Xiumei asked: "Master, what happened to you when you fainted in the forest?" Zhang Ziyang said: "It happened that Ah Cheng went to the forest to collect firewood that day, and he saw me fainting to death, so he carried me home, and then boiled water for me to drink, and gave me food, I lived in his house for nearly a month, and the whole person recovered." ”

Later, Zhang Ziyang learned that when Ah Cheng was eight years old, his parents were killed by Qing soldiers. He was raised by his grandfather since he was a child, and his grandfather and grandson depended on each other for their lives, and he relied on his grandfather to weave mats and weave for a living on weekdays.

Just a year ago, his grandfather accidentally contracted a cold, and the medicine stone was ineffective, and it didn't take long for him to cry out. At this time, Ah Cheng was only eleven years old, his only relative died, Ah Cheng was young, and he had to kowtow to the neighbors for help, and the neighbors saw him pitiful, scraped together some money, and buried his grandfather. After his grandfather died, Ah Cheng lived alone, helping the family do odd jobs today, and doing chores tomorrow in order to have three meals to eat. In his spare time, he went to the mountains to collect some firewood, picked it up and sold it on the market, and exchanged it for a few dollars.

On this day, when I went to the mountains to collect firewood, I happened to meet the injured Zhang Ziyang, so I saved him. Zhang Ziyang saw that his home was ruined, the two thatched huts were dilapidated, and the four walls of the house were surrounded by Xiao Ran, but Ah Cheng saved him, gave himself the only little food to eat, and bought very little medicine for himself to drink, looking at the ragged and yellow-skinned children, his heart was really moved.

When he had nothing to do, Zhang Ziyang chatted with Ah Cheng and talked about it. Ah Cheng asked him why he was injured and who killed him. Zhang Ziyang said that he was a merchant from the south, and he went to the back to sell silk, because he met a thief on the road, he robbed the silk and silver, not to mention, and almost killed himself. Although Ah Cheng is young, he is also suspicious of his words.

The two once inadvertently talked about Qing Bing, and Ah Cheng suddenly became excited, his fists clenched, and his eyes seemed to be about to erupt fire. Zhang Ziyang asked: "Ah Cheng, why do you hate which Qing soldiers so much?" Ah Cheng said: "Uncle, you don't know, when I was very young, my grandfather told me that it was the Qing soldiers who killed my father and mother. When I was seven or eight years old, one day my grandfather drank two sips of wine, looked at me, and suddenly burst into tears and said, 'Son, if your father and mother had not died, you would not have suffered so much at such a young age.' It's all the hateful Tartars!' So I asked, 'Grandpa, tell me why Daddy killed the Tartars.' Grandpa looked at me, sighed, and said, 'You have grown up, and some things are better to be explained to you.' So he talked about the process of his parents being killed by the Qing soldiers. ”

When Ah Cheng said this, he couldn't stop the tears from flowing down. Zhang Ziyang said: "Child, don't be sad, just talk to me slowly." Ah Cheng wiped his tears and continued: "When I was three years old, there was a time when the Qing soldiers came to the village to urge taxes and grain, and it happened that the annual harvest was not good, the crops were not harvested, and the family did not even have food to eat, so how could they have food money to pay taxes? So saying, he pushed the door open and entered the room. When I arrived in the room, I saw that the things in the house were worn and old, and nothing was valuable. I glanced at my mother who was sitting in the corner doing the thread, and saw that although my mother's clothes were shabby, they were white and clean, with a little color. At that moment, there was a bad heart. ”

"Then one of the Tartars said to the other: 'Go out and guard the wind, and don't let the father and son come in.' The other understood what he meant, grinned, and went to the door, closing it from the outside.

