Chapter 82: Meng Yi meets someone [Jinjiang authentic version, exclusive release, double pupil boy]...
Unfortunately, he couldn't go back to the countryside, so he could only bite the bullet and find a way to take root in the county town.
After failing to find a job, Gou'er reflected on it and began to lower his application standards. Since "free food and accommodation, thirty Qinbanliang a month" was not enough, then "free food and accommodation, twenty Qinbanliang a month" would also be fine.
What?
He didn’t even give me “twenty Qinbanliang” a month.
"Ten Qin Banliang" is not too much, right?
If you don’t give me even a penny, then I must provide food and lodging!
What? No food? No accommodation?
You want me to stay in your shop and work like a slave for free?
Pooh!
After looking for a lot of jobs, Goudan was completely hit hard by the depressed job market in the county town.
What’s even more terrifying is that the ten Qin Banliang coins he had tightly in his arms when he left home are almost used up!
In mid-June, a bright sun hung in the blue sky, and the scorching sunlight emitted by the sun was so stinging that people could hardly open their eyes.
Waves of heat surged in the air. Gou'er, who had been wandering the streets of the county town for ten days, did not look better after coming to the city, but became even sloppier.
With nowhere to go, he had to sleep in a shabby wooden shed on the street corner at night. From the outside, he really looked no different from a beggar. The only thing that showed that he was not a beggar was the matte gold sword he wore at his waist.
[well. ]
It’s too difficult!
Tired and hungry.
After struggling to survive a night huddled in a dilapidated wooden shed on the street corner with my stomach growling with hunger, the sky brightened and the land of Chu welcomed another morning filled with morning glow.
Today is the twelfth day since Goudan came to Huaiyin County.
The temperature was not too high in the early morning. Gou'er was so hungry that his stomach was growling with hunger. He touched the only Qin Banliang left in his arms with his right hand and felt very depressed.
If he spent the last Qin Banliang today, he would really have no money left.
Driven by the terrible hunger that burned his heart and lungs, the exhausted Goudan dragged his heavy feet and unknowingly stumbled into the bustling morning market, touching his empty stomach.
The morning market was still the same morning market, exactly the same as the day he first came. There were many stalls on both sides of the road and many people coming to the market. The only thing was that he looked thinner and more destitute.
When the people from Huaiyin who came to the morning market saw Goudan'er's dirty appearance, they couldn't help but cover their nostrils with their fingers in disgust and move away.
Gou'er's entire attention was consumed by the terrible feeling of hunger, and he didn't even bother to pay attention to the expressions of the people around him.
In this world, only those who have enough food and clothing and have a full stomach will value their dignity.
People who are starving and may die at any moment have no dignity and do not care about dignity.
The sky is full of morning glow and the time is bright.
In front of a meat stall emitting a strong smell of blood, a strong young butcher just threw the half pork on his back onto the long wooden board for cutting meat with a "hey yo" and picked up two sharp knives to sharpen them on the whetstone. He was about to cut this piece of "cheap meat" as the nobles called it into small pieces along the ribs, when he saw a familiar skinny little figure wandering past in his field of vision.
The young butcher was stunned and looked up subconsciously. After seeing the sloppy appearance and unsteady steps of the little figure, a hint of sarcasm flashed across his eyes.
With a "bang", he chopped the two big knives onto a thick meat-cutting log, grabbed a long, slippery sweat towel and put it around his neck, then walked around the meat stall and quickly caught up with the small figure who was wobbling as he walked. He moved in front of the young boy, crossed his arms over his chest, lowered his gaze, and glanced up and down at the young boy with his triangular eyes. His eyes fixed on the Jijin sword hanging at the young boy's waist. A trace of greed flashed in the depths of his eyes, but a sneer appeared on his face. He raised his eyebrows arrogantly and said:
"Oh! Where on earth is this foul smell coming from so early in the morning? It's like a disgusting, smelly fly buzzing around the morning market, making people feel uncomfortable. Turns out it's Han Goudan, the guy from Nanchang Pavilion who lost his parents long ago and eats and drinks for free, who's sneaked into the morning market this guy is visiting."
