Chapter 001 What Breed is an Engineering Dog

Wang Yuan gradually articulated his plan: "On the official road to Zazuo Station, are there not often exiled convicts and demoted officials passing by?"

The whole family fell silent

Liu the carpenter was taken aback and asked his father: "Wang Quan, is it really not you who taught this?"

The officials are truly in a miserable state, not only have they fallen to the barbaric land of Guizhou, but when they die, even their clothes are stripped away by the savages

Wang Quan shook his head and said: "Even with money, one cannot attend school; within a radius of several dozen miles, there is not a single community school. The only educational institution is the Song Clan Academy established by the local chieftain. Not only are we unregistered mountain dwellers unable to enter, but even the registered commoners from the foothills are not accepted; only the descendants of the Song family are allowed to study there."

Wang Meng nodded and said, "There are many."

Memories of past lives have become clearer and more profound

For a child, it is quite difficult to determine which breed the engineering dog belongs to

When Father left, the unfortunate official had already suffered repeated corpse examinations, leaving only two books that went unnoticed. One was a collection of poems by Liu Jian, the chief minister of the Hongzhi era, titled "Poems of Master Huian"; the other was a folk-printed Buddhist classic, the "Flower Adornment Sutra".

Places that are neither under the jurisdiction of the garrison nor directly managed by the local chieftains are referred to as "Shengdi". Throughout Guizhou, there are numerous instances of "Shengdi", inhabited by various ethnic minorities, who can be described as the uncivilized people of the Ming Dynasty.

In the village, Han people and indigenous people coexist; they are neither recognized as Han by the outside world nor accepted by the various indigenous groups, thus forming a completely new ethnic group

However, compared to other time travelers, his situation is rather miserable. He is neither from a noble family nor from a wealthy and powerful clan. At the very least, he could have been reborn as an honest commoner, but what on earth is this situation of being born into a barbarian village?

Wang Yuan continued, "Among these exiles and demoted officials, are there any who have studied? Can we invite them to be teachers?"

Wang Quan was still shaking his head: "In the village, only Liu the carpenter can read. Although the names of you two brothers were chosen with his help, he is just a half-baked scholar. How can he qualify to be a teacher for others?"

Wang Yuan smiled and said: "There is none on the mountain, but there is one below the mountain. Please have a gentleman come up the mountain."

Wang Yuan, who was quick-witted, promptly corrected, "Elder brother, it is 'please,' not 'snatch.'"

Today, Father and my elder brother had a decent harvest, having hunted a wild rabbit and a squirrel, so we will have meat to eat tomorrow

Elder brother Wang Meng replied with a smile: "Is it because you weren't invited to the hunt, and you're feeling upset?"

Since a very young age, Wang Yuan often had all sorts of strange and peculiar dreams, such as dreaming that he was an engineering dog in his previous life

The place is named "Heishanling Zhai", and it is not a den of bandits, but rather a native village in Guizhou.

Wang Yuan pointed to the cover of the book and said: "This book is called 'The Flower Adornment Sutra', and it is a Buddhist scripture"

In the blink of an eye, several years have passed, and Wang Yuan is now ten years old. He has increasingly developed a fondness for daydreaming.

Father is named Wang Quan, a fugitive military household from the forefront of Guizhou

Adhering to the simple principle that "a thief does not leave empty-handed," Father brought those two books home, intending to throw them in the toilet for use as toilet paper

If one does not participate in the imperial examinations, how can one stand out in the Ming Dynasty

Without a proper household registration, how can one participate in the imperial examination

The term "qing ji dai" refers to a deep blue-black color, and the phrase "the distant mountains appear as if they are dyed in blue-black" is a more common way to express this.

Wang Yuan, who had never attended school, suddenly pointed at the Buddhist scriptures and exclaimed: "Great, Vast, and Profound Buddha!"

They collect mineral pigments from the mountains and prefer to dye their clothes a dark blue-black color to distinguish themselves from the Han people (who wear blue) and the indigenous people (who wear plain clothing) - hence they are named the "Blue People".

Moreover, Wang Yuan has developed an adult's mode of thinking and is very certain that he has traveled through time.

During the mid-Ming Dynasty, the term "Chuanqingren" had already emerged, but the common names used were "Liminzi" (descendants of the Liaoren) and "Turen" (distinct from the Tujia ethnic group), and they were even mistakenly regarded as belonging to the Heimi ethnic group

Liu the carpenter looked at Wang Yuan, then at the scriptures, and again at Wang Yuan. Suddenly, he was filled with great fear, knelt down, and said: "Commoner Liu Han does not recognize the reincarnation of the Buddha. Please, Bodhisattva, do not hold it against me!"

