Hunger for a hundred years

Chapter 19 (19)
"Sister Chrysanthemum, that time, I accidentally burned your house down."
"I didn't get any younger brother, I just burned Pianxia."
"I heard about Kunzhang's father."
Before He Da finished speaking, Chrysanthemum nodded, her eyes turned red.

This is a short, fat girl with a short neck and a kind heart, with a sweet mouth. She never expected to get a disease a few years later and become dumb.
Standing under a tung tree, Chrysanthemum told He Da many things. She said that she now lives with her mother and Carpenter Li.There are not many bamboo strips here, so Li bamboo craftsman changed his career to learn from stonemasons.In the beginning, when her mother was getting along with Carpenter Li, the people on the slope threatened to beat Carpenter Li. Carpenter Li was like a dog. The owner would court the West to please the West, and he would kneel on the threshold as soon as he arrived at other people's houses.But he still didn't escape a violent beating.That night, they fell asleep, and the courtyards on several floors were also quiet. Unexpectedly, there was a sudden commotion, and the door was kicked open with a bang. A dozen men headed by He Huaqiang poured into their house and took Li Mi Carpenter and her mother dragged them out of the bed, lit torches, tied them to a jujube tree, and beat them severely.

When her mother and Carpenter Li Bamboo were both naked and beat them to a lake of blood, they were about to strip off Carpenter Li Bamboo's trousers. At this time, all the women left, and she also left. How did they torture She didn't know about Carpenter Li's, she only knew that Carpenter Li was knocked unconscious.It was her mother who carried Carpenter Li back, and he was injured for a month.The mother understood that the reason why the people on the slope wanted to drive Li Bamboo Carpenter away and not let him stay in Hejiapo was all coaxed by He Huaqiang, so without the consent of her daughter and Li Bamboo Carpenter, the mother picked a dozen Gu Tian gave it to He Huaqiang.He Huaqiang did not make trouble, and they survived in peace.Chrysanthemum said that Carpenter Li Bamboo looks so weak, but his heart is very hard. If he wants to do something, he must do it. He knows that He Huaqiang came up with a bad idea, but he still behaves very humble in front of He Huaqiang. Her mother gave the field to He Huaqiang. Although Li bamboo craftsman was annoyed, he never showed it in front of He Huaqiang.

Chrysanthemum also said that He Da's three masters and three mistresses all died, and He Xingxiao died after Yan's family. His ending was a bit miserable. His body smelled bad, so he was dug a pit and buried, and he didn't even enjoy a straw mat.Last year, almost half a year after He Xingxiao’s death and more than a year after Yan’s death, He Min typed back a letter (people in Hejiapo do not say send a letter but type a letter, which vividly expresses that sending a letter back He Huaqiang demolished it when no one accepted it. His whole family was illiterate, and he showed it to Jian Xiang, only to find out that He Min had gone to Chengdu to serve as a division commander under Liu Xiang, the biggest warlord in Sichuan. ; also sent back a photo, in military uniform, with a pistol on his waist.After reading He Min's letter, He Huaqiang went to He Xingxiao and his wife's grave to build a soil bag.

Over the past few years, such a big change has taken place in Hejiapo.

What saddened He Da the most was that the little daughter-in-law who had saved his life had died tragically.
When it was getting dark, Chrysanthemum asked He Da to go into the yard.He Da had lingering fears and didn't dare to take a step, so Chrysanthemum gave him an idea to hide in Yang Guangda's empty pigsty around the ditch, and then she let out the wind on the slope, saying that He Da was going back to He's house Poe, if no one wants to punish him, he can come out, a teenager can do any heavy work, maybe someone will take him in; if someone wants to punish him, tell him to run away.

He Da followed his plan.

On that night, Yang Guangda and his wife miraculously died.People on Poshang didn't know the condition of Yang Guangda and his wife. They only knew that they hadn't been out for a long time, probably because they were sick, and some people said they might have died, so they didn't dare to pass by Yang Guangda's house.That day, as soon as He Da lay down in Yang Guangda's pigsty, he felt severe pain from the lump on his right shoulder blade that Yang Guangda hit.After wrapping it up, I never felt any pain. Why did it suddenly hurt tonight?He Da had an ominous premonition and dared not go to sleep, for fear that Yang Guangda would come out with a pipe and pack another bag on his left shoulder blade.He doesn't know that when his shoulder hurts, Yang Guangda loses his temper; his wife, Gou Shi, has been depressed for two hours.At noon the next day, He Da saw that there was no movement in the room. He was deeply surprised, so he boldly went to the door, peeped through the crack of the door, and found two old people lying stiffly in the kitchen, yelling in fright.

At this time, people on Poshang knew that Yang Guangda and his wife had died, and also knew that He Da had returned.

No one paid any attention to the corpses of Yang Guangda and his wife. After a few days, the area smelled so bad that someone buried the two dead people in his own sweet potato pit, covered them with stone slabs, and covered them tightly with mud.

People on the slope were interested in He Dahui's village.

He Da seems to have become a ghost that He Jiapo cannot drive away.

