The first volume of pearl curtains rolls up the western mountain rain at dusk Chapter 75: Five Returns
Li Diudiu turned around and looked at the man who looked like a black iron tower. After a moment of silence, he walked back. He sat down opposite Wang Heita and said in a serious tone: "You actually understand that this is just a conflict of interests between those bigwigs, but what is at stake is your life and mine."
Wang Heita smiled and said, "You may not be very old, but the fact that you can say these words is enough to show that you know more and see things more clearly than most adults. It's not easy."
He waved his hand: "Bring two jugs of wine."
His men immediately brought up two jugs of wine, and he pushed one to Li Diudiu: "I am as good as you in eating meat, how about drinking?"
Li Diudiu shook his head: "Master doesn't allow me to drink. Master said that drinking at my age is harmful to my health."
Wang Heita never expected that Li Diudiu's answer would be so good-boy-like. How could this guy look like a good boy?
"Then I'll drink it."
Wang Heita opened a pot of wine and gulped down half of it in one breath. After wiping the corners of his mouth, he said, "Although I am a rough man, I am not stupid. Little brother, I also understand the things you see clearly."
When Li Diudiu heard the word "rough guy", he was distracted for a moment, because he suddenly remembered what Xiahou Zhuo said, that anyone who calls himself a rough guy is just bragging.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said, "Lian Gongming wants to kill the Magistrate, and no one can stop him... I'm not leaving because I promised the Magistrate to take care of his home and his family. Now his family is in prison, how can I throw away his family property?"
"Lian Gongming was unwilling to do it himself but instead asked the Qingyi formation to do it. The first reason was to make the Jiedushi think that he was showing goodwill. By handing the matter over to the Qingyi formation, the Jiedushi would naturally know everything."
"And the second one."
He looked at Li Diudiu and said, "Isn't it because he wants me and Qingyi to fight to the point of mutual destruction? This dog-minded man wants fame at most. He asked the people of Qingyi to kill me. Am I so easy to kill? If hundreds of my men really fight head-on with Qingyi Tower, there will be a lot of casualties."
Li Diudiu nodded: "Yes."
Wang Heita said: "So you go back and persuade the people in the blue-robed formation not to let Lian Gongming play tricks on you. Even if the people in the blue-robed formation can kill me, so what? In the end, Lian Gongming will still be the one who benefits. But your persuasion is in vain..."
Li Diudiu said: "You can see it, I can see it, how can the people in the blue formation not see it? It's just about interests."
Wang Heita said, "Little brother, think about it again. Why did the people in the blue-clothed formation arrange people to kill me when they knew that this was a strategy that would kill two birds with one stone?"
Li Diudiu was silent for a long time, and after thinking carefully, he finally understood.
He sighed and said, "Because the account book not only contains Lian Gongming's name, but also the name of the Jiedushi."
“That’s it.”
Wang Heita said: "In this world of Chu, how many officials are clean? If all officials were clean, why would we have rebelled in the first place? Little brother, do you think the common people are willing to be rebels?"
Li Diudiu fell silent again.
Wang Heita raised the wine pot and gulped down another big mouthful. After he exhaled a breath of alcohol, he continued, "Brother, do you believe that ordinary people will not take risks as long as they can have two full meals a day? Do you believe that people will not rebel if they can have one full meal a day when the world is not going well?"
Li Diudiu nodded: "I believe it."
Wang Heita dropped the empty wine jug in his hand with a snap, and the jug rolled over and over, as if filled with resentment .
"But there's no food!"
Wang Heita said with red eyes: "Why did Song Feng and I gather people to revolt? It is because the corrupt officials have deprived us of even one meal a day, and sent people to plunder us and force us to pay money and grain. We have nothing but our lives, so we have to fight for our lives."
After a moment, he took a breath and said, "But I am now the Magistrate's man. Why? Because I have food to eat. As long as I am full..."
He tapped his fingers on the empty meat bowl in front of him.
“Who wants to be a thief?”
He let out a long breath: "I would rather be a dog than a thief."
After saying this, his eyes turned red as if blood could drip out. This was the first time Li Diudiu had ever seen eyes like this. The emotions in his eyes were so complicated, so complicated that anyone who saw them would feel heartache.
But it was simple, with only two words repeating in his eyes.
Alive.
"Little brother."
Wang Heita was silent for a moment and then said, "I can see that you are a kind-hearted person. People like you are easy to suffer. I am also such a person, so I often suffer. My sworn brother wants to kill me for money, but I don't kill him. Although killing him is easy for me, I can't swallow this breath, right? Doesn't he value money? Then I will take the half that belongs to me."
He took a breath and continued, "This money now, plus the money from the Magistrate, should be enough for me for a lifetime. My descendants should not be able to spend it all for several lifetimes. But I don't have the life to spend it. I know I won't live long..."
He smiled and said, "But I died with a clear conscience. My life was not lived in vain. I have drunk the strongest wine, slept with the most beautiful girl, and eaten the most delicious meat."
He opened the second jug of wine and drank it all in one breath.
"I haven't talked so much in years."
Wang Heita waved his hand and said to the brothers, "You all go out and wait for me. I still have a few words to say to this little brother."
The men then left the room.