From ancient times to the present and into the future, the love of watching fun and farming is deeply ingrained in the Chinese people.
Originally, this sloppy young boy had been disliked by the local snack vendors after appearing at the morning market for a few days.
Now, hearing the young butcher's cursing and laughing, it meant that the two of them obviously knew each other. The other vendors around and the passers-by who were walking around all stopped what they were doing in an instant, and stretched their necks like geese to look at the two people who seemed to be at odds with each other.
Goudan, who was so hungry that his eyes were blurry, heard a familiar and sarcastic laugh ringing in his ears as if through a layer of fog. He tried hard to overcome the dizziness in his head and forced himself to open his eyes to look at the sturdy young man blocking his way. It took him more than ten breaths to finally recognize who it was.
This fat and big-eared young butcher is his fellow townsman and is quite famous in the pavilion.
He had a relative who sold meat in the county town. Every month, the butcher would bring slaughtered livestock from the pavilion to his relative's meat stall in the county town. The food conditions at home were only slightly worse than those of the pavilion chief's family.
The Jijin sword left to him by his father was like a piece of fat meat that the young butcher had been coveting for a long time. He asked him for it many times in the pavilion, but he refused to give it to him.
Unexpectedly, his luck today was so bad. He was so hungry that he almost fainted, and he was unlucky enough to meet such a domineering and annoying guy.
Gou'er, who was unable to argue with the annoying guy, touched his empty stomach and just wanted to walk around the butcher to keep things quiet. Unexpectedly, when he passed by the butcher, he was pushed to the ground by the butcher.
Goudan was caught off guard by the heavy push and fell to the ground, his already dizzy head becoming even more dizzy.
After seeing this scene, the crowd around burst into laughter.
The butcher looked at the young boy slumped on the ground, licked his two bared teeth with his tongue, raised his greasy, rough hand, pointed at the slumped Gou Dan'er, and said sarcastically while looking at the onlookers and laughing:
"Everyone, please keep your eyes open and stay away from this unlucky star! He's a very famous little scourge in our pavilion. When he was two, his father died, and when he was eight, his mother died. Even after both his parents died, he acted like a debt collector, fawning over every household in the pavilion and asking for food and drinks! He's really annoying the villagers here!"
"Now this unfortunate debt collector has suddenly appeared in the county town. I bet he must have been driven out of the pavilion by the villagers who couldn't stand him anymore! Everyone, please keep your eyes open and stay away from him. Don't be careless and get tainted by this calamity that brings bad luck to your parents. If the bad luck continues to spread to your entire family, it will be disastrous!"
The people who were originally watching the excitement, when they heard the butcher's terrible words, immediately took several steps back as if avoiding the plague. However, the eyes of the onlookers flashed with bright lights and they continued to stare at the little beggar on the ground.
A very tall young man in a khaki robe had just bought a large bag of hot buns wrapped in lotus leaves from the wheat food stall. Hearing the noise, he squeezed into the crowd to watch the excitement. After hearing the butcher shouting the harsh words "Unlucky father and mother", the fragrant meat bun that the young man had just bitten into his mouth instantly became less fragrant.
The tall boy, whose parents also died young and who was raised by his uncle since childhood, felt that he was offended just for watching the fun. He frowned and looked at the arrogant young butcher, then looked at the young boy who was as thin as a piece of black iron and was sitting on the ground.
The butcher had a domineering look on his face, but the young boy, as strong as iron, just kept his head down in silence. He couldn't see the expression on the other's face clearly, but he could feel that the other was in a very bad mood.
The young butcher seemed to be completely oblivious to or unconcerned with the gloomy aura emanating from the young boy. He simply put his two greasy hands behind his back, grinned, and slowly walked up to the young boy. He raised his black straw-sandaled right foot and kicked the young boy's arm, laughing teasingly.
"Han Goudan, Han Goudan, you little scoundrel, yet you're walking around with a dagger on your waist all day long. With your humble status, do you understand how to wear a sword?"
