Immortality is above

Chapter 21 21: The way of civil and military affairs, one piece and one piece of relaxation

After the New Year, I went to live in a thatched cottage again. I should talk to Chen Wenqing about both emotions and reasons.

After this period of recuperation, Chen Wenqing gradually regained his strength and no longer looked like a tuberculosis ghost. However, his body was still weak and he was dressed thickly for fear of catching the wind and cold: "Liu Bai, you have to stay. Even if you live there, why bother coming here to tell me?"

Chen Liubai said: "Since we are staying here, we should inform our host."

"In the past few days, I have eaten and slept, and eaten after sleeping. After eating and sleeping enough, I have slowly thought about many things, but I feel hazy, as if I had a nightmare, and now I finally wake up. Leave blank , everything you said is right."

"Haha, actually I didn't say anything. This person is most afraid of losing his mind and walking into a dead end, then he won't be able to get out."

Chen Wenqing looked at him: "Actually, I really want to know where have you been these years? What have you done?"

Chen Liubai shrugged: "The sage said: read thousands of books and walk thousands of miles. Maybe I just walked more miles."

After chatting for a while, he said goodbye and left.

When he returned home, Chen Liushan held an amulet in his hand: "Lao San, come and put it on."

Chen Liubai asked: "Which Taoist temple did you get this from?"

"This is the amulet of ancestral ashes distributed by our family after paying this year's share. It can ward off evil spirits. It's a good thing."

"Ancestral Ash Amulet?"

Chen Liushan explained: "I forgot to tell you that such benefits have only been available in recent years. They have never been available before. In the past, in order to obtain a share of ancestral ashes, I didn't know how much effort I had to put in. Now it's better, as long as you pay enough A share of money, one for each person, can ensure peace for a year."

Chen Liubai: "..."

He reached out and took it, pinched it, there was no texture at all, it was definitely a fake product.

It can be seen from this that it is definitely not authentic ancestral ashes, but shoddy.

Come to think of it, if the clan has a population of thousands, and each person has one share, how many ancestral ashes are needed?
  Even if it is a genuine ancestral ash that is old enough, in Chen Liubai's view, it is just a low-quality magical tool and does not have much power at all.

Then he asked: "How much money does one person have to pay to be a member of the clan?"

"This year it is 500 cents per person. Last year it was less, 400 cents, and the year before that it was only 350 cents. Alas, there is no way, it keeps rising every year."

Chen Liushan sighed: "If you hadn't given us the money, our family wouldn't be able to afford it."

Chen Liubai asked: "It's getting more and more every year, don't you object?"

Chen Liushan spread his hands: "Who dares to object? At most, you can complain a few words, and you have to pay what you have to pay. Otherwise, you will be removed from the family tree and driven out of the village, and there will be no way to survive. In fact, we, the Chen family, are better off. Yes, in other places, the looting is even more ruthless. Besides, prices have skyrocketed in recent years, and money is no longer considered money. In this world, life is difficult."

Chen Liubai was silent, some problems were almost unsolvable, and even a true immortal with great supernatural powers could not start.

On the second day, I finished packing and prepared to go to the thatched cottage.

Although he knew he was capable of being independent, he still had a cart full of things at home, including food, clothing, and everything.

This is all from the heart.

Then Chen Liushan was responsible for driving the car to see them off. He kept talking along the way, saying that now that Chen Liubai was back, life at home had improved quite a bit, and his legs were also healed, and he could start doing things. In the future, his life would be better and better. Good...   Chen Liubai listened quietly, feeling a breath of life full of the smell of fireworks, neither good nor bad, just alive.

Then he asked: "Brother, if nothing else happens, my sister-in-law may be pregnant. What are your plans? You shouldn't be working as a coolie in the clan all the time."

"Oh, who told me that I don't study well and I don't have much ability. Apart from doing hard work, I can't do anything else."

"How about I use my capital to do some small business for you."

Chen Liushan said hurriedly: "That won't work. What if we lose money?"

Chen Liubai smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, we only have a little money, if you lose, you will lose."

"Third brother, I know you have made some money, but it is not easy to make money. You must cherish it and not spend it randomly. Especially you, who are not married yet. Let me tell you, with the current market, marrying a wife is very expensive. The bride price is It goes up every year, even more ridiculously than the income of the family members. Look at Aping, the eldest brother has grown up, but because he has not saved enough for the bride price, he is still a bachelor, which makes my aunt and the others very worried. "

"Then you married your sister-in-law?"

Chen Liushan chuckled: "Your sister-in-law is a good person, she didn't ask for so much money, and in the past two years, every time she went back to her parents' home, she would bring rice and noodles from her parents' home. She suffered a lot of grievances for this, and was even scolded for doing so. It's a waste of money. But this year is better. I took her back to my parents' home and bought a lot of New Year's goods in big and small bags to save my face. I'm sorry to say it, but it was all the money you gave me, my third brother, and it cost me a lot. .”

Chen Liubai smiled: "This money is spent when you earn it. I remember when I was a child, life was hard. Every time there was something good, you and the second sister gave it to me. I remember that."

Chen Liushan scratched his head: "The older ones will naturally give way to the younger ones, and my parents are right, you are a capable person, and the family's appearance depends on you."

As we talked all the way through the fields, we heard the sound of gurgling water. It was the stream that was beginning to thaw.

Looking over from here, you can see the tall seven-star arch bridge.

Chen Liubai asked: "Brother, is there ever a flood in the Benma River now?"

Chen Liushan replied: "Of course, it happens much more frequently than before. All year round, starting from March, May, July, and October, flash floods may occur. Sometimes, the water even overflows the bridge deck. In the village The old man said that every time there is water, it is the big snake that lives in the mountains that is angry."

This is an ancient legend that has been circulating in the Chen family for a long time. It says that deep in the mountains, there lives a big snake, more than ten feet long, which has lived for countless ages and is about to turn into a dragon.

In fact, rumors and allusions like this also exist widely in other villages and places. They are spread in a clear way, but it is difficult to distinguish the truth from the false.

However, after going up the mountain, he saw a vast and mysterious world. Chen Liubai truly realized the extraordinary nature of this world, and his understanding of those myths and legends was different.

When the driver arrived at the thatched cottage, Chen Liushan moved things into the house. Seeing that there was no firewood, he took an ax and hatchet and went up the mountain to chop wood.

Chen Liubai wanted to help, but he drove him back: "Third brother, just study in peace. I can do the heavy work."

There is no other way but to let him do something. If he is not allowed to help with something, the eldest brother will feel that he is short-changed and will feel depressed and uncomfortable.

After neatly stacking the chopped firewood and sweeping the yard, Chen Liushan drove back to Chenjiaji.

Chen Liubai then lived in the thatched cottage again and continued to practice hard behind closed doors. In his spare time, he also studied.

As the saying goes: The way of civil and military affairs can be regarded as an adjustment.

Sometimes, an Orion farmer passes by this place and hears the sound of reading loudly. He can't help but praise him, saying that the prodigy of poetry and calligraphy back then is back...

　The early bird catches the worm, but what about the early worm? What about early updates?
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)