Chapter 9 Mutual Affection
More than half a month has passed since Lin Dalang died because of fighting tigers to save people, and all the aftermath has been properly done with the arrangement of the old man Lin in that village and the help of the villagers.
And the big insect that hurt people, the tiger was really found by those indignant villagers and experienced hunters who were injured and successfully found it by following the bloodstains, and after a round of roundup, it was successfully killed on a mountain, and really skinned it and cramped, and also sent a large piece of tiger meat and tiger bones to Li Bai and Lin Qingmei, the orphans of their two 'strong men'.
However, it was of no use to Li Bai and Lin Qingmei.
Although Lin Dalang's righteous act of saving people was unanimously praised by the villagers, and he was generously donated by his fellow clans and arranged for the future, but after that, without Lin Dalang, Li Bai and Lin Qingmei's lives inevitably became difficult to endure.
After all, the two of them didn't have any money, and they didn't have the ability to go up the mountain to hunt, and Lin Dalang didn't leave any savings himself, except for a dilapidated house and a few grains in stock, plus a few big coins, there was nothing else. And there are not many families in the village who have the ability to help their two and a half children, and even if they can, they will not, let alone be able to help endlessly!
Human nature is always selfish......
Therefore, after more than half a month, after Li Bai and Lin Qingmei gave Huo Huo Huo the original stored food at home, such as those pig thighs, tiger bones and meat, plus some rice and noodles received by the aunt and uncle next door, the two of them saw that they were about to really finish their last meal.
But it can't be helped, no matter how difficult it is, life always has to go on......
For a while, Li Bai was taking care of his Qingmei sister, who had been a little depressed, although he was very dedicated to everything, but in recent days, the food treatment of the two has inevitably changed from rice and meat to clear soup and porridge, and if it is two more days, I am afraid that even the gruel will be gone.
After all, before Li Bai came to this world, he was just a second-generation demolition who had obtained a windfall from heaven and did not worry about food and drink, and his livelihood skills were basically zero. And the many memories of the other 'Li Bai' in his mind basically did not help him to improve his current situation, plus Changganli is just a small mountain village with mountains, for Li Bai, who is in endless danger when leaving the village, even if he wants to use some 'little knowledge' from the later generations to go to the county to make profits for himself, it is very impossible, so it is normal for the lives of these two children to become increasingly embarrassed.
If Li Bai was just an ordinary child, maybe the two brothers and sisters would basically be treated like a lonely wild boy who grew up eating a hundred family meals when they went to the east house for a meal, then went to the west house for a meal, and then occasionally went hungry for two days.
However, who is he Li Bai?
How could he have gone to that kind of hard life without pursuit, how could he have watched himself and his sister Mei'er suffer?
"Sister Mei'er, hurry up, it's time to eat!"
"Look, what is this?"
So today, when Lin Qingmei sat in her yard full of firewood with her white and tender chin a little dazed, waiting for a dull lunch, she suddenly smelled a burst of charming questions, and then soon found that at some point, her brother Li Bai actually brought out a big bowl of meat and two large bowls of rice?
“!!”
"Meat?"
This situation slightly made the originally stupid little girl's eyes, which were originally a little sluggish, finally return a trace of strange brilliance.
"This ......"
"Brother Li Bai, didn't our family only have less than a bucket of rice left yesterday? Where did you get so much meat? ”
After carefully leaning forward to the side of the wooden bowl, she gently sniffed it, and found that it was indeed the smell of meat, and it was the kind of 'braised pork' that Brother Li Bai made with sauce, and the little girl raised her head in surprise and looked at her brother Li Bai in disbelief.
Because she knew, the smoked pig thighs at home and the meat sent by other people's families had already been eaten up by the two of them, even the rice, there was not much left! Otherwise, she and Brother Li Bai would not have eaten a meal in the past few days.
But even if they eat it all at once, their rice won't last long, why is it that now, Brother Li Bai actually brought out a big bowl of meat and two big bowls of rice at once?
It's okay to say where the rice comes from, after all, there is still about half a bucket of rice in the rice jar at home, but what about the meat? Looking at the pieces of red and bright meat in the bowl, she didn't need to taste Lin Qingmei to know that it was pork, and pork was not like anything else, she or Li Bai's brother would definitely not be able to get it.
"Brother Li Bai!"
"You, you really went to steal the bacon of the eighteenth uncle?!"
Obviously, Lin Qingmei immediately thought of the eighteenth uncle not far from their house who was the same as her father, who was also Orion, and there were several loads of bacon hanging in the yard of the other party's house, and when they passed by, they could be seen dripping fat in the sun, and Brother Li Bai had said more than once in the past few days that he wanted to steal a stick to make a joke about opening meat.
And now it's good, after saying it a few times, she originally thought that she was just talking about Brother Li Bai...... He actually acted, and really stole such a big bowl of meat?
"No way!"
"Brother Li Bai, let's return it quickly, that's not right!!"
The more I thought about it, the more I felt that the other party must have done that kind of bad thing, and Lin Qingmei's little face was flat, and then she stood up with a touch of rubbing the ground, directly holding the big wooden bowl with both hands, and was ready to return the bowl of braised pork that made her drool a little when she looked at it to the eighteenth uncle's house not far from the next door.
