Chapter 122: Different
The cold wind blew. There was also sunlight.
A group of soldiers crouched in the wilderness, huddled together around a campfire.
They had likely built the fire near an ant colony, as many little ants were crawling out one after another.
One of the soldiers had a rather square face.
They had been sent by the Emperor to suppress the Rebels.
However, upon arriving in Jingzhou, they realized the Rebels were pitiful; these were no Rebels, but merely displaced refugees trying to scrape together a living.
Wave after wave of refugees feared not death; they actually claimed that the Rebel Commander Zi was a living Bodhisattva who saved the suffering, and they were willing to die for him.
They said they were originally going to be driven to death by officials, what with the harsh taxes and levies; since death was inevitable anyway, they might as well rebel and at least have a bite to eat.
As the fighting dragged on, these soldiers themselves became somewhat confused.
The enemies were too easy to kill, yet there were too many of them; some of these enemies looked like their grandfathers, some like their uncles, and some like their own children, and none of them feared death.
Why had it come to this?
The soldiers did not understand; this was not a question they could ponder. They had joined the army, and as lowly members facing life and death directly, they were basically uneducated.
And Meng Shaoxia, among these grunts, felt very lost.
He could recite the poems praising the Emperor from the capital backward: “Great talent and strategy, versed in ancient and modern knowledge, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, a prosperous age under heaven.”
But, was this a prosperous age?
What he witnessed this time was far more tragic than his last experience with Brother He.
Meng Shaoxia’s hands were cracked from the cold.
He was considered relatively well-off, as he at least had a padded jacket on.
Others truly had hands cracked open with fissures, bleeding.
They had come out to fight, yet their superiors were withholding supplies; everyone was barely clothed, starving, and suffering from cold and hunger, and since they were fighting ordinary people, they truly couldn’t bring themselves to continue.
The grunts were confused, but they didn’t know how to think; whether to fight, why to fight, how to fight, and to what extent—those were matters for the people above to worry about.
As they warmed themselves by the fire, a few of them chatted: “Tiezhu, have you settled things with your wife-to-be?”
The tall soldier, Tiezhu, looked slightly embarrassed when his wife-to-be was mentioned, but he still nodded earnestly: “I’m just waiting to go back this time; if I can perform a meritorious service and receive a reward, I’ll use it as a betrothal gift for her.”
“What about you, Little Fang?”
Meng Shaoxia had been deep in thought and confusion. Suddenly asked this question, he became even more confused.
“I haven’t confessed my feelings to her yet; my parents don’t seem to agree.”
Tiezhu’s large arm clapped onto his shoulder, and he realized it felt surprisingly hard—Little Fang was very sturdy.
“Is there something wrong with the girl?”
“No, the girl is very good.”
“Then is there something wrong with the girl’s siblings or parents?”
“No, they are all very good people.”
“Then why don’t your parents agree? Could it be that your ancestors were some kind of wealthy family? It’s not easy to find a wife these days; if you see someone you like, you have to pursue them vigorously. If you’re late, she’ll become someone else’s wife.”
Meng Shaoxia smiled bitterly as his other shoulder was also grabbed and shaken vigorously.
“Little Fang, you’re fierce when fighting, but you’re no good at chasing a wife. Listen to us.”
The ants retreated like a tide.
Aunt Yin’s heart was shattered.
She would just pretend she hadn’t seen it. Her eyes must be playing tricks on her.
That must be it; she was old and hadn’t slept well, so it was normal for her eyes to be blurry.
Jiang Mianmian saw the ants disperse, and turning back, she saw Great-Aunt standing behind her, swaying, and thought that Great-Aunt was indeed quite old.
To prevent Mr. Jiang from being angered to death, it was necessary to give him some spiritual spring water.
Because she had listened at the bedside at night and heard Mother talking to Father, and Father had said that Great-Aunt was very pitiful, having been childless her whole life and all alone, and told Mother to treat her well, just like a real Great-Aunt.
Qin Luoxia was very happy; she had always felt that she had no one from her maiden family to support her husband, and now that her husband said she could truly treat her as a real Great-Aunt, that was wonderful.
Jiang Mianmian felt quite happy listening to Mother’s voice.
It seemed she had even excitedly gone to catch a mouse in the middle of the night.
Big Sister could have an extra meal again; Big Sister loved to eat dried mouse as a snack.
Jiang Mianmian shifted her bottom, patted the straw mat next to her, and said, “Great-Aunt, sit.”
Aunt Yin took a deep breath, then sat down.
She had inhaled a bit too sharply, and the air was cold, so she couldn’t help but cough for a while.
She felt a small, chubby hand patting her back.
Aunt Yin coughed even more violently.