The bowl is made of coarse pottery and has several missing pieces, while the chopsticks are simply carved from wood.

Unfortunately, this is all there is to it, as one can hardly find a few who truly believe in Buddhism among the counterfeiters. They worship the Five Manifestations of the Gods, and also engage in totem worship, occasionally donning masks to perform the ritual dance for spiritual invocation.

In the entire village, only Liu the carpenter could read. Father immediately picked up three-year-old Wang Yuan and took two tattered books to seek the truth.

On that evening, Father and Elder Brother returned from hunting, while Mother was serving rice with Younger Sister on her back

Wang Jiang gave birth to a total of five children. Due to the inadequate medical conditions, one son died during childbirth, and one daughter passed away at six months. Only the eldest brother Wang Meng, the second brother Wang Yuan, and a younger sister who had not yet been named remain

Seeing that Wang Yuan had not picked up his chopsticks for a long time, his mother, Wang Jiang, asked: "Yuan Ge'er, why aren't you eating?"

Wang Yuan said: "Father, Mother, I have thought about this question for a long time. Studying does not necessarily require attending school; having a teacher is sufficient, and studying at home is just the same."

"Please, sir, it is very expensive; we cannot even gather enough to sell ourselves," Wang Jiangshi reminded.

Of course, my younger brother is even more accurate at archery than I am. Last time, he shot an arrow that hit a mountain chicken in the eye. Wang Meng grinned foolishly.

The meal consists of red rice porridge, made from a mixture of sorghum and bran, with a particularly unpleasant texture and taste. The vegetables are even less refined, featuring a large bowl of wild vegetable soup, into which some fish mint has been added for flavor.

Even if one ventures out into the world, the issue of household registration must be resolved; one cannot remain cooped up in the mountains, content with a wife, children, and a warm kang bed.

Father was perplexed and asked, "What is the Great Compassionate Buddha?"

Mother Wang of the Jiang family, a Miao woman from the Great Miao Mountain in the west

From this point on, Wang Yuan became a prominent figure in the stronghold

The Black Mountain Ridge stronghold where Wang Yuan is located is different; it is a "Chuanqing stronghold," inhabited entirely by "Chuanqing people"

When Wang Yuan was three years old, his father went down the mountain to exchange animal skins for salt. While passing by the Zhazuo post road, a disgraced official happened to die on the way.

Wang Meng suddenly realized and slapped his thigh: "That's right, just grab someone to go up the mountain to be a teacher, your brain is really sharp, A Di! You are so clever!"

That is too embarrassing for the time traveler

Father was also confused, scratching his head and saying: "I can't read many characters, and even my son’s name was chosen with your help, how would I know anything about Buddhist scriptures?"

Liu the carpenter is a craftsman who escaped from Guizhou City (that is, Guiyang), and he is quite well-informed. He does not believe in innate knowledge. He opened the scriptures and said: "Wang Er, you claim to know how to read, so read it for me to see."

Wang Yuan looked at the dense text, and suddenly countless pieces of information surged into his mind. Some of the characters looked different from what he remembered, but he could still read them through a combination of guessing and inference. He immediately pointed to the book and recited: "Thus I have heard: At one time, the Buddha was in the country of Magadha, in the Aranya of Bodhi, and attained perfect enlightenment ... ... "

In addition, Wang Yuan also dreamed of many tall buildings, which were taller than all the houses combined in the village. He also dreamed of a type of iron bird called an airplane, which allowed people to soar directly into the clouds. Alternatively, there was a kind of large vehicle known as a high-speed train, capable of traveling a thousand miles a day, which was hundreds of times faster than the donkeys in the village

This ethnic group is prevalent in the Yunnan-Guizhou region, with a diverse range of origins that even extend to several hundred years later. Although they have not been officially recognized as a nationality, their ethnicity is listed as "Qingzu" and "Chuanqingren" on the first and second generation identity cards of the new China.

The family atmosphere was very harmonious, and Wang Yuan couldn't help but smile. However, he quickly put away his smile and said seriously: "Father, Mother, Elder Brother, I want to study"

Father Wang was quite proud as he said: "Yuan Ge has mastered excellent archery skills and possesses astonishing strength. In a few more years, as he grows stronger, he will undoubtedly become a top-notch hunter"

After a long while, Wang Jiang said: "Yuan Ge'er, the family has no money"

... ...