Xiaoxiao.

Before Penglou could make a move, a man came to the yamen to complain of his grievances.

Yiquan is a native of Xiubei County.

Going back several hundred generations from my great-great-great-grandfather, they lived here.

He has never left Xiubei County since birth. In his mind, the world is Xiubei, and Xiubei is the world.

As the country enjoys a long period of peace and prosperity, people's lives become increasingly affluent, and those with spare capacity are trying to teach their descendants to read and write.

Their greatest wish is that their children will not be like them, blind for their entire lives.

Their inability to read even a handful of characters made their already difficult life path even more arduous.

Being able to carry things on one's shoulders but not write by hand makes one easily looked down upon.

There was no way before, but now there is hope.

With the country's education system becoming increasingly完善, it's a great idea to spend a little money to send your child to learn to read and write and acquire some cultural knowledge.

May our descendants not be illiterate like we were, being fooled without even realizing it.

However, this is the highest they can aspire to; as for passing the imperial examinations to become a scholar or even the top scholar, they wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

Scholars and top scholars are all reincarnations of the God of Literature, a destiny preordained in their previous lives, a blessing that can only be earned through several lifetimes of cultivation.

I'm a poor, struggling person; how could I dare to have such extravagant hopes?

You see, the people's demands are actually very simple and not that difficult to meet.

The territory of the Qin Dynasty was so vast that even if education were completely free, it would be impossible.

However, the lack of manpower in agrarian societies is an undeniable fact.

Sending half-grown boys to private schools is a waste of human resources.

As the saying goes, "A half-grown boy can eat his father to death."

They were at the age when they were growing, but they sat in the classroom all day without doing any work and still got plenty of food every day.

How can families that are already severely lacking in labor afford this?

It would be fine if students went to school during the off-season, but the problem is that the time for studying overlaps significantly with the busy farming season.

For families in dire need of labor, it is extremely uneconomical to "waste" human resources in schools.

It's not that I don't know the benefits of reading, but every bit of effort brings a greater reward.

Farming is a matter of life and death; education might make things a little better later, but the benefits are limited. Simply being literate doesn't offer significant help in daily life.

When faced with a choice between practical needs and a better future, the choice is not difficult at all.

Because no matter how good the future may be, it's just an expectation.

If the farming season is missed and the harvest is reduced, the survival of the whole family may be threatened. This is something that cannot be taken lightly!

Therefore, despite everyone's deep respect for knowledge, many families still choose to have their children farm at home due to practical considerations.

Yiquan was born into such a family.

Parents are the main breadwinners in the family.

My grandfather had four brothers, and he was the third son. He had Yiquan's father and two aunts.

Uncle, Second Uncle's children either died young or perished on the frontier.

My great-uncle was a lifelong bachelor who never married.

Yiquan's parents had three daughters and one son, and he was the only son in the family.

Because of the huge age difference, when Yiquan was born, his older sisters were already betrothed.

By the time he was able to contribute to the family, his sisters had already gotten married.

There's an old saying: "A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl."

Although my older sisters all married far away, every family was short of labor during the busy farming season.

Everyone has their own families to attend to, and besides, these are all crucial periods for reaping the rewards of their hard work, so everyone is expending a lot of energy.

By the time the older sister and brother-in-law finished their work in the fields, they were already exhausted. Even if they wanted to help, they wouldn't have the strength left.

They were all poor families, and their year-round toil barely provided them with enough to eat and wear.

Without sufficient meat, no one can sustain strenuous physical labor for extended periods.

Yiquan's parents have to support seven elderly people and a young boy, which is too much to handle during the busy farming season.

What should I do?

The parents turned their attention to Yiquan, who was only half-grown, as a last resort.

Even the smallest act of labor is still labor! And so, Yiquan's academic journey ended before it even began.

This is not an isolated case in remote county towns.

Your stomach is always more important than your brain!

It's a pity, but there's nothing we can do about it...

Yiquan envied the children in the village who could go to school, but as he grew up, that envy faded. He felt that everyone had their own way of living.

You can't envy other people's lives, and others can't understand your own happiness.

There is no good or bad, each has its own joys and sorrows!

Life will eventually impose its responsibilities on you: 'food, necessities, wife, children, and elderly parents.'

Although it's hard work, even the bitterest strong tea has a sweet aftertaste.

Finding joy amidst hardship is life...

As far back as he can remember, Yiquan has been busy working in the fields with his family every day.

He got married at the age of eighteen with the help of a matchmaker. As the old saying goes, "When choosing a wife, choose a virtuous one."

Although his wife was of average appearance, she was hardworking and a master at managing household chores.

Although the young couple lived a simple life, they were full of hope.

Suffering can bring joy to some, and weariness can bring warmth to others—this is the happiness that so many people search for but cannot attain...

If we can have a big, healthy baby boy next year, hey! I wouldn't trade this life for even an emperor.

Farmers who rely on the weather for their livelihood depend on diligence, and their aspirations for a better life are pitifully few.

