Chapter 2 Hope
Is this?
Is this his long-lost relative...Goldfinger?
Xie Yuan, who was well-read at the starting point, reacted immediately and became extremely excited.
Is the lotus I asked for on Tianmen Mountain real?
"I pray for success in my study. If I win the lottery, the Taoist priest explains it. The lottery means that I can learn anything..."
At that time, Xie Yuan felt that it was a bit too exaggerated, thinking that these Taoist priests really He could say nice things, but he still felt happy. He donated 100 yuan to the merit box, hoping to get some luck.
The Taoist priest was very happy and said that he would definitely be rewarded, but Xie Yuan didn't take it seriously.
In the end, did this sign really come true?
“There is a method for every way, and there are techniques for every method, and they can all be learned.”
Xie Yuan murmured:
"Doesn't it mean that I can learn anything as long as I find the right way?
"The first skill, uh, splitting firewood? "
He looked at the floating fonts in front of him, thoughtfully.
"There is also a prophecy below... This means that as you become more proficient at chopping firewood, you can also understand the power of ax soldiers! ”
Xie Yuan's eyes lit up.
With mastery of weapons, wouldn’t it be possible to become a warrior?
No, more than that!
With the help of this magical ability, what is the problem in becoming a warrior?
You can live a better life, you can have a place in this world... and even higher scenery, you have the opportunity to touch it.
A road appears in front of him, it all depends on how he walks.
Xie Yuan suddenly felt warm, and the cold wind in late autumn seemed not so freezing anymore.
Looking at the words [Chopping Firewood (1/100)], Xie Yuan picked up his axe, and with great strength in his body, he started chopping.
Duo, Duo, Duo.
The sound of an ax splitting wood kept ringing.
Xie Yuan swung the ax vigorously, seemingly tireless for a moment.
Soon, half of the pile of firewood in the small courtyard was gone. He finally stopped and felt that his hands and feet were slightly weak.
"My body is still too weak..."
Xie Yuan shook his head, and then looked at the font that appeared as he thought.
【Chopping firewood (14/100)】
"In such a short time, you have grown 13 o'clock! It won't take long to reach one hundred o'clock."
Xie Yuan was so excited that he wanted to chop all the remaining firewood.
Unfortunately, my body does not allow it.
I haven’t eaten, I am thirsty and hungry, and my body is weak. I have also sweated a little. Although I don’t feel very cold now, when the autumn wind blows, if I don’t take shelter from the cold in time, I will get sick and make matters worse. .
It’s just that I don’t even have any clothes...
Fuck Li Mazi.
Let’s get something to eat first.
Xie Yuan glanced at the freshly chopped firewood and collected a basket full of it.
But the firewood of the Leizi tree is worthless. I'm afraid I can't even sell it for ten cents.
Unlike those iron poplars in the mountains, if chopped into fine firewood, they are very useful. Restaurants in the county come here to collect them, and a small half-back basket can be sold for dozens of coins!
It's a pity that he is too weak to cut down the iron poplar tree, let alone the better wood that city dwellers use to burn firewood or even make furniture.
Forget it, don’t worry now, good times are yet to come!
If this basket is sold or exchanged, how can I buy a few sesame seed cakes and not go hungry...
Xie Yuan was planning to go out when suddenly footsteps came from beside him.
Outside the courtyard wall surrounded by a simple fence, a village girl in her thirties greeted:
"Yuanzi, come to eat...ah! Why don't you wear cotton clothes? It's cold here."
In the mountain village, the village girl Li Lan has pretty features, but her face is dark and her skin is rough. There are still calluses on the hands, which shows that they have been working for many years.
Xie Yuan looked at the neighbor's sister-in-law and said subconsciously:
"It's okay...Sister Lanhua, why do I always come to your place to have a meal?"
"Why not? What about multiple pairs of chopsticks? Come with me!”
Li Lan came to catch Xie Yuan through the fence. The village woman was so strong that she dragged Xie Yuan to the next door like a little chicken. He was helpless.
As soon as I entered the door, I saw a man with an honest face and a young boy with a tiger-like head sitting at the table. On the table were two plates of green vegetables, a pot of brown rice and rice, and a large plate of scrambled eggs, which was quite sumptuous. .