He Huaqiang said: "Beat that bastard son, and then throw him out, so that he will never dare to come back again!"
He spoke, and more than a dozen people who obeyed his instructions moved immediately.

When He Da heard about it, he ran towards the back mountain.He hid in a damp cave with a small entrance and green vines growing on the outside. He Da thought it was safe, but he didn't know that he was taken out dripping with water without using a bag of cigarettes .

It had rained the day before, and the road was still wet. He Da's bare feet were clearly printed on the mud, leading his captors directly to the entrance of the cave.

He was escorted back to He Huaqiang's courtyard.Just as He Huaqiang raised his dog-beating stick, He Jianxiang appeared.

He Jianxiang made it clear: "I want to take in He Da and let him be my parent's worker."
The dog-beating stick in He Huaqiang's hand froze in mid-air, and it took a while before it fell down. He sniffled disdainfully, and advised He Jianxiang not to be troublesome, because "sluts don't make good things", and Jianxiang's family kindly took him in back then. He Da, didn't He Da deceive them by feeding cows with spicy urine!Moreover, the early death of He Da's parents proved that his yang energy was not enough, so keeping him on the slope would be detrimental to the feng shui here.He Huaqiang has learned "geography" from others and has a good understanding of people's faces. Although he doesn't understand it, he looks around and makes serious comments every time he goes to a place.Jianxiang has always been a maverick, ignored this trick, pulled He Da out of the crowd, and took him away.

The reason why He Jianxiang wanted to do this was related to his family background.

He Jianxiang, who is over 20 years old, is completely in charge of the family. His father, He Heng, along with all the old people on the slope, is irretrievably old, with critical teeth and baldness. He will inevitably be rejected and forgotten by life. While full of fear of death, And with a heart-wrenching longing for life that will never be realized in this life.He Heng is one of the few elderly people who are still alive, but he can no longer go out to "chop food" for others. He sleeps on the bed all day long, and has to be served by others when he defecates and urinates.Mrs. Chen has passed away. Like He Jianshen's father and He Kunzhang, Mrs. Chen died in that difficult winter.

Jianxiang married two wives, one big and one young, wife Zhang and concubine Suo.According to my father's recollection, He Jianxiang seemed to be the only one who married two women, one big and one small, in Hejiapo.After He Jianxiang married the Suo family, He Huaqiang looked down on him, thinking that he was a prodigal son, and in the future he could only follow the old path of Zhou Zisitai's "bare flesh".But in fact, although He Huaqiang has more property than Jianxiang, he is afraid of Jianxiang in his heart, because the combined intelligence of his three sons is not as smart as Jianxiang. The overlord in the future must be He Jianxiang. Every time he thinks of this level, his heart hurts. He yells at his sons to his side at any time, orders them to kneel down, and slaps him a few times. A few more toes.The sons couldn't figure out why they were beaten, so they cried.

He Huaqiang took a look at their snot-nosed, useless looks, shook his head, sighed, and told them to go away.In fact, the eldest brother He Zhongcai and the second child He Zhongbao are not stupid, and they can be said to be rare smart people on the slopes, but they don't have the aura of the foreign guys in the town that He Huaqiang is both unfamiliar and envious of. Brother came decently and exuded a special fragrance.This fragrance made He Huaqiang very angry, because it reminded him of the dead ghost He Di by the Yantang, and thus the beautiful and flirtatious woman who died in a foreign land. , Judging from the photos, there is no such aura as He Jianxiang.Of course, He Min will never return to Hejiapo again, all he cares about is the people who are rooted in Hejiapo.Hejiapo is his eternal home, and Hejiapo's Tuba is his lifeblood!
Unexpectedly, even though Jianxiang has married two women, they are not as powerful as one woman: Mrs. Zhang doesn't get out, and Mrs. Suo doesn't get out either!
"He Jianxiang is about to die!" He Huaqiang said to his sons who didn't quite understand the joints.Since revealing this information, he has treated his sons much better than before.

Jianxiang is still so elegant and optimistic, but his heart is bitter.Even the long-term worker He Da can see this.

One day, He Da carried the plowshare to the land to plow the fields. As soon as two roads were plowed, Jianxiang came to the edge of the field and said loudly, "He Da, come up!" with a very serious expression on his face.He Da gave a "wow" to the cattle, and at the same time put the nose rope back, stopped the cattle, and walked up to the ridge.

"Starting today, you go to school!"
He Da couldn't believe his ears.

"What are you doing in a daze? Wash the muddy feet, and use a stool to go to school!"
My father He Da entered the school in this way.He can still recite the sentences in "Youth Learning Qionglin" and "San Zi Jing", which was learned at that time.Stepping into the threshold of the school, the talent inherited from He Da was like dry gunpowder being rubbed on the skin of fire.

Three months later, my husband complained to Jianxiang: "That thing is so powerful, I can't teach it anymore!"
After He Da went to school, people on the slope said that Jianxiang wanted He Da to be his son, but in terms of seniority, shouldn't He Da be called brother?Discussions come and go, but there is no result, so people have to say: "Let Jianxiang go crazy, see what good He Da reads the book for Jianxiang!" He Huaqiang also said: "The first benefit of the ball! Reading Bah!" Hearing these words, Jianxiang sneered.