"How about this, since we're from the same pavilion, if you're brave enough, draw your sword and fight me today in front of everyone. If you can beat me, I'll give you a piece of meat and a basket of hot buns. If you don't dare to fight me, just crawl through my door in front of all my fellow villagers, and I'll call you a coward, unworthy of a sword, and give you a basket of hot buns. How about we call this matter over now?"
After hearing the butcher's blatantly insulting words, the tall young man could no longer eat the big meat bun in his right hand and felt nauseous.
The rest of the onlookers suddenly became noisy and watched the excitement without caring about the trouble. Some whistled, while others laughed and clapped their hands and shouted:
"Little beggar, stand up quickly and fight this butcher. If you please me, I will give you a basket of hot buns!"
"Huh? You really just want to watch the fun and don't mind making trouble. This little beggar is as thin as a bamboo pole, and his height is just up to the butcher's waist. I'm afraid his thin arms and legs can't withstand a kick from the butcher. If someone dies in the street, it will be a bad ending. After all, we are not Chu people now, and we are subject to the cumbersome Qin laws. In my opinion, little beggar, don't even think about fighting with others. Just crawl through the butcher's crotch like a puppy. Hahahaha, I have lived for decades and have never seen anyone crawl through someone's crotch in front of me. If you crawl through someone's crotch today and make me happy, I will reward you with two baskets of hot buns and a hundred Qin half liang!"
"Right, right! Let's do the hip thrust! The hip thrust looks great! The difference in their physiques is too great. How can a fight be as good as a hip thrust?!"
"Hip!"
"Hip!"
"Hurry up and get into the crotch!"
The interest of the onlookers was completely aroused by these inflammatory words. Some of them even took out a Qin Banliang from their pockets and smashed it on the head of the little beggar who was sitting on the ground with his head down, as if he was watching a street circus.
The copper Qin Banliang hit the messy hair like dry grass and fell to the ground with a "thud". The man who threw the money also touched his round belly, frowned and shouted:
"Little beggar, hurry up and get under my crotch! I have plenty of rewards!"
"Hip!"
"Yes, hurry up and get in! If you don't get in now, the sun will be scorching hot in a little while! How can we stand here and watch the fun?"
Dissatisfied voices rang out among the crowd.
Listening to the shouting of the people around him, the young butcher's eyes and eyebrows were full of smiles, as if he was a victorious rooster. At this moment, he didn't want to fight with Goudaner anymore. He deeply felt that it would be better to let Goudaner crawl through his mouth in front of everyone in the market.
The young butcher, his fighting spirit and interest all surging in his head, stretched out his thick neck, and a series of "crunching" sounds came from his neck joints. Then he reached out and lifted up his clothes, half-crouched, revealing his hairy legs and the thing underneath that smelled strongly of urine. As if trying to trick a little black dog into crawling through a dog hole, he raised his right hand and hooked his finger at the young boy who was sitting on the ground with his head down, mocking him:
"Suck, suck, suck, come on, little puppy! Hurry up and get under Grandpa's crotch! Don't keep everyone waiting anxiously!"
The tall young man holding a bun in the crowd had his long eyebrows twisted into a knot.
At this time, a tall man in black heard the noise and walked towards the crowd. He glanced around and saw what was happening here.
There were so many unfortunate people suffering in the world that he couldn't manage them all. He had a mission to accomplish. Just as the young man was about to turn around and leave, he heard the butcher behind him shouting loudly with a cackle:
"Hahahahaha, Han Gou'er! Han Xin! Didn't you hear grandpa telling you to get under his crotch? Are you deaf? Or blind? Grandpa told you to get under his crotch, don't you understand?!"
"Yeah, hurry up and get in there! Everyone's waiting here to see you get in their crotch!"
"Little beggar, please don't waste everyone's time here. You have to know that if you delay one person for a quarter of an hour, that means you've delayed a group of people for a quarter of an hour. If you add up all those quarters of an hour, do you know how much time you've wasted?"
"It's annoying! Get out of here!"
“Bang, bang, bang!”
Seven or eight Qin Banliang coins flew from all directions towards Han Xin who was sitting on the ground. Some hit his head, some hit his face, slid down his dirty clothes to his hands and legs, and fell in a circle around his thin body.
