Chapter 40: Treading on Spring

  According to ancient legend, when Cangjie created characters, the cold wind howled outside, ghosts wailed and gods screamed. When Laozi recited the Tao Te Ching at Hangu Pass, the heavens shook and a great star fell into the Great Marsh. When Confucius taught his first disciple under a weeping willow, a five-colored auspicious cloud appeared in the sky.

  When the first lesson was over on Yunzhong, I deliberately paid attention to the surroundings, and it seemed that there was no movement at all. I couldn't help but think: "The sage does things with a loud noise, like thunder and rain, but when teaching thirteen children in this desert of learning, not even a breeze blows."

  He shook his head and went straight into his own bamboo building, where the cured meat immediately brought him a bowl of clear water with affection. She knew that after Yun Zheng finished speaking, he always had the habit of drinking water.

  Master! The price of the body has skyrocketed. On the second day, I went up the mountain to plant Qingke, and found that it had already been planted. Shanzi's father smiled foolishly and pointed to the field, saying to Yunzhong: "The child can write his name now."

  He has no excuse for not knowing how to write, having been taught hand in hand nearly ten times, the characters he writes still look like a dog's scratch, the two words "Cangshan" on the sand table are pitiful, if he still can't write, Yun Zheng is ready to use his sword today.

  An eleven or twelve year old kid, should be playing pranks on teachers and lifting girls' skirts. Now they can barely write two characters and make their parents happy by climbing mountains in the middle of the night to till the land for the teacher's family.

  From ancient times to the present, parents' desire for their children to be good has never changed.

  The cured meat proudly stood at the door, took over the fresh mulberry leaves from the mulberry-picking girl's hands, checked if they were clean or not, and then poured them into his own bamboo basket, waiting for midnight to feed the silkworms.

  At home, the water buffalo always has sensible children who take it out early and bring it back after eating its fill. As for firewood, the Yun family never lacks that thing. Even when the girls go to play by the riverbank, they know to pick up some nice stones to show respect to Mr. Shi, because his family is preparing to pave a gravel path in front of their door.

  In the whole village, whoever has a garden, if they dare to make the village look messy, will be thrown into the well by the furious old patriarch. But Mr. Cloud's family is different, scholars always have some differences with farmers. When he saw Yun Zheng planting flowers, the old patriarch strongly recommended the climbing tiger, saying that this thing is the best, and when there is nothing to do, the whole wall is green and beautiful.

  This is the benefit Yun Zheng has received from teaching for two days. On the third day, he left homework for the children early and rushed to Dou Sha Guan in a cattle cart. He couldn't not attend Xiao Jia young master's spring outing.

  Under Yun Er's urging, the leek boxes were packed with three whole ones. Although this thing tastes very strong after eating, the taste is absolutely wonderful. Yun Zheng also kneaded a few more tangyuan, and the filling inside was just sugar frost and sesame seeds. Yun Er didn't like it, saying that the sweetness was greasy, but the good girl, La Rou, said she could have them all, guaranteeing not one would be left over.

  A plate of mixed vegetables, the cured meat steamed and served with rice balls that the student's family had respectfully offered, was a flavor that would be unforgettable for a lifetime. Adding four or five boiled eggs, Yun Zhen thought his meal could rival the imperial banquet.

  As I passed by Qingniushi, I happened to run into Lai Ba, who had just shot and killed a wild chicken. He skinned it and gave it to Yun Zheng, who tried to decline but couldn't get out of it, so he ended up accepting it.

  "Yun Dai is a lucky star, since meeting you, life in the mountains has been much better. The mountain goods are now in short supply, I heard from Liu Doutou that many dried mountain goods were packed in beautiful bamboo baskets and sold to Chengdu Prefecture at high prices."

  Yun Zheng looked at Lai Ba's excited face and was happy for the mountain people. As long as they could trade with those below, their lives would be much better. Lai Ba no longer hunted himself, but instead collected goods from more remote mountain villages to sell to Liu Du Tou. In this world, there were indeed no fools; even honest Lai Ba had become a middleman. He used to hide in the bushes like a wild dog, but now he dared to walk on the mountain road with his head held high. This was all thanks to the convenience provided by Liu Du Tou. Yun Zheng believed that in three to five years, Lai Ba would forget how desperate he had been when he carried his daughter to see a doctor.

  No matter what, the mountain people's lives have improved a lot, and they don't need to worry about trivial matters. After bidding farewell to Lai Ba, Yun Zheng's cow cart slowly entered Dou Sha Pass. Under Yun Zheng's generous bribery, the gatekeeper of Dou Sha Pass saw Yun Zheng as if he had seen an old friend, and shouted loudly from afar.

  "It's been a long time since you came to the city, today there is a flower fair in the city, the flower queen from Dali Kingdom has come, specially for the opening of Liang's silk shop, it's worth seeing."

  Two dried mountain yams were handed over: "Don't talk too much, your mouth is already foaming. These are mountain yams dug up from the mountains, which are rare in spring. Peel and eat to clear heat and lungs."

  Mending received the mountain medicine, and then threw half a bag of grain onto the cow cart, saying that it was the business team's earlier disturbance. As a soldier eating rations, these things are useless. He spoke as if he were a good person, but the golden seal on his forehead couldn't be covered up no matter what.

  Arriving at the Xiang family gate, I saw several mule carts parked there. The most eye-catching one was a horse-drawn carriage. In an era when even prime ministers rode in ox carts, it was rare to see a genuine horse-drawn carriage.

  Xiao Wugeng was standing in front of the carriage, fawning on the people inside. When he saw Yun Zheng arrive, he gave him a disgusted glance before continuing to chat with the people in the carriage.

  Yun Zheng didn't think much of it, and sat smiling on the ox cart, chatting with Yun Er in a low voice. Suddenly, he heard a familiar woman's voice coming over: "Little sister hasn't congratulated you yet for entering the county school, one day you will surely become a celestial being."

  "This is Miss Liang, the silk seller. Yun Zheng bowed and returned the courtesy: 'I didn't know the difficulties of seeking knowledge, I spoke rashly, please don't laugh at me, Miss Liang. I want to enter the county school, but I still need to find 199 more classmates.'"

  Miss Liang smiled and was still very pretty, her nose slightly wrinkled upwards, looking very cute. Today she didn't come alone, there was a little girl in a green shirt next to her. The green-clothed woman held her head high, with her nostrils facing Yun Zhen.

  "Wow, this sister's nose hair is so long!" Yun Er exclaimed, staring at the green-clothed woman's nostrils in amazement, shaking Jian Rou's shoulder vigorously and saying: "I told you someone's nose hair would be longer than Tribe Leader Grandfather's, you didn't believe me, look, that green-robed sister's is really long."

  The woman in green let out a cry and jumped into the mule cart, not making another sound, probably too embarrassed to come out again. Miss Liang was shocked for a moment, then burst out laughing, holding her stomach in laughter for a long time before finally standing up straight and pinching Yun Er's chubby face, saying: "This is what it means to be protective of one's younger sibling! What does he have to do with anyone else's nose hair? You little devil, fabricating stories about people, don't you know that they have good reason to scold your older brother?"

  Please give me Sanjiang tickets, please recommend, and please collect.