"Is there anyone there?" In the village, every household closed its doors and windows. Liu Cong and others knocked on the door in front of the Zhou family's earthen courtyard and asked.
It's said to be a door, but it's actually just two thick wooden boards. The earthen wall is not high, so it can be climbed in after a little climbing.
At a glance in the yard, except for the two dilapidated tile-roofed houses in the middle, there are two thatched huts on both sides.
According to Ma Liang, he went to Lingling to interview his friend Jiang Wan, and it was already late at night on his way back.
When they asked to stay overnight in Zhoujiazhuang, the people did not dare to open the door because they were afraid of being evildoers. Only Zhou Yong's parents took the two brothers in.
There are five members of the Zhou family. Zhou Yong's father, Zhou Peng, is a hunter. He does farm work and goes hunting in the mountains.
Zhou Yong's mother, the Yue family, took care of Zhou Yong's younger brother and younger sister at home. But most of the time she went to the fields to do farm work.
After the Ma brothers stayed overnight, Zhou Peng entertained them with rabbits he had hunted.
When Ma Liang was having dinner, he saw that Zhou Yong was smart and smart, so he proposed to Zhou Peng and his wife that little Zhou Yong should accompany his son to study.
Zhou's mother disagreed, but Zhou Peng had a long-term vision and agreed to the matter despite Zhou's mother's crying and wanting to seize the way out of reading and literacy for his son.
Hearing what Ma Liang said about Jiang Wan, Liu Cong would be happy normally, but thinking about facing Xiao Zhouyong's family soon, he only felt sad in his heart, and only thought about what he wanted to say for a while.
"No one!" No one answered for a long time, and two children's screams came from the yard!
Ma Liang looked sad: "These are his younger brothers and younger sisters. The boy's name is Zhou Yuan and he is six years old. The girl's nickname is Xiaohe."
Ma Di supported Ma Liang and was as sad as Ma Liang: "His father must have gone hunting, and his mother must have gone to the fields."
People in this era generally would not take their children to work until they reach ten years old. The people in the village are all simple people.
Nowadays, the world is in chaos, and the people are afraid that the flames of war will burn here. Putting their children at home makes them feel more at ease than leaving them in the fields.
Hearing these two simple children's sounds, Liu Cong and others didn't know how to respond.
A good family took away their eldest son a few days ago and brought the body back today. How should I speak?
Several people stood outside the door, not daring to speak. After a long time, a woman holding a sickle hurriedly ran up on the field path opposite.
He quickly ran to the door, holding the sickle tightly in his hand, and looked at Liu Cong and others with evil eyes: "I wonder who the officials are?"
The soldiers around Liu Cong were wearing armor, and several of them were also wearing luxurious silks. Although Yue was nervous, she did not dare to make any mistakes.
The Zhou family's land was far away, and the Yue family was too immersed in their work and did not see Liu Cong and his party.
I just heard from the villagers in the field that this group of people blocked the door of her house. They asked someone to notify Zhou Peng and hurried back.
When he came back, he saw that the courtyard door was intact and he breathed a sigh of relief. He asked Liu Cong and the others.
Surrounded by soldiers, Yue did not see the two Ma Liang brothers. With Ma Su's support, Ma Liang stepped forward past the soldiers and said, "Sister Yue, it's me, Ma Liang."
Zhou's mother's surname is Yue.
Only then did Yue relax her vigilance, put away her sickle, and looked at Ma Liang with a hint of joy in her heart: "Ma Liang must be a big shot with so many soldiers. His son can be considered promising by following him."
"It turns out to be Mr. Ma. I was shocked. Didn't you go back to Xiangyang? Why are you back again? Where is my son?"
Yue asked a few questions in quick succession, but Ma Liang just looked painful and didn't know how to answer.
Mrs. Yue used her eyes to search for traces of her son among Liu Cong's group of people, but she never found them.
"squeak!"
When the two little babies heard their mother's voice, they opened the door and ran out. They hugged Mrs. Yue's legs and said, "Mom, I didn't hear you talking to daddy. We didn't open the door."
Mrs. Yue looked at the two children, temporarily put aside her eagerness to find her eldest son, and lowered her body to coax the two children.
"Sister Yue..." Ma Liang called softly.
Yue looked at Ma Liang and said, "Mr. Ma, why are you injured?"
After saying this, he seemed to realize something and stood up suddenly: "Mr. Ma, where is my son?"
Liu Cong and his party were all on horseback. Ma Liang was injured and was riding in a carriage. Because there was a carriage with him, Yue did not see inside.