It wasn’t because she was touched, but because why was this little girl’s strength so great? It was like a little copper hammer, pounding so hard she couldn’t catch her breath.
Jiang Mianmian thought to herself that only Father in the family liked to cough, and after drinking the spiritual spring water, he was much better now; he was just pretending to cough in front of people, so it probably wasn’t a real cough.
Jiang Mianmian heard Great-Aunt coughing even louder and had a worried look on her little face.
Great-Aunt’s symptoms were worse than Father’s; not only was she coughing, but she was also wheezing severely.
Having been pounded until she coughed up years of old phlegm, Aunt Yin silently wrapped up the phlegm, got up, and went to throw it away.
Qin Luoxia had gone out early in the morning, and upon returning, she saw Aunt Yin and Mianmian and smiled: “Aunt, I’ll take you for a stroll around the village to get to know people.”
Aunt Yin thought that if she wanted to escape, she indeed needed to familiarize herself with the village terrain. Otherwise, it would be useless to go through all the trouble of running out of this house only to fail to get out of the village. She readily agreed.
Jiang Mianmian was thus in Mother’s arms, watching Mother hold her with one arm and link arms with Great-Aunt with the other as they strolled through the village.
Qin Luoxia introduced her enthusiastically to everyone she met: “This is my cousin-aunt, my real cousin-aunt. She will be living at our house from now on; if you see her, please lend a hand if she needs anything.”
The villagers all greeted Aunt Yin.
Aunt Yin was somewhat embarrassed by this open enthusiasm.
The villagers’ way of expressing closeness was very keen on touching, pulling arms, squeezing hands, and shaking hands.
“Aunt, you’re really sturdy; Aunt, your health is good; Aunt, it’s great you’re here to help with the children; Aunt, your Luo Xia is a really good person…”
Jiang Mianmian, in Mother’s arms, watched the high-and-mighty Master Yin, who had instantly integrated herself among the village women without any sense of awkwardness; it was truly impressive.
Master Yin was truly amazing. She had already started to inquire about everyone’s situation in return.
At this moment, a group of men near the village fields in the distance burst into loud laughter.
Everyone rushed over to see the commotion. Jiang Mianmian also craned her neck. Fortunately, Mother had long legs, and they quickly arrived at the scene.
It turned out that spring had arrived, and everyone had to consider farming. Every year for farming, they would invite a respected person to lead the start.
In the past, it was always Master Liu who would lecture everyone, telling them to work hard for him, put in effort, and not be lazy.
But this year, Mr. Jiang said he would distribute these fields to everyone, and it was already being implemented. Although it was a small amount, Mr. Jiang said that once they were stronger, they could have more land, and in the future, every man in the village would have his own plot and be able to marry a wife.
So this year, Mr. Jiang was the one to lead the start for everyone.
The sound just now was from everyone seeing Mr. Jiang and his son actually going into the fields themselves.
It was actually very strange. In the past, everyone mocked Jiang the Second as “unable to lift with hands or carry with shoulders,” doing no work at all.
Now, everyone respected Mr. Jiang, even though he was still “unable to lift with hands or carry with shoulders.” He merely stepped into the muddy ground himself and accidentally got mud on his body and face, and everyone felt very touched and excited, bursting into good-natured laughter.
Jiang Mianmian went over and saw Father playing in the mud; she was a little excited and wanted to go too. However, her body was held down by Mother.
And Aunt Yin saw the man standing in the mud, covered in mud, with mud on his face, yet he was still talking to the people around him with a smile on his face.
With every step he left a muddy footprint, and he was kind and amiable, chatting and laughing with the villagers around him, full of charismatic influence. Whatever he said, the people around him nodded wildly and cheered, their faces flushed with excitement, their emotions surging.
It was just like that time years ago when she saw Master Jingjue; that person just spoke indifferently, and he could make everyone nod in wild, excited agreement, which made her feel very panicked. That time, because of Master Jingjue, at least several thousand people died.
Jiang Changtian saw his wife in the crowd, walked out of the mud, and wiped the mud off his hands.
He reached out, took Mianmian into his arms, and smiled: “Why did you come over?”
Qin Luoxia also smiled: “I’m taking my aunt to get familiar with the people in the village; after all, we’ll be living together from now on.”
Jiang Mianmian said: “Father, Mianmian wants to jump in the mud pit too!”
Jiang Changtian pinched his daughter’s nose and rubbed her head.
Then he reached out and touched his wife’s head, saying: “My hands are wiped clean; there’s no mud.”
Jiang Mianmian:…Father, did you use your daughter’s nose and hair to wipe your hands?
Aunt Yin’s cold, shivering body warmed up slightly at this moment.
Perhaps it was different. He knew how to love people, and he had his wife and children in his eyes; he was different.
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