He was also the same as my father He Dalater, who looked down on He Huaqiang's family the most, that is, not allowing future generations to study.

Unfortunately, He Da only went to school for half a year.He didn't continue reading because of Mrs. Zhang, but also because of himself.

Mrs. Zhang is the main wife, but she can't add a man and a woman to her husband's family, so she always feels ashamed in front of Jianxiang.Although Jianxiang was not like many rural men who would commit violence if their wives did not bear children or only gave birth to girls but not boys, Mrs. Zhang felt that she was justified; I feel even more that the mission of carrying on the family line for my husband's family should be undertaken by myself. I tried every means to get folk remedies, collected herbs, and ate a lot of grass, but it still didn't work.When she was working hard, Jianxiang asked He Da, the long-term worker, to study!Just as people on Poshang said, looking at Jianxiang's situation, he really wants to pass on a large amount of property to He Dali!Zhang's heart was sour, and all the resentment towards her husband was transferred to He Da.

One day when He Da came back from school, Mrs. Zhang stopped him on the way and said, "He Da, your elder brother doesn't want you to plow the field, but sends you to study. In the future, he will make an appointment for you, and give you the land. You must know how to repay your kindness." ."
He Da had already heard such words from other people. At that time, he was shocked and felt that this kindness was too great for him to repay, so he had the idea of ​​dropping out of school. Unexpectedly, these words came from Zhang's mouth again. And, by looking at her red eyes and set aside mouth, it was clear that she was talking sarcastic.He Da thought to himself, let's say this now, if I really want to read the book and make an engagement for me, I don't know what else to say.

Early the next morning, He Da went down to the field again with the plowshare on his shoulders.

When talking about this matter, my father always sighed long and loudly: It is right to have self-esteem as a human being, but you should not be too strong. If you are too strong, you will not be able to help you, but will harm you and the people related to you.For example, he hurt himself at that time, if he read a few more sentences, his vision would be different; at the same time, he also broke He Jianxiang's heart.

Jianxiang's temper became weird, and he no longer wanted to share the bed with Mrs. Zhang, either alone on the cold mat or with Mrs. Suo.In comparison, Mrs. Suo is much prettier than Mrs. Zhang. Mrs. Zhang has a broad nose and big face. At first glance, she looks like the kind of woman who is good at housekeeping, but she lacks style. Mrs. Suo is small and exquisite. Gone with the wind, it's more attractive to men.But before this, Jianxiang made the distinction very clearly. Normally, he would sleep with Mrs. Zhang for two nights and then sleep with Mrs. Suo for one night. Now it is different. Now he only takes Mrs. Suo with him to the ancestral grave! --How can you go to the ancestral grave without your wife and only your concubine?Zhang was not afraid that Jianxiang would not sleep with her, but Jianxiang did not take her to the ancestral grave, which made her deeply afraid.At that time, there were seven reasons for a husband to divorce his wife: ([-]) childlessness, ([-]) adultery, ([-]) disregarding his parents-in-law, ([-]) gossip, ([-]) theft, ([-]) jealousy, and ([-]) sickness.If you have any one of the seven reasons, your husband can justifiably kick you away, and Zhang has at least three of them: childlessness, tongue-in-cheek, and jealousy.If He Jianxiang really kicked Mrs. Zhang out of her husband's family, Mrs. Zhang would have no face even if she did not seek short-sightedness.Fortunately, Jianxiang didn't do this, he just lived his life in a weird way.

The weirdest thing is eating.In the past, Jianxiang likes to have fun, and eating is his happiest time. Unlike He Huaqiang, he does not allow long-term workers to sit at the same table with his family. Instead, he pulls He Da together and treats him like a brother. Now, he does not allow anyone to sit with him We have dinner at the same table.This point is very similar to "light flesh", which virtually confirms He Huaqiang's prophecy.Not only do they sit around the banquet alone, but the standard of food is getting higher and higher.He has to eat a young chicken and drink a pot of wine every day.He didn't want Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Suo to cook for him, but he wanted He Da Nong by name.He Da didn't know how to do it, so he pleaded with him, saying that he would rather go up the mountain with a knife and down to the field with a plow.But once Jianxiang said something, he never took it back. This kind of stubbornness was never there before.He Da went to ask Mrs. Zhang for advice on cooking skills, but Mrs. Zhang ignored him, and then asked Mrs. Suo. Mrs. Suo was a little afraid of Mrs. Zhang and did not dare to agree, so He Da had to bite the bullet and go into battle.When cooking rice for the first time, the rice was overcooked, the chicken stew was runny, and the wine was simmered too badly. They were delivered to Jianxiang's dining table with trepidation, thinking that they would be cursed, but Jianxiang ate it with great relish.He Da became more courageous, so he made rapid progress. After one month, he became an expert.

(End of this chapter)