Chapter Four: We Are Strangers Together
Zhu Wen followed Liu Chong to the back hall of Liu's family to meet Liu's mother. Zhu Wen saw that Liu's mother was dressed simply but was extremely clean. She looked like a fifty-year-old, with a slightly dark complexion. She looked like a typical farmer's wife, and nothing special. But her eyes seemed to have a flash of gleam after seeing Zhu Wen.
Of course, Zhu Wen also noticed it. He thought to himself: "Does this aunt know how to look at the face? Can you really see a person's future destiny?" But he said: "Zhu San has seen his mistress, but he is worried about his mistress. Wen is very grateful."
Liu's mother asked Liu Chong to go out first, and said she had something to tell Zhu Wen alone, and asked Liu Chong to rest with his wife first and not to wait outside the door.
Liu Chong was filial and bowed to the point. He couldn't help but wonder, why was his mother a little abnormal today? He called Zhu Wen alone and refused to let us serve him. Could it be that she was widowed for a long time and saw that Zhu Laosan was young and handsome and wanted to come... Bah, is this kind of thing what you, a son, should you think of? He reached out and shaved himself.
When Liu Chong's wife saw her husband being unsteady, she suddenly slapped her in the face. She was puzzled and didn't know what her husband had made.
However, when she saw Liu's mother leaving Zhu Wen alone in the room, she also went with Liu Chong's heart, so she pulled Liu Chong and said, "I said, "You are the leader, why did your mother leave Zhu Wen alone in the room this night? Isn't it because she saw Zhu San's young and handsome thinking? Should we go back and take a look outside the door?"
Liu Chong went up and shaved his wife again and said angrily: "Is this kind of thing the daughter-in-law should say? Come back to bed quickly, oh... Don't talk about this outsider if it's spread. What if it's out there, what will outsiders say!"
Liu Chong's wife thought to herself, it turns out that you think so too, no wonder you shave yourself. She felt bitter in her heart. When the two returned to the room, she was really a little suffocated. She was usually a tigress. She grabbed Liu Chong's ear and said, "Okay, Liu Chong, you don't dare to care about your own mother stealing people, but you vent your anger on your wife. Do you want to be shameless..." As she shouted, there were two big-eared sacks on Liu Chong's face.
Liu Chong didn't dare to fight back and hurriedly said, "Shh... don't yell, whisper, this is to let outsiders hear that our Liu family should not go out to see people... Besides, my father passed away early, and my mother was widowed for many years, so it's normal for some reason to have some ideas! Sometimes I'm tired of going to the field to work and not follow you for two or three days. You're also anxious to try your best to follow me... Oh, why are you pinching me?"
"Who told you to talk nonsense..."
The two of them pushed and pushed and rushed to the bed, and a more fierce battle started.
When Liu's mother saw that Liu Chong and his wife had gone out, she ordered Zhu Wen to sit down and ask about his experience after being arrested and served in the army three years ago.
But Zhu Wen is a fake. How could he know what Zhu Wen has experienced in the past three years? Of course, he was a fool of himself. He followed the government army to Shandong and fought twice. When the government army was defeated by Huang Chao, he fled with other defeated troops. As a result, he was wandering around in the world and begging for a living. He finally returned to his hometown.
He could have said it in the army, but when he talked about lies, it was like a real thing. When he was wandering in a foreign land, he remembered his wife and children who were still more than a thousand years later. He didn't know how they were doing, and his heart felt sad and tears came down.
Seeing how sad he said, Liu's mother shed a few tears and comforted him, "It's really hard for you to suffer so much at such a young age."
She looked at Zhu Wen crying bitterly, and felt thoughtful, and couldn't help but sigh, and then said, "I heard that you have gone to the fields with your elder brother these days? You never liked to go to the fields to do farm work three years ago. What's wrong now? After suffering outside, I know that life is not easy?"
Zhu Wendao nodded pretendingly and thought to himself: "Who wants to work in the field? Now there are no tractors, seeders, etc. in the farming field, and no herbicides, do you think it's easy?"
When Liu's mother saw her nodding, she looked a little unhappy on her face and sighed: "Third brother, you have been to our Liu family since you were young, how can I treat you?"
Zhu Wen thought to himself, how could I know? I saw you for the first time, but he said, "My mistress treats me like a biological son."
Liu's mother said angrily: "Then why don't you take my words to heart? You lost your father when you were young, so I taught you to read and read, let you dance with a gun and play sticks, treat you like a parent-child, but you are so unafraid of ambition? Is this what a real man does?"
Zhu Wen was a little confused. He, a person a thousand years later, didn't know what Liu's mother meant. Judging from her expression, what she said was definitely true. But why did she let her own son farm, but treat Zhu Wen like this? Does she really know that Zhu Wen will become the emperor in the future? Can she look at the picture? Is she so amazing?
