Chapter 212: Gravel? An afternoon?
The next morning, the old man got up early as usual and went out for a walk, and also stopped by the winery for breakfast.
Xu Yu sat silently in the yard chopping wood. Uncle Xu saw the old man coming in with his hands behind his back, and hurriedly winked at him.
The old man looked strange: "What's wrong with your eyes?"
Uncle Xu: “…”
Uncle Xu quickly turned his head to look at the stove behind him and whispered, "Father, this..."
"Grandfather, you're here."
Sang Zhixia came over with the prepared breakfast, said hello, then turned back and brought back a lunch box. The food box was filled with food for the old lady who stayed at home, although whether she would eat it or not was another matter.
There was an unusual silence at the dinner table. After Uncle Xu San and Xu Yu finished their meal, they went to the wine cellar one after another.
Sang Zhixia wrinkled her nose and spoke seriously, "Grandfather, Xu Yu went too far yesterday."
The old man didn't take it seriously and said lightly: "Hasn't that been punished?"
"It's true that you punished him, but how could you make Xu Yu kneel for so long?"
Sang Zhixia thought of the purple bruises exposed when Xu Ao rolled up his trouser legs, and her brows knitted together. "He's already grown up, and you're still making him kneel on gravel for an entire afternoon. He can't even straighten his legs, and he can't walk properly. What if he hurts his knees?"
Those who make mistakes should be punished, but the method of punishment cannot be so harsh.
The bruise on Xu Yu's knee will definitely take at least ten days or half a month to heal. What if he really suffers from it and becomes a cripple?
The old man paused inexplicably while drinking his tea: "Gravel?"
When did he make Xu Yu kneel down and break stones?
Sang Zhixia looked at the old man eagerly and said, "Grandfather, it's not like Xu Yu doesn't understand what you're saying. If he makes a mistake, can't you just scold him a few more times? If that doesn't work, you can just give him a spanking like you did with Xu Mingyang and the others. Why make him kneel?"
Still kneeling on gravel!
The old man was speechless and didn't know how to respond.
Sang Zhixia rambled on and on about the various disadvantages of using force to punish someone, and her words seemed to treat Xu Yu as an innocent and pitiful three-year-old child, with heartache filling her words.
The old man was so angry that he laughed. He put down his teacup and said, "Xu Yu told you that I punished him by making him kneel on the broken stones?"
Sang Zhixia looked gloomy. "He didn't say a word, but the injury was so obvious, couldn't it be seen at a glance?"
"Grandfather, I've already told him, please don't make him kneel again."
"Xu Yu really knows he was wrong!"
The old man thought that the boy probably didn't think he was wrong, but when the words came to his lips, they turned into a compromising snort.
"You're so old, but you're getting older and older."
When he was a few years old, he was punished and scolded. The little guy, who was not even as tall as his shoulders, was very stubborn and never bowed his head.
He became really reckless when he grew up. He was whipped, forced to kneel, or even beaten with a stick. He never frowned even when his skin was torn. Now he has learned to complain to his wife?
Sang Zhixia was worried that the old man would pick up the whip again, so she quickly said, "Xu Yu didn't ask me to say that. I just think that the disadvantages of using force to punish people outweigh the benefits. Grandfather..."
"Then why didn't you say the same thing when you were spanked for not writing your characters well?"
Sang Zhixia touched his nose and hummed softly, "Isn't that because Grandfather showed mercy and didn't hurt?"
She always thought that the old man was all talk and no action, but who knew he would be so cruel to Xu Yu!
Sang Zhixia thought about how Xu Yu didn't want to be discovered, and tried to walk normally, but ended up tearing his skin with countless tiny cuts. She couldn't help but plead for Xu Yu: "Grandfather, Xu Yu truly knows he's wrong. You've said it, and you've punished him. So let this matter be over, right?"
According to Uncle Xu, when the old man punished people, especially Xu Yu, he never stopped at once. The minimum punishment was always three days.
Based on past experience, when Sang Zhixia goes to the fields today, Xu Yu is afraid that he will continue to kneel as punishment.
How is that possible?
Sang Zhixia was just about to say that Xu Yu had to go to the fields to help her and was too busy, but the old man stared at her and laughed meaningfully.
"That's all."
"You've come all this way to plead for him. If I keep pestering you, it'll seem like an old man like me is being unforgiving. But..."
