Lord of the Desert

Chapter 2 Hope
"Master..."

Hearing the Jiang family's mother-in-law's sarcasm, Aunt Liu couldn't help calling out softly.

In the past, the young master would inevitably clenched his fists, glared and lost his temper.

But everyone knew that he didn't dare to do it.

To the surprise of the two, Hong Fan didn't have an attack. He just nodded and didn't say anything else.

He doesn't hate the Jiang family's mother-in-law, and the hatred in his heart comes more from the inherited memories and emotions.

This matter of diet skipping is not a day or two, but it has been like this since I entered ethnology at the age of 15.

After thinking about it for a while, you will know that treating the son of the patriarch so harshly—even if it is a bastard without a mother—how can a domestic servant do this?

[Long-term lack of adequate nutritional supplements and excessive martial arts training should be the main reason for 'my' sudden death. 】

Hong Fan thought.

[People are iron, food is steel; the problem of food must be solved first. 】

On the other side, Jiang's mother-in-law saw that the other party was silent, thinking she had won, she glanced at Aunt Liu, turned around and went out by herself.

Not only that, after she walked out of the courtyard, she deliberately made a sarcasm.

"A third-class master is also worthy of arrogance?"

"Several generations of slaves still want to eat meat every now and then, but they have no ability to hold on, so they will die sooner or later after practicing martial arts..."

This time, the Jiang family's mother-in-law's broken voice was not too high-pitched, and it was obviously influenced by scruples.

But enough to be heard in the courtyard.

"Several generations of slaves..."

Hong Fan recounted softly, and a woman with a confused face appeared in his memory.

That should be the mother of the original owner of the body, a concubine who was born as a maid.

"Master..."

Aunt Liu was afraid that the young master would be depressed, so she deliberately wanted to change the topic, but she saw that Hong Fan just waved his hand casually, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"It's all right, auntie."

He pointed to the stone table and said.

"It's cold outside, let's eat in the room."

This hit Aunt Liu's heart.

As soon as she agreed, she saw the young master folded his hands, and staggered back to the room, shaking his head and saying.

"Damn, graduated from a prestigious school, proud in the workplace, and just about to reach the pinnacle of life, so send me to the old society, goddamn thieves..."

"With such a poor background, why shouldn't this be given to a top system?"

Of course, Aunt Liu couldn't understand these words.

She took the bowl and chopsticks, turned around and saw the young master's back disappearing into the dark room.

The voice stopped, and laughter came out.

This time Aunt Liu understood.

In the laughter, there is a trace of sadness that cannot be suppressed.

······
Hong Fan's room is small, and the bedroom with the bed is connected to the living room.

On the round table, two bowls of rice were placed on the left and right, with a plate of green vegetables and a plate of beans in the middle.

It was already dark outside the window, but Aunt Liu did not light the lamp.

Hong Fan didn't ask - it was just being frugal, or he simply ran out of lamp oil and candles.

You can't even eat meat, do you still want to have a nightlife?
Opening the window and door to breathe, he sat down at the table, picked up his chopsticks, and prepared to eat.

Aunt Liu stood on one side without taking a seat.

"Auntie, why don't you sit down and eat?"

Hong Fan asked casually.

Since traveling for ten days, he has been lying on the sickbed, and Aunt Liu accompanied him to feed him.

This is the first time the two have eaten together.

"How do you laugh, young master?"

Aunt Liu was puzzled.

"I am Madam's maid, how can I sit with the young master?"

Only when Hong Fan heard the words did he understand.

"Auntie is just joking, what kind of young master am I?"

He laughed at himself.

Aunt Liu was afraid that the young master would blame herself, so she was about to persuade her, but she was robbed again.

"In this world, is there a young master who can't even eat meat?"

As soon as these words came out, Aunt Liu couldn't help but fell silent.

Hong Fan didn't take it seriously, and continued to speak: "And Aunt Liu and I are called master and servant, and we really depend on each other."