In her opinion, stealing things must be bad, although even if someone finds out, she may not be too harsh on her or Brother Li Bai, and she will not be beaten to death or something, but that kind of thing must be very bad in Lin Qingmei's eyes, she must return it and apologize well.
She would rather not eat it than Brother Li Bai to steal other people's things in order to coax herself!
"Hey! Feed! ”
"What are you doing?"
Seeing the other party's movements, Li Bai, who didn't have time to say anything, was stunned, and then hurriedly rushed over and stretched out his hand to stop the other party, and it was a good idea not to let the soup in those bowls splash on his body.
"Mei'er......"
"How could I do that kind of thing? I Li Bai really did a lot of stealing red, stealing blue, stealing big and small dragons, or stealing people's heads, but stealing other people's meat, how could I do that kind of humiliating thing? ”
While talking nonsense in his mouth, he said something that the other party was unlikely to understand, Li Bai snatched the bowl of meat from the other party's arms so carefully, and then put it back on the small wooden stool-like table, he couldn't help it anymore, and took the lead in reaching out and grabbing a piece and tasting it.
Although this bowl of meat did come from the bacon of the eighteenth uncle's family, he assured that they were definitely not stolen.
"Hmm!!"
"Hmmm! It's delicious, it's really delicious, Sister Mei'er, sit down and taste it, it's much better than the bowl last time!! ”
Li Bai, who hadn't eaten meat for many days, swallowed it in two or two clicks, and beckoned the other party to sit down quickly while sucking his fingers.
"Brother Li Bai!"
"You ......"
"If you don't tell me how they came from, I won't eat them!!"
However, the little girl was very stubborn and bluffed, standing aside angrily and glaring at Li Bai, saying that she didn't dare to go over or taste the bowl in her opinion, it must be stolen to eat.
"Oops!"
"Sister Mei'er, you don't care how they came from, as long as you finish them quickly, eat them in your stomach and wipe them clean, no one will know."
Seeing the other party's appearance, Li Bai blinked, he hadn't been able to see that kind of rich expression on the other party's face for a long time, so he grinned and teased the other party half-jokingly.
"I don't!"
"Brother Li Bai, you ...... Are you really stealing someone else's meat?! ”
Hearing what Li Bai said just now, Lin Qingmei, the little girl who was still bluffing with a small face, blushed directly, and then her clear eyes began to ripple and mist.
Obviously, she guessed that Brother Li Bai might be doing that for her, because she had said that she hadn't eaten meat for several days, and she really wanted to eat meat? However, she didn't want Brother Li Bai to do that kind of bad thing of stealing other people's things for her, that was very bad, very bad!
"Hey! Feed! ”
Seeing that the little girl seemed to be really about to cry, and her fists were still clenched, Li Bai instantly became agitated, almost forgetting the fact that the opponent's force value was still higher than his own.
"Okay......"
"Actually...... Sister Mei'er, this is really not stolen by my brother, it was given by someone else, because I promised Grandpa Muramasa that I will be responsible for teaching the children and nephews in the village to read and read from tomorrow, and from now on, the two of us will not have to worry about eating and drinking! ”
"That's why I won't let you go to the back of the village to practice calligraphy today, because the clan elders in the village are leading people to expand the site with Uncle Lin and them to dig and arrange a sand pit for practicing calligraphy, and then build a rain shelter to avoid the rain, which may not be completed in three days?"
After stabilizing the other party, Li Bai hurriedly began to explain.
Yes, after not having Lin Dalang to eat and live, in order to prevent himself and Sister Mei'er from starving to death, and in order for himself and Sister Mei'er to live with good food and drink every day, Li Bai finally compromised with the old man Muramasin who had told him about it many times.
Then, through the guarantee that he would do his best to teach the children in the village to read and write, he gave him an 'ultra-low' treatment of 20 yuan a month and a certain amount of rice, flour and meat!
But there is no way, after all, Changganli is just a small mountain village far away from the county seat, there are less than 100 households in the village, and his treatment is also made up by those who have children in the family who need to read and write, it is good to have so much, which is equivalent to those who let their children come to study together to provide money and materials for him Li Bai and Mei'er's sister, he doesn't dare to ask for more.
Besides, in addition to rice, flour and meat, there is also a subsidy of 20 yuan per month, which is not less, after all, the prices in this Tang Empire are not high, and there is no kind of inflation, and there is no situation where a broken house requires several generations to work hard to make money for a lifetime, and a bucket of rice here is only sold for three or four yuan, and twenty yuan can be exchanged for at least five buckets of rice, about sixty catties, which must be enough for him and Lin Qingmei to live.
Of course, he can't use all the money to buy rice, because the village has already been wrapped up in food or something, for the villagers who are good at farming, fishing and hunting, it is still very easy for so many families to raise two little babies, and the villagers can exchange it for their children and nephews to be able to read and write in the village at a small price, without spending a lot of money to go to the county, which is very cost-effective.
