Chapter 368: How many more years
"Bastard! Even if I know you, I shouldn't have committed the following crime! Beating a court official is a capital offense!" A young man of seventeen or eighteen yelled.
He believed that there was nothing wrong with him. Even if he was an old acquaintance of his father, how dare he act so recklessly!
When the guards heard this, they immediately stepped forward.
Jiang Lin suddenly stepped out, and the ground shook in an instant. The entire magistrate's house was shaking violently, as if it was about to collapse at any moment.
Everyone was so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they were speechless as they looked at the figure with the ground under his feet cracked like a spider web and his breath heavy as a mountain.
Malu also looked at Jiang Lin's figure, and suddenly remembered that when he first saw Jiang Lin, that figure seemed to be taller than the mountain in his childhood eyes.
For a long time when he was young, what Malu wanted most was to be as tall and powerful as Brother Chen.
But now he realizes that it is impossible for him.
Taking a deep breath, Malu pushed away the guard's support. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stepped forward: "I will ask someone to prepare a car and go back to the funeral with you."
"I'll just take you back." Jiang Lin grabbed his arm with one hand.
Malu was startled, then looked at his family: "Then they..."
Jiang Lin pulled him and stepped out of the house, but his voice remained where he was.
"They don't deserve it."
Jiang Lin knew very well from the fact that there was no trace of aura on the prefect's daughter a year ago that these people had nothing to do with the blacksmith shop.
He just forgot who he was and what he was going to do, but he understood many things.
Malu was pulled out of the hospital in silence.
One step covered a distance of several hundred meters. This speed made Ma Lu look horrified, and at the same time, his mood became more complicated.
Dad is right, Brother Chen is not an ordinary person.
"Dad..."
I worked as a tongzhi for two years, but when I returned to the blacksmith shop, I saw the neighbors helping to set up the mourning hall, and my mother Lu Yinghong's cry was hoarse.
The guilt in Malu's heart was beyond words.
Seeing Jiang Lin pulling him over, everyone looked shocked, thinking that Ma Lu knew the news in advance, otherwise how could it have come so fast?
However, no one was too afraid of this Lord Tongzhi. On the contrary, many people showed disdain.
Many of them had watched Ma Lu grow up with their own eyes. It was clear to everyone how much expectations Blacksmith Ma had for his son.
He had never been blamed for failing the provincial examination for many years. Anyway, he saved money every year and invited his master to teach.
After making a career in Malu, I have only come back a handful of times over the years.
He had never seen Blacksmith Ma even for the last time. Such behavior was extremely unfilial.
The strange looks in the eyes of the old neighbors made Malu unable to raise his head. He walked into the house with his head lowered and looked at the stiff body that was still held in his mother's arms.
That white-haired, thin body made Ma Lu's eyes turn red instantly.
He fell to his knees with a plop and cried bitterly: "Dad! The child is unfilial!"
Lu Yinghong looked up and saw him, and her crying stopped suddenly.
Then she rushed on Malu like crazy, tore his hair and clothes hard, and beat his face and shoulders.
The heartbroken cry sounded again: "Why did you come here? Why did you come here!"
Malu crawled on the ground and let his mother beat him.
Yu'er's eyes were also red and swollen. She walked to Jiang Lin and asked in a low voice: "Did you hit him?"
Half of Malu's face was swollen as high as a mountain, and five finger prints were clearly visible.
Jiang Lin nodded, Yu'er wiped the corners of her eyes and said, "It should be beaten."
The next day, Yu'er brought porridge over early in the morning.
Seeing Ma Lu still kneeling in front of the mourning hall, Lu Yinghong squatted in the mourning hall and burned paper money with a blank expression.
She sighed slightly and walked to Jiang Lin, who was wearing sackcloth and mourning: "Brother Chen, let's have some porridge."
"I'm not hungry." Jiang Lin shook his head.
For many years no one knew that he was never hungry.
Eating together every day is more about coping, or it can be said to be a manifestation of doing as the Romans do.
At this time, Jiang Lin seemed to feel something. He turned his head and looked in the direction outside the city, and then took steps.
Yu'er was holding the porridge, not knowing where he was going.
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Lin left the city and took a few more steps to reach two miles away.
In front of him, several carriages, surrounded by guards, were slowly driving towards this direction.
Sensing that someone was blocking the road, the curtain of one of the carriages opened to reveal an old face.
After taking a look at Jiang Lin, the old man got out of the carriage.
He is Malu's father-in-law and the former prefect.
I came here this time to bring my family to Blacksmith Ma's funeral.
From a distance, the old man rushed to Jiang Lin and handed him over.
However, before he could even say anything, Jiang Lin's voice sounded like thunder.
"Get out!"
The strong wind was blowing, making the carriage like a small boat in the stormy waves, ready to capsize at any time.
The horses neighed in fright and pulled at the reins frantically, trying to escape.
Even the well-informed former magistrate was so shocked that his face turned pale at this moment.
Jiang Lin's aura was so powerful, like a volcano that was about to erupt at any time, with a pressure that could almost destroy the world.
They are just mortals and cannot bear such pressure.
The old man yelled for someone in a panic and quickly backed away.
Jiang Lin was like an insurmountable mountain blocking this road, preventing them from moving any further.
It wasn't until these people retreated far away and disappeared from sight that Jiang Lin turned around and went back.
