Volume 1 Chapter 48: Past grudges are resolved through a play, and the first snow on Lake Tai soaks my clothes
Lin Jianlan knew what she meant, and blushed as she said, "Sister Man, you are making fun of me. I should have known not to give you any advice."
The heavy and awkward atmosphere finally eased after the two of them played around. Lu Man was tired from playing, so she took a breath and asked softly, "Brother, do you still blame me?"
Lin Jianlan was startled, threw the stone in his hand forward, and said softly: "I can't hide my thoughts from Sister Man. I was indeed a little disappointed when I heard Miss Wan's words in the dungeon. Later, Miss Wan explained to me, and I realized that Sister Man was protecting me. Alas, thinking about how Sister Man was willing to turn against Brother Bai and speak for me, her younger brother, I secretly thought about it and secretly blamed you in my heart. I really shouldn't have done that. I wanted to slap myself a few times." After saying that, he raised his head and looked at Lu Man and said, "I just hope Sister Man doesn't blame me."
Lu Man smiled and said, "How could I blame you?" She casually pulled a blade of grass and played with it. After a while, she sneered and looked back at Lin Jianlan and said, "It's good to talk it out now."
But he heard a horse neighing not far away. Looking up, he saw Bai Zongping leading three horses back to the hillside. His face was still gloomy. Lin Jianlan hurriedly stood up and ran up to him, saying, "Thank you, Brother Bai." After saying that, he took a rein in his hand, turned around and saw Lu Man dusting off the dirt on her body, brushing her hair, and walking towards her gracefully.
Lin Jianlan realized at this moment that it was time for the three of them to part ways. He looked towards Lu Man, but saw that Lu Man was also looking at him. She smiled and said, "Brother, we are separated now. I have troubled you a lot along the way. If we meet again, I will make it up to you."
Lin Jianlan felt his nose slightly sour and said, "Sister Man, Brother Bai, you and I have been through thick and thin together, so why should we talk about who is dragging whom down? We will surely meet again in the future, take care!" After that, he handed over the reins in his hand.
Lu Man nodded, then took the reins from Lin Jianlan. Bai Zongping carefully helped her onto the horse, then she bowed to Lin Jianlan and climbed on.
The two men urged their mounts, and the two horses neighed a few times, then galloped away south. Lin Jianlan only withdrew his gaze when he could no longer see Lu Man's lush green clothes.
At this time, the surroundings were silent and the dusk was deepening. Lin Jianlan looked towards Jinzhou City and remembered that the books left by his father were thrown into the vehicle of the inn that day, and he was afraid that he would never find them again. The long sword given to him by Lin Longqing also fell into the Jinzhou Hall and could not be retrieved. Thinking of this, he felt upset, sighed, mounted his horse and rushed towards the east gate of Jinzhou.
He rode the horse northeastward along the official road for a few days, but there were few pedestrians on the road. Instead, farmers were working in the vast fields beside. It was harvest season, and Lin Jianlan took a deep breath, as if he could smell the fragrance of rice from his hometown. He urged his horse forward, but he saw a crowd of people not far ahead, and heard a lot of noise.
Lin Jianlan reined in his horse and slowly approached. He saw a group of soldiers beating up several farmers in the fields beside the official road. One of the soldiers who looked like a leader shouted, "This is the land that Master Cai has set his eyes on. How dare you refuse to give it to him? How many heads do you have? Brothers, take these troublemakers back!"
A peasant woman cried and hugged the officer's trouser legs, saying, "Gentlemen, please be kind. Seeing that so many people in our family depend on this piece of land for their livelihood, please spare us!"
The leader of the soldiers kicked her away impatiently and said, "Don't keep pestering me. If you make me impatient, your whole family will die!" After that, he whipped her a few more times. How could the peasant woman bear it? She just cried and hid.
A man next to her shielded her and said, "Sir, please be kind and let us harvest this crop. Otherwise, our work this year will be in vain." The clothes on his back had long been torn, revealing streaks of blood.
The leader of the soldiers just kept waving the whip in his hand and said, "Who cares if your work is in vain? We can't afford to delay. We want it today, so we want it today. These guys are really difficult to deal with. Lock them all up!"
The guards nearby immediately rushed over with the hinges like wolves and tigers. Lin Jianlan grew up in the countryside and knew the hardships of farmers best. He was furious when he saw this. He dismounted his horse and separated the crowd of onlookers and said, "Your banditry is destroying the livelihood of their family, aren't you?"