The young Han Xin stared blankly at the Qin Banliang lying in a mess on the yellow earth.
The tall young man holding a steamed bun in the crowd looked at the young boy named Han Xin on the ground. His mouth twitched, and he was completely speechless. Could it be that this guy was made of mud and had no temper at all? Now that he had been insulted to this extent, why didn't he stand up and resist fiercely?
If it were him, the moment the butcher rushed over to block his way like a vicious dog, he would have lifted him up high like a tripod and slammed him to the ground. Why would he wait for the butcher to yell at him at the top of his lungs?!
Early in the morning, the tall, ugly young man, who was furious at the cowardly little beggar from Huaiyin, was about to stop watching and turn around to leave to reunite with his uncle when he suddenly heard the excited shouts of the people around him:
"Ouch! Look! Look, the poor little beggar is finally moving! He's going to get under the butcher's crotch!"
Upon hearing this, the tall young man turned his head again and looked at the black iron young man who was being bullied. He was so angry that he almost died!
The little beggar actually stood up silently from the ground. Instead of pretending to draw the sword at his waist to fight with the butcher who bullied him, he pulled his clothes and prepared to squat down and crawl under the butcher's disgusting crotch like a little black dog.
[This is so disgusting! You are so cowardly, you deserve to be bullied by evil people!]
The tall young man showed disgust on his face, turned his double-pupiled eyes away from the two of them, and glanced to the side.
The young Han Xin clenched his fists, listening to the laughter and mockery around him. There was a frost in his eyes and his lips were tightly pursed, but he did not stop moving forward.
Haha - so what if I drill into your crotch?
He even fought wild dogs for food just to survive! He had been ridiculed countless times since he was a child! If he had remembered every taunt and ridicule, he would have died of anger long ago.
He can't beat the butcher now, but as long as he can keep him alive, he will be able to beat him one day!
Today, he could get a bunch of hot buns by crawling through this disgusting hole. Compared with the hot buns that could keep him alive, his dignity was as light as a feather...
The tall young man in black standing in the crowd with a sword in his arms narrowed his eyes and looked at the young boy named "Han Xin" silently, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
The young butcher, holding his clothes with his greasy and bloody hands, looked at Han Xin squatting on the ground with a grim smile, supporting himself with his hands on the yellow earth, and moving his feet towards him little by little.
That dark little face was getting closer and closer to him. In just a few breaths, he would be able to trample the little bit of dignity of this little troublemaker under his feet in front of everyone in the city!
The young butcher was so excited that his breathing became rapid and his mouth corners were almost stretched to his ears.
The tall boy holding the bun had a face that was so dark that it was unsightly. He wanted to turn around and leave, but he was also hoping to see some changes.
The rest of the onlookers also held their breath, their eyes wide open as they watched with excitement the rare scene of playful and insulting behavior before them.
They were watching with burning eyes the dirty little beggar with shaggy hair who was about to slip through the young butcher's neck, their hearts leaping with joy. In a flash, a tall and handsome man in black walked out of the crowd holding a long sword.
Before the onlookers could figure out what the man in black was trying to do, they saw him raise one of his long legs with a stern expression and kick the young butcher, who was squatting with his skirt held up, hard in the buttocks.
The young butcher's eyes suddenly filled with tears. He screamed "Ah!" and covered his lower body with his two big hands. He fell to the ground and rolled around screaming in pain.
This sudden change shocked the crowd of onlookers. All the men present, regardless of their age, felt as if they had been kicked too and had phantom pains when they saw the young butcher rolling on the ground in pain.
The young man with double pupils was stunned. Han Xin, who was squatting on the ground, also looked up blankly at the tall man in black who kicked the young butcher and walked towards him.
The man had handsome features, was dressed in black, and had a side bun on his head. He was obviously a Qin person who came from the west.
He didn't understand why this strange Qin man would help him, and the onlookers also didn't understand what this Qin man was trying to do.
After Qin conquered the six kingdoms, although there was no clear chain of contempt in the world, the common people tacitly assumed that the Qin people in the west were the strongest, and the Han people in the Central Plains, who were the first to perish, were the weakest.
