Vast grasslands, thousands of miles of fertile fields.
The sun shines on the earth, and herds of cattle, sheep and horses gallop freely under the shouts of herdsmen.
In front of a simple wooden house.
Two bald braised eggs, one big and one small, sat side by side in the dilapidated courtyard.
Taking advantage of the warm sunshine in the sky, I looked at the horses grazing not far away.
"Hey~~"
He raised his head and drank the liquor in the wooden tube in his hand.
The old man in front of him has a medium build, with a hairless forehead, a slightly curved waist, and an obvious hunched back.
Looking up at the endless lush plains.
The bald old man narrowed his eyes and sighed with a smile: "The kumiss on the grassland tastes pure!"
"Hey, stop doing this..."
He scoffed and rolled his eyes.
When he was a boy, Wang Defa looked cynical. His bald forehead reflected the dazzling light in the sun. He held a piece of withered grass at the corner of his mouth and complained dissatisfiedly: "If you ask me, old man, you are just a heartless and bad person..."
....”
"Every time you help the surrounding herdsmen to expel the monster herds, they will give you some home-brewed kumiss to fool you. They are not even willing to kill a sheep. Thanks to you, this guy is still happy to do it. He always responds to every request.
appearance......"
Bang~
Taking advantage of the situation, he punched Wang Defa on the forehead. The speed of the bald old man was unexpected.
"It hurts... it hurts..."
A big swelling immediately formed on the top of the slippery head.
Wang Defa touched his head with both hands and jumped up, roaring at the old man: "Old man, what do you mean, did I say something wrong?!"
"There are no bastards, big or small..."
He glanced at Wang Defa.
As a breeze blew by, the bald old man suddenly disappeared.
When he appeared again, he was already behind Wang Defa.
"I've been in front of and behind the old man all day long, but I'm your grandpa, you bastard!"
He raised his foot and kicked Wang Defa hard on the butt.
The latter stumbled, caught off guard and stumbled down.
"Fuck..."
He stood up and spit out a mouthful of grassy mud.
Wang Defa turned around and gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Can you be a little more realistic? Look at what state our family has fallen into. Next time we take action, we can ask those herdsmen for some benefits. Isn't it difficult? We have had nothing for more than half a year."
Have you ever eaten meat?”
Facing the complaints of his grandson.
The bald old man had an expressionless face and had nothing to say for a moment.
On the lawn outside the courtyard, dozens of horses seemed to have heard the noise, and they all raised their heads and looked warily towards the door of the wooden house.
Seeing the two of them looking at each other, they both fell into silence.
These horses with some spiritual knowledge snorted a few times with peace of mind, kicked the ground, and continued to eat the grass.
"At least you can still fill your stomach, right?"
Take a long sigh.
The bald old man sat back down, slowly took out a slender tobacco stick from his arms, carefully put in the sparse tobacco, lit it and took a long puff.
"Most of the herdsmen here live a life of fear and precariousness..."
Breathing out a thick plume of smoke.
Raising his hand to stroke his bald head, the old man shook his head and continued: "Being in the vast wilderness and far away from the protection of Shenju City, they may be attacked by monsters at any time, not to mention the empire's heavy taxes.
, these cattle, sheep, and horses are their lifeblood to them!"
He turned to look at the angry Wang Defa.
The bald old man said dumbly: "I just occasionally help them expel some low-level monsters. Why bother to embarrass these ordinary people?!"
"What do these things have to do with us!?"
Take a step forward with courage.
Wang Defa gritted his teeth and retorted: "If you want to blame, blame those bastards from the War Preparation Department of Shenju City and the royal relatives of the Imperial Tiger Capital. They are the ones who are squeezing the herdsmen here. We have been relegated to this status quo.
I’m already feeling aggrieved in this place. What’s wrong with using your own strength to gain some benefits and improve your life!?”
If a person does not serve himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth.
Wang Defa really couldn't figure it out. As a child of a noble family in Shenju City, even if he didn't live a life of luxury, at least he should have no worries about food and clothing.
However, an accident five years ago caused the entire Wang family in Shenju City to be uprooted.
Faced with the proposal of the Lord of Shenju City to increase taxes on the herdsmen under his jurisdiction, the Wang family used their own strength to overcome the public opinion and firmly refused to increase the burden on the herdsmen.
Ever since——
The Wang family, unwilling to join in the trouble, lost all power overnight.
As the head of the Wang family and the only eldest son and grandson.
Wang Defa's grandfather and grandson were demoted to a grassland racecourse 300 kilometers away from Shenju City, and became the imperial horse breeders with the highest social status in history.
Although he still has the status of a first-class citizen, a phoenix without feathers is not as good as a chicken.
Living in a bitter cold place, coupled with the deliberate attempts by senior officials to make things difficult.
The living conditions of the two are very bad. At most, they can barely maintain the most basic expenses. If the weather is bad, they will even go hungry.
"In a word..."
I felt extremely depressed.
Wang Defa danced and shouted: "Take people's money to eliminate disasters for others. There is no free lunch in the world. Next time there is a herd of monsters attacking the herdsmen's cattle and sheep, you must wait for the price..."
There was a pause.
Wang Defa continued to emphasize: "We are not saints, and we cannot control so many human sufferings!"
"But we are the national night watchmen of Daxia!"
Bang~
With a gloomy face, the old man suddenly shouted loudly and slapped the tobacco pole hard on the ground of the courtyard.
Smoke and dust slowly rose.
The hard ground was already cracked, and the aftermath of the shock spread in all directions, directly alarming the horses not far away.
The noise of galloping horses came from behind.
Wang Defa was stunned, completely shocked by his grandfather's momentum, and could no longer say a word.
There was silence for a long time.
The bald old man stood up slowly, his rickety body looking old and decadent.
"But do good deeds and don't worry about your future..."
Looking up at the clear, cloudless sky.
The bald old man squinted his eyes, and the wrinkles on his face gathered together, full of an indescribable sense of vicissitudes of life.
"Today's Great Xia Empire is indeed a bit unbearable. Not only is it full of dirty money and power transactions, but there are also endless activities that take human life seriously..."
"But, so what?"
There was a pause.
The old man shook his head dumbly.
Strolling open the fence of the simple courtyard, Wang Defa, with a confused face, stepped into the vast grassland and took a deep breath of the fresh air on the grassland.
"This...is our home!"
There are white clouds floating in the clear blue sky, corresponding to the picturesque wilderness of the earth.
There are herds of cattle and sheep, and thousands of horses galloping.
The innocent children laughed like bells.
They were following the adults grazing and hunting. Not far behind were small groups of simple wooden houses, with bursts of smoke drifting out from the air vents on the roofs.
Grinning.
The old man sighed happily: "No matter how bad it is here, it is still the place where I was born and raised!"