Xie Yuan smelled the oil smoke and subconsciously moved his throat. He was really hungry.
Seeing Xie Yuan come in, the man nodded and said:
"Yuanzi is here, sit down."
Xie Yuan said hello with some embarrassment:
"Brother Shitou, excuse me."
Wang Lei had no expression and just shook his head gently.
"Ignore him! He's just like that. Sit down and eat."
Li Lan pushed Xie Yuan onto a chair and gave him a large piece of scrambled eggs with chopsticks.
"I just picked it up from the chicken coop today, it's fresh!"
"Thank you, Sister Lanhua, I'll do it myself."
Xie Yuan thanked him gratefully, and Li Lan gave him a blank look:
"Why are you being polite to me? Eat you Yes, look how thin you are.”
Xie Yuan held the chopsticks and was a little reserved at first, but he couldn’t help but Li Lan kept picking up food for him, and he was really hungry, so he gradually let go. , I just didn’t compete for food with the neighbor’s brother-in-law’s baby Wang Xiaohu.
Li Lan, Wang Lei and their eldest brother Xie Lun grew up together.
Sister Lanhua and her eldest brother were childhood sweethearts, and it seemed they were going to be his sister-in-law.
Somehow, they never succeeded, and Brother Shitou and Sister Lanhua became a couple.
It wasn’t until the eldest brother left that Sister Lanhua cried and told the reason.
When the two of them talked about getting married, Xie Lun felt that Xie Yuan was too young and needed to be taken care of. He was also afraid that Li Lan would get tired of his younger brother if he married him. Even if Li Lan promised to treat him like his own brother, it would not work. Never agreed.
The girl's family couldn't delay her, and coupled with Xie Lun's attitude, Li Lan got angry and got married to Wang Lei, who had always liked her silently.
Later, Li Lan realized that Xie Lun did it on purpose. He felt that his conditions were poor and he did not want to delay Li Lan, who was considered a village beauty. Wang Lei's family had two acres of paddy fields, which was much better than the two Xie brothers.
It's just that the deal is done. Li Lan gave up his thoughts and devoted himself to taking care of the family, raising his husband and raising his children. We are all open-minded people, and the three of them are still close neighbors and often communicate with each other.
Li Lan cried and swore at the funeral that Xie Yuan would be her biological brother from now on, and she would take good care of him.
"Yuanzi, why don't you add any clothes?" Li Lan suddenly asked again while eating, and then she said suspiciously:
"Were you robbed by those bastards again?"
Xie Yuan opened his mouth, then nodded silently.
"Damn bastard! What a bunch of dogs!"
Li Lan's face suddenly filled with anger, he clapped his chopsticks hard, and shouted loudly:
"When Brother Lun was here, these turtles didn't dare to fart! As soon as Brother Lun left, they bullied Yuanzi for not growing up!"
Wang Lei also frowned and said in a dull voice:
“This group of people really went too far. It’s a pity that Yuanzi is not as tall and strong as Brother Lung…”
"What do you know? All the young men in the city look like this! Their skin is thinner than that of girls, and their eyes are big and bright. They are nothing like people like us who grew up in the ravine, which makes people look strange!"< br>
Li Lan's ex-wife was still saying that Xie Yuan was thin, but she turned around and refuted her husband.
To be fair, Xie Yuan's facial features are very handsome and his appearance is indeed excellent. However, he is a bit thin and lackluster due to malnutrition, but he also has a calm temperament. Many young girls in the village like to talk to him.
"What are you doing standing still? Why don't you go and get a cotton coat for Yuanzi!"
Wang Lei paused, stood up and entered the room, whispering quietly:
"I Just two pieces of clothing..."
Xie Yuan felt a strong warmth in his heart and thought silently:
"No matter how kind Brother Shitou and Sister Lanhua are to me, I can't live for nothing every day. Besides, this year's harvest is not good, and they are under great pressure..."
But he wants to repay, but he has nothing to offer, so on the stool As high as sitting After feeling the needle for a long time, I suddenly stood up:
"Sister Lanhua, I chopped a few bundles of firewood today, and I will bring them to you."
Although the firewood of the leprosy tree is not easy to use, It can also be considered as a thought.
"Eh? No, no, no, don't bother..."