The market is guarded by soldiers. After all, if you want to set up a stall in the market, you have to pay a stall fee.
Several Huaiyin soldiers in khaki clothes were also watching the excitement in the crowd. When they saw a Qin man rushing in and ruining the place, although they were a little scared, they saw that the butcher would always give them a few pieces of fat meat as a reward every time he came to the market.
Furthermore, this is the territory under their jurisdiction. If they allow this Qin man to come and interfere, wouldn’t their dignity be damaged?
For the sake of those pieces of fat meat and their own dignity, a few Huaiyin soldiers pretended to be brave. Holding the swords at their waists, they walked through the crowd with crab steps to the black-clothed man, frowning and shouting in dissatisfaction:
"Hey, what's wrong with you, Qinren? Are you trying to cause trouble by bullying the butcher for no reason?"
The tall Qin man with a cold expression looked around and saw that the crowd who were originally clapping and watching the show all avoided his gaze when they met his. However, a tall young man holding a bun looked at him calmly without any fear when his eyes met his. Seeing that the other party had a pair of rare double pupils, the young Qin man couldn't help but be a little surprised. Before he could take a closer look, his attention was pulled back by the Huaiyin soldiers in front of him.
"What are you looking at? I'm asking you a question! Didn't you hear me?"
"Even if you are from Xianyang and come to Huaiyin, you have to abide by our rules!"
Upon hearing this, the Qin youth looked at the Chu soldiers in front of him and sneered:
"It seems that the popularity of Qin Law in Huaiyin is still too low."
"This butcher caused trouble in the street, insulting and committing lewd acts against an ordinary underage child. This violates Qin law and should be fined one rank of armor, imprisoned, tortured, and paraded through the streets for ten days."
"The rest of the onlookers should have bravely taken action, but they chose not to. This also violated Qin law. According to the law..."
The crowd who were originally there to watch the fun scattered like birds and beasts as soon as they saw the young Qin man who was well versed in Qin laws and was serious about explaining the laws in the street.
The passersby could run, but the rest of the snack vendors couldn't run away immediately. They all squatted on the ground, holding their heads with their hands, trying to cover their ears and steal the bell, thinking that the man who carried Qin Lu on his back in the street would not see them.
The young butcher was rolling on the ground with cold sweat dripping from the pain. He originally thought that a few soldiers guarding the city could capture the hateful Qin man who kicked him. Unexpectedly, this Qin man was well versed in Qin laws. When he heard the laws and punishments told to him by the Qin young man, the young butcher closed his eyes instantly. No matter whether he was really fainting or pretending, he fainted anyway.
Several Chu soldiers looked at each other in shock, not knowing what to do. Then they saw the tall Qin youth who recited the Qin law take out a token from his bosom.
After seeing the golden characters engraved on the pitch-black token, the soldiers guarding the city were so frightened that they dropped to their knees on the yellow earth and bowed in fear:
"I was blind and accidentally bumped into Monishi. Please forgive me, Monishi!"
[History of Montenegro. ]
The young Han Xin was stunned the whole time, looking up at the tall Qin youth who appeared in front of him as if he had fallen from the sky. His eyes were a little dull. After hearing the panicked words shouted by the soldiers kneeling beside him, his eyes couldn't help but move.
Meng Yi looked at the kneeling Huaiyin soldiers with disgust and frowned:
"Hurry up and jail this butcher who violated Qin's laws!"
"promise!"
"promise!"
"promise!"
Several Chu soldiers immediately got up from the ground in panic and dragged the young butcher lying on the ground away as if he were dragging a dead pig.
The young man with double pupils, holding a lotus leaf bun, was squatting behind the bun stall with the wheat food vendor, secretly looking at the two people, one squatting and the other standing, with his long eyebrows slightly frowned. The Internal History should be considered a high-ranking official in Xianyang City.
Looking at the tall Qin internal historian, his eyes were full of confusion. He didn't understand how a high-ranking official from the imperial capital could suddenly appear in this remote Huaiyin County.
