The casual life of the flat space

"That was when I was three years old, and my grandfather was still alive. Other memories are already fuzzy, but I clearly remember that one day he quietly led me into the mountains. It was from this time that I spent a long period of my life in entanglement and struggle.

I didn't have the courage of Tiexiong at that time. I felt weak all over after walking a short distance and kept crying and wanted to go home. Grandpa held me and coaxed me. We finally reached Tianmen on the third day.

You have all seen the wonders of Tianmen. I was so excited at that time that I temporarily forgot the hard work of the past two days. I touched here and looked there, and finally entered the cave at night. Grandpa first took me to kowtow to our ancestors, and then told me stories about them... I fell asleep while listening.

The next day, Grandpa took me to various courtyards to look at, and in the evening asked me which courtyard I liked. I don't actually remember how I answered, but on the third day, Grandpa took me to the "Hongwen" courtyard early in the morning, picked out some books, and then left.

From then on, my grandfather always took me out, and when my family and neighbors asked about it, he would say that he loved me and took me out to play. But I gradually began to dislike my grandfather because he always took me to a cave in the mountains to study those books.

At first I was very curious, but gradually I felt sleepy and bored when reading, and I would clamor to go out and play, to go home. At this time, my grandfather would beat me with a stick. It was a real beating, and a stroke of the stick would leave a bloody mark. He also didn't let me tell anyone, otherwise if he knew, I would be beaten to death.

I was frightened by my grandfather, so I had to study with him every day with a dizzy head. At that time, what I hoped for most was heavy rain and snow, so that I would not be dragged out of bed by my parents before dawn, and I would not have to go to the cave to study in snow that was so cold that it could reach my thighs and make my limbs stiff.

Perhaps it was from that time that the seed of talent was planted in my heart that studying really depends on talent. The sources of the classics that my grandfather could easily quote were as difficult as climbing to heaven for me.

Take the book I have taught you, for example. Didn’t I say that I memorized it for three months? But that was paid for with so much blood! Maybe that’s why I didn’t teach any of my own children, but decided to teach you two sisters? "Grandpa Wu stopped talking here, as if he was recalling something. The two sisters didn’t say anything, for fear of interrupting Grandpa Wu’s thoughts.

Hearing this, Bai Tieying secretly thanked herself for having the help of Jing Shui to enlighten her brother and sister, otherwise they would have been hit by the "pulling a blood purlin" and they might not have remembered it. But then she thought, if not, Grandpa Wu would not have formally accepted them as apprentices, would not have brought them here, and there would not have been "pulling a blood purlin".

If Grandpa Wu was subjected to a typical "stick education", then her parents in her previous life were representatives of "Buddha-style education". Every time her classmates heard that she could play after finishing her homework, "read idle books" every day, and that she had never been beaten since she was a child, they envied her so much.

It is said that strict teachers produce excellent students, but wouldn't the same strict teacher still produce different kinds of students? Bai Tieying understood the concept that Grandpa Wu talked about. It was not because his parents didn't work hard for him that he was admitted to the university, and it was not because their parents worked too hard for those who didn't get admitted. The matter of studying may be just like what Grandpa Wu said - it depends on one's nature.

Grandpa Wu then continued, "It's so difficult for me to recite it, but there is someone who can recite it just by listening - he is your great-uncle. The villagers around me just thought that my grandfather doted on his grandson. Even my parents didn't think much about it. When they saw the wounds on my body and knew that my grandfather had beaten me, they didn't ask any more questions.

Only your great-uncle saw it by accident and became suspicious, suspecting that grandpa was abusing me, so he secretly followed us and naturally discovered the source of those bloody beams.

Once, my grandfather got angry with me because I didn't memorize the book. Maybe it was because he hit me too hard, or maybe it was because I was old, so I wanted to rebel, so I threw the book down and ran outside.

It was the middle of winter, and I slipped and rolled down the hillside. There was more than a meter of snow at the bottom of the hill. Although I was not injured, I could not stand up. I heard my grandfather calling me, but I was still angry, so I didn't answer him, thinking that I could get out by myself.

But as I struggled, more and more snow fell down, and gradually I began to feel that I could not breathe, and my arms and legs had no strength. Then I wanted to call for help, but as soon as I opened my mouth, it was filled with snow, and after a few times, I suffocated.

I don't know how long it took, but I felt someone picked me up, stripped me of my clothes, and rubbed snow on me. The snow was so cold! It felt like thousands of needles were stabbing me at the same time. The hands were rubbing me like a file, and it hurt all over my body, but my heart seemed to be at peace, and I fainted with relaxation.

When I woke up from my coma, I was still in the cave, with my grandfather and your great-uncle next to me. Uncle Bai was kneeling in front of my grandfather, and my grandfather was sighing and talking about something. I have long forgotten what he said, but I only remember that it was your great-uncle who saved me, and the reason he was able to find me was because he had been secretly learning from us for half a year.

After this incident, your great-uncle often followed us up the mountain. I studied in the cave, and he studied outside the cave. Grandpa seemed to have tacitly approved of him. After that experience, perhaps because of the life-saving grace, or perhaps because of the company, I also began to study seriously.

He was sixteen or seventeen at the time, and he often had to work during the day, so he only had time to come and study with us occasionally. The bad weather I looked forward to the most was the weather he hated. It often took me several months to memorize books, but he could memorize them in a few days. He would always earnestly orally teach the homework that I tried to avoid.

In the summer of the following year, a flood hit the village. Not only did every family suffer heavy losses, but the most tragic thing was the loss of loved ones. In our family, only my grandfather, my mother, and I were left.

Your great-grandfather passed away, and the newly built house collapsed before the beams were even put up. Your great-grandfather was grateful for the life-saving grace of the village chief's family, so he discussed with his younger brother to give the remaining stones and wood to the village chief's family to build a house. Unexpectedly, your great-uncle proposed to go to the county town to work at this time, and the two brothers parted ways and never saw each other again.

My grandfather later told me that your great-uncle had studied and had different views from other villagers, so he wanted to leave this small mountain village. He was worried about this for several years, but when he heard no news, he gradually put his mind at ease.