"If you are diligent with your hands and feet, you will never go hungry."

If life could continue like this forever, that would be the perfect life.

However, with the rise of mining and smelting, the unchanging way of life that had remained unchanged for countless years underwent tremendous changes.

In many mountainous areas, the land has been damaged, and in pursuit of profit, mine owners have begun to illegally seize land and mine it indiscriminately.

At first, they would give a perfunctory greeting and offer some money.

We're all from the same village, and I'm just trying to make a living. I hope everyone understands and supports me...

Although everyone felt they had suffered a great loss by exchanging their cultivated land, which they had nurtured for many years, for uncultivated land, the land was already so damaged that it could no longer be cultivated.

The other party was polite and a neighbor, so despite being unwilling, I had no choice but to accept it.

There was no other way; they were all fellow villagers, and I couldn't refuse them.

Little did they know that this was just the beginning...

Once capital appears, it will inevitably devour everything.

Only by devouring everything can one destroy oneself.

There are no winners in capitalism, only piles of bones...

One day, a large group of people came to the village.

They wantonly destroyed crops, and the houses where villagers had settled were ruthlessly demolished; they didn't even care whether anyone lived in the houses.

The barbaric encroachment aroused everyone's anger, so they went up to reason with them, but the other party did not care at all, and instead said with impunity that the land belonged to Magistrate Zhang.

The land that our ancestors have cultivated for generations has suddenly become someone else's property. How can such a reversal of right and wrong not make people angry?

The common people would naturally not agree to this.

However, the people of Zhangzhen were not to be trifled with; they had their own plans for occupying the land.

Seeing the villagers gather around, a large group of thugs rushed forward without saying a word.

They beat anyone they saw and burned any houses they encountered.

The small mountain village, which had been peaceful and serene for countless years, was transformed into a living hell at this moment.

Despite the villagers' valiant resistance, how could hands wielding hoes withstand the power of knives and guns?

On that day, the small mountain village was engulfed in flames, and there were cries and wails everywhere!

It can be called Heaven, the curtain of Heaven closes.

Call out to the earth, but the earth remains silent!

Yi Quan was also knocked to the ground, his head was cold to the touch, and when he touched it, it was covered in blood.

He felt his vision blur and his head buzzing.

But he ignored his own injuries and searched the world for his wife and family.

Finally, he saw his great-uncle's house engulfed in flames along with the people inside.

I saw that Erzhuang from the village had half his head chopped off with a knife.

I saw Xiao Dezi's family being pushed into the fire.

Upon seeing Dongmei, Dongfen and several other young women were dragged into the back mountain.

Their helpless and piercing screams stimulated his nerves.

I saw countless houses looted and set on fire.

Those people laughed and indulged themselves like devils.

They are not foreign enemies or bandits!

But these people, cloaked in official robes, are more ruthless than foreign enemies and more vicious than bandits...

As the second-in-command of the county, Magistrate Zhang, who should be upholding the people's interests, has now become the master of evil.

He just watched quietly, watching the raging fire and the wanton slaughter.

He allowed his subordinates to run rampant and let the people cry out in despair.

He just watched quietly, a smile playing on his lips...

Finally, he could no longer hold back; he was going to kill the executioner!

But as soon as he stood up, he was knocked to the ground with a stick, and blood gushed out like a fountain...

Yiquan had a very long dream. He dreamed that his home was destroyed and his relatives were killed.

He dreamt that a steel knife was coming straight at his face, and the biting cold blade made him shudder!

His consciousness returned to his body with this sudden jolt, and he opened his eyes abruptly. The sharp pain at the back of his head almost made him faint again.

The pungent, acrid smell constantly stimulated his nerves, gradually calming him down.

It was completely dark, and everything in front of me was pitch black.

The fire in the distance illuminated the thick smoke rising into the sky, and the village, which had been burning for an unknown period of time, was already unrecognizable.

Among the ruins, some sturdy beams still burn silently, like a wounded soldier silently accusing the sins of humanity.

My home is completely gone...

The body of the loved one had already stiffened.

Yi Quan refused to believe what he was seeing, and he held his wife's stiff hand for a long time, unwilling to let go.

He wished this were all a dream, but his wife's cold hands constantly reminded him.

Home! My beloved home! The place I've dedicated my life to!

Gone, all gone!

At that moment, Yiquan's heart died.

He wandered around like a wild ghost, surrounded by corpses.

Red and green.

Limbs and severed bodies were everywhere, and the white bodies hidden in the woods were covered with shocking scars.

It's not hard to imagine the inhuman humiliation these girls suffered before their deaths, and how terrified and resentful they must have felt...

The hellish scene made Yiquan's eyes bloodshot.

He roared silently like an angry lion, "No, I can't die yet!" he cried out in his heart.

He was unwilling to die like this; he wanted revenge!

We must avenge our deceased loved ones and avenge the wronged souls of the entire village!

The ideal is beautiful, but the reality is harsh.

He was just an ordinary citizen; let alone seeking revenge, he rarely even saw Zhang Zhen.