The barefoot old man walked out of the bamboo building at some point, stood on the edge of the cliff, came to Chen Ping'an, and asked with a smile: "Why, after passing a big pass, are you thinking about the bitterness and sweetness?"
Chen Ping'an was interrupted from his thoughts. After coming back to his senses, he took a sip of wine, turned around and said with a smile: "Isn't this not good?"
The old man was dressed in plain white linen clothes and looked particularly refreshing and neat. "Not so good? Very good. Life is hopeless and boring. Only those who can endure hardships and enjoy blessings are true heroes. When you endure hardships,
, don’t talk to people about how miserable I am when you see them, like a little girl, when you are enjoying happiness, just accept it with peace of mind, you have earned a good life by your own skills, why can you only hide in bed?
Having fun?"
Chen Pingan nodded, "Old-timer may not be happy if I say some of my words, but they are indeed what I say from my heart. Old-timer, are you willing to listen? I have never told anyone else, not even my best friend, Liu Xianyang.
Never heard of it.”
The barefoot old man squatted on the bamboo chair and next to the young man, "Oh? That miserable and miserable thing when I was a child? Okay, tell me about it and it will make me happy."
Chen Pingan took a sip of wine without being annoyed, and handed over the vermilion gourd. The old man waved his hand and said that he disliked the wine. Chen Pingan opened his heart and said slowly: "Even if I practice boxing, I scream in pain every day, and even secretly cry.
Several times, I felt that I was really going to be beaten to death by the old-timers, but until now, I still feel that the most uncomfortable time in my life was when I was a child. The first time I went into the mountains to collect herbs by myself, I remember it very clearly.
The sun was so bright in the sky, so I carried a large backpack that was almost as tall as me. I was very ambitious at the time, thinking that if the backpack was big, I could hold a lot of medicinal materials, and my mother would get better faster, and then I walked
As I walked, I wore out the skin on my shoulders. When exposed to the sun, I was sweating profusely and it was burning. The key was that I had just walked out of the town at that time. The thought of being in such pain for a long time or a day made me want to die.
Already."
The old man sneered.
But he was not laughing at Chen Ping'an, but he was thinking of the Cui family's children, who had rich clothes, fine food, and hairpins for generations. They were the top wealthy men in Aquarius Continent. Then when the little brats were practicing boxing, they just stood there and followed each other.
As if I had been wronged a lot, I would start to complain to my parents when I got home, or when it was cold in spring and winter, I would wrap myself up in a fox fur coat just like wrapping a rice dumpling, and go to a homeschool morning class, and I would feel like I had eaten the biggest meal in the world.
On New Year's Eve, I thought about asking for a big lucky money letter from my ancestors. The old man couldn't stand it, but the other brothers of the same generation really did this. Children who can cry have candy.
Eat.
Chen Ping'an continued: "The second time, I was hungry. The rice jar at home was at the bottom, and all the things that could be sold were sold. I was hungry all day, and I didn't have the shame to ask for help, so I walked up and down the alley.
I was thinking of others taking the initiative to say hello and asking me if I wanted to have a meal. It was really cold in the winter that year, but it was fine in summer and autumn. No matter how poor my family was, it didn’t matter if I wore less clothes, and I could go to the mountains to collect herbs.
Earn some copper coins, and you can bring home wild vegetables and fruits every time you collect herbs. Or you can borrow an iron hammer from a neighbor and go to the stream to knock rocks.
Once you dry it on the wall, you don’t need to dip it in oil or salt. You can eat it after drying, and it’s delicious. But that winter, I really had no choice. I would starve to death if I didn’t ask for help. What should I do? I was thin-skinned at first, and kept telling
Myself, Chen Ping'an, you promised your mother that you would live well in the future. How could your father and mother have only been gone for a year and you are almost like a beggar? So I was lying on the bed at that time, thinking that if I endured it, I would be able to get rid of it.
My hunger was gone. I didn’t know that I was hungry. I didn’t faint from hunger. Instead, I became more and more awake as I became hungrier. I had no choice but to get up and walk out of the yard. I walked into the alley again. I tried to knock on the door several times, but I always withdrew my hand.