Anyway, in the eyes of the villagers, it is more cost-effective than the village to pay for a teacher to come to the village to run a village or something, I don't know how many times?
"So ......"
"Sister Mei'er, you just let go and eat! Don't worry, your brother Li Bai and I will definitely raise you to be chubby in the future! ”
In this regard, Li Bai is very confident!
And he felt that maybe after a while, after three or two months, he would have the money to ask someone to bring back one or two sets of cheap study treasures and paper from the county, and then he and Mei'er sister would be able to turn into serfs and sing, and no longer need to practice calligraphy in those broken sand pits.
"So that's it?"
Hearing Li Bai's explanation, the little girl Mei'er finally put her mind at ease and nodded indistinctly.
"But ......"
"Brother Li Bai, people remember, didn't you say many times before that it was too annoying to teach others, and you have always been reluctant to teach?"
In fact, as early as the first month when she started to read and read with Brother Li Bai, she heard that many people had asked her father to help them say that they wanted to read and read with them, but in the end they were firmly rejected by Brother Li Bai, and now, Brother Li Bai suddenly agreed, there must be another reason, right?
Thinking about it, Lin Qingmei's nose couldn't help but feel a little sour, she felt that she must have made Brother Li Bai feel embarrassed, and then had to wronged himself?
"Oops!"
"That was before!"
"Now that you, Brother Li Bai, I'm happy! Come on, come on, hurry up and eat, if you don't eat again, it's going to be cold! From now on, Sister Mei'er, you just have to let go of eating, eat hard, and there will be dinner and tomorrow and the day after tomorrow! ”
Li Bai said proudly, and directly took the other party's hand and sat on the wooden pier next to the simple wooden table.
"Come!"
"You're going to eat first?"
To be honest, if he could, Li Bai really didn't want to teach anyone except Mei'er, because it was really annoying...... But there was no way, Uncle Lin died, and then they couldn't take the next meal for half a month, and they didn't get oil or water for several days, they were so hungry that their eyes were dizzy, and their swords couldn't move!
He doesn't want to abuse himself, what can he do but compromise with a ruthless life?
Therefore, except for teaching in the village, let himself, a little kid who has been basically accepted and recognized by everyone in the village, who has read a lot of books and understands a lot of big truths, teach more little kids, he really has no other way, after all, he doesn't have the strength to go outside to make a living for the time being, and he can't go easily.
"Is it delicious? Wow, clip two more pieces! ”
"Hmm~♡"
"Delicious!"
"Eat more if it's delicious, let's eat half of each person!"
“……”
"What's wrong?"
"Brother Li Bai...... You, will you not want green plums in the future? ”
"What do you think, of course I won't!"
"Then you don't hate me?"
"Nor will it! Why do you suddenly ask this? ”
"Because people used to beat you and fall on you, don't you really hate it?"
"What are you thinking! Don't think about it, eat it quickly, it won't taste good when it's cold. ”
"You haven't said it yet......"
“……”
"Mei'er, I really don't hate you, I've never hated you, really!"
"Then if Qingmei does something bad or wrong in the future, will you forgive Qingmei?"
"Of course!"
"Really?"
"Don't worry, Sister Qingmei, if my brother and I eat in the future, I will never be hungry for you, so you just have to rest assured!!"
Although he didn't know why the other party suddenly asked like this, Li Bai still tried his best to be relieved, and directly picked up the wooden bowl and pulled half of the meat directly into the other party's bowl.
"In the future, your brother Li Bai and I will take the top prize, so that you can eat and drink spicy food every day, even if you gnaw one and lose one of the pig thighs, it is not a problem!"
Li Bai patted his chest and promised, and put the remaining half bowl of meat and soup directly into his bowl, ready to eat the long-missed braised pork rice bowl.
“??”
However, Li Bai only took a few bites but was surprised to see that Sister Mei'er, who was sitting opposite him, did not eat and drink as much as he did, but lowered her head and let the crystal tears continue to drip into the big wooden bowl in front of her, mixed with the rice and meat.
"Sister Mei'er, what's wrong with you?"
"Woo......"
"Brother Li Bai, I miss my father a little bit......"
"People remember, when you didn't come, my father used to like this, and directly cut half a bowl of meat into someone's bowl......"
"Huh?"
Li Bai was suddenly a little overwhelmed, and could only look at the other party's big tears that kept pouring out of his hazy eyes, because he didn't know how to comfort the other party.
"A few years ago, my mother was gone, and now, my father is gone......"
"Brother Li Bai, I only have you left, if you Brother Li Bai don't want Qingmei, Qingmei will have no family......"
The little girl whimpered softly, and the fingers holding the chopsticks in her hand had been pinched white by her.
“……”
"Don't worry!"
"Sister Qingmei, you still have me! You'll always have me! I promise you! ”
After being silent for a while, Li Bai stood up after exhaling, walked to the other party's side and squatted down, and then reached out and gently wiped the endless big tears on the other party's face, which seemed to be unstoppable.
"Say ...... again"
"Brother Li Bai, I have no other relatives in this world, and I am the only one who is you......"
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