But the bright moon shines on the ditch

Chapter 11

Speaking of it, Liang Peiqiu actually never thought that there would be such a day.

She was regarded as a boy when she was born, and when she was a little aware, her mother began to tell him that she was different from other boys, and she was not allowed to hang out with boys, especially not allowed to change clothes outside.

She was puzzled, but no matter how much she asked, her mother kept her secret.

When she grew up and needed a corset, her mother told her that she was actually a girl.But she can't treat herself as a girl. Only when she is a boy can she have the opportunity to meet her father, live with her father, return to the mansion, be respected and served by others.

Her biological father would show up three or five times a year, and he had no relationship with her. Most of the time, when he passed by, he remembered that there was an iris flower here, so he stopped by to see her mother.

The two often stayed in the house all night without going out. At that time, when she was sitting in front of the house, the neighbors passing by would point and call her a lowly illegitimate child.

She was scolded a lot, and she became numb.

In fact, this kind of life is not impossible to maintain, but the mother's expectations of her are too high.Mother was reluctant to spend the silver gifts brought by her biological father, and used them all to find a wife, martial artist, painter, luthier, etc. for her.

Her mother carefully cultivated her six arts, hoping that she would be successful as soon as possible.

If she is not good at learning and is expelled by the teacher, the mother will not blame her, but will just lock herself in the house, do not go out for a few days and nights, do not eat or drink water, and do not talk to anyone.

Unlike other mothers, she never physically punished her, only tortured herself.

The mother said that she was a good child, and it was impossible for a good child to watch her mother torture herself, so she studied desperately. The harder she worked and the more anxious she was, the worse she was at learning.

She is considered outstanding in everything, except for Danqing who has a skill and a little talent.But there is no ability to be rich, so her mother forbids her to learn painting again.

In such a cycle with no way out, after her mother locked herself in the house again and again, she watched the door close in front of her eyes, and suddenly felt unable to breathe.

At a certain moment, she was really suffocated, but she couldn't cry, and she couldn't scream.

She ran out of the house.

It was a summer day, and the neighbors were running to tell that the flood was coming, and everyone rolled up their bedding and ran up the mountain one after another.

But she turned a deaf ear and rushed forward against the crowd regardless.

She didn't know where the front was, she just wanted to escape from here, escape from the shackles of her mother, escape from the shady life experience, and escape from everything they brought her.

Just as she was thinking, suddenly a pair of arms grabbed her and asked sharply, "The flood is coming soon, where are you going?"

She raised her head in a daze, and a ray of light shone into the gray world.

Before he had time to say anything more to her, he held her behind his back and ran back.

He was studying in a private school in the town, and his trip was to report to Mr. Master and organize the evacuation of the students.

She watched from the side, unable to help, just followed step by step.Occasionally, he turned his head and looked around for her figure, and when he saw that she was obediently following her, he just smiled.

After migrating to a safe place, look at the surging flood from a distance, rushing towards the low villages.

She was startled suddenly, thinking of her mother who was alone at home, and was about to go down the mountain.

He stopped her again, clarified the context in her incoherent speech, and said softly: "You don't have to worry, the county government has organized people to evacuate, just wait here, they should be on the way up the mountain."

Sure enough, it didn't take long for her to see her mother.

When her mother saw her, she hugged her without saying anything, tears streaming down her face.

She looked over the crowd in her mother's warm, moist embrace.

Everyone was talking about the dangerous moment they encountered, how they saw the torrent tearing down the houses and engulfing the working people.Along the way, they even saw severed limbs in the turbulent and turbid torrent.

The immature students were terrified when they heard it, and hid in a corner in a group, while he was in it, his eyes were firm, and there was no trace of panic.

It wasn't until this moment that the fluttering heart seemed to settle down. Fear, panic, and regret all kinds of emotions spread to the limbs and bones belatedly, causing waves of trembling.

She didn't dare to think, if she hadn't met him, she would have faced the mountain torrent like that, what would she have done.

And he dragged her back in the crowd.

How lucky she is.

In this disaster, the villages around Yaoli were almost wiped out.The torrent buried their homes, and even buried their "family members". Crying can be heard every day in the temporary settlements, the old people, children, women and children, or the sobs of seven-foot men.

My mother often woke up in a dream and hugged her beside her.

