PFC Chapter 53: All are tragic figures.
Chapter 53: All are tragic figures.
Not only were they beaten up by the five brothers, but they were also forced to go to the village chief's house to sign a letter of severance of ties. Furthermore, the clan chief expelled them from the Sun family clan on the grounds that they were unfilial and had caused their father's death.
They tried to argue back, but no one believed them, and Uncle Sun was labeled an "ungrateful wretch" by the villagers.
They were driven out of the village, and with nowhere to go, they went to work in the county...
Once, Uncle Sun was working at the dock when his stepmother's son saw him. After they talked for a while, they started fighting.
Their beating also alarmed the county magistrate, Lu Yunqing, who was traveling in plain clothes.
At that time, the county magistrate had just arrived in Guanglin Prefecture as the magistrate, after they explained the situation.
The county magistrate felt sorry for the family and then allowed Uncle Sun and his family of three to stay in the county to do odd jobs.
So, when the county magistrate came to take office, they followed him.
Cuiying wiped her eyes and choked up, saying, "Which of us wasn't saved by the magistrate?"
Afterwards, she and Cuihuan also talked about their backgrounds. Cuiying lost both her parents when she was young.
She lived with her grandparents when she was thirteen.
In order to find a wife for her son, the eldest aunt was willing to sell her to a butcher who was around forty years old for ten taels of silver.
If that butcher were a good man, I would marry him. But that butcher is a man who likes to abuse his wives. He has already beaten two of his wives to death. Who would want to marry him?
The grandparents are old and need care, so we don't dare to interfere too much. They even said to blame it on the fact that she's a girl.
She had no choice but to secretly run away from the village... Just as she was struggling with her uncle's family, she was encountered by the county magistrate who was traveling incognito. After hearing the story, the county magistrate spent ten taels of silver to buy her and even changed her name.
Cuihuan was the eldest of many daughters in her family. Because she was the prettiest among her sisters, her father gave her to a landlord in the village as a concubine in exchange for land.
She disagreed, which drove her to jump into the river. She was rescued by A-Dong, who happened to be passing by. After that, her father began to extort money from A-Dong.
Finally, when her father found out that A-Dong was a slave, he went to the county government to sue him. Unexpectedly, A-Dong was the magistrate's man.
Seeing this, her father became furious and acted like a rogue in front of the county magistrate. In the end, A-Dong gave her father twenty taels of silver, saying it was to buy herself a maid.
Twenty taels of silver was better than giving her away as a concubine in exchange for an acre of land, so they sold her just like that.
As Dongfang Jin listened to their stories, she realized they all had suffered tragic fates.
He thought to himself, "This Lu Yunqing wants to be a living Lei Feng. Not bad, not bad. Saving people from dire straits, he's a good official."
Every family has its own troubles, and the rights and wrongs were the same in that era. So, being born into the right family is a skill.
When Aping came over to get breakfast for the county magistrate, he saw that everyone's eyes were red.
What's going on so early in the morning?
When Aunt Sun and Cuiying saw Aping, they remembered their important matter: they hadn't packed the magistrate's breakfast yet.
……
After breakfast, Dongfang Jin found two servants and asked them to deliver star anise and Sichuan pepper to his courtyard.
As for the mushrooms, they'll stay in the kitchen and be kept under Aunt Sun's watch.
At the same time, Dongfang Jin also told them the names of these mushrooms and how to eat them.
This thrilled the group, and they all thanked her profusely.
Dongfang Jin, carrying breakfast for Gu Jingye, pulled Gu Caiwei back to the courtyard, where they heard the clear, childlike voices reading aloud.
"In the beginning of human beings, their nature is good, their natures are similar, their habits are far apart..."
Gu Caiwei said with a smile, "Brother is so hardworking. I must study hard too, so I won't fall behind him."
Dongfang Jin joked, "Hehe, okay, our Caiwei will also become a female top scholar in the future."
Gu Caiwei covered her mouth and giggled at what she said: "Okay."
Dongfang Jin pulled Gu Caiwei into the courtyard: "Little Stone, it's time to eat. After you finish eating, I'll explain all this to you."
Gu Jingye ran over with the book in his hand and took the food box from her: "Little sister, really?"
"Of course, but there are some missing parts here, I'll fill them in for you, so please remember them."
"When your father comes back, we'll move to the new house. Stone, you must practice your calligraphy diligently and write down everything I just told you."
"it is good."
While Gu Jingye was eating, the two servants brought over the spices and Sichuan peppercorns.
Dongfang Jin gave each of them a reward of ten coins after they left.
He went to the storage room next door, moved out a few old bed boards, put them together in a sunny spot in the yard, wiped them clean, and then poured the large pieces of wood on them.
This isn't her home, so she can't make a big fuss about it and can only choose this primitive, natural way of drying her clothes.
The two children helped her with the chores, and she didn't stop them. They were just kids, after all, and she didn't interfere with them doing what they could.
As she spread out the star anise to dry, she explained the Three Character Classic to Little Stone...
Gu Jingye looked up at her and asked, "Little Mother, is it true that it's good no matter who gives birth to you?"
After Dongfang Jin finished speaking the first sentence, Gu Jingye started asking questions, and he was serious: "Yes, no matter which family a child is born into, they are good from birth."
This is the meaning of "At the beginning of life, human nature is good".
Later, as I grew older, my living environment changed, I learned different things, saw different things, and interacted with different people.
Temperament thus changes, and one comes to understand the distinctions between all things. This is the meaning of "human nature is similar, but habits differ greatly."
Gu Caiwei blinked her big eyes: "Little Mother, was Grandpa like that too?"
Dongfang Jin looked at the child. She had been with her maternal grandfather since she was a child, but what about this maternal grandfather? He actually wanted to sell them for money.
She said with heartache, "Yes, it's not just your maternal grandfather, you, your brother, your father, and everyone in the county government. As they grew up, their environments changed, and the people they met changed, so they became the way they are now."
Gu Caiwei pouted, "I don't want my brother to become bad, I don't want my father to become bad, and I especially don't want my mother to become bad."
"Hehe, people can be good or bad, but a good person can turn bad, and a bad person can be kind."
Therefore, you should not have absolute views when judging people and things in the future.
What the eyes see may not be true, and what the ears hear may not be correct.
This depends on your own judgment. Feel it with your heart, listen more, and observe more.
Also, if someone becomes your friend, he or she will tell you everything, no matter what it is.
This includes when others speak ill of you, or when others speak ill of her (him), etc. Do you think this person is good or bad?
Gu Caiwei frowned and pondered for a long time: "Then she is a good person. She tells me everything, which proves that she trusts me."
Gu Jingye frowned, lost in thought. After a while, he said, "I used to agree with my sister, but now, I don't know. I'm conflicted."
Dongfang Jin was amused by the children's expressive faces: "Hehe, right? But before that, you should ask yourselves a few more 'whys' in your hearts."
Why do I say that? Think about it, why would she (or he) tell you these things? Why?
Why does he/she insist on telling you this? What is their purpose? Think about it: if they say these things to me, will they also talk about you to others?