Small Village, Small Town, and Mountain Chapter 2: Peach Girl
The Yun Kingdom is located in the middle and northwest of Nanyu Continent. It is the second to last smallest country among the 20 countries in Nanyu.
It consists of five prefectures: Huizhou, Yangzhou, Yizhou, Yuezhou, and Quanzhou. The terrain within the territory consists of plains, hills, mountains and other complex terrains.
Huizhou is located in the northwest of Yun State. It has the largest area among the five states of Yun State. Its terrain is complex and its capital city is Huizhou City.
Zhang Sanbao's Zhangjia Xiaoliu Village belongs to Huizhou and is located in the north-eastern part of Huizhou, close to the border between Huizhou and Yangzhou.
On the contrary, it is closer to Yangzhou City, which has more convenient transportation and richer residents.
Xiaoliu Village is located in a plain with barren land, and the yield of food often grown with great pains cannot be increased no matter how hard it is grown.
It's past noon, the sun is shining brightly, and the weather is hot and dry.
On a 2-acre field of red sand, there was a middle-aged man with a hunched body and a blackened straw hat on his head.
With one hand, he pulls the vigorous plant "Shu" that is half a man's height, and with the other hand, he holds a rusty sickle, digging for weeds that are also growing vigorously.
Then, he turned around and put the excavated weeds into the bamboo basket carried by the incongruous boy who was also wearing a broken straw hat behind him. The size of the boy's straw hat was the size of his mother.
Weeds are "little treasures". Take them home and you can feed them to livestock or dry them for firewood.
The young man wearing a big broken straw hat, a little thin and a little dark, is Zhang Sanbao.
At the age of 12, he had stopped studying in the classroom like other children of the same age a year ago.
Because his family is poor, he really can't afford any extra money. In this regard, Zhang Sanbao is also very sensible and sensible, without making noises or crying. It's just that his personality is more silent than before.
At this time, Zhang Sanbao was holding a basket and looking at the back of his father who was hunched over, with dry and white hair, and dressed in tatters, his heart was full of sadness, discomfort and distress.
Zhang Sanbao stared blankly ahead, thinking a lot.
He thought again: the big watchtower outside Xiaoliu Village, the little brother wearing a beautiful stone around his waist, and the beautiful young lady with flowers embroidered on her clothes. At this time, there was a sense of perseverance in the young man's eyes.
...
After noon, it was another day with bright sunshine and hot weather.
On a field of 2 acres of red sand, there was a stooped middle-aged man, followed by a stout young man carrying two bamboo baskets.
Both of them were the same, wearing black and shabby straw hats and tattered linen clothes.
Looking from a distance, we can see two hardworking and simple farmers, busy with their crops in the field.
The sturdy boy carrying two bamboo baskets is none other than Zhang Sanbao when he was 13 years old.
Compared with last year, Zhang Sanbao had one more exercise class every night this year: running and driving stakes. In order to gain some strength, he could share the work with his father and do farm work like his father.
I have always insisted on physical exercise and never stopped. However, my father said, "Sambo is growing, so he cannot do heavy work as it will affect his physical development." Even important physical work is never allowed.
Zhang Sanbao has been exercising his physical fitness. Is it of any use?
To use Sanbao’s answer, “I used to be a boy with a basket and only ate 1 bowl of rice. After unremitting exercise and hard work, I now eat 2 bowls of rice...”
...
At this moment, 14-year-old Zhang Sanbao was sitting on the wooden bed with his eyes open, staring blankly at the black mud roof.
At this time, an hour of running, an hour of boxing, and an hour of taking a cold shower had already passed.
My stomach was growling, and the rations at home were not enough. Most of the harvested rations were turned over.
Zhang Sanbao tilted his head sadly, looking at his younger brother Zhang Xiaobao, who was five years younger and sleeping soundly beside him. He might have to drop out of school soon.
Then he turned his head and looked at his parents on the other wooden bed under the bright white moonlight. His white hair became more eye-catching and his wrinkles were also eye-catching.
Now that I have grown up and become strong, my life has not become richer, but has become more miserable and difficult.
The bright moonlight shines on Zhang Sanbao's pale face, which is extremely pale. It's hard to tell which kind of paleness is whiter?
Although his heart was filled with sadness, desolation, and discomfort and it was difficult to fall asleep, Zhang Sanbao knew very well that he had to force himself to sleep.
Because tomorrow, he has to get up early and rush to Yanzi Town to go to Wu Rui's blacksmith shop to repair the iron sickle that was broken by his own force during the day.
The town to which Xiaoliu Village belongs is called Yanzi Town. It is to the southwest of Xiaoliu Village. There is a two-hour journey between the two. For Zhang Sanbao, it only takes one hour or even less.
Yanzi Town is composed of two main streets, Huazi Street running in the east-west direction and Zhizi Street running in the north-south direction.
There are two blacksmith shops in the town, located at the north and south corners of Zhizi Street.
...
The next day, morning.
On the south side of Zhizi Street, a dark and bulky blacksmith named Wu Rui was banging a broken iron sickle while listening to the conversation of a vendor holding a gray towel and a bamboo pole.
"Brother Wu, have you heard that Tie Er in Zhuangzi Town next door to us sold a century-old ginseng plant picked from the foot of Peiping Mountain a few days ago?"
"Oh, I haven't heard of anyone mentioning it before!"
"Brother Wu, I heard that it was sold for a hundred taels of silver. Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's enough for us little people to spend for 10 years!"
"Well, century-old ginseng is a rare treasure!"
...
The conversation about "100-year-old ginseng" between Wu Rui and the vendor happened to be overheard by the dark and sturdy young man standing in front of the iron shop, waiting for the iron sickle.
The dark, muscular young man is none other than Zhang Sanbao.
At this time, he was carefully holding a piece of oily beef pie wrapped in oil paper with both hands. He bought it with the only four copper coins he had, fearing that it would accidentally fall to the ground.
In addition, he turned his head from time to time and looked towards the north side of Zhizi Street. His dark face was full of expectation and sadness.
After a few cups of tea, a silly and silly smile appeared on the young man's face.
Following the direction of his eyes, there was a beautiful girl with a graceful and plump figure, wearing a white dress and a pretty face.
It turns out that this is the real reason why Zhang Sanbao didn't go to the blacksmith shop on the north side of Zhizi Street.
Zhang Sanbao looked at: in front of him and behind him, there was a beautiful girl who was shaped like a peach and whom he loved to look at very much. Holding the beef pancake in his hands, he ran towards his "Peach Girl".