The coffin containing little Zhou Yong was covered with white cloth, so Yue didn't see it.
"thump!"
Ma Liang and Ma Su knelt on the ground and cried bitterly: "Sister Yue, I'm sorry to you and Brother Zhou for failing to take good care of Yong'er. He...he...is gone..."
"Ding!" The sickle in Yue's hand fell on the bluestone in front of the door, making a crisp sound.
"Where are the people? Where are the others?" Yue rushed to Ma Liang, clutching Ma Liang's clothes tightly with her hands covered with dirt, and asked hysterically.
Ma Su and others wanted to pull her away, but Ma Liang stopped them with a gesture.
Enduring the sting caused by Yue's shaking, Ma Liang cried and said, "It's on the coffin of the carriage behind."
Mrs. Yue let him go and rushed to the carriage covered with white cloth.
Ma Su quickly helped Ma Liang, who was about to fall.
Mrs. Yue stood beside the carriage, trembling, uncovered the white cloth, and climbed onto the carriage neatly.
I tried to push the coffin lid open, but it didn't move at all.
Liu Cong ordered his soldiers to cut down two century-old cypress trees, and hired carpenters to build a rather exquisite coffin for Xiao Zhou Yong.
Even though the Yue family has been doing farm work all year round, it is difficult to open the coffin lid.
"Uh... ugh..." Mr. Yue's eyes were red, with tears and mucus flowing from his nose. He pushed the coffin lid hard, and his face was red because of excessive exertion.
"Mother... mother... what are you doing?"
The two little children of the Zhou family, seeing their mother in this state, ran barefoot to the carriage.
Liu Cong looked at this scene with tears in his eyes. He took a few steps to get on the carriage and helped Yue push open the coffin lid.
Seeing her son lying in the coffin, Mrs. Yue collapsed completely.
"Ah!...My son...wuwuwu..." Mrs. Yue lay on the coffin and cried.
Liu Cong stepped forward to help him, and Yue pushed him out of the carriage.
"Lord!" The soldiers around were ready to step forward.
"Everyone, stand down! No one is allowed to come forward!" With Xu Feng's support, Liu Cong stood up and ordered.
Ma Liang came closer, ignoring Ma Su's support, and knelt beside the carriage: "Sister Yue, people cannot be resurrected after death. I hope you will show your condolences and accept the change. Ma Liang cannot escape the blame for what happened, and I will leave it to you."
"Get out of here! Get out of here, all of you!" Yue cursed at Ma Liang and then shouted at everyone.
After scolding, he lay on the coffin and cried again: "Zhou Peng, you goddammit, if it weren't for you, how could my Yong'er... wu wu..."
"Wow... mother..."
When the two children saw their mother crying, and then looked at the many sergeants surrounding their mother, they also began to cry.
"My dear, what are you screaming about?" At this time, from the edge of the crowd, a man of about half a size came leading a man with a rough and plain face and dressed in linen clothes.
The young man was the young man from the village who informed Zhou Peng, and that man was none other than Zhou Peng.
Zhou Peng was setting up a trap on the mountain. Someone from the village informed him of this and hurried back.
From a distance, I saw a group of people in front of the courtyard gate, and vaguely heard the crying of Mrs. Yue and her children.
Zhou Peng was anxious, but when faced with Liu Cong and his party, he still pretended to be calm and walked to the carriage.
"Isn't this Mr. Ma? Why are you two kneeling on the ground?" When Zhou Peng saw the Ma Liang brothers, the stone in his heart finally fell. With acquaintances here, it would be no big deal.
"Brother Zhou..." Ma Liang looked at Zhou Peng's simple face and called softly, but was speechless again.
Suddenly, Yue got the strength from nowhere and grabbed Zhou Peng's hair and forced him into the carriage.
Pointing to the coffin, he said with tears in his eyes: "The surname is Zhou, look who this is?"
Zhou Peng was still thinking just now, "Why are these girls so crazy?"
He glanced into the coffin, and his heart was filled with chills: "Yong'er..."
After a long while, Zhou Peng stretched out his trembling hand and stroked little Zhou Yong who had been cleaned in the coffin.
"Ah!...Yong'er,...my son..." The majestic man cried more heartbreakingly than Zhou's mother!
He had higher hopes for his eldest son and sent him to be a bookboy for Ma Liang's son in order to give his son a better future.
Unlike Zhou's mother's short-sightedness, Zhou's father is willing to endure the pain of separation and choose a better way out for his son.
"Is this how you take care of my children?" After a long time, Zhou's father turned around and stared at the Ma brothers.