He thought about it, bent down slightly, slipped to the wall, and immediately ran away quickly.
The young Han Xin who was squatting on the ground also slowly stood up. He looked at the man named Meng Neishi in front of him with a frown, looked at him for a moment, and then asked him a very strange question.
"Child, have you brought your ID card?"
Hungry Han Xin nodded.
"Show me your certificate."
Meng Yi bent down slightly and extended his slender right hand with distinct joints to the dirty child covered in dust.
This is a hand that looks like it belongs to a noble person.
Han Xin lowered his eyes and obediently took out his test from his arms with his dirty little hands and handed it to the clean big hand.
Meng Yi lowered his head and rubbed the two poplar bamboo slips in his hands with his fingers.
The "Yan" in his left hand was the "identity card" that every commoner in the Great Qin had. Inscribed on it were a series of clear, ink-colored seal characters:
Han Xin, a young boy born in Nanchang Pavilion, Huaiyin County, in the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, was five feet two inches tall (approximately 1.2 meters). He had a round, dark complexion and no blemishes. His father, Han Li, was a commoner without a title and lived in a house with only one room and two acres of land.
The "Chuan" in the right hand is a "short-term travel permit" for common people, issued by a low-level official at the official road post in Nanchang Pavilion. It only reads:
[Han Xin, a young boy from Nanchang Pavilion, Huaiyin County, aged eleven. Reason: Visiting relatives. Destination: Huaiyin County. Limited to one month. Return trip requires re-verification.]
Looking at the information recorded on them, the content engraved on the bamboo slips was almost exactly the child he was looking for, so Meng Yi handed the two bamboo slips back to the child.
He saw the other person tilting his head slightly, pursing his lips, looking at him with some trepidation and confusion.
Meng Yi raised his handsome eyebrows slightly, and smiled softly at the child:
"I ask the questions, and you answer them."
Han Xin pursed his lips and nodded.
"Your name is Han Xin?"
"Um."
"Who else is home?"
Han Xin lowered his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, "There's no one left. I'm the only one left now."
Meng Yi couldn't help but clench his fingers when he heard this, and then asked:
"Have you been eating at many people's houses since you were a child? You used to go to the headman's house to eat for free, and in the end the headman's wife was so dissatisfied that she wouldn't even serve the cooked food when you went to her house?"
Han Xin's pupils instantly trembled upon hearing this. He looked at Meng Neishi with disbelief, and inwardly he couldn't help but let out a deafening silent cry: "What? Has the reputation of Han Xin, who eats for free, spread to Xianyang now?!"
Seeing the vivid expression of shock on the child's face, silence was more powerful than words. Meng Yi was also amused and said to the skinny child:
"Hmm... let me guess again. After you couldn't get a meal at the pavilion chief's house, you made a fishing rod and ran to the river to learn how to fish in order to fill your stomach. I don't know if you caught any fish, but I know you accidentally ran into an old woman washing kapok trees by the river. She was kind and gave you many meals a day, right?"
Han Xin's eyes widened in shock, and he unconsciously took a half step back, looking at Meng Neishi with trembling pupils: "!!!"
[Is this Monesi a god? How could he strip my underwear off on our first meeting? No, is this right?!]
The young man, who was as thin as black iron, subconsciously looked down at the "test" and "biography" in his two dirty little hands. No, his test and biography did not write anything about him, Han Goudan, going to the pavilion chief's house for meals, or meeting a kind-hearted washerwoman when he went fishing by the river.
Looking at the skinny, round-faced kid in front of him with an expression of doubt about life, Meng Yi, who had traveled more than 2,000 miles from Xianyang to Chu to carry out a high-level secret mission in the hot summer, finally relaxed his nerves after many days of tension at this moment, and couldn't help laughing happily.
As the young boy looked up at him with a confused expression, Meng Yi extended his right hand and rubbed the child's messy head without any disdain. He smiled gently at the other's confused eyes and said:
"My child, your luck has come. Come with me to the government office to get a 'Fu' (high-level long-distance pass). His Royal Highness the Emperor's eldest grandson wants to see you."
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