Sang Zhixia's heart suddenly rose to her throat as the old man spoke. Then he said slowly, "Since you know he sometimes acts out of line, and you don't want to see him punished, if you notice something in the future, you should give him more advice so he doesn't go too far."
"That brat might not listen to your mother-in-law, and he's unlikely to listen to me either. Your words are effective, so don't indulge him too much when you need to."
"Otherwise, if you don't want to care, then you can only do it according to my method. Don't feel bad and come to me to cry when the time comes."
Sang Zhixia blinked with a somewhat unhappy look on her face, but the old man sneered, "Alright, I promised you that everything will be fine."
"Aren't you going to the threshing floor? Aren't you going to pack up your things?"
Sang Zhixia went to pack up the trivial things to take to the threshing ground. The old man walked to the side of the wine cellar with a food box, looking at the relatively silent uncle and nephew with a bad look.
"Grumble?"
"All afternoon?"
The corners of Xu Yu's mouth twitched silently. Uncle Xu, with his much larger head, grumbled, "Blame me for being quick-witted... This... This is actually none of Xu Yu's business..."
Last night, Sang Zhixia noticed something was wrong and pulled Xu Yu into the house to find out what was going on.
Xu Yu deliberately changed into clothes that would not show any marks, but the marks left on his skin from kneeling for three hours could not be removed for a while.
It looks quite scary.
When Uncle Xu saw this, he gasped and blurted out, "Grandpa has punished you to kneel on broken stones again?"
Xu Yu denied it on the spot, but Sang Zhixia obviously took it seriously.
Then whatever I said would become an excuse, and I couldn't make myself clear at all.
Uncle Xu and Xu Yu had never thought that Sang Zhixia would actually dare to go and argue with the old man. The Xu family had never had such a brave person before...
Is it true that being favored makes one feel fearless?
The old man snorted without saying anything. His eyes fell on Xu Yu's legs and he asked in a deep voice, "What's the matter with the injury that Xia girl mentioned?"
Kneeling for a few hours won't cause any harm, unless the injury was already there.
Xu Yu confessed honestly, "A few days ago, I went to the woods to look for something and scratched the cliff."
When he knelt yesterday, he looked even more horrifying.
The old man glanced at him with an ambiguous expression and said coldly, "Be more careful in the future. Don't get into trouble and have no place to complain. In the end, you'll need an old man to make excuses for you."
"I'm old now, and I can't bear so many false accusations."
Xu Yu bowed his head respectfully and responded seriously. Uncle Xu also said quickly, "I will never say anything without knowing the inside story. Don't worry, father!"
The old man left unsatisfied.
When they arrived at the threshing ground, Sang Zhixia didn't dare let Xu Yu walk around too much. Instead, she found a small stool for him to sit on. She also built a platform with several straw stacks and covered it with a large flat wooden board to serve as a temporary table for him.
"You sit here and make some extra copies of this for later use."
Xu Yu opened the folded paper, read the contents, and said, "Leave the fields and names blank. Are the rest copied the same?"
"right."
Sang Zhixia took out the inkstone and paper she had brought with her and arranged them, speaking quickly: "I explained almost everything to everyone yesterday. I'm sure someone will come and ask questions today."
"This is the contract I drafted. If you want to join the farm, you can sign it in duplicate. We'll keep one copy, and the signer will keep one for themselves. This way, both parties will feel more at ease."
It is impossible to deny the signature and seal written in black and white.
Only when these explicit rules are established can subsequent major actions avoid major mistakes.
Xu Yu thought more carefully than Sang Zhixia.
He said, "It's good to sign a contract, but don't forget that most of the villagers are illiterate."
It wouldn't hurt to explain it a few more times, but the deed was drafted by the Xu family, and not everyone would believe what he said.
Sang Zhixia was suddenly in a dilemma. Xu Yu spread out the paper and said, "Isn't there an old man in the village who passed the examination for a Tongsheng?"
"He was born and raised in Luobei Village and has considerable influence in the village. If we invite him to testify, there will naturally be fewer people questioning him."
Sang Zhixia suddenly realized, left Xu Yu and hurried to ask for help.
Xu Yu had just copied three pages when someone approached him tentatively, "Xu Yu, I heard your family is planning to start a farm. Even those without land can join. Is that true?"
Xu Yu put down the paper and pen in his hand, looked at the visitor and smiled: "It's true."
"interested?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