When Liu's mother saw Zhu Wen silent, she thought he felt ashamed. She took a deep breath to calm her mood slightly and said seriously: "Three years old, you are destined to be not a farmer. You must remember, maybe you don't believe what I said now, and you will know in the future. I just want you to be rich and not forget the people in the world, don't do anything wrong, do something good for the people, maybe that will make you safe all your life. If you don't listen to me, do something wrong, and poison the people, you will definitely not have a good end... So no matter how much power or high status you have in the future, you must remember the four words "be kind to others". I have said these words to you many times. Oh, I don't know if you can remember them in your heart. Could it be that my efforts over the years really cannot change all this?"
Liu's mother's words exploded in Zhu Wen's ears like thunder! How could she know what was going to happen in the future? Is she a god? No, the gods still need to take their son to farm here?
Although he didn't believe in ghosts and gods before, he is really not sure whether there are ghosts and gods now. Just as he never believed that people could travel through time and space, he thought that it was just a nonsense for some boring writers when they were bored, but he really traveled through time and inexplicably replaced the identity of Zhu Wen, who didn't know whether he was dead or not.
Just imagine, even such a ridiculous thing as time travel can happen, but what else can't happen? How did she know what would happen to Zhu Wen in the future... Suddenly, a flash of inspiration, time travel, yes, it must be time travel. Since she can come over, others can come over, is she also come over?
When Zhu Wen thought of this, he felt excited and looked up at Liu's mother. He saw a deep fatigue and loneliness on her face, but also a feeling that was indescribable. That was something Zhu Wen had never felt in other people after coming to this world. Perhaps this is why they came from the same era, he thought.
But no matter how I think about it, what if the facts were not like that? What if I say that I came from more than a thousand and one hundred years later, and she did not come across time, if it is reported, others will definitely think that I was kicked by a donkey if I didn’t treat me like a monster.
How to try her? Zhu Wen's heart was so excited that he suddenly had an idea and said, "It's too hot, it would be great if there was an air conditioner..." He thought to himself, if she was from a modern person, she would definitely react when she heard her say that the air conditioner would. If it weren't for the worst, she would make a mistake.
Sure enough, Liu's mother was shocked after hearing his words, and she looked at Zhu Wen without blinking, as if she had suddenly known him. She seemed to be unable to believe it, and she looked excited. She stepped in front of Zhu Wen in three or two steps, grabbed Zhu Wen's arm and asked, "What did you say? How did you know something like 'air conditioner'? Who told you..." Because of the excitement, her voice trembled a little.
If his son Liu Chong came in at this time, he would definitely be more certain of his thoughts.
Zhu Wen sighed: "Because, you and I are from the same place..."
Liu's mother looked excited, wanted to say something but didn't know how to say it. She just stared at the Zhu Laosan in front of her. Looking at his helpless smile, her mind seemed to have a short circuit.
After a long time, she asked excitedly: "You have also traveled through time?"
Zhu Wen nodded deeply and said, "I am from 2011. I have just arrived here for a few days. Where are you?"
Liu's mother said: "I came from 1994 and have been here for almost thirty years."
Suddenly, both of them felt that the content of their conversation was a little funny, and they couldn't help but look at each other and laugh.
The room where Liu Chong and his wife lived was not far from Liu's mother's room. At this time, the two had just done intense exercise and were about to sleep in embrace each other.
Suddenly, when Liu's mother and Zhu Wen laughed happily, Liu Chong's wife frowned and said, "Hey, did you hear it? They were too bold, are they? Your mother doesn't take your son seriously at all, and she doesn't carry you on her back. She actually asked you to call her. She was not afraid of being heard by neighbors in the middle of the night."
Liu Chong was a little worried about his face. He wanted to talk back but had no excuse to refute his wife. After all, "the facts are all there" and there is no use to quibbling. Seeing his wife being mean, he said awkwardly: "It's not easy for me to work hard to raise me. I have been widowed for so many years, so I can't blame her, it's just that it's hard for Zhu Laosan..." He was "good-hearted".
Liu Chong's wife curled her lips and said, "I have become other people's godsons, and I'm still calling you a cry for your future godfather. Are you afraid that you will get a younger brother to come out to divide the property with you?"
"I think, no..." Liu Chong felt "quick" in his heart.
The two of them guessed again...
Zhu Wen suddenly said, "No, I came in 2011, you came in 1994, you should have been here for only seventeen years. Why did you say that it has been here for almost thirty years?"
Liu's mother thought for a while and said, "I can't figure it out, maybe you have been delayed for more than ten years on the way here...Puchi..." She also felt funny, but she really didn't know why, so she could only guess so randomly.
Zhu Wen was also amused after hearing her words. The two laughed for a while, and Zhu Wen said: "It seems that the days and months here have nothing to do with the days and months when we came. It may just happen that we came to the same era. I was washed down from the waterfall in Hukou Waterfall in the Yellow River to save people. When I woke up, I came here. Where are you?"
Liu's mother said in surprise: "I was also washed down by the raging waves of the Yellow River..." She told the memories that had been sealed in her heart for a long time, with an incomparable yearning and deep nostalgia on her face.
