Chapter 5 Life is the best teacher
After dawn, leaving He Jianqiang at home, Yun Zheng went to borrow a hatchet to chop firewood on the mountain. This was the only reliable way of survival he could think of after contemplating all night.
He Jianqiang seems to be very satisfied with his current life. This legendary experience has allowed him to distance himself from all humiliation and sorrow. In that world, there was no mockery directed at him, and people were by his side, so he feels that he has lost nothing.
As Yun Ye left, the little yellow dog emerged from the sturdy blanket, eagerly wagging its short tail, waiting for Jianqiang to come out from under the blanket
A load of firewood costs three wen, and eight children gave twenty-one wen. How could the apprentice at the herbal medicine shop deceive Yun Zheng? Even if he were foolish, he could not calculate three times eight to equal twenty-one. Seeing the apprentice about to hand the money to the cheerful, robust young man, Yun Zheng pressed the young boy's hand down and silently smiled at the worker.
In order to earn two pounds of rice, Yun Zheng's hands were covered with blisters, and his shoulders were chafed by the burden of the carrying pole. The stinging pain from the sweat was excruciating. Life has always been filled with hardships, and Yun Zheng understood this. Therefore, no matter how exhausting it was to gather firewood, he gritted his teeth and remained silent, eating his own food, bearing his own burdens, and doing his own work. Since his previous life, he had already come to this realization
They declined the rice balls offered by the young boy, as their own food was limited. The children from the mountains were generous, insisting on stuffing the rice balls into Yun Zheng's hands, and then they laughed and played on the hillside, collecting bird eggs and foraging for wild fruits. They even used a long straw to poke at an ant nest. When they lifted the straw, it was covered in termites, and they thought they were just playing around. However, they soon discovered that these young boys had gathered the termites into a small iron pot set over the fire, which immediately began to crackle and pop. Subsequently, the termites were quickly snatched up by the boys, who were eating the ants.
Lying in the riverbank, I took a sip of water, intending to wait for my friends to finish their meal so we could carry firewood together to sell at Dou Sha Pass. This would be the source of my future livelihood, and I needed to understand everything clearly.
The stout child pinched a handful of ants from the pot, intending to feed them to Yun Zheng. Without a moment's hesitation, Yun Zheng opened his mouth and ate the charred yellow ants. After chewing them a couple of times, Yun Zheng immediately became the most enthusiastic person in catching ants, as the fried ants were simply delicious, salty, and exuded a rich, toasted aroma
I cannot farm, hunt, raise silkworms, or weave cloth; how can I feed two bodies? This is a significant issue. Relying on others for charity, begging like a beggar all day long, Yun Zheng believes it is better to die.
Upon returning home, Jianqiang was already leaning against the window of the bamboo house, watching Yunzheng sway as he came back. He shouted with joy, for he loved it when people from home returned and despised being alone in the house. Ever since his mother disappeared, he had been extremely fearful of the empty house.
"We will settle tomorrow's firewood according to 3827, is that alright with you?" Yun Zheng shouted towards the back of the worker, who nearly stumbled and, bracing himself against the door frame, shot a fierce glare at Yun Zheng before entering the pharmacy
A robust youth, as strong as a calf, snatched the hatchet from Yun Zheng's hand. He poured a little water from a bamboo tube and began sharpening the hatchet on a stone. In no time, he had it ready and, holding the hatchet at an angle, struck downwards. The hatchet seemed to encounter little resistance as it sliced into the dead tree. The youth then handed the hatchet back to Yun Zheng, instructing him to chop wood in the same manner. The first strike was not very good, but after three more attempts, Yun Zheng realized that he could finally master the hatchet in his hand.
Yun Zheng knows that there is an animal called the anteater that loves to eat ants. Gorillas also poke tree branches into ant nests and then eat the ants that climb up the branches. Unexpectedly, they eat as well
Yun Zheng's heart, however, was groaning. The person who used to relish eating raw bamboo shoots while struggling for survival now found it hard to swallow plain white rice, especially with a small strip of greasy smoked meat on top.
Yun Jianqiang watched Yun Zheng disappearing into the morning mist and murmured to the little yellow dog: "The more I interacted with people in the past, the more I liked dogs, but my elder brother is different. Don't you think?"
The young boys were extremely excited, surrounding Yun Zheng and continuously shouting. However, Yun Zheng could not understand what they were saying until the robust boy articulated each word to him. Only then did Yun Zheng realize that this damned fellow was always deceiving everyone, claiming that the promised money and books would always end up being less once they were in hand
After Yunzheng agreed to teach everyone how to count, the extra two wen were unanimously allocated to him. The six wen spent on two jin of rice left him very disappointed
Perhaps the noble virtue of simplicity has already been ingrained in their very blood. The young boys helped Yun Zheng chop and bundle the firewood, and only then did they gather around a small fire, taking out their rice balls to eat. Yun Zheng looked up at the sky; the sun was already high in the sky, and his stomach was rumbling. He had no extra grain to make rice balls.
Selling firewood is quite simple. The several herbal medicine shops in Dousha Pass require a large quantity of firewood daily to prepare their medicinal materials. As long as your firewood is sufficiently dry, they will purchase it. There is no worry about not being able to sell firewood.
Chopping firewood is not as easy as Yun Zheng imagined. Similarly, the boy who went up the mountain to chop firewood with him has already gathered a large pile, while Yun Zheng's firewood remains very little. The axe is quite old, or rather, the quality of the axe is poor; after just a few strikes on a dead tree, the blade will bend. Much of the dead wood that Yun Zheng has is sawed off.
The young boy, upon seeing the little girls dressed in embroidered skirts, would often raise his voice to sing a few lines of love songs, only to be scolded by the blushing and angry girls. If luck was not on his side, a mother with a black cloth wrapped around her head would come out wielding a broom to chase him away. Although Yun Zheng was hit several times, he felt an immense sense of exhilaration in his heart
The day has dawned again. Yun Zheng struggled to rise from his bamboo bed, as a new day was about to begin. After completing his morning routine, he prepared a meal for Jianqiang, hurriedly kneading two rice balls and wrapping them in lotus leaves. Noticing that there was only a little rice left in the grain sack, he sighed and stepped out of the house. He planned to chop two loads of firewood today, so that there would be some reserves at home, in case they encountered rainy days when they could not gather firewood, leaving the two brothers to go hungry.
Feeling somewhat guilty, he added three more copper coins. Yun Zheng still smiled without saying a word. The attendant, wanting to get angry, saw that Yun Zheng seemed about to shout at the kind-looking old doctor, and hurriedly took out ten more copper coins from his pocket, slapped them into Yun Zheng's hand, and turned to leave in a huff
The joyful time was too short; when there were no more ants climbing up the thatched pole in the ant nest, the little wild fun came to an end. The young boys picked up their firewood and formed a neat line as they descended the mountain along the narrow path.