The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

"Who is it?" The noise was so loud that everyone in the house ran out to see what was happening.

After seeing Wu Ya struggling weakly in the pit, Xu Erniang wiped her hands and instructed the man Wang Fugui: "Hurry up, pull her out! What happened? How did someone fall from above?"

The bald-headed man came forward, holding up his trousers, and replied in a crisp voice, "I don't know how she fell, but when she wakes up, she'll have to compensate us for the roof of our thatched hut and all this farm manure she wasted!"

"You're everywhere, but you don't work efficiently and it takes you a long time to poop," Xu Erniang nodded at her grandson's head in annoyance, and followed her husband to help.

Wang Fugui used to be a butcher. Although he is old now, he can still rescue a person from a manure pit.

Wu Ya was quickly fished out.

Both men were emitting a foul stench and had live maggots crawling on their bodies. In the August weather, falling into the pit was no less than torture.

When the bald man saw it, he pinched his nose and jumped away. "What a stinky smell!"

Xu Erniang also suppressed her nausea and helped Wu Ya to a stream in the mountains with her husband Wang Fugui.

After throwing the man into the pool, Wang Fugui himself could not stand the stench anymore. After saying hello to Xu Erniang, he went to another stream to wash.

Wu Ya drank a lot of manure water, and the cold stream water made her feel a little more energetic. Then she lay down by the pool and vomited vigorously.

He felt like vomiting bile and looked so miserable.

Don’t say that farmers have used dry toilets and are not afraid of the smell. That’s just because they don’t have the conditions and are forced by the environment.

It doesn't mean that you can accept being dirty.

After Wu Ya had almost finished vomiting, Xu Er Niang came forward to help pat her back and asked, "Girl, are you feeling better? Can you still wash yourself?"

Wu Ya waved her hands, too weak to speak, tears streaming down her face.

Xu Erniang felt a little sorry for her, so she stepped forward to help the person up, only to find that Wu Ya was suffering from a severe fever.

So he didn't delay any longer and called his little grandson Baldy to bring clothes and towels from afar. Then he stood by the pond and quickly washed Wu Ya, changed her into clean clothes, and then helped her back.

At this time, Wu Ya was trembling all over, and her consciousness was half asleep and half awake. She just hoped that it was just a dream when she woke up.

Baldy was only five or six years old, but he was a smart kid. Seeing Xu Erniang busy taking care of Wu Ya and even cooking precious rice porridge, he was a little reluctant. "Grandma, I've seen that this person doesn't have a penny in her clothes. She definitely can't afford to pay for the roof of our house. Why do you still have to take care of her? We don't even have enough to eat!"

"He's not even half the height of a carrying pole, but he's already meddling in everything and worrying about everything all day long. I really don't know who he resembles," Xu Erniang pulled her grandson away and went to feed Wu Ya medicine.

These are all folk remedies I learned from others in the past few years in the mountains. They are useful most of the time. Anyway, we'll try our best.

Wang Fugui was a man, so he just came over and took a look and then left it alone. He moved the ladder and went to repair the roof of the toilet.

At dusk, the other members of the family came back carrying hoes, including Xu Erniang's two sons, daughter-in-law and three older grandsons.

During these years of war, the Wang family only lost two frail grandsons to illness, which was much better off than other families.

This is inseparable from the contribution of Wang Fugui. Although he cannot read, he is well-versed in social skills and a little wisdom in life. This is why he has been able to live a peaceful life in the mountains for so many years.

Knowing that a strange woman had been rescued at home, the eldest and second brothers Wang immediately understood. While washing their hands in the yard, they speculated, "How could a strange woman dare to come in alone in our mountain area? She must be some old bachelor who bought a wife and ran away. Who knows, someone will come looking for her soon."

Mrs. Wang went into the house to take a closer look. When she came out, she shook her head and said, "I don't think so. This man is covered in wounds and has a high fever. It would be a burden to find him. Maybe he was thrown down here on purpose?"