Those officers and soldiers seemed to be used to being so arrogant and domineering that they didn't expect someone to dare to oppose them. The leader was surprised at first, but then he laughed and said, "I advise you to stay out of it and don't get yourself into trouble! No one dares to refuse to give what our Master Cai wants!"
Lin Jianlan said angrily: "You are seizing people's land in broad daylight. Aren't you afraid of the law?"
When the officers and soldiers heard what he said, they all laughed. The leader said, "You don't know anything, yet you dare to come out and stir up trouble? Let me tell you, all the officials in this area got their positions through our Master Cai's connections. Who of them dares to offend our Master Cai? Go your way. I'm in a good mood today. I see that you are weak and I won't cause any trouble to you!"
Lin Jianlan could no longer hold back and said, "So you are all slaves who are accomplices to the tiger and scum who rely on the power of others!"
The officer and soldier leader's face changed, and he said angrily: "Oh, you are scolding me now? It seems that if I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know my ability. Come on!" After that, a group of officers rushed over. Lin Jianlan dodged, but saw that the leader drew out the broadsword from his waist and slashed at him fiercely. He thought to himself: "I just said a fair word, and they killed me. How could they care about the lives of ordinary people? They trample on them at will?" After thinking about it, he decided to teach these officers and soldiers a lesson. He pushed the broadsword away and punched. With a bang, the officer and soldier leader was hit in the chest. He rolled on the ground for several times and didn't move. Other officers and soldiers were brave enough to sniff his breath and stammered: "Brother... seems to be dead..."
Lin Jianlan was also stunned and looked down at his fist. He didn't know that because of his diligent practice along the way, his internal strength had improved greatly. These officers and soldiers usually lived a life of luxury and had almost no training, so how could they withstand his punch.
All the officers and soldiers said, "Don't run if you have the guts. Just wait!" Then they dragged the corpse of the leader and scattered like monkeys.
Lin Jianlan looked at the group of officers and soldiers and murmured, "They are so useless. Everyone, they probably won't dare to come again. Just continue to harvest."
The peasants grabbed Lin Jianlan and said in unison: "Don't let him get away, the soldiers will come back and cause trouble for us!" They turned to Lin Jianlan and said: "You...you can't leave! If you leave, we will all be arrested and put in jail to pay for your life!"
Lin Jianlan had no intention of killing the soldier, but now he realized that if he left, his good intentions might end up costing all of their lives, so he couldn't think of a solution for a moment.
At this time, a man among the farmers shouted: "Since we can't survive here anymore and can't keep our land, why don't we discuss it and join the Taihu Volunteer Army!"
Everyone said, "Yes, we are just waiting to die here, why not go to Taihu Lake and fight him!"
The leading man said, "Yes, Mr. Yuan told me that if we can't survive, we should join the Taihu Volunteer Army. His friends there will definitely take care of us."
Others enviously said, "You are so lucky to get to meet Mr. Yuan! In that case, let's go home, pack up some important things, and take our wives and children to Taihu Lake!" After that, everyone dispersed.
Seeing the crowd disperse, Lin Jianlan still mounted his horse and walked forward slowly. However, the further he walked, the more barren the roadside became. The fields should have been full of grains, but most of them were unharvested and withered in the ground. Occasionally, he saw pedestrians, most of whom were ragged and had haggard faces. He remembered what Lin Longqing had taught him that day: "Looking at the past dynasties, the common people rose up because they were forced to live without heavy taxes. Otherwise, who would be willing to fight in battles and wander around?"
Seeing that this place is still thousands of miles away from Taihu Lake, these farmers would rather leave their homes. It is really a harsh government that is worse than a tiger. The people of the world are in dire straits, and the Dongdu Yukousi is still presenting some anti-aging holy product to the emperor. Thinking of this, Lin Jianlan suddenly remembered that Lin Longqing mentioned to him that his biological father was determined to seek fame and fortune. He probably wanted to do something great for the country and the people, but his life or death is uncertain, and he doesn't know where he is now.
He thought of the Taihu Yuan Xianggong that everyone mentioned just now, and thought to himself: "I think it must be the one that Brother Yue mentioned to me in the main hall that day. If there is a chance, I must meet him. But I don't know what the overall situation of the Kuangyi Gang is like now. There is still some time before the Taihu Grand Meeting scheduled that day. Seeing that Taihu is getting stronger and stronger, I am afraid they will have a big fight against the court. Alas, it is not a good thing for the world to fall into slaughter after all."