A few days later, Blacksmith Ma was buried. Malu kowtowed dozens of times in front of the grave, his forehead bleeding from the knock, but no one stopped him.
Because everyone felt that this was what he owed.
After this year, Malu would come back during every festival.
Each time he brought various gifts, but Lu Yinghong never said a word to him again.
More than ten years passed in the blink of an eye, and Lu Yinghong's health was no longer good.
One month before the end of the new year, she collapsed in front of her home and never got up again.
On her deathbed, Lu Yinghong pointed to the box in the room, her voice trembling: "Open it."
Jiang Lin walked over, moved the box over, and opened the lid in front of her.
There were a lot of things inside, including silver, jewelry, and some random gadgets, all of which Malu had played with when he was a child.
Looking at these things, Ma Lu had a complicated expression.
Although my mother never paid attention to herself, she still kept these things.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
Lu Yinghong seemed to suddenly become energetic. She reached out and took out a piece of unwashed children's clothes from the box, but had lost its original color due to the changes of time.
There seemed to be a few shallow footprints left on it. Lu Yinghong raised her head and glanced at Ma Lu.
Malu quickly bowed his head and stretched out his hands: "Mother."
However, Lu Yinghong didn't look at him again, her eyes fixed on Jiang Lin.
She handed the old children's clothes to Jiang Lin and looked at him taking it in his hand, with a rare smile.
"I still remember your stupid look when you first came here. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye, and it seems that you still haven't changed."
Lu Yinghong's voice gradually weakened and became a little soft.
"I still had selfish motives when I made the bed for you, so I saved a few taels of silver."
"I just can't find a wife for you."
"I still remember that year, your master bought you the first bunch of candied haws..."
Her voice could no longer be heard, and she passed away with longing for the past and deep regret.
Malu knelt down beside the bed and cried softly.
This year, Mr. Tongzhi is over fifty.
During Lu Yinghong's funeral, many neighbors still came to help, but most of them were young faces.
Many familiar old people have passed away, leaving behind sons and grandsons to inherit the family business.
After Yu'er learned the news, she also came back.
She is three years older than Malu. Although she is well-maintained, she still has deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and most of her hair has turned gray.
After Lu Yinghong was buried, Yu'er did not leave.
She came to the blacksmith shop and looked at Jiang Lin, who was forging iron as usual, with complicated eyes.
He was about to become an old woman with half of her body buried in the earth, but he was still so young and had not changed at all.
Almost all the people who lived nearby at that time have passed away. How many years can I live?
Looking at Jiang Lin, Yu'er suddenly asked: "Brother Chen, after Uncle Ma and Auntie leave, will you miss them?"
Jiang Lin replied without raising his head: "Yes."
Yu'er looked at him. After a long time, a trace of blush suddenly appeared on that somewhat old face.
"Brother Chen?"
"Huh?"
"If I leave one day, will you... miss me?"
Jiang Lin paused and raised his head to look at her.
The girl who once stuffed his wallet has also grown older, but her shy look remains the same as it did decades ago.
Jiang Lin's heart moved slightly and he wanted to say something, but he couldn't.
However, Yu'er was not disappointed, she seemed to have seen the answer.
With a smile on her face, Yu'er said: "I regret it a little."
"Ma Lu is right. I should have come to you directly wearing a red wedding dress. Maybe you would have agreed."
Jiang Lin was stunned, but Yu'er chuckled.
She seemed to have untied the knot in her heart. She waved her hand to Jiang Lin and said, "I'm getting older, and I just like to talk about impossible things. Let's go, Brother Chen."
Jiang Lin nodded and watched her leave.
Malu came over, looked at Yu'er's leaving figure, and said, "I regret it too. I shouldn't have gone to school in the first place. It would be better to learn blacksmithing with you."
Jiang Lin turned to look at him and asked, "Don't you want to take the No. 1 exam?"
"I won't take the exam anymore." Ma Lu also showed a bit of age on his face, with a hint of bitterness: "I won't take the exam anymore. Now think about it, what will happen even if I become the number one scholar? It's better to be like Brother Chen and guard this blacksmith. Shop freely ”
Jiang Lin didn't say a word. Only he knew what the blacksmith shop meant to him.
Although Malu said he would never take the exam again, he was promoted to prefect a few years later.
Time passed like this year after year, and when Jiang Lin came to the blacksmith shop for the 60th year, a six or seven-year-old girl came here.
Wearing a pure white silk dress, she looked at Jiang Lin timidly, with curiosity and a little fear in her eyes.
Jiang Lin looked down at her condescendingly, as if he had noticed something. He looked up and saw a middle-aged couple in their thirties and forties looking at her with uneasiness a hundred meters away.
Their faces were somewhat familiar. Jiang Lin had a good memory and recognized the man as Ma Lu's son at a glance.
He couldn't help but frown slightly, and a childish voice came from in front of him: "Are you Grandpa Hong Chen?"
Jiang Lin looked down at the little girl in front of him again and asked, "What did your father ask you to do?"
The little girl looked uneasy, lowered her head and twirled her fingers: "Grandpa asked us to come, he wants to see you."
"Ma Lu? Why doesn't he come by himself?" Jiang Lin asked.
"Because..." The little girl's voice suddenly had a hint of crying: "Grandpa is going to die."
(End of chapter)