In the face of natural disasters, human life seems so insignificant.

And she actually thought of that.

She dared not tell anyone about it, carefully digesting all her emotions.Thinking that no one knew about it, he didn't want to pass by the shed one day, he was giving out porridge, he deliberately walked around the crowd to her, took out half a shortbread from his sleeve and handed it to her.

He said it was something he hadn't finished eating, and hoped she wouldn't dislike it.He also said that there were many diseases after the disaster, and she needed to take precautions when she went in and out.If possible, wash your body with hot water every day.

He gave a lot of detailed instructions, never mentioning what happened that day, but she knew that he was trying to comfort her.

Because of his comfort, she survived those days of nightmare.

Afterwards came the rebuilding of the village. She was too young to participate in major events. She only accompanied her mother and women and children in other villages and towns to do some post-disaster cleaning and general work, and occasionally delivered dry food to various places.

She tried to find his figure, tried to say thank you to him.

Too bad she never saw him again.

……

After Wang Yunxian listened, he was dumb for a while, and opened his mouth: "That's it? That's it!"

He is extremely regretful, why is he not from Yaoli, if he also suffers from that flood, he must save her!He lifted up his sleeves with a look of excitement, and made a gesture to stand up, but was grabbed by Liang Peiqiu.

"where are you going?"

"I'll ask that guy, what good deed did he do in his previous life, but he saved you!"

Liang Peiqiu smiled: "He not only saved me..."

When everything was back on track, she told her mother that she wanted to go back to private school.

In fact, she hadn't gone to a private school for a long time. It was because she had no interest in studying and hadn't made any progress in her studies.So her mother dropped her out of school and invited her husband to her home, but she was still blowing fire with a rolling pin and didn't know anything about it.

Hearing that she was going back to the private school, her mother was very happy, and sent her back with a large amount of money to entrust someone to do things.

There, at last, she saw him again.

He was also quite surprised when he saw her: "Are you here to study?"

She nodded.

He said: "Master Yu is very knowledgeable."

Of course she knew that Master Yu was knowledgeable and it was not the first time she came here, but she still tried her best to remain calm and said, "I will be serious."

He smiled and turned to leave.She took a deep breath, called him to stop, and murmured a thank you, but he didn't need to say anything, but after thinking it over and over again, he said: "Don't be discouraged, you will achieve something in the future."

He is really heart-warming and exquisite.

See through everything and say nothing.

She wants to ask, do you remember me?It was not the day when the flood came. In fact, they had seen it earlier.

That was the first time she was sent to a private school.

She has poor foundation and was assigned to Class C. After three months of study, she still hasn't been enlightened.That day she had just been reprimanded by Mrs. Yu, holding her book in her arms, she was dejected when she bumped into a pear tree in front of her, and then she heard a burst of laughter.

Her face was flushed red, she wanted to get into the cracks in the ground, she didn't even want to pick up the book, she was about to run away.

Who would have thought that he was one step ahead of her, picked up the scattered books and brought them in front of him, and said softly: "I didn't have time to call you, did it hurt?"

When she was young, she was always too dull, clumsy and numb, and she had no vitality in her whole body. Even her mother often said that he was like a little adult, full of thoughts, dull and boring.

She has always only heard people laugh when she fell, and no one has ever asked her "does it hurt?"

She immediately wanted to cry, but she tried her best to hold back, and mustered up the courage to take a quick look at him. It was that smile, that gentle smile, that saved the young Liang Qiu.

More than once, Xu Zhiliu saved Liang Qiu.

Now everyone knows that he is Liang Peiqiu, the little god of Anqing Kiln. Who would remember that weak Liang Qiu who was always spit on and laughed at as an illegitimate child?
In Liang Qiu's short life, only Xu Zhiliu appeared.

Only Xu Zhiliu.

However, let her hide these things in her heart alone and guard them quietly.

Wang Yunxian doesn't know the meaning of the word "save", and why a person can't see the hope of living. He needs courage, strength and faith even though he is alive.

He was born as the son of the Wang family kiln, he favored everyone from top to bottom, he was as strict as Wang Yu, and he was always responsive to this precious son, giving way again and again in matters big and small, without principle.

So Wang Yunxian grew up smoothly, without a single thought in his body.