"In this Hong's mansion, if my aunt doesn't eat at the same table as me, why should I still go to the eldest lady and eldest son?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Liu quickly raised her head and looked at her young master worriedly.

When they looked at each other, they saw that the latter's eyes did not contain the resentment that he was worried about, but instead were as clear as the blue sky and bright.

So, she finally couldn't resist her life, and sat down at the table.

Outside, it was getting dark.

Moonlight shines through the door, obliquely white half the wall.

There are no candles in the room, but it looks extraordinarily bright.

The master and servant ate in silence.

Aunt Liu held up the bowl she was carrying very high, so as to cover her tears constantly dripping into the bowl.

She was also surprised that even in the most difficult years of the girl's death, she seldom cried.

But today there is obviously no sadness in my heart, but the tears can't stop.

On the other side of the table, Hong Fan chewed very slowly, as if he wanted to squeeze out all the nutrients in the only food.

After eating, Aunt Liu cleaned up the dishes.

Hong Fan was still seriously injured and felt weak, so he went back to bed to rest.

With the sound of dogs barking and scolding in the distance, he quickly fell asleep.

Aunt Liu packed up the dishes and saw that the young master had fallen asleep, so she carefully tucked in the quilt for him, closed the doors and windows, and sent the tableware and lunch box back to the kitchen.

On the way back, she walked very briskly.

Speaking of which, nothing has changed today—instead, the meat that has been rarely used for a few days has been abolished again.

But she only felt that there was hope in her heart.

Once people have hope, even the stars in the sky will light up into rounds of sun.

Back in the side room, Aunt Liu was still tossing and turning, but finally got up and kowtowed for a few rounds in front of the Bodhisattva tablet in the corner before falling into a deep sleep.

In the ten days since Hong Fan was seriously injured, it was the first time that she slept so soundly.

······
On the second day, Chen Shi is exactly ([-]:[-] am to [-]:[-] am).

After the master and servant finished their breakfast, Aunt Liu sent back the food basket; Hong Fan walked slowly in the private courtyard, just for exercise.

The courtyard is about ten meters square, and a Y-shaped road leading to the two low houses is paved with stone slabs from the courtyard gate.

Except for the sporadic places on the edge, the ground in the courtyard is all rammed earth that has been trampled beyond firmness, without any vegetation growing.

Combined with the many superficial marks of fists and palms on the courtyard wall, this is obviously the result of "Hong Fan"'s hard work every day.

Only in the southeast corner stands the only tall tree.

This is a locust tree.

The height of the tree is more than ten meters, although the branches are a little crooked, but at this time the bare trunk is full of young leaves, showing vitality.

Hong Fan stopped in front of the tree.

He knew that this old locust tree was the hero of the two masters and servants.

Its flowers are edible, and its pods, leaves, and root bark can clear away heat and detoxify, and can be used as medicine.

Every summer and autumn, Aunt Liu would borrow a ladder to pick flowers and fruits, and sell it to subsidize the family.

[It's no wonder that the courtyard wall is damaged, but this tree is intact. 】

Hong Fan thought of it, patted the tree trunk, and put away his memories.

After waking up today, he felt that his body was much better than yesterday, and his chest was no longer burning with anger.

[Or you can do some simple exercises. 】

Hong Fan thought to himself, supported the tree trunk with both hands, and did a few simple squats.

To his surprise, the muscles of this weak body were unexpectedly strong.

After three or four squats with no load, you can hardly feel the consumption.

[After all, it is a physique that has been practicing martial arts all year round, and its internal injuries have not healed. It is still much stronger than many white-collar workers. 】

Hong Fan moved his whole body slightly, thinking.

[It must be due to the improvement in food in recent days. 】

The young master was seriously injured for ten days, the old servant gave out a piece of precious brocade, and only exchanged for seven days of meat.

"Having struggled for half my life, I turned around and let me go to a well-off life. I really went back to before liberation..."

Hong Fan complained in a voice that only he could hear.

(End of this chapter)