He walked towards the northeast with a heavy heart for some time. The weather was getting colder and the pedestrians on the road gradually spoke with an accent from outside the Great Wall. Looking at the city gate getting closer and closer, Lin Jianlan looked back and saw that he could no longer catch up with them. He squeezed his horse's belly and galloped away towards the outside of the Great Wall.
Although they had been separated for several years, it still seemed the same as it was that day. It didn't take Lin Jianlan long to arrive in Liaodong. Instead, he was afraid to ride his horse and walked slowly. The scenery that was so familiar to him when he was young gradually appeared before his eyes. The trees were withered, and the north wind blew up, sweeping up dust and fallen leaves on the ground. Lin Jianlan walked forward along the village road, raised his eyes and looked around. In the sparse village, there was a person in the distance, who looked like his old playmate. He got off the horse and ran forward quickly. When he saw the man's face clearly, he couldn't help but feel excited. He patted the man on the shoulder and said, "Agui!"
The man was startled and turned around, only to see a young man with handsome features, a smile on his face, and an air of scholarliness. He looked familiar and stood there speechless.
Seeing him in a daze, Lin Jianlan hugged him and said with a smile: "Agui, I'm Lan'er! Do you still remember me?"
Agui suddenly realized and said, "It's you! Look at your clothes, you are not a bumpkin like us! I... I thought you would never come back!" He started to cry. A woman came out of the house next to him. Her face was yellow and she had a cloth tied on her head. She looked at Lin Jianlan from top to bottom through the fence and shouted, "Agui! Agui! Where have you been? The child is crying, go and comfort him!"
Lin Jianlan hurriedly said: "Agui! My grandmother..."
Agui looked embarrassed and said anxiously: "This is my wife. I have to go in to coax the child. Come over when you have time and we'll talk!" After that, he turned around and walked into the yard, then looked back and said: "Just come and get whatever you need!" Then he walked into the house.
Lin Jianlan was just about to ask about his grandmother's condition, but seeing that she was really busy, he looked into the empty yard for a while, then took the horse and walked forward sullenly, feeling a little melancholy in his heart, and thought to himself, "I didn't expect that Agui has already gotten married and has a child. Alas, he is already an adult." He remembered that Agui and his wife were both wearing shabby clothes and looked pale, and they seemed to be very poor. When they were children, they only played together, but now that they have started a family, they have to shoulder the responsibility of providing food and clothing for the whole family, which is very hard.
Although he was walking slowly with the horse, he was getting closer and closer to the small courtyard where the tree grew. From a distance, he saw that the two wooden doors were not locked and were opening and closing in the wind. Lin Jianlan walked quickly to the gate of the courtyard and looked inside. He saw that the leaves of the big pear tree in the courtyard had all fallen and spread all over the ground, with a few pears hanging on the branches, swaying precariously.
Lin Jianlan hurriedly pushed open the gate and walked in. The leaves squeaked under his feet, obviously no one had swept them for a long time and a thick layer of them had formed. The door was tightly closed. He walked forward slowly, his hands were already shaking. He pushed open the door and suddenly there was a gust of dust. The two stoves in front of him were cleaned up, and a stack of coarse porcelain bowls and plates were neatly , just covered with a thin layer of dust. It was obvious that no one had lived there for some time. His heart began to beat wildly and his legs became weak and he could hardly stand.
He slowly squatted down and picked up the fine dust with his hands. After a while, he stood up and walked to the inner room to look around . There was no mess at all. Everything was neatly stacked, but there was more and more dust on the bookshelf.
He picked up the bucket and fetched a bucket of water from the yard. He remembered that when he was a child, he could only use a small basin to slowly scoop water from his grandmother's full bucket. But now it was effortless for him. He carried it into the house, picked up the broom and rag, and swept and wiped everywhere in the same way as he did when he was a child.
Looking outside, the sky gradually darkened. Lin Jianlan walked out of the house and looked up at the sky covered with dark clouds. The cold wind became more and more biting. Suddenly, he felt a little cold on his cheeks, but it was a few snowflakes falling sporadically. Lin Jianlan gently raised his hand and saw that the snowflakes melted away before they fell into his palm. Two lines of tears finally slid down from his eyes. This winter, the first snow in the north came early.
