The sky is clear and the sun is shining brightly. Carrying a heavy bamboo basket, Zhang Yuan trudged forward on the rugged mountain road. Beads of sweat continued to slide down the fifteen-year-old boy's forehead. His pale bronze skin shone with crystal light under the sunlight, and his muscles stretched under his thin clothes. After turning the road, a mountain village surrounded by mountains appeared in Zhang Yuan's sight. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his face and showed a faint smile. Chenjiacun. Zhang Yuan’s home in this life! Five years ago, he solved the mystery of the womb in ignorance and gradually recovered the memories of his previous life. Although he didn't understand why he traveled to this ancient world, Zhang Yuan did not blame others and give up on himself, and worked hard to learn survival skills. By now he is used to life here.
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yuan did not walk directly towards home, but set foot on another trail. Not long after, he saw a wooden house on the edge of the forest. Zhang Yuan's expression suddenly changed. In front of the wooden house, in the yard enclosed by a fence, three teenagers in strong shirts were practicing boxing and kicking martial arts under the guidance of a middle-aged man! This scene made Zhang Yuan's throat feel even drier. He pursed his lips hard and continued walking towards the wooden house. It's just that this path, which has been walked countless times, seems particularly difficult to walk today. However, before Zhang Yuan could reach the courtyard gate, the middle-aged man came out to block him. This middle-aged man is tall, dark-skinned, with a long scar on the left side of his face, sharp eyes, and a rather fierce aura. He looked at Zhang Yuan with obscure eyes. "Master Gao!" Zhang Yuan quickly took off the bamboo basket on his body and said respectfully: "Today, the price of rice in the county increased by another penny, so I only bought seventy-four kilograms..." "Okay." The middle-aged man interrupted him directly and said calmly: "Thank you for your hard work, you don't have to come again in the future." Although he was prepared in his heart, Zhang Yuan's heart still sank suddenly when he heard the other party's ruthless words. He was silent for a moment and asked bitterly: "Master Gao, did I do something wrong?" There are hundreds of households in Chenjia Village, with a total of five to six hundred people. Among them, the two most capable are recognized. One is Old Master Chen who is knowledgeable and has some medical skills, and the other is Gao Orion in front of Zhang Yuan! After Zhang Yuan awakened his past life memories, he first learned literature and literacy from Master Chen, and then took great pains to please Gao Orion. It is said that Gao Orion was born in the military. Because he was disabled, he returned to his hometown and settled in Chenjiacun, where he usually made a living by hunting. This man was outstanding in martial arts and had once killed a black bear on his own. If he hadn't been lame in one leg, he could have gotten a good job in the county government or with a wealthy family in the county.
It's just that Gao Orion has a withdrawn and indifferent personality. He has always lived in isolation. He rarely interacts with people in the village and is very difficult to get close to. In order to learn the other party's skills, Zhang Yuan worked hard to serve him despite cold looks and ridicule. For example, today, he rushed to the county town twenty miles away before dawn, and worked hard to carry dozens of kilograms of rice back. As for the usual work of chopping firewood and carrying water, Zhang Yuan helped the other party countless times! After more than three years, even a stone should be warmed by his sincerity, but today it was poured cold water on it. Even though Zhang Yuan was a strong-willed person in his two lives, he couldn't help but feel resentful. Gao Orion glanced at him indifferently and said, "You did a good job. I also know what you are thinking. I originally thought about accepting you as a disciple, but..." He pointed at the three young men in the courtyard: "Yesterday, Chen Deping and Chen Wai brought his children to be apprentices and gave him generous gifts. Do you understand?" Chen Deping and Chen Yuanwai? Zhang Yuan was inexplicably surprised - how could a gentry family bring their children to a mountain village to learn from their masters? But no matter what the reason, he obviously has no ability to compete with the children of Yuan's wife's family! Suppressing the doubts and sadness in his heart, Zhang Yuan lowered his head and replied: "I understand." "very good." Orion Gao nodded, very satisfied with Zhang Yuan's knowledge. The middle-aged man reached out and grabbed the bamboo basket on the ground, turned around and limped a few steps away. Suddenly he turned back and reached into his arms, took out a few pieces of broken silver and copper coins and threw them in front of Zhang Yuan: "Go back. " Looking at the scattered coins on the ground, Zhang Yuan clenched his fists subconsciously. Immediately, he spread his fingers and leaned over to pick up the coins without missing a single copper plate. He deserves it! When Zhang Yuan straightened up again, his eyes met the disciples of the Yuan family in the courtyard. The oldest boy crossed his arms with a half-smile on his face, and looked at Zhang Yuan with eyes full of contempt and ridicule. It's like looking at a poor beggar! Another young man made a face at Zhang Yuan, his disdain palpable. It seems to be saying: I don’t know where the courage comes from, just a lowly little mud-legged person, but he dares to learn from his master? Zhang Yuan turned and left silently. He hadn't gone far when he heard a taunting voice from behind: "Brother, look at that man as a black monkey." "Haha, you don't overestimate your capabilities!" "Ignore him, let's continue practicing." "Ha ha!"
Zhang Yuan turned a deaf ear. Zhang Yuan will not shout "Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi, don't bully young people into poverty", but the humiliation he suffered today will be firmly engraved in his heart and become the driving force to move forward! It doesn't matter if he misses an opportunity. He is still young and will have many, many opportunities in the future. But what Zhang Yuan never expected was that when he returned to his home in the east end of the village, he saw three or five people surrounding the door of his home, with neighbors peering in and out. And Zhang Yuan's mother in this life, a thin and old woman, was negotiating with the people blocking the door with tears in her eyes! "mother!" Zhang Yuan rushed over without thinking, holding the hatchet stuck in his waist with his right hand. "Yuan Wa'er is back!" A sharp-eyed neighbor shouted. Those blocking the door immediately turned around, and one of them, a middle-aged man with a deer-headed head and a rat-like eye, screamed: "You are Zhang Yuan, right? You came back just in time!" Zhang Yuan noticed that the other party was holding an account book in his hand, and his entourage on the left and right were all powerful servants. He immediately stopped and let go of the hatchet calmly: "I'm Zhang Yuan, tell me if you have anything." In this life, Zhang Yuan lost his father since he was a child and has been living with his widowed mother in the village. Now, at the age of fifteen, he is the backbone of the family. "Alright." The guy who looked like a master twirled his beard and said grandly: "The county government assigns corvees. Our Chenjia Village has been assigned to thirty households, and your family is among them. So you have to go to the county to serve for five years at the beginning of next month." months.” Zhang Yuan was surprised: "My family already enlisted last year, why is it our turn again this year?" For the villagers, the corvee sent by the county was undoubtedly one of the most terrifying things. The corvee service lasted for three to five months or even a year and a half, and you had to bring part of your own food rations. The work was very hard and dangerous. It was normal for a strong man to become thinner or become disabled after returning from the service. These are all pretty good, and some of them are gone forever! Comparable to the gate of hell. Last year, Zhang Yuan's mother sold off the remaining dowry jewelry and used silver taels to pay for the corvee service in Zhang Yuan's family. I thought it would stop for a few years, but I didn't expect it to happen again this year. It’s really hard to live! "Last year was last year, this year is this year!" Master Zhangtou sneered: "Starting from this month, we, Mr. Chen, will be in charge of the corvee and taxation of Chenjia Village. If you don't want to serve, then just pay five taels of silver." "Five taels?!" Zhang Yuan opened his eyes wide: "Last year it was three taels, why is it five taels this year?" "I told you, last year was last year!"
Master Zhangtou sneered and said: "This year, Mr. Chen, we, Mr. Chen, will return to the village to settle down. We plan to rebuild the ancestral temple in the village. Every household has to work hard. If you add two taels, it will be a bargain." "Remember, you must pay within three days, otherwise you will go to serve in the county!" "Let's go!" Zhang Yuan watched a group of people leave proudly, and then helped his mother back to the thatched mud house. Zhang's mother grabbed her son's arm and burst into tears: "Yuan, Yuan, baby, tell me, what should I do? Otherwise..." She suddenly thought of something and grabbed her fingers hard: "Run away, run far away by yourself and don't come back, leave your mother alone!" "Mom, it's okay." Zhang Yuan gently held his mother's skinny hand and said in a deep voice, "I have a way." Although he said this, the anger in his heart turned into burning flames, raging in his eyes. This damn world! —— PS: New book released, please collect and recommend, thank you all (#^.^#)