, I couldn't speak like that. Then I told myself that I would take a final walk to Mud Bottle Alley from one end to the other. If no one opened the door, tell me Xiaopingan. Do you have food at this late hour? If not, come in.
Eat whatever you want. Then I really went to knock on the door and beg for help. I just swore silently in my stomach that when I grow up, I will definitely repay the family who is willing to give me food. In the end, I went from the Cao family’s ancestral house to the other side of the house.
I started walking down the alley, but when I got to the end of the alley where Gu Can's house was, there was still no one who opened the door."
The old man laughed loudly without any sympathy, "What the hell, which door did you knock on last? Will they take you in for a meal?"
When Chen Ping'an said this, he didn't have much languid and miserable expression, but he became more energetic, as if he had taken a sip of the most delicious wine, "I had no choice but to cry and walk back, but before I took a few steps, there was someone behind me.
The courtyard door creaked open. I didn't dare to look back at first, but someone took the initiative to say hello to me. I quickly wiped my face, turned around and saw a neighbor holding a fire dragon in his hand.
, it’s a small stove with copper inside and bamboo on the outside, the kind that can be carried around in your hand. She seemed surprised to see me."
The old man clicked his tongue and said: "There is no end to the road, how can you just have a full meal in vain?"
Chen Pingan wiped his face hard, it was full of tears, but his face was full of smiles, "No, the neighbor thought about it and asked me with a smile, Xiao Pingan, are you really good at going into the mountains to collect herbs? Do you really know those medicinal materials?"
?Of course I said I knew it, and I really wasn’t bragging. During those two years, I would go into the mountains to collect herbs almost every once in a while. I was almost more familiar with the roads than Mu Bottle Alley. She smiled and waved to me,
He said loudly, 'Okay, Xiaopingan, come here. I want to ask you something. My bones can't stand the cold. I need some herbs to make a soup to replenish my body. But Yang's shop is too shady and expensive. I can't
If you can't afford it, Xiaopingan, can you go to the mountains to collect herbs after spring? I'll give you copper coins, but the price must be lower.'"
Chen Ping'an said softly: "I walked over and discussed things with her, and she handed me her fire dragon. After talking about things, she saw that I didn't move, so she smiled and asked, why didn't I eat?
You still want to cheat on food and drink? No, unless it is included in the cost of medicinal materials, I will not let you in this door!"
Chen Pingan looked into the distance with a smile, "I haven't seen anything since my parents left. Many of my peers scolded me as the trouble that killed my parents, even though I watched them fly kites from a distance.
If I try to fish in a river, some people will throw stones at me. There are also some adults who like to call me a bastard, saying that a lowly child like me, even if I work as a cow or a horse for a rich family, is still dirty, and is worse than the broken porcelain in Lao Ci Mountain.
The movie was still in the way. But that day, that woman was chatting with me so much, saying that she had to spend money to eat. Senior, you must not know how happy I was at that time. When I entered the room to eat, my tears suddenly returned.
She felt dissatisfied all over her face, so she joked, "Hey, Xiao Ping An, are my skills too good or too bad to make people cry? At that time, I only dared to lower my head to eat.
Said it was delicious."
The old man hummed and reminded: "Have you ever thought that that neighbor actually wanted to help you? But he found a better way."
Chen Ping'an nodded and said: "I didn't expect it at first, but then I ate and paid more often, and I soon understood it."
That neighbor later became Gu Can's mother.
So every time Mrs. Gu Can quarreled with someone, Chen Pingan would watch from the side. A few times when the quarrels got serious, a group of women would rush up to her, scratch her face and pull her hair. At that time, Chen Pingan would run up to her.
He protected her and didn't fight back, letting the women take their anger out on him.
So Chen Pingan never thinks that he is a bad person.
If Mrs. Gu Can is such a good person, no matter how bad her reputation is in Xinghua Lane, Ni Ping Lane, Chen Ping An is his lifesaver. If she doesn't want to repay him properly, Chen Ping An will feel that he is not a human being.
What happened to giving Gu Can a small loach? Knowing that it was a great opportunity, what happened?