Before Li Lan finished speaking, Xie Yuan ran out and came back soon carrying a large basket of firewood.
Wang Lei was a little surprised when he saw this:
"Yuanzi, did you do all this this morning?"
"Yes."
Wang Lei Hearing this, he smiled naively:
"It seems that he is much more proficient than before."
"Yuanzi is promising!"
Li Lan smiled happily.
Xie Yuan smiled implicitly and gratefully took the cotton coat and put it on.
Phew, now we have enough food and clothing.
He didn't refuse, firstly because it was useless to refuse, and secondly because he really needed the clothes.
He just kept this affection firmly in his heart.
After Xie Yuan left, Li Lan was cleaning up the house. Wang Lei touched his nose and whispered:
"Yuanzi is chopping firewood more easily than before. I can support myself sooner." Okay.”
Li Lan didn’t even raise his head and hummed:
"He can't support himself, we can support him too! Say, what do you want to say?"
Wang Lei sighed:
"I know. But this year's harvest is poor, and our family's surplus food is also Not much... I still have to give it to the tiger I saved the money for private school and next year’s annual taxes.”
He paused and his voice became deeper:
“Besides, Zhang Laoer is talking about wanting our land again. Things.”
Li Lan raised his eyebrows and slashed the chopping board with the kitchen knife, making Wang Lei and the tiger boy crawling on the ground tremble in fear:
"No way! Ignore that dog fucker!"
Wang Lei hesitated and said in a low voice:
"That's for sure. It's just..."
Seeing that her husband was in trouble, Li Lan also slowed down her voice:
"Master, I know you're working hard, but we can't let Yuanzi starve to death! How much has Brother Lun helped us since we were young? When you fell into a pit in the back mountain when you were a child, did he ask an adult to pull you up? That time You were beaten half to death by Zhang Da, did he beat you back to vent your anger?
"He is gone now, Yuanzi is alone, who cares about us? ”
“That’s for sure. As long as we still have food, we must give Yuanzi a bite to eat. It's just..."
Wang Lei opened his mouth and sighed:
"Zhang Laoer said that he would take Yuanzi with him, and he could also recommend him to work in the city, or even work with his elder brother. . Boss Zhang is now a military officer. Do you think it is a way out for Yuanzi to follow them? At least he won't starve to death. ”
Li Lan frowned:
"Is this happening?"
She thought for a while and shook her head uncertainly:
"If Yuanzi can go to the county to make a living, , with someone taking care of her, it’s indeed okay.
“But why do the two Zhang brothers suddenly look up to Yuanzi? As the old saying goes, there is no such thing as pie in the sky. A little weird.
"Furthermore, with the virtues of the two brothers of the Zhang family, people will grow crooked if they follow them. I don't think so... but I'd better ask Yuanzi himself after some time."
Wang Lei nodded in agreement. Head:
“It’s still you That makes sense. In this way, the autumn harvest is over anyway, and we won’t be able to survive in the county town in the winter.”
“Thank you, boss.”
……
Xie Yuan returned to his small courtyard. After eating and drinking, and wearing cotton clothes to keep him warm, he was immediately motivated to chop firewood again.
Seeing the progress increasing little by little, he didn't want to stop at all. After finishing chopping the pile of firewood in the yard, he went to the foot of the mountain to cut it again.
Leprous trees are everywhere, so Xie Yuan doesn’t have to go far. After cutting them, he transports them back, then chops them into piles of firewood and bundles them into firewood. In addition to giving them to Wang Lei and Li Lan, he also gets a little attention from other villagers. In exchange for some money.
Now that he is more proficient, he can chop more firewood, and the weather is getting colder. Even if the firewood of the leprosy tree cannot be sold at a high price, he can always exchange it for a few sesame seed cakes a day, which means he will not starve to death.
“It’s good that the weather is cold... This is the saying of ‘poor clothes are only worn, but I am worried and want the weather to be cold’.”
Sleeping in a drafty wooden house, Xie Yuan had a personal experience of this ancient saying.
Relying on Wang Lei and Li Lan's support and the money he barely earned, Xie Yuan spent three days chopping firewood.
Three days later.
Duo.
When the ax fell, the wood broke in half, and the progress finally increased by the last point.
【Chop firewood (100/100)】
(End of this chapter)