Liang Peiqiu told him to think a little bit more when he was in trouble, but he still didn't give in. Holding the jug of wine, he leaned on her shoulder and said nonchalantly, "What kind of heart do I want, I'll be fine if I have you."

Liang Peiqiu had no choice but to say more, but he changed the subject impatiently and talked about the interesting things he met recently.

The two of them talked in such a way that they didn't match each other, and they didn't feel sleepy.

At five watch, the sound of firecrackers started to come from outside. Wang Yunxian took the first handful of incense that the young man had burned, put it on the gold altar dedicated to the God of Fenghuo Kiln, and then rushed out of the house, throwing the top door handle into the sky three times and falling down three times.

This move means that if you drop a thousand pieces of gold, you will have a lot of money in the coming year.

The steward prepared the Pepsi Daji box early, which contained persimmons, lychees, longan chestnuts, ripe dates, etc., and waited for the relatives to come to visit the New Year at dawn.

Taking advantage of this time, they took a nap, otherwise, no one would be able to stand the whole day in Zhengdan.

Wang Yunxian asked her to rest together in the front yard, but Liang Peiqiu refused. When she walked to the west corner courtyard alone, she couldn't help but think of him when she heard the sound of firecrackers outside the wall.

Another year passed, I don't know what he was doing at this time, but did he drink Tusu wine?Can you reunite with your family?
She knew that he had the habit of going back to his hometown to worship his ancestors every year, but she wondered if this journey would be smooth?
But here, Xu Zhiliu's journey home was really not smooth. On the way, he met begging refugees a few times, and forcibly climbed onto the carriage to sweep them. Finally, he heard that he wanted to report to the police, so he left indignantly.

After two rounds, they changed their way home to be on the safe side.

Right now, the world is not chaotic, but it is not peaceful either. The refugees from all over the country are constantly fighting, and the Northern War is imminent.The imperial treasury is tight, and the pressure is put on provincial officials. What can we do?They can only search around for the common people, gnaw at the loopholes in the constitution, and pay miscellaneous taxes at every turn.

If this goes on year after year, civil strife will break out sooner or later.

Thinking of these, he couldn't help feeling worried.I think that when he was young, he determined to study to serve his country, but twenty years have passed, and he is still mired in the quagmire.

Now whether this quagmire is under his body or in his heart, he can't tell the difference.

All of a sudden, he was enveloped in bewildered emotions, like a boat sailing in the river, surrounded by thick fog.

When I arrived at the village, my mother was waiting here early.Because of staying up late under the lamp all year round, one pair of eyes can no longer see clearly, the eyeballs are slightly protruding, and the pupils are white, unable to reflect the image, and can only distinguish the position by listening to the sound.

Hearing the familiar sound of horseshoes in the distance, Mrs. Xu smiled, walked forward slowly and tentatively, and said happily: "A-Qian, A-Qian is back?"

Xu Zhiliu hurriedly stopped the carriage, stepped forward to support her mother: "Mother, it's me, why are you so disobedient and come out to pick me up again?"

"There is nothing left and right, I want to see you sooner."

At this time, the sky was already dark, each family was busy with the New Year's Eve dinner, and the smoke from the cooking was curling up in the sky of Yaoli Village.

Xu Zhiliu knew it would be useless to talk too much, so he asked Shi Nian to park the carriage, and walked home with his mother.

"My son is away from home all year round, and my mother has to worry about all the big and small things, and I have to take care of Anan. You have worked hard."

"Silly boy, what are you talking about? Your brother is not a three-year-old."

Going around the fence in this way to the courtyard, seeing the openness in front of the door and the barren vegetable field, Xu Zhiliu guessed something, and his expression suddenly became solemn.

When he was about to speak, a half-grown boy approached him, about fourteen or fifteen years old, with dark skin and three-dimensional features. He was roughly similar to Xu Zhiliu in appearance, except that he looked like a scholar. This boy was used to running in the mountains.

He raised his voice and called out, "A'nan, I'm back."

Anan didn't seem to see him, so he turned to Mrs. Xu and said, "Mother, let me go out for a while."

"Where are you going so late?" Madam Xu grabbed his hand, "Your brother is back, let's have a reunion dinner together."