"Outside Jizhou City, there is a Confucius Temple in Gucheng County. It is incomplete and has long been dilapidated. I hid a sum of money there. I have a wife and two children at home. I knew that if I chose this path, I would die without a burial place, so I didn't take them with me."
"They listened to me and went to live in seclusion in a village called Xinglongzhuang in Laihu County. If one day you know that I am dead, please take the time to go to Gucheng County to get the money and give it to my family. My wife is Gao Yue'e, my son is Wang Zhu, and my daughter is Wang Chunhua."
He smiled proudly: "I picked the names, how about it?"
Li Diudiu asked: "Truth?"
Wang Heita said: "Of course I have to tell the truth."
Li Diudiu said: "It's really not that good."
Wang Heita laughed loudly: "Others are afraid of me, so they don't tell the truth, but you are telling the truth..."
He stood up and took a few steps back, then bowed and said, "I entrust you to me. My brothers don't want to leave. They respect me and want to live and die with me. This is the honor of my king Heita. I can't persuade them to leave, so I can only entrust them to outsiders. But before this, I couldn't trust any outsider. It's God's mercy that I met you. Thank you."
Li Diudiu also stood up and bowed: "I will remember what Brother Wang entrusted to me."
Wang Heita said: "The amount of silver is several thousand taels. I have it here..."
He took out some and handed them to Li Diudiu: "I can't let you help me for nothing. The banknotes here add up to more than a thousand taels. Consider this my thank you gift to you."
Li Diudiu was silent for a moment, then took the banknote and said, "Okay, I deserve it."
Wang Heita laughed loudly and said, "No ordinary man is as straightforward as you. If it weren't for this bullshit world, I would really like to become your sworn brother, but I can't harm you..."
He clasped his fists again and said, "I'm going back to Changxing Casino. I'll say goodbye now. Maybe... we won't meet again."
Li Diudiu clasped his fists like an adult and replied as if he was swearing an oath: "Brother Wang, let's say goodbye now. I will never let you down."
It was already light outside when Li Diudiu came out of the shop. He thought that he had to go to school early in the morning, so he had to go back to take a shower and change clothes. He missed breakfast in the cafeteria very much, and he calculated that he would be able to eat it soon, so he was looking forward to it.
Just ate meat?
That was about the last meal. Since it was the last meal, what does it have to do with the next meal?
He looked back and saw that Wang Heita and his men had already left the shop through the back door. There were still no pedestrians on the street. The lonely Li Diudiu looked towards the direction where the sun was about to rise. He patted the thousands of taels of silver in his clothes on his chest and felt his feet were a little heavy. It was a little difficult for him to lift them and take a step.
The world...
Li Diudiu thought of what Wang Heita had said, and felt as if his heart was being pricked by needles, hurting every time.
If those big guys could give me enough food to eat, I would rather be a dog than a thief. But they don’t give me food, not even a single meal. This is the only life I have left, so I’d better fight with all my might.
Wang Heita used his actions and choices to prove that he really thought so. He left the rebel team and joined the official Zheng Chun. Was Zheng Chun a good person? Was he a good official? Of course not, but he could give Wang Heita a sense of security.
That's why Wang Heita said that he would rather be a dog.
Li Diudiu walked towards the Four Pages Academy, thinking as he walked, Wang Heita could only choose between being a dog and a thief, what about himself? A child who is about to turn twelve years old, who the hell doesn't want to be a carefree child?
Who? No! I don't want to!
Li Diudiu looked towards the eastern sky and felt really tired. He was already so tired, and an adult like his master should be even more tired. Everyone knew that Da Chu could not hold on for much longer, so everyone was afraid.
If the country does not exist, how can the family exist?
Aren’t those big shots who live in luxury and sing and laugh all the time afraid?
Li Diudiu stopped walking when he thought about this. He had never thought about this question before.
The big guys should not be afraid... In the future, a new empire will emerge, order will improve, and life will get better, just like when the Great Chu ended the chaos of the weekend. Those big guys will also have to make choices, but they have the capital to make them.
They are now watching the Chu State being destroyed, but they don't care. They have property and money, and when the time comes, they can give away a part of it and get back the status of a big shot.
They can still serve as officials in the court, and nothing will change. They will just change from being officials of Chu to officials of something else.
Li Diudiu let out a long breath and wanted to curse.
He thought to himself that if he ever became emperor, he would not use any of the people in the current Chu court, absolutely not.
While thinking about these things, he unknowingly returned to the Sixe Academy. He didn't know who the teacher of the class would be. It made sense for Xiahou Zhuo to ask him to be careful. Li Diudiu thought that he had not slept all night and he couldn't be distracted and fall asleep during class.
So he took a cold shower, changed into clean hospital clothes, and then thought about how he could stop himself from dozing off.
At this moment, Li Diudiu found himself walking to the entrance of the cafeteria. Was it so strange?
He raised his head and looked inside the cafeteria door, and saw Aunt Wu's bright smiling face.
At that moment, Li Diudiu's mood immediately improved. He walked in with a smile, stretched out his hand and waved to say hello.
When Aunt Wu saw him opening his hand and waving it, her first reaction was not that Li Diudiu was greeting her, so she immediately nodded and shouted in response: "Understood! Dumplings, five servings!"
Li Diudiu: “This…”
