parents hesitated. That was Chou Laojiu. They didn't want me to get close to Chou Laojiu.
But I understood what the captain said. Those two people are talented. If I get close to them, I can learn great skills, and my life may be secure in the future.
So when my parents were hesitating, I told the captain, "I am willing to go. The captain said they are not bad people, so I am not afraid."
That night, my parents sent me outside the cowshed, and I walked into the cowshed carrying a bag of potatoes and sweet potatoes.
The two old men were very wary of my arrival, but they were not wary of me; they were afraid that I might be seen by someone with ulterior motives.
They looked outside and I quickly told them that my parents were outside helping me watch over the place, and only then did they feel relieved.
I said, "Grandpa and grandma, I came here today to thank you and for what happened during the day. I'm sorry. I didn't understand you and thought you were bad people."
My apology and thanks were very sincere. My grandparents are really nice people. They were very gentle. They forgave me and told me not to come again in the future as it would be bad for me if seen by someone with ulterior motives.
They are really nice people. During the day, they must have been afraid that others would see me staying with them, so they called the captain.
I encouraged myself in my heart and repeated what the captain had said to me, with sincerity as the main point.
"this……"
They were very hesitant, with desire in their eyes, but they did not dare to agree.
I took a step back, endured the severe pain, and knelt down with a plop to kowtow to them.
At that time, everyone was poor, and the most serious way to express gratitude and apology was a pair of knees.
"Hey, girl, what are you doing? You've already said thank you and given me the gifts, but your foot isn't healed yet. If you move so violently, the wound will open again and bleed. Don't you want it to heal?"
They pulled me up, scolded me, and checked the injury on my foot.
Grandma touched my hair and said with emotion: "You met us, it is fate. Since we came here, we thought that the skills that the old man and I have may not be passed on in this lifetime. If you have some talent, we are willing to teach you everything we know. It depends on you how much you can learn."
"Just be careful not to let others see it. It's not good for you."
This is considered as acknowledging the master-disciple relationship.
I didn't stay in the cowshed for long, as I was soon "driven" out by them. My parents were waiting for me outside.
My father, who was still very old at that time, squatted down, carried me on his back, and took me home. On the way, he asked what my grandparents said.
I repeated what they said. My parents were not like other parents who asked girls why they should learn these things. Instead, they encouraged me to study hard.
My mother also said, "It's almost winter, and they may not have thick clothes and quilts. I will take apart the cotton in the old quilts at home, dry them in the sun, and make some clothes for them."
In the winter in Xi County, the temperature is not particularly low, but it is colder inside the house than outside, and it is damp and chilly. When it gets cold, the chill seems to penetrate into your bones.
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