Chen Ping'an didn't feel distressed at all.
When the world gives you kindness, you must cherish it and cherish the blessings, no matter how big or small.
Therefore, what Old Yao, a half-master of the kiln, said, Chen Pingan thought at that time was the best truth in the world.
If it's yours, grab it; if it's not yours, don't think too much about it.
No one in the world owes you anything, but if you owe someone else, don’t take it seriously.
Later, Chen Pingan treated Liu Xianyang in the same way.
After all, going up the mountain to collect herbs is not a long-term solution. It was Liu Xianyang who taught Chen Pingan how to set traps to catch game, how to make earthen bows, and how to fish. When it came to firing porcelain in the Long Kiln, it was the older Liu Xianyang who protected Chen Pingan.
Chen Pingan lived such a miserable life from a child to a teenager, and lived to be able to support himself. Although he was very willing to be reasonable, if Gu Can or Liu Xianyang were involved, such as the time when moving the mountain ape, Chen Pingan would just talk nonsense.
If you are capable enough, then you will die for it.
Chen Pingan once said to a foreign girl that if he finds a girl as good as his mother in the future, even if she is bullied by some Taoist ancestor, he will still roll up his sleeves and fight.
Whether you are willing to fight for your wife or not is another matter. I feel sorry for marrying such a good wife, and Chen Ping'an feels bad.
Of course, Chen Ping'an thought he had found such a good girl, but he hadn't said it yet, so he decided to take the next trip to the world.
He must carry the two swords he secretly named "Demon Subduer" and "Demon Exorcist", walk up to her, muster up the courage to tell her loudly, "Miss Ning, Ning Yao! Whether you like me or not, I will
I like you, I like you very much!”
As for whether it's a slap in the face or whether we can't even be friends, I'll have to tell her shamelessly!
The old man grabbed the sword-raising gourd from Chen Pingan's hand, raised his head and took a big gulp, but did not throw it back to Chen Pingan immediately. He said angrily: "This wine is really not good, you continue to talk about trivial things.
It is only worthy of being served as an accompaniment to this pot of bad wine."
Chen Ping'an thought for a while and put his hands in his sleeves. "After I got through that winter, I seemed to have enlightened myself and became thicker-skinned. I was really hungry, so I went to ask for food, and I remembered it every time.
I thought that after the freeze started, I could go into the mountains and return the copper coins I earned to them. Some kind-hearted old people would take the initiative to give me old clothes. I would no longer feel embarrassed. I said that there was no shortage of things at home, so I kept them honestly.
.In those few years, I worked hard to collect herbs in the mountains, but I still made very little money. I was really too weak. There are many medicinal materials in Yang’s shop but they are hard to find. This is normal. Where can I get the medicinal materials that are easy to find?
Let me earn this money, right? So I help my neighbors. I help them fetch water from the lock well in the morning. When there is farm work, I go to the fields to help. I squat there at night and help them grab water.
Water, lest others cut off the canal, I didn’t dare to work hard, I had to hide far away, and waited until the young men left before I dared to dig open secretly and introduce the water source into the neighbor’s paddy field. I waited until the night to
When I saw that the paddy field was full of water, I went to fill in the ditches and dams again. I was chased and beaten many times for this purpose. Fortunately, I was young and ran fast, so I didn't really suffer much.
"
The barefooted old man drank wine leisurely, saying that the wine was not good, but actually drank one sip after another. He listened to the trivial things in the market about old sesame seeds and rotten millet. The old man did not feel too upset.
Chen Ping'an said what was in his heart without restraint, and felt much happier, so he reached for the wine bottle. The old man raised his elbow, slapped the young man's palm off, and said politely: "Wait a moment."
The old man pinched the wine gourd with his fingers and said slowly: "Chen Ping'an, you have said so many nonsense and trivial things. Do you want to listen to me talk about some useless truths? These words are what I said when I was at my peak.
Standing at the top of the martial arts world, what do you think of my vision? It's high enough, but I feel it's worthless. Do you want to hear it?"
Chen Ping'an smiled and said: "Say, I just like to listen to people's reasoning."
To be continued...