Anan raised his head reluctantly, glanced at Xu Zhiliu, his brows moved slightly, and he seemed to let out a disdainful snort, then he brushed off Madam Xu's hand and said, "I'll go back as soon as I go."

Then he ran away.

Xu Zhiliu wanted to say something, but he stopped at the end.

He left home since he was a child, and his younger brother was not close to him, and it was difficult to get warm with him at the moment.Mrs. Xu knew what he was thinking, and said with a smile: "Look at him, is there anything in his hand?"

Xu Zhiliu said, "It looks like a spear with a handle."

Mrs. Xu had a clear expression: "Your brother, you are hard-spoken and soft-hearted. It's rare for you to come back and go to the mountains to catch fish for you."

Xu Zhiliu was surprised, Mrs. Xu smiled and said nothing, letting him wait and see.

Talking about Anan's studies for a while, both mother and son had a headache.

There is a private school in Murakami. The master is not very knowledgeable, but it is more than enough to enlighten children.Occasionally, Xu Zhiliu would send a letter to her husband to learn about Anan's recent situation, but the husband would always write three words and sigh again and again.

Boys in their teens are still enlightened with four- and five-year-old dolls, either their heads are not open, or they are not the material for reading.

Xu Zhiliu knew that Anan was neither, he was extremely intelligent, even more than himself, but he didn't know why he refused to learn.

Because I thought about it, I must have a good chat with him this time, and I must not always feel that he is still young, and I have not fulfilled my brother's responsibility, so I can't bear to push him.

Mrs. Xu shook her head: "I'm afraid that Anan's temperament is not something you can just say a few words."

Doesn't she say less than usual?Anan He Zeng really took it to heart.

She knew that Anan had actually missed Xu Zhiliu all these years.Their father was humiliated and died at an early age. At that time Xu Zhiliu was half a child. Although Anan was young, he could feel the sudden changes in the family.

Later, Xu Zhiliu's family was so poor that he had to give up his studies and join distant relatives. Since then, Anan often stood on the top of the mountain, looking in the direction of Jingdezhen.

Maybe his father's death hit him too hard, or his brother's departure made him flustered. There was an inexplicable fear in his heart, as if at a young age, he was going to support the whole family.

Mrs. Xu said: "Don't look at our orphans and widows. With Anan around, no one dares to bully me. I just watched him go up and down the mountains and rivers every day. I don't know what he is busy with. I asked him, but he didn't say anything, but I think he should have a constitution in his heart."

After all, this matter has to be left to Xu Zhiliu.

The two brothers open their hearts and have a good chat, maybe the knot in their hearts will be untied.

Mrs. Xu warned again: "This child, Anan, has a delicate and sensitive mind, so speak softly."

Xu Zhiliu said yes, thinking that Anan was the only one supporting the family all these years, his heart was already aching.

Unexpectedly, Anan hadn't come back until the first watch.Xu Zhiliu wanted to go out to find him, but Madam Xu stopped him.Mrs. Xu said, "Give him some more time."

Xu Zhiliu was usually considered vigorous and resolute in the Hutian kiln, but every time he went home to face his mother and younger brother, he seemed to be not as strong as the outside world, letting them argue, it seemed that there was nothing he could do.

The mother and son watched the New Year around the charcoal basin, and there were occasional firecrackers outside.

Suddenly, Mrs. Xu mentioned A Harrier: "A Harrier will be sixteen after the new year, right?"

Xu Zhiliu responded.

Mrs. Xu's dark vision left a glimmer of light, which was yellowish, faintly outlining Xu Zhiliu's side face.

His chin is thin, his face is sharp but still rigid, and he looks a little cold and thin when he is not speaking. Years of experience in the kiln mouth have added to his majesty.

But he was not a sharp person, so that majesty was quietly hidden under the skin.

Mrs. Xu sighed slightly: "This marriage can't be postponed again and again, don't delay the good girl. Ah Qian, tell me the truth, what are your plans?"

Xu Zhiliu was silent for a long time, then heard noises coming from the courtyard, hurriedly got up to look, and finally did not forget to reply: "Mother, if I don't take revenge on my father in this life, I won't rest in peace."

　These two chapters will pave the way for Qiuqiu and Liu's past, laying the groundwork for their respective growth and transformation.

　　Regardless of how Qiuqiu and Liu are now, they will show their sharpness in the future.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)