So the tartar in the room went over and picked up my mother, and put her on the bed, and she was about to commit violence. Of course my mother refused, so she cried and screamed, grabbed and pushed. Grandpa and Daddy, who were outside the house, heard the noise inside and immediately understood. Both of them tried to break into the house, but the door was blocked by the Tartars. ”

Hearing that the situation in the room was getting more and more wrong, my father was in a hurry, pushed the tartar at the door away, and rushed into the house. Seeing that the Tartar was pressing down on his wife, he was angry, and he didn't have any more scruples. Reaching out and grabbing Tartar's shoulder, he turned him around, and threw him in the face, scolding, 'Brute!' and the punch knocked the Tartar to the ground. The Tartars outside and the Tartars inside did not expect their cowardly father to be so bold, and they both cried out loudly.

The Tartars outside rushed in, and the Tartars inside also got up from the ground, and the two of them drew their waist knives at the same time and slashed at their father, who was bare-handed, and the room was so narrow that he couldn't dodge at all, and immediately the two knives slashed at his abdomen and back at the same time, and immediately blood flowed and fell into a pool of blood. Frightened, the mother grabbed the sewing basket on the bed and threw it at the two tartars, which struck one of them in the face, and the tartar who had been thrown was furious, raised his knife, and struck her in the neck, and she fell again in a pool of blood. Grandpa stood at the door, frightened, and only shouted, 'Kill, kill!' and the two Tartars saw that the situation was not good, so they took the road and left. ”

"My father and mother were so badly injured that they died of blood in a short time. Grandpa can't save it even if he wants to. Later, the grandfather went to the official to file a complaint, but no one paid attention to it, and the life of the Han people, in the eyes of the Tartars, was even worse than a pig and a dog, so the matter was over. Grandpa had no choice but to be wronged and raise me alone. From the day my grandfather told me the whole process, I hated the Tartars to the core, and the Qing soldiers and the Tartars had a common enmity with me, and vowed to avenge my father and mother one day. ”

Zhang Ziyang looked at the thin Ah Cheng, although he sympathized with his life experience and circumstances, he couldn't help him. The next day, he took out the only ten taels of silver left in his arms. He said, "Child, thank you for saving me. I was killed this time, and I don't have any extra money on me. You take this silver tael first, and after a few days, I have money on me, and I will come to see you again and repay you well. As he spoke, he shoved the silver into his hand.

In the past month, Ah Cheng has served him to eat and drink medicine, but he and I have become relatives, and now seeing that he is leaving, I am reluctant, and tears flow out of my heart, and he said: "Uncle, don't go, I am lonely when you leave, and I don't even have a person to talk to." You are here, I can fetch more firewood and grass every day, exchange more money, and buy wine and meat for you to eat. Zhang Ziyang looked at this kind and poor child, sighed, and said: "Good boy, I still have things to do, I really can't stay for a long time, so let's do it, I promise you, I will come to see you as soon as I have time in the future." Ah Cheng cried: "Uncle, I know that you are not a businessman, when I saw your hand on the first day, although I fainted, but I still held a bright sword in my hand, and a businessman would not hold a blood-stained weapon in his hand." Anyway, I don't have any relatives here, I can do your laundry and cook for you, and I can talk to you when you are lonely, and promise not to become a burden to you. He said pitifully, and then looked at Zhang Ziyang with expectant eyes.

Zhang Ziyang thought to himself that this kid was very smart and kind, and he had long seen that I was lying, but he didn't expose it. After thinking for a moment, he said to him: "I am wandering in the rivers and lakes, and I have no fixed place, and you will suffer a lot if you follow me." Ah Cheng said: "I'm not afraid of hardship. I've had to endure everything. Zhang Ziyang said: "What I did was very dangerous, and I would lose my life at any time." Ah Cheng said: "I'm not afraid, my whole family is dead, and I'm the only one left, so what's there to be afraid of." Zhang Ziyang said: "Okay, since you have this kind of determination, you can follow me in the future!"

Ah Cheng was overjoyed, knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang Ziyang a few times, and said, "Thank you, uncle." So Ah Cheng simply cleaned up and followed Zhang Ziyang to wander the rivers and lakes.