pjbooks Chapter 19 Following into the Mountains
Chapter 19 Following into the Mountains
Xia Gang is the village chief's youngest son. He is seventeen years old this year. He passed the imperial examination at the age of fifteen and is now studying at Songsheng Academy in the town. It is said that he will take the provincial examination this year.
(The annual examination was for students who had passed the preliminary examination. Only outstanding students were eligible to participate in the provincial examination. After passing the provincial examination, they were eligible to participate in the county examination (passing the county examination made one a scholar). The annual examination was usually held in December each year.)
Although Songsheng Academy is located in a small town, it is very famous throughout the Longxi region, and even students from all over the country come here to study.
The reason is Wen Yuan, the founder of Songsheng Academy. He lived through two dynasties and four emperors, and later retired gracefully at the height of his power, making him a legendary figure.
Songsheng Academy does not consider social status or connections, but only academic achievement and character. Therefore, students who can enter Songsheng Academy can be described as having both excellent character and academic performance.
Xia Gang can be considered the pride of the village.
Yunyi was so angry she laughed. It wasn't Xia Gang's fault; it was just that the original owner's reputation was... well, it seemed like no one in the entire village liked her. To be able to do that, she had to admit she was a real talent.
Since I can't explain it anyway, I've simply given up trying.
Soon, after the location of the house was determined, the next step was to lay the foundation.
A total of twenty people came this time, two of whom had experience building houses and were considered veterans.
There was a man named Xu Laonian, who was seventy-three years old this year. He was an orphan when he was young and married into Xiajiazhuang many years ago. He used to build houses for wealthy families in the town, and later many houses in the village passed through his hands.
Xu Laonian's wife, Xia Dani, is also seventy years old this year, making them a long-lived couple in the village.
The couple had seven children, but they died one after another from illness or accidents, leaving only their youngest son, Xia Dashan.
After Xia Dashan got married, he and his wife had four children, but only one son survived. They named him Xia Baogui, and he has been cherishing him ever since. Now he is nineteen years old and they are looking for a husband for him.
Because Xia Dani is of a higher generation, Xu Laonian is also of a higher generation, and even the village chief has to call him Third Grandfather.
There is another man named Xia Guozhong, who is sixty years old this year. When he was young, he went out to make his way in the world. He worked as a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) and served in the army. He knew some martial arts. Later, he returned to his hometown and settled down with his wife who had married outside. However, his wife passed away more than ten years ago, leaving behind a daughter. But she also passed away a few years after getting married, leaving no children. Now the old man lives alone in the village and is taken care of by the villagers in turns.
He was a generation younger than Xu Laonian, and the village chief called him Sixth Master.
These two old men were experienced in building houses and could read blueprints, so we entrusted the work to them.
“Girl, even though we’re near a mountain, there’s no need to build a ten-foot-high wall, is there?” Old Xu frowned. How high is that city wall anyway?
“I’m close to the foot of the mountain. If a wild animal comes down, I won’t have time to call for help. I have many children at home, so it’s safer to be higher up.” Yunyi smiled. “Third Grandfather, I have money, so don’t worry about not having enough.”
(The setting here is between the Ming and Qing dynasties. One foot in that era was about 31.1 centimeters in modern terms, so ten feet would be more than three meters.)
Xu Laonian nodded. Since they were willing, he couldn't say anything more, and then he directed everyone to get to work.
Because everyone had only worked in the morning and evening for the past two weeks, breakfast was not provided, but dinner was. So, Yunyi gave Xia Songshi some instructions and then went back into the mountains.
Dog Egg and Donkey Egg whispered something to Da Bao.
"Da Bao, that woman really went into the mountains."
"Will she be eaten by wild animals?"
"I don't know," Da Bao shook his head.
"Should we follow them and see?" Donkey Egg suggested.
“But there are monsters in Qinglong Mountain. Didn’t Zhu Zi’s father, Uncle Lao Han, get bitten to death the year before last?” Gou Dan shook his head. “My father even went to help look for him back then. I heard he was bitten by a big worm and only half of his face was left… Oh dear, don’t talk about this, it’s too scary.”
Donkey Egg couldn't help but shudder.
Da Bao's face tightened, and after a long while, he glanced at Gou Dan and Lv Dan and asked, "Aren't you my brothers?"
"Of course." Donkey Egg sniffed.
Dog Egg nodded as well.
"Then you stay here and watch over my younger siblings. I'll go up and check on them."
"Huh?" Donkey Egg must have been surprised. "You alone? What if something happens to you?"
"If I stay with that woman, then I'll be fine."
"But……"
"Good brothers, help me out." Da Bao patted the two men on the shoulder. "If I can come back, I'll consider you brothers for life."
"Okay, you go."
"But don't tell anyone, okay?" Da Bao said, and then took off running towards Yun Yi.
Yunyi was now very familiar with the way and drove very fast, but she was stopped by Sixteen not long after she started walking.
"Boss, Da Bao is here."
Yunyi paused in her tracks. What was that boy doing following her? Did he think she would run away? Didn't he know that Qinglong Mountain was dangerous?
"Sixteen, keep an eye on him and teach him a lesson, but make sure he doesn't get into any danger."
Sixteen nodded and went to follow Da Bao.
Da Bao regretted it as soon as he entered the mountain. He was too small, the slope was too steep, and it was too difficult to climb. Moreover, what was even more frightening was that he seemed to be lost.
If he can't get out, he's definitely going to die here.
Thinking of all this, even though she was more mature than other children, she was still only eight years old and was afraid. Her eyes welled up with tears, but she tried her best to hold them back and started to turn around and walk back. Based on the memories and traces she had just left, she thought she might be able to get down.
Yunyi had just discovered a trap, but it looked quite old, as there were bones inside. They appeared to be the bones of chickens and rabbits, indicating that prey had fallen in and, over time, the flesh had rotted away, leaving only bones. Judging from this, the pit had been dug at least six months ago.
However, it made things easier for her; after tidying it up, it became a new trap.
"Boss, Da Bao is lost. He's been wandering around for half an hour. If he keeps going, something bad will happen." Sixteen's voice rang in Yun Yi's mind.
Yunyi glanced around and saw that Sixteen hadn't followed, which meant that Sixteen's energy had recovered somewhat. After all, they could only communicate within sight before, which was a good thing.
Yunyi didn't want anything to happen to Dabao, so with Sixteen's prompting, she quickly arrived in front of Dabao.
Just then, Da Bao accidentally rolled down a hillside, his clothes were torn, and there were many bloodstains on his face and hands, making him look very disheveled.