"I was twenty-five years old at that time. Not long after I graduated from university, I found a good job. Later, the company organized employees to travel to Hukou Waterfall, but I was flooded by the unexpected flood peak. When I woke up, I came to the Tang Dynasty for no reason. In this era, I had no relatives and no reason. What can I do, a weak woman?
"Later, I married Liu Xun, a classmate of Zhu Wujing, who was Liu Chong's father. After Liu Xun took the exam, he served as a county magistrate for several years and was not bad to me. Unfortunately, he passed away in a few years, leaving me and the young Liu Chong.
"Later, Zhu Wujing passed by Xiaoxian to visit us and told each other about his experiences. He realized that because he failed many tests and was old, he simply returned to his hometown in Dangshan. When I asked how his family was, he said he had three sons, named Zhu Yu, Zhu Cun and Zhu Wen. I suddenly remembered that Zhu Wen would become the emperor in the future and was the largest evil star in the Five Dynasties. I suddenly had a whim and wanted to change the history of the late Tang Dynasty in China. I once thought, if there was no Zhu Wen in the late Tang Dynasty, would there be the history written by tens of millions of lives in the Five Dynasties?
"Historical records show that after Zhu Wujing's death, the Zhu Wen brothers were still young. Wang led them to Xiaoxian to join Zhu Wujing's old friend Liu's family. I simply moved to Wugou in Dangshan. When Liu Xun died, he left a lot of silver. I bought a hundred acres of land here. I once wanted to kill Zhu Wen when people were unprepared, but none of them succeeded..."
Zhu Wen jerked: "The warlord melee in this era is caused by various reasons, and it is not related to a certain person. Even if you really kill Zhu Wen, Li Wen, Wang Wen and others may appear, but the problem will still not be solved."
Liu's mother sighed and said, "Yes, I thought of this later, so I taught Zhu Wen to read and read. Zhu Wen in history was not good at literature and was vulgar, so he became cruel, murdered people like a numb, and even did things with his daughter-in-law. I wanted him to understand poetry and books since he was a child, not only taught him to read and read, but also taught him the principles of being a human being. Unfortunately, after Zhu Wujing passed away, Zhu Wen became a scoundrel and stole the dog every day. Although he was still a little afraid of me and Wang, he just couldn't change his natural thief.
"I was finally arrested by the government for stealing three years ago. Unexpectedly, I was sent to serve as an army and followed the government army to encircle and suppress Huang Chao, and I never returned. I think there is a gap between reality and history. Perhaps Zhu Wen in this time and space did not have the fate of becoming an emperor, or perhaps Zhu Wen would surrender to Huang Chao when the government army was defeated by Huang Chao, which was different from history.
"Until later I heard that Zhu Wen became a deserter and begged all the way back. I thought a lot. Whether history will develop according to the records in history books is difficult to predict. After all, the historical books of Zhu Wen's resignation to Huang Chao have not been recorded. I don't know if it was an omission of history books or a deviation in history, but did not develop according to the original trajectory...
"I hesitated for a long time, but I asked Liu Chong to call Zhu Wen and give him some advice. But I knew that Zhu Wen was no longer the same as before... Alas, it seems that my previous efforts were just in vain..."
Zhu Wen said: "I disagree with your opinion. First of all, since Zhu Wen in history can be called emperor, he must have his own excellence. If it were not for the wise and brave man, how could he go from a scoundrel who had nothing to the peak of power? If he was really ignorant and vulgar, he would have died hundreds of times in these decades. As the supreme commander of the vassal states, if he did not have enough control, absolute influence in the army, and no respectable personal charm, it would be impossible to conquer the generals, let alone unify the Central Plains."
Liu's mother fell into deep thought and said after a long time, "Maybe you are right, but it doesn't matter, because you are Zhu Wen, haha, I think you should be a good Zhu Wen."
Zhu Wen thought for a while and sighed: "I didn't want to be Zhu Wen's. I'm really afraid that I can't be like it. I'm even more afraid that history will not change. Then, I will be killed by my son for more than 30 years in the battle. Who would like to live such a life?"
Liu's mother was silent. Can history really change? She didn't know that she thought she was a college student with a bright future and a brilliant life, but suddenly she came to this poor and backward era. She married a poor scholar and was still a short-lived ghost.
She thought she was unlucky enough, but she didn't expect that there was a more unlucky person. The family of three had lived well, but inexplicably traveled over to be a demonic figure who had been scolded by a thousand years, and in the end she might be killed by her biological son. She knew her future destiny but didn't know how to change it. Is there anything more unlucky than this?
Liu's mother thought for a long time and suddenly said, "Since you and I were brought here by the water flow of Hukou Waterfall, why don't we jumped at Hukou Waterfall again, maybe we could go back..."
Zhu Wen smiled bitterly and said, "Since ancient times, I don't know how many people have died in the Yellow River, and can be like us."
Chapter completed!