Chapter 159
When the last two men went out, they were carrying several huge wooden barrels in their hands.
After walking a few steps, Chen Chunxing began to regret: "I shouldn't have let Lao Yang go just now."
I don't know what happened to Xue Yongan. He came back twice to call for help. Not only did he call Yang Yi away, he also didn't let Shen Mingqiu and Wu Min go.
Diao rolled her eyes and shouted at Shen Zhixia, "Hurry up and find out where those children are staying!"
Shen Zhixia opened her mouth and closed it in frustration. She couldn't speak, and even asking for directions was difficult.
Since everyone in the family ran away, Chen Yandong naturally wouldn't stay alone.
He was holding Wu Qing's left hand and hugging Ajiu with his right hand. Although he was the youngest, he insisted on acting like the eldest brother!
At this moment, seeing the three people in front stopped to rest, Chen Yandong became excited, rushed over and crashed into a half-closed courtyard.
"My grandma asked me to ask where the child is!"
The man sitting in the yard washing clothes was stunned and said aggrievedly: "I have a wife, why should I sit here?"
Chen Yandong corrected with a stern face: "It's a child, not a daughter-in-law!"
The man was so aggrieved that he was about to cry, but he still had to hold the village chief's grandson in his arms. He stood up suddenly, walked quickly into the house, picked up a package from the table, and stuffed it into Chen Yandong's hand, saying righteously: "How can there be a child without a wife? Ask the village chief to find me one someday. I'm not picky! As long as we can live a good life, that's enough!"
“…”
The three kids came out with candied winter melons in their mouths. Chen Yandong looked confused: "Grandma, what is a wife? Can it be exchanged for candy?"
Diao was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
He really knows how to find one. There aren't many men in the village right now, and bachelors are even rarer!
Ajiu ate a piece of candied winter melon, licked his hands, and imitated Chen Yandong, sneaking into a house on the side of the road.
"Excuse me, pretty sister, have you seen the group of children who came into the village today?"
"ah?"
There was a sound of surprise in the courtyard at first, and then it turned into joy.
"I've seen it, it's right next to the village school! Do you want me to take you there?"
As he was speaking, someone pushed open the door, revealing a skinny woman.
No matter how you look at it, it looks like he's thirty or above!
Everyone looked at Ajiu.
The tender-faced little baby waved his hands shyly and said thank you.
"Oh, how come you are so sweet, kid! Eat this! Come to me if you need anything!"
Under the scorching gazes of the crowd, the woman didn't feel comfortable calling herself sister, but she felt very happy in her heart.
"Look at them, and then look at you two." Chen Chunxing was so disappointed with his child that he turned around and found three children sharing a piece of sweet rice dumpling, and their six little hands were all sticky.
After Chen Yandong finished eating the sweet rice noodle, he wiped it on Ajiu. After Ajiu was silent, he put his little hand on Wu Qing's shoulder. Wu Qing blinked and simply raised his hand to rub Chen Yandong's face.
The silly kid giggled the whole time.
The elderly people from several neighboring households were startled and came out to look for the old hen everywhere.
Diao quickly pulled Chen Chunxing, "Let's go! Let's go! I know that place!"
Losing face is a small matter, but being treated like a chicken spirit by the villagers is a big deal!
Shen Zhixia stamped her feet and followed. She was tired and couldn't wash anymore, so let it go!
The three children laughed all the way, and even Jiu's heart felt less gloomy.
He suddenly felt that it was okay to be a little stupid, at least he could live freely.
Now that they knew the exact location, the things in their hands no longer felt heavy, and they quickly found themselves near the school.
It is called a school, but in fact it is just a dilapidated yard.
Time was tight before the New Year, so everyone only managed to repair the houses where people lived. Then the imperial court came to conscript soldiers, taking away almost all the men, leaving many people short of manpower. Now, I'm so busy selling pickles that I don't have time to help.
Old Qi was not picky. When he was in the city, he lived in the poorest west part of the city. Even though his house had a blue brick base and a thatched roof, it was still drafty everywhere and was no different from living in a narrow village.
When Chen Chunxing and his companions arrived, Old Qi was leading people to cook for the children. When he saw the food in their hands, he put down the big spoon with a smile on his face.
"Very good, very good. If you had come a little later, I would have put too much rice in."
There was no kitchen in the school, only a thatched shed. Chen Chunxing stretched his head and glanced at the pot.
The wild vegetables are mixed with rice grains, which is thinner than porridge, but the quantity is large.
There were one, two, three... a total of twenty-eight radish heads standing in the yard.
She counted it once, and again, and became more and more confused.
I just walked around the village, how come thirteen more children appeared?
They all looked unfamiliar faces and she was sure she had never seen them before.
"Are these Mr. Qi's...grandsons?" Chen Chunxing was not sure.
"That's fine if you say so." Old Qi smiled and picked up the bowl to serve food to the children.
The unfamiliar faces lined up and received the delicious food, but they did not rush to eat it. Instead, they gave it to the newcomers who were standing next to them stupidly without moving.
Diao glared at Chen Chunxing and lowered her voice to explain, "Those are orphans adopted by Mr. Qi... I came back a few days late and didn't see the scene when he first arrived. I heard from the villagers that, oh my god, even the second uncle at the head of the village was moved to tears!"
Mr. Qi studied the books of sages for fifty-nine years but still failed to pass the imperial examination. He felt that since he was not smart, he should make more contributions. So, he spent all his money on buying books and adopting orphans.
The day we arrived at the narrow village.
It was just dawn.
Just as the villagers were about to go out to set up their stalls, they saw a group of people slowly walking towards them.
The old man in the lead had gray hair on his temples. He was carrying a babbling child on his back and holding another in his arms. His arms were tied with cloth strips that were heavy with something inside, and no one knew what was inside. The cloth strips weighed down his shoulders.
More than ten children followed the old man, and each child was holding a thick stack of books in his arms.
They stood at the entrance of the narrow village, facing the morning dew, looking at the passing villagers with a little restraint. After hesitating for a long time, they finally asked in a whisper, "Miss Shen from the county magistrate's family... does she live here?"
There was no gold or silver jewelry, no personal belongings, and no cumbersome daily necessities.
All Mr. Qi brought with him were thirteen children and a wall full of books.
There are both new and old writings, neat printed characters and sloppy and wild handwriting.
Chen Chunxing went to the empty room where the books were stored and walked out in silence.
"Actually, these books aren't just mine. In Honglu County, we used to have a county school. When the city was broken, everyone fled in panic, and I picked up these things..."
Outside the house, after distributing the food, Mr. Qi poured himself a bowl of wild vegetable soup, looked curiously at the Maoxuewang in the children's bowls, waved his hand, and squatted in the corner to sip.
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