After hearing this, Xu Erniang waved her hands and said arrogantly, "Who cares who she is? Even if someone comes looking for us, we can't just hand her over easily. They have no conscience. They beat her up like this and even fed her with wolfsbane. If she hadn't been fed so much feces and vomited out everything in her stomach, she would have died long ago. Since we saved her, she must be under our care!"

"So, this woman turned a disaster into a blessing?" Wang Ersao asked casually while helping to set the table.

"That's right. I gave her some fever-reducing herbs and treated her injuries. I hope she will get better. If she doesn't, it's not our fault. We can just bury her," replied Xu Erniang.

After saying that, he invited everyone to eat.

Wu Ya's vitality was stronger than anyone thought. She woke up the next morning, but she couldn't move. All the whipping marks from the old man had swollen up and were covered with blood. Her whole body hurt when she moved, so she had to lie down for a few days.

"That's good now. It should be alright," Xu Erniang said with a smile as she sat beside the bed. She then asked Wu Ya about her origins with concern, "Where did you come from? How did you fall from up there? Do you want me to tell your family?"

After what happened in the past two days, Wu Ya is now extremely vigilant, her eyes full of caution, and she did not recognize Xu Er Niang at first.

She already knew that using her status to pressure others would not work in the mountains, as the mountain people simply did not believe it.

Therefore, after hearing Xu Erniang's question, she not only did not burst into tears of gratitude, but remained silent for a long time.

After seeing this, Xu Erniang stopped asking. After all, the person was here and would tell her one day.

After asking about Wu Ya's well-being, he went out to kill an old hen and stewed chicken soup for her to nourish her body.

The bald-headed man walked around the kitchen several times greedily, his saliva all over the floor.

Seeing grandma give the best chicken legs and wings to that strange woman, he was furious. He put his hands on his hips and asked, "Grandma, you don't care about me now, you don't like me anymore. I used to have my share of chicken legs. Why should we give the chickens we raised with great effort to that strange woman? Humph! I don't like it!"

"These are the chickens I raised, I can give them to whoever I want. Get out of the way, or your father will beat you." Mrs. Xu rolled her eyes while holding the soup, and kicked her grandson away without any hesitation.

She doesn't spoil it.

Wang Fugui had suffered many injuries during the war and was not in good health. He did not usually go to the fields with the others. He mainly stayed at home tending to the vegetable garden or making cages to catch wild animals.

He was a smart man and had a very good relationship with Xu Er Niang. Whether in front of other family members or in front of outsiders, he never refuted Xu Er Niang's words.

It really proves the saying that young couples will be companions in old age.

But he was also a little confused at this time. When there was no one around, Wang Fugui asked about the doubts in his heart.

Xu Erniang did not hide anything from her lover and said with a smile, "Well, that's what I think. Doctor Xu has helped our family a lot, saving our lives. He's also a good man. We usually send him things, but he never accepts them. I feel really bad about it. He's already thirty, old, and lonely living alone in the mountains. I think this girl is delicate and tender, with a strong look in her eyes, and she's literate. She must be a good girl from a good family. I think they would be a good match, don't you think?"

"You want to be a matchmaker?" Wang Fugui thought about it and it seemed like a good match. "I don't know if he's willing. I think Doctor Xu is quite comfortable living on his own."

"What's the harm in asking? Just bring a pot of wine to him tomorrow and ask him if he wants a wife. He's shy. Or you can find an excuse to ask him to come and see this woman. It's okay to meet him first. As long as he's satisfied, everything will be fine," Xu Erniang said straightforwardly.

"Okay, then why don't I go there now," Wang Fugui nodded in agreement. He felt a little restless, so he stood up, picked up the wine jug and went out.

"Don't wait for me to eat dinner tonight!"

He was also grateful to Dr. Xu from the bottom of his heart, and hoped that this good man would be rewarded and live a good life.