Chapter 1 Yang Doze My name is Yang Baitian. My home is in Xiaokou Village - Shijiawan, at the gap of Daba Mountain on the southern foot of the eastern section of Bazhong. My family has always been rich, generation after generation. When it came to my grandfather's generation, it was 1933. The people were suffering from hardship, hunger and cold. This year, there was a drought in Bazhou, and famine was everywhere. People lived in misery and were displaced. Many people, unable to resist hunger, robbed and harmed people's livelihood. The society was at its wit's end, and thieves were everywhere. I heard that at that time. The rice fields dried up, the cultivated land was cracked, no grass grew, no harvest, even the water in the fields was snatched away and people drank it. People ate everything that could be cut, including tree bark and leaves. The animals that had not been slaughtered were either dying of thirst or crying out of hunger and turning over. The streets where children used to play were now silent and lifeless. The old, weak, women and children were lying on the ground everywhere. The entire Bazhou was like hell on earth. People were panicking everywhere, feeling insecure, and the weaknesses of human nature were exposed everywhere.
My grandfather had seven brothers and sisters, and his parents died early. Seeing that all his brothers and sisters were half-naked and skinny, the grandfather, as the eldest, had no choice but to follow the strong men in the village to work as a salt carrier (a job that involves putting goods in a basket and selling them from village to village) to earn some money to support the family. For 33 years, "carrying the second child" has been a physical job, and villagers from various villages and towns have spontaneously organized to participate. A trip of "carrying the second child on one's back" usually takes nearly ten days to half a month, and the distance covered is at least a hundred kilometers. This makes the back of the person who does the job of carrying the second child on one's back become extremely bent after a few years of doing it. The job of "carrying the second child" is also full of dangers. Whenever goods are shipped, more than five people must go into the village together. Because the journey is long, it is inevitable that they will be targeted by some robbers. In fact, rather than robbers, they are hungry people who have no regard for morality. If they encounter some violent people, they will lose their goods or their lives. This also means that some people carrying their children will never be able to return home. Once, my grandfather set out with the salt-selling team again. The team consisted of nearly twenty people, young and old, who were sent to various villages and towns. Along the way, the young pigs walked very fast, hoping to get to the village early to sell their pigs for a good price. Grandpa also tried his best to keep up with Zhishang. It was an unusually hot day. The originally dry Bazhong was like a big steamer. The young and strong backpackers were all sweating profusely and walking with difficulty on the rugged mountain road. Suddenly, a muffled groan was heard... An elderly man carrying his second child suddenly fainted due to the scorching heat and hunger. The salt in the backpack spilled all over the ground, which was a pity. Everyone gathered around, looking left and right, but no one offered a hand to help. It was almost dusk and this place was in the middle of nowhere, with neither village in front nor shop behind. The mountains are filled with ancient trees and vines entwined all over the ground, making it look even more eerie. No one knows what they will encounter if they stay in these desolate mountains. Everyone wanted to help him, but they were unable to do so. No one had the extra energy to help him. Finally, they all left one after another.
Grandpa looked at the old man, his eyes were closed, his breath was weak, his stomach was shriveled, and he was extremely thin... Thinking that he was a miserable person, how could I bear to leave him behind? As the sky grew darker, grandpa was worried that he would not be able to save others and would lose his own life on the mountain. After thinking for a while, he found a cave nearby. This cave is also very unique, it is very cool inside and the width is moderate. Grandpa thought that in this era, people are not well fed, so there must be no animals in the cave, if there are any, they must have starved to death. So he checked it out, moved the old man and the goods into the cave, and then ran a few miles to find some water. When he returned to the cave, it was already dark as ink, and he couldn't see his hand in front of him. Grandpa dipped his fingers in the dark to get some water and moistened the old man's lips. He also broke up the only dry food he had, soaked it in water, and fed it to the old man. The old man seemed to be very hungry and he kept eating in big mouthfuls even in semi-comatose state. After feeding the old man, it was dark, and the mountain was so quiet that only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the occasional calls of birds and animals remained... The more my grandfather listened, the more frightened he became. He hurriedly searched the cave for a rock and put it at the entrance to prevent any attack from wild beasts. After several twists and turns, even though my grandfather was young and strong, he was extremely sleepy and fell into a deep sleep while taking care of the old man. It is said that the old man woke up in a daze and saw a young man sleeping beside him. Then he remembered that someone fed him in the night. At this moment, I didn't know where I was, and I fell asleep again after a short while. I don't know how long I slept, but I felt warm all over, I was taken care of, I was no longer thirsty, and my stomach was full. I woke up feeling better. When I saw the young people taking care of themselves without considering their own immediate interests, I couldn't help but be deeply moved. After all, in this era of famine, everyone is in danger, and it is understandable that no one is taking care of them. How can we blame others? I was famous when I was young, but now I am stranded in the wilderness. Without the care of young people, I would have been devoured by wild animals long ago. I am afraid that my body will not even be intact... Just as he was thinking about how to repay her, the young man woke up. The old man stepped forward and bowed, and there was no need to say much to express his gratitude. During their casual chat, the two learned that the old man was actually the famous "divine fortune teller Yang Keshui" in Bazhong. It can be said that the children in the village grew up listening to his stories. When I was a child, I heard the legend from the villagers that Yang Keshui was usually taciturn and slept all year round, but his fortune-telling was extremely effective and his black bamboo divination was widely praised. It is said that he was good at using five black bamboo boards to predict the fortune, and all those who came to ask for his fortune always got their fortunes answered. The people who read his fortunes prospered. Yang Keshui was once a guest of the wealthy people in and outside Bazhou, and his treatment was evident. Talking about his fortune, the old man smiled bitterly and said, "Right now, people are living in poverty and have nothing to eat. How can they care about fate? Not to mention that someone has the leisure to read fortunes. You can see that at this time, I can't protect myself, and there is no one to help me." In this way, the grandfather's accidental rescue made the two of them friends regardless of age difference. As time went by, the two became more familiar with each other, and the grandfather felt even more sympathetic towards the old man's frailty and misfortune. In order to help the old man, my grandfather often helped him ship goods into the village, and often put most of the salt in the old man's backpack into his own basket.
This made Yang Keshui, a proud man who never owed anyone anything, like the young man even more, and he decided to find a suitable opportunity to repay him. On this day, after shipping and delivering the goods, grandpa was very happy as he held the hard-earned money he had received from the foreman. He planned to rush back to Shijia Bay overnight to buy some meat for his brothers and sisters as a treat. Before leaving, seeing Yang Keshui standing alone outside the village, his grandfather felt sorry for his loneliness and invited him to go to his home. Yang Keshui was just looking for an opportunity to repay this young man, and he was naturally delighted to have this opportunity to visit his home. My dears, the new book is on the way, and I’m begging you to vote for it at the top of